Business Hints E-Book

A. R. Calhoun

• Herausgeber: The Big Nest
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: Business Library
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 181

Beschreibung

Well, what do you know of business laws and rules, outside your present circle of routine work? Now, this handy little volume is a condensation of the rules and the laws which every man, from the day laborer to the banker, should be familiar with. We have not put in everything about business, for that would require a library, instead of a book that can be read in a short day, and be consulted for its special information at any time.

Leseprobe

A. R. Calhoun

Business Hints

Business Library

THE BIG NEST

LONDON ∙ NEW YORK ∙ TORONTO ∙ SAO PAULO ∙ MOSCOW

PARIS ∙ MADRID ∙ BERLIN ∙ ROME ∙ MEXICO CITY ∙ MUMBAI ∙ SEOUL ∙ DOHA

TOKYO ∙ SYDNEY ∙ CAPE TOWN ∙ AUCKLAND ∙ BEIJING

New Edition

Published by The Big Nest

www.thebignest.co.uk

This Edition first published in 2016

Copyright © 2016 The Big Nest

Images and Illustrations © 2016 Stocklibrary.org

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9781911535577

Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XX

CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIV

CHAPTER XXV

CHAPTER XXVI

CHAPTER XXVII

CHAPTER XXVIII

INTRODUCTION

What is a good business man? “The rich man,” you may answer. No, the good business man is the man who knows business.

Are you a good business man?

“Up to the average,” you say.

Well, what do you know of business laws and rules, outside your present circle of routine work?

Now, this handy little volume is a condensation of the rules and the laws which every man, from the day laborer to the banker, should be familiar with.

We have not put in everything about business, for that would require a library, instead of a book that can be read in a short day, and be consulted for its special information at any time.

It isn’t a question of the price of the book to you, or of the profit to the publisher. Is it good?

Many a man has failed because he did not know the rules and laws herein given.

Never a man has won honestly who did not carry out these rules and laws.

CHAPTER I

COMMON SENSE FARMING

The three things essential to all wealth production are land, labor, and capital.

“The dry land” was created before there appeared the man, the laborer, to work it. With his bare hands the worker could have done nothing with the land either as a grazer, a farmer or a miner. From the very first he needed capital, that is, the tools to work the land.

The first tool may have been a pole, one end hardened in the fire, or a combined hoe and axe, made by fastening with wythes, a suitable stone to the end of a stick; but no matter the kind of tool, or the means of producing it, it represented capital, and the man who owned this tool was a capitalist as compared with the man without any such appliance.

From the land, with the aid of labor and capital, comes wealth, which in a broad way may be defined as something having an exchangeable value.

Before the appearance of money all wealth changed hands through barter. The wealth in the world to-day is immeasurably greater than all the money in it. The business of the world, particularly between nations, is still carried on through exchange, the balances being settled by money.

Money is a medium of exchange, and should not be confounded with wealth or capital; the latter is that form of wealth which is used with labor in all production.

Broadly speaking, wealth is of two kinds, dormant and active. The former awaits the development of labor and capital, the latter is the product of both.

Labor is human effort, in any form, used for the production of wealth. It is of two kinds—skilled and unskilled. The former may be wholly mental, the latter may be wholly manual.

The successful farmer must be a skilled laborer, no matter the amount of his manual work. The unskilled farmer can never succeed largely, no matter how hard he works.

Trained hands with trained brains are irresistible.

Too many farmers live in the ruts cut by their great-great- grandfathers. They still balance the corn in the sack with a stone.

Farming is the world’s greatest industry. All the ships might be docked, all the factory wheels stopped, and all the railroads turned to streaks of rust, and still the race would survive, but let the plow lie idle for a year and man would perish as when the deluge swept the mountain tops.

The next census will show considerably over 6,000,000 farms in the United States. Farming is the greatest of all industries, as it is the most essential. Our Government has wisely made the head of the Department of Agriculture a cabinet officer, and the effect on our farming interest is shown in improved methods and a larger output of better quality.

The hap-hazard, unskilled methods of the past are disappearing. Science is lending her aid to the tiller of the soil, and the wise ones are reaching out their hands in welcome.

BUSINESS METHODS NEEDED

As farming is our principal business, it follows that those who conduct this vast and varied enterprise should be business men.

The farmer is a producer of goods, and so might be regarded as a manufacturer,—the original meaning of the word is one who makes things by hand. He is also a seller of his own products, and a purchaser of the products of others, so that, to some extent, he may also be regarded as a trader or merchant.

Enterprise and business skill are the requisites of the manufacturer and merchant. Can the farmer succeed without them?

No business can prosper without method, economy, and industry intelligently applied.

No man works harder the year round than does the American farmer, yet too many are going back instead of advancing. In such cases it will be found that there is enough hard work for better results, and that the cause of failure is that the industry has not been properly applied, and that economy has had no consideration.

Economy does not mean niggardliness, or a determination to get along without tools that your neighbor has purchased. A neglect to secure the best tool needed might be classed as an extravagance, a waste, if the tool in question could have added to the quality and quantity of the output, without the expenditure of more labor.

Business common-sense is taking the place of old-fashioned conservatism and scientific methods are no longer sneered at as “book-farming.”

CHAPTER II

DOCUMENTS EVERY FARMER SHOULD UNDERSTAND

All property implies an owner. Property is of two kinds, real and personal. The former is permanent and fixed, the latter can be moved.

Every occupant of realty holds it through a deed, which carries with it sole ownership, or through a lease which carries with it the right to occupation and use in accordance with the conditions as to time and the amount to be paid, set forth in the written instrument.

A deed carries with it sole ownership, a lease covers the right of use for a fixed period.

AS TO DEEDS

The purchaser of real estate, say a farm, should receive, from the person selling the property, a written instrument, or conveyance known as a deed.

The deed must show clearly that the title to or interest in the property has been transferred from the seller to the buyer.

Before the deed is signed and delivered, the buyer should know that he is getting a clear title to the property described in the conveyance.

In order to insure the accuracy of the title and thus avoid subsequent complications and perhaps lawsuits, the paper should be submitted to some good lawyer, or other person acquainted with real estate law and the methods by which titles are traced from the first owner to the present possessor.

TITLE ABSTRACTS

In all the great business centers of the United States there are Title Guarantee Companies, who for a consideration—to be paid by the seller—furnish an abstract of title, and insure its validity.

In smaller places the local lawyers know how to make up an abstract and one should be employed. Never trust the search of the inexperienced.

An abstract of title is a memorandum taken from the records of the office where deeds are recorded, and showing the history of the title from the Government up to the present time.

The seller should furnish the buyer with a certificate from the proper county officer, showing whether or not all taxes have been paid up to the last assessment.

In addition to this, before the money is paid and the deed accepted, the purchaser should be satisfied that there are no mortgages, liens, attachments or other claims against the property.

If such claims exist and are known to the buyer, he may assume them as a condition of the sale.

PARTIES TO A DEED

The person selling the land and making the deed is known in law as the Grantor. The person buying the property is known as the Grantee.

A deed is a form of contract, and in order to have its terms and statements binding on the maker, he must be twenty-one years of age, or over, and he must be of sound mind.

The grantee need not be twenty-one, nor of sound mind in order to make the terms of the deed binding on the grantor.

In some states, if the grantor be a married man, his wife must sign the deed with him. This should be seen to, for without the wife’s signature the grantee will not have a clear title, for the woman could still claim an interest in the property equal to her dower right.

Also, if the grantor is a woman, her husband, for the reasons given, should join with her in the execution of the deed.

The preparation of a deed should not be left to the unskilled.

DIFFERENT DEEDS

There are three kinds of deeds, viz.: General warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, and quit-claim deeds.

The general warranty deed, if it can be had, is the one every purchaser should get.

In the general warranty deed the grantor agrees for himself, “his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns,” that at the time of making the deed he is lawfully in possession, “seized” is the legal term, of the estate described in the deed, that it is free from all incumbrance, and that he will warrant and defend the grantee and his heirs and assigns against all claims whatsoever.

In the quit-claim deed the grantor conveys to the purchaser his interest in or right to the property under consideration.

The quit-claim grantor does not guarantee the title to the property, nor warrant the grantee against any other claims. He simply, by the deed, quits his claim to the property.

The special warranty deed covenants and warrants only against the acts of the grantor and those claiming title under him.

MAKING A DEED

After a deed is properly drawn, it is ready to be signed, sealed, and delivered to the grantee.

If the wife of the grantor is to sign, her name should follow that of her husband.

If one or both cannot write, the signature can be made in this way:

His

George X Jones.

Mark.

Witness…………..

In some states one or more witnesses are required to the signature of the grantor; in others, witnesses are not necessary, except where a “mark” is made.

An important part of a deed is the Acknowledgment. This is the act of acknowledging before a notary public, justice or other official properly qualified to administer an oath, that the signatures are genuine and made voluntarily.

The acknowledgment having been taken, the official stamps the paper with his seal and signs it.

In some states the law requires that a wax or paper seal be attached to the paper, while in others a circular scroll, made with the pen, with the letters “L.S.” in the center answer the purpose.

When the foregoing essentials are complied with the deed must be delivered to the grantee. The delivery is essential, for without it the deed is of no value, even though every other requisite be complied with.

A deed may be made for land on which full payment has already been acknowledged, but if the grantor dies before the deed is delivered, then the deed has no legal value.

A deed obtained by fraud, deceit or compulsion is void.

RECORDING DEEDS

As soon as possible after the grantee has received the deed, he should have it recorded.

In every county in the different states there is an officer, known as register or recorder, whose duty it is to enter in regular folios, or books, a copy of every deed or mortgage presented to him. The document then becomes a part of the county records.

The grantee must pay the recording fees.

Anyone, on paying the fee for copying and certifying, can obtain a copy of any document that has been recorded in a register’s office.

If an original deed is lost, the certified copy of the register has all the legality of the original.

All deeds and other papers of value should be carefully kept, so that they may be available, if needed.

A small safe deposit box with a company that keeps such spaces for rent, is often a wise investment.

Keep all related papers in one package or envelope.

If there is one lawyer who attends to all your legal business, he will be a good custodian of all papers of record, for he usually has a fireproof safe.

CHAPTER III

OTHER FORMS OF DEEDS—MORTGAGES

There is one condition under which the grantor does not turn over or deliver the deed to the grantee after it is made. This is known as a Deed in Escrow.

A deed “delivered in escrow” is when the document is placed with a third party to be by him delivered to the grantee when a certain time has elapsed or certain conditions have been fulfilled.

When the conditions have been complied with, the deed is given by its custodian to the grantee, which is as legal as if it were given by the grantor in person.

TRUST DEEDS

A trust deed is the form used to convey property to some person who is entitled to its proceeds or profits.

This form of deed is often used to secure the payment of a debt.

In some states they take the place of mortgages.

Where the trust deed is meant to take the place of a mortgage to secure a debt payment, the property is deeded to a third party known as a “trustee.”

The trustee in this case is the agent for debtor and creditor, and he must act impartially.

The trust deed specifies the character of the debt to be secured. In case of failure to pay the debt as agreed on, the trustee may, if so warranted, sell the property, and pay the obligation from the proceeds.

The grantor in a trust deed, if not stipulated to the contrary, is entitled to all the rents and profits of the property; for it remains virtually his, until he has failed to fill his contract.

When the indebtedness secured by the trust deed has been paid, the trustee must at once execute a paper known to law as a Release Deed. When recorded this instrument discharges the lien.

AS TO MORTGAGES

Mortgages are of two kinds, real and chattel. The first is a lien on real estate, the second on personal property.

A mortgage may be defined as a conveyance of property, personal or real, as security for the payment of a debt, or it may be given as a guarantee for the performance of some particular duty.

MORTGAGE FORMS

When a mortgage is given as security for the payment of a debt, the rule is to give a note for the payment of the amount involved. The mortgage becomes in this case the security for the note’s payment.

In the body of the note it must be stated that it is secured by mortgage.

The date of the note and mortgage should be the same.

The man who mortgages his property is the mortgagor.

The man to whom the mortgage is given is the mortgagee.

The form of the mortgage is the same as that of a deed, except that it contains a clause called the Defeasance, which states that when the obligation has been met the document shall be void.

MORTGAGES MUST BE RECORDED

The forms for “signing, sealing and delivering” a mortgage, are the same as with a deed.

A mortgage must be recorded the same as a deed, the mortgagee paying the fees.

Chattel mortgages are filed and recorded in the same way, except that it is not usual to make copies of the instrument. They are described in books prepared for the purpose.

A wife need not join her husband in making the note secured by a mortgage, but if she agrees to the transaction it is necessary for her to sign the mortgage; however, some states do not require this.

PAYMENTS

Often a life insurance policy is used as security for the payment of a mortgage.

The mortgagee, if there be buildings on the property, should see that the buildings are insured and that the policy or policies are made out in his name.

If the insurance policy is in the mortgagor’s name he may collect and keep the insurance money.

The mortgagor must meet, as stipulated, every payment of the principal and interest.

Failure to meet one payment can result in a legal foreclosure.

When a payment is made, the date and the amount must be entered on the back of the note. This should be done in the presence of the mortgagor.

If possible always pay the obligation by check.

If a payment is accepted on a mortgage and the amount is not sufficient to meet the sum required, the interest is first settled in full, the rest is credited to the principal.

When the full amount, with interest, is paid in, it becomes the duty of the mortgagee to have the mortgage “discharged.”

A complete settlement is when, all payments being made, the mortgagee surrenders the note and its security, and causes to be written by the register, on the margin of the copy in his books, the words, “discharged,” or “satisfied,” affixing thereto his official signature and the date.

ASSIGNMENTS

A mortgage is regarded in law as personal property.

A mortgage need not remain in the hands of the mortgagee in order to be valid. It can be sold like bonds, stocks or other property, and there are men who deal only in that form of security.

In order to sell a mortgage, the owner must make, to the purchaser, what is known as an “assignment of mortgage.”

The assignment should be recorded in the same way as the original mortgage, the assignee paying the fee.

REDEMPTION OF MORTGAGES

While the rule as to the redemption of mortgages remains the same in some localities that it formerly was, the law in most places is now more lenient.

Now the mortgagor who has failed is usually given by law an extension of time in which to make good the payment of principal and interest.

Lenders, when the interest is met, are content to let the mortgage run on as an investment, though it will often be found, in such cases, that it is better to make a new mortgage.

EQUITY OF REDEMPTION

Where the payments on a mortgage have not been met and the instrument has not been foreclosed, the mortgagor has still what is known as an “equity of redemption.”

In some states after the foreclosure of the mortgage and the sale of the property there is still a period of redemption of from sixty days to six years.

The mode of foreclosure differs in some states. The usual method is to foreclose on an order from the court, and to have the sale conducted by a court officer.

The proceeds from the sale are used to pay the principal, interests and costs. If there is money left over it is paid to the mortgagor, whose interests in the property are then at an end.

Many people, not familiar with business methods, are inclined to regard a mortgage as something of a disgrace, when, as a matter of fact it is a most usual and honorable means of raising money for the securing of a home or the conducting of a business.

Nearly all of the great railroads of the country have been built by the sale of the mortgage bonds, which are usually renewed when due, and are sought out as a safe and sane form of investment.

The fact that a mortgage payment has to be met on a farm is often in itself the strongest inducement to industry and economy.

CHAPTER IV

WILLS

Whether farmer, manufacturer, merchant or professional man, and whether in youth, mid-age or declining years, every owner of personal or real property, or both, should make a will.

If you have not made a will, get over the foolish notion that it is a premonition of death, and do so at once.

A will is a written and signed declaration of the disposition one wishes to have made of his property in the event of his death.

The maker of a valid will must be of sound mind and not less than twenty-one years of age.

Women, whether married or single, if of proper age, are competent to make a will.

OF TWO KINDS

A will may be written or unwritten.