Jackson, Tennessee Firm Blog | Spragins, Barnett & Cobb PLC

What details should be included in a owner financing agreement?

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Real Estate on Friday, April 3, 2020.

There are many reasons why buyers get banks involved in lending them the money to make a home purchase such as offering lower interest rates and variable types of loans. There are just as many reasons why buyers seek out private lending or owner financing though as well. One of those is that they may more easily qualify for a loan even though they have a below-average credit score. If you're going to offer private lending, then you'll want to make sure that your contract includes a few very important details in it.

It's important when offering seller financing that you have an airtight and enforceable contract in place. If you don't, then it may be more difficult to get someone out of your home than it was getting them into it in the first place. You should also realize that without a legally enforceable contract in hand, you stand to lose your home in an adverse possession claim.

Tennessee city shaken by sexual harassment scandal in police

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Employment Law on Saturday, March 28, 2020.

Sexual harassment was once a way of life, especially for women in the workplace. Anyone who wanted to protect a career or an ability to put food on the family table had to grin and bear it, even over years of mistreatment. Now, unwanted touching and speaking in the workplace has the ability to speak out.

This goes all the way to the enforcers of the law, as a recent shakeup in a Tennessee police department shows. Three senior police officers have resigned, and three others were disciplined after an investigation into systemic underplaying of sexual harassment in their offices.

Watch out for these 3 contract-making mistakes

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC on Thursday, March 26, 2020.

You need to pay attention to every minor detail as you run your Tennessee business. If you overlook something, it could easily spell trouble for your company. You may have only recently begun your entrepreneurial journey, but you know that your business is moving forward at a steady pace. In fact, you may be ready to make your first business deal.

Whenever you enter into a business deal, it is important that you have a contract in place. This contract can be beneficial for all parties involved, but that does not mean that you should trust the other party to come up with a fair agreement. Instead, you will want to consider your company's needs and negotiate fair terms.

Coronavirus may decrease home prices by 35%

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Real Estate on Friday, March 20, 2020.

Home prices are anything but stable, and a lot of different issues factor in. It's not the same as buying or selling many other products, which always cost roughly the same and give you something to expect. Homes are priced based not just on size or condition, but also on the market conditions, the number of potential buyers, the number of other homes on the market and things of this nature.

That's where the coronavirus outbreak could have a massive impact. Some experts are predicting that the prices of homes could decline by around a third before it ends. Losing 35% of the value is a massive blow to sellers, though it could ramp up interest from buyers who can get a good deal.

Steps you can take as a creditor to make sure that you get paid

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Banking & Business Transactions on Friday, March 13, 2020.

Most Americans don't pay hard cold cash for anything. They instead take out loans or use credit cards to make big purchases. These individuals then make small payments across a few months or years until they ultimately pay an item off.

A downside to giving debtors an extension to pay for those big items is that something else inevitably comes up that they need to pay for. This is often why they default in making payments. There are some strategies that you can employ as a creditor to give yourself the best chance of collecting what you're owed.

Is your partner breaking your partnership agreement?

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Business & Commercial Litigation on Friday, March 6, 2020.

When starting a company, it's important for co-owners to set up a partnership agreement. This can establish things like what roles they'll take on, how much of the company they own, what to do if they have a dispute, how much authority they have, how long the partnership will last and much more. It's a way of setting up a legal relationship so that you both know exactly where you stand -- and it goes far beyond a handshake and an agreement to work together.

But what if your partner begins breaking the agreement? What if they refuse to follow it?

Discrimination based on natural hairstyles target of bill

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Employment Law on Friday, February 28, 2020.

While it can be difficult for some people to understand, there are many instances of discrimination based on how some people wear their hair.

Natural hairstyle discrimination is very real and if two Tennessee legislators have their way, a new bill would prevent it by amending the state's Human Rights Act. Representative Karen D. Camper and Senator Raumesh Akbari introduced HB1549, SB2814 late last month. The bill is known as the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act, also known as the CROWN Act.

Is tip-sharing legal in Tennessee?

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Employment Law on Sunday, February 23, 2020.

You work at a restaurant where you only earn $2.13 per hour. The rest comes from tips. If you don't get enough, they have to increase your earnings to at least minimum wage, but you generally get more in tips than if you just had a higher wage without the tips.

Then your boss tells you about a new system they'll be using for tips. Maybe it's a tip-sharing program, where you all share your tips with cooks, busboys and other workers who may not get them directly from the customers. Maybe it's a tip pooling system where all of the tips go into a general pool during the night and then, regardless of who actually got the tips, the total gets split evenly among all of the staff members.

Is a distracted driver responsible for your injuries?

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC on Friday, February 21, 2020.

Can you imagine traveling on U.S. 412 for nearly a mile without looking where you were going? Think of the interchanges you would pass, the vehicles that might cut in front of you and the number of times the flow of traffic might change speeds as you roll blindly along that stretch of highway. This is what it is like when someone reads or sends a text message while driving.

Texting is only one form of distraction that can create a dangerous and potentially deadly situation for you and other Tennessee travelers. If you have suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a motor vehicle accident, there is a good chance that some kind of distraction contributed to the collision.

Landlords must make necessary repairs

On behalf of Spragins, Barnett & Cobb, PLC posted in Real Estate on Friday, February 14, 2020.

Your lease does not have to come right out and say that the landlord has to make repairs to a property. It is an implied responsibility. When renting a space to a tenant, the landlord has an obligation to make sure that living space is habitable at all times.

Obviously, that's a bit of an open-ended definition, but it generally just means that a reasonable person would determine that the space was safe and in good condition. They landlord may need to: