Category Archives: Ozarks economy

How to lose your home or maybe keep it

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Harry Styron

by Harry Styron, Styron & Shilling

The entire process can take place in as little as four weeks, but 12 weeks is probably average, at least in Missouri.

If you cannot make your mortgage payments, your first priority should be finding another place to live that you can afford. The security of shelter is tremendously important to your health and ability to provide for your family and to the preservation of family relationships.

Most lenders have programs for attempting to prevent foreclosures,  because foreclosures are not financially advantageous for lenders, but are the lenders’ only way out of bad situations. Struggling borrowers should check lenders’ websites and carefully read any correspondence from the lenders to look for alternatives offered by lenders.

How can a lawyer help? Read the rest of this entry →

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Important legal terms: “I grandmawed it! Ain’t I grandfathered?”

Posted on January 15, 2009 by Harry Styron

By Harry Styron

As the Ozarks becomes suburban, there are many clashes between the old economy and ways of life and the new, expressed in colorful language. A couple of familiar terms are sometimes used in ways that sound funny, especially used as verbs.

Grandfathering
“Grandfathering” as a legal term is not peculiar to the Ozarks and seems to mean here what it means anywhere. It is the concept by which something that has been done in the past is lawful for that reason, regardless of any new laws.

The historical origin of the term is ugly: Read the rest of this entry →

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Stone County Planning & Zoning Declared Invalid

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Harry Styron

In MPI v. Stone County, dated December 30, 2008, Associate Circuit Judge Carr Woods ruled that the system of planning and zoning for Stone County (Missouri) was not in compliance with the Missouri statutes that enable counties to adopt planning and zoning regulations after a vote of the citizens. I filed the case, and Springfield attorney Bryan Wade and his associates at Husch Blackwell Sanders carried most of the discovery and trial preparation burden. I assisted Bryan with the trial.

The decision is not final until 30 days after its date. Meanwhile, the Stone County Commission has closed the planning and zoning office while it considers its options, which of course include appealing the decision. Read the rest of this entry →

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Working with troubled real estate developments

Posted on January 10, 2009 by Harry Styron

Over the next several months, many investors and lenders will be looking at busted projects and trying to make the best of them. I’ve added a Law Article to this site, which I’ll keep updating as I learn new strategies,  called “Working with troubled real estate developments.”

As with all my other writings, this article is primarily based on my experiences in Missouri, though some of this one comes from my time spent in the 1980s, working with troubled real estate in Oklahoma, after the successive crashes of the oil and gas, banking and real estate sectors.

I’d appreciate your comments.

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What 2009 holds for Ozarks real estate

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Harry Styron

My law firm clients are asking me what I expect. They know that I represent a variety of real estate developers active in the area around Branson and Table Rock Lake, where the pace of sales of single-family homes and condo units seemed to slow in early 2008 then nearly stop altogther by mid-2008. My name has shown up in newspapers and public records in relation to my representation of creditors of several large, distressed projects.

When my clients ask me about the future, my first reactions are how would I know and am I really being asked if my other clients are hurting, too? Many of them are hurting, badly.

Here are my ideas about the prospects for 2009: Read the rest of this entry →

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Welcome

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Harry Styron

Here, with help from my guests, I’ll explore the what’s happening in the Ozarks, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities facing businesses and local governments in Southwest Missouri, which includes Branson, Springfield, Joplin, and the areas around Table Rock Lake.

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