Watch What You Say!

Insurance For Bloggers? The Chicago Tribune reports that bloggers need to purchase personal injury protection against charges of libel or slander. The coverage is not very expensive and could save you a fortune.

"Blogging has made everybody in the world a potential editor in chief. In the past, you might have had a day or two to cool down or ... to shoot that letter via snail mail to [the newspaper]. There was someone there who would police what you said. All or some of it might make it into the newspaper," Spicer said. "Today, in a matter of a half-hour, you could have set up your blog and gone out and said your piece about any number of issues."

The easiest solution is to refrain from libeling or slandering anyone in your blog, but I know that is easier said than done, particularly when you are trying to grow your readership through expressing strong opinions. It's not just bloggers who need this protection: active users of social media sites (or parents of such children!) should seek this coverage as well.

Apartment Vacancy At Highest Level In Two Decades: The Wall Street Journal reports that the national vacancy rate for apartments is at its highest level in 22 years, and this increase comes at the time of year that should be a peak leasing season.

The housing downturn initially offered landlords the chance to lure troubled homeowners into the rental market. But the pace of job losses shattered any inroads that apartments might have gained from the housing bust. Apartment vacancies began to rise at the end of 2007 before accelerating further as the economy deteriorated last fall.

Many landlords are in danger of defaulting on property mortgages obtained during the era of easy credit if these vacancy rates don't fall again. These landlords feel pinched, unable to reduce rents to attract new tenants because that capital is needed to make mortgage payments. It's a tough situation.

A. J. Farley runs Farley Home Services, a home inventory documentation service. Please visit us on the web at EverySingleItem.com. Thanks for your time!