Hi, we're brand new to this website, just love it!!! Well, we're debating if we should invest the $$$ to buy the book The Secure Home after reading the table of contents posted on the website. We rent a farm house out in the country, have a well, and plenty of space for a garden of course. Buying this house or any house or property is not in the cards for us right now, but the book diffently intrigues us. Any one care to comment to help us to decide to buy the book or not, meaning are there things we can do to secure our home that maybe is not permanent. Right now in our life we need to feel flexible about where we live, we move when we feel prompted by the spirit to go.
Thanks
Dan & Sherri
Well Dan, I got the book and I really like it. I felt it was worth the money.
If you are needing to be as flexible as you say, then perhaps the securest thing you could do is to find ways to hide things out of sight you dont want found; you know, out of sight out of mind. Let's just call it passive/hidden resistance, it is one of Joel's strategies at security and I must say I agree.
"... are there things we can do to secure our home that maybe is not permanent. Right now in our life we need to feel flexible about where we live, we move when we feel prompted by the spirit to go."
From having read the book, I'll venture to say that it will give you ideas Re. what you might possibly do in a rented home. If you are correct in your last sentence, you probably need not worry if you believe you are "where you should be". We are facing a similar situation pretty soon, living in a rented apartment in a European country.
If the feathers hit the fan during the time you are renting, you may find yourselves living rent free for a time.
Buy the book. You have located yourself in the best of both worlds just now. You live in a rural environment without having to make the upfront investment.
Buy the book and use it do help decide If you want to buy the house or look for the qualities you seek elsewhere.
Thanks to all of you who answered our questions. We are going to be buying both books. Hey, maybe we'll use our tax rebate to get them.
Dan & Sherri
Sorry I didn't see this post sooner.
Absolutely buy Mr. Skousen's books. "The Secure Home" is the definitive account on the subject and is well worth the investment. It is HUGE and provides many options, explanations, and techniques that can be used in any location at any time. It will also assist in planning and prioritizing your needs.
Since you have "the best of both worlds" I believe "Strategic Relocation" will assist you in determining where to go if you decide to move.
And be sure to use your tax refund. It will help keep Alan G's economy going. Unfortunately, due to lower than projected surpluses, the Fed will also be cutting back and will now use only mirrors (smoke generators being too expensive). They are hoping that you will donate it back to them, or refuse it outright, however. Don't forget- they have a war on drugs and a war on poverty to fight, endangered species to protect, land to buy, retirement and medical accounts to fund, wars to finance, governments to corrupt, governments to create, bureaucracies to build, officials to bribe, terrorists to fund, terrorists to stop, investigations to squash, coverups to keep covering up, lavish lifestyles to maintain, and national defenses to dismantle.
But if ya'll are going to selfishly use it instead, well, I guess they're glad they didn't give you any more than they did. Some peoples' got gall, s'all I kin say.
I, too, would highly recommend all of Joel Skousen's books. What no one has mentioned yet about his writing is that it's impossible to simply read it. I read Strategic Relocation first, then bought The Secure Home when it was released a year or two later. So much wisdom, experience and expertise went into these books that you end up not only reading them, but actually interacting with them! Somewhere along the reader's journey--you don't know on which page it happens; it just does--something quietly slips over you and you inherit the same type of survivor's mindset as the author's. For example, in the past, you went to a theater and only watched the movie or the people. Now suddenly you enter the theater and your first thought is where you'd sit so, in case there's a fire, you could be near the exit. Elsewhere you start receiving constant reminders throughout the day about safety as memorable warnings or quotes from this author return over and over to your mind at unexpected times.
Joel Skousen, a former USMC fighter pilot, is one heck of a survivor in all areas of life. The Secure Home is a huge book! It's almost impossible to spend time reading all those pages on how to survive without having some of his great ideas linger with you long after you put down the book. And you can't read his books only once; that isn't enough. Joel's books are meant to be read over and over because memorizing his tips is the best way to have his survivor's strategies stick in your mind so you don't panic someday when a real crisis hits and you must respond immediately. You're ready. You're prepared. You recognize the threat and know the plan because this author covered just about anything and everything in his books.
The price is actually too low because these aren't merely books. They're more like crash courses on Real Life 101--how to endure when the going gets rough. REAL rough as in how to survive during a nuclear war!
At first, it's a little scary reading Joel's books. Who wants to be told a nuclear war is coming soon, and maybe to your town? No one! Turn the pages, though, keep reading, and in the end, the author succeeds in his mission. By the time you close the book, YOU will start walking, talking and thinking like a survivor. And surviving and staying safe is what The Secure Home and Strategic Relocation: North American Guide To Safe Places are all about.
Your Rights As A Renter
Although renters' rights vary by region, many are pretty predictable. Here's a sample of rights likely to be addressed in your state's landlord-tenant law:
1. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny housing to a tenant on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, disability, family status, or national origin.
2. Residential rental units should be habitable and in compliance with housing and health codes—meaning they should be structurally safe, sanitary, weatherproofed, and include adequate water, electricity, and heat.
3. Many states limit the amount landlords can charge for security deposits. (See http://www.nolo.com/encyclopedia/articles/lt/lt1.html to find out if yours is one of them.)
4. A landlord should make necessary repairs and perform maintenance tasks in a timely fashion, or include a provision in the lease stating that tenants can order repairs and deduct the cost from rent.
5. A landlord must give prior notice (typically 24 hours) before entering your premises and can normally only do so to make repairs or in case of an emergency.
6. Illegal provisions in a rental agreement (provisions counter to state law) are usually not enforceable in court.
7. If a landlord has violated important terms related to health, safety, or necessary repairs, you might have a legal right to break your lease.
8. If you have to break a long-term lease, in most states landlords are required to search for a new tenant as soon as possible rather than charging the tenant for the full duration of the lease.
9. Damage or security deposits are not deductible for "normal wear and tear." Some states require that a landlord give an itemized report of any deductions.
10. Most states require landlords to return refundable portions of a security deposit within 14 to 30 days after the tenant has vacated the premises, even in the case of eviction.
11. Landlords usually can't legally seize a tenant's property for nonpayment of rent or any other reason, except in the case of abandonment as defined by law.
12. Landlords are legally prohibited from evicting tenants as retaliation for action a tenant takes related to a perceived landlord violation.
13. A landlord cannot legally change the locks, shut off (or cause to have shut off) your utilities, or evict you without notice; eviction requires a court order.
14. If a landlord makes life so miserable for you that it forces you to move, it may be considered "constructive eviction," which is usually grounds for legal action.
15. In many states, it's illegal for a lease to stipulate that the tenant is responsible for the landlord's attorney fees in case of a court dispute.
Full story at http://houseandhome.msn.com/Rentals/YourRightsasaRenter0.aspx