A: According to the National Labor Relations Board, Employee Handbooks are not confidential. According to the NLRB, policies that treat Employees Handbooks confidential precludes employees from discussing working conditions, pay and benefits with unions or third parties; this is a violation of Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act.

A: If you are not ready to buy a property, it is only fair not to waste sellers’ time who are trying to sell their property. If, however, you are ready to buy a property but is concerned about unforeseeable risks, you can mitigate or eliminate your risks by spelling out contingencies in your Purchase and Sales Agreement. If the conditions or contingencies are not met, you do not have to go through with the deal.

A: If you are certain that the debt is time barred, debtor may not sue you. In California, there is generally a 4-year limit for filing a lawsuit based on a written agreement. Just make sure you don’t inadvertently restart the statute of limitations, i.e. acknowledge the debt.

A: Contingencies are conditions provided in the contract that need to be met prior to performance or close of escrow. In Purchase and Sale Agreements, it is usually the buyer who negotiates for contingencies to reduce or eliminate their risks prior to close of escrow. Normally, buyer’s contingencies would include appraisal reports, property inspections, mortgages, title reports or sale of another property. More often than not, sellers do not have contingencies in Purchase and Sale Agreements because they want to sell the property in a timely manner; if seller cannot deliver the property, it may deem the property not available for sale in the first place.