Real Estate Auctions: Read The Small Print
The lenders unwillingness to adjust the prices on their properties is affecting us greatly. We are getting consumed by all the vacant homes.
The lenders out there will have to learn to take the bite. Don’t worry they’re very creative and will get their money back from you another way.
There are not many ways out there to get these properties sold to home buyers or investors. One of the biggest ways to come to my mind is live auctions.
Live auctions have generally been a great way to sell that overstocked inventory. Everything from junk to real estate can be sold at auction.
The simplistic nature of an auction is it’s greatest attribute. They’re so simple to setup and finish that you could almost turn your head and it will be over. Just like that you have missed that item you wanted to bid on.
When I go to an real estate auction as an investor I’m looking for a good deal. I know exactly what I’m looking for. Also, what price they are worth and what I’m willing to pay. Just too many times I just watch people bid them past what they are worth on the open market. On top of that they have to pay the auction home for its time. At that point you could of just made an offer on a similar property for a much lower price.
A fix percentage of the final bidding price is the most common way an auction house gets paid. That amount is added to your bid to make the final purchase price.
Always remember when bidding that you’ve to calculate the auction house’s commission in the price. Just envision purchasing a home at $200,000 and having to pay 5% commission now your actual purchase price is $210,000. It will amaze you how fast everything adds up.
The problem with a significant number of auction houses this day is their rules and guidelines. Usually rules and guidelines are to protect the buyer and the seller but I wish that was true. Be very careful and read all of the small print pertaining to the auction you are interested in attending. Make sure you read the sections pertaining to bidding and buying at auction.
I wish that when I went to an auction I could win a property for the opening bid. I wish that some body could, but even if I was the only one there I still couldn’t. Those breathtaking low prices only exist to drive traffic to the auctions.
The reason why many auctions have such low beginning bid amounts is because they’ve reserve amounts. Which enables them not to sell the property unless you bid the price above the predetermined acceptable price set by the seller. The only place that speaks about reserve amounts is in the small print in the back of their pamphlet. In the front of the pamphlet no where I can find a mention of a reserve. I wonder why?
I thought that a reserve bid was already was a joke. The worst one is that the seller has typically has seven days to accept you bid or not. In other words at any winning bid amount it is there decision if you’ll get it in the end.
Auctions are seeming to me to become a waste of time and money. I have to waste a full day and show them a considerable deposit just to bid. The actual bidding is suppose to be up to the buyers not the sellers.
I do think that the experience of an auction should be felt once. You never know you could get that deal.
Free Publicity Worth Millions; Writing Effective Press Releases
Savvy business people, especially entrepreneurs, have long known the value of press releases.
A good press release, distributed to the right media, can help you reach your target market very effectively. And, you can have professionals do everything for you at very tiny cost, or you can do it yourself, at no cost, as I do. But, you need to pay attention to the details.
Start with these simple rules.
Remember that press releases are also called news releases. An article that is nothing more than an advertisement for your product or service won’t be published. Write about a topic that can be considered news, even if it is only about the opening of a new business or introduction of a new product or service.
You can see what kinds of news releases are apt to be published by reading your target publications…the publications in which you would most like to have your releases carried.
Editors tend to be very busy. And, space in their publications is limited. Thus, brevity is important…convey your message as quickly as possible.
Check your sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, etc. An editor may correct a mistake or two, but every mistake multiplies the chances of your release winding up with the morning coffee grounds.
This is worth repeating. In terms of the length of press releases, less is more.
Hire a writer to compose your releases if you’re uncertain of your skills. And, don’t be afraid to pay for distribution. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how tiny it costs.
Successful press releases require good writing and appropriate distribution. It’s not how many editors and publishers receive a release from you that’s important. It is whether or not you get the release on the desks of as many of the right editors and publishers as possible. Do your homework or find a distribution service that you trust.
Be aware that your press release may also make suitable copy for your website, your blog, or your other promotional publications.
Begin modestly with a relatively brief, targeted news release. See which publications use it and what kind of results it generates. Then write a second release, determine who used it and how you were impacted. By continuing to write and distribute releases, and by determining how effective individual articles and distribution methods are for you, you’ll soon learn how to use press releases to their best advantage.
Now that you comprehend what’s needed to write and distribute press releases that can move your business forward at the speed of light, why not start this day?
Tips For Earning Top Dollar For Your Home
Finding a buyer for your house is doable, but could be a very strenuous and inconvenient task, if you were to do it on your own, on top of work and taking care of your family. That’s why you need to have an experienced, professional real estate agent who will help you with all the labor involved in selling your house. Your real estate agent will facilitate all the activities you need to do to sell your property. But as the seller of the house, there are some things can you do to ensure that your agent not only sell your property, but that you get the best value for your property. Do some repairs on your house before you putting it out on the market. You might be thinking that that is going to cost you and would rather sell the house in its present condition, but in actuality, it would cost you more money if you don’t. If you do some minor improvements to your house, it will increase its value on the market. Your agent can tell you the repairs you can do to your property that will add up to 5 times its repair cost, thus profit more when you sell it. Prospective buyers will want to do a walk-through on your property, and sometimes, by appointment only walk-throughs can be restrictive, so be sure to have the property accessible to buyers. The price of the property should be appropriate to its value that is why it is essential that you have an experienced real estate agent who can assess and reevaluate your house every so often for any market changes to ensure that the price is not too high you won’t sell it, or too low that you will get less than its value. Your agent should be doing a lot of advertising, as well as other strategies on top of the traditional procedures usually done to generate leads or prospects, so you need to contend that your agent is doing so. Do your part in marketing your house and do some tidying up. Clean your house, mow the lawn, trim the hedges, make the inside as pretty and clean as the outside so when you have buyers walk-through, the house will make a good impression on the prospects.. You have to be sure about selling your house before you put it out for sale. If you are uncertain, take some time to think of what you really want to do and decide. When you are ready, then put it on market. You will lose potential buyers if you prevaricate because of your uncertainty. Help your agent sell your house by taking part in facilitating the sale of your property. Do some networking as well and talk to your friends and business associates, you might get referrals.
Framing History
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” –Abraham H. Maslow
Have you ever stopped to consider your high school history books and whose perspective the history was presented? There is no omnipotent, impartial scribe to record every thing that ever happened from each perspective, obviously, but the only view of history schools seem to teach is the world from the perspective of the powerful elite. We learned Columbus ‘discovered’ the new world. We learned Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.
My examples are oversimplified and narrow (a lot like the text book’s version of history), and I use them to make this point. Viewing our history from this perspective isn’t really knowing or understanding history.
Education uses frames to teach (without necessarily describing them as frames or admitting to them). The main frame used is that public education has limitations on what it can instruct. Because it is funded by taxpayer money, the government determines the curriculum–what can and can’t be taught. History books are revised not based on fact, but on what is most advantageous to the power structure. Revising history seems to be an Orwellian work of fiction. That couldn’t possibly happen here, right? But when you consider it, all history is an act of revision and a work of fiction.
Recently I cam across a book called “The People’s History of The United States”. This book has been around for more than thirty years and is updated as history continues to unfold.
The way this book reframes history is an excellent example of how the idea of reframing works. It’s not totally negating that Columbus “discovered” America, but it’s saying, well, there were people here first and technically, Columbus wasn’t a hero because he was responsible for bring disease to and slaughtering the native population. And even if you don’t share this perspective, it’s a whole new take on the country through the eyes of the disenfranchised.
With Columbus’ discovery, the natives didn’t see him as a hero, but as a bringer of genocide and blankets which spread small pox.
And how about those cute Thanksgiving pilgrims that we regard as fleeing religious persecution and bravely venturing onto the New World. The natives might see this as more of a violent colonization by early English settlers.
At the end of the most recent edition of “The People’s History” is an breathtaking reframe of the “war on terror”. For the most part, people have accepted what the media and powers that be have handed out as the reason Arab terrorists attacked us on 9/11–they hate our freedom. Hmmm. . . But maybe they hate our foreign policy and would leave us alone if we left them alone. Maybe they’re simply fed up because we’ve stationed “U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia… sanctions against Iraq which… had resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children; [and] the continued U.S. support of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land.”
But wait. . .That’s not what the TV or newspapers tell us. Why? Because it doesn’t fit with what they want to do or how they want us to be passive in their doing it.
Frames are complicated, just as reality is complicated, just as life is complicated, but if we can see the frames for what they are, then we have the ability to control them.
How Do I Choose The Right Busines With So Many Home Based Offers?
There are so many choices to pick a home based or on the internet business, so how do I really know what’s good? This is an article about ‘fluff prevention’! The offers out there seem so great, but are they really?
They’ve massive offices and have been in business for a long time. Isn’t that good? This company sells competitive products that can be very difficult to sell, not impossible, but difficult.
Most of these businesses have a 30-day cycle monthly shipping plan to send you products each and every month. Much of the money they make is from this monthly plan from each distributor. The rest of their money comes from the distributor selling the products.
The compensation plans for these companies are not very good, usually paying the distributor a few % up to 25%. The levels or matrixes are hard to balance out, but their top sponsor will train you on how to make it work effectively, and it is never as easy as it is taught.
It is hard to know how to pick a company on your own since one company will be similar to another, but the hype of the ‘next ideal latest thing’ about this one company persuaded you to believe it was a superior deal than ‘those others’. So how do you discern a good company from the rest of them?
Here are some key points. First, my goal is to make money and to do it legally and ethically. I do not want to rip anyone off or cause him or her harm. These guidelines are the basics, but there is more things to look at.
If a company’s pay plan is less than 75%, forget them! Your time and many hours working will not be worth it. They’ll be ‘using you’ for all you have given them and they will make much more profit than you will.
Most companies compensation plan pays you very well ONCE you reach 1000’s of people. While this can be done by only some people, it is quite rare and it is very hard work. The average person won’t be able to do this.
One thing to look out for is to find out if a company offers any real training. They might offer minimal training, but if that training is to go to your family or friends to ’sign them up’, then back away NOW! That is NOT training. These companies do not want to pay for training when they have the ability to easily make money from you as the representative. Is this making sense now?
One of the biggest signs is if you can not profit from a few sales, then you know they’ve got you! If the owners are not around when you’ve a question, then you should ask why? Where are they? (On a cruise to the Bahama’s?) Or are they afraid to answer your good questions…like ‘How come I sold hundreds of products I only made $23.55′?
If it is a brand new company, then be careful. Make sure they’re have their ducks in a row. Each company has to start somewhere, but make sure they are solid. If you get a feeling they’re not on solid ground, then just don’t get involved. You’d have superior chances at a casino than with them!
So here is your guideline when selecting a company either on the internet or offline. When you use your intuition, along with good sound judgement, combined with these idea’s here, you will most likely make a good choice if you ask the right questions.
Are Good Real Estate Agents Hard To Find
Many investors today have been looking in different areas to invest in. The majority of time you have to find a new real estate agent in that target area that’ll fit your needs.
Each time I drive by a home there’s a for sale sign with a real estate agents information on front. I have tried to call these agents numerous times to check out these properties. Real estate agents usually respond within about a week. I can understand they are very busy and have to find time. Lately I have been getting responses back after three weeks. That’s plain ridiculous and at that point they should haven’t called back at all. When you are speaking to an agent if you are polite they’ll usually tell you why it took them so long to call you back. The main reason is the overwhelming number of bank owned properties. It is getting to the point that real estate agents have minimal time to deal with their clients at all. The banks require so much leg work many agents don’t have time to sell. They only have time to list and watch the bank owned properties they control.
A few agents have gotten back to me and they all have say that they’re just so busy. The bank owned properties just take so much of their time in the day. If they only had a few it would not be bad but a few dozen is more care about it.
My personal Realtor has her own tiny office in the downtown area where I live. She is the only agent in her office at the moment. Currently she has at least fifty bank owned properties the last time I checked. I know she is just plain swamped and she only has one secretary. I mean two people are dealing with that many properties is just crazy.
All of the real estate offices around me just keep on getting more listings from the banks each week. If they could at least sell a few here there that wouldn’t be bad. If they’re lucky they have the ability to sell a couple in a month at most.
I have to say that these real estate agents are probably going insane with all the work from the banks. In some areas the banks are trying to move their inventories by discounting them by high percentages. In other areas they won’t even discount them at all. They out right will not even open the lines of negotiating without getting their asking price. What are these banks thinking?
The heard of real estate agents is starting to thin in many areas. The amount of work without getting anything in return is hard on anyone. It will bring to light all of the hard working and dedicated agents out there.
The day that the banks start moving their prices down real estate agents face’s will be filled with smiles. Finally that massive inventory of homes they list will start moving and money will begin flowing back into their pockets again.
I wouldn’t blame the realtors to much if you are trying to put offers in. They are stuck between you and the banks. Just keep on trying and if you are intent someone will give you the time of day. I am not trying to state all realtors don’t call you back. I’m really just saying that they’re very busy and have no time.
How A Plastic Sign Holder Will Help Your Business Save Money
As business owners and a society as a whole, we’re constantly in search of ways to save money and cut costs. One way that is easy and affordable, is to use plastic sign holders in your business. Plastic sign holders are affordable, easily maintained and perfect for any sort of business, whether it is a huge restaurant with dozens of tables, or a small neighborhood nail studio. Business’ everywhere are starting to realize how much money an acrylic sign holder can save them and are jumping on the bandwagon to use plastic in the work place.
In a restaurant, plastic sign holders are a must-have item. They are perfect for displaying your special menu cards for things like drinks, desserts and specials. Plastic sign holders will save your restaurant money because they will protect these signs and keep them from having food and drinks spilled on them, ketchup wiped on them and little grubby fingers smudged on them. Even if a baby picks it up and chews on it, you will not need to replace it, just wipe it down and you’re ready for the next customer. They are simple to update when you change your specials and a breeze to wipe clean. This will keep you from spending vast amounts of money on replacing the cards every few weeks and sometimes, every few days. Instead of having to print up dozens of the cards, you’ll only need as many as you have tables. Think of the saving you’ll have just by investing in these plastic sign holders.
Plastic sign holders are not just good for the restaurant business either. You can use them for your real estate office or pretty much any type of office for that matter to tidy things up and make them look neat and professional. There’s nothing that cleans up the clutter of paperwork that people need to read like the plastic countertop sign holders. They keep your policies, vision statements and other general information up where people can see them and don’t take up a lot of space while they do it. When you’ve a list of policies taped to the desk or receptionists counter, it can become buried in other office papers and things and make it difficult for customers to see. It will bring in more money if you buy some of the plastic sign holders because your customers will be able to superior see your specials and deals and will swiftly become repeat customers, bringing in more money in the future.
A salon or a nail studio is also a great place to invest in plastic sign holders. It’s an excellent way to showcase your colors, list prices and keep up-to-date information on your policies and procedures. In salons of any kind, there are always things that can be spilled, dribbled or smudged on any paper signs and this is a way to keep it from ruining any media that you’ve printed up. Its simple to wipe down and a cinch to replace the media as your colors change with the season or your prices fluctuate. It will save you money by making it so that you’ll not have to reprint any of the signage as things change or as things spill and mark.
So, whatever your business, whether it be dog grooming, a boutique or a neighborhood pub, plastic sign covers will save you money and in many cases, bring in even more money. They’re affordable, up-to-date and user friendly and perfect of any business.
Statute Of Limitations On Debt Collection
Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection is the amount of time that creditors have to collect their debts by suing you in court and by other legal methods. Once the statute of limitations period is over, the creditors cannot sue you in court. However, the debt that you owe STILL REMAINS. Don’t think that once the statute of limitations period is over, your debt will disappear. It won’t! Creditors can collect their debts owed via other legal methods like a debt collection company.
We should point out that there are NO Statute of Limitations on the following types of debt owed: Child support due payments, Federal & Local state taxes, Parking fines, illegal fines and Federal Student Loans.
Each US Statute has its own statute of limitations periods. Generally talking, here’s the statute of limitations on the following types of debt: Auto Loans: Debt owed on auto loans generally expires in 6 years. Unsecured Debt: 3-6 years after the last missed payment by a consumer, or last tracked activity.
The moment you sign that debt contract for example a vehicle lease document, a personal loan or other types of loans, the Statute of Limitations period begins. However, this rules varies state by say. Some says also allow the ‘adjustment” of this period. For example, a person living in Alabama has credit card debt of $15000 and does not make a single payment for 3 years. Now in the say of Alabama, the statute of Limitations period is 6 years. If that person travels out of the say of Alabama (say to Florida) for 1 year, then his statute of limitations period STOPS up until he returns back to Alabama from Florida. Upon his return to Alabama, this period resumes again (3 more years).
Also note that after 3 years of having not made a single payment on your debt, you start making payments again. This new payment automatically resets the statute of limitations period to 0.
We’ll now abbreviate the word statute of limitations as SoL. Consider another example:
You sign an auto financing contract on March 3rd, 2004 where the first payment of $300 is due on April 3rd, 2004. In April, you never make a payment towards your debt. The SoL expires on April 3rd, 2010 (assuming you live in Alabama where the SoL period is 6 years). Why April 3rd? This is because April 3rd was the last time you made a delinquent payment on your loan, or this was your last missed payment. The SoL period starts counting from your last missed payment.
Now assume you get a call from a debt collection company and instead of paying $300/month, they state you can pay just $150/month. You receive this call on August 31, 2008 (2+ years have expired on the SoL period). This offer sounds pretty good to you and you indeed do make the payment! Hey! The SoL period at this point automatically resets to 0 and will run for another 6 years!
To recap, every single payment you make towards credit card or personal loan debt resets the SoL clock. This resetting of the SoL clock applies only to unsecured debt and NOT secured debt. This is because in Secured Debt, the lender will simply confiscate your collateral (a pledged home, your vehicle, etc) and will not have to deal with collection issues.
If your lender demands payment from you after the SoL period of collecting the debts is legally over, you will not have to go to court. The court will probably call off the case as soon as the Judge finds out that the SoL period is over. You should write up an “Expired Statute of Limitations” letter to your creditor and inform him that the SoL period is over.
A lot of people confuse the Statute of Limitations Period of Debt Collection with the SoL period for Credit Reporting. For instance, consider you live in Arizona where the statute of limitations period is 3 years. After 4 years, you can completely refuse to pay that debt and the court will rule in your favor. However, according to the rules defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), your delinquent debt will be shown for up to 7 years (since your last delinquent or missed annuity payment).
How Do I Collect My Money?
The small claims court cannot collect your money for you, but the clerk or small claims adviser can tell you about some ways to do this yourself. Some just hire a debt collection bureau.
For example, you might be able to have the defendant’s wages “garnished.” This means that the person’s employer gives you part of the defendant’s wages each pay day until the debt is paid. To collect your money this way, you must find out where the person works-, be sure to get the name of the company and its full address, including the county. Then, ask the small claims court clerk for a Writ of Execution and fill it out. When the court issues this writ, the sheriff or marshal will deliver it to the debtor’s employer.
If you know where the defendant banks, the small claims clerk can issue a Writ of Execution that the sheriff or marshal takes to the bank. You need to know the name of the bank, the full branch address and the county. The bank will pay you what’s owed, if there is enough money in the account.
A Writ of Execution also can be used to “attach” or take certain kinds of personal property, such as stocks, bonds and the contents of a safe deposit box. After this property is collected, it can be sold in order to pay the money that you’re owed.
Not all personal property can be taken. The defendant can file a Claim of Exemption to protect the ” necessities of life,” possibly including a home, furniture, clothes and some wages.
The cost of a Writ of Execution – as well as the amount that the sheriff or marshal charges to deliver the writ – can be added to the amount that the defendant owes you. You also are entitled to interest during the time it takes to collect.
If you don’t have the information you need to collect your money, you can make the defendant come to court and answer your questions about wages, the employer’s location, bank account, personal property and real estate. Contact the small claims adviser for information about how to schedule this hearing.
Remember: The judgment is good for 10 years, and you can renew it if you still have not collected the amount you are owed. But, in many cases, the longer you wait, the harder it is to collect the money.
The Final Four: Linguistic Pitfalls Part Two
It seems a few of you are paying attention. That thrills me. In part one of this article I talked about the eight pitfalls we have in language though I only cited four of them–but, if, try, might. The comments at the end of my blog entry on the above topic proves that open loops work.
The open loop, whether intentional or not, seemed to have worked as my assistant was e-mailed and even received one phone call wanting to know the other four.
Well. . . if you’ve been awaiting in eager anticipation part two, thanks.
Would have, could have, should have or, if you prefer, woulda, coulda, shoulda.
The problem with these phrases is that they’re all in past tense. While this doesn’t seem on the surface to be problematic, they can have a seriously negative impact on your persuasion message.
As persuaders, we want to be in the present, staying with now, so that they can see themselves acting immediately. It’s never a good idea to put people in their heads, into the past because we want them with us. As the spiritual teacher from the sixties and seventies coined it, ‘be here now’. We want our clients and prospects to be here now with us. We’re selling them in the present, and they’re buying in the present.
In addition to their nostalgic taint, these words create a whining atmosphere and reek of regret. Whaa! ‘I should have done that. If I had been in a better mindset, I would have taken advantage of the situation. If I would have known. . .things would be so much better.’
And last but not least. . .
Can’t. I can’t. Can’t is a negation and negations have the potential to pose a serious threat to your persuasive abilities in essence canceling out all that you have worked to achieve. When I was in high school there was one teacher who forbid us from using the word ‘can’t’. He wasn’t having it.
Take for example the sentence: “You can’t use negations”. This, in essence, forces your mind to first picture yourself using negations which then negates your ability to use them.
What happens when you say to yourself, “I just can’t sleep.” Well. . .it turns out, you can’t sleep.
Any negation forces the mind to think about the very thing that you don’t want the person you’re persuading to do. As you know, one of the most important elements to any persuasion is to get the person who you are persuading to make a mental image of doing what you want them to do.
Words like “can’t” create the very image you don’t want the person to make.
There are some very powerful and creative ways to use negation — just be careful that you use it properly or not at all until you’re comfortable with it.
Okay. Happy now?