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Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

January 26th, 2009

It used to be that you worked hard, burned your mortgage and burned the papers in the front yard and partied. That doesn’t happen too much these days.

Very few people stay in their home long enough today to pay off a 30-year mortgage. If you can pay it off early, it might be the best way to spend your money.

There is a security found in owning your own home. With every year that passes, we count how many years until the place is free and clear. You can make extra payments on your mortgage to pay it off quicker and save thousands of dollars in interest. For example, paying one extra payment a year on a $200,000 mortgage, you can save over $65,000.

That’s a lot of money that you could spend elsewhere.

There are a lot of arguments against paying off your mortgage early. Long-term mortgage rates are around 7% for most homeowners. If you deduct the interest paid from your taxes, the actual rate you are paying is closer to 5.1% if you are in the 27% bracket. Any investments that earn more than 5.1% are a better place for your money.

Many advisors recommend that you take care of three areas of investment before using your extra money to pay off your mortgage:

Retirement

You may need to focus your extra money towards your retirement before you pay off your home. Owning your own home won’t mean a thing if you have to sell it to afford medication and food. Saving for retirement should especially be important if your mortgage is scheduled to be paid off before you retire anyway.

Insurance

If you have others dependant on you, good insurance coverage is necessary. Your family’s needs should be addressed by you policy. Make sure that you have enough coverage to take care of your family. Disability insurance is expensive, but a good idea. If you are unable to work for a long period of time, it takes away a lot of your worries by providing an income.

Emergency fund

Having enough money in a savings account to cover three to six months worth of expenses, including your mortgage payment. This will help prepare you for any emergencies that might come your way. For example, if you break your arm and cannot work for two months, your loss of income will be covered by your emergency fund. On the smaller side, a broken dishwasher or vehicle won’t stress you out as much if there is money designated for repairs.

And don’t even think about paying off your mortgage if you have high-interest debt somewhere else. Always pay off your credit cards first. Extra money goes to the loans with the highest interest first as a general rule of thumb.

There are some homeowners who really benefit from paying off their mortgages early. If you have a small mortgage and don’t deduct your mortgage interest, the actual cost of your mortgage is higher. Paying off your mortgage is a good idea.

If you are paying private mortgage insurance because you owe more than 80% of the home’s value, you should pay it down as quickly as possible. Eliminating your PMI payments will reduce your monthly payments and gives you a faster return on your investment.

Many lenders will encourage the payment of a mortgage early. On my first home mortgage, our mortgage company offered a program that deducted the payments from our checking account twice a month. Each payment was half of the regular payment. Because there are 26 bi-weekly periods a year, you are making an extra payment during the year. If you are paid bi-weekly, the situation can really help you in your budgeting as well.

Programs such as these are convenient and free. Another way to do this is to take your monthly mortgage payment and divide it by twelve. Add that amount to each payment you make, and you will be making one extra payment each year. This will shave years off of your mortgage.

Make sure that the extra payment amounts are applied to the principal of your mortgage. Make sure that your agreement contains no prepayment penalties. Most won’t.

I am proud of you if you are in a place where you can pay off your mortgage early. The idea of not having a mortgage payment is a wonderful one. Look at where you are, where you are going and how you will get there before you decide where your money will be going.

Martin Lukac - EzineArticles Expert Author

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today

Poor Credit Home Mortgage Loans

January 26th, 2009

Poor credit doesn’t have to put you at a disadvantage in the home buying process. By getting a pre-approved mortgage, you can find low rates and increase your negotiating power when you buy a home.

Before You Shop For A Home

Before you begin home shopping, take a look at your budget. Develop a plan for your monthly mortgage payments and your down payment amount. The larger your down payment, the better rates you will find. With your budget numbers, you will know what type of mortgage you can afford.

Also take the time to review your credit history. Address any errors on your record with your creditors. You can also include a letter explaining any extenuating circumstances, such as illness or job loss, for missed payments, bankruptcy, or other issues. Lenders will verify such information and take it into consideration with your loan application.

Shopping Lenders

Just like with a home, you want to shop with different poor credit mortgage lenders. Compare their APR to find the best deal on rates and closing costs. You can request free quotes that will give you a general idea of loan costs. Start with conventional lenders since most handle accounts with poor credit, then check out subprime lenders.

You may also want to check out a mortgage broker sites. They bring you quotes from several different lenders to find the best deal. Brokers receive a finder’s fee from these lenders, but they also negotiate better deals.

Getting Pre-Approved

Start the application process with the lender with the best APR. When you submit your detailed financial information, they will quote you a more realistic rate and the maximum you qualify. You don’t have to borrow the full amount, so base your decision on your budget figures.

Before the loan closes, you will have to purchase a house. You can request a letter from lenders stating the amount you qualify to borrow. This can close the deal in some cases, especially when the seller wants to get out of the house quickly. You should also notify your real estate agent about your pre-approved loan so they can use it in negotiations as well.

Your mortgage will quickly wrap up once you have selected a home. Your agent and lender will walk you through the final steps, including signing all those loan documents.

To view our list of recommended poor credit lenders online, visit this
page: Recommended
Poor Credit Mortgage Lenders Online.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan
Guide, an informational website about various types of loans.

Texas | Paid to Watch Tv Survey

January 26th, 2009

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Surveys open the door to forming good relationships, which are vital for your business. Show sincerity in your surveys and make customers feel comfortable with you. Add a little spice of humor and fun into your surveys; customers will feel happy when reading and answering them. Read on to find out more about Texas. I have witnessed so many people waste their valuable time and energy doing surveys for pennies dime and nickels. Find out more about Texas and Paid Product Surveys. Ditto for companies who claim they are the only ones with the best survey lists! You want to find free paying surveys that you can take to earn money.
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Homeopathy and Sex

January 24th, 2009

Homeopathy:

It is a wonderful thing to have the Joy of Learning and to make a career that you find is related to your studies. There are so many ways to get a Doctor label and thus claim expertise in the many fields and disciplines which we have broken knowledge into. Some of this is counter to real expertise and much of it just sets people apart from knowledge and each other. But people are also being segmented into classes within the hierarchy of government backed by and for elites in all so many ways. Medicine has been one of their more dastardly tools alongside religion. This next little factoid reminds me of how Edward Gibbon almost died because the British Medical system would not approve vaccinations through use of scabs as had been done by the likes of Paracelsus or others in antiquity and which was approved in the France of his era.

“When the Cholera epidemic reached England, it provided another opportunity to compare homeopathic treatment with the conventional methods of the day. Regular allopathic medicine yielded a mortality rate of 59 percent compared to only 16 percent for the Homeopaths. (1) When these statistics were collected, the information was so startling that a medical commission was sent to the London Homeopathic Hospital to check the records. Though the data were duly verified, it was decided not to make them public, and the facts were not released until a hundred years later.” (2)

The formation of the American Medical Association is a major issue against alternative healing or real care for people. In the late 19th Century as these issues were becoming apparent there were many who knew that the allopaths or medical doctors selling laudanum and the like were actually the ‘Killing-trade’. There are signs that stress management (don’t fret – sweat or exercise) and the connectiveness to the ‘all’ around us are again making a play to be considered in health maintenance. Vitamins and supplements are able to prove to even the most duped person receiving medical care that they work and yet some doctor’s groups and the governments that back them still disqualify doctors who advise their usage.

Academics are subject to a ‘Knowledge Filter’ (Berkeley Law Professor – Johnson) or Literary Theory (UBC English Professor Graham Good) and the outright suppression of creative or thoughtful and meaningful potentials. (3) The concept of Bucky Fuller called ‘the observer of the observed’ and his more detailed ‘creative realization’ is part of what operates as we ‘project’ upon reality. For example the things we see are actually a mixture of fields of energy from the dross and less excited to the highly excited or vibrational energy inside the atomic structures. One way of visualizing this includes an aura, which is the field of energy not usually visible but associated with the solar body and integrative centers called chakras. Perhaps we could contemplate a time when all people had the ability to see or sense auras. In our socially normed ‘projections’ that include telling our children certain things do not exist, we have lost the conscious integration or incorporation of these fields of reality.

Psychic surgeons in the Philippines and Brazil have had their energy measured during operations at the same vibration rate of 7.8 cycles. It started me thinking about how we can alter our state and how others might perceive us in these altered states. Clearly if anyone could see all the spaces between our electrons and the nuclei or between the different atoms and molecules we wouldn’t seem solid by a long shot. Thus these surgeons who use no utensils would be able to energize the infected or diseased body part or tumor to remove it at an altered vibration level. There have been solid documentaries with such credible support as X-rays before a San Francisco businessman had such a tumor removed and X-rays a year later showing it hadn’t returned. In the end you must decide who has the most to gain from the arguments and whether or not you want to actualize your own potential. Once you do a few things the debunkers say are impossible – then a smile will come to your face; and the intellectual conflict loses all import.

String Theory knows about the harmonic forces that are less than solid which somehow combine to make what we perceive as a solid. The astrophysicists now have told us that 95% of the universe is ‘Dark Matter’ or ‘Dark Energy’ – so get with it before you are invisible and don’t know it! Just kidding! We fear that which we cannot fully comprehend and our experts or priests and doctors include many enablers of our fears. We even allow fear to pre-empt love; which is ironic because at the end of our lives it’s not the fears or the differences that matter the most but whether we loved and allowed ourselves to be loved as much as possible.

“Every new perception of knowledge is always based either directly or indirectly on older knowledge. InteliTapping allows us to connect with the oldest, yet most complete source of knowledge.” (4)

Nature produced a show on the origins of music and the biological and archetypal impact it has had on our evolution and emotional wherewithal. Along with reed instruments from as long ago as 60,000 years that obviously show sophisticated development of technology, they had the cave operas of those who rubbed and drummed on stalactites. They posited that the tree-swinging hominid that like the Sumatran Gibbon co-ordinates community for protection through territorial chants, is not so much less aware as most of our great Lockean influenced academics seem to be. These animals also learned what plants are dangerous and what plants alter your spiritual consciousness. You can see it when your puppy goes outside for the first time and chews on some grass to settle its tummy. Our genes contain a lot of information or the ability to tap-in to much knowledge. The buzz you get from ‘weed’ is the buzz coming from your Thalami and Third Eye or Pineal gland that has a crystal radio receiver and grains or crystalline structures. Crystalline structures like quartz were known to be useful in the Lost Chord of the Druids and more ancient shamans. There are magnificent quartz caves in Central America and other places that would have been used by early hominids for a certainty.
The Best Body Language – Sex:

Long before Tantra or Bhakti Yoga there were many things ancients probably learned from intercourse, even more than most people do today. Today we have drugs like Viagra to enhance the longevity of the sexual encounter. The Mayans have natural drug for this. There are so many things which keep us busy or deflect us from spiritual insight as is noted in many Eastern systems which refer to the ‘busy-mind’ or samsara and the illusion of Maya.

Second degree Wiccan students who have advanced through a rigorous training in esoteric knowledge begin a quest that many would regard as perverse pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. The partners are often involved in other committed relationships. When a man and a woman who are interested in spiritual growth combine to experience the Tantric or Bhakti (Yoga) or ritualistic growth potential to free more than just their personal self or ego to reach the heights of spiritual or psychic possibilities; who can say what is real and what is imagined. This effort to commune with spirit is termed ‘working partners’ and the allies or guides is who they really seek to merge or work with. The imagination is undoubtedly a part of the dynamic. It isn’t necessary for them to care for each other in the way lovers do. I have not done this ‘work’.

Many people talk about ’soulmates’ or ‘dual flames’ and the words become mere shadows of the real potential. At the same time sex is a dirty ‘word’, and act, in much of society.

What can a writer say to convey the essence of all these things?

If I absolve myself from the challenge of integrating these concepts, rituals and soulful realities I would simply say trust your soul and know that wherever you may go you will find something more than whatever you thought was real to begin with.

If I talk about ‘la petite mort’ or empathic attunements with the soul of the partner that allows the self to disintegrate and become part of something larger than one person; and almost dissolve in the vastness of spirit – it will only seem like prose and poetry. The phrase ‘la petite mort’ or ‘the little death’ can in fact lead to a Kundalini type experience which can cause death.

Of course, one can wax eloquent and carry on at length about any of their hopes and desires. The essence of a great working partner most probably has little to do with these aspirations and more to do with the way the soul interpenetrates all people. The glimpses of insight gained through empathy and love with those who shared my needs are special to me and will forever stay in the part of my soul (if there is such a part) that cherishes all we were and hungers for what we could have been.

To deprecate the witch who ‘draws down the moon’ into their partner on the path to worship of things no one can fully know is the stuff of fearful and insecure people. That kind of bigotry without actual experience is rampant in all areas of society. It is truly just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when one contemplates all the ways mankind has developed to separate himself from what we are collectively and what god truly wishes for us to realize. No amount of constant seeking or obsession with these pursuits will ever get a man any closer to his soul than what he was while in his mother’s womb.

The joy and creativity of the challenge to know is as great a gift as our maker can give us – except perhaps the acquiescence to the soul within the loved one you are blessed to have the chance to know and share your life with. In the moment of creation each day as we grow and learn to be, we are forever drawn by some force that seeks greater harmony and purpose for all energy.

Many (if not most) people think the 24 hour orgasm is like alien abductions but the EEG and other ways of measuring physical responses would convince them otherwise. A similar number of people find the misuse of Tantric Yoga by the likes of Crowley and Hubbard is tantamount to whatever is evil in man. I say they are right, but that is not the fault of Tantric Yoga. These techniques are very seductive and in some ways the participants would choose to have the experience even if they knew a great deal about it because it is a sad truism that Masters and Johnson or Kinsey are right. They say a full third of women never have an orgasm through intercourse.

Many people seldom enjoy sex and some significant number of the rest of us are in varying stages of poor to decent ability and openness to what great learning sex can provide. It could be said that our sexual relations are a good barometer of the state of society. I favour sex education and all the opportunities and responsibilities that go with the natural and soulful functions of the act. It is easy to understand why some people are hesitant to have strangers teach their loved ones about sex. But Father Leo Booth is right when he notes that parents who repress their children or foist suppressive behavior upon them are just as guilty of abuse.

1) Rudolph Ballentine, M. D., Radical Healing, Harmony Books, New York, 1999, pgs. 75-6, we have Dorothy Shepherd, The Action of the Minimum Dose, pg. 13.
2) Ibid.
3) http://www.suppressedscience.net/physics.html
4) Bob Gottfried Ph. D., Shortcut to Spirituality: mastering the art of Inner Peace, Deeper Dimension Publishing, North York, Ontario, 2004, pgs. 53-4.

About the Author

Columnist in The ES Press Magazine
Author of Diverse Druids
Guest ‘expert’ at World-Mysteries.com

The Real Secret to Understanding Web Statistics

January 24th, 2009

Understanding what your visitors do on your site is crucial information. If your visitors proceed to purchase a product but then a large majority leaves the site when they get to a specific page in the order process, you need to know about it. It could be that this page is confusing or hard to use. Fixing it could increase your sales by 200%. This is just an example; there are many reasons why you want a detailed analysis of your site visitors.

Most website hosting services offer a stats package that you can study. If you’re not sure where this is, call up your hosting service and ask them. Statistics are a vital part of tracking your marketing progress. If you don’t have access to website statistics get a package that can help you in this area. Do not get a counter that simply shows how many visitors you’ve had. You’ll be missing out on vital information that can help strengthen weaknesses in your site.

A good website hosting service offers traffic logs that provide an invaluable insight into the traffic being referred to a web site from various sources such as search engines, directories and other links.

Unfortunately traffic tracking provided by web hosting services is often in the form of raw traffic log files or other difficult to understand cryptic formats. These log files are basically text files that describe actions on the site. It is literally impossible to use the raw log files to understand what your visitors are doing. If you do not have the patience to go through these huge traffic logs, opting for a traffic-logging package would be a good idea.

Basically, two options are available to you and these are: using a log analysis package or subscribing to a remotely hosted traffic logging service. A remotely hosted traffic logging service may be easy to use and is generally the cheaper option of the two. WebTrends Live and HitsLink are two good, remotely hosted, traffic-monitoring services worth considering. However, WebTrends Live is a more complicated system and is suitable for larger ecommerce websites. “SuperStats” is another recommended traffic logging service.

These services do not use your log files. Typically a small section of code is placed on any page you want to track. When the page is viewed, information is stored on the remote server and available in real time to view in charts and tables form.

Log analysis packages are typically expensive to buy and complex to set up. Apart from commercial packages there are also some free log analysis packages available, such as Analog.

A good traffic logging service would provide statistics pertaining to the following:

” How many people visit your site? ” Where are they from? ” How are visitors finding your site? ” What traffic is coming from search engines, links from other sites, and other sources? ” What keyword search phrases are they using to find your site? ” What pages are frequented the most – what information are visitors most interested in? ” How do visitors navigate within your web site?

Knowing the answers to these and other fundamental questions is essential for making informed decisions that maximize the return on investment (ROI) of your web site investment.

The most important aspect of tracking visitors to your website is analyzing all the statistics you get from your tracking software. The three main statistics that will show your overall progress are hits, visitors and page views. Hits are tracked when any picture or page loads from your server on to a visitor’s browser. Hits, however, can be very misleading. It is quite an irrelevant statistic for your website.

The statistic that is probably the most important for a website is Page Views/Visitors. This gives you a good indication of two things. First, how many people are coming to your site, and secondly how long are they staying on your site. If you have 250 visitors and 300 page views you can figure that most visitors view one page on your site and then leave. Generally, if you’re not getting 2 page views per visitor then you should consider upgrading your site’s content so your visitors will stay around longer.

If you see the number of visitors you have increasing as well as the number of page views per visitor increasing then keep up the good work! Always look for this stat as an overall barometer of how your site design is going and if your marketing campaigns are taking hold. Also, a good stat to look for is unique visitors. Once a person visits your site they will not be added to the unique visitors’ category if they visit again. This is a good way to track new visitors to your website.

Page views are a good indication of how “sticky” your website is. A good statistic to keep is Page Views divided by the number of Visitors you have. This statistic will give you a good idea if your content is interesting and if your visitors are staying on your site for a long time and surfing.

Some people are intimidated by web traffic statistics (mostly because of the sheer volume of data available), but they shouldn’t be. While there are many highly specialized statistics that can be used for more in-depth web traffic analysis, the above areas alone can provide invaluable information on your visitors and your website performance. Remember- this data is available for a reason. It’s up to you to use it.

Sell Your House Without An Agent – Save The 6% Realtor’s Fee!

January 20th, 2009

Many people rely on the internet to sell their property because it’s a great way to advertise. There are a growing number of websites that allow posting of “for sale by owner” ads. These websites target buyers from all around the world. Internet ads are also being proven worthy of consideration because of their cost-effectiveness as compared to other forms of advertising.

Every day, thousands of people become potential buyers of products and properties that are for sale by owners. They go through newspaper ads, banner ads, search engines, billboards, and other sources of information to find what they are looking for. If you are planning to sell your own property, be sure to advertise where perspective buying are looking. Who knows… you might just be holding on to the exact perfect product a prospective online buyer is looking for!

The “for sale by owner” method can save you from unnecessary expense, take away your need for an agent or a realtor, and help you save time on deciding where to advertise. With the “for sale by owner” concept, you can get maximum exposure and hit your target market of prospective buyers DIRECTLY.

The main goal of selling your own home is to promote your property straight to buyers. One of the best places to do this is a website called ForSaleByOwner.com. This website is one of the top providers of homes that are for sale by owners, and is very innovative in terms of marketing and the information they provide. They bring buyers directly to you the moment you apply and register your property on their list…a very quick approach for advertising.

Don’t forget another great source of advertising on the internet which are the lists of people or “leads” who are trying to sell their home. List providers usually present a complete database of those who frequently use their listings and help customers find properties in both local and international markets.

Selling your own home can save you the expense of having to pay a realtor, providing you do your homework and make informed decisions. The resource box below gives you a link to professional help for selling your house within 1-6 weeks.

The Gatekeeper is Your Key to Sales Success

January 19th, 2009

I hear it every day…”I can’t seem to get past the gatekeeper. If I could just get through to the decision maker, I know I could make the sale.” It’s a common issue with sales professionals, but I will contend that much of it is self- inflicted. Too many sales people treat the gatekeeper as an adversary, one who must be conquered if indeed we are to get through to that all-important decision-maker.

Let’s get one thing straight immediately. The gatekeeper is only performing his job just as you are performing yours. Why does there need to be a battle…a winner and a loser? Why not create a situation where everyone wins?

Begin by smiling, and showing that you sincerely appreciate their position and their job. Consider yourself in their position. Respect them as people and as professionals. You will stand out from others who treat them as the enemy whose only purpose is to prevent them from getting through to see the decision maker.

Ask for their help. Our natural tendency as human beings is to help when asked. This also shows that you respect him and that you realize that he has something to offer you.

Find out his name and use it! This is one of the most overlooked and simple ways to reach anyone.

Ask them if there is anything you can do for THEM! This is one that will put you ahead of 99.9% of the people who walk through the door or call them on the phone.

Above all, be sincere. It will show and it will earn you respect and a trip in to see the one who makes the purchase decisions.

If you approach the situation knowing that you and your product are relevant and worthy of the decision-maker’s time and when you do get through, every one will be a winner. You, because you will now get through. The decision-maker, because she will now have the opportunity to consider a product or service that will benefit her company. The gatekeeper, because his boss will recognize his discretion in letting only those with beneficial products and services through to her.

Greg Beverly helps sales professionals make more money…and work less. He is a sales coach dedicated to helping create abundance for all who seek it. Find out the secrets to becoming a sales champion and living the life of your dreams by visiting http://www.salessuccess.yougethelp.com

Cheap DVD R

January 18th, 2009

DVD R is short for DVD Recordable, a technology that works similar to the CD R. The first thing to understand about DVD R is that this you can record data only once on a disk. Once written, the data becomes permanent.

When you work on the computer, you probably find it very convenient to store data on the hard drive. There is enough memory space, and you feel the stored data is safe. But computers, in a way, have a mind of their own. If they should crash, all of your data will be lost. This is where the DVD R comes into the picture, because you can easily make a back up disk of your work. This is possible because of the recording ability of these DVDs.

The added bonus about DVD-Rs is that they are comparatively inexpensive. If you search the net, you will come across many companies offering attractive bargains and discounts on bulk purchases. Normal pricing for blank DVD-R disks range from $10 to $25.

But, don’t be carried away by a bargain. The market is flooded with fake DVD-R disks. In most cases, the consumer is never actually sure of the quality of the disks he is buying. Even the name of a brand printed on these disks cannot guarantee the quality. This is because the brand does not actually tell you anything about the manufacturer.

The best way to shop for these disks is by trial and error.

Search the market and you will find that they are available for as little as $1. Buying in bulk, you will find that your DVD player may not recognize all of the disks. Again, the best way to shop for them is by trial and error. The most recommended names in the current market include Sony, Verbatim and Maxell.

DVDR provides detailed information about DVD Rs, DVDRs, DVD R discs, and more. DVDR is affiliated with Mini DV Tapes.

Choosing a House Plan for Your Dream Home

January 17th, 2009

Choosing a House Plan for Your Dream Home

First things first, when choosing a house plan you must first find the land that you will be building on. Not all designs will look right or even fit on certain lots, so in order to insure that your

dream home will be a good fit for your lot, you must first purchase the land on which you will be building.

When purchasing the lot, you have several things to consider.

Location – As the real estate agents say – “location, location, location”. Whenever you are dealing with Real Estate, the location is a very important factor in deciding for or against a particular lot. You will of course want a lot that is within a reasonable distance from your place of business. If you have children or plan to, you will want to research the schools as well. Also, you will want to make sure that the land that you are investing in is going to rise in value. Investing in land in an

area with upward growth potential is a great way to insure the value of your property will rise.

Budget – Your lot must fit within the budget you have set for yourself. You must also take into consideration whether you are purchasing “raw land” or whether the lot has already been prepped for building. A piece of property can initially seem like a bargain until you later find out that allot needs to be done before you an get a permit to build.

Community – You want to choose a community that has zoning laws that allow you to build the type of home you are planning on. Some communities have home owners associations that may need to first approve any improvements you want to make on your land. If this will bother you, you nay want to seek

out a lot that is not under the jurisdiction of such associations.

Once you have purchased the land that you plan to build on, you are ready to select a house plan for your dream home. If you are looking to purchase a pre-made home plan, you may have to make some small compromises as your ideas may not fit into what is available. Another alternative is to purchase a pre-made house plan and later have it modified to suit your particular needs and tastes by a architect. Do know that this will not be without a rather sizable expense, however it may still be more cost effective than if you were to have a plan built from scratch.

When choosing a house plan, you will want to keep in mind several key points…

Your Families Needs – If you have children, you will have additional considerations than singes or retired people. You will need to know how many bedrooms and bathrooms your family requires. Do you need a playroom for your children? Do you or your partner need a home office room? Now is the time to think towards the future and the upcoming needs of your family. When in doubt, build bigger. Nothing could be worse than building the home of your dreams only to find ten years later that it no longer is suitable for your growing family. Talk with your partner and decide now what your family needs may be and plan accordingly.

Building Code – As with anything, you can expect to face a significant amount of red tape as you plan to build your dream home. You need to talk with your contractor and make sure that the house plan that you choose will not conflict with your local zoning laws and home owners association rules and regulations.

Budget – You should know by now how much house you can afford. Don’t sway from the initial budget that you have set for yourself. There is a wide selection of unique and architecturally stunning house plans within every size range.

Style – You probably already have in mind the style of home that you want. If not, browse thru some pre made house plans to get an idea of what type of style you and your partner like the best. Try to picture the different styles on your lot. Does it look like a good fit?

As you can see, choosing a house plan for your dream home is a fun, but serious matter. Try to plan ahead at all times and think towards the future. It takes allot of work before you even break ground, but in the end it will all pay off when you are left with your own dream home.

Real Estate Investing Requires Education

January 15th, 2009

I really believe in getting an education in real estate investing, especially before launching a real estate investing career. I have been investing in real estate for 25 years, but I still spend thousands of dollars each year to learn more about real estate investing. To avoid unnecessary risks, you need to know as much as possible. If you make a wrong move in buying, managing or selling your property, you can lose everything, and your efforts will be flushed down the toilet. On the other hand, if you have what I call know-how savvy, you can weather almost any of the financial storms that will inevitably brew around your real estate investing venture.

Here are some of the critical essentials to make real estate investing pay off.

1.You’ve got to have a solid overview of the business.

You just can’t go out and start making offers – even if you have some money. I guarantee you’ll lose your money if this is your approach.

Don’t think that fixing up houses is a piece of cake. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.

2.You’ve got to have a good contract.

Picking up a crinkled ole contract document from your friendly real estate agent won’t cut it. Most contracts are NOT written to give you the slight edge as a real estate investing professional.

A good contract means the difference in walking away from a closing with money out of your pocket or in your pocket. I have taken home thousands and thousands of dollars from closings – up to $75,000 from my best closing on just a cheap little house. But a fistful of bills at closing is not your only reward for having a good contract. You can get your seller to take care of some or all of your closing costs if you have a good contract. And you can avoid some of the usual buyer costs if you have a good contract. Have a good BUYER’S contract as a real estate investing professional.

3.You’ve gotta have a good working model as a pattern for your fix-up project.

If you have never tackled the job of remodeling or even fixing up a house, you don’t have any idea what needs to be done and what should NOT be done.

Let me tell you from experience, you will be tempted to spend far more than necessary if you want the perfect house to sell. I know, because my wife is always suggesting what we need to do to our houses. Sometimes she is right, but often she wants to dress up a house with items that do not bring return on investment. It’s a very thin line of distinction.

You need a model for your fix-up project to establish a working formula.

Let’s face it. You can spend a bank full of money in fixing up a cheap little house. And it’s easy to over-spend with money you will never get back. But, on the other hand, if you don’t spend the right money on the right things, no one will buy your house. The margin of difference is close.

4.You have got to put on the hat of salesman when you get into this real estate investing business.

Your remodeled house will not sell itself. You have to polish to a spit-shine, and make the finished appearance of your house come off as the most desirable house in the neighborhood.

Don’t fix up a cheap little house if you are unwilling to show it and sell it. You will lose a big chunk of your profit if you have to list it with a real estate agent.

It’s O.K. to sell your makeover house through a real estate agent if you feel deficient as a salesman. But it is important to see your house AS a salesman in order to do your best job.

The key to success in real estate investing is in knowing what you are doing when you sell.

5.Real estate investing is a business.

Real estate investing is not a hobby and it’s not a game. It is, however, a slam-dunk, dead-serious, rock-solid way of making money when you learn the ropes. And it just may be the easiest way you have ever earned a living.

But you have to know what you’re doing.

You can make money investing in real estate,but you must learn how to do it right. http://CashinHouses.com/

EzineArticles Expert Author Dr.Phil Speer

Phil Speer, Ph.D., started his real estate investing career 25 years ago. Without the availability of credit and using only a $10 bill, he purchased $1 million in properties in his first year, and had accumulated $10 million in properties by his fourth year. He was featured in a Wall St.Journal editorial as most successful investor in the Nothing Down Real Estate Movement, and was honored with a Caribbean cruise as top investor of the year. In his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, he has been a businessman and Human Resources Consultant for 30 years. He is an author, speaker and seminar director. To learn how to profit in real estate investing, even without cash or credit, read his report http://CashinHouses.com/ Subscription is free to his Fix-up Ezine. He and other contributing authors provide free articles and resources on real estate investing at his online “Academy of Advanced Real Estate Investing Techniques” – http://AAREIT.com/

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