Difference Between Tax Liens and Tax Deeds

By: Brent Crouch
There is no arcane secret to wealth in the realms of the tax lien and tax deed properties. You just need to understand the definitions and processes of the trade. Though the similarities are apparent, there is a difference between tax lien properties and tax deed properties. Which system is employed depends upon the state in question. Presumably, you are all too familiar with the meaning of the word "tax." What, then, differentiates a deed from a lien? Read on for answers.

A lien is an item owned by one party which another party is claiming as security or to repay loans or even another claim. In partnership with the word tax, a lien becomes a claim on a item taken upon failure to pay taxes-in the case of interest to us, a house. The government requires each of us to pay property taxes and if an owner becomes delinquent in this, the government repossesses the house and puts into foreclosure. This is where the knowledgeable investor stands to make a very good profit.

In some states, when a property owner fails to pay taxes, the government puts a lien on the home or lot. This is where the investor-you-put a first position lien on the property. You pay the taxes owed. The owner is given a fixed period of time to repay these taxes. When they do, the government sends you a check reimbursing your investment plus any interest or penalties accrued during the redemption period. So, even if you don't turn a huge profit, you don't lose your investment. Few investing opportunities can boast such low risks.

What Happens if the Owner Can't Redeem the Property?

If the property owner doesn't pay up, and you have first position tax lien on the home, you are now granted the legal authority to foreclose the home before the bank gets a hold of it. You get the entire property for merely the cost of back taxes accrued, which is miniscule in comparison to the market price on the home. It kind of makes you wonder why anyone would ever go through the bank in the first place.

Of course, this doesn't happen all the time-the majority of owners who have liens placed on their homes are able to compensate the government in time. But it is entirely possible to walk away with real estate for as low as a few thousand dollars as a tax lien investor-and in today's economic state, the likelihood of awesome profits is growing. Now is the time to get ahead of the game-with low-risk investment like this, you can create a lifestyle for yourself and your family that you might never have thought achievable beforehand.

The Tax Deed

Now for the basics on tax deeds. As with liens, a tax deed is placed on a property by the government when the owner fails to keep up with the taxes they owe. When you win the bid on a property, you win the tax deed, which states that you now own the home. Once you pay the county, you acquire full legal ownership of the property. With the exception of a few states, you are free and clear once you win the bid and the government voids any tax liens or previous financial issues attached to the property. Be sure to find out whether this is the case in the state you plan to make bids in, as rules do vary when it comes to waiving liens. For example, New Mexico and Arizona do not declare liens null after the purchase of a deed, which could leave the winning bidder with a mess on their hands.

Tax deeds are a great investment-you can make a bid for a mere pittance in comparison to the home or lot's actual market value. There is a plethora of options available in the present market, so don't jump for the first "bargain" that comes your way. Strive to develop your knowledge of the market and to learn to recognize a home with potential.

By now your head must be spinning with the possibilities ahead of you. Whether you're leaning toward tax liens, tax deeds, or both, keep reading and keep learning.

Brent Crouch is the owner of TaxLienProperties.net. He has dedicated this site to providing information on how to purchase tax lien properties for pennies on the dollar. www.taxlienproperties.net

Make Fear Your Investment Friend

By: Melanie
Great investors surely have investing secrets that they use to build wealth, but they are open secrets. Anyone can find out what the greats do and copy them to have success in wealth creation. And many of the so-called secrets are simply common sense principles.

For instance, investing in a company with consistent earnings is the sensible thing to do and one that has helped Warren Buffet earn his millions. Taking care to invest in old and well-established companies is another. Many investors run into trouble by jumping on the bandwagon of some new company that sparkles for a while then quickly dies out leaving a pile of rubble rather than money.

One of the biggest fears most of us have is losing our money. After working long and hard to earn it, that is only natural, but it is one thing that prevents some people from investing in the share market. Everyone who watches the news will see how the value of shares in even blue chip companies seems to rise and fall like the ocean tide recently. As soon as values fall, many shareholders start looking to sell their shares and get out before they lose any more.

Experts in stock broking tell us that we should do the opposite, making this fear our friend instead of the enemy. In other words, investors should look to increase their investment portfolio in times when the bottom seems to be falling out of the market. Buying real estate property when the value is low is what the experts do; they know that the market will gradually rise again and they’ll be able to sell for a better profit than if they bought when the price was high.

So buying shares when they are of low value makes sense. Traditionally, the share market has kept on rising, even though there are periods of lows, just like in the real estate cycle of boom, plateau and fall. A wise investor will jump in and buy up all those low value stocks and shares when everyone else is scrambling to get off what they perceive as a sinking ship. He will get them for a low price and then the value will start to rise again, making his investment worth far more than it would have been if he bought in times when the share market is booming.

Stock broking experts tell us the oldest rule for investing is to buy low and sell high. The easiest way to do this is to buy during a recession, when the prices are low. An investment portfolio set up during such a time is sure to be a profitable one because it has two sources of increase. As the recession loses its momentum and the economy picks up, the value of the stocks and shares will increase. And there will be the natural growth increase of the companies they invest in. So next time the share market news seems to be all doom and gloom, make fear your friend and buy a few of those low-priced shares to add to your investment portfolio.

Don't let fear stop you from making gains on the share trading on the Australian stock market

What To Look Out For When Considering Tax Free Investments

By: Gen Wright
If you are considering adding tax free investments into your existing portfolio, here are some common mistakes that you should avoid.

1) Don't chase numbers - Often, investment of insurance companies will try to dazzle you with attractive yields. If someone comes to you and say that they have tax free investment products that offer an unusually high yield, don't just take their word for it. Analyze the numbers for yourself and understand what they mean. It certainly helps to be discerning. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

2) Don't chase new financial products - Investment and insurance companies are forever issuing and announcing new products. The recent trend - a plethora of new tax free products. They do this for many reasons but one of the main reasons is to keep up with the evolving needs of the marketplace. If you find some of these new products to be a good fit for your existing investment port folio, take some time to examine them. Otherwise, just walk the other way, or you may find yourself burdened with a large number of financial products that you not really need.

3) Always keep yourself updated with the latest investment deals - Keeping abreast of recent changes in the marketplace prevents you from investing in an outdated financial product. For example, if you are a high-net-worth investor (HNWI), you may qualify for a Private Placement Life Insurance policy. This new contract allows you to invest in a variety of tax free investment instruments, and gives you additional protection by wrapping your contract with an insurance element.

4) Managing your investment risks - You can do this by investing in a wide variety of bonds, equities and other tax free investment funds such as hedge funds. Keeping a close watch on your investment portfolio is a must, so that investment decisions can come quickly in respond to constant and fluid market changes.

5) Take note of any changes in the investment funds - For instance, the top management for a particular fund may have changed recently. This may mean a change in investment philosophy. If the new philosophy is not aligned to your own investment philosophy, you may want to consider switching funds. Your accountant or investment advisor may also help to keep track of other changes such as changes to fund management fees.

6) Never judge a book by its cover - Some investors think that they know everything about a fund just by looking at its name. But the fact is, the name of the fund is not always an accurate indication of the risks that the fund is undertaking. Always take the time to scrutinize prospectuses and other documentation. Even when the name claims that it's a tax free investment fund, look into the instruments that the fund will be investing in to assess the level of risk. When in doubt, consult a trusted professional investment advisor.

7) Investing in tax free funds without a plan - There is no need to rush into any investment. Hasty decisions often lead to undesirable results. So take some time to sit down and discuss various tax free investment options with a financial advisor. Draw out a plan, chart a course, and head towards your desired direction to help achieve your own financial goals.

At the end of the day, it's all about managing risks and maximizing returns in order to achieve the goals that you want as soon as possible. In the complex world of investments, there are many pitfalls. But these pitfalls can, and should be avoided. Don't hesitate to get professional help. After all, professionals look after millions of dollars of investments, and they are also more updated on the latest trends. This means they will be in a much better position to offer you sound investment advice.

For stock market news, please visit www.StockMarketsReview.com/News/

10 Secrets of the Great Investors

By: Melanie
Great investors surely have investing secrets that they use to build wealth, but they are open secrets. Anyone can find out what the greats do and copy them to have success in wealth creation. And many of the so-called secrets are simply common sense principles.

For instance, investing in a company with consistent earnings is the sensible thing to do and one that has helped Warren Buffet earn his millions. Taking care to invest in old and well-established companies is another. Many investors run into trouble by jumping on the bandwagon of some new company that sparkles for a while then quickly dies out leaving a pile of rubble rather than money.

Another common sense principle that is applied to both real estate and shares by the great investors is to never pay too much for an investment. Generally the more you pay, the less you get back as many real estate investors have found out to their cost. Warren Buffet also believes in concentration rather than diversification. When he buys a company he typically buys around 80%, and keeps it.

Another secret investment principle Buffet favours that has helped him with his wealth creation is to buy companies with experienced managers and keep them on to do what they do best - run the company. Buffet rarely interferes with the running of the companies he buys. He simply compliments the managers on the job they are doing. Buffet’s talent is to see where good investments are and buy them, not run the company.

Checking out the management philosophy of a successful business is another secret. Knowing that the manager cares more about the company than the price it brings has worked for Buffet. He studies the character of the company managers before making a decision to buy the company.

Finding a company whose manager is frugal and cares about costs is an important secret of great investors. They know that one way to build wealth is to spend less and managers who run a consistently tight ship are the successful ones.

While some investors feel that a younger manager will enhance a company’s ability to move with the times and make more money, Buffet prefers to retain the successful manager well past the legal retiring age. He considers that experience is the key word when it comes to managers. Setting high standards and keeping them may seem unnecessary to many, but it has seen many great investors build wealth where others fail. We would do well to take on board some of these secrets for ourselves.

Great investors surely have investing secrets that they use to build wealth, and now you can too!

Why People Lose Money In The Stock Market

By: Gen Wright
Investing in the stock market can be complicated business. After all, market forces are complex and hard to understand, much less predict. Everyday, there are many people trading on the stock market exchange, and day in day out, there are people losing money and there are people making a killing.

Obviously, everyone wants to be on the winning side. But unfortunately, most people lose their hard earned money when investing in the stock market. There are many reasons why these people lose money. Here are some of the more common reasons:

1) Following the crowd - Some investors just follow blindly because they are unsure of what to do. So they buy stocks based on half-truths and rumors and end up losing a lot of money.

2) Making investments based on emotions - This is a big mistake. Some investors simply do not know when to cut their losses. They let their emotions get the better of them. As a result, they pour more money into the stock market when they should have cut losses and moved on. This is tantamount to gambling, and should be avoided at all cost.

3) Incomplete due diligence - Some investors are just plain lazy. Even with detailed prospectus and documentation lying in front of them, they just refuse to pick them up and digest the information. The outcome is predictable.

4) Lack of trading knowledge - Some investors want to make money, but they want to make fast money. So they take short cuts and refuse to improve on their trading knowledge. Instead, they depend more on hearsay and their luck when it comes to investing.

The sophisticated investor knows how to make money regardless of whether it's a bear or a bull market. Most investors just know how to make money during the bull market. For example, a trader can short sell during a bear market. Short selling is a blanket term used to describe trades that allow the investor to gain while the prices are falling.

Making money from the stock market is not impossible. Many people have done it, and they continue to do it to this day. Some even make a full income trading on the stock market. But from the reasons cited above, you see that to be a successful trader, you need these four qualities:

1) Discernment - Never follow the crowd blindly or believe rumors without investigating.

2) Sound investment philosophy - This is important because your decisions should always be based on your investment philosophy, and not your emotions.

3) Hard work - Complete your due diligence. No one else will work harder than you as it's your own money you are investing.

4) Investment knowledge - You don't have to be a guru but you do need adequate investment knowledge to know what are the investment tools that you can make use of.

Finally, if you have to learn, make small trades but always practice with real money. With real money, you feel the pinch when you lose, and you tend to learn the lessons faster. Learn quick, be savvy, and in time to come, you will profit handsomely from your past investment mistakes.

Agribusiness Investment

By: Jono Craven
The procedure of investment in land that awaits future urban development has been carried out for generations by both big businesses and private investors. For several it has been a gainful venture, resulting in many folks gathering large land portfolios and substantial amounts of wealth. Mainly, this investment has taken place in agricultural plots surrounding towns, villages and cities as these are seen as ripe for development as settlements expand. This type of investment has recently been opened up to the masses with many companies offering chances to unite funds for part ownership of land.

The chances to harvest large financial rewards from land investment are great. In some cases it is not even required to offer a large financial inoculation, part ownership schemes have allowed investors to begin investment in land for as little as fifty pounds, paid on a weekly basis. As a result investors differ from those attempting to build up a retirement nest egg to those struggling to get on the possessions stepladder.

In terms of the rewards some estimates consider that an investment of twelve thousand pounds could lead to a return of more than fifty. This will take about ten years but when compared to other investment opportunities the returns are excessive; obviously however, as with most investments the greater the risk, the higher the profits. As a result, those allowing for buying land should always research a number of companies carefully as an approach without intimate knowledge can be seen as foolish. This appraisal should include an appraisal of a company's credibility and past history in giving investors honest returns.

In the media the land investment business has not received the best of press in recent years. There are still a large number of companies out there that is measured trustworthy; all it takes is a little effort in researching the industry to find them. Once this research has been carried out, the returns from share purchasing can obtained quickly.

Eventually a company that appreciates the privilege of investors to research proposed opportunities is the ideal; in addition, they should also readily supply this information so their clients can make informed choices pertaining to any investments. Part of this information should include reports from local authorities on the transport links, mains supply and chances of planning permission for any plot of land. It is worth remembering however that while the benefits are certainly there, they are never guaranteed; investment is a risk and hence there is always the chance of losing money. As the demand for land for housing continues to grow however, this risk is reducing to some extent, through astute financial investment, profits should become realism.

As well as the profits, many investors are choosing land as a way to avoid certain government legislation. For example, agricultural land and forestry is a great way to get certain tax breaks; one example is that owners of these types of land do not have to pay legacy tax as long as they have been in ownership of this land for more than two years; with certain dodge, this type of investment is also a way to avoid the capital gains tax.

Obviously investment in land is popular with many. Thanks to a selection of companies it has also been opened up to members of the general public making speculating an attractive profit making chance. As government plans to increase towns and speed up residential construction continue with pleasure, investing can be seen as a truly sensible way to make money

Bengalla Agribusiness Helps Investors to Invest in Agriculture, Agricultural Investments and Other Agribusiness Investment and Capitalize on the Changing Environment in Rural Australia.

Where to invest today? Consider oil & gas.

By: Mike Traweek
With everyone’s attention focused on the “crisis” in the financial markets, many are overlooking the fact that there are still good investment avenues open if you know where to find them and how to evaluate them. One such avenue is oil and gas and this article will show you why it is still a good investment, and how you can evaluate the ones you find.Let me clarify that I am specifically talking about investing in oil & gas drilling programs. There are other vehicles to invest in the energy industry but they are currently not doing well so I am focusing only on drilling ventures. So what is a drilling venture?The entire oil & gas industry depends upon the ability of companies to locate and produce oil and gas from pockets hidden under the earth’s surface. Drilling programs do this both for public and private companies. The limitation with public companies is that the only way you can invest with them is via their stock. While this can be a good long term investment, it does not provide the many benefits of investing directly in an oil & gas drilling program with a private company. Here is why.Investing in a sound drilling program offers the investor the opportunity for substantial returns, plus it offers tax benefits that are only found by investing in these programs. By substantial returns I mean that returns from 50-100% per year are attainable, plus these returns can last for 10-20 years. I must point out that these returns decrease over time at an average rate of 10% per year, so the returns do decrease as the reserves are depleted. Still these types of returns are hard to find elsewhere, if you can find them at all.The tax benefits include three distinct mechanisms which when combined make this the most lucrative investment vehicle available. The tax code was revised in 1986 to allow for the following:• 100% write-off of intangible drilling costs (IDC’s)• 100% write-off of capital equipments over 7 years• 15% of income from the production is tax free (not a deduction)IDC’s are those costs which are essentially services consumed to drill the well. They include hauling, drilling fluids, core samples, electric logs, the actual drilling of the well, and many other services. Since they are not capital goods like tanks and pump jacks, they can be written off immediately regardless of the outcome of the well. What this means is that the risk capital invested in a program is reduced by the amount of the tax bracket for each investor. Essentially the investor is using $0.60 dollars (varying with the tax bracket) to invest in the program. I know of no other investment vehicle that offers this and this alone is one reason it is popular with those who have done it.Depreciation is well understood though it is worthy to note that equipment is 100% depreciated in 7 years.Finally for every dollar the investor earns, 15% is tax free meaning only 85% of the income can be taxed.It should be clear that this is a great vehicle. The real question is how does one evaluate a program with confidence. To do this, we have prepared a Guide To Oil & Gas Investment which shows how you can accomplish this with confidence once you know what to look for and what you must avoid.

How To Invest When Market Is Down

By: Tony Clifton
Some people have the luck to live most of their active life in calm and prosperous times. What about you? Oh well, you don't even need to tell me. We live in these crazy times together. We don't have the luck of those people.

Does that mean that we should give up investing just because the markets are crazy, stocks are going down and we smell the ghost of deflation? No, not at all.

In fact though times for the markets are best for the smart investor. I'll give you some simple beginner investing tips that can help you invest like the pros - and even much better than them.

When markets are in mass panic, then is the best time to buy
When a recession or financial crisis is coming, people start being afraid that the things can go much worse. Why were not they afraid of that when the prices of their investments were high? You have much less to lose when buying low as compared to when the markets are growing. Besides that, markets go in cycles - low times follow high times and the other way around. You should worry most when everything seems bright on the financial markets.

You can only win if you buy when everyone sells in panic. Even if you don't buy exactly at the bottom, you'll still need much less time to reach big profits compared to everyone else (yes, including those mutual fund managers).

Recession is great time for real estate investing
The panic of recession does not cause just stock sales. Financial crisis often causes apocalypse at the real estate markets because the banks increase the interest rates and start giving loans harder. The higher rates lead to many people's inability to pay their mortgage and as a result they lose their homes. At the same times the demand of houses goes down because of the harder access to loans and it becomes even harder for these homes to be sold.

This leads to very low house prices which of course is excellent news for the smart investor. If you have the money, buy real estate when everyone is selling.

At low markets you can easier find out what assets have real value
When the markets are growing and the prises of everything only go up, it's hard to distinguish which assets have real value and which are in bubble. It's not like that when the market is down. At a down times the bubbled assets lose value like crazy while other lose just a little of their price or stay at the same levels.

It's wrong to think that you should buy only the assets that have lost a lot of their value in the crisis. The ones that have not lost are still good because they are really valuable and not bubbled. With the bubbled assets you can target aggressive gains with some risk (if you don't catch the bottom). The really valuable assets will not bring you such big profits but they are secure and will never crash as bad.

Finally, when the market is down, the buyer is the king.
You can negotiate your deals. You can negotiate prices of real estate, construction projects, investments, hiring people and so on. There is no better time for the one who has cash than recession.

You don't need to be a guru to win from a down market. All you need is patience and basic beginner investing knowledge - you can gain it on our site hywd.info. It will help you learn not only passive investing, but also how to make wealth without taking big risks.

Investing in Stocks or Managed Futures – A Wise Decision?

By: William
The most tested wealth creation tool is investing in stocks. Once you have made up your mind to create wealth over a long-term, it is advisable that you detect the areas in your budget where you tend to overspend. Adopt the corrective measures and utilize the money saved from such correction in investments.

Invest in the stock market
For those who are interested in investing, acquiring knowledge about the financial world and its fundamentals, this investment is a must. Keeping a constant watch on the financial market and its daily events gives investors an idea about what investment tools are available in the market currently.

The investors must find out what kind of investments fit their long-term goals and accordingly invest in them. The mantra for success in the stock market is making the right choice and sticking to it for a long time.

Stick to small stocks initially
For many investors, investing in the stock market seems to be very exciting. It is however advisable that they do not get carried away by the excitement and stick to only small investments in the beginning. In this way you will get an idea of the crests and troughs of the stock market without placing yourself at a great risk.

For the beginners it could be a good idea to start investing in the stocks whose prices have constantly increased over a period of time. In case you plan to sell high, it is important that you know what your tolerance level is, in case the stock does not perform as per your expectations.

Understand the market
You must do adequate research before you begin investing in stocks. You must understand the market operation and particularly how the stocks’ (in which you plan to invest) past performance has been. Such research could take some time but is very important and determines your success in the market.

There is professional help available in the market to guide the investors towards wise investment strategies. You can seek help from reputed brokers or brokerage houses to help you select the appropriate investment option, especially if you are just beginning. After you have been in the field for quite sometime, you can choose to make decisions on your own and can afford to buy and sell stocks without any professional help.

Invest in managed futures
Managed futures are investment options and are similar to mutual funds. Managed futures, are however, positioned in government securities and are managed through future contracts or various options on future contracts.

Those who invested in managed futures just few years back have made double the money they originally invested. Analysts are generally very optimistic on the future of managed futures.

Managed futures come across as an attractive investment option because of their potential of reducing portfolio risk. Market studies indicate that when asset classes are combined with alternative investment options like managed futures, risk significantly reduces. This is because such a combination diversifies the portfolio through negative correlation between various asset groups.

William King is the director of Australian Wholesalers & Wholesale Australia, Wholesale Dropshippers & Dropshipping Directory . He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT INVESTMENT?

By: redzwan12
MEANING
The term "investment" is used differently in economics and in finance. Economists refer to a real investment (such as a machine or a house), while financial economists refer to a financial asset, such as money that is put into a bank or the market, which may then be used to buy a real asset. The manager must assess whether the net present value of the investment to the enterprise is positive; the net present value is calculated using the enterprise's marginal cost of

The investment decision (also known as capital budgeting) is one of the fundamental decisions of business management: managers determine the assets that the business enterprise obtains. These assets may be physical (such as buildings or machinery), intangible (such as patents, software, goodwill), or financial.

ECONOMICS
In economics, investment is the production per unit time of goods which are not consumed but are to be used for future production.

Examples include tangibles (such as building a railroad or factory) and intangibles (such as a year of schooling or on-the-job training). Thus investment is everything that remains of production after consumption, government spending, and exports are subtracted.

FINANCE
In finance, investment=cost of capital, like buying securities or other monetary or paper (financial) assets in the money markets or capital markets, or in fairly liquid real assets, such as gold, real estate, or collectibles. Valuation is the method for assessing whether a potential investment is worth its price. Returns on investments will follow the risk-return spectrum.

Real estate
The money is used to buy property and it hold it until gain profit from it and sell it to get higher profit. There is capital risk that involved in real estate transaction. Unlike other economic or financial investment, real estate is purchased. The seller is a vendor and the purchaser is called a buyer in the real estate

TYPES OF OTHER INVESTMENT

Types of financial investments include shares, other equity investment, and bonds (including bonds denominated in foreign currencies). These financial assets are then expected to provide income or positive future cash flows, and may increase or decrease in value giving the investor capital gains or losses.

CONCLUSION
As the conclusion, we can conclude that investment in very important for get long term profit and money. Always have knowledge about what investment that you involved and try to be patient in making money from it.

Good luck in your investing

WAN MOHD HIRWANI WAN HUSSAIN is an accomplished writer who specializes iN debt management. Visit his blog for more information at business
I highly recommend visiting here for more info about Investing

Reasons to invest in properties

By: Karl Hopkins006 Karl Hopkins006
Investment

Starting from luxury seeking Europeans, fun loving Americans to speculative Canadians- everybody is after finding the best investment property. Look into the following hot tips in your quest for profitable investment property deals-

Look into the law
Investment properties are entangled with law. Whether you like it or not these laws tend to differ from country to country. Do not run for any sort of assumptions. You never know where you will get stuck to, just because you took a legal clause less seriously.

For making sure that things are running real smooth, you must hire some legal experts. This will do a range of benefits for you as securing your long term profitability or making sure that your investment property is legitimate.

Plan your time
Make detailed plan for yourself. Especially you have to be a master in formulating contingency plans. Why? When you’re dealing with investment property (especially overseas ones), you are set to face situations like-
• Difficult climates,
• Seasonal hardships,
• Holidays,
• Cost and accessibility of quality building materials

These are all examples. But the truth is- the numbers of difficulties you may face as an overseas investor are innumerable. So be prepared to face the odds with your overseas/local investment properties. The more research you do the more informed you will be and the more enduring your contingency plan will be.

Be practical with your budgets
This factor is vital. There are different instances when we spend way out of our estimated budget while dealing with investment property. As for instance your consultant will tell you that you will have to add ten to twenty percent for taxation/fees over the price of the property.

But a smart decision here would be to keep some cash or budget aside for proactive actions like paying a visit to an alternative property overseas when your property is under construction. This also applies for the situations when the home you have purchased is at its last stage with light fittings, curtains, kitchen and bathroom upgrades or getting connected to the utility services.

Build sound feedback among your connections
Another aspect for your investment property quest or adventure is- constant communications. This applies especially for the developer or managing agent of your investment property. Be clear on some key and vital issues-

• The frequency of their updating you (about the progress)
• If they will communicate to you via emails or would the make phone calls to you.
• It gets real fun and effective to manage overseas investments when your agents send you regular visual updates.

Understand what you are getting yourself into
You are getting yourself committed to something real serious when you are buying investment property. So you should not be kept in dark in any way. This is not only financial stress- it is mental pressure as well. So at least you have to make sure two core things-
• You are not left in dark about the progress of the investment property building/renovations and
• You are in charge of the situation- even when things go the way you did not exactly plan them to be.

Investment property is like your trump card- you can win or loose. Work hard to enhance the chances of your winning.


Karl Hopkins is author of this article on buy to let. Find more information about Landlord here.

Investment opportunity in airline travel

By: sundeep bardia
Russia is one of the largest nations of the world covering major parts of Asia and Western Europe. Russia is also one of the major emerging markets of the world. The air travel to Russia from nations like USA has been growing at a fairly healthy rate and the growth is expected to escalate in the future. Moscow and St. Petersberg are the major destinations in Russia.

Although there are numerous airlines offering connecting services to Russian cities and other nearby destinations, it is always difficult to select the best airline offering best service and most cost effective connections. Although new service announcements occur on regular basis and one or the other airline offer plethora of schemes to attract travelers in this route, the needs of the customers on this route is still underserved. However, a new airline service called Baltia Air Lines is expected to change the rules of the game on this sector. It is a small airline which is totally focused on providing cost effective, quick and high quality connections on this route.

Baltia Airlines trades under the “BLTA” symbol on “OTCBB”. The Baltia group is based in U.S and will soon offer connections from New York to cities like St. Petersburg, Riga, Moscow, Minsk and Kiev.

Baltia is expected to provide best airline services ever from U.S to Russia. The company is introducing a new style of crossing the Atlantic with three different classes, including first, business and coach or Voyager class accommodations. The excitement to travel with Baltia will keep on increasing, as the company announces plans to offer better facilities.

This attractive offering, backed by world-class customer service and easily accessed reservation centers in St. Petersburg as well as New York, will surely redefine the travel to Russia from USA. Baltia’s offerings will certainly be a sigh of relief for thousands of travelers from USA to Russia as the company will really make the travel to Russia lot more fun and cost effective.

The future prospects of Baltia looks really attractive, given the growth rate in travel to Russia and paucity of quality services at cost effective rates in the sector.

Baltia Air Lines will offer non stop flights, commencing from JFK, New York to destinations like St. Petersberg in Russia. Currently, no other airline offers such quick and cost effective connections on this route, thereby making Baltia a sure winner after its launch.

Baltia’s pricing will be extremely competitive, a factor that competition will surely have to watch out for in this particular sector. Traveling with Baltia will simply be a delight for customers in this sector. Baltia is surely expected to evolve as a preferred carrier with its unmatched services in this sector and is expected to rule this market, as soon as the service is launched by the company.

Therefore, it is high time that value investors should start considering the potential of this company by investment in this small, but niche airline that is expected to change the norms for travel to Russia and nearby destinations.

Qualified and Professional Financial Advisors

By: Cassandra Leatherman
In order for a business to succeed, it is vital that proper financial management is maintained. This is because adequately handled and properly disposed finances is fundamental for any business to prosper. This is why hiring the services of a certified financial planner should be of full responsibility to make sure that you will get the services of a very dependable one. Thus it would be crucial that you know who are the right persons to deal with in order to come up with a more favorable outcome for you and your business.Certified Financial PlannerA certified financial planner is hired to provide help in giving financial advices on essential topics that are directed to the goal of providing stable financial future for you and your business. This certified professional achieves this by going over some crucial financial details prevailing in your situation such as realistic procedures to achieve realistic goals, initiatives or actions to be taken, appropriate insurance, your children's educational plans, retirement plans, tax exemption methods, planning your estate, and investments for financial growth.When hiring the services of a certified financial planner, be sure to mention in detail your present personal and financial situation as well as your short and long term goals and all other financially related matters. This is vital so that the financial planner will have a clear view of the everything.What You Should Consider when Hiring a Personal Financial AdvisorIf you are thinking of hiring a personal financial advisor you should first find out essential points as a gauge of his/her competence in this field. The length of experience as well as sound tertiary education are areas that needs to be considered. During the selection process you should also choose the one with qualified affiliations with financial advisory groups and other qualifications that show ongoing professional developments.Next is to find out about how much would be charged for the services that the financial advisor will charge. You should know that there are different ways in which these professionals want to be billed. It can be hourly, through commissions or retainer's fee. Try to bring this matter beforehand so that you can prepare and come up with one that you can afford.Ask for the plan relevant to reach your financial goals. A competent personal financial advisor will be more than happy to discuss every information regarding this matter.Financial Services Marketing in AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque is a city in New Mexico and being regarded as the media center of this place. Financial services marketing in Albuquerque involves implementation of dependable financial marketing initiatives that will help increase the achievement of every corporate goals in terms of business prosperity and stability. It is essential that financial services marketing directors must instill relevant management equilibrium in the desire to establish a reputable name in this field.
The author is explaining the different various of finance and how the certified financial planner will help them in their planning with regards to investment and other related matters.

Factors involved in investment decision

By: William
The motive behind our investments is to make money and increase our monetary wealth. With so many factors involved, investment decision is a complex one. Small investors often go with their gut feelings when trying to choose among numerous alternatives to invest. Big investors use various analyzing techniques. Globalization and the growth of internet have introduced many new opportunities and threats to ponder upon. When investing, you are committing your assets for sometime, that is why you need to cover all aspects before making an investment decision. Expected Return:The most basic investment decisions revolve around the comparison of expected return and risk involved. No investor will take on higher risk if there is no chance of equally higher returns. Investors strive to reach on the best trade-off point between risk and return which go well with their financial requirements. These expected returns are not always equal to what an investor actually gets after some time. The possibility that actual return will not be the same what they expect is called risk. Risk Factor: There is hardly some form of investment which doesn't involve risk. Government securities come close to be called risk free; but even they have some risks attached to them. Risk actually is the balancing factor of the financial markets. Various types of investment risk exist, such as financial risk, currency risk, inflation risk or capital risk are the most common one. Different investors react differently to these risks. While majority of the investors are risk averse, there are some investors who are seeking more risky ones with expectations of higher yields.Investor’s Hunch:Every investor will finish off with a different conclusion although the market, economy and all statistical facts and figures are same for everyone. This difference comes from the investor’s intuition. Some will start from research; by collecting lots of information and then analyzing to decide, others start from defining their objectives and then going for opportunities that suit their needs. Globalization Factor:Investors have slowly started to realize the advantages of international investments. Some emerging markets present better returns while other stable markets provide lesser risks. Investors have often conquered risk by diversification, and an international market provides more opportunities to achieve portfolio diversification as compared to a local market. Ignoring global markets for investment is turning your back on a whole new world of opportunities.
William King is the director of UK Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers, www.dailytrader.com> Wholesale Trade Suppliers, Dropshippers, Distributors & Manufacturers. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Investment opportunities on the stock exchange

By: Rufus112 Black112
Finding investment opportunities in apartment buildings

We all want to be rich one day, we all dream of having large expensive cars, big houses with 6 bed rooms, 5 bathrooms and a swimming pool large enough for a family of 20 have a swimming bout. That is not impossible for many people, in fact there are people out there that already have that, and all the other people around them are wondering and trying to figure out just how they did it. They all have their own ways, and there is a way for you to be living the dream of many. The easiest of the choices is to look into investment opportunities. There are many, we all know that, they are easy to start if you have the means, but the questions on everyone’s mind is what are the means, where do I start and what do I need to start? Well the simple answer to that is money. That is the long and short of it, you need money to make money, and there is no getting around it that is if you are looking to see a return on your investment straight away, and who does not?

As said before, there are many of opportunities out there; we already covered buying and selling or renting out houses as an investment opportunity. There is also, buying luxury cars and reselling them, not as a dealer on a personal level, that way you do not just get a commission. You could also buy a block of apartments, this way you get a large return very quickly, that is if you plan to keep the block and rent out the units, especially if it is in a good location and it is appealing to the eye. That is what most people want, an apartment that is safe, to start off with, it must be in a good location, so make sure that there are well known shops at about walking distance, make sure that it has car storage space, like a garage or a car port, then you will need to make sure that the block is well maintained, at all times, not just at the start of the rental period, you will have to give up money to make money remember, and the more money you sped on the up keep of your investment the more money you will get as a return, as you will be able to push the rent up the better you block looks and feels, and the better location you have. That is the key in property, location, location, location. But the first step is to make sure you have the cash to buy your investment in the first place, and it is advised that you use about 80 percent of your own cash, as paying off a loan once you have the block of apartments, will kill your investment in no time, as you will just not see a return on that investment as long as you own money on your loan.


Rufus Black is part of the Investor Portal team, which reviews scores of investment opportunities each month and publishes the best ones on its website. Find more information about share trading systems here.

How to Profit from the meltdown?

By: Vritika
The quarterly earnings seasons, which has just started, offers a lot of stock market tips for your near term buy. Infosys set the tone of the things in store for the IT sector. Though it met the quarterly targets, the Bangalore company cut its full-year guidance. Cutting its target is something unusual for Infosys which has consistently overshot its guidance. The guidance of Indian IT biggies says that the global crisis is not going to melt away too soon.

On the other hand, another early bird Axis Bank reported a massive jump in its net profit for the second quarter on a big jump in its total income. One thing is clear: our domestic growth remains strong even on the face of the global crisis. This is a strong indicator to base our stock pickings.

The stock market tip: look for companies that have strong domestic business, good cash flows, less leveraged position and trading at a discount. Sooner or later, money would flow into these counters. Why not be an early bird and pick these up? The pullout of the FII money has seen many of these stocks trading at a very attractive price. But stick only to frontline companies that have the wherewithal to withstand the current crisis.

Among the frontline stocks in India, you will find many. M&M has a strong domestic business. It is a leader in the tractor segment. With good monsoons and the agriculture waiver package, this segment is going to see a big boost. The stock is trading at a forward FY09 PE of just over 5 per cent. But don’t expect this stock to give you very good returns in the short-term. The liquidity remains tight in the Indian system. It is a very good long-term buy.
Another hardy stock is Tata Steel. It is trading at the lowest forward PE among the Sensex stocks. Though metals stocks across the globe have suffered the rout on concerns of a global recession, given the strong domestic business of Tata Steel, it is well placed to fight its way up.

Another good pick is L&T, which is trading at a forward PE of just over 13. This capital goods stock has a strong domestic business. And the recent passage of the Indo-US nuclear deal is likely to further boost its topline further. It is a major player in the domestic power business. And major power projects are scheduled to go on steam.

Among the banking space in the BSE-30, SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank look good bets. The banking sector is going to benefit as the Reserve Bank of India joins other central regulators in cutting the rates. The largest bank in India, SBI, is trading at a forward PE of just over 8. SBI has many other positives to its side. It has probably the lease foreign exposure among these banks. Second, as people look to the safety of the government-owned banks, it is going to see an increase in deposits. A good way to benefit from the PSU bank pack is to buy PSU bank ETFs. ICICI Bank, at a forward PE of just over 6, also fits the criteria. Its stock has been beaten down to so low levels that any downside, if any, looks limited.

Vritika is an investment advisor and associate editor to profit.ndtv.com, providing market news india, stock market news and information on mutual funds in India.

The Highs and Lows of Forex Market

By: Mac x
What you can see by looking at weekly highs and weekly lows is whether or not the big money players are bullish or whether they’re bearish. I will give you the punch line here. The punch line is, this two dollar level right here is where the opportunity lies. I want you to think about this and right at the edge of this twenty minutes so I am going to have to go quick with this explanation.

The last time the British pound was up at two dollars was 1992 and it didn’t spend a whole lot of time above it. It’s going to take a huge shift in thinking to make the British pound push above two dollars and stay there. If you go back even further; you have to go back to 1978 to see the British pound above two dollars for any length of time. We have some major decision making here.

Again, if you learn nothing else from this, you are going to learn that all of this stuff; all of the charts, all this candlesticks and all of this squiggly lines; all it is doing is showing you the decisions that market participants are making. So follow me here. This is very, very important information. If you want to tell where all the big money is going, you look at the week high and the week low. What do we tell here?

Well you can see here that the low is right there for this week. Well, is it above or below the prior week? Literally, it’s this simple. The easiest answer is it is above, right? If price is moving up does that mean they are bullish or they’re bearish? It means that they are bearish. That was pretty easy.

What about the high? The high is right here. Did the market move above the high the prior week? Absolutely. Again, does that mean they are bullish or bearish? It means that they are bullish. What about this one here? The low is up but the high is at the same level. What does that mean?

It means that they’re digesting. If you were looking at the videos about this time, what you heard me say was that any time the market gets to a logical point; you will typical see this kind of hesitation. It’s perfectly normal and we can anticipate it and we can plan for it.

Mac X is recognized as a forex expert trainer, forex trader and author of three best-selling forex trading books and Home Study Courses including "How To Get Filthy Stinking Rich Trading The Forex" book and Home Study, "How To Trade The Harmonics of The Foreign Exchange Markets". Mac X has trained over 1,300 students in large forex seminars, one-on-one and small groups. Read Mac's Forex Blog for more Forex Trading information at TheInsiderCode.com.

Investment opportunities in luxury cars

By: Rufus112 Black112
How to find the perfect investment opportunities

When you have a fairly decent sum of money saved for a rainy day, why not make the most of it and actually earn money from your money. This sounds like a strange concept, but investment opportunities are a perfect way to make a profit by doing absolutely nothing. You will spend your money on something worthwhile and after a specified time you will begin to see your money return to you sometimes doubled or even tripled.

Of course there are some things that are risky to invest in and there is always a slight chance your investment opportunity will backfire, but if you have a trusty broker or investment expert at your side, you can rest easier and plan for the future. Investments can help to save up for college funds for the kids, plan your retirement, travel overseas and much more. So where do you find all these investment opportunities.

Well, one of the first places to look would be on the internet. You can type in a number of keywords that will bring up the best investment opportunities and secure offers, although these will all have to be checked thoroughly, because anyone can say that their product or service is an investment. Your investor expert will be the best person to look over any investment portfolios you give him and he will also be able to help you find lucrative ones. Investments can be in the form of property, businesses like restaurants and franchises, hotels, stocks on the stock exchange, FOREX, and much more. Think of anything that will bring in a lot of money and figure out how you can be part of that. Taking out a partnership in a bank for instance could be a great way to earn an income and property is the latest investment craze with vacation rentals and apartments being rented out quickly to make a profit for the owner.

Another way to find investment opportunities is to keep a look out in the local newspapers. Sometimes people will advertise the selling of their business in tact and you can sometimes get these for a good price and they have the bonus of being all set up and complete already. You don’t have to lift a finger and just keep earning the money that rolls in. First make sure that there is no ulterior motive for the previous owner to have sold the business, such as he is in debt and you are now left to deal with it. Do a full background check and analysis before buying any company.

Looking for investment opportunities can be fun and exciting as you start a new chapter in your life and put your savings to good use. Once you have exhausted all the possibilities of finding investment, you will have to choose the one that works best for you and that offers you the most appropriate cash back and required work time to suit your needs.


Rufus Black is part of the Investor Portal team, which reviews scores of investment opportunities each month and publishes the best ones on its website. Find more information about share trading systems here.

Safe Foreclosure Investing: An Overview

By: Josh Sloan
Right now, there are more opportunities to purchase houses in foreclosure than ever before. Contrary to what you might see on late-night TV or on websites offering information on HOW *YOU* CAN GET RICH WITH FORECLOSURES!!!, investing in foreclosed properties is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It is, however, a get-rich-slowly scheme - *if* you love working with houses, improving them and marketing them, *if* you have a steady cash flow already and *if* you are aware of the legalities of the system and how to make them work for you.

Some people might tell you this is easy money - usually with an expensive seminar or CD attached. However, while foreclosure investment can result in a profit, the unbridled flow of riches just aren't going to happen. You may get lucky with one house and make some money, but this isn't going to happen all the time, nor is it something you can bank on making a steady flow of income with until you accumulate enough knowledge and experience to predict which house is going to be the next 'diamond in the rough'.

Your best bet is to engage the services of a Realtor® who specializes in foreclosure, at the very least, for your first foreclosure investment. Your Realtor® can guide you through the ins and outs of the legal system, help with paperwork, and do the research on foreclosed homes that can net you the best home for your dollar. They also can guide you to publications, educational materials and other tools that you can use in your search for the next foreclosure.

Foreclosures can also be an emotionally harrowing experience, not to mention financially, for the people who have to deal with evictions and/or vindictive former owners. Some former homeowners continue living in 'their' home for as long as they can, even after the eviction papers have been sent. An experienced lawyer can help you with the legalities entailed in eviction. Some people may be spiteful enough to damage or strip the property. Some may even leave behind pets that will damage or foul the property and, if not found in time, die from lack of food and water.

Assuming that you're buying an empty foreclosure, you need to have a good idea of how much is required to get the home back into sellable condition. If you are not proficient in assessing a home, obtain the help of a professional who can go through the home and give you an estimate of what needs to be done. Paint and new carpets are one thing; having to completely rewire the house is quite another!

Allow for a significant chunk of time to do repairs/oversee repairs and improvements. If you are doing a lot of this yourself, you will probably have to devote most of your free time to this endeavour, which can eat into family and friend commitments.

Also, consider what's going to happen when the mortgage is due. You must be able to carry the house for a few months on your own money if repairs take longer than anticipated or if the housing market takes a downturn. If you cannot make the payments due to the fact that you were depending on a quick sale, you'll be in the same position as the people who formerly owned your home.

Another issue with foreclosure is the laws of your state. Some states allow owners to 'buy back' their homes for up to 30 days after a court-ordered auction. Be wary of foreclosures in states that allow this and make sure that the house is definitely yours before you start making improvements.

Investing in foreclosures is not always easy money. There are many pitfalls into which the novice buyer can stumble - even if the buyer has bought other types of properties before. A foreclosure is different. However, with the help of a knowledgeable Realtor®, you can be on your way to a new and potentially profitable hobby.


Joshua Sloan is your San Diego real estate agent at SanDiegoRealEstateBuzz.com. If you're looking for Carmel Valley real estate for sale, Joshua can help.

Pros and cons of indirect investing

By: William
Investing indirectly means purchasing shares of companies that hold large portfolios of securities on behalf of their share holders. Indirect investing is a great opportunity for those who are willing to start investing with a small amount, having no previous knowledge or experience of stock market’s ups and downs. You can decide if indirect investing is the right choice for you after examining the following features.

Level of Risk:
Although mutual funds are managed by qualified professionals and experts, no expert can guarantee a profit on every investment made. There are many uncontrollable variables involved and then there is always a chance of “something” unpredictable happening, normally referred to as “the great unknown”. Mutual funds can be divided into different categories on basis of risk, for example “hybrid fund” being less risky while “specialized stock funds” falling in the high risk – high return category.

Professional Management:
Probably the biggest advantage of indirect investment is the fact that these investment companies have experts specializing in investment analysis and portfolio management. These companies always stand a better chance for positive yields as compared to a common man who barely knows about financial markets. If you are just starting, you should go for these companies. You can always move your funds elsewhere later on.

Extra Charges:
Investment companies do not provide this high quality portfolio management services for free. Of course they charge for these services. Also, most of these companies run excessive marketing and sales campaign because of competition. Some part of this expense is also charged from investors, known as sales load.

Discount & Premiums:
Net asset value of Investment Company’s share keep going up and down based on company’s performance. In case of close-end funds, these shares are not always traded on Net Asset Value. If sold at a price lower then Net Asset Value, these are said to be sold at discount and if the price is higher then Net Asset Value, they are selling at premium. This provides an opportunity to earn, even when the Net Asset Value has not changed.

No Security - No Control:
These mutual funds are not guaranteed by any government body or authorities, nor do they provide any specific protection. Another short coming is that you cannot control the proceedings; you have to rely fully on the company’s management decisions regarding investment. If you can’t bear the fact that someone else is deciding on your investment fate, you should go for direct investment.

William King is the director of Mobile Phone Wholesale Suppliers , Canada Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.

Why Sipp Are Becoming A Popular Investment

By: Roger Winston
It is not often that pensions are described as 'sexy' but SIPPs (self-invested personal pensions)are apparently just that. These DIY pensions that offer a wide range of investment options and the opportunity for investors to manage their own money have soared in popularity since they took off two years ago. That was largely due to the biggest shake-up of the pensions system since Lloyd George introduced the old age pension in 1908.

But while they might be seen by some as the 'Rolls-Royces' of pension savings, others fear they are the next big financial services mis-selling scandal in the making. They are not for everyone. Far from it: in fact many people would be better off with a traditional pension arrangement.

More than a quarter of a million people have taken out a SIPP since 'A-Day' ushered in an era of unprecedented flexibility in pension saving. The new rules, introduced on April 6, 2006, scrapped restrictions on how much savers could stash in their pension fund: from then, people could save up to 100 per cent of annual earnings, subject to a current cap of £235,000.

It became easier to take pension fund benefits, and the reforms also meant that, for the first time, people in company pension schemes could set up their own personal pension arrangements too. And, despite ministers performing a U-turn on allowing residential property to be held in pension funds – the most-trumpeted benefit of SIPPs prior to the introduction of the new regulations – their take-up has rocketed. SIPP sales rose almost 53 per cent to £1.16 billion in the 2007/08 tax year compared to the preceding 12 months, according to data from Hargreaves Lansdown.

"SIPPs are booming." says Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at the independent financial services provider. "The drivers for growth are manifold: the A-Day rules allow really substantial investment contributions; the development of technology, such as online access to investment fund supermarkets, has boosted the self investment market; and competition has drive SIPP administration costs down". "At the same time, investors have become disenchanted with investment restrictions on other types of pension product and employers are beginning to appreciate that group SIPPs allow staff who have participated in maturing employee share schemes to continue to hold their shares in a tax-efficient environment."

The past year, well-known companies such as Kingfisher (owner of B&Q), GlaxoSmithKline and Stagecoach have added group SIPPs to their benefits packages. The rise in demand shows no signs of abating. SIPPs will become increasingly prevalent as a retirement saving and income product in years to come, according to independent financial research company Defaqto.

Matt Ward, principal consultant for pensions and wealth management and author of its recent report 'SIPPS in the UK 2008 – The Personal Pension of the Future' says: "Since their launch in 1990, SIPPs have blossomed from a niche to a mainstream pension proposition and the attention now paid to their importance by numerous financial services institutions in the UK will ensure their market longevity."

Like other pension products, tax relief is given on the way in, meaning it costs basic-rate taxpayers just £8,000 and higher-rate taxpayers £6,000 to invest £10,000 in their SIPP. But SIPPs notably differ from traditional personal pensions in the range of investment options. They can hold investment trusts, venture capital trusts, direct investments in stocks and shares, commercial property, exchange-traded funds, options and traded endowment policies. Come October, they should also be able to hold funds built up from contracting out of the state second pension. But different types of SIPPs offer different levels of investment flexibility.

'Supermarket' SIPPs, the most basic form, typically only allow investment in unit trusts and shares, but are generally low-cost. Hargreaves Lansdown's Vantage SIPP and similar products from Alliance Trust and Killik & Co allow savers to set up and run a SIPP for free, other than fund charges.

A string of insurers also offer SIPPs, largely sold through intermediaries. Herein, however, lies the root of warnings over the potential for SIPP mis-selling. Independent financial advisers (IFAs) attract high levels of commission when consolidating pension arrangements into life office SIPPs. And, last year, the Financial Services Authority warned IFAs against recommending SIPPs – which tend to be more expensive than traditional pension products – where personal pensions were more appropriate.

SIPPs are fairly unusual among financial products in that the initial and annual management fees are usually a set number of pounds, rather than a percentage of the total fund invested. Initial fees are generally a few hundred pounds, while annual charges come in at an average £500 or so. Investment charges, generally the only charge on traditional pension products, also tend to be higher at around two per cent of the sum invested compared to 1.5 per cent or less on funds held in stakeholder pensions.

"There's a bandwagon effect going on." Malcolm Cuthbert, managing director of financial planning at independent financial services firm Killik & Co, said. "In the same way that people got into the tech boom, they're now getting into SIPPs, and sometimes individuals are going from a life company personal pension to a life company hybrid SIPP, and are paying more for effectively the same investments." Figures from Standard Life, the biggest player in the sector, show that almost 35 per cent of money invested in its SIPP (£2.78 billion out of a total £8.1 billion) was held in its own funds as of end-March.

'Full' SIPPs, meanwhile – offered by smaller specialist firms such as James Hay, Pointon York Sipp Solutions, Suffolk Life and AJ Bell, as well as Standard Life – give the run of the entire market. These are, again, more expensive than other types of SIPP, but can prove particularly suitable for small business owners. Up to 50 per cent of the value of assets held in the SIPP can be borrowed to buy the property, and rental income is paid gross into the fund.

The same borrowing limits apply to Axa's recent move to allow its SIPP investors to invest in hotel rooms through specialist investment company GuestInvest. Investors can buy a hotel room on a 999-year lease and receive 50 per cent of the income on lettings throughout the year. They will also benefit from any capital appreciation on resale and the investment offers a guaranteed minimum six per cent return for the first year.

This greater flexibility clearly offered by SIPPs also extends to options at retirement: SIPPs allow people to keep their pension invested, while taking 25 per cent as tax-free cash at retirement and drawing an income.

By Roger Winston, SIPP and commercial property investment expert.

Investment Buying in Warm Climates

By: Jason Couillard
Although there has been a nationwide pull back in realty sales, some areas have avoided the price plunges. Why is this? Media hype is telling us that the financial market is affecting house prices, and yet some areas are still smiling. Often it is the areas with the pleasant winter climates, the type of area that the 'snowbirds' often travel to. For instance, one of these sunny areas has reported increases in realty sales of up to 20% in the last two years.

Everyone wants to invest their real estate dollars into a safe price market, but these shifts can be unnerving - unless they can be understood.

In this case, the fact that some areas have not plummeted can be puzzling, until you put the baby boomers into the equation. It is logical that they will be affecting the situation. They account for a very large part of any population. One theory is that they will be the last generation to have an adequate pension, and they can therefore afford to move cities to pursue their retirement dream.

When retirement time arrives, it often means that a move will be anticipated. Sometimes it will simply be downscaling in size and staying in the same area to keep friends and loved ones close by. In other circumstances, it may require a complete change of scenery to pursue a dream or to join loved ones. Either way, it probably involves buying and selling a home.

Prime retirement areas are still experiencing above average sales. And that is the clincher. Many of the areas that are still experiencing a robust realty market are markets that appeal to the retirement age groups. The baby boomers are only just beginning to retire, and most of them still only thinking about it. This is because the oldest boomers are still only 61, with most working until age 65. The (birth) boom started in 1946, when life returned to normal after the war!

Many baby boomers are buying their retirement home in advance of their retirement, to finance it before they give up the salary and the pension kicks in. If you are a baby boomer it is good sense to get in now before the real rush happens in 2011 (when the first wave of baby boomers reach 65)

This means it is still a good time to buy a home and expect a profit in many of these choice areas. Baby boomers are flocking to the warmer climes of USA and even further south. Many of the southern coastal areas of USA still have bargains to be snapped up, but there will not be so many as 2011 approaches. For anyone looking to invest in real estate, these southern coastal areas are beckoning. A home bought now, and re-sold when the baby boomers start flying south, will probably reap big profits!

Written on behalf of Kokopelli Property Management. If you're looking to purchase an investment property in the Santa Fe real estate area, or to learn about turning your home into a Santa Fe vacation rental, contact Kokopelli today

Get The Best Beginners Investing Tips

By: Matt20 Gerchow20
Maximizing Profit With Real Estate Investment

Real estate investment may prove to be extremely profitable and satisfying if done with proper planning, concentration and knowledge. Real estate agents can prove to be very helpful for this purpose.

Real estate investment has been treated as one of the major cases of budgeting capital with the use of up to date investment analysis incorporating future streams of income that it is able to generate and the related adjustments of risks. It has been in the highlight as many investment theorists have extended analysis to techniques since 1970’s such as money’s time value, probability and utility.

Basically, real estate is defined as any immovable property like buildings and land. From a business point of view, investing in real estate can be extremely attractive as it is able to generate cash flow in the form of rent, business venture, resale amount and cash savings upon tax-deductible rate of interest losses.

Real estate of an individual includes the property in which he or she resides in and other properties owned through which rental income is accrued. It may also be associated with the appreciation that comes in the property’s value in the form of capital gains.

Things to consider before investing
The foremost thing that you should consider before making your real estate investment is whether you can afford the property or not. If you want to take a loan to make your investment, make sure that you will definitely be able to repay it within time. Even if you are purchasing the property outright on cash, make sure that you do not render yourself in financial crisis after investing such a large sum of money.

Next, you should consider the purpose of your real estate investment. If it is intended for yourself or your family as a residential property, you need to check out all the papers and other formalities regarding the property and also consider road, electricity and water connectivity. Other things you should look into include schools, markets, shops and other necessities present in the nearest neighbourhood.

The e-book available over the Internet will guide you on how to check the property for any necessary repairs and renovations. If you are making your investment for business purpose, look into its future prospects as per its previous appreciation or depreciation.

Learning to make sound investment
The ebooks on real estate investment include tips and strategies of experienced investors who have practical hands-on experience in this field. It will guide you on how to finance your loan and communicate with other parties to earn a profitable deal.

Getting knowledge from this professional, qualified and experienced will assist you in finding and securing the property that you had always desired for and make a wise real estate investment decision.

With these ebooks on real estate investment, you can make massive profits in real estate market irrespective of the fact that you area a novice or an experienced realtor. These ebooks are easily accessible on the Internet and can fetch you both short-term and long-term benefits. So, what are you waiting for? Access the easily available e-book and start making profits out of the business of real estate.


Matt Gerchow is author of this article on Real estate investing. Find more information about www.real-estate-investing.com">Real estate investors here.

Condo Rules Enhance Positivity

By: Virginia Wherland
Condo residents number as high as 58 million in this country, according to the Community Associations Institute. This translates into more than 295 neighborhoods that were governed by a board, or a rule-based community association.

Rather than kick the system, nearly seventy-five per cent of these residents report that the rules have enhanced and protected their lives. Over seventy per cent say that the rules have actually put a positive spin on their lives. Rules are usually drawn up to avoid conflict in areas governing, for instance, pets, parking, noise, limitations on guests, hours of operation and restrictions. Each condo unit will make its own unique rules.

Each year (in most cases), a board is elected that ensures that the existing rules are adhered to. Their duties also include the making of new rules, if such a situation arises to require one.

New rules will always have the input of the residents. They are usually drawn up according to local bylaws; but are much easier to apply than bylaws. They must also always comply with the state and federal law. Whatever laws are already in place must, if necessary, be encompassed in the condo rules. For instance in the case of the Fair Housing Law which is already in existence, no condo ruling can overrule the basics of that law.

The governing documents, which are the rules you should ask to read before you buy a condo, may not be changed by the board. An amendment must be made to the governing documents which must be agreed by the condo residents and voted on.

The percentage of the vote which will pass or fail an amendment is already written up in the governing document. Governing documents are rarely changed. The existing residents bought their condos against the backdrop of accepting the rules in place in the governing documents, and any change is not undertaken lightly.

When a rule comes into question, the board will deal with it by trying to resolve the matter. Two types of resolution are the most common: administrative resolution and policy resolution. Policy resolution will be employed if the couple upstairs allows their bath to overflow and flood your unit below. Whose insurance company pays?

The administrative resolutions deal more with the rules of running the board and the procedures involved in calling a home owners meeting etc.If resolutions culminate in a change of ruling, members are advised of a proposed change by a letter with a time span for approval. This allows them time to formulate objections.

The running of condo units under this rule system sounds very fair. If you try and find a condo whose 'rules' match your lifestyle, then you could join the 45 million other condo residents who say that their residential rules enhance their life.

This article was written on behalf of experienced real estate agent, Virginia Wherland. Edina Minneapolis real estate features upscale condo properties set in a gorgeous residential area. Visit Virginia and her team at Associates Realty for all of your Minneapolis real estate inquiries.

Investing in penny stocks – is it worth the risk?

By: Jhoana Cooper
Investing is something many people have turned to in order to make some money on the side. Since stock trades are now the most viable solution for investing a sum of money into something potentially profitable, this is a path many have undertaken.

I believe that most people know what stocks are. A company can be characterized through its total assets minus all of its liabilities. A stock represents the portion of that result which is held by a shareholder at a given time. Stocks can be more or less profitable, depending on the efficiency of the company and its ability to return profit for each dollar that was invested into it.

The companies included in the stock trades market can be divided in two categories. Large companies, with high quotations are traded in the major exchanges like New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations or American Stock Exchange. These are the places where people with significant income can play around, because the transactions reach incredible sums.

But for other people that try to enter this market with a relatively low investment there are other options like the penny stocks market. This implies greater risks from the investor’s point of view, but great risks can involve great rewards.

If you wonder what penny stocks are, let me try to explain. One of the first conditions that must be satisfied is the low price of the stock, which is under 5 dollars. The market capitalization of the company must also be under 500 million dollars.

If an investor that is searching for a quick solution to enter the stock trades market with a low amount to start with, then penny stocks might be the answer. However there are some things you should consider before you make any investment.

The potential to make incredible amounts of money in a relatively short period of time is indeed one of the most appealing factors that draw investors towards penny stocks. Because of the low listings, any change in the prices can result in hundreds of times the initial investment. Some people may become rich over night if they make the right choices.

On the other hand, there is also the possibility to lose all your money. One of the reasons for this may be due to the lack of potential buyers, which can result in good theoretical earnings, but if there is no one to buy, they stay theoretical. There is also the chance for the stocks to plummet, which will result in great losses instead of great earnings.

The penny stock trades market requires little documentation from the companies listed and therefore it is a little difficult to gather information on the company you are looking to invest in. These companies are small trying to make it big or they could be lacking in cash.

One of the best solutions you can hope for is trying to find as much information as you can and always consult your financial advisor. Since the Internet is one of the best sources for information, this is the place you should start. One of the best websites for this can be found at speculatingstocks.com.

Trying to find the companies that are worth investing in on this stock trades market can be a difficult task. Whether the risk of investing in penny stocks is worth taking or not is entirely up to the investor, because it can be risky or rewarding.

Start Investing: Get a Broker

By: Samantha Asher
So you have saved some money and you are now ready to put it to good use. The .5% you are collecting in your traditional bank account, or even your 3% return on your online savings account just isn't cutting it anymore. It's great that you are interested in investing and want to make more money.

Before you begin, you need to decide what type of investment you want to get. Are you going to buy stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual funds, or something else? Where you buy your investments will depend on what you are buying. For example, you can buy a bond at your bank or online through TreasuryDirect.com, but in order to buy stocks you need a broker.

Online brokerage firms are great for beginner investors and seasoned investors alike. You can place trades online at home as well as see the performance right on your own computer. Not too long ago, you had to call your broker when you wanted to buy or sell. Now that you can do it online, it has gotten a lot easier.

The online brokerage firm I use is Sharebuilder. I have been using them for about 2 years now and I have been pleased. It only costs $4 for each order. They have excellent service and even offer mutual funds if you aren't too stock choosing savvy.

Signing up is very simple. If you want to sign up with Sharebuilder just visit the link at the end of this article. Signing up is easy. First, click through the link to get to the site. Go through the sign up process and fill out a few forms. You will have to either fax or mail copies of ID and verification. This is a good thing; it adds to the security of your account.

Sharebuilder is a very secure account. You have to log into your account with a password and you need more verification before you can place a trade. Also, they have the padlock in the browser when you're on the site. Make sure you see this next to the address bar to ensure your safety.

Once you have signed up and have everything verified, you are read to start investing. You can buy stocks on the third Tuesday of the month or opt to trade stocks more frequently for a little more cost. You can even set up an automatic investment plan so that you are investing on a regular basis. Waste no time, start investing now!

How do I start Investing? If you need more information on investing and how to get started, go to LearnAboutInvesting.info

How Early can You Start Investing?

By: Samantha Asher
If you could invest $100 a year from the day you were born until you retire at age 65 and you earned a 10% return in the stock market, you would retire with over $500,000. $500,000 might not seem like as much in 65 years because of inflation, but this still doesn't doubt the power of time on your investments.

Increase that amount of money and you can earn much more. The problem is your parents probably didn't start investing even just $1 a year from the day you were born. Still, the earlier the better when investing. You probably can't start investing at age 5 if only because you don't make any money at that age, but when can you start investing?

If you are grown and out of school with a full time job, you should definitely be investing. Ideally, you have some type of retirement account such as a 401K or an IRA and possibly some of your own investments such as a mutual fund.

If you are wondering if your kids are old enough or if you are in high school or college and are thinking about investing, just think as soon as possible. There are a few obstacles for young investors.

If you are a minor, it is harder to start investing. You can have your parents open up an account in trust for you or just ask them to make investments for you and keep track of them and transfer them to you when you are old enough. If you have absolutely no way to start investing and no one to trust to help you, then just start saving. It's likely you wouldn't have much to invest anyway at such a young age.

This brings us to the next obstacle. As a teenager or preteen, you may not make much money, if any at all. Even if you are in college, you might not be working and instead are focusing on your schoolwork. This is fine. Save whatever money you do make that you don't absolutely need. When you do start investing, you will have some money to start.

If you aren't ready to start investing real money, you can always practice in the stock market. Wall Street Survivor is a great program that offers a stock market simulation game. It is absolutely free and you can even win cash prizes. They will give you $100,000 of imaginary money to invest and allow you to practice your investing skills. While you won't make any real money, you won't risk any either.

You can save money at any age, and with Wall Street Survivor you can at least practice investing at any age. Get a head start and when you are ready to invest, you will be more than ready!

Are you ready to start investing money while in college? It's never too early to start investing and college is the perfect time. Learn more about investing and how to get started at LearnAboutInvesting.info

Creative Real Estate Investment Financing

By: Brad Wozny
Creative real estate investment shapes the real estate investment behavior of individuals. Real estate, also known as immovable property, comprises of land or anything permanently connected to the land, like buildings. Real Estate is often viewed and used in contrast to personal property. With the development of private property ownership real estate investment has come up as an emerging area of business.

Creative real estate investment is commonly known as creative realty investment. It comprises of the purchase, sale of residential land and building and non residential buildings. The main conduits involved in this are landlords, tenants, buyers, developers, builders, real estate agents et al. The development in hospitality, entertainment and IT sectors are highly influencing for the creative real estate investment business.

Creative real estate investment as viewed normally is not only the business of the rich strata of the society as even if the investment is low it can reap huge benefits. Certain points are to be kept in mind before go for creative real estate investing in this business like where to invest and how to invest.

The people involved in this business should have a complete and comprehensive knowledge abut the areas, which are risks prone. Success in property is the main cause behind its upsurge in countries like USA, Canada, Australia, Europe and New Zealand. The best way to get stated with creative real estate investment is to advertise.

Creative real estate investment is an art for successful real estate investment. One should start from the initial stage of gathering information and resources. Apart from that getting information from the net, the local newspaper is of utmost help. Information from the bulletin board also helps a lot. The legal section of the newspaper also helps in getting the right kind of information.

A list of the houses, which are fire damaged or abandoned, should be made with notices attached to it so that it may help in getting the buyer. The neighbors should be talked to as they have full information about the buyer and other sell plans. Attending free seminars also gives an insight into the nuances of the creative real estate investment business. Real estate agents and real estate brokers are also there who help getting information on investment.

This way it can be said that creative real estate investment is one of the business ventures, which involves minimum risks, and maximum gains. It has now spread over different fields and segments. There has been a remarkable growth in the real estate prices in recent years. This new area of business is attracting many of the newcomers, who want to make good money.

Brad Wozny is a real estate investing expert. Let Brad show you how to connect with eager real estate investor buyers & sellers of investment properties. Access private money & creative lending resources. Claim your FREE Strategic Investment Manifesto and Download your 2 FREE real estate investing mp3 case studies.

Fraudulent Misrepresentation and Recovery of Damage - Corporate and Investment Fraud

By: Leigh Ellis
The law takes a different approach to determining the measure of damages cases of fraud. Indeed the application of the principles results in damages for deceit being higher than those for negligence, which is also a tort. The differences between the assessment of damages in contract and the tort of deceit are:

1. In contract, the damage is assessed by what the parties would have seen as the damage being caused by a breach at the time the contract was formed: the date of the contract. In actions for the tort of deceit, damage is assessed by reference to the date the tort was committed;

2. The correct measures of damages in tort is the sum that would place the claimant in the position they would have been in if the fraudulent representation had not taken place; this contrasts with the position in contract, where the award is the sum that would place the claimant in the position they would have been in of the warranty or condition were true; and

3. In tortious claims, compound interest may be awarded as opposed to the standard of simple interest.
The end result is that claimant is entitled to recover their whole entire loss of sums that they are out of pocket, rather than simply what they expected to gain under a contract.

Entering into the contract knowing that the representation is fraudulent does not preclude recovery. Often, a businesses contract with the defendant will be entered into in reliance of statements by third parties of a who have a relationship with the defendant. They are also potentially liable for deceit.

No Resultant Contract

Where no contract has resulted from the deceitful conduct, the measure of damages is the damage that the innocent party can show resulted from the fraudulent inducement. Thus expenses incurred in reliance of the inducement may be recovered, such as valuation fees and legal fees, along with lost profits. In one case, the claimant, who was a printer, was falsely informed by the defendant that they were entitled to reproduce articles protected by intellectual property rights. The printer was entitled to recover for losses that he expected to make from the contract as well as their expenses preparing for the performance of the contract.
Where the deception leads to permanent loss of goods, the claimant is entitled to recover the market value of the goods lost.

Sales of Assets and Services under Contract

Where the contract is for something other than shares, the measure of damages remains the same: the value transferred, less the value received.
Consequential loss is also recoverable, provided that it is not too remote. This touchstone for consequential loss is whether the loss would have taken place in the ordinary course of events. Instances of losses recovered include refit expenses where a ship was purchased for international trade; and where a business is purchased in reliance of a deceit, the expenses incurred and capital losses were recoverable.

Investment Fraud

To take an illustration of how damages for fraudulent misrepresentation are calculated, in a sale of shares, the proper sum for damages in contract is the sum paid less the market value of the shares. Where the transaction is tainted by fraud, the purchase price is reduced by the actual value of the shares (if any) at the time of purchase. The date at which these sums are calculated is at the date of the allotment of the shares. The actual value of the shares is the value of the shares if the defendant knew the truth of the factitious circumstances that deceptively gave value to the shares. The actual value of the shares may well be nil.
The reason courts use the actual value rather than the market value of the shares is because the market value is not necessarily the relevant marker to which the actual value of the shares may be attached, because of the factitious and delusive circumstances of the valuation. The market value is evidence of value and not proof of it.
The tortious approach to calculating damages essentially indemnifies the innocent party from losses on the transaction.

Conclusions

Such are the ways and means that damage may arise from fraudulent conduct, the assessment of damages and loss to a party are entirely reliant on the circumstances of the case. Accordingly, no two cases are different and require an independent calculation of the damage suffered by the particular defendant.

Gillhams Solicitors is a business law firm in the City of London. Our lawyers provide legal advice on international commercial litigation and international intellectual property business disputes.

Factors involved in investment decision

By: William
The motive behind our investments is to make money and increase our monetary wealth. With so many factors involved, investment decision is a complex one. Small investors often go with their gut feelings when trying to choose among numerous alternatives to invest. Big investors use various analyzing techniques. Globalization and the growth of internet have introduced many new opportunities and threats to ponder upon. When investing, you are committing your assets for sometime, that is why you need to cover all aspects before making an investment decision.

Expected Return:
The most basic investment decisions revolve around the comparison of expected return and risk involved. No investor will take on higher risk if there is no chance of equally higher returns. Investors strive to reach on the best trade-off point between risk and return which go well with their financial requirements. These expected returns are not always equal to what an investor actually gets after some time. The possibility that actual return will not be the same what they expect is called risk.

Risk Factor:
There is hardly some form of investment which doesn't involve risk. Government securities come close to be called risk free; but even they have some risks attached to them. Risk actually is the balancing factor of the financial markets. Various types of investment risk exist, such as financial risk, currency risk, inflation risk or capital risk are the most common one. Different investors react differently to these risks. While majority of the investors are risk averse, there are some investors who are seeking more risky ones with expectations of higher yields.

Investor’s Hunch:
Every investor will finish off with a different conclusion although the market, economy and all statistical facts and figures are same for everyone. This difference comes from the investor’s intuition. Some will start from research; by collecting lots of information and then analyzing to decide, others start from defining their objectives and then going for opportunities that suit their needs.

Globalization Factor:
Investors have slowly started to realize the advantages of international investments. Some emerging markets present better returns while other stable markets provide lesser risks. Investors have often conquered risk by diversification, and an international market provides more opportunities to achieve portfolio diversification as compared to a local market. Ignoring global markets for investment is turning your back on a whole new world of opportunities.

William King is the director of UK Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers, www.dailytrader.com> Wholesale Trade Suppliers, Dropshippers, Distributors & Manufacturers. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers and startups with their product sourcing, promotion, marketing and supply chain requirements.