By: William King
The motive behind our investments is to make money and increase our monetary wealth. With so many factors involved, investment decision becomes a complex one. Small investors often go with their gut feelings when trying to choose among numerous investment alternatives. 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 must remember that 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. Even the deciding process is different, some start from research; collecting lots of information and then analyzing to decide, others start from defining their objectives and then going for the options 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, UK Wholesale Suppliers, Distributors, Dropshippers & Manufacturers. He has 18 years of experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping retailers.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Have You Considered Offshore Investments?
By: Deon Melchior
These days most of us try very hard to invest at least a little money for our future retirement years so that we aren’t dependant on government or corporate pensions. But have you considered offshore investments?
You’ve probably heard about offshore investments but you may have been misled to believe that you had to be rich to play in the offshore
market. That’s simply not true. The only difference between normal investments and offshore investments is that you are placing your money in an account with a bank that is not in the United States.
There are quite a few advantages to offshore investments. There is far less regulations so fund managers are not as restricted and are able to act more freely. The lack of regulations also means that you are going to pay a lot less taxes! Offshore accounts invest fund in countries that have either no tax laws or minimal tax laws. That means you will pay a lot less in taxes and have a lot more available to invest.
Some individuals are concerned that because there is less regulation that the risks are too high. There is the potential for higher risk however if you are a good investor and do your homework the risk is really no greater than investments made within the United States.
Another perk to offshore investments is that your privacy is assured. Most countries that deal in offshore investments have laws to protect the investor’s privacy. This means there is no reporting to the government and there is no way to obtain this private information from a foreign country.
The privacy law is a huge benefit especially if you have large amounts you want to invest. This is why we sometimes think that offshore investments are only for the rich. It’s also very beneficial if you have assets you want to protect from litigation. These days it seems even one is suing over something and the courts are often finding in favor of the complainant no matter how ridiculous. One way to protect your company’s assets is to invest them offshore. Offshore countries don’t recognize these judgments and assets in these countries cannot be seized.
Using offshore investments as part of your estate planning is also very smart. That’s because most of these countries have simple estate laws and tax laws. Estate planning offshore is growing in popularity.
Setting up an offshore investment account requires a few steps. You must either live in the offshore country or establish a legal presence in that country. Since few people live in the offshore country they invest in, the standard method is to create an offshore corporation. There are many companies that will set up your corporation and complete the paperwork so you can get started in investing offshore.
The corporation you need to set up is called an IBC or LLC which means International Business Corporation or Limited Liability Corporation. Once your corporation is established and the paperwork has been filed you can begin investing or you can transfer your current portfolio. Because all investments go through your IBC or LLC your personal identity is never involved.
Offshore investments may not be for everyone but if you have assets you would like to protect, you want your investments confidential, or you want the tax breaks then you should consider offshore investments to help you meet your financial goals.
Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.
These days most of us try very hard to invest at least a little money for our future retirement years so that we aren’t dependant on government or corporate pensions. But have you considered offshore investments?
You’ve probably heard about offshore investments but you may have been misled to believe that you had to be rich to play in the offshore
market. That’s simply not true. The only difference between normal investments and offshore investments is that you are placing your money in an account with a bank that is not in the United States.
There are quite a few advantages to offshore investments. There is far less regulations so fund managers are not as restricted and are able to act more freely. The lack of regulations also means that you are going to pay a lot less taxes! Offshore accounts invest fund in countries that have either no tax laws or minimal tax laws. That means you will pay a lot less in taxes and have a lot more available to invest.
Some individuals are concerned that because there is less regulation that the risks are too high. There is the potential for higher risk however if you are a good investor and do your homework the risk is really no greater than investments made within the United States.
Another perk to offshore investments is that your privacy is assured. Most countries that deal in offshore investments have laws to protect the investor’s privacy. This means there is no reporting to the government and there is no way to obtain this private information from a foreign country.
The privacy law is a huge benefit especially if you have large amounts you want to invest. This is why we sometimes think that offshore investments are only for the rich. It’s also very beneficial if you have assets you want to protect from litigation. These days it seems even one is suing over something and the courts are often finding in favor of the complainant no matter how ridiculous. One way to protect your company’s assets is to invest them offshore. Offshore countries don’t recognize these judgments and assets in these countries cannot be seized.
Using offshore investments as part of your estate planning is also very smart. That’s because most of these countries have simple estate laws and tax laws. Estate planning offshore is growing in popularity.
Setting up an offshore investment account requires a few steps. You must either live in the offshore country or establish a legal presence in that country. Since few people live in the offshore country they invest in, the standard method is to create an offshore corporation. There are many companies that will set up your corporation and complete the paperwork so you can get started in investing offshore.
The corporation you need to set up is called an IBC or LLC which means International Business Corporation or Limited Liability Corporation. Once your corporation is established and the paperwork has been filed you can begin investing or you can transfer your current portfolio. Because all investments go through your IBC or LLC your personal identity is never involved.
Offshore investments may not be for everyone but if you have assets you would like to protect, you want your investments confidential, or you want the tax breaks then you should consider offshore investments to help you meet your financial goals.
Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Discovering The Different Types Of Investors And Stocks
By: James Stein
Overall, there are three different kinds of investments. These include stocks, bonds, and cash. There is quite a bit to discover about each different investment.
The stock market can be very scary for those that know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. The types of investors are either conservative, moderate, or aggressive. The different types of investments also cater to the two different levels of risk tolerance which are high risk and low risk.
Different Investor Types
* Conservative investors often invest in cash. This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time. These are also low risk investments.
* Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.
* Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is a higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth - or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn\'t which is why it is a high risk.
Different Stock Types
The different types of stock are what confuse most first time investors. That confusion causes many people to turn away from the stock market altogether, or to make unwise investments with their money. If you are going to get involved in the stock market, you must know what types of stocks are available and what it all means!
Common Stock is a term that you will hear quite often. Anyone can purchase common stock, regardless of age, income, age, or financial standing. Common stock is essentially part ownership in the business you are investing your capital in. As the company grows and earns money, the value of your stock rises. On the other hand, if the company does poorly or goes bankrupt, the value of your stock falls. Common stock holders do not participate in the day to day operations of a business, but they do have the power to elect the board of directors.
Along with common stock, there are also different classes of stock. The different classes of stock in one company are often called Class A and Class B. The first class, class A, essentially gives the stock owner more votes per share of stock than the owners of class B stock. The ability to create different classes of stock in a corporation has existed since 1987. Many investors avoid stock that has more than one class, and stocks that have more than one class are not called common stock.
The most upscale type of stock is of course the Preferred Stock. Preferred stock isn\'t exactly a stock. It is a mix of a stock and a bond. The owner\'s of preferred stock can lay claim to the assets of the company if there is a case of bankruptcy. Preferred stock holders get the proceeds of the profits from a companies bankruptcy before the common stock owners. If you are looking into the preferred stock area, be aware that the company typically has the right to buy the stock back from the stock owner and stop paying dividends.
Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!
Overall, there are three different kinds of investments. These include stocks, bonds, and cash. There is quite a bit to discover about each different investment.
The stock market can be very scary for those that know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. The types of investors are either conservative, moderate, or aggressive. The different types of investments also cater to the two different levels of risk tolerance which are high risk and low risk.
Different Investor Types
* Conservative investors often invest in cash. This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time. These are also low risk investments.
* Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.
* Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is a higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth - or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn\'t which is why it is a high risk.
Different Stock Types
The different types of stock are what confuse most first time investors. That confusion causes many people to turn away from the stock market altogether, or to make unwise investments with their money. If you are going to get involved in the stock market, you must know what types of stocks are available and what it all means!
Common Stock is a term that you will hear quite often. Anyone can purchase common stock, regardless of age, income, age, or financial standing. Common stock is essentially part ownership in the business you are investing your capital in. As the company grows and earns money, the value of your stock rises. On the other hand, if the company does poorly or goes bankrupt, the value of your stock falls. Common stock holders do not participate in the day to day operations of a business, but they do have the power to elect the board of directors.
Along with common stock, there are also different classes of stock. The different classes of stock in one company are often called Class A and Class B. The first class, class A, essentially gives the stock owner more votes per share of stock than the owners of class B stock. The ability to create different classes of stock in a corporation has existed since 1987. Many investors avoid stock that has more than one class, and stocks that have more than one class are not called common stock.
The most upscale type of stock is of course the Preferred Stock. Preferred stock isn\'t exactly a stock. It is a mix of a stock and a bond. The owner\'s of preferred stock can lay claim to the assets of the company if there is a case of bankruptcy. Preferred stock holders get the proceeds of the profits from a companies bankruptcy before the common stock owners. If you are looking into the preferred stock area, be aware that the company typically has the right to buy the stock back from the stock owner and stop paying dividends.
Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!
5 Quick Retirement Investment Tips To Consider
By: Manny St Cyr
There is plenty someone can do even after retirement. It is an end to one chapter in a person’s life and the beginning of another.
There are many things a person can do such as learn new skills, take classes and be more active with the community. By staying active, one’s mental development is still sharp making the person feel important.
Most people find out that money is very much a necessity after retirement as it is used for paying bills and other expenses instead of using it for the things you planed for after retirement. You shouldn’t be waiting around for retirement benefits to kick in, instead here are some tips you can use to keep it growing.
1. Don’t wait until retirement to start saving. You could start saving at an early age by creating a detailed plan. Some insurance companies and financial institutions have good rates which, in the long run, might possibly even double the money that you have invested, if its in for a couple of years.
2. Bonds is another form of investment you could use. Bonds mature over a period of time and usually have a good growth percentage.
3. Stocks are also a good option since businesses usually grow and profit earnings on a quarterly level as well as acquisitions and other deals increase the value of the shares.
4. Purchasing real estate is also a good investment. Unlike cars that depreciate in value once it leaves the lot, the price of properties go up. You can hold it for a few years then wait until the time is right to resell it making a profit.
5. You could get a IRA ( investment retirement account ). There are several types available that come with earning promises and are also good tax advantages.
There are many ways to invest a little in the begining to get a good sound return later. The idea is to look into the many options available either through your own research or the help of a financial advisor, you can start taking charge of your financial future. The choice is really up to you.
For other families they are facing extensive dental work including orthodontics for several of their children. This family will be most concerned with finding affordable health insurance that has a provision that includes dental work.
When the time comes to deciding on an affordable insurance plan for you and your family, its good to get a few quotes. Then weigh the pros and cons of each individual company and choose the plan that will fit your medical needs and most not to mention your budget.
For More Tips on financial investments for retirement for you and your family. Visit The Financial & Insurance Tips Journal We can help guide you towards your financial needs.
There is plenty someone can do even after retirement. It is an end to one chapter in a person’s life and the beginning of another.
There are many things a person can do such as learn new skills, take classes and be more active with the community. By staying active, one’s mental development is still sharp making the person feel important.
Most people find out that money is very much a necessity after retirement as it is used for paying bills and other expenses instead of using it for the things you planed for after retirement. You shouldn’t be waiting around for retirement benefits to kick in, instead here are some tips you can use to keep it growing.
1. Don’t wait until retirement to start saving. You could start saving at an early age by creating a detailed plan. Some insurance companies and financial institutions have good rates which, in the long run, might possibly even double the money that you have invested, if its in for a couple of years.
2. Bonds is another form of investment you could use. Bonds mature over a period of time and usually have a good growth percentage.
3. Stocks are also a good option since businesses usually grow and profit earnings on a quarterly level as well as acquisitions and other deals increase the value of the shares.
4. Purchasing real estate is also a good investment. Unlike cars that depreciate in value once it leaves the lot, the price of properties go up. You can hold it for a few years then wait until the time is right to resell it making a profit.
5. You could get a IRA ( investment retirement account ). There are several types available that come with earning promises and are also good tax advantages.
There are many ways to invest a little in the begining to get a good sound return later. The idea is to look into the many options available either through your own research or the help of a financial advisor, you can start taking charge of your financial future. The choice is really up to you.
For other families they are facing extensive dental work including orthodontics for several of their children. This family will be most concerned with finding affordable health insurance that has a provision that includes dental work.
When the time comes to deciding on an affordable insurance plan for you and your family, its good to get a few quotes. Then weigh the pros and cons of each individual company and choose the plan that will fit your medical needs and most not to mention your budget.
For More Tips on financial investments for retirement for you and your family. Visit The Financial & Insurance Tips Journal We can help guide you towards your financial needs.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Investing Your Cash - Realty or Vault?
By: Christian Jacobsen
House prices have almost doubled in the last ten years, but even so, is the bank a safer bet for your savings? There are many articles written lately urging the public to 'invest' in realty. These investments are suggested in several forms: e.g. as a second home, as accommodation for your university student child in another town, or an astute chance for a first-time buyer.
The reasons given for the 'invest-now' message is two-fold. Firstly, the mortgage rates are still very low and secondly the cost of property has dropped. True. Or more accurately, the cost of property is dropping, dropping, dropping. Is this acknowledged continual dropping a good climate for buying?
A company called Global Insight has recently released figures reporting that seventy five per cent of US housing markets have shown decreased prices for the third straight period. They based their research on 262 out of 330 housing markets.
Therefore three quarters of known housing markets in USA are suffering continuing price decreases, and no-one wants to buy a house that may drop further. Much of the business guile in property investment is to catch the market when it has finished dropping to its very lowest, and is just starting on the up-turn. There is no guaranteed formula for knowing this!
Since the market is still dropping, many seasoned investors are holding off - for now. This means there are even more properties on the market that will be snatched up in a flash when the realty climate changes course. If you are planning on buying a value-priced property, the first things that you must take care of are preparing your finances and choosing your real estate agent.
If there is a hint of an upturn, experienced investors will get there first with their cash deals. Obviously someone who has yet to be approved will not fare well against this competition, so become approved. To get 'first pick' choose your real estate agent carefully. A keen agent will analyze exactly what you are looking for and will have access to each listing before you.
Perhaps even before you plan the 'how to' of buying an investment property, you should run through the 'whys?'. Would you be investing to make a quick profit, or is it to build your financial portfolio?
If it is to make a quick profit, you may wish to run through some figures with an accountant or tax professional. Costs to be taken into account could include: the sale price and approximately 5% closing fees. When you re-sell, you must deduct from the profit margin approximately 8% selling and legal fees and the cost of the interest on the mortgage. You may also have to pay a penalty to the lender for early release on the loan and renovation costs.
There are many other numbers to put into the equation, including capital gains tax and mortgage interest rates etc. However, an experienced professional can also advise ways to avoid some of these losses (gift the property before sale, some mortgages offer tax breaks etc).
If the property is for long term acquisition, it is easier to make a profit; time is always on the side of real estate investors. Over the last ten year period house prices have almost doubled, in spite of the current situation. There is no bank that gives such good returns on your savings account.
Visit UtahPropertyFinder.com for an extensive list of available Utah real estate listings. Acquaint yourself with great investment opportunities in the surrounding Utah areas, including Salt Lake County homes for sale.
House prices have almost doubled in the last ten years, but even so, is the bank a safer bet for your savings? There are many articles written lately urging the public to 'invest' in realty. These investments are suggested in several forms: e.g. as a second home, as accommodation for your university student child in another town, or an astute chance for a first-time buyer.
The reasons given for the 'invest-now' message is two-fold. Firstly, the mortgage rates are still very low and secondly the cost of property has dropped. True. Or more accurately, the cost of property is dropping, dropping, dropping. Is this acknowledged continual dropping a good climate for buying?
A company called Global Insight has recently released figures reporting that seventy five per cent of US housing markets have shown decreased prices for the third straight period. They based their research on 262 out of 330 housing markets.
Therefore three quarters of known housing markets in USA are suffering continuing price decreases, and no-one wants to buy a house that may drop further. Much of the business guile in property investment is to catch the market when it has finished dropping to its very lowest, and is just starting on the up-turn. There is no guaranteed formula for knowing this!
Since the market is still dropping, many seasoned investors are holding off - for now. This means there are even more properties on the market that will be snatched up in a flash when the realty climate changes course. If you are planning on buying a value-priced property, the first things that you must take care of are preparing your finances and choosing your real estate agent.
If there is a hint of an upturn, experienced investors will get there first with their cash deals. Obviously someone who has yet to be approved will not fare well against this competition, so become approved. To get 'first pick' choose your real estate agent carefully. A keen agent will analyze exactly what you are looking for and will have access to each listing before you.
Perhaps even before you plan the 'how to' of buying an investment property, you should run through the 'whys?'. Would you be investing to make a quick profit, or is it to build your financial portfolio?
If it is to make a quick profit, you may wish to run through some figures with an accountant or tax professional. Costs to be taken into account could include: the sale price and approximately 5% closing fees. When you re-sell, you must deduct from the profit margin approximately 8% selling and legal fees and the cost of the interest on the mortgage. You may also have to pay a penalty to the lender for early release on the loan and renovation costs.
There are many other numbers to put into the equation, including capital gains tax and mortgage interest rates etc. However, an experienced professional can also advise ways to avoid some of these losses (gift the property before sale, some mortgages offer tax breaks etc).
If the property is for long term acquisition, it is easier to make a profit; time is always on the side of real estate investors. Over the last ten year period house prices have almost doubled, in spite of the current situation. There is no bank that gives such good returns on your savings account.
Visit UtahPropertyFinder.com for an extensive list of available Utah real estate listings. Acquaint yourself with great investment opportunities in the surrounding Utah areas, including Salt Lake County homes for sale.
Why should you invest In Gold Bars?
By: Chris Linux
Through the age’s Gold has always been the metal people feel is worth dying for. Gold has affected all big and small civilizations of the world; it’s been a symbol of power prestige and affluence throughout the ages. Gold is not present in nature in the form as we see it; it’s extracted from ores, washed to remove impurities then refined to make it shiny enough that it appeals to us, even after going through many rigorous processes there will always be some minor impurities.
Gold is smelted then put into moulds and Gold Bars are formed. That’s how gold is transported commercially. Size and shape of bars vary from one refinery to the next but what’s a common practice is that Indicators for quality checks and the purity levels are stamped on each of the bars. Depending upon the size of the gold bar dictates which market the gold is delivered too. With heavier ones solely for commercial and financial purposes. Smaller gold bars are sent to banks and jewelers shops from where investors can purchase them. Buying a Gold bar seems like a good investment for every investor no matter high big or small.
Gold bars are tangible and provide instant liquidity as you can cash them in anytime for currency in a crisis. Picking gold bars is the right investment for those looking to protect themselves from oncoming recession worries. As with the 1930's crash in America people with money and power look to commodoties such as gold and silver for financial security of their own money. This the pushes the price of gold up and allows anyone who purchases gold eary to ride a wave of panic buying and wealth hoarding. It is known throughout history that when economys face financial trouble. People turn to a safer option for their money. As all our currencies in the world are backed by gold bullion. It makes pefect sense to invest in gold in a financial crisis. As its only a matter of time before people start buying for safety and the price goes up.
Another strong reason for buying gold bars over other gold bullion like gold coins is that certain types of gold coins especially old one’s like British Sovereigns may not be easily sold in times of need. There are hefty premiums on god coins and they are produced mainly for the collectors market. When a crisis hits the economy most people are buying gold for security rather than a collectors point of view. And if the worst comes to the worst. A gold coin is only a certain amount of gold. Regardless of the design stamped into the the coin. It still only has a basic intrinsic value when smelted down back into gold. Ive always thought the premium on gold coins is not justified when purchasing gold for security investments.
While buying gold bars few things need to be kept in mind like double checking the purity on each of the gold bars that you buy. You should be looking for .999% purity. Also if ever there comes a time when you need to trade in your gold bar for cash, smaller bars will be easier to liquidate. Try and buy some 2.5 gram, 5 gram 10, 20 and 50 gram gold bars for smaller everyday trading. Or you may lose out when over the counter purchases. Storage and transportation of gold bars is easy and it’s a smart way to preserve oneself from ups and downs of the market and surrounding political uncertainty. How much you can invest depends solely on you, but there’s no doubt that each of the gold bars you buy today will be worth their weight in gold even tomorrow - so to speak.
Looking for cheap Gold Bars the check out Gold Bullion sales for cheap gold prices.
Through the age’s Gold has always been the metal people feel is worth dying for. Gold has affected all big and small civilizations of the world; it’s been a symbol of power prestige and affluence throughout the ages. Gold is not present in nature in the form as we see it; it’s extracted from ores, washed to remove impurities then refined to make it shiny enough that it appeals to us, even after going through many rigorous processes there will always be some minor impurities.
Gold is smelted then put into moulds and Gold Bars are formed. That’s how gold is transported commercially. Size and shape of bars vary from one refinery to the next but what’s a common practice is that Indicators for quality checks and the purity levels are stamped on each of the bars. Depending upon the size of the gold bar dictates which market the gold is delivered too. With heavier ones solely for commercial and financial purposes. Smaller gold bars are sent to banks and jewelers shops from where investors can purchase them. Buying a Gold bar seems like a good investment for every investor no matter high big or small.
Gold bars are tangible and provide instant liquidity as you can cash them in anytime for currency in a crisis. Picking gold bars is the right investment for those looking to protect themselves from oncoming recession worries. As with the 1930's crash in America people with money and power look to commodoties such as gold and silver for financial security of their own money. This the pushes the price of gold up and allows anyone who purchases gold eary to ride a wave of panic buying and wealth hoarding. It is known throughout history that when economys face financial trouble. People turn to a safer option for their money. As all our currencies in the world are backed by gold bullion. It makes pefect sense to invest in gold in a financial crisis. As its only a matter of time before people start buying for safety and the price goes up.
Another strong reason for buying gold bars over other gold bullion like gold coins is that certain types of gold coins especially old one’s like British Sovereigns may not be easily sold in times of need. There are hefty premiums on god coins and they are produced mainly for the collectors market. When a crisis hits the economy most people are buying gold for security rather than a collectors point of view. And if the worst comes to the worst. A gold coin is only a certain amount of gold. Regardless of the design stamped into the the coin. It still only has a basic intrinsic value when smelted down back into gold. Ive always thought the premium on gold coins is not justified when purchasing gold for security investments.
While buying gold bars few things need to be kept in mind like double checking the purity on each of the gold bars that you buy. You should be looking for .999% purity. Also if ever there comes a time when you need to trade in your gold bar for cash, smaller bars will be easier to liquidate. Try and buy some 2.5 gram, 5 gram 10, 20 and 50 gram gold bars for smaller everyday trading. Or you may lose out when over the counter purchases. Storage and transportation of gold bars is easy and it’s a smart way to preserve oneself from ups and downs of the market and surrounding political uncertainty. How much you can invest depends solely on you, but there’s no doubt that each of the gold bars you buy today will be worth their weight in gold even tomorrow - so to speak.
Looking for cheap Gold Bars the check out Gold Bullion sales for cheap gold prices.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Investing: Starting With A Good Foundation
By: Preston Guyton
The world of investing in real estate is simply a highly lucrative one. With more people making more money on real estate than ever before, everyone wants to try their hand at making the big bucks. However, so many people jump into this world without proper preparation and find themselves floundering and not being able to afford the upkeep of their properties. As with any form of investment the first thing you need before making a run at it is a good, solid foundation and the knowledge of what is going to work and what isn't. It's kind of like buying stocks blindly. you would not dream of buying stocks without first researching them and the companies. find out what they stand for and how they have performed over time. The same holds true with real estate.
There is really no point in investing in something if you don't know what you want from it and what hurdles you have to jump along the way. Investing in real estate is a bit more difficult than simply mortgaging or purchasing a property and renting it out or flipping it. Television is a main culprit in the mindset that investing is just that simple. What you don't see on those investing shows is all the legwork and planning that go into a typical purchase. Trust me, there is a lot more that goes into an investment than can be covered in 1 hour minus commercials.
Investing is all about having a game plan with failsafe's built right in. Let's look at a couple of things that you may want to consider in making a real estate investment.
Location - This is incredibly important. If you are planning on making a long-term investment then you will be looking for an area that offers a lot to residents. Areas with schools, shopping centers, recreation facilities etc. It is more difficult to rent a home in the boonies than it is to rent a home in an urban area. If flipping a home is your plan then look for areas that are hot. New developments, condos and town homes are great places to look for this kind of thing. Talk to your realtor and find out which area of the city is selling fast, that is the kind of area you want for a flip.
Cleanliness- The key factor of almost any real estate transaction. Nobody wants to rent or buy a dirty home. renting will be dependant on keeping the property in good condition for some time so as to be appealing to renters. Also being attentive to the needs of said renters is important. An ignorant or careless landlord attracts tenants of the same caliber. Bad tenants can be a nightmare that no landlord wants to deal with so be sure to get to know people before they rent your property.
Finances - An investment should never have the ability to break you financially. This is where the failsafe's come in. Make sure you have the funds to look after the property if you cannot immediately find renters or if the home take longer than anticipated to sell. If you build yourself a financial buffer then you can be properly insulated from taking a loss if things do not go according to plan.
Invest smart and don't rush into things. You are making a big play for your financial future so it is not something to be taken lightly. Make sure you make the right decisions and always be prepared in case you make a mistake.
Preston Guyton is a professional Realtor® serving the Myrtle Beach real estate market. For more information on Myrtle Beach homes & properties, contact Preston today or visit www.prestonguyton.com.
The world of investing in real estate is simply a highly lucrative one. With more people making more money on real estate than ever before, everyone wants to try their hand at making the big bucks. However, so many people jump into this world without proper preparation and find themselves floundering and not being able to afford the upkeep of their properties. As with any form of investment the first thing you need before making a run at it is a good, solid foundation and the knowledge of what is going to work and what isn't. It's kind of like buying stocks blindly. you would not dream of buying stocks without first researching them and the companies. find out what they stand for and how they have performed over time. The same holds true with real estate.
There is really no point in investing in something if you don't know what you want from it and what hurdles you have to jump along the way. Investing in real estate is a bit more difficult than simply mortgaging or purchasing a property and renting it out or flipping it. Television is a main culprit in the mindset that investing is just that simple. What you don't see on those investing shows is all the legwork and planning that go into a typical purchase. Trust me, there is a lot more that goes into an investment than can be covered in 1 hour minus commercials.
Investing is all about having a game plan with failsafe's built right in. Let's look at a couple of things that you may want to consider in making a real estate investment.
Location - This is incredibly important. If you are planning on making a long-term investment then you will be looking for an area that offers a lot to residents. Areas with schools, shopping centers, recreation facilities etc. It is more difficult to rent a home in the boonies than it is to rent a home in an urban area. If flipping a home is your plan then look for areas that are hot. New developments, condos and town homes are great places to look for this kind of thing. Talk to your realtor and find out which area of the city is selling fast, that is the kind of area you want for a flip.
Cleanliness- The key factor of almost any real estate transaction. Nobody wants to rent or buy a dirty home. renting will be dependant on keeping the property in good condition for some time so as to be appealing to renters. Also being attentive to the needs of said renters is important. An ignorant or careless landlord attracts tenants of the same caliber. Bad tenants can be a nightmare that no landlord wants to deal with so be sure to get to know people before they rent your property.
Finances - An investment should never have the ability to break you financially. This is where the failsafe's come in. Make sure you have the funds to look after the property if you cannot immediately find renters or if the home take longer than anticipated to sell. If you build yourself a financial buffer then you can be properly insulated from taking a loss if things do not go according to plan.
Invest smart and don't rush into things. You are making a big play for your financial future so it is not something to be taken lightly. Make sure you make the right decisions and always be prepared in case you make a mistake.
Preston Guyton is a professional Realtor® serving the Myrtle Beach real estate market. For more information on Myrtle Beach homes & properties, contact Preston today or visit www.prestonguyton.com.
Foreclosures: A Disappearing Bargain Investment
By: Joe Cline
Does the possibility of buying a foreclosure property leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable? It is a sad reflection on the times to write that it is currently a good time to invest in a foreclosure property - but - maybe not for long!
The thought of buying a foreclosed property can feel slightly 'opportunistic' and it may be that many potential buyers opt to avoid it. Well, it should not represent this negativity, because when buying a foreclosure property you are probably doing the previous owners a favor.
By law, once the foreclosure order is finalized it cannot be rescinded in favor of the original owners again. Once foreclosure has finalized, there is no hope for the previous owners to re-own.
Having got that out of the way, and having acknowledged that someone has to buy it - why not you? It is no surprise to report that foreclosures are up, but to realize that the figures are up 94% over this time last year is quite a revelation to most of us!
As usual with any commodity, the rule of supply and demand is coming into play: when there is too much of anything the price will usually drop.
If you feel that buying a foreclosed property may be one way for you to get into the property market, then it is time to move. The reason is because the choices in the foreclosure market may decrease due to the fact that there is more help out there.
As of the month of February, a new organization has been set up to help people with all types of mortgage shortfalls. Several of the affected banks got together to try to decrease the number of homes that would be surrendered.
The mandate for this group, which is called 'Project Lifeline', is far broader than the mandate for the 'HopeNow' team, and it would appear that it would be able to help a far larger sector of the distressed homeowners out there.
It is great that people are getting help from 'Project Lifeline' to save their own houses; the whole country must feel some relief for them. However, if you are looking to buy a bargain, it means there may be less choice soon.
The amount of inventory being returned to the bank is proving to be quite a challenge for the banks, and they certainly do not want to switch to the realty business. It is in their best interests to find a way to help these distressed home owners to keep their homes. This has been a serious problem for the banks; for instance this year in Miami alone, the properties that have been taken back are up by 252% from last January.
Many of these homes end up in real estate agents' offices. Most real estate agents have a selection of homes on their books which may sell for less than market price. Some homes have ended in foreclosure, some are short sales, some are real estate owned (REOs) and others belong to the bank or Lender.
It is a complicated process trying to buy one of these homes, and you will need to work with a real estate agent to feel comfortable with the rate at which the sale proceeds. That is, a foreclosure deal can happen so fast that you may wonder if it is all in order, yet sometimes a short sale will be very taxing on the patience of all concerned!
Real estate agents are familiar with the processes of these deals, and will also know if you have the credentials to successfully pursue them. If you are looking for a home that is more affordable, your first step will be to visit your real estate agent.
Meet Joe Cline and his team at AffinityProperties.com, your one-stop source for information about Austin real estate. This diversified team of highly skilled real estate agents is ready to answer all of your questions regarding Lakeway TX real estate.
Does the possibility of buying a foreclosure property leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable? It is a sad reflection on the times to write that it is currently a good time to invest in a foreclosure property - but - maybe not for long!
The thought of buying a foreclosed property can feel slightly 'opportunistic' and it may be that many potential buyers opt to avoid it. Well, it should not represent this negativity, because when buying a foreclosure property you are probably doing the previous owners a favor.
By law, once the foreclosure order is finalized it cannot be rescinded in favor of the original owners again. Once foreclosure has finalized, there is no hope for the previous owners to re-own.
Having got that out of the way, and having acknowledged that someone has to buy it - why not you? It is no surprise to report that foreclosures are up, but to realize that the figures are up 94% over this time last year is quite a revelation to most of us!
As usual with any commodity, the rule of supply and demand is coming into play: when there is too much of anything the price will usually drop.
If you feel that buying a foreclosed property may be one way for you to get into the property market, then it is time to move. The reason is because the choices in the foreclosure market may decrease due to the fact that there is more help out there.
As of the month of February, a new organization has been set up to help people with all types of mortgage shortfalls. Several of the affected banks got together to try to decrease the number of homes that would be surrendered.
The mandate for this group, which is called 'Project Lifeline', is far broader than the mandate for the 'HopeNow' team, and it would appear that it would be able to help a far larger sector of the distressed homeowners out there.
It is great that people are getting help from 'Project Lifeline' to save their own houses; the whole country must feel some relief for them. However, if you are looking to buy a bargain, it means there may be less choice soon.
The amount of inventory being returned to the bank is proving to be quite a challenge for the banks, and they certainly do not want to switch to the realty business. It is in their best interests to find a way to help these distressed home owners to keep their homes. This has been a serious problem for the banks; for instance this year in Miami alone, the properties that have been taken back are up by 252% from last January.
Many of these homes end up in real estate agents' offices. Most real estate agents have a selection of homes on their books which may sell for less than market price. Some homes have ended in foreclosure, some are short sales, some are real estate owned (REOs) and others belong to the bank or Lender.
It is a complicated process trying to buy one of these homes, and you will need to work with a real estate agent to feel comfortable with the rate at which the sale proceeds. That is, a foreclosure deal can happen so fast that you may wonder if it is all in order, yet sometimes a short sale will be very taxing on the patience of all concerned!
Real estate agents are familiar with the processes of these deals, and will also know if you have the credentials to successfully pursue them. If you are looking for a home that is more affordable, your first step will be to visit your real estate agent.
Meet Joe Cline and his team at AffinityProperties.com, your one-stop source for information about Austin real estate. This diversified team of highly skilled real estate agents is ready to answer all of your questions regarding Lakeway TX real estate.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Forex Investing: The Basics
By: Camie Ibara
Forex trading has its own rules for the winners, so, if you just started doing business on this market, a little piece of advice will do you good. One rule that you should know about, if you want to be able to protect your capital, is the 10 a.m. rule. Here is an imaginary situation: you want to invest in a forex stock, because you think that you can make a nice profit. As many others know, you are also aware that you must buy when the stock is on the gap down, but, as the market is in rally mode, you see it gaping up. The question is: what should be done?
The answer? You will need to apply the 10 a.m. rule, which means that you wait until this hour and then you buy the correct forex stock. When you see it gaping up, after 10 a.m., it is time to make your move and trade the stock for some profit. Also remember to use stops in order to protect your capital.
As a general rule, the experienced forex users know that a forex stock will know a gap up in the morning, and then it can go all the way down. If you just wait until the clock is 10 a.m., you will not fall into this trap, of investing too much, so later on, you lose everything. There is a chance that the forex stock rises up again after 10 a.m., and then it will be your moment of glory.
We will show you an example to understand what we are talking about. At the closing of the day, the forex stock you are interested in has a price of $140; early in the morning, the next day, the price rises up to $160, as the company makes a two for one stock split announcement. The price continues to rise until 10 a.m., but after a few hours, it is stabilized at 165$. Then it is the moment to buy.
The morning is very important for the forex stocks. They can appear in hot sectors that you are interested in investing, and you will need the 10 a.m. rule, as well. If you make a good buy, and then watch the prices all day long, you can hunt for the best highs of the day, and sell when the moment is right. Some forex stocks open the next day at prices that are lower than they were the previous day; but it is not wise to buy immediately, but wait to see if the forex stock knows another gap down during the day.
Probabilities are a science when it comes to forex stocks. You just need to apply the 10 a.m. rule, to the stocks that you evaluate to be profitable for you. Whether you will win big or not, is only a probability, so you need to maximize your chances. You will avoid some expensive decisions and you will even be able to learn the ways of the trade, while making profit.
Camie Ibara is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com
Forex trading has its own rules for the winners, so, if you just started doing business on this market, a little piece of advice will do you good. One rule that you should know about, if you want to be able to protect your capital, is the 10 a.m. rule. Here is an imaginary situation: you want to invest in a forex stock, because you think that you can make a nice profit. As many others know, you are also aware that you must buy when the stock is on the gap down, but, as the market is in rally mode, you see it gaping up. The question is: what should be done?
The answer? You will need to apply the 10 a.m. rule, which means that you wait until this hour and then you buy the correct forex stock. When you see it gaping up, after 10 a.m., it is time to make your move and trade the stock for some profit. Also remember to use stops in order to protect your capital.
As a general rule, the experienced forex users know that a forex stock will know a gap up in the morning, and then it can go all the way down. If you just wait until the clock is 10 a.m., you will not fall into this trap, of investing too much, so later on, you lose everything. There is a chance that the forex stock rises up again after 10 a.m., and then it will be your moment of glory.
We will show you an example to understand what we are talking about. At the closing of the day, the forex stock you are interested in has a price of $140; early in the morning, the next day, the price rises up to $160, as the company makes a two for one stock split announcement. The price continues to rise until 10 a.m., but after a few hours, it is stabilized at 165$. Then it is the moment to buy.
The morning is very important for the forex stocks. They can appear in hot sectors that you are interested in investing, and you will need the 10 a.m. rule, as well. If you make a good buy, and then watch the prices all day long, you can hunt for the best highs of the day, and sell when the moment is right. Some forex stocks open the next day at prices that are lower than they were the previous day; but it is not wise to buy immediately, but wait to see if the forex stock knows another gap down during the day.
Probabilities are a science when it comes to forex stocks. You just need to apply the 10 a.m. rule, to the stocks that you evaluate to be profitable for you. Whether you will win big or not, is only a probability, so you need to maximize your chances. You will avoid some expensive decisions and you will even be able to learn the ways of the trade, while making profit.
Camie Ibara is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com
Investing Cash
By: Emma Bunting
Cash on deposit in a bank or building society can earn interest. The amount of interest that you will receive depends upon a number of different things:
*The general level of interest rates set by the Bank of England
*The size of your investment may attract higher interest rates
*How long you are prepared to wait before withdrawing your money
Saving accounts or National Savings products which offer interest, is the way most people start investing. But there is some risk involved as the interest you receive after tax may not be enough to allow the value of your cash to keep up with inflation. In the long term this can mean that your money loses value in terms of what it can buy. A £1 coin will always be worth £1, but what you can buy with that coin will reduce with inflation.
Characteristics:
•Safe / Low risk
•Growth in the long term
•Easy to access to your money ( very liquid )
•Little income
•Risk in terms of inflation
Suitable in the case of:
•Use as a transaction account
•Keeping cash on hand for short-term in case of emergencies
•"The need to spread the investments" in your portfolio i.e. diversificaton
•Short-term savings where you cannot afford any risk with your capital
Types of cash:
•Current accounts
•Term / Savings accounts
•Money market accounts
•Certificates of deposits
•Cash Management Trusts or Funds
Bank / Current account: A current account with fixed interest rate per annum. This also means a high liquidity.
Savings account: These accounts pay higher interests than current acounts. They are low risk and suitable for medium term saving. The difference is that you often have a lower liquidity than with current accounts.
Money market account: A deposit is a cash placement with a bank for a fixed period from overnight and up to one year at a rate of interest determined at the outset of the transaction. Interest is accrued at this rate of interest over the chosen period and paid to the depositor with the original amount on the maturity date of deposit.
The ability to deposit cash for specific periods of time offers greater flexibility in the management of both liquidity and interest rate risk. Consequently funds can be invested to match with future cash flow requirements and to 'hedge' against the impact of adverse movements in interest rates. This product is also known as a fixed rate, term or time deposit.
Bank/ Current Certificates of deposits: This Bank/ Current account: A current account with fixed interest rate per annum. This means time deposit is a financial product commonly offered to consumers by banks, fiancial institutions and credit unions. They are similar to savings accounts in that they are insured and so virtually risk-free. They are different from saving accounts in that the certificate of deposit has a specific, fixed term and, usually, a fixed intrest rate. It is intended that the certificate be held until maturity, at which time the money may be withdrawn together with the accrued intrests.
Cash Management Trusts or Funds: A Cash Management Trust is a managed investment that pools your money with the money of many other investors for investment in securities and deposits. It offers you similar flexibility to an "at-call" bank account, with a competitive rate of return.
Emma Bunting is currently working for Stadia Trustees Limited who specialise in SIPPs.
Cash on deposit in a bank or building society can earn interest. The amount of interest that you will receive depends upon a number of different things:
*The general level of interest rates set by the Bank of England
*The size of your investment may attract higher interest rates
*How long you are prepared to wait before withdrawing your money
Saving accounts or National Savings products which offer interest, is the way most people start investing. But there is some risk involved as the interest you receive after tax may not be enough to allow the value of your cash to keep up with inflation. In the long term this can mean that your money loses value in terms of what it can buy. A £1 coin will always be worth £1, but what you can buy with that coin will reduce with inflation.
Characteristics:
•Safe / Low risk
•Growth in the long term
•Easy to access to your money ( very liquid )
•Little income
•Risk in terms of inflation
Suitable in the case of:
•Use as a transaction account
•Keeping cash on hand for short-term in case of emergencies
•"The need to spread the investments" in your portfolio i.e. diversificaton
•Short-term savings where you cannot afford any risk with your capital
Types of cash:
•Current accounts
•Term / Savings accounts
•Money market accounts
•Certificates of deposits
•Cash Management Trusts or Funds
Bank / Current account: A current account with fixed interest rate per annum. This also means a high liquidity.
Savings account: These accounts pay higher interests than current acounts. They are low risk and suitable for medium term saving. The difference is that you often have a lower liquidity than with current accounts.
Money market account: A deposit is a cash placement with a bank for a fixed period from overnight and up to one year at a rate of interest determined at the outset of the transaction. Interest is accrued at this rate of interest over the chosen period and paid to the depositor with the original amount on the maturity date of deposit.
The ability to deposit cash for specific periods of time offers greater flexibility in the management of both liquidity and interest rate risk. Consequently funds can be invested to match with future cash flow requirements and to 'hedge' against the impact of adverse movements in interest rates. This product is also known as a fixed rate, term or time deposit.
Bank/ Current Certificates of deposits: This Bank/ Current account: A current account with fixed interest rate per annum. This means time deposit is a financial product commonly offered to consumers by banks, fiancial institutions and credit unions. They are similar to savings accounts in that they are insured and so virtually risk-free. They are different from saving accounts in that the certificate of deposit has a specific, fixed term and, usually, a fixed intrest rate. It is intended that the certificate be held until maturity, at which time the money may be withdrawn together with the accrued intrests.
Cash Management Trusts or Funds: A Cash Management Trust is a managed investment that pools your money with the money of many other investors for investment in securities and deposits. It offers you similar flexibility to an "at-call" bank account, with a competitive rate of return.
Emma Bunting is currently working for Stadia Trustees Limited who specialise in SIPPs.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Investing For Dummies: Learn The Basics
By: Freeda Poux
You cannot learn about investing without proper knowledge of the stock market. Do not worry, we are here to help.
What about the stock market?
In case you did not know, the stock market is that place where people can buy and sell stocks and shares. Only listed companies are traded here and we will teach you further about how it works.
The insight
Any investor on the stock market can trade stocks, shares, or bonds. The liberty of trading between small fish and big fish is possible and allowed, but it all depends in the demand and supply of one stock. A share broker is a very important individual that acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers.
Open outcry is where traders can shout out their quotes for selling a certain stock. Bidding takes place, with people placing their prices on the stock, and the process ends, when a price is considered to be high enough to close the transaction.
You can also use a computer terminal to close transactions; all these computers are connected, and this how the other know when a person buys or sells.
For starters
It is not so easy to make it big on the stock exchange. But it is not exactly rocket science. You will need time, patience, and a lot of thinking.
With some basic tips in your pocket, you can make your entrance on the stock exchange. Investing has to do with what one person wishes to invest and how. With no knowledge whatsoever, being able to have a clear head, right from the start, is quite a challenge. Yet, the matter is not that complex, and if you prove to be able to think on your own, you may be on the right path to success. Here are some tips:
1. Be aware that there is no universal recipe for investing and winning.
2. Never close a transaction that you do not understand; do your homework.
3. Planning ahead will save you from a lot of trouble.
4. The stock value is more important than the price; do not forget to take a look at the bigger picture.
5. The company net worth is what you need to look after.
6. Do not risk all your money on a single stock; raise your chances by choosing more stocks to invest.
7. Price provisions are always important.
8. Keep an open eye and an open mind; it is the most secure way to win big on stock exchange.
These are just some recommendations for beginners. You will need to learn more about stock exchange and how it works to make a career out of it.
Be careful to not lose your head. So the prices are going down and you feel like you are losing it. Gather yourself together, prices may vary, so it is not the end of the world. Try to limit your loss and buy other stocks that are more promising. Here is what you should think about in such situations:
1. Do you allow yourself to lose some cash now in order to win later?
2. Do you have any money left in your pockets or this is a make or break deal?
3. Is it wise to buy this day?
4. Are there any other investing opportunities?
Freeda is a writer and publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com
You cannot learn about investing without proper knowledge of the stock market. Do not worry, we are here to help.
What about the stock market?
In case you did not know, the stock market is that place where people can buy and sell stocks and shares. Only listed companies are traded here and we will teach you further about how it works.
The insight
Any investor on the stock market can trade stocks, shares, or bonds. The liberty of trading between small fish and big fish is possible and allowed, but it all depends in the demand and supply of one stock. A share broker is a very important individual that acts as a middleman between buyers and sellers.
Open outcry is where traders can shout out their quotes for selling a certain stock. Bidding takes place, with people placing their prices on the stock, and the process ends, when a price is considered to be high enough to close the transaction.
You can also use a computer terminal to close transactions; all these computers are connected, and this how the other know when a person buys or sells.
For starters
It is not so easy to make it big on the stock exchange. But it is not exactly rocket science. You will need time, patience, and a lot of thinking.
With some basic tips in your pocket, you can make your entrance on the stock exchange. Investing has to do with what one person wishes to invest and how. With no knowledge whatsoever, being able to have a clear head, right from the start, is quite a challenge. Yet, the matter is not that complex, and if you prove to be able to think on your own, you may be on the right path to success. Here are some tips:
1. Be aware that there is no universal recipe for investing and winning.
2. Never close a transaction that you do not understand; do your homework.
3. Planning ahead will save you from a lot of trouble.
4. The stock value is more important than the price; do not forget to take a look at the bigger picture.
5. The company net worth is what you need to look after.
6. Do not risk all your money on a single stock; raise your chances by choosing more stocks to invest.
7. Price provisions are always important.
8. Keep an open eye and an open mind; it is the most secure way to win big on stock exchange.
These are just some recommendations for beginners. You will need to learn more about stock exchange and how it works to make a career out of it.
Be careful to not lose your head. So the prices are going down and you feel like you are losing it. Gather yourself together, prices may vary, so it is not the end of the world. Try to limit your loss and buy other stocks that are more promising. Here is what you should think about in such situations:
1. Do you allow yourself to lose some cash now in order to win later?
2. Do you have any money left in your pockets or this is a make or break deal?
3. Is it wise to buy this day?
4. Are there any other investing opportunities?
Freeda is a writer and publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com
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.
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.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Is Investing only for Professionals?
By: Samantha Asher
Have you ever turned on CNBC or another financial channel? Unless you are a financial professional, if you are just an ordinary person, you probably feel completely lost. All the symbols and number rolling across the screen mean nothing to you and the reporters sound like they are speaking another language. Finance seems so complicated. Investing sounds far from easy. How can anyone besides a professional understand this stuff and be able to invest?
Ordinary people can invest and they don't have to get a degree in finance to do it. You just have to know what you are doing and do it well. If you want to invest, you first need to learn about investing. Check out the link at the end of this article for specific information how. First decide what kind of investing you want to do. You don't have to do everything. You can invest in stocks or you can invest in bonds or something else, but I recommend investing in stocks and other riskier assets if you are young and transitioning to bonds as you get closer to retirement.
Once you know what you want to invest in, learn everything you can about it. If you want to invest in stocks, read books, follow blogs, and watch informational finance television. Learn everything can possibly can about investing in stocks. Make sure you understand how they work and read up on several different peoples suggestions of how to pick stocks. Develop your own plan or follow the one you like best. Learn how to research stocks and how to keep up with them.
Next, open up a brokerage account and start investing. I suggest Sharebuilder.com, it is what I use. You can sign up through the link below. Start buying just a few stocks in different industries to start. Most professionals will tell you not to invest in more than 10 stocks, less if you are investing less. It's really just a matter of how much time you can devote to researching each company and keeping up with the latest news about it. You need to be an expert on every company you invest in.
Keep learning more as you invest by reading and by learning from your own mistakes and successes. You will begin to earn money and understand more and more. Investing is not just for professionals. Even an ordinary non-savvy person can make money in the stock market or with other investments.
If you are a beginner investor, and you want to know more about investing, go to LearnAboutInvesting.info for more information.
Have you ever turned on CNBC or another financial channel? Unless you are a financial professional, if you are just an ordinary person, you probably feel completely lost. All the symbols and number rolling across the screen mean nothing to you and the reporters sound like they are speaking another language. Finance seems so complicated. Investing sounds far from easy. How can anyone besides a professional understand this stuff and be able to invest?
Ordinary people can invest and they don't have to get a degree in finance to do it. You just have to know what you are doing and do it well. If you want to invest, you first need to learn about investing. Check out the link at the end of this article for specific information how. First decide what kind of investing you want to do. You don't have to do everything. You can invest in stocks or you can invest in bonds or something else, but I recommend investing in stocks and other riskier assets if you are young and transitioning to bonds as you get closer to retirement.
Once you know what you want to invest in, learn everything you can about it. If you want to invest in stocks, read books, follow blogs, and watch informational finance television. Learn everything can possibly can about investing in stocks. Make sure you understand how they work and read up on several different peoples suggestions of how to pick stocks. Develop your own plan or follow the one you like best. Learn how to research stocks and how to keep up with them.
Next, open up a brokerage account and start investing. I suggest Sharebuilder.com, it is what I use. You can sign up through the link below. Start buying just a few stocks in different industries to start. Most professionals will tell you not to invest in more than 10 stocks, less if you are investing less. It's really just a matter of how much time you can devote to researching each company and keeping up with the latest news about it. You need to be an expert on every company you invest in.
Keep learning more as you invest by reading and by learning from your own mistakes and successes. You will begin to earn money and understand more and more. Investing is not just for professionals. Even an ordinary non-savvy person can make money in the stock market or with other investments.
If you are a beginner investor, and you want to know more about investing, go to LearnAboutInvesting.info for more information.
What is the best place to invest money?
By: Kane Deng
If you are looking for a great way to make some money for your future, you should seriously consider investing. After all, making an investment today can result in a great payoff in the future - particularly if you know the best place to invest money and if you know how to choose the best investments.
Do It the Warren Buffet Way
Before you start looking for the best place to invest money, you need to know how to select the right investments. Take a lesson from Warren Buffet and buy stock while the price is down and then sell it once the price goes back up. When the stock of an excellent company is down, there is no better time to purchase your share. A good business will be able to generate cash flow from year to year. So, if you purchase stock from that company at 50% of its value, you will earn quite a bit of money in the future when you sell the stock later. Always remember that the best time to invest is in a bear market and then to hold it until it is a bull market again.
Turning to the Internet When Buying
When it comes to finding the best place to invest money, it is a good idea to turn to the Internet to help you conduct your research. There are so many different stocks on the market that it really is beneficial to use a screening tool to help you filter out the ones that are good. A good screening tool to use is the one at Zacks.com (http://www.zacks.com/screening/custom/index.php).
At Zacks.com, you can select from a variety of different screening criteria and you can set specific values to each one so you can filter out the stocks that fit the criteria you are interested in. These criteria you can filter include:
* P/E (Trailing 12 months)
* Annualized 5 Yr. Historical EPS Growth
* 5 Year Historical Sales Growth
* Sales Growth
* Price/Book
* ROI (5 year average)
After you fill out the values you are looking for in your stock, the screening tool will bring back a list of companies. You can then analyze them each and determine which ones are the best investment options. Of course, the process will still take some time, but the time is well spent and you will be focusing only on those companies that are promising investments.
With the simplicity of the site, it is easily qualifies as one of the best places to determine where you should invest your money. In order to help you learn more about the stocks you are considering purchasing, however, you should also turn to moneycentral.msn.com. Here, you can manually analyze the financial data of the company you are considering investing in.
If you want the financial information to be analyzed automatically for you, on the other hand, you might want to visit www.stock2own.com. This site will help you better determine the best place to invest money so you have the greatest chance of making a successful investment.
-----------
Want to Know The Secrets of Successful Traders?
You Can Earn Money Consistently by Investing Stocks too,
Learn this Proven Investing Strategy => www.StocksInvestor.info
If you are looking for a great way to make some money for your future, you should seriously consider investing. After all, making an investment today can result in a great payoff in the future - particularly if you know the best place to invest money and if you know how to choose the best investments.
Do It the Warren Buffet Way
Before you start looking for the best place to invest money, you need to know how to select the right investments. Take a lesson from Warren Buffet and buy stock while the price is down and then sell it once the price goes back up. When the stock of an excellent company is down, there is no better time to purchase your share. A good business will be able to generate cash flow from year to year. So, if you purchase stock from that company at 50% of its value, you will earn quite a bit of money in the future when you sell the stock later. Always remember that the best time to invest is in a bear market and then to hold it until it is a bull market again.
Turning to the Internet When Buying
When it comes to finding the best place to invest money, it is a good idea to turn to the Internet to help you conduct your research. There are so many different stocks on the market that it really is beneficial to use a screening tool to help you filter out the ones that are good. A good screening tool to use is the one at Zacks.com (http://www.zacks.com/screening/custom/index.php).
At Zacks.com, you can select from a variety of different screening criteria and you can set specific values to each one so you can filter out the stocks that fit the criteria you are interested in. These criteria you can filter include:
* P/E (Trailing 12 months)
* Annualized 5 Yr. Historical EPS Growth
* 5 Year Historical Sales Growth
* Sales Growth
* Price/Book
* ROI (5 year average)
After you fill out the values you are looking for in your stock, the screening tool will bring back a list of companies. You can then analyze them each and determine which ones are the best investment options. Of course, the process will still take some time, but the time is well spent and you will be focusing only on those companies that are promising investments.
With the simplicity of the site, it is easily qualifies as one of the best places to determine where you should invest your money. In order to help you learn more about the stocks you are considering purchasing, however, you should also turn to moneycentral.msn.com. Here, you can manually analyze the financial data of the company you are considering investing in.
If you want the financial information to be analyzed automatically for you, on the other hand, you might want to visit www.stock2own.com. This site will help you better determine the best place to invest money so you have the greatest chance of making a successful investment.
-----------
Want to Know The Secrets of Successful Traders?
You Can Earn Money Consistently by Investing Stocks too,
Learn this Proven Investing Strategy => www.StocksInvestor.info
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
How To Manage Asset Protection Trusts And Foundation
By: Search Rank Pros
The trust provides use and entitlement to all or part of the assets and its benefits while at the same time protecting said assets and conditioning how the assets are used. Trusts allow for someone else to manage the property, which can be useful when the property management requires significant time or skill; for example, in the case of management of real estate properties, a commercial business, an investment portfolio, etc.
Trustees manage the assets per instructions detailed in the trust deed and follow the trust legislation of the country in which the trust is established is also called http://www.aspenoffshore.com Asset Protection Trust. The jurisdictions offered by Aspen Global Incorporations Limited are English Common Law jurisdictions. Trusts are the most dynamic and commonly used offshore vehicle. Its mechanisms and legalities have been tried and tested true time and time again.
Uses of a trust
• Provide or benefit from assets in total privacy. Most offshore jurisdictions do not require that a trust be registered.
• Protect wealth and assets acquired.
• Personal security and safety. In some countries, personal security is an issue, thus the need to protect assets through the establishment of a trust.
• Hold bank deposits.
• Hold investment portfolios.
• Protection from political and economic instability.
• Protection against creditors and potential enemies.
• Transfer estate without complications and tax-efficiently. Trusts keep assets out of probate because the assets don’t belong to the settlor anymore.
• Avoid forced heirship.
• Provide discreetly and with certainty for a loved one.
• Provide for minor children, incompetent, elderly or those who are unable to manage their own affairs.
Type of assets that can be settled in a trust
• Cash/bank accounts.
• Investments.
• Art, auto, wine collection, jewels.
• A business.
• Shares or holdings in any company.
• Future rights or entitlements to ownership.
The cost of creating and administering a trust can vary considerably, depending on its type and duration. Trustee's fee may vary with the skill and expertise the trustee offers. Charges may also be influenced by the size and complexity of the trust estate. This affects the nature and amount of services required, such as record-keeping, asset management and tax planning.
In addition to legal and trustee expenses, there may be accounting, real estate management or other service fees. Other common charges include annual, minimum, withdrawal and termination fees.
What is a will and who needs one?
A will is a document which states what an individual wants to do with his/her property upon their death. The document will explain how the person wants their assets distributed and identify which assets go to which person. By preparing a legally valid will, a person can avoid having their probate estate pass on to others via intestacy statutes. The person who made the will must do so freely and of their own volition with the true intention to have the property distributed as discussed in the will. There is a foundation created known as http://www.aspenoffshore.com Asset Protection Foundation.
.Aspen offshore- provides offshore company formation, offshore companies and structures; company management services and secretarial services; asset protection trusts, offshore banking accounts and technical support services for the international investor
The trust provides use and entitlement to all or part of the assets and its benefits while at the same time protecting said assets and conditioning how the assets are used. Trusts allow for someone else to manage the property, which can be useful when the property management requires significant time or skill; for example, in the case of management of real estate properties, a commercial business, an investment portfolio, etc.
Trustees manage the assets per instructions detailed in the trust deed and follow the trust legislation of the country in which the trust is established is also called http://www.aspenoffshore.com Asset Protection Trust. The jurisdictions offered by Aspen Global Incorporations Limited are English Common Law jurisdictions. Trusts are the most dynamic and commonly used offshore vehicle. Its mechanisms and legalities have been tried and tested true time and time again.
Uses of a trust
• Provide or benefit from assets in total privacy. Most offshore jurisdictions do not require that a trust be registered.
• Protect wealth and assets acquired.
• Personal security and safety. In some countries, personal security is an issue, thus the need to protect assets through the establishment of a trust.
• Hold bank deposits.
• Hold investment portfolios.
• Protection from political and economic instability.
• Protection against creditors and potential enemies.
• Transfer estate without complications and tax-efficiently. Trusts keep assets out of probate because the assets don’t belong to the settlor anymore.
• Avoid forced heirship.
• Provide discreetly and with certainty for a loved one.
• Provide for minor children, incompetent, elderly or those who are unable to manage their own affairs.
Type of assets that can be settled in a trust
• Cash/bank accounts.
• Investments.
• Art, auto, wine collection, jewels.
• A business.
• Shares or holdings in any company.
• Future rights or entitlements to ownership.
The cost of creating and administering a trust can vary considerably, depending on its type and duration. Trustee's fee may vary with the skill and expertise the trustee offers. Charges may also be influenced by the size and complexity of the trust estate. This affects the nature and amount of services required, such as record-keeping, asset management and tax planning.
In addition to legal and trustee expenses, there may be accounting, real estate management or other service fees. Other common charges include annual, minimum, withdrawal and termination fees.
What is a will and who needs one?
A will is a document which states what an individual wants to do with his/her property upon their death. The document will explain how the person wants their assets distributed and identify which assets go to which person. By preparing a legally valid will, a person can avoid having their probate estate pass on to others via intestacy statutes. The person who made the will must do so freely and of their own volition with the true intention to have the property distributed as discussed in the will. There is a foundation created known as http://www.aspenoffshore.com Asset Protection Foundation.
.Aspen offshore- provides offshore company formation, offshore companies and structures; company management services and secretarial services; asset protection trusts, offshore banking accounts and technical support services for the international investor
Invest smarter! Get returns bigger!!
By: MyInvestorsPlace
Investment is the choice by the individual to risk savings with the hope of gain. Investment is not just a blandly apolitical process by which money is mysteriously made to grow, but a process in which governments and companies define, redistribute access to assets, determining who accumulates wealth and at whose expense. To influence this process, the public needs to know how investment works, who are the main players and what their trends.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is not clear route to economic growth, but, for various reasons and in many cases, FDI leads to an outflow of capital rather, than an inflow in some countries. A transnational corporation engages in several types of foreign investments. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment by a firm in a foreign country to acquire real assets such as equipment, plant, and land or real estate with the aim of maintaining control over the management.
There are so many Specific views, plans or ideas to invest money effectively. Investment ideas involve advice of an investment advisor and the expertise who recommends different investment tools based on individual circumstances. There are so many social networks which are available for investors that discuss interesting and informative ideas in all the aspects of the investment world. Investment idea for a particular investor will depends on that person's stage of life; this is one of the main factor investor has to make a note. Young investor can take more risks, so advisor will like to recommend stocks or mutual funds to younger investors. Investors who are approaching retirement, however, will most likely find it more beneficial to take on lower-risk, short-term investments such as bonds and T-bills. Another factor that affects investment ideas is the risk-return tradeoff. Each investor has their own sensitivity to risk, which will influence investment decisions. It's interesting how people associate time with money - they talk about it in monetary terms: they can spend it, waste it, or invest it.
The fundamental decision of business management is the investment decision. Managers determine the investment value of the assets that a business enterprise has within its control or possession. These assets may be physical such as buildings or machinery, intangible such as software, patents, goodwill, or financial. Assets are used to produce streams of revenue that often are associated with particular outflows or costs. The manager must determine whether the net present value of the investment to the Organization is positive using the marginal cost of capital that is associated with the particular area of business.
In terms of financial assets, these are often marketable securities such as a company stock such as an equity investment or bonds such as debt investment. The goal of the investment is for producing future cash flows, while at others it may be for purposes of gaining access to more assets by establishing control or influence over the operation of a second company. The investment tools and ideas are provided by some social networking sites.
www.myinvestorsplace.com/ - A social network for investors that discuss interesting and informative ideas in all the aspects of the investment world.
Investment is the choice by the individual to risk savings with the hope of gain. Investment is not just a blandly apolitical process by which money is mysteriously made to grow, but a process in which governments and companies define, redistribute access to assets, determining who accumulates wealth and at whose expense. To influence this process, the public needs to know how investment works, who are the main players and what their trends.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is not clear route to economic growth, but, for various reasons and in many cases, FDI leads to an outflow of capital rather, than an inflow in some countries. A transnational corporation engages in several types of foreign investments. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment by a firm in a foreign country to acquire real assets such as equipment, plant, and land or real estate with the aim of maintaining control over the management.
There are so many Specific views, plans or ideas to invest money effectively. Investment ideas involve advice of an investment advisor and the expertise who recommends different investment tools based on individual circumstances. There are so many social networks which are available for investors that discuss interesting and informative ideas in all the aspects of the investment world. Investment idea for a particular investor will depends on that person's stage of life; this is one of the main factor investor has to make a note. Young investor can take more risks, so advisor will like to recommend stocks or mutual funds to younger investors. Investors who are approaching retirement, however, will most likely find it more beneficial to take on lower-risk, short-term investments such as bonds and T-bills. Another factor that affects investment ideas is the risk-return tradeoff. Each investor has their own sensitivity to risk, which will influence investment decisions. It's interesting how people associate time with money - they talk about it in monetary terms: they can spend it, waste it, or invest it.
The fundamental decision of business management is the investment decision. Managers determine the investment value of the assets that a business enterprise has within its control or possession. These assets may be physical such as buildings or machinery, intangible such as software, patents, goodwill, or financial. Assets are used to produce streams of revenue that often are associated with particular outflows or costs. The manager must determine whether the net present value of the investment to the Organization is positive using the marginal cost of capital that is associated with the particular area of business.
In terms of financial assets, these are often marketable securities such as a company stock such as an equity investment or bonds such as debt investment. The goal of the investment is for producing future cash flows, while at others it may be for purposes of gaining access to more assets by establishing control or influence over the operation of a second company. The investment tools and ideas are provided by some social networking sites.
www.myinvestorsplace.com/ - A social network for investors that discuss interesting and informative ideas in all the aspects of the investment world.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Collectibles As An Investment
By: Laura du Toit
During times when stock markets are in a slump and the economy is shaky people turn to investing their monies in other commodities that they perceive to be stable investments and almost guaranteed to increase in value. A large number of new entrants to the collectibles market suggest that this market is seen as a safe market for investment.
If a potential investor is looking to invest his money in coins or jewelry then he has a relatively good chance of making a sound investment. Most other collectible markets are not immune to current economic pressure and should be recognized for what they are – a great hobby and not the best investment if the sole purpose of the purchase is to try to make money.
This does not mean that during an economic slump collectors should sell off their prized collection – this could in fact detract from its value in difficult times. The problem lies more with new collectors who have the misconception that most collectibles can be turned into an investment. The only people who really make money in collectibles are the veteran collectors who can afford, and are willing, to pay exorbitant prices for an extremely rare item of superb quality and are knowledgeable about the market that they are dealing in. There are a few other collectors who are fortunate enough to need to sell their collection when the market for that type of collectible is at its peak in their favor. This unfortunately is a rarity and most collectors are not that lucky.
If the investor feels confident in a particular collectibles market there are still two factors that will influence the investment potential of any collectible item:
• There must be a limited supply of that particular item.
• The second factor is a bit more difficult to ascertain and that is that the current demand for the item must not be based on short term speculation but that there will be a growing demand for the item over the long term.
The risk associated with investing in collectibles is aggravated by the fact that most of them have no fundamental value. Appraisals may be a good indication but are no guarantee of the underlying value of a collectible. Current trends and investor sentiments have a huge impact on prices in the collectibles market and tailwinds are a frequent occurrence in these markets. There is always the very real risk that what collectors regarded as an absolute must-have today will be forgotten by tomorrow. And how can anyone predict the trends of collectors?
A true collector very rarely parts with his collection but investors may find themselves is a position where they need to sell their investment to gain liquidity. This of course is every dealer’s dream and the chances are good that these collectors will be paid the true value of the collection is proportionately reduced by the urgency of the sale.
The happiest collectors are those that motivated by the fun and enjoyment they derive from collecting. Those that enter the collectible market for investment purposes, and whose sole motivation is profit, may run the risk of having a very unstable investment portfolio, more so if they are not experts in the particular field of collectibles in which they have invested.
Laura, an avid doll collector invites you to read the following recommended reading:
Evaluating Collectibles - What You Should Know,
Planning a Doll Inventory
During times when stock markets are in a slump and the economy is shaky people turn to investing their monies in other commodities that they perceive to be stable investments and almost guaranteed to increase in value. A large number of new entrants to the collectibles market suggest that this market is seen as a safe market for investment.
If a potential investor is looking to invest his money in coins or jewelry then he has a relatively good chance of making a sound investment. Most other collectible markets are not immune to current economic pressure and should be recognized for what they are – a great hobby and not the best investment if the sole purpose of the purchase is to try to make money.
This does not mean that during an economic slump collectors should sell off their prized collection – this could in fact detract from its value in difficult times. The problem lies more with new collectors who have the misconception that most collectibles can be turned into an investment. The only people who really make money in collectibles are the veteran collectors who can afford, and are willing, to pay exorbitant prices for an extremely rare item of superb quality and are knowledgeable about the market that they are dealing in. There are a few other collectors who are fortunate enough to need to sell their collection when the market for that type of collectible is at its peak in their favor. This unfortunately is a rarity and most collectors are not that lucky.
If the investor feels confident in a particular collectibles market there are still two factors that will influence the investment potential of any collectible item:
• There must be a limited supply of that particular item.
• The second factor is a bit more difficult to ascertain and that is that the current demand for the item must not be based on short term speculation but that there will be a growing demand for the item over the long term.
The risk associated with investing in collectibles is aggravated by the fact that most of them have no fundamental value. Appraisals may be a good indication but are no guarantee of the underlying value of a collectible. Current trends and investor sentiments have a huge impact on prices in the collectibles market and tailwinds are a frequent occurrence in these markets. There is always the very real risk that what collectors regarded as an absolute must-have today will be forgotten by tomorrow. And how can anyone predict the trends of collectors?
A true collector very rarely parts with his collection but investors may find themselves is a position where they need to sell their investment to gain liquidity. This of course is every dealer’s dream and the chances are good that these collectors will be paid the true value of the collection is proportionately reduced by the urgency of the sale.
The happiest collectors are those that motivated by the fun and enjoyment they derive from collecting. Those that enter the collectible market for investment purposes, and whose sole motivation is profit, may run the risk of having a very unstable investment portfolio, more so if they are not experts in the particular field of collectibles in which they have invested.
Laura, an avid doll collector invites you to read the following recommended reading:
Evaluating Collectibles - What You Should Know,
Planning a Doll Inventory
5 Secrets to Successful Investing in Today’s Economy
By: Charrissa Cawley
We’re being inundated by increasingly negative economic news that has more and more people circling their financial wagons and hoping that they’ll live to see tomorrow. In the midst of a sea of negativity lies a hidden nugget of truth: It really is possible to successfully invest during one of the worst financial catastrophes in history.
These secrets are like the nose on your face. They’re so painfully obvious that they’re easy to overlook. It just takes a little common sense to think things through and get your head on straight and you can turn one of the biggest financial disasters in history into the best opportunity to create real sustainable wealth for yourself and your family that will stand the test of time.
• Secret #1 – The talking heads are all talk, so take what they have to say with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that the average “real estate expert” you see on many of the news networks isn’t an expert at investing; their expertise lies in reporting. What this means to you is that they live in a world where “news” is what has already happened. The hot new trend they’re talking about has usually already happened and they won’t likely know when the real estate market has bottomed out until prices have risen by 10% and the market is off to the races. Unless you want to watch prices race to the top – from the sidelines – ignore their timely tips.
• Secret #2 – Do Your Homework – Many of the available properties could make you wealthy under the right set of circumstances. Make sure the numbers you’re being quoted add up. It’s not unusual for people with a financial stake in a real estate investment to fudge numbers to put a nice shine on a really dull property.
• Secret #3 – Don’t Forget marketing – Marketing efforts are one of the first corners to be cut when the market goes south. Unfortunately, this is the time when you need to redouble your efforts in attracting motivated buyers and sellers. Rip a page from the playbook of your favorite successful retailer. When times get tough do they quit trying to get you through the door – or do they do everything but tackle you and drag you inside for a quick look around.
• Secret #4 – Check Your Emotions at the Door – Whether you’re a brand-new investor with a dream of real estate investing riches or a seasoned, time-tested real estate investing veteran, a desire to get your hands on a specific property can at times seem overwhelming. Remember solid investing strategies and number crunching is the key to successful real estate investing. If the numbers don’t add up or you can’t find a way to wind up in the black at the end of the month, don’t be ready to walk away.
• Secret #5 – Have an Exit Strategy – When you decided on a real estate investment you may have had a solid investing plan that would make you money at every stage of the game. If after making the purchase conditions change – or you discover that you’ve overlooked a critical variable that is a game changer – be ready and willing to admit your mistake and move on. Don’t stick with a bad investment through thick and thin just because you want to save face.
Real estate investing can be like a drive on a lonely country road. At times it can be a series of ups and downs that can make your head spin. However, by using your head and employing common-sense real estate investing techniques, you can ensure that even in today’s market you can make money and establish yourself as an investor that can routinely pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
Charrissa Cawley offers accurate and proven strategies to investors of all different levels and is the founder of www.reiconferences.com, one of the fastest growing real estate investment training organizations in the US in addition to www.rewexclub.com , the top rated Real Estate Investor Community on the web today.
We’re being inundated by increasingly negative economic news that has more and more people circling their financial wagons and hoping that they’ll live to see tomorrow. In the midst of a sea of negativity lies a hidden nugget of truth: It really is possible to successfully invest during one of the worst financial catastrophes in history.
These secrets are like the nose on your face. They’re so painfully obvious that they’re easy to overlook. It just takes a little common sense to think things through and get your head on straight and you can turn one of the biggest financial disasters in history into the best opportunity to create real sustainable wealth for yourself and your family that will stand the test of time.
• Secret #1 – The talking heads are all talk, so take what they have to say with a grain of salt. Keep in mind that the average “real estate expert” you see on many of the news networks isn’t an expert at investing; their expertise lies in reporting. What this means to you is that they live in a world where “news” is what has already happened. The hot new trend they’re talking about has usually already happened and they won’t likely know when the real estate market has bottomed out until prices have risen by 10% and the market is off to the races. Unless you want to watch prices race to the top – from the sidelines – ignore their timely tips.
• Secret #2 – Do Your Homework – Many of the available properties could make you wealthy under the right set of circumstances. Make sure the numbers you’re being quoted add up. It’s not unusual for people with a financial stake in a real estate investment to fudge numbers to put a nice shine on a really dull property.
• Secret #3 – Don’t Forget marketing – Marketing efforts are one of the first corners to be cut when the market goes south. Unfortunately, this is the time when you need to redouble your efforts in attracting motivated buyers and sellers. Rip a page from the playbook of your favorite successful retailer. When times get tough do they quit trying to get you through the door – or do they do everything but tackle you and drag you inside for a quick look around.
• Secret #4 – Check Your Emotions at the Door – Whether you’re a brand-new investor with a dream of real estate investing riches or a seasoned, time-tested real estate investing veteran, a desire to get your hands on a specific property can at times seem overwhelming. Remember solid investing strategies and number crunching is the key to successful real estate investing. If the numbers don’t add up or you can’t find a way to wind up in the black at the end of the month, don’t be ready to walk away.
• Secret #5 – Have an Exit Strategy – When you decided on a real estate investment you may have had a solid investing plan that would make you money at every stage of the game. If after making the purchase conditions change – or you discover that you’ve overlooked a critical variable that is a game changer – be ready and willing to admit your mistake and move on. Don’t stick with a bad investment through thick and thin just because you want to save face.
Real estate investing can be like a drive on a lonely country road. At times it can be a series of ups and downs that can make your head spin. However, by using your head and employing common-sense real estate investing techniques, you can ensure that even in today’s market you can make money and establish yourself as an investor that can routinely pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
Charrissa Cawley offers accurate and proven strategies to investors of all different levels and is the founder of www.reiconferences.com, one of the fastest growing real estate investment training organizations in the US in addition to www.rewexclub.com , the top rated Real Estate Investor Community on the web today.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Profits In Hedge Fund Investing
By: Jon Arnold
Most people understand what a mutual fund is and think a hedge fund investment is the same thing. They are correct in that a hedge fund is a group of investors that pool their money, just like a mutual fund. Hedge funds, however, don’t have the same type of regulation that the mutual fund has. In fact, you have to have a specific amount of wealth to invest in a hedge fund and a required amount of investment savvy. A hedge fund investment is not a public offering, but often a private limited partnership with the fund manager as the general partner.
Hedge funds do things because it is a private investment, which regular mutual funds can’t do. One example is the ability to sell short. This is a risky technique especially if it’s a naked short sale. The short sale is when you sell a stock in hopes of purchasing it later at a cheaper price to fill the sale.
A naked sale is one where you sell a stock you don’t own. To comply with government regulations you must be able to borrow it from someone before you sell it. The reason that it’s so risky is that the price could skyrocket after you sell the stock. Then you must pay huge amounts to fulfill your obligations to the buyer.
When large hedge funds use the techniques, often they drive the price down artificially in the sale of the stock and minutes later, can make a quick profit with the purchase and delivery of the cheaper stock. This is one way a hedge fund investment brings higher income than the traditional mutual fund.
The original purpose of a hedge fund was to hedge against the market’s swings. The combination of different types of investments provided an equation against falling markets. The change came as hedge funds became more popular. Today, they provide not just a hedge against loss but an edge for gain.
The typical hedge fund investment contains derivatives that are high yield and debt from companies considered risks, so they have to pay more to borrow, or their loans sell at discounted rates which means the yield on the return is higher. If you use a $1,000 loan as an example, with the company loan rate at 8%, that is a decent comfortable return. Now, if that same company gets behind on the loan and the lending institution panics, they might sell it at a 50 percent reduction of the balance to the hedge fund. This in effect means that not only does the fund get 16 percent interest, but if the company actually pays the loan in full, they make a 100 percent gain on that money.
If you have plenty of money already, you may be the perfect candidate for a hedge fund investment. These types of investments are supplementary to normal investments. They attempt to defeat bear markets and bring in money while they also take advantage of the bull market and yield a higher return. There are risks in a hedge fund, ones that the average investor would never take. With the onset of a bear market, the technique of short selling is one of the best ways to hedge the bad market and take the lemon that the economy handed you and make lemonade.
For more insights and additional information about profits in a Hedge Fund as well as getting free reports about hedge fund investing, please visit our web site at www.hedge-fund-advice.com
Most people understand what a mutual fund is and think a hedge fund investment is the same thing. They are correct in that a hedge fund is a group of investors that pool their money, just like a mutual fund. Hedge funds, however, don’t have the same type of regulation that the mutual fund has. In fact, you have to have a specific amount of wealth to invest in a hedge fund and a required amount of investment savvy. A hedge fund investment is not a public offering, but often a private limited partnership with the fund manager as the general partner.
Hedge funds do things because it is a private investment, which regular mutual funds can’t do. One example is the ability to sell short. This is a risky technique especially if it’s a naked short sale. The short sale is when you sell a stock in hopes of purchasing it later at a cheaper price to fill the sale.
A naked sale is one where you sell a stock you don’t own. To comply with government regulations you must be able to borrow it from someone before you sell it. The reason that it’s so risky is that the price could skyrocket after you sell the stock. Then you must pay huge amounts to fulfill your obligations to the buyer.
When large hedge funds use the techniques, often they drive the price down artificially in the sale of the stock and minutes later, can make a quick profit with the purchase and delivery of the cheaper stock. This is one way a hedge fund investment brings higher income than the traditional mutual fund.
The original purpose of a hedge fund was to hedge against the market’s swings. The combination of different types of investments provided an equation against falling markets. The change came as hedge funds became more popular. Today, they provide not just a hedge against loss but an edge for gain.
The typical hedge fund investment contains derivatives that are high yield and debt from companies considered risks, so they have to pay more to borrow, or their loans sell at discounted rates which means the yield on the return is higher. If you use a $1,000 loan as an example, with the company loan rate at 8%, that is a decent comfortable return. Now, if that same company gets behind on the loan and the lending institution panics, they might sell it at a 50 percent reduction of the balance to the hedge fund. This in effect means that not only does the fund get 16 percent interest, but if the company actually pays the loan in full, they make a 100 percent gain on that money.
If you have plenty of money already, you may be the perfect candidate for a hedge fund investment. These types of investments are supplementary to normal investments. They attempt to defeat bear markets and bring in money while they also take advantage of the bull market and yield a higher return. There are risks in a hedge fund, ones that the average investor would never take. With the onset of a bear market, the technique of short selling is one of the best ways to hedge the bad market and take the lemon that the economy handed you and make lemonade.
For more insights and additional information about profits in a Hedge Fund as well as getting free reports about hedge fund investing, please visit our web site at www.hedge-fund-advice.com
Online Paid Surveys Need Zero Investment?
By: Davion W
When it comes to online paid surveys, there are many individuals who get fooled by unscrupulous survey site owners. They naturally tend to pay money to join certain market research sites, and this normally turns out to be a scam. Thus paid surveys must only be done if it involves no money initially ie, it should cost you nothing to join the market research site. This is something that is common for market survey companies. They will be able to get plenty of reviews from consumers while these consumers get paid for doing surveys with them.
By doing so not only do they get a feedback on what they are all about, they get a chance to improve the quality of the products and services. Most online paid surveys will provide detailed surveys with targeted questions, and this may be taken by anyone who is willing to do so. These are normally done by people who would like to do something from home in their spare time such as teenagers, school going folks and work at home mums.
In this way, market survey companies will get honest opinions, and they will discover what the people really want. These jobs can be done in the spare time, and a good sum of money can be made from taking online paid surveys. However the right sites have to be chosen by the users. The survey sites will also accept people from all over the world, but this may vary from site to site.
All users have to do is to send in the mail address with a profile, and once this is verified, the surveys can immediately begin. Most of the online paid surveys will be sent via emails to those who can qualify for the surveys. If people want to earn the maximum amount of cash, they must join as many sites as they can. There is even software available to help those who want to join many sites.
Using this form filling software, they can just update their information once in the software and it will auto-populate all the forms for all the survey websites. The reputed sites for online paid surveys are all established market research companies that have been around for quite a while. For those who are not familiar with how this works, they may get some help from survey directory sites that have information on hundreds of paid survey sites. These survey directory sites will help compare all reputed paid survey sites so that you know which are the reliable survey companies to join.
It is always best for people to join survey sites that are free and has good reviews from survey directories. If any new sites come up, they will be updated in the list of survey sites. Looking for such information is essential when it comes to joining paid survey sites. Therefore, check out the top survey directories at my survey blog if you are looking forward to earn a second income from doing online paid surveys.
Davion is a successful online entrepreneur who goes hunting for the hottest income opportunities. Discover where to find the best paying free internet paid surveys at his wildly popular survey blog. You can also find another interesting article on internet paid surveys and start earning some extra cash today.
When it comes to online paid surveys, there are many individuals who get fooled by unscrupulous survey site owners. They naturally tend to pay money to join certain market research sites, and this normally turns out to be a scam. Thus paid surveys must only be done if it involves no money initially ie, it should cost you nothing to join the market research site. This is something that is common for market survey companies. They will be able to get plenty of reviews from consumers while these consumers get paid for doing surveys with them.
By doing so not only do they get a feedback on what they are all about, they get a chance to improve the quality of the products and services. Most online paid surveys will provide detailed surveys with targeted questions, and this may be taken by anyone who is willing to do so. These are normally done by people who would like to do something from home in their spare time such as teenagers, school going folks and work at home mums.
In this way, market survey companies will get honest opinions, and they will discover what the people really want. These jobs can be done in the spare time, and a good sum of money can be made from taking online paid surveys. However the right sites have to be chosen by the users. The survey sites will also accept people from all over the world, but this may vary from site to site.
All users have to do is to send in the mail address with a profile, and once this is verified, the surveys can immediately begin. Most of the online paid surveys will be sent via emails to those who can qualify for the surveys. If people want to earn the maximum amount of cash, they must join as many sites as they can. There is even software available to help those who want to join many sites.
Using this form filling software, they can just update their information once in the software and it will auto-populate all the forms for all the survey websites. The reputed sites for online paid surveys are all established market research companies that have been around for quite a while. For those who are not familiar with how this works, they may get some help from survey directory sites that have information on hundreds of paid survey sites. These survey directory sites will help compare all reputed paid survey sites so that you know which are the reliable survey companies to join.
It is always best for people to join survey sites that are free and has good reviews from survey directories. If any new sites come up, they will be updated in the list of survey sites. Looking for such information is essential when it comes to joining paid survey sites. Therefore, check out the top survey directories at my survey blog if you are looking forward to earn a second income from doing online paid surveys.
Davion is a successful online entrepreneur who goes hunting for the hottest income opportunities. Discover where to find the best paying free internet paid surveys at his wildly popular survey blog. You can also find another interesting article on internet paid surveys and start earning some extra cash today.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Only a Tired, Broke Investor Does Everything Himself
By: Alan Brymer
Why do you think most investors get into real estate to begin with? Is it because they like wading through 3 feet of trash inside of dilapidated junkers? Is it because they savor talking on the phone so much that they found a way to make money doing it? Could it be because they enjoy leaving their families at the dinner table in order to spin tires and get a deed signed by a seller who waited until the night before the auction to finally do something about their problem?
The odds are that if you’re anything like me, you don’t take on the demands and risks of real estate investing just for the fun of it. The odds are you’re doing it for the money. Of course, there are the benefits of helping people and there are those feelings of accomplishment after finishing a rehab or selling a house. But if you’re investing primarily for those reasons, go join the Peace Corps, or get a contractor’s license, or become a Realtor.
The only reason I can conceive of someone wanting to invest in real estate is for financial gain, which is not an impure motive. Money is what buys us the freedom to do, well, whatever the heck it is we want to do. But what do we end up doing? We end up working like crazy and not doing the things for which we’re investing in real estate to begin with.
For example: When I started investing, I decided to try to buy as many houses as I could in order to avoid having a full-time job that consumed all of my time. I planned on spending my time at that point writing music (one of my dreams). Now fast-forward three years. I had become a full-time investor running a fast-paced money machine doing deal after deal every month. Guess how many songs I wrote during those three years? Zero…point…zero.
Finally, I realized that I had to find a way to get my life back again and create the time to do what would make me happiest in life, rather than filling in the time with more work. I had been using assistants to do some work for me, but decided to start delegating as much as humanly possible. That’s when I went from working on 40 hours per week on real estate down to 3 hours per day, and so can you.
The secret, of course, is to get some hired help, which everybody knows they ought to, but few actually do. And even fewer still do it right. Some people try it once, have a bad experience hiring the wrong person, and conclude that “you just can’t find anyone good enough.” I think more people never even take the first step and consign themselves to a life full of tedious, bothersome chores.
These are the main excuses for why investors don’t get with the program and take control of their lives again by hiring help:
“I’m not doing enough deals yet.” Who says you have to be? Hiring an assistant does not have to be a huge deal. You could always find someone early on to put in 2-3 hours/week for you doing simple tasks, like putting up signs, taking calls from buyers, and licking envelopes for your mailers. In fact, getting someone else to send mailers for you (which we both know you would procrastinate doing yourself) will get you more deals than you otherwise would.
“I don’t have the money.” It’s funny that the people who say that they have no money to pay someone $8/hr for a few hours per week somehow manage to come up with thousands of dollars to buy the latest real estate seminar. Paying an assistant is a leap of faith…you pay them for a while, nothing happens immediately, but then before you know it you’re finding more deals and have more time and resources to do them. It works. But if you never take that leap, you will just keep puttering along—not doing any or many deals. But at least you’re saving a few hundred bucks here and there, right? Sounds great…not.
“I don’t mind doing the work myself.” I don’t mind cooking dinner myself, but I don’t want to do it for 10-30 hours per week. Isn’t there something you’d rather be doing besides licking envelopes, making phone calls and delivering simple messages, asking the same boring questions to tenant/buyers who call? If nothing else, get someone else to do these things so that you can spend more time doing things that are more productive, like building a real business instead of getting tied down in busy work.
“I can do it cheaper and better myself.” Do you rehab houses yourself to save money? If yes, stop reading right now because there’s no chance I’ll get this point through to you. If no, then you know that it makes sense to pay someone else to do work for you, so why not apply that principle to other types of work besides renovations? You can do an assistant’s work yourself, and it will be cheaper so far as less money going out of your pocket. But it’s not worth it in the end, because there will be less money going into your pocket as there could be if you freed yourself up to do the things that bring you more deals (or get someone else to do those things). One extra deal would probably pay for your assistant for the next year or two.
“I don’t have time to follow-up with anyone.” Maybe you don’t have the time because you are doing everything yourself. What if it took you 10 minutes to to follow up with someone who would save you 60 minutes of time by doing work for you—would it be worth it? You’d find the time to coordinate with them, wouldn’t you? I look at spending time with an assistant like I do spending money on a deal or on marketing—a necessary and very worthwhile investment. You’d be crazy not to. Make the time and you’ll have more time.
“No one else can do it like I can.” No one else can do what like you can—fold letters? Pick up printer paper at the store? Drop UPS envelopes off in the drop-box? Last time I checked, anyone can do those things. So, if nothing else, find someone to do only the things that would be difficult or impossible to screw up. This will give you at least a few more hours per week to do the specialized work that only you can do. You’ll find that once you’ve done that, you can trust your assistant (provided you hired right) to do other work for you as well, starting with the simplest tasks and working up to more complex things, all according to your level of comfort.
So, how many hours do you work each week, and how many hours do you really want to work? If there’s a big difference between these two numbers, hiring help will get you there. Otherwise, things will NEVER get better, no matter how many promises you make to your spouse. Or, if you are happy with the hours you’re working, ask yourself, “How much more could I get done if there were another Me getting at least 50% more done than I am now by myself? In this case, an assistant is also the answer to getting what you want.
I have consulted with hundreds of investors over several years, and our challenges tend to be exactly the same. I have heard many, many investors (ranging from newbies to pros doing 3-5 deals/month or more) complaining about the same things:
”I wish I had more time.”
“I wish I could get more done.”
“I wish I could have some fun for a change rather than being a slave to my real estate business.”
The solution is always the same, and every investor who discovers this wonders how they ever survived as long as they did without it—Just hire some help. Find the right person, and put them to work immediately. Don’t put it off any longer. Do it now, and you’ll thank yourself for the rest of your life.
Alan Brymer has been a full-time investor since the age of 22, and speaks at seminars and investor groups around the country. He is a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured on multiple television programs and magazines. To read Alan's Articles and Blog, go to www.AlanBrymer.com.
Why do you think most investors get into real estate to begin with? Is it because they like wading through 3 feet of trash inside of dilapidated junkers? Is it because they savor talking on the phone so much that they found a way to make money doing it? Could it be because they enjoy leaving their families at the dinner table in order to spin tires and get a deed signed by a seller who waited until the night before the auction to finally do something about their problem?
The odds are that if you’re anything like me, you don’t take on the demands and risks of real estate investing just for the fun of it. The odds are you’re doing it for the money. Of course, there are the benefits of helping people and there are those feelings of accomplishment after finishing a rehab or selling a house. But if you’re investing primarily for those reasons, go join the Peace Corps, or get a contractor’s license, or become a Realtor.
The only reason I can conceive of someone wanting to invest in real estate is for financial gain, which is not an impure motive. Money is what buys us the freedom to do, well, whatever the heck it is we want to do. But what do we end up doing? We end up working like crazy and not doing the things for which we’re investing in real estate to begin with.
For example: When I started investing, I decided to try to buy as many houses as I could in order to avoid having a full-time job that consumed all of my time. I planned on spending my time at that point writing music (one of my dreams). Now fast-forward three years. I had become a full-time investor running a fast-paced money machine doing deal after deal every month. Guess how many songs I wrote during those three years? Zero…point…zero.
Finally, I realized that I had to find a way to get my life back again and create the time to do what would make me happiest in life, rather than filling in the time with more work. I had been using assistants to do some work for me, but decided to start delegating as much as humanly possible. That’s when I went from working on 40 hours per week on real estate down to 3 hours per day, and so can you.
The secret, of course, is to get some hired help, which everybody knows they ought to, but few actually do. And even fewer still do it right. Some people try it once, have a bad experience hiring the wrong person, and conclude that “you just can’t find anyone good enough.” I think more people never even take the first step and consign themselves to a life full of tedious, bothersome chores.
These are the main excuses for why investors don’t get with the program and take control of their lives again by hiring help:
“I’m not doing enough deals yet.” Who says you have to be? Hiring an assistant does not have to be a huge deal. You could always find someone early on to put in 2-3 hours/week for you doing simple tasks, like putting up signs, taking calls from buyers, and licking envelopes for your mailers. In fact, getting someone else to send mailers for you (which we both know you would procrastinate doing yourself) will get you more deals than you otherwise would.
“I don’t have the money.” It’s funny that the people who say that they have no money to pay someone $8/hr for a few hours per week somehow manage to come up with thousands of dollars to buy the latest real estate seminar. Paying an assistant is a leap of faith…you pay them for a while, nothing happens immediately, but then before you know it you’re finding more deals and have more time and resources to do them. It works. But if you never take that leap, you will just keep puttering along—not doing any or many deals. But at least you’re saving a few hundred bucks here and there, right? Sounds great…not.
“I don’t mind doing the work myself.” I don’t mind cooking dinner myself, but I don’t want to do it for 10-30 hours per week. Isn’t there something you’d rather be doing besides licking envelopes, making phone calls and delivering simple messages, asking the same boring questions to tenant/buyers who call? If nothing else, get someone else to do these things so that you can spend more time doing things that are more productive, like building a real business instead of getting tied down in busy work.
“I can do it cheaper and better myself.” Do you rehab houses yourself to save money? If yes, stop reading right now because there’s no chance I’ll get this point through to you. If no, then you know that it makes sense to pay someone else to do work for you, so why not apply that principle to other types of work besides renovations? You can do an assistant’s work yourself, and it will be cheaper so far as less money going out of your pocket. But it’s not worth it in the end, because there will be less money going into your pocket as there could be if you freed yourself up to do the things that bring you more deals (or get someone else to do those things). One extra deal would probably pay for your assistant for the next year or two.
“I don’t have time to follow-up with anyone.” Maybe you don’t have the time because you are doing everything yourself. What if it took you 10 minutes to to follow up with someone who would save you 60 minutes of time by doing work for you—would it be worth it? You’d find the time to coordinate with them, wouldn’t you? I look at spending time with an assistant like I do spending money on a deal or on marketing—a necessary and very worthwhile investment. You’d be crazy not to. Make the time and you’ll have more time.
“No one else can do it like I can.” No one else can do what like you can—fold letters? Pick up printer paper at the store? Drop UPS envelopes off in the drop-box? Last time I checked, anyone can do those things. So, if nothing else, find someone to do only the things that would be difficult or impossible to screw up. This will give you at least a few more hours per week to do the specialized work that only you can do. You’ll find that once you’ve done that, you can trust your assistant (provided you hired right) to do other work for you as well, starting with the simplest tasks and working up to more complex things, all according to your level of comfort.
So, how many hours do you work each week, and how many hours do you really want to work? If there’s a big difference between these two numbers, hiring help will get you there. Otherwise, things will NEVER get better, no matter how many promises you make to your spouse. Or, if you are happy with the hours you’re working, ask yourself, “How much more could I get done if there were another Me getting at least 50% more done than I am now by myself? In this case, an assistant is also the answer to getting what you want.
I have consulted with hundreds of investors over several years, and our challenges tend to be exactly the same. I have heard many, many investors (ranging from newbies to pros doing 3-5 deals/month or more) complaining about the same things:
”I wish I had more time.”
“I wish I could get more done.”
“I wish I could have some fun for a change rather than being a slave to my real estate business.”
The solution is always the same, and every investor who discovers this wonders how they ever survived as long as they did without it—Just hire some help. Find the right person, and put them to work immediately. Don’t put it off any longer. Do it now, and you’ll thank yourself for the rest of your life.
Alan Brymer has been a full-time investor since the age of 22, and speaks at seminars and investor groups around the country. He is a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured on multiple television programs and magazines. To read Alan's Articles and Blog, go to www.AlanBrymer.com.
Making Money on Your Mobile Home Investment
By: Nelson Stewart
Manufactured homes may be the best-kept investment secret in real estate. While many investors struggle to raise funds and pay taxes for a single high-end property, manufactured home investors can make easy money and gain quick equity on a collection of homes. It's also easier to plan ahead with manufactured homes since they're less affected by changes in the economy than other real estate markets.
Investing in manufactured homes is relatively easy if you've got cash flow. The first step is overcoming any negative assumptions you may have about manufactured housing, whether you view it as poorly built, or simply too generic to warrant a long-term purchase. The fact is there is a big market for these homes, with buyers and renters waiting to enjoy the affordable, flexible lifestyle they afford. Manufactured and mobile homes also look a lot different than they used to - many have features like spacious patios and sun rooms areas that add style to daily living.
Many people also assume manufactured homes decrease in value over time, but this generally isn't the case. A manufactured home may double in value over a decade like any other piece of real estate, especially if it comes with property. This brings us to another advantage: investors can maintain a valuable manufactured home property without the high costs and mortgages of a regular home. These homes can also be moved offsite or disassembled at a fraction of the cost of a regular house.
There are a variety of investment scenarios that can generate a high return in the manufactured home market. The easiest and fastest is to simply buy stock in a publicly traded manufactured housing company, or get involved in a real estate investment trust that specializes in manufactured homes. Another profitable option is to buy a manufactured home and rent it out. You won't be able to charge as much to rent your mobile home as you would a regular house of the same size, but it won't be that much less. For example, a $50K mobile home may rent for $600 a month while a $200K regular home rents at about $750 - you'll be making a comparable return on investment for much less money up front, and smaller monthly mortgage payments. An obvious third investment scenario might be to buy a mobile home, live in it until the mortgage is paid off, and then sell it - in this scenario you'll spend much less money on repairs and upgrades before the sale than you would with a regular home.
Another pleasant surprise of mobile home investing is how quickly the houses can be paid off. Smaller loans mean smaller interest charges, and faster equity in the home. That also means you can move on to your next real estate investment faster.
Learn more about mobile homes and Arizona retirement community living at Palmgardensonline.com. The site has extensive information for buyers thinking of relocating to an Arizona 55+ community, and details on a variety of great mobile home and RV living options.
Manufactured homes may be the best-kept investment secret in real estate. While many investors struggle to raise funds and pay taxes for a single high-end property, manufactured home investors can make easy money and gain quick equity on a collection of homes. It's also easier to plan ahead with manufactured homes since they're less affected by changes in the economy than other real estate markets.
Investing in manufactured homes is relatively easy if you've got cash flow. The first step is overcoming any negative assumptions you may have about manufactured housing, whether you view it as poorly built, or simply too generic to warrant a long-term purchase. The fact is there is a big market for these homes, with buyers and renters waiting to enjoy the affordable, flexible lifestyle they afford. Manufactured and mobile homes also look a lot different than they used to - many have features like spacious patios and sun rooms areas that add style to daily living.
Many people also assume manufactured homes decrease in value over time, but this generally isn't the case. A manufactured home may double in value over a decade like any other piece of real estate, especially if it comes with property. This brings us to another advantage: investors can maintain a valuable manufactured home property without the high costs and mortgages of a regular home. These homes can also be moved offsite or disassembled at a fraction of the cost of a regular house.
There are a variety of investment scenarios that can generate a high return in the manufactured home market. The easiest and fastest is to simply buy stock in a publicly traded manufactured housing company, or get involved in a real estate investment trust that specializes in manufactured homes. Another profitable option is to buy a manufactured home and rent it out. You won't be able to charge as much to rent your mobile home as you would a regular house of the same size, but it won't be that much less. For example, a $50K mobile home may rent for $600 a month while a $200K regular home rents at about $750 - you'll be making a comparable return on investment for much less money up front, and smaller monthly mortgage payments. An obvious third investment scenario might be to buy a mobile home, live in it until the mortgage is paid off, and then sell it - in this scenario you'll spend much less money on repairs and upgrades before the sale than you would with a regular home.
Another pleasant surprise of mobile home investing is how quickly the houses can be paid off. Smaller loans mean smaller interest charges, and faster equity in the home. That also means you can move on to your next real estate investment faster.
Learn more about mobile homes and Arizona retirement community living at Palmgardensonline.com. The site has extensive information for buyers thinking of relocating to an Arizona 55+ community, and details on a variety of great mobile home and RV living options.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Learn the Tricks of Tax Lien Investing From Your Desktop - Tax Lien Investing
By: Brent Crouch
If you have an internet connection, you can transform yourself into a superior tax lien investor from the comfort of your own living room. There are multitudes of informative articles such as this one posted on the web, and you can find them in just a few clicks of the mouse. Many of your rivals at an auction will not have deemed it necessary to enlighten themselves on the strategies of successful investing, naively trusting to luck or instinct. This gives you a great competitive edge over them. So keep reading on how you can build a formidable database of knowledge.
Properties with tax liens hanging over them are burden upon the county government in which they reside. the government wants its money right away so they can carry on with building roads, hiring teachers and postal workers, and whatever else it is they do with our tax money. If the owner of the property can't pay up, the government has to rely on investors like you to bridge the financial gap. They want to do everything in their power to make your job as an investor as easy as possible. For this reason, they will post the complete summary and appraisal history of lien properties for your perusal at the county office.
A Virtual Visit to the County Office
If you can' t make a physical trip down to the office at your convenience, you can always hit up the county's website, or fax a request for detailed information. The county will answer such requests with an inventory of properties, appraisal values, current taxes owed, and zoning type.
The World Wide Web of Free Tax Lien Information
Let's say you come across a property you're very interested in, but you learn that there are factors involved which may complicate the investment. At an auction hall, you have only seconds to make a decision. But as you do prior research on the internet, you can harness the power of your favorite search engine to discover any methods or procedures for amending any problems. Or you can learn that there is no satisfactory solution and avoid making a risky investment.
By building knowledge of tax liens, auctions, bidding systems, and other factors pertaining to tax lien investment, you can transform yourself into a juggernaut on the tax lien auction scene. Remember: it doesn't take years and years of experience to become a successful and formidable investor. It takes knowledge and the willingness to do some research, and the internet makes this easier and cheaper than ever before.
Brent Crouch is the owner of TaxLienProperties.net. He has dedicated this site to providing information on investing in government secured tax liens for pennies on the dollar.
If you have an internet connection, you can transform yourself into a superior tax lien investor from the comfort of your own living room. There are multitudes of informative articles such as this one posted on the web, and you can find them in just a few clicks of the mouse. Many of your rivals at an auction will not have deemed it necessary to enlighten themselves on the strategies of successful investing, naively trusting to luck or instinct. This gives you a great competitive edge over them. So keep reading on how you can build a formidable database of knowledge.
Properties with tax liens hanging over them are burden upon the county government in which they reside. the government wants its money right away so they can carry on with building roads, hiring teachers and postal workers, and whatever else it is they do with our tax money. If the owner of the property can't pay up, the government has to rely on investors like you to bridge the financial gap. They want to do everything in their power to make your job as an investor as easy as possible. For this reason, they will post the complete summary and appraisal history of lien properties for your perusal at the county office.
A Virtual Visit to the County Office
If you can' t make a physical trip down to the office at your convenience, you can always hit up the county's website, or fax a request for detailed information. The county will answer such requests with an inventory of properties, appraisal values, current taxes owed, and zoning type.
The World Wide Web of Free Tax Lien Information
Let's say you come across a property you're very interested in, but you learn that there are factors involved which may complicate the investment. At an auction hall, you have only seconds to make a decision. But as you do prior research on the internet, you can harness the power of your favorite search engine to discover any methods or procedures for amending any problems. Or you can learn that there is no satisfactory solution and avoid making a risky investment.
By building knowledge of tax liens, auctions, bidding systems, and other factors pertaining to tax lien investment, you can transform yourself into a juggernaut on the tax lien auction scene. Remember: it doesn't take years and years of experience to become a successful and formidable investor. It takes knowledge and the willingness to do some research, and the internet makes this easier and cheaper than ever before.
Brent Crouch is the owner of TaxLienProperties.net. He has dedicated this site to providing information on investing in government secured tax liens for pennies on the dollar.
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!
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!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Investing: Starting With A Good Foundation
By: Preston Guyton
The world of investing in real estate is simply a highly lucrative one. With more people making more money on real estate than ever before, everyone wants to try their hand at making the big bucks. However, so many people jump into this world without proper preparation and find themselves floundering and not being able to afford the upkeep of their properties. As with any form of investment the first thing you need before making a run at it is a good, solid foundation and the knowledge of what is going to work and what isn't. It's kind of like buying stocks blindly. you would not dream of buying stocks without first researching them and the companies. find out what they stand for and how they have performed over time. The same holds true with real estate.
There is really no point in investing in something if you don't know what you want from it and what hurdles you have to jump along the way. Investing in real estate is a bit more difficult than simply mortgaging or purchasing a property and renting it out or flipping it. Television is a main culprit in the mindset that investing is just that simple. What you don't see on those investing shows is all the legwork and planning that go into a typical purchase. Trust me, there is a lot more that goes into an investment than can be covered in 1 hour minus commercials.
Investing is all about having a game plan with failsafe's built right in. Let's look at a couple of things that you may want to consider in making a real estate investment.
Location - This is incredibly important. If you are planning on making a long-term investment then you will be looking for an area that offers a lot to residents. Areas with schools, shopping centers, recreation facilities etc. It is more difficult to rent a home in the boonies than it is to rent a home in an urban area. If flipping a home is your plan then look for areas that are hot. New developments, condos and town homes are great places to look for this kind of thing. Talk to your realtor and find out which area of the city is selling fast, that is the kind of area you want for a flip.
Cleanliness- The key factor of almost any real estate transaction. Nobody wants to rent or buy a dirty home. renting will be dependant on keeping the property in good condition for some time so as to be appealing to renters. Also being attentive to the needs of said renters is important. An ignorant or careless landlord attracts tenants of the same caliber. Bad tenants can be a nightmare that no landlord wants to deal with so be sure to get to know people before they rent your property.
Finances - An investment should never have the ability to break you financially. This is where the failsafe's come in. Make sure you have the funds to look after the property if you cannot immediately find renters or if the home take longer than anticipated to sell. If you build yourself a financial buffer then you can be properly insulated from taking a loss if things do not go according to plan.
Invest smart and don't rush into things. You are making a big play for your financial future so it is not something to be taken lightly. Make sure you make the right decisions and always be prepared in case you make a mistake.
Preston Guyton is a professional Realtor® serving the Myrtle Beach real estate market. For more information on Myrtle Beach homes & properties, contact Preston today or visit www.prestonguyton.com.
The world of investing in real estate is simply a highly lucrative one. With more people making more money on real estate than ever before, everyone wants to try their hand at making the big bucks. However, so many people jump into this world without proper preparation and find themselves floundering and not being able to afford the upkeep of their properties. As with any form of investment the first thing you need before making a run at it is a good, solid foundation and the knowledge of what is going to work and what isn't. It's kind of like buying stocks blindly. you would not dream of buying stocks without first researching them and the companies. find out what they stand for and how they have performed over time. The same holds true with real estate.
There is really no point in investing in something if you don't know what you want from it and what hurdles you have to jump along the way. Investing in real estate is a bit more difficult than simply mortgaging or purchasing a property and renting it out or flipping it. Television is a main culprit in the mindset that investing is just that simple. What you don't see on those investing shows is all the legwork and planning that go into a typical purchase. Trust me, there is a lot more that goes into an investment than can be covered in 1 hour minus commercials.
Investing is all about having a game plan with failsafe's built right in. Let's look at a couple of things that you may want to consider in making a real estate investment.
Location - This is incredibly important. If you are planning on making a long-term investment then you will be looking for an area that offers a lot to residents. Areas with schools, shopping centers, recreation facilities etc. It is more difficult to rent a home in the boonies than it is to rent a home in an urban area. If flipping a home is your plan then look for areas that are hot. New developments, condos and town homes are great places to look for this kind of thing. Talk to your realtor and find out which area of the city is selling fast, that is the kind of area you want for a flip.
Cleanliness- The key factor of almost any real estate transaction. Nobody wants to rent or buy a dirty home. renting will be dependant on keeping the property in good condition for some time so as to be appealing to renters. Also being attentive to the needs of said renters is important. An ignorant or careless landlord attracts tenants of the same caliber. Bad tenants can be a nightmare that no landlord wants to deal with so be sure to get to know people before they rent your property.
Finances - An investment should never have the ability to break you financially. This is where the failsafe's come in. Make sure you have the funds to look after the property if you cannot immediately find renters or if the home take longer than anticipated to sell. If you build yourself a financial buffer then you can be properly insulated from taking a loss if things do not go according to plan.
Invest smart and don't rush into things. You are making a big play for your financial future so it is not something to be taken lightly. Make sure you make the right decisions and always be prepared in case you make a mistake.
Preston Guyton is a professional Realtor® serving the Myrtle Beach real estate market. For more information on Myrtle Beach homes & properties, contact Preston today or visit www.prestonguyton.com.
Investing Your Cash - Realty or Vault?
By: Christian Jacobsen
House prices have almost doubled in the last ten years, but even so, is the bank a safer bet for your savings? There are many articles written lately urging the public to 'invest' in realty. These investments are suggested in several forms: e.g. as a second home, as accommodation for your university student child in another town, or an astute chance for a first-time buyer.
The reasons given for the 'invest-now' message is two-fold. Firstly, the mortgage rates are still very low and secondly the cost of property has dropped. True. Or more accurately, the cost of property is dropping, dropping, dropping. Is this acknowledged continual dropping a good climate for buying?
A company called Global Insight has recently released figures reporting that seventy five per cent of US housing markets have shown decreased prices for the third straight period. They based their research on 262 out of 330 housing markets.
Therefore three quarters of known housing markets in USA are suffering continuing price decreases, and no-one wants to buy a house that may drop further. Much of the business guile in property investment is to catch the market when it has finished dropping to its very lowest, and is just starting on the up-turn. There is no guaranteed formula for knowing this!
Since the market is still dropping, many seasoned investors are holding off - for now. This means there are even more properties on the market that will be snatched up in a flash when the realty climate changes course. If you are planning on buying a value-priced property, the first things that you must take care of are preparing your finances and choosing your real estate agent.
If there is a hint of an upturn, experienced investors will get there first with their cash deals. Obviously someone who has yet to be approved will not fare well against this competition, so become approved. To get 'first pick' choose your real estate agent carefully. A keen agent will analyze exactly what you are looking for and will have access to each listing before you.
Perhaps even before you plan the 'how to' of buying an investment property, you should run through the 'whys?'. Would you be investing to make a quick profit, or is it to build your financial portfolio?
If it is to make a quick profit, you may wish to run through some figures with an accountant or tax professional. Costs to be taken into account could include: the sale price and approximately 5% closing fees. When you re-sell, you must deduct from the profit margin approximately 8% selling and legal fees and the cost of the interest on the mortgage. You may also have to pay a penalty to the lender for early release on the loan and renovation costs.
There are many other numbers to put into the equation, including capital gains tax and mortgage interest rates etc. However, an experienced professional can also advise ways to avoid some of these losses (gift the property before sale, some mortgages offer tax breaks etc).
If the property is for long term acquisition, it is easier to make a profit; time is always on the side of real estate investors. Over the last ten year period house prices have almost doubled, in spite of the current situation. There is no bank that gives such good returns on your savings account.
Visit UtahPropertyFinder.com for an extensive list of available Utah real estate listings. Acquaint yourself with great investment opportunities in the surrounding Utah areas, including Salt Lake County homes for sale.
House prices have almost doubled in the last ten years, but even so, is the bank a safer bet for your savings? There are many articles written lately urging the public to 'invest' in realty. These investments are suggested in several forms: e.g. as a second home, as accommodation for your university student child in another town, or an astute chance for a first-time buyer.
The reasons given for the 'invest-now' message is two-fold. Firstly, the mortgage rates are still very low and secondly the cost of property has dropped. True. Or more accurately, the cost of property is dropping, dropping, dropping. Is this acknowledged continual dropping a good climate for buying?
A company called Global Insight has recently released figures reporting that seventy five per cent of US housing markets have shown decreased prices for the third straight period. They based their research on 262 out of 330 housing markets.
Therefore three quarters of known housing markets in USA are suffering continuing price decreases, and no-one wants to buy a house that may drop further. Much of the business guile in property investment is to catch the market when it has finished dropping to its very lowest, and is just starting on the up-turn. There is no guaranteed formula for knowing this!
Since the market is still dropping, many seasoned investors are holding off - for now. This means there are even more properties on the market that will be snatched up in a flash when the realty climate changes course. If you are planning on buying a value-priced property, the first things that you must take care of are preparing your finances and choosing your real estate agent.
If there is a hint of an upturn, experienced investors will get there first with their cash deals. Obviously someone who has yet to be approved will not fare well against this competition, so become approved. To get 'first pick' choose your real estate agent carefully. A keen agent will analyze exactly what you are looking for and will have access to each listing before you.
Perhaps even before you plan the 'how to' of buying an investment property, you should run through the 'whys?'. Would you be investing to make a quick profit, or is it to build your financial portfolio?
If it is to make a quick profit, you may wish to run through some figures with an accountant or tax professional. Costs to be taken into account could include: the sale price and approximately 5% closing fees. When you re-sell, you must deduct from the profit margin approximately 8% selling and legal fees and the cost of the interest on the mortgage. You may also have to pay a penalty to the lender for early release on the loan and renovation costs.
There are many other numbers to put into the equation, including capital gains tax and mortgage interest rates etc. However, an experienced professional can also advise ways to avoid some of these losses (gift the property before sale, some mortgages offer tax breaks etc).
If the property is for long term acquisition, it is easier to make a profit; time is always on the side of real estate investors. Over the last ten year period house prices have almost doubled, in spite of the current situation. There is no bank that gives such good returns on your savings account.
Visit UtahPropertyFinder.com for an extensive list of available Utah real estate listings. Acquaint yourself with great investment opportunities in the surrounding Utah areas, including Salt Lake County homes for sale.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Investing Full-Time is Overrated
By: Alan Brymer
I’ve been investing in real estate full-time since I graduated from college 5 years ago. I guess you could say I did it part-time while I was also juggling college classes, homework, papers, and another student job. Now it only takes me an hour or so per day, so you tell me how to classify it now–full time? Part time? Who cares? I’m doing what I want to do with my life and I encourage everyone to do the same, whatever that may be.
At any rate, I’ve met a lot of investors who are itching to get to the point where they are making enough money in real estate that they can quit their 9 to 5 and invest full-time. This seems like the American Dream, but I will play Devil’s Advocate and be the one guy to point out the less glamorous side of investing full-time:
1) Living off your investments is not the same as retiring early. I’m all for retiring early, but real estate is an active investment. It has been described as a second job. It refer to it as running a business. It can be a very lucrative business, but for the most part it is going to require time and effort to stay on top of things. And in many ways, running a business is more stressful, with more responsibilities, risks, and obligations than having a job.
2) Say goodbye to any and all job benefits. Because I am self-employed, I had to pay cold hard cash each time we had a baby, about $5000-6000 each time, in addition to our regular monthly insurance premiums. What a joke! Our health insurance did not pay for a daggone thing. Meanwhile, my sister and everyone around me paid $25 here, $30 there for doctor’s office co-pays, and nothing more. The echoes of my grinding teeth can still be heard in distant parts of the earth.
Now, of course, if your business is making money hand over fist, you might think $5000 here and there is no big deal, but I can virtually guarantee that these kinds of bills will come due on a month when you’re running low on funds, waiting an eternity for some buyer to finally get qualified.
3) Are you doing what you love with your time? Are you going to invest full-time because you love investing, or because you want to make more money? If the answer is “more money,” I challenge you to be true to yourself, and find a way to make more money in real estate part-time, and do what you love most of the day.
If you work smart, you can make enough money in real estate in a few hours each week to supplement even a low-paying job, like teaching school. Remember, real estate is just a way to have more of what you want in life. So what do you want?
4) Real estate is a cash monster. Investing requires cash–and lots of it. It doesn’t have to be yours, but it still has to come from somewhere. Few investors who don’t have enough private funds available can resist the temptation to use their own cash to do a deal. This is the beginning of the end.
No one will lend you money to pay your own bills, or your team, or your advertising, and every investor I’ve seen who starts using his own funds eventually runs out–especially those who sell houses by doing lease/options. It is an industry where unexpected surprises come along that tie up or cost us thousands at a time ($5,000 to clean up after a tenant here, $5,000 reduction in price when selling in order to make the deal work there).
It makes sense for a lot of people to work for their own income and let their investments compound and grow on their own, untouched. If you’ve ever read Mark Haroldsen’s book Financial Genius, he tells a good story that emphasizes the shame that goes along with “dipping into your capital” for personal use. Whether you subscribe to that belief or not is up to you, but he does make a good point (unless of course you make many times more by working on real estate full-time).
5) How good are you at finding motivated sellers? How consistently have you been finding deals up until now? I have seen a few investors strike it big with one great deal, quit their jobs, and then fail to find more deals consistently and flounder as a result. This is why I’m not big on the Leave Your Doofus Boss in Only 90 Days philosophy. One or two deals does not a business owner make.
If I had a wife and kids to feed and were considering the jump from part-time to full-time, I’d make very certain that I’m 100% capable of finding at least one deal per month, having done it consistently for at least a year first.
6) Do you really have enough to do for 8 hours per day? Ron Legrand said once, “If you can’t make money part-time, you can’t make money full-time.” Working part-time forces you to stay sharp and manage your time well. You are forced to delegate, because there is just not enough time in the day to try to do it all yourself. You use your time wisely and do more deals in less time.
I have seen a lot of full-time investors get stuck doing things like fixing up houses themselves, driving around looking for junkers, etc, because they figure “I’ve got the time.” If that’s what you truly enjoy doing with your life, then great.
If not, may I suggest a third alternative: Invest in real estate part-time until you can run your business successfully in just 1-2 hours per day. Then, if you are determined to do it full-time, but are happy with the income your are already making, then do it full-time but continue to work on it for only 1-2 hours per day. What should you do with the rest of the day? Whatever the heck YOU want to do with your life.
Alan Brymer has been a full-time investor since the age of 22, and speaks at seminars and investor groups around the country. He is a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured on multiple television programs and magazines asa real estate and business expert. To read Alan's Articles and Blog, go to www.AlanBrymer.com.
I’ve been investing in real estate full-time since I graduated from college 5 years ago. I guess you could say I did it part-time while I was also juggling college classes, homework, papers, and another student job. Now it only takes me an hour or so per day, so you tell me how to classify it now–full time? Part time? Who cares? I’m doing what I want to do with my life and I encourage everyone to do the same, whatever that may be.
At any rate, I’ve met a lot of investors who are itching to get to the point where they are making enough money in real estate that they can quit their 9 to 5 and invest full-time. This seems like the American Dream, but I will play Devil’s Advocate and be the one guy to point out the less glamorous side of investing full-time:
1) Living off your investments is not the same as retiring early. I’m all for retiring early, but real estate is an active investment. It has been described as a second job. It refer to it as running a business. It can be a very lucrative business, but for the most part it is going to require time and effort to stay on top of things. And in many ways, running a business is more stressful, with more responsibilities, risks, and obligations than having a job.
2) Say goodbye to any and all job benefits. Because I am self-employed, I had to pay cold hard cash each time we had a baby, about $5000-6000 each time, in addition to our regular monthly insurance premiums. What a joke! Our health insurance did not pay for a daggone thing. Meanwhile, my sister and everyone around me paid $25 here, $30 there for doctor’s office co-pays, and nothing more. The echoes of my grinding teeth can still be heard in distant parts of the earth.
Now, of course, if your business is making money hand over fist, you might think $5000 here and there is no big deal, but I can virtually guarantee that these kinds of bills will come due on a month when you’re running low on funds, waiting an eternity for some buyer to finally get qualified.
3) Are you doing what you love with your time? Are you going to invest full-time because you love investing, or because you want to make more money? If the answer is “more money,” I challenge you to be true to yourself, and find a way to make more money in real estate part-time, and do what you love most of the day.
If you work smart, you can make enough money in real estate in a few hours each week to supplement even a low-paying job, like teaching school. Remember, real estate is just a way to have more of what you want in life. So what do you want?
4) Real estate is a cash monster. Investing requires cash–and lots of it. It doesn’t have to be yours, but it still has to come from somewhere. Few investors who don’t have enough private funds available can resist the temptation to use their own cash to do a deal. This is the beginning of the end.
No one will lend you money to pay your own bills, or your team, or your advertising, and every investor I’ve seen who starts using his own funds eventually runs out–especially those who sell houses by doing lease/options. It is an industry where unexpected surprises come along that tie up or cost us thousands at a time ($5,000 to clean up after a tenant here, $5,000 reduction in price when selling in order to make the deal work there).
It makes sense for a lot of people to work for their own income and let their investments compound and grow on their own, untouched. If you’ve ever read Mark Haroldsen’s book Financial Genius, he tells a good story that emphasizes the shame that goes along with “dipping into your capital” for personal use. Whether you subscribe to that belief or not is up to you, but he does make a good point (unless of course you make many times more by working on real estate full-time).
5) How good are you at finding motivated sellers? How consistently have you been finding deals up until now? I have seen a few investors strike it big with one great deal, quit their jobs, and then fail to find more deals consistently and flounder as a result. This is why I’m not big on the Leave Your Doofus Boss in Only 90 Days philosophy. One or two deals does not a business owner make.
If I had a wife and kids to feed and were considering the jump from part-time to full-time, I’d make very certain that I’m 100% capable of finding at least one deal per month, having done it consistently for at least a year first.
6) Do you really have enough to do for 8 hours per day? Ron Legrand said once, “If you can’t make money part-time, you can’t make money full-time.” Working part-time forces you to stay sharp and manage your time well. You are forced to delegate, because there is just not enough time in the day to try to do it all yourself. You use your time wisely and do more deals in less time.
I have seen a lot of full-time investors get stuck doing things like fixing up houses themselves, driving around looking for junkers, etc, because they figure “I’ve got the time.” If that’s what you truly enjoy doing with your life, then great.
If not, may I suggest a third alternative: Invest in real estate part-time until you can run your business successfully in just 1-2 hours per day. Then, if you are determined to do it full-time, but are happy with the income your are already making, then do it full-time but continue to work on it for only 1-2 hours per day. What should you do with the rest of the day? Whatever the heck YOU want to do with your life.
Alan Brymer has been a full-time investor since the age of 22, and speaks at seminars and investor groups around the country. He is a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured on multiple television programs and magazines asa real estate and business expert. To read Alan's Articles and Blog, go to www.AlanBrymer.com.
When the Pros Fail Homeowners
By: Mark Sumpter
When a homeowner is fighting foreclosure there are several things that they attempt to do before seeking out a real estate investing professional. Typically when a homeowner is delinquent on their mortgage they in some cases, but not always, will seek out the help of a family member. In other words, try and borrow some money to attempt to reinstate their loan.
When that fails the next thing they do is reach out to a mortgage lender, and what they're looking for is to maybe get the loan officer to assist them by refinancing their property and to end the foreclosure.
Well, how does this work? Typically a homeowner is going to reach out to a mortgage broker, a loan officer and say I'd like to refinance my house. And once the mortgage broker is able to look at their credit and discover that the homeowner is several payments delinquent and there is no loan program available to them they simply say, there's nothing I can do for you. I'm sorry.
The next logical step would be to reach out to a realtor because they will in some cases come to the realization that they must sell in order to avoid being foreclosed on.
So when they reach out to that realtor and say will you place my house for sale, in some cases they may not necessarily tell the realtor they are facing foreclosure but in some cases they do. The realtor is going to quickly discover this person has a $205,000.00 loan balance on a house that's worth $200,000. Now if you do the math, it's a little difficult to sell a $200,000 house for $205,000.
It's as though you found a car for sale that the salesman says, "well, the car is worth $20,000.00, but I'm asking $25,000.00 for the car. I don't think people would be willing to pay that. Not only that, there's no commission available for the realtor to get if they were to list that property. There just simply isn't any room available for them to receive a commission.
So is there an incentive here for the realtor to want to help the homeowner? Well, the answer is no, although some realtors will do so out of the kindness of their heart. Finding a true buyer for the property is pretty remote at best.
Here’s how you capitalize on the mortgage lenders and realtors' inability to help. You simply network with realtors, loan officers and mortgage brokers. By doing this, you will help those homeowners they were unable to help.
Your motto: Take a loan officer or realtor to lunch once a week!
Tell them what you do. I often use a thirty second elevator speech when I begin to explain what I do. It promotes questions.
There are many strategies to making money in real estate, but nothing make sense unless you have the RIGHT strategy. Buying foreclosures is the most profitable way to make money in real estate. When you build the right system for finding, buying and selling foreclosures with none of your own cash or credit, you control your future. Discover how to use risk-free techniques to turn a part-time business into a cash gushing part-time business. Sign up right now for Mark Sumpter's FREE report and FREE videos to find out how to do exactly that - Go here:www.getshortsaletraining.com
When a homeowner is fighting foreclosure there are several things that they attempt to do before seeking out a real estate investing professional. Typically when a homeowner is delinquent on their mortgage they in some cases, but not always, will seek out the help of a family member. In other words, try and borrow some money to attempt to reinstate their loan.
When that fails the next thing they do is reach out to a mortgage lender, and what they're looking for is to maybe get the loan officer to assist them by refinancing their property and to end the foreclosure.
Well, how does this work? Typically a homeowner is going to reach out to a mortgage broker, a loan officer and say I'd like to refinance my house. And once the mortgage broker is able to look at their credit and discover that the homeowner is several payments delinquent and there is no loan program available to them they simply say, there's nothing I can do for you. I'm sorry.
The next logical step would be to reach out to a realtor because they will in some cases come to the realization that they must sell in order to avoid being foreclosed on.
So when they reach out to that realtor and say will you place my house for sale, in some cases they may not necessarily tell the realtor they are facing foreclosure but in some cases they do. The realtor is going to quickly discover this person has a $205,000.00 loan balance on a house that's worth $200,000. Now if you do the math, it's a little difficult to sell a $200,000 house for $205,000.
It's as though you found a car for sale that the salesman says, "well, the car is worth $20,000.00, but I'm asking $25,000.00 for the car. I don't think people would be willing to pay that. Not only that, there's no commission available for the realtor to get if they were to list that property. There just simply isn't any room available for them to receive a commission.
So is there an incentive here for the realtor to want to help the homeowner? Well, the answer is no, although some realtors will do so out of the kindness of their heart. Finding a true buyer for the property is pretty remote at best.
Here’s how you capitalize on the mortgage lenders and realtors' inability to help. You simply network with realtors, loan officers and mortgage brokers. By doing this, you will help those homeowners they were unable to help.
Your motto: Take a loan officer or realtor to lunch once a week!
Tell them what you do. I often use a thirty second elevator speech when I begin to explain what I do. It promotes questions.
There are many strategies to making money in real estate, but nothing make sense unless you have the RIGHT strategy. Buying foreclosures is the most profitable way to make money in real estate. When you build the right system for finding, buying and selling foreclosures with none of your own cash or credit, you control your future. Discover how to use risk-free techniques to turn a part-time business into a cash gushing part-time business. Sign up right now for Mark Sumpter's FREE report and FREE videos to find out how to do exactly that - Go here:www.getshortsaletraining.com
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