home base business

Treasure Hunting

By: Tracy Piercy

I’m a financial educator by calling and by profession. But when you get to know me and my family, you will discover fairly quickly that we are collectors of old, fun or unusual things. Some people might call it junk, and in fact that’s exactly where my husband finds many of our treasures - in the junk other people throw out.

Garbage to Gold

We’ve all heard the saying, ?One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.? Well, in my family, we find so many treasures that we have turned it into a side business for my husband. He is very handy so it’s pretty simple for him to take an old rusted, broken such-and-such and give it a quick sanding, glue and some paint and ‘voila’ - it’s better than new.

Now it’s not junk that I want to write about. Well, it sort of is. Treasures are all in the eye of the beholder, right? In other words, how you perceive something will give it either value, or not. The trick is to see value from multiple perspectives.

Let’s look at junk for a minute more, then apply the concepts to financial items. I’m looking around my office for an item I can use as an example of some junk that has been re-purposed, and realize there are too many items to choose from. I have a rusted watering can holding silk roses on my desk, a post office sorter holding up my desk and organizing my papers, a carpenter’s nail box holding my paperclips and sticky notes, an old lampstand holding my pen, a solid maple wooden kitchen counter as my desk top surface, faded drapes, remade into blinds, a very high-tech keyboard tray rescued from a dumpster, and one of my all-time favorite junk makeovers is my office chair covered with an old leather coat.

A Second Look at Everyday Items

While I’m not suggesting you all become junk collectors, I’d like to share with you some of the questions we ask when we see something discarded at the side of the road or offered inexpensively at a garage sale: What could this be used for? Who could use this? How could we re-make, or re-do this? Where could it be used? Why would someone want this? What would need to be done to re-purpose it? How much time and/or money would that take to accomplish?

Now let’s look at financial things: credit cards, mutual funds, life insurance, real estate, your job or profession. Start asking some of the questions above, and rather than the usual answers, keep asking and soon you’ll start to come up with answers like this:

· You can use credit cards to increase your wealth and help you reach your goals;

· Mutual funds are a fabulous way to expand your financial knowledge and learn investment savvy;

· Life insurance has wonderful applications for you while you’re alive;

· You can purchase real estate for purposes other than providing the home you live in or an investment property you rent or flip;

· Your job or profession has multiple ways you can earn income from while still meeting the requirements of your employer and without you having to work overtime or pick up another job or contract.

Concentrate on the possibilities

The key is to keep asking yourself and others and never let yourself answer the question with a ‘can’t’ or a ‘but’ or an ‘I tried that’, or something similar that says, ‘that will never work’. How do you know? How important is your reaching your goals? I realize it is easier to look at your current situation and think it’s all junk, that you’ve ?wasted your money, your time, and coulda, shoulda, woulda done things differently if only…?

However, step number one is to start where you are. The past is gone and the future hasn’t arrived yet. Where you are is where you’re supposed to be. The search for your treasure starts here and will take you on an amazing journey uncovering hidden gems along the way. You’ll climb some mountains - maybe even climbthem sideways or backwards, and find new and interesting uses for the transactions you make every day. You are treasure hunting for your goals and dreams so you need to learn to see the ‘junk’ in your life as beautiful jewels that all add up to your overall life’s wealth.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8897.shtml

Good Reasons to Buy Now: The Current Housing Market Is A Rare Bargain

By: Jeff Hammerberg

Price pressures continue to strengthen the bargaining positions of buyers, while homeowners are feeling more desperate to sell, regardless of how many concessions they might have to make to close their deals. With more than half a million brand new homes languishing on the market unsold and a glut of existing homes that will take an estimated 8-9 months to sell, buyers have plenty of reasons to rejoice.

Some buyers are waiting for even lower prices, but they may lose out to tighter regulations in the mortgage lending market. If you?re thinking of buying a home, it may be easier to get the mortgage you want now than it is in the near future. Government officials at every level are pushing for more stringent regulation of lenders, and the banking and mortgage industries themselves are already taking proactive steps to tighten purse strings because of so many losses suffered due to defaults and foreclosures. Meanwhile the economy is sending mixed signals and the stock markets are jittery, which could signal bumpy roads ahead. If interest rates go higher or if the values of investment portfolios shrink, those who are waiting to buy a home may find themselves paying more for their loans or they may even be completely disqualified.

Another factor to consider if you are sitting on the fence about buying is that the real estate market in the USA is normally a seasonal and cyclical affair. The busy season is in the springtime, and that is when homes generally sell for the best prices. As summer wears on, sellers often lower their expectations of a sale, along with their asking prices. Especially in regions of the country where heating bills are significant ? in colder climates the cost of fuel to heat a home over the winter can easily range in the thousands of dollars ? sellers can save money by selling before the first frost. That means that those who are shopping for a home have added leverage if they buy at the end of the summer season. Just as buying a winter coat in the springtime can guarantee deep discounts, buying a home at the end of the best selling season can mean serious price breaks at the closing table.

When negotiating the sale, here are some places to ask for wiggle room from sellers:

The Price:

To be taken seriously, don?t lowball the seller but offer a price that is within five percent of the asking price. If you?re pre-approved for your mortgage or are buying with cash, this can also significantly improve your position.

Closing Costs:

If your seller assists with these it helps you qualify for better mortgage terms while saving you some serious out-of-pocket money.

Repairs:

If sellers are eager, you can ask them to do necessary repairs before you buy. Or have them give you a cash allowance based on contractor bids, and then do the work yourself.

Leave-Behinds:

Moving appliances and furniture is expensive for home sellers, and sometimes they will throw those items in for free, so why not ask?

There are also other ways to save money or get extras when you sit down to negotiate. In bearish real estate markets, homeowners became rather creative with off-the-wall miscellaneous perks. During the past year, buyers in the USA have gotten free trips to Europe, cases of vintage wine, automobiles, boats, and other incentives. If you can think of a commodity to help close the transaction, mention it to the seller and they might go for it. For example, if you are buying your home from a member of the city symphony orchestra or the local basketball team, you might get free season tickets. Need a riding lawn mower and see one in the garage? Maybe your seller is moving to a condo where they don?t need to cut the grass and they will be happy to toss it in to clinch the sale. Buying from a chef? Maybe he or she will give you free meals at your new favorite restaurant in order to put the icing on the cake of the sales contract.

Have your Realtor provide you with updated market info because prices, inventories, and values can change quickly. The median price of American homes edged up slightly this summer, for the first time in a year. The up-tick may have been caused by people pulling their unsold houses off the market, but that adds another incentive to buy now while the inventory is large and the prices are cheap.

Don?t expect to see writing on the wall when the tide turns. By the time it becomes obvious to everyone that the buyer?s market is over, it will be too late to find the outstanding bargains. If you want a home, don?t deny yourself the pleasure just to save a few bucks.

For expert help with your next real estate purchase, contact the largest online network of real estate professionals dedicated to serving the GLBT community at www.GayRealEstate.com and www.GayMortgageLoans.com. Or call toll free 1-888-420-MOVE (6683).

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8920.shtml