Senin, 12 Maret 2012

Individuals Become Private Banks In US - Business News You Can Use

Someone once said if someone offers me a guaranteed return then it guarantees they will make more. And if both parties are satisfied then it's not a bad arrangement. Individuals need to be savvy with their money.

When I first began to investigate this thing called private lending I was concerned that it was a scam. Yet the more I looked at it I realized that anyone who has ever opened a savings account at a bank, invested in a CD, or has an IRA is a private lender. In each of those instances there is someone or some institution that will pay us an interest rate so they can use our money to make more for themselves. As I said before, that's not a bad arrangement but it did beg the question, could an individual safely make more for themselves.

Banks have existed for centuries for a good reason - they are profitable. Individuals can do this and participate in some of the same benefits through something called "private lending."

What is a Private Lender? Private lenders are individuals with money to lend for investment purposes. They may or may not be wealthy, but they do have excess cash or assets available over and above what they need to live on. These individuals are willing to lend for a higher return than they can get with bank CD's or money markets. They usually lend against assets but will, at times, lend unsecured.

Private money lending became very popular as interest rates on traditional Money Markets and CD's dropped below 5%.

People with extra cash started looking for higher interest rates. So if they could get the high interest rate and enough security (collateral) they were willing to do loans without personal credit or the need to be worried about credit scores. That started the revolution that you see today where private money lenders are as big and popular as other types of lenders were 10 years ago. This trend toward private money will remain as long as the rate of return is greater than bank interest rates.

Though a private lender can be found in the art world, the auto industry, the antique's arena it is most often found in the real estate market. I will confine my investigation to the real estate industry.

One warning that I must immediately give is you should never give your money directly to the real estate investor. Instead send it to a 3rd party like the closing attorney or title company. If someone asks you to give him or her your check directly then do not even consider doing business with him or her. When the funds are distributed at the closing table to the investor it assures you that all the proper documents were signed and recorded for your protection.

There are 5 items that must be required by every private lender.


1) You must have a promissory note, which will state the amount borrowed and the terms for repayment.

2) You must have lenders title insurance, which will protect the lender in case something happened within the title somewhere along the line.

3) You must have a mortgage or deed of trust, depending on your state, recorded in your name in the county of the real estate.

4) You must get an After Repair Value Opinion; this can come through an appraiser or a real estate agent, they both access the same information. You need this because the total loans on the property should not exceed 80% and preferably 70-75%. This protects you regardless of the number of mortgages on the property

5) And lastly, you must be listed as a beneficiary on the Hazard/Fire/Property Insurance, which will protect you completely if the home is destroyed or damaged.

One of the benefits of Private Lending is that your funds will be earning the stated interest from day one, the day the investor closes on the purchase. The downside is that once the property is sold the real estate investor should return your money. When that happens you will no longer be earning the high rate of return. Yet, in most cases, the real estate investor will borrow your money again shortly.

Statically, the annual average rate of return for real estate private lending is higher than other investments. If you were to earn 10% on your money for 4 months or 3% on your money for 12 months, the 10% earns more.

Another area where private lenders can become their own bank is in the area of bridge loans. A bridge loan is a bit riskier but is a common entity. Bridge loans are borrowed funds to get the time required to sort out the issues of a specific transaction and meet rigorous timetables or when the sale of one property overlaps with the purchase of another. When bridge loans approach their maturity deadline, they are paid off either through refinancing or the sale of the other home. Some bridge loans are hours long but most are for months.

Private lending offers a good rate of return yet you should not put your last penny into it. Diversification is critical to any investment strategy. When adding to your wealth you need to have different items in your portfolio.

For many individuals private lending is more comfortable because it is much less affected by repeated marketplace fluctuations. In reality, throughout times of economic turbulence in the stock market, private lending transactions are looked upon in a favorable light. It is a stable investment that can return monthly income or lump sum income like a zero coupon bond.

Nonetheless, the possibility of foreclosure is real. A private lender is more protected than a bank in a foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure situation. A private lender will have more of an equity cushion than most banks. A private lender should have at least 20-25% equity in the property, or they shouldn't become a lender. Maintaining that cushion allows a private lender to become involved at any level of mortgage, whether it is a 1st mortgage or a 5th mortgage.

There is a long a history of private money lenders investing their own money in real estate investments. Like many things, private money comes and goes depending largely on interest rates and the demand from real estate investors and other investors.

Many homeowners are able to become private lenders through the help of their own bank. They arrange an Equity Line (HELOC) with their bank on their home. Then borrow the cash at a rate of 3-4%. When you lend those funds you will be very much like your own bank (you are paying the bank interest to use their money to lend to someone else, sound familiar).

As a private lender you will be earning 8-10% or more from the real estate investor. Your net return, or "spread" as the banks call it, is 5 to 6 percent; that is your profit. At a 5% spread, on a $150,000 loan, you will earn $20.54 per day or $7500 for the year. The other benefit is that when the investor pays back the loan, the equity line stops charging interest as well.

Selasa, 07 Februari 2012

Working From Home - Why Running Your Own Business Can Be Great News for Parents

Setting up a business that you can run from home can bring many advantages. Many parents embrace self-employment after the arrival of their children - the coining of new phrases such as 'mumpreneur' are testament to the growing interest in parent-run businesses. Having said that, self-employment can be hard work and may not always bring in a steady income. So why take the chance? Read on for some of the reasons why running your own home business can be great news for parents.

Cost of childcare

This can be the deciding factor in parents giving up work for employers and deciding to work from home for themselves. If you run your own home business, you'll have a degree of freedom that you just won't get with employment and may be able to adjust your working hours to work around your family commitments, meaning you might not have to pay for childcare.

No commuting

Every day, millions of people leave their homes, head out to their workplaces and travel for miles and for hours, in some cases to sit at a desk and do work which could just as easily be done from home. Then at the end of the day, they turn around and do it all again in reverse. And for this constant, day-in-day-out source of frustration, misery, discomfort and danger (more cars on roads mean more accidents), they pay through the nose for petrol, train tickets and bus passes.


Obviously, not every parent-friendly business involves working from home but if you do manage it, cutting out your commute time can give you back several hours a day. Not to mention saving you money on tickets and petrol. What's not to love about that?

Increasing your income

Running your own business can give you the opportunity to earn much, much more than you would by taking a job. But having said that, it's not going to happen overnight.

Creating your own job stability

This might sound a bit strange as self-employment is notorious for being somewhat fickle in providing a steady income. It might be 'feast or famine' when you're running your own business, but who's to say that being an employee is going to be any more stable in the long term? You just have to look at the unemployment statistics to realise that having a permanent job is no guarantee of an income for life.

If you run your own business, you'll develop a lot of new skills all of which can be leveraged to help you create the kind of life you want. You should also develop a more tenacious mind-set that is bound to stand you in good stead as you progress through life. You'll learn how to diversify your assets and (hopefully) create multiple income streams that don't involve swapping time for money, so you'll be able to spread the risk of something going wrong with one of your sources of income.

Want to know more about successfully combining both a home business and a family? Want to know how to organise your life and gain more time for yourself? How to Run a Business From Home When You Have Small Children will give you the guidelines that you need to get the lifestyle you want.

Jumat, 13 Januari 2012

How to Get Your Business or Clients in Google News Using Press Release Distribution

Many people ask how they can get their businesses news listed in Google News. To many it seems an attractive way of generating traffic and hits to your website by announcing a new product or service from your business. Press release distribution is the only way of getting your content listed.

Online business owners are growing more aware of the effects and importance of using Google News, so much that some companies are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on writing and distribution packages

For starters, you cant simply send a press release to Google themselves. People often get confused as to how the system works. Basically Google News works by several thousand third party news sources. These sites are thoroughly inspected before they are allowed to become a source.

So you have to choose a website or service which has the capabilities to send your content to Google News. Once it passes the sites approval process the content will by indexed within minutes.

The next step is to make sure your press release or news story will get approved by an official distribution website. Make sure you write a news worthy story. Don't make it an obvious promotional piece. Include facts about the specific news. Also make sure that it has not been published anywhere else online because it wont enter Google News. It does not have to be thousands of words long either. Everything lies in the content that you focus onto and write efficiently.

Once it gets listed in Google News you will see the following effects

- A possible surge in traffic
- New backlinks to your websites giving better authority with search engines
- Indexed in Google Search within Minutes
- Press release sent to people set up to receive Google Alerts for related keywords
- Worldwide exposure

The importance of Press Release Distribution might wander your thoughts on to choosing the best firm and so it is natural that you will think about going in for the costliest option. Do you think you will get the best service if this is the step that you put head? Is there any guarantee on this? Yes, it is of course true that with appropriate and professional approach you can take your business to greater heights. At the same time, it is important to choose wisely, so that you get the perfect and right service provider at affordable rates giving you the outcome exceeding your expectations.

Choosing a press release distribution service that is reliable and cheap is the next step. There's plenty around but vary in expense. Release-news.com offers an affordable press release distribution service to Google News

Minggu, 18 Desember 2011

Staying Updated With the Latest Green Energy News Is Critical for Businesses

As petrol and other biodegradable fuels continue to get depleted, it is high time to look for alternative resources. Countries have woken up to the danger and begun to look for ways to harness richer and more viable resources such as water, sunlight, or wind. Sustainability has become a specialized field as top minds put their heads together to work on strategies to introduce more green processes in businesses. If you are a sustainability energy expert, or involved in the green technology aspects of your company, or if you are looking for ways to bring sustainable practices into your business, you need to be abreast of the latest energy news.

Green business practices not only help your company stay at the cutting edge of your field, they also add to the productivity levels by cutting down on wasteful expenditures. According to latest reports, companies are losing millions every year because of inefficient practices. Global businesses are fronting the movement for change, and thinking of innovative conservation practices. Energy news and information can keep you abreast of these developments.

Corporate houses are tacking wasteful expenditure and excessive energy consumption on a war footing and strategizing how to cut down on energy losses. Telecommuting, electronic data management, green chemistry processes in the pharmaceutical sector-these are all strategies being used to move towards green business processes.

To be with the times, you also need to be know what governments and groups are doing to explore non-traditional resources such as geothermal, solar, hydel power, and wind. With oil and gas reserves steadily getting depleted, recyclable sources such as geothermal energy are predicted to be the energy sources of the future. Similarly there is hydel electricity, a natural source of energy generated by tapping rivers. Many countries have dams to generate hydel power, and they are using this power for various purposes. There is also solar energy, with the power to generate huge quantities of heat with the aid of solar batteries and panels.

The best part about recyclable energy resources is that they do not generate harmful byproducts. Also, unlike biodegradable sources, they are not likely to run out anytime. With government debates on managing and using energy resources taking on new dimensions every day, access to the latest information is critical to stay with the times.

Reading latest articles and real-time energy news can give you fresh ideas for green practices that set your business ahead of the competition.

Minggu, 13 November 2011

How to Break Into the News Photography Business

We now live in a world where people choose to get their news from their iPhones, Blackberrys and online, the newspapers taking big financial losses. Newspaper subscriptions and advertising revenues are way down and some newspaper are even closing up shop altogether. For those newspaper that are still operational upper level management are cutting back staff at a remarkable rate. Many professional photojournalists, editors and reporters are being laid off or forced to do twice the amount of work they were originally hired to do. However the demand for quality news photos and videos remains high. With reduced amount of staff photographers newspapers must still provide photos for their newspaper daily, but it isn't always that easy.

As newspapers continue to struggle to provide the best news coverage with their reduced staff they often turn to freelance photographers also known as Stringers to fill the pages with breaking news photos as well as video clips for their website. These newspaper Stringers earn anywhere from $75-200 per photo and sometimes even more for video content that is used on a national television show.

Breaking into the news photo business isn't as hard as it may sound and you can actually get started today if you have the proper equipment and motivation.

What are some of the things you will need to get started?

    Digital SLR camera
    Police Scanner
    Cellphone
    Laptop with wireless access
    Reliable vehicle
    Long zoom lens 70-200mm is fine

As a Stringer you will be spending a majority of your time monitoring your police scanner and listening for major car crashes, fires, shootings, SWAT stand offs and even severe weather such as brush fires and tornadoes happening in your town.

The objective is to get to the scene and make dramatic photos of the scene before newspaper or television photographers get there. The best time to hunt for news is late at night from 12am-4am as this is when most of the news staff is off, meaning no competition for you. It is possible to get exclusive content during the day but is usually more difficult because of the increased competition and traffic.

A reliable stringer with proven results can also accept photo assignments from newspapers, magazines and TV stations around the world adding to the money you make nightly chasing spot news.

Senin, 07 November 2011

Good News For the Home Based Business Opportunity Seeker

For many people, the idea of getting wealthy from a work at home business is just a dream. For the serious home based business opportunity seeker, there's good news. These dreamers are wrong. It's easier than they ever imagined.

Breaking into Internet Home Business-Easier than IRL

There are several reasons why it's easier to get started with an Internet home business than getting things going "in real life." You may or may not remember when you got your first job. Specifically, the job hunt may be vague in your memory.

Chances are, you were turned down several times before you landed that job. Even more poignantly, you may have recently been in the job market, and have been frustrated with how hard it is to land a job. Opening a business on the Internet skips completely over the job interview process.

If you've tried starting a brick and mortar business, then you know all too well how hard it is to get it off the ground. The saying goes that during your first five years, you can expect to operate in the red. "In the real world," this is more often than not the case. On the Internet, you don't have to wait nearly that long to get in the black.

Starting an Online Home Based Business is Cheap

Nearly anyone can get started with an online home based business. Unlike brick and mortar jobs, it doesn't take a huge investment to get started. You don't have to rent an office space; you don't have to buy initial inventory and supplies.

You can find free web hosting at sites like WordPress. You can order your products after your clients buy them. For that matter, you can sell electronic products, that don't really take any money to inventory. If you have a computer and an Internet connection, you can get started. If you're really strapped for cash in the beginning, you can work at local Wi-Fi hotspots like Starbucks.

You Don't Need a Budget for Marketing Campaigns

Another place Internet business blows "real world" business out of the water is in expenses for marketing campaigns. While brick and mortar businesses are shelling out thousands of dollars to get an ad in the phone book or a billboard, you can spend next to nothing on marketing on the Internet, and have fun while doing it.

Social media sites are fertile ground to implement Internet marketing strategies. You could buy advertising space on these sites, but if you know how to work the social media sites, you don't need to. Groups betting that they can get a million members are all over Facebook right now, and most of them reach their goals. Now imagine if you could harness this potential into a marketing campaign.

Overall, the Internet is the best place to start a business if you're dedicated to the idea of reaching success. It costs much less than "real world" business, and you start making money much sooner than you could ever dream of on Main St. Forget Main St. and get on the Information Superhighway!

Jumat, 07 Oktober 2011

Wholesale Video Games Business - Industry News

Looking for a profitable wholesale video games eBay business experience? There are literally thousands of re-sellers in the search of wholesale games for immediate 10-20% profit for re-sell at auction sites. A modest profit could be 10-20% at auction sites depending who is your buying source.

Now, there is a massive confusion of the realities of re-selling for consistent profits and providing a dropshipping service to your clients.

Can you really profit from video games dropshipping on the Internet? The reality is why would you want to dropship a $20-$40 game or accessories when there would be shipping and low processing fees by the dropshipping source? It does not make sense, it is not viable for investing in it and it is definitely not worth your time. What kind of profits can you expect out of the sell of ps3 consoles when buying them in bulk from a distributor?

There are still many countries that cant receive such consoles yet because of trading agreements between countries, Sony has not established distribution agreements in such countries. Adding it in better terms - many buyers are no longer interested in the shopping mall reservation race.

What kind of profit to expect? Compare your suppliers price to the Amazon store offering and you should be able to reason if it is viable to sell playstation 3 at any auction. Even if the PS3 is currently selling at record lows at $400, it is still sellable and profitable on eBay. Proof can easily be found for less than a 5 minute auction ending final price. I mean, there is just a wide range of people that cant buy the PS3 yet, easily.

You should be able to spot 80gb PS3 selling at $494.00 and even more with shipping and handling being in the high $60.00 range, when shipping could easily be free with UPS. There is surely a reason for that, right? Moving on.

Reality for many of us, you can make money out of the sell of video games, big period. In fact, you can make a decent living out of the sell of wholesale merchandise, it will all come to the vital point of your market positioning as there are currently too many options from point of sell. A good one to think about, what kind of experts am I getting my questions answered and what actions am I taking to fulfill customers demands?

Another one, what type of an industry are we looking at in the wholesale video games and general games industry? Well, according to the NPD group 2007 sales reached $18.85 billion in sales last year. That is yet another record year for such an ever growing industry.

That is a 28% increase in sales from 2006! Software consoles sold 153.9 million alone that adds to a handsome $6.6 billion in sales. While it is an option to enjoy selling tangible items on eBay, with an Internet mall or just out of the sell of your local flea market, the video games industry should keep growing every single year in records.

All the industry sales record where later on released by the Entertainment Software Association, the ESA. Research is available all over the net with such name. The facts are all over. Another two important points I want to remember.

What kind of traffic are you getting to your auction sites and online store? Are they targeted customer with specific wants or are you getting just getting compulsive buyers looking for price savings? eBay is just one of the great places to drive targeted potential buyers of your games.

There are many more. You should keep doing your diligence on the wholesale video games business before starting any kind of investment. Trust no one and if you do want to trust, get enough facts about him or her!

Wholesale Video Games are one of the business components John serves as reference source, e-commerce coach and certified author. His focus today is assisting people receive extra income through the acquirement of a Wholesale Business