Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Will the Real Estate bubble come for Vancouver?

The strength of the Vancouver Real Estate market has remained a strong point even though our southern neighbors have gone through quite a meltdown. Canada has ensured a safe passage through the mess that has been surrounding them by incorporating a banking system that is very closely guarded. The only question remaining is this: Since the Olympics have come to a close in Vancouver, is it now time for a financial hangover to start as many have expected?

Many people believe that we could not be on the verge of a meltdown since Vancouver has a very strong Real Estate market and this combined with the historically low rates in mortgages should surly be enough to sustain us. Because of the low volume of properties for sale, buyers are finding themselves paying much over the listing prices. Some properties are sold for ten, twenty and even up to two hundred thousand dollars over the listing price. While the largest increase in sale price occurs in the much desired neighborhoods and for a select number of properties, it really does happen. It is possible to have a bubble in the market but it will surely not be a large one. It appears like the micro-markets that are found in Vancouver Real Estate have gotten ahead of themselves and are in the most danger of a bubble effect.
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Townhouse and condo markets have been on a steady increase in the last year so this market should remain stable. The 1st time buyers are typically the people that are investing in these homes because of the lower rates in loans that are available. The Canadian Government has made some changes in the mortgage lending practices so that there is more protection in the chance that a bubble does occur. One of the changes that have been made includes requiring anyone that is not able to put twenty percent down on their property purchase (CMHC insured) will have to meet the same requirements that are necessary for someone to obtain a five year loan for the property, no matter how long the term will actually be. A change was also made to the amount that someone can pull from their equity to refinance. It was lowered from 95% to 90% of the value of the property. If a retraction was to occur in the market, there would be a larger margin of safety available to protect those that have spent nearly the entire amount that their property is worth. dallas homes for sale

Vancouver taxpayers have been left with over $700,000 in debt after the construction of the Olympic Village and it is expected to be paid off over the next decade. There is one local developer, according to reports, that has made $31.8 million from the high end units that were rented to people during the two weeks of the Olympics. There are about 1100 units in the village of which are for various different income levels and include amenities common to a typical community like parks, shopping, and services.

While the Vancouver Real Estate market is definitely in line for some challenges, it does look like the future is promising and bright. The mess that the United States has gotten themselves into has proven to serve valuable lessons to the Country and City about avoiding such a situation. It should be expected that small pockets of bubbles will arise as people continue to buy in a frenzy which will push prices to a range that is out of reach for many. If you look at the real estate for the city on a more broad scale you will see that there will be a slow paced growth as we go through 2010 and will begin a more moderate increase during 2011.
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Cheap Distressed Homes for Sale: Smart Buying

Cheap distressed homes for sale offer many great benefits. People who could not afford to buy a regular home are given opportunity to own one through affordable foreclosure homes. Most foreclosed properties come at tremendous discounts, with some more than 50 percent off their actual market value. But as with other good deals, buying foreclosure homes has also a downside. However, you can avoid making mistakes that may result to profound losses if you take time to know the market and the process involved in buying cheap distressed homes for sale. dallas homes for sale Property Inspection: A smart buyer knows when it is important to exercise due diligence. And one of these cases is when choosing a foreclosed property to buy. Get the foreclosed home inspected before making an offer for it. dallas homes for sale A professional home inspector would be able to inform you about the home's structural condition and problems that could result to expensive repairs in the future. You can use this knowledge to bargain for a lower price. Home Appraisal: Have the foreclosed house professionally appraised to know its fair market value in the event that you decide to sell it in the future. This is one way to protect your investment. Knowing the fair market price of a property would help you determine the amount you would be willing to pay for to allow you to profit in the future if you sell the property. Arranging Your Finance: Strengthen your bargaining power by arranging your finances as you pursue a foreclosed dallas homes for sale. If you have your finances in order, you can use this as a bargaining tool to convince sellers to give you a big discount. Do not let the opportunities provided by cheap distressed homes for sale go into the drain. Exercise due diligence by having your home inspected and appraised before you make an offer for a property that interest you.
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5 Must Know Tips For Smooth Moving

Moving to a new house is often stressful. Sometimes tempers flare up and nerves get wrecked. This is quite unfortunate because moving to a new place implies a new chapter in one's life. But then again, some people undergo exhilarating and enlivening experiences when moving to a new house or apartment. People like them do certain activities that makes moving easier psychologically, physically, and mentally. So if you are planning to move anytime soon, here are some moving tips that you may find useful. dallas homes for sale


1.Prepare a Check List of Things to Do

Probably the most vital of the things you need in order to facilitate smooth moving is to have a list of things to do. It enables you to have an overall idea of things to do and accomplish, especially given the fact that there are plenty of things to do during moving. In that list of things to do, you have to include the establishments like your bank and people such as doctors, dentists, and of course close friends whom you need to inform regarding your move. There are plenty of other things that you need to do during the entire moving. This is why a list is very important in organising things, which is hard to do by just committing to one's faulty memory. For smooth moving, a checklist of things to do is crucial.

2.Discarding of unwanted Materials

In order to facilitate smooth moving, it is important that you throw away all the stuff that you think you will no longer need in the new house of apartment. There is plenty of stuff we have accumulated all throughout the years in our old homes or apartments. Examples of unwanted materials are furniture, house décor, and old appliances. These are a hassle to pack, load, and unload. So throw them away or better yet, put up a garage sale before you leave and make money out these unwanted stuff. dallas homes for sale


3.Pack your Items Properly

One of the more difficult things in moving to a new house or apartment is the packing phase. It can really get chaotic if you have no idea on what you are doing. Here is one of moving tips you need to know about packing. The trick in packing is for you to pack similar objects together. So in one box, you pack all the clothes. In another box, you pack all the leisure and entertainment materials like DVDs and books. When you packed them all in a box, remember to put a label on the exterior of the box so there is no confusion during the unpacking.

4.You must safeguard valuables

This means that all the important documents like property titles must be kept properly. It also means you have to secure your jewelry. For you to experience smooth moving, you must have peace of mind concerning your valuables. dallas homes for sale


5.Have the New House or Apartment Ready for Occupancy

Since you are moving to a new place, make sure that the house or apartment you are moving to is habitable. The electricity and phone lines must be all available for your use once you get there. dallas homes for sale

REAL ESTATE FIRMS GAME FOR SPORTS-THEMED COMPLEXES

The model offers homes with sports facilities like race tracks. Real estate projects with "sports" as theme appear to be catching on with Indian developers. Under this model, borrowed from the West, companies offer homes surrounded by sports facilities like race tracks, cricket stadium and lawn tennis courts. And, the pricing is fairly competitive. Jaypee Sports City, coming up in Greater Noida on 2,500 acres, is one such project. The city, being built by Jaypee Greens, boasts a cricket stadium, a go-karting facility and an international standard motor race track, covering 875 acres. While the company has earmarked 700 acres for residential development and 300 acres for commercial and institutional development, the remaining 625 acres will just have greenery. Launched in November last year, the company claims that it has seen good traction. Around 70 per cent residential plots and 50 per cent apartments have been sold.
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"Jaypee Sports City has been conceptualized as an integrated city, where one gets everything that he dreams of in his neighbourhood," said Manu Goswamy, head, sales & marketing, Jaypee Greens. "Jaypee Sports City is a huge project which will be developed in various phases. It is difficult to give the finishing date. We will be able to start the delivery of the first phase (launched inventory) from 2011." The residential plots are 153-538 sq yard each and priced at Rs 18,000 per sq yard. While 850-1,800 sq ft (high-rise apartments) flats will be priced at Rs 2,450 per sq ft, 1,600-2,100 sq ft (low-rise apartments) houses will be sold at Rs 2,850 per sq ft. Emaar-MGF, a real estate major, is also building 1,168 apartments (34 towers) in Commonwealth Games Village in New Delhi. "We have been awarded the work for development of the 27.2-acre residential complex, part of the over 100-acre Commonwealth Games Village 2010 complex. This is one of the most prestigious projects being undertaken by the company," said a company spokesperson. Another sports project is "US Open Apartments" in Mulund, Mumbai. The project, being build by Nirmal Lifestyle, will have amenities like spa, a fitness centre, sports clubs, lawn tennis courts, a baseball court, a swimming pool, and badminton courts, over 75,000 sq ft out of the 5,00,000 sq ft that will be developed. The company has tied up with US Open for this project. "We wanted to bring the concept of health and fitness into the country. Today, many parents want their kids to be sportspersons and if we offer them different stadiums in the complex, the project becomes appealing to them," said Dharmesh Jain, chairman and managing director, Nirmal Lifestyle. The US Open apartments will have two- to five-bedroom houses and the project is likely to be completed in the next four years. "We have seen a lot of enquiries from customers and we expect it to be a successful venture.
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" Nitesh Estate of Bangalore has built a series of sports-themed residential complexes - Nitesh Wimbledon Park, Nitesh Flushing Meadows, Nitesh Roland Garros and Nitesh Wimbledon Gardens. According to real estate consultants, there is a market for residential and commercial complexes based on the sports theme. Courtesy:- BS dt:- 21-feb-2010 For more information regarding apartment in Mumbai, bedroom apartments, buy property in India, commercial complex in India, commercial real estate, commercial space in Mumbai, dealers, flats for sale, Indian real estate investment, investment options in real estate, luxurious flats, malls, office space, office space in Mumbai, online real estate, penthouses Mumbai, plots, property consultants, property in Mumbai, property India, property investment, real estate company, real estate developer, real estate Mumbai, real estate in India, real estate investment strategies, real estate market, real estate news, real estate portals, realtors, realty, residence, residential real estate, sell property, shop, villas, Residential Apartment
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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

6 Work From Home Ideas To Help You Earn Extra Cash

If you want to work from home either full time or part time, then you will need to think of some ways to earn the required income. Some home business entrepreneurs derive their income from several sources rather than just replying on one income generator. It is a way of spreading the risk, because when one income source is quiet, another may be doing really well. However, if you come up with a really good work from home idea you may not have the time to do anything else.

Here are six work from home ideas to think about. They may not be right for you, but they could get you thinking about the numerous possibilities out there. Opportunities abound! dallas homes for sale

1. Rug Making

Hand crafted rugs are a wonderful addition to any room. Make rugs to order or provide a selection of standard designs for your clients needs. There are many rug making techniques that are easily explained in books. Visit your local library, or craft center, to see the range of techniques and materials that can be incorporated into your rugs to make them unique. However, be aware that rug making can be labor intensive and time consuming.

2. Direct Marketing Products

There are a number of companies set up to provide direct marketing businesses for their distributors. Organizations such as Amway provide high quality products for you to sell to your clients. The more people you sign up to also sell to their friends and family, the more direct financial benefits you receive. Do not get this type of business confused with pyramid selling schemes. Pyramid schemes are illegal in some countries and usually only benefits those people at the top of the organizational ladder. dallas homes for sale

3. Community Calendars

Visit businesses in your local area to seek their sponsorship of a community calendar. Photograph twelve scenes from around your town and on each page have advertorial (cross between advertising and editorial) space for a number of local businesses, or approach twelve businesses to each sponsor one month of the calendar. The money you receive from the sponsoring businesses should at least pay for the production of the calendars, with the sale price of the calendar being profit.

4. Car Auctions

If you are familiar with different makes and models of cars and their value, consider going to car auctions and buying these cars for resale. There are some really good buys, but be wary of purchasing a car at too high a cost. The cars you should be purchasing are those that are a really good buy. Because car auctions are 'as is, where is' deals, you may need to do some minor repair and maintenance work to get them looking great. Keep the cost of this in mind when selecting potential cars to buy. Check with local regulations to find out how many cars you can on-sell in any given year without needing to obtain car dealer certificates and licenses. Sell through advertisements in your local newspaper, or on the internet. If you have a number of vehicles, you may consider leasing a vacant lot and setting up a car yard. But remember to obey the law.

5. Artificial Flowers and Plants

Start a business providing artificial flowers and plants for hire. This work from home idea can be great for weddings, birthdays or any other occasion and party. As well as having a selection of plants in your showroom at home, provide a color catalogue and photograph album of the range of artificial plants available. Create a website to sell your artificial flowers and plants. dallas homes for sale

6. Textured Ceiling Removal

Many people move into a home and decide to remove the old textured ceilings when they renovate. Provide a service whereby you remove the textured plaster from ceilings. Be sure to get the plaster analyzed to ensure that it doesn't contain asbestos, as this was widely used in the plaster compound in the 1970's and early 1980's. You could also provide a plastering and painting service to complete the ceilings, if you have expertise in these fields.

Whatever home business idea you choose, make sure you thoroughly research the idea and market before investing any money. I wish you every success! dallas homes for sale

Eight Steps to Completing a Short Sale

If you are considering getting a short sale, you may be a bit concerned about the steps that are involved in the process. After all, if you are like most homeowners, you have never gone through this process before. As such, you have no clue what to expect. Although the exact steps in your shore sale process will very according to your individual situation, the basic steps are as follows. dallas homes for sale

Step #1: Contact the Lender

The first step in going forward with a short sale is to contact the lender. Unfortunately, you might have to do quite a bit of calling around before you find the right person to talk to, but the time you spend to actually get in touch with a supervisor will be well worth the effort.

Step #2: Submit a Letter of Authorization

In order to get the lender to disclose your information to the real estate agent that you are working with as well as other individuals who will be involved with the sell, you will need to submit a letter of authorization. This letter gives the lender permission to provide information to certain individuals who are involved with the process. The following information needs to be included in your letter: dallas homes for sale

* The address of the property * The loan reference number * Your name * The date * Your agent's name and contact information

Step #3: Create a Preliminary Net Sheet

A preliminary net sheet is an estimate of the closing statement that includes the sale price you expect as well as the costs associated with the sale. Information such as outstanding payments that are due, late fees, the unpaid balance amount and any relevant real estate commissions should also be included in the net sheet.

Step #4: Write a Hardship Letter

Your hardship letter explains how you got into the financial situation you are currently facing and makes a plea to the lender to accept an amount that is less than the full payment. The sadder your letter, the better chance you will have of getting the lender to agree to a short sale.

Step #5: Prove Your Income and Assets

Next, you need to disclose information regarding your current financial situation, including providing information about your assets. This includes disclosing information about all of the following:

* Cash * Money market accounts * Negotiable instruments * Real estate * Savings accounts * Stocks and bonds

Obviously, if you have a significant amount of assets, the lender isn't likely to agree to a lesser payment than what you owe. dallas homes for sale

Step #6: Obtain Copies of Bank Statements

You will also need to obtain copies of your bank statements and, if your statements show that you recently made any large cash withdrawals or wrote an unusual number of checks, you will need to explain each of those items to the lender.

Step #7: Complete a Comparative Market Analysis

If one of the reasons for your troubles is the fact that your property value has fallen, submitting a comparative market analysis will help prove this claim. Your real estate agent should be able to help you create this analysis, which should include the prices of similar homes that are active on the market as well as information regarding pending sales and those homes that have been sold in the past six months. dallas homes for sale

Step #8: Create a Purchase Agreement and a Listing Agreement

When you reach an agreement with a buyer, you will need to submit a copy of the purchase agreement as well as the listing agreement to the lender. If all went well, the lender should agree to the purchase, though the lender may deny payment for items such as providing a termite inspection or a home protection plan.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Cost Cutting For Businesses - 13 Tips For Trimming Expenses

Our parents and grandparents were a part of the reuse it, non disposable generations. When resources get scarce, we find ourselves reanalyzing how to cut costs and save money. There is a frugal movement taking place in our country now and it has been a long time coming.
13 Tips To Save Money During Tough Times
1. Refit your home and business premises for energy savings. Stop those air leaks, turn off the lights when leaving the room. In Europe many hotels have motion detectors in the hallway that turn on the lights only when someone enters the hallway and elevators that start running only when someone approaches them rather than all the time.
2. If you have a business that has a fleet of cars, when the time comes, switch to hybrids. We cut our gas bill in half with a new hybrid Camry that gets 36 mpg. There was also an attractive tax credit we received that offset a good portion of the sale price.
3. Shop at the wholesale clubs and share costs of office supplies, cleaning supplies and paper products with your business neighbors. dallas real estate
4. Barter. If your business offers a product or service appropriate for barter, ask a supplier if there are any trade possibilities. Or join a barter association where you offer your products or services and gain points to trade for other products or services.
5. Turn off all computers and copiers when not is use and shut off the power at the source. Some electronics use 25% of their power when in standby mode. This can be easily done by plugging the computers and copiers into a surge protector.
6. Need advertising? Craigslist.com is free. So is a Facebook Pay Per Click ad. You only pay when someone is interested enough to click on your ad and you can set a maximum daily budget.
7. Recycle, reuse. There is no longer any stigma attached to reusing printed paper and printing in house documents on the backside of the paper for cost savings.
8. Check Ebay for bulk items, office equipment and supplies.
9. Join an online forum in your industry to see what others in your niche are doing to cut costs.
10. Share advertising costs with a company in an associated industry. For example, a real estate company may share ad costs with a title company or appraiser. An accounting firm could line up with a law firm. A beauty shop could align an ad with a spa or clothing store. dallas real estate
11. Recycle used ink cartridges at your local office supply for credit on new cartridge purchases. We get $3.00 off on each new one.
12. Add more value to employee jobs. Can't give a raise? One company we know found a local gym that gave excellent discounts to employees. Some local restaurants or sandwich shops may give employee discounts.
13. If things really get tough, you may be forced to outsource some positions that used to be handled in house. Google Virtual Assistants in your town to find an independent contractor to provide administrative services as needed. A virtual assistant can type letters, do data entry, marketing campaigns, graphic design and some are capable with bookkeeping processes. Best of all, you only pay them for work performed and most will work off site. Contact the International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA) for someone local with proper credentials.
When times are tough, we need our neighbors more. By working together we have a better chance of survival as business owners.
The good news is all downturns are temporary.
With the above tips, you can save needed capital, educate your employees about cost savings and get through the tough times. Best of all, these saving ideas can survive even when the economy improves and your business recovers.