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Archive for December, 2011

Real estate investments can be a profitable experience if you have a good grasp on the process involved. Before you plunk down your hard earned cash you’ll want to learn everything you can about the real estate game.

There are two ways to make money with real estate investments. First, you can purchase real estate outright, as with the purchase of residential homes or commercial property. Second, you can invest in financial instruments such as shares of real estate investment trusts (reit) or stocks of housing developers.

Although there are several types of real estate investments, most are categorized as either residential or commercial. Residential real estate typically includes family, vacation, or second homes, as well as rental properties. Rental properties can include everything from duplexes and apartments, to mobile homes and condos.

Although multi-family properties such as apartment buildings or condominium complexes are residential, they fall under the category of commercial properties. Other commercial properties include office buildings and complexes, shopping malls, strip centers, retail shops and restaurants.

Another type of commercial real estate investment is that of vacant land. Investing in vacant land located in rapidly growing areas, or areas expected to grow within a few years, can be exceptionally profitable. Vacant land can be used for farming or ranching, or to erect office buildings or housing communities.

Many people prefer to invest in residential real estate. Oftentimes, these properties are used for rental purposes. Rental properties have the potential to provide a good return on investment; however, it can take several years to turn a profit.

An option for those investing in rental property is to use them as rent-to-own houses. With rent-to-own properties, the home is rented to an individual for a certain period of time. Generally, this time frame is two to five years.

During this period, a percentage of rent is applied toward the purchase of the home. At the end of the contract, the tenant obtains financing through a traditional lender and purchases the home using the applied rent as a down payment. Should the tenant default on the contract, the owner can either sell the property or engage in another rent-to-own contract. Therefore, this type of real estate transaction is relatively risk-free.

When engaging in rent-to-own transactions, certain legal documents are required to ensure the validity of the contract. Additionally, the internal revenue service requires specific bookkeeping records.

Last, but not least, house flipping is becoming quite popular with real estate investors. House flipping involves purchasing a home in need of repair or renovation. The house is purchased under market value, leaving investors with additional cash to make repairs and update the house. After the repairs and updates are completed the house is sold for profit. The entire transaction usually takes place within three months.

Although house flipping is usually a profitable real estate investment, it is not without risk. Should you decide to go this route take time to educate yourself about the real estate market where the property is located. Otherwise, you could sit on the property for quite some time.

Having bad credit doesn’t make you a bad driver, but it will raise your auto insurance rates. Here’s how to get a cheap rate on bad credit auto insurance.

Bad Credit Auto Insurance

As strange as it may sound, your credit rating directly affects your auto insurance rating with some companies. Auto insurance companies have figured out that people with bad credit file 40% more claims than people with good credit.

If you have bad credit your insurance could cost you 20% to 50% more in insurance premiums than someone with good credit.

The good news is not all insurance companies use your credit rating as a factor in determining your insurance rating, and some states won’t allow insurance companies to use it. So if you’ve been labeled as a bad credit risk, or suspect you may be, you should shop around for auto insurance with other companies.

There are websites where you can get auto insurance rates from a number of A-rated companies, and also get advice from insurance professionals, absoluelty free of charge. All you do is fill out a simple questionnaire about the type of car you own and the type of insurance you want, wait for your quotes, then choose the best one. (See link below.)

Lowering Your Auto Insurance Rate

In addition to comparison shopping, here are some other ways to lower your insurance rate:

Raise your deductible – Raising your deductible can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your insurance premium. After a while the money you save on your insurance premium will more than make up for your deductible.

Drop your collision and comprehensive coverage – If you drive an older car – particularly if your car is worth less than the total of your insurance premium plus your deductible – consider dropping your collision and comprehensive coverage as repairs may cost more than your car is worth.

Consolidate your insurance policies – Purchasing your homeowners insurance (or renters insurance) and auto insurance through the same company can get you a 5% to 15% discount on your premium.

Get all the discounts you can – Insurance companies offer discounts on their policies for all sorts of reasons. Ask your agent about all the discounts you’re eligible for and take advantage of them.

Trucks can be a high target for thieves as they regularly transport valuable items. Statistics show that over 2,000 trucks are stolen in the UK each year and less than half of these are recovered.

Theft of trucks costs millions of pounds every year and can devastate businesses. Not only can it destroy the livelihood of drivers, owners and operators, it can cause loss of client faith, putting future business in jeopardy.

Here are some useful tips to help prevent you and your business from becoming the latest victim of truck crime:

Before Your Journey

Check your vehicle to ensure that all security devices are operating correctly. Keep the pre-loading of your vehicle to a minimum and ensure that is in a secure place when doing so. Do not discuss the nature of your load with anyone unless it is completely necessary.

Truck Security

Always make sure that your truck is locked when you leave it. At all times take your keys with you as thieves could be watching. Before leaving your truck check that both the cab and the load compartment are secure. If you leave your keys at your work premises make sure that they are locked away and in a secure place. Hide any personal belongings out of sight. Park in secure parking services rather than lay-bys. If possible try to park your vehicle with the loading doors close to a wall or building so that thieves will have more difficulty accessing the inside. Upon returning to your truck check for any signs of forced entry and ensure that the security seals have not been touched.

On Your Journey

Where possible try to refuel your vehicle on site to reduce the need for stops in unsecure places. Avoid giving lifts on route. If instructed to change the address your delivering to, make sure you check with your transport manager first. If you are ever suspicious about any person or situation report it to your transport manager. In an emergency call 999.

Advice For All Employers

Ensure that your business premises are secure. Thoroughly check driver references and criminal records. Train your drivers well in security measures and ways to prevent theft of the vehicle they are driving. Make sure that you have the right cover of HGV insurance in case you have to make a claim.

Original Source: Here

If you haven’t been paying close attention and just heard that the price of silver bullion hit $20 an ounce last week, you might be inclined to think you missed the opportunity. The last time silver breached the $20 mark was in March of 2008, and it didn’t last long. Silver investing has been difficult, and seemingly unpredictable, the last 12 months. An uptrend began in December of 2008 in both gold and silver.

The uptrend in gold prices continues, while the uptrend in silver stalled out… almost a year ago. Why has gold investing been so much easier (predictable) than silver investing the last few years? Aren’t the price drivers the same for all precious metals? Wasn’t the price driver/s that sparked the resumption of the gold uptrend in December 2008 the same one/s that caused silver prices to resume their climb? If so, why did silver price move into a trading range while gold price continued to rise, touching its all-time price high last week?

As to price drivers of precious metals being the same… not so much. Since all precious metals are priced in U.S. dollars, the effect of the changing value of the U.S. dollar is the same is the same on all precious metals. But this is the only consistent common price driver. How about Supply/Demand dynamics? Of course, Supply/Demand dynamics is the primary driver of price, not just for precious metals, but for all goods and services. But the Supply/Demand dynamics for gold and silver are vastly different. Stated briefly; the practical demand for silver relative to the supply of silver is much greater than that of gold.

There are three primary practical demands for gold. First, there is a small industrial demand. Second, there is a larger demand for jewelry. And third, a huge demand for what I will generalize as “investor demand.” Hence, there is a very large, and growing, supply of gold. It is sitting in vaults all around the world — tons, and tons, and tons of it. Silver, on the other hand, has a huge industrial demand. So much so that an estimated 90% of all silver ever mined has been consumed. It is gone, and gone forever. And industrial demand is rising. One example; the Chinese are going crazy with solar. Not for export, but for their own use. The solar panels they produce use silver.

Since the practical demand for silver is increasing, and the inventory is low, silver investing should be easy. Buy and hold, right? But what should have happened for us silver investors the last few years didn’t happen. That is because there is a supply of silver of which the typical silver investor was not aware. It is not a supply of silver bullion, but of paper silver. And it is huge. There have been massive short positions maintained in the silver market for about two decades. Recently, that short position has been maintained around the $20 strike price. This huge (paper) supply of silver has acted as a price ceiling.

Theodore Butler, noted silver researcher and analyst, has been beating the drum for two decades. He calls it intentional manipulation, and I am inclined to agree. Thanks to him, more and more investors are becoming aware. There a “silver lining” (pun intended) to this situation for the silver investing public. The price of silver will explode when these positions are dissolved. It might be done voluntarily, or perhaps the regulators will step in and force it, now that it is in the open.

The 1980 high for gold was $873 an ounce. Gold traded near its all-time high of over $1,260 an ounce last week. The 1980 high for silver was just short of $50 an ounce. Yet silver traded for only $20 an ounce last week. There is explosive price potential in silver.

Many people are frustrated because applying for Social Security Disability can take so long. In an effort to streamline the process there has been an effort to identify certain types of rare cancers and other conditions that would allow a finding of “immediate disability” approval.

In this ongoing effort the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced in February 2010, that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances conditions. There are now 88 conditions that have been included as part of the Compassionate Allowances Initiative. This list will be expanded for people with a confirmed diagnosis of an additional 38 diseases and medical conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Tay-Sachs disease and mixed dementia. Claims involving these conditions will be approved automatically.

“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease,” Commissioner Astrue of SSA said.

The immediate allowance of these new conditions is a long overdue amendment of SSA procedure. Before, even if you had one of these conditions, you would have to follow the same path as people with an ordinary back problem or ordinary heart ailment. That path could be long and tortuous. It could involve an inital consideration by SSA, a reconsideration by SSA, and finally a hearing before a Social Security Judge. The problem is nationwide it can take more than 18 months on average to obtain a hearing before a Judge. Now with the new list, there should be an immediate allowance for these 88 conditions at the initial consideration which should only take 90 days

In summary, SSA has now recognized certain serious conditions should result in immediate disability approval. Rather than waiting over 18 months, people with these conditions can expect approval in just a matter of weeks.

The complete list of compassionate allowances can be found at this link: http://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/

This may be considered AN ADVERTISEMENT or Advertising Material under the Rules of Professional Conduct governing lawyers in Virginia. This note is designed for general information only. The information presented in this note should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

The insurance industry is one of the most profitable and investors, not surprisingly, want to see those dividends continue. This is not to suggest the insurers were ever charitable in their intentions. Insurance has always been a business in the real sense of the word. The result is the wording of the policies allows the claims adjusters some wriggle room when it comes to deciding which claims to honor. In another article on this site, we note the insurers have grown increasingly reluctant to cover flooding. Most of the coastal areas where high tides combined with strong winds can overcome sea defenses, and all areas formally designated flood plains, are now no-go for private insurers. Yet, you will still see standard terms for wind and water damage. This creates the impression you have some protection while allowing the insurers to argue they are not liable at all should you claim or only liable for a small percentage of your losses.

This is all smoke-and-mirrors. You can see a listing of perils covered which will include wind damage but, when you look at the clause on deductibles, you will probably find there’s a mandatory hurricane deduction. Unlike the auto insurance policies, this is not a fixed amount. These deductibles are a percentage of the value of your home and some insurers pitch the deductible up to 5% of your home’s value, e.g. $15,000 if your value is $300,000. For homeowners to have to find 5% as a lump sum to trigger the payment of the rest of the claim can be a major financial strain.

Now let’s comes to the theme of this article. One of the reasons why the claims process can slow down to a snail’s pace is disagreements over the difference between wind damage and water damage. The majority of policies exclude or restrict water damage. So, as an example, suppose a strong gust of wind removes the roof from your home. That’s clearly wind damage and the cost of rebuilding will usually be covered. Why “usually”? When the wind exposes the timber frame of your home, it can get wet and this can cause the frame to warp. Now the question is whether replacing the frame is responding to the damage by the wind or damage caused by the subsequent rain. You argue that the timber would not have gotten wet had the roof not blown off, so the main cause is the wind. The insurer argues the wind did not cause the timber to twist out of shape. That was the rain.

It would be good if all such arguments could be quickly resolved but, after Katrina, insurers are more defensive faced with large weather events. Worse, they have also been reducing the number of claims adjusters and everything now takes longer. This puts a heavy burden on home insurance policyholders. You’re often forced to take emergency measures to protect your property, e.g. when the roof blows off. Keep a detailed photographic record to show the before and after situation, keep all the invoices and bills for the materials and labor, and make sure you keep a constant stream of updating messages going to the home insurancecompany. It must always have the chance to monitor this work.