Creating A Realistic Business Budget
Budgeting -- ooh, what a scary word! If you want to frighten someone whose business finances are out of control, suggest that they tally up their expenses on a piece of paper. We all understand the value of such an exercise, but when it comes to the practicality of putting a budget together, we get ... more...

How to Make a Purchase Offer on a Home for Sale by Owner
Many home buyers want to purchase a home directly from the seller to cut out the middle man, but when it comes time to make a formal offer it is often the case that neither buyer or seller knows what to do. Without the aid of a professional real estate agent, making an offer to buy a home that is ... more...

Choosing a Real Estate Agent
Before you go looking at houses, youll need to find a real estate agent. Hiring a real estate agent takes a little bit of time to do. Youre making one of the most important financial decisions in your life and you want to make sure you hire the right person.You can get recommendations for agents ... more...

Structured Settlements 101: How Structured Settlements Work
You have probably heard the term Structured Settlement on a television or print ad and wondered what it meant. After all, the term is not a part of our everyday lexicon.A structured settlement is a contract under which an insurance company undertakes to make periodic payments to an injured party as ... more...

Homes With Acreage-Ann Arbor Real Estate
Some want to leave the big city and find a home with a lot of acreage. Others want to stay in the city, but would like some land to garden, or for privacy. Whatever the reason, there are many homes with acreage for sale. There are many ways to find and pay for such homes.How much land is an acre, ... more...

Loan Officer Marketing: Content Strategies for Keeping in Touch
So youve just returned to your office from a successful meeting with a Realtor. At the end of it they expressed optimism in your services, and told you some famous last words, Ill be sure to send you my next deala week goes by, no dealtwo weeks go by, no deala month later, still no deal.To make ... more...

Buy or Sell First?
When it comes to home buying, the ideal situation would be to find a new home, just as you receive an offer on your existing home. You would then be able to close concurrently and move into your new home a few days prior to closing on your previous home. This does happen more often than not, but ... more...

Margin Benefits are Marginal at Best
Margin is one of those things that novices find puzzling about the stock market, but the concept is really quite simple. Still, with understanding the basics of using margin accounts, determining the wisdom of using margin can be quite a conundrum.A margin account is a traditional investment ... more...

A Fathers Dilemma: Can We Help Our Children, Without Crippling Them?
Breakdown in the Becky Lane!I'd just sat down at my office away from home, the local Panera, when another regular customer, Harold, sidled up to my table. We'd chatted a number of times before, and he was intrigued by my title of Financial Sanity Coach and knew I had been working on my book, "Good ... more...

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Will Mean Increased Costs of Building in the Future, but not Immediately
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will mean increased costs of building in the future, but not immediatelyThe natural disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left upwards of 200,000 homes either destroyed or uninhabitable and needing rebuilding. This country has never seen a disaster on this scale ... more...

Should You Get a Home Inspection?
Its very important, and in my opinion, mandatory to have a home inspection done before you close on a house. The inspection helps with giving you an objective evaluation of any problems with the home before you move in.Make sure you have a home inspection contingency in your contract before you ... more...

Buying A Home In Dublin California
Buying a home can be a joyous occasion for a family or individual. The purchase of a home is one of the most important decisions you will make. However, there are a number of things that can throw sand into the gears of the purchase process and make your home-buying experience a nightmare. There ... more...

Real Estate Investors - Red Alert
How's the real estate marketing doing? Is the huge jump in home prices that is evident in some areas symptoms of a value bubble? Good questions, yes?Two things to keep in mind when surveying the market:1. All real estate is local, 2. Real estate is cyclical.Here in Arizona some residential ... more...

Investors Eye Arizona Real Estate Appreciation
Real estate investors are always looking for the newest hot area; the part of the country where prices have been low and are on the verge of climbing through the ceiling. Arizona real estate appreciation has made this market one hot area that continues to attract buyers, sellers and investors ... more...

A Renter in Debt? Take Out a Bad Credit Personal Loan
On average, homeowner households earn 95% more than renting households per year. With 26% of a rental households disposable income being spent on renting, in comparison to 15% of homeowners on their houses (not including maintenance), it is unsurprising that people who rent find it harder to ... more...