People Making Money Net
natashavc:
I read this a couple of years ago and still think about it all the time.
When I was around a couple on internet ppl last week some one tried to explain tumblr as a bunch of narcissists with wifi. I don’t think that’s accurate. There are huge swaths of our lives we keep off the net and the parts we want to share are done so for something more primal (and maybe more innocent?) that narcissism. It’s actually a very female act. Chatting, bonding, sharing.
I’ve found those who are the most mystified and antagonistic towards this sort of expression are bros. Bros who use their blogs to EXPOSE truths and BROADCAST THEIR DISAPPROVAL of things that ARE STUPID. Which is fine. But I find myself more drawn these days to ladies who like to share and share well. Even if it’s not about their lives but about what they’re looking at on the internet or outside of their window or what their cat did (I LOVE PET POSTS! I DO!).
I wonder if now that there’s an over-saturation of BLOGS WHO TELL IT LIKE IT IS, ASSHOLE that this kind of community can blossom again. Maybe it will look different. It will probably feel different because there will always be a second guessing in terms of motivation. Some bro with more ballhair will accuse you of being AN ATTENTION WHORE. That sucks. I DISAPPROVE OF THAT.
I love personal blogs, especially the ones Natasha described, and they’re far from dead. I just feel like Emily has been beating the same cliche, boring drum for years. We get it already, you’re so over everything.
It isn’t enough that Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson wants American taxpayers to pay Nebraska’s Medicaid bill for the foreseeable future. He also wants America’s college students to pay to keep a few jobs and a lot of money for NelNet, Inc., which is headquartered in Omaha. Nelson wants to require the Treasury to guarantee student loans made by private lenders, when it would be cheaper for both taxpayers and college students for the government to make those loans directly. The amazing thing is that NelNet wouldn’t be greatly harmed by getting rid of the guarantee program. Let’s see how NelNet screws over our kids.
NelNet is publicly traded, so we can look at its most recent 10-Q, 9/30/09. The company explains its business very clearly. People interested in the use of swaps for hedging will find the discussion on pages 14-19 very informative. On page 37, the company states that it “generates a significant portion of its earnings from the spread, referred to as its student loan spread, between the yield the Company receives on its student loan portfolio and the cost of funding these loans.” The company has about $26.8 billion in debt. It paid interest on bonds and notes in the first nine months of 2009 of $329 million, which indicates full year interest rate of 1.64%. CitiBank offers Stafford loans at 6.8% (unsubsidized, meaning the government isn ‘t paying the interest while the student is enrolled in school). If NelNet is making comparable loans, it has a current spread of 5.16%.
What happens to that difference? NelNet says that its primary source of income is securitization of loans. As an example, in October, 2009, the company did a $434 million securitization. Here’s how that works. The company forms a new entity, maybe a trust or a limited liability company. It sells a bunch of student loans to the company. The new company gets the money by selling notes to investors. How does it decide what the purchase price of the loans will be?
Here’s an example. Suppose NelNet has a $10,000 loan with a face interest rate of 6.8% and a 10 year term. Payments will be $115.08, consisting of both principal and interest. This loan is secured by a guarantee from the government, so it is almost as safe as a Treasury bill. Seven year Treasury notes pay about 3.12%, so maybe a fair market rate for the notes of the special purpose entity is 4.8%. Then we need to add something to pay for servicing of the loans, say .5%, a total of 5.3%. This loan pays more, so it is worth more. Suppose we sell the loan for $10,701.14. The monthly payments of $115.08 work out to a 5.3% return. That means that when NelNet sells the notes to investors, it pockets $701.14, on top of the origination fees and any other fees it can get out of the borrower. It doesn’t necessarily get the cash, it may keep some of the securities, or it may do something else.
It doesn’t matter how NelNet gets the money. The fact is that this is money is being paid by a bunch of college students, or their families. This is a burden that wouldn’t exist if the government made the loans directly.
NelNet saw the handwriting on the wall: it didn’t think its parasitical behavior could last forever. It has diversified. It is one of the four firms which provides servicing to the Treasury on loans the government makes directly to students. It has other businesses. It won’t make this free money from college kids, and it won’t need the people who plan its derivatives and its securitizations, and it may not be able to pay its CEO $500,000 plus, but it will survive nicely.
It will do much better if Senator Nelson brings it bacon, carved out of the next generation.
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personal finance books
I want to do something a little different here at 5k5k.org. I regularly write about fitness and finance and reaching ones goals in both areas and I still want to stay on topic with these subjects, but go about it in a different way.
Several years ago a friend recommended I read a book titled Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Persig. A few days after he mentioned the book I found a copy in a local book store, flipped through a few pages and really couldn't get into the book. Last spring someone mentioned the book again and I decided to take a second look at the book. Something had changed and this time. I was hooked and I began reading the book. When I began reading I noticed a lot of parallels in the book that could be drawn into personal finance, so I decided to take notes as I read and use the book as material for future writing on this site. Here is the beginning of a series Zen and the Art of Personal Finance.
The book is a biography of sorts about Robert Persig. It is part travel log, as he and his son travel across the Midwest to California. The other portion of the book deals with his reflections along the journey as he remembers what led up to his mental break down and how he flirts with re-entering his former disabled mental state. The book begins Persig, his son, his friend John and John's wife Sylvia begin their travels in the Midwest.
In this book, Persig is a hands on type of guy. If he owns something he wants to know how it works and how to work on it. He feels the owner of a thing has a certain responsibility in knowing how something works and being able to fix routine problems that may arise from owning something. His friend John, on the other hand, feels that you should pay “good money” for something and if it doesn't work you take it to someone else to fix it, or you simply ignore the problem. I think this is true with money as well. There are two types of people regarding finances. Those who have ownership of their money and want to understand how it works and how to control it, and those who feel their financial lives are out of their control and they are left to the winds of fortune or misfortune.
At one point early in the trip Persigs friend and travel companion, John, is trying to start his brand new BMW bike. He pulls the choke wide open and begins pumping furiously on the kick start. As he continues to try and start the bike Persig smells gas in the air, a sure sign that John has flooded the bike. John begins to cuss the bike and how he was sold a lemon. Persig mentions the bike may be flooded and offers to help pull the spark plugs and let the engine dry out for a second. John says he doesn't want to get in to all of that “stuff.” He hates the idea of maintenance and working on things. He honestly feels thing should just work and if they don't you wait it out, or take it to someone else to fix it. This didn't stop with motorcycles. In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZMM) Persig wrote:
“I might have thought this was just a peculiar attitude of theirs about motorcycles but discovered later that it extended to other things…………Waiting for them to get going one morning in their kitchen I noticed the sink faucet dripping and remembered that it was dripping the last time I was there before and that in fact in had been dripping as long as I could remember. I commented on it and John said he had tried to fix it with a new faucet washer but it hadn't worked. That was all he said. The presumption left was that that was the end of the matter. If you try to fix a faucet and your fixing doesn't work then it's just your lot to live with a dripping faucet.
This made me wonder to myself if it got on their nerves, this drip-drip-drip, week in, week out, year in, year out, but I could not notice any irritation or concern about it on their part, and so concluded they just aren't bothered by things like dripping faucets. Some people aren't.”
As I read this I smiled. I thought of how many people I know, or have encountered that treat their financial life the same way. They tried a budget once, it didn't work, so they resigned to struggling financially. Many people believe they have been dealt a hand in life and they are stuck. As Persig alludes in this portion of the book. You are only as stuck as you decide to be. Things can be figured out if you go about it in the right way, which is a good stopping point for the first part of this series.
Do you know anyone who has this attitude towards life, or finances? How do you help them overcome it, or should you even try?
Article provided by www.5k5k.org
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You should also check out http://www.FiLife.com. FiLife is a personal finance question and answer platform that is now the #4 personal finance site on the web according to Comscore (December 2009). Users can come to the site and ask questions and get expert answers in a few hours.
Posted by: EK |
January 14, 2010 5:45 AM -
I second that FiLife nomination. I've asked several questions there on a variety of topics and my questions usually get answered by somebody right away. Plus, tax season is coming up, and it's going to be good to have a place to ask those pesky tax questions!
Posted by: Barclay |
January 14, 2010 7:26 AM -
Its still early days for these services yet, and whilst options like Xero might be good for professional type businesses, for anyone who carries / needs to account for stock they are not yet suitable. But as they build an eco-system of integrations around them then will become suitable for a wider range of businesses.
Core accounting doesn't really change, (tax rates etc change but the basics stay the same), so we've been able to use the same desktop accounting software, bought for around £300, for the past 5 years. Which make the SAAS providers very expensive by comparison. As they build more features and more data integrations then that cost may become justified.
Posted by: Robert |
January 14, 2010 9:24 AM -
Small business accounting doesn't have to be complex…or scary. And that's what the web (internet DNA) can bring to small businesses…'De-scarey' accounting into simple, easy to understand workflows.
Surprised that with all the mentioned of Intuit, there isn't one of QuickBooks Online? For small businesses who want that anywhere/anytime access (and majority will in a short time!) QuickBooks Online is a big player.
We're bringing that Internet DNA (and the decades of trusted accounting knowledge) to how small businesses think about and run their books. Pretty exciting stuff there.
Kristen
QuickBooks Online Product ManagerPosted by: Kristen Berman |
January 14, 2010 9:45 AM -
Doesn't First Round Capital have an interesting portfolio company that competes directly with Xero? Might be worth a mention… I forget the name.
Posted by: Andrew Parker |
January 14, 2010 9:59 AM -
For personal finances, I use Mint.com - very useful feedback via emails in terms of where my money is going, and where I stand at the end of every month.
Posted by: Ceyda |
January 14, 2010 12:23 PM -
I would love to try Mint but they weren't operating in the UK the last time I checked.
I've used Wesabe for a while, but the whole download/upload approach was too much for my low frustration tolerance. I blame being spoilt by API's for this
Posted by: Ray Scott |
January 14, 2010 12:25 PM -
I use Quickbooks (for Windows) for business. While a solution like Xero would be an ideal, most SMB focused Accounting firms still recommend and rely on Quickbooks. I think I will be introducing my accountant to Xero.
On the personal side, Mint is great, but lacks certain features that are necessary for some people. I use Quicken (for Windows) in order to track checks and attach images. Once Mint/QOE introduces a feature set similar to the desktop version, the switch will be a no-brainer.
Posted by: Bryan Radtke |
January 14, 2010 12:36 PM -
I use FreeAgent (http://www.freeagentcentral.com) for my small business. For UK based companies it's particularly fantastic as it “knows” about UK tax and VAT rules but for pretty much anyone it is beautifully designed and works a treat. First thing I signed up for when starting the business, don't regret it for a second.
Posted by: Ed Moore |
January 14, 2010 12:38 PM -
Xero is missing Payroll functionality for the UK, although integration is available with two external providers at additional cost.
FreeAgent Central has it's own payroll functionality included within the Limited Company service plan (£25 per month plus VAT).
Neither FreeAgent or Xero can manage stock which is a major limitation currently.
Posted by: James |
January 14, 2010 6:19 PM -
I'm not clear about why nobody's created a 3rd party service that can actually perform transactions. Mint.com, etc. make it easy to watch what's happening with your money and set budget goals, etc. but don't actually help you allocate your money. I've long wanted an online method to automatically manage balances across multiple accounts (e.g. different accounts intended for different spending categories, or just automating savings better). Banks have their own tools for doing recurring transactions but as far as I've seen they are all limited to a fixed-amount transaction and are restricted to single-future-date or fixed-interval-recurring scheduling. Why not allow a percentage of each paycheck to be transferred to savings whenever it clears? Or set up rules like pay down credit card balances before transferring to savings.
Is there some technical (doubtful) or legal reason why this type of account management isn't available?
Posted by: Brandon |
January 17, 2010 9:15 PM -
Saasu.com is interesting too, it is richer than xero (e.g salary processing, inventory) so a hybrid online ERP and accounting.
Blippy.com is new and also unusual, used for sharing credit card transactions on twitter, only a matter of time before some accounting software integrates that feed from all employees with hash tags for expense categories
Cheers, Pete.
Posted by: Peter J Cooper |
January 18, 2010 2:44 PM -
For SME accounting, there is also an interesting development for taking book-keeping and making the numbers useful through benchmarking. By capturing the data within book-keeping, animalizing it, analyzing and producing reports - benchmarking allows SMEs to see how their business ticks and how competitive they are in their market sector.
FreshBooks is offering it, and there are specialists such as MyCake.org which is a front end API linked to online software such as KashFlow.
Hannah
MyCake.orgPosted by: Hannah Knowles |
January 29, 2010 2:31 AM -
Quickbooks is what I use but have been following Mint and realized that a lot of persons how it in high esteem.
Posted by: FinanciallySmart |
January 30, 2010 8:43 AM -
One thing that's worth considering is that remote desktop and remote application technology is bringing traditional desktop applications to the web. This means that Sage and Quickbooks, the market leaders here in the UK can be accessed anywhere with the speed and familiarity of desktop software.
The costs are higher but the benefits are significant and it can be a difficult and often unsuccessful process moving from sage to a web based system, data migration, user training etc. In my experience a remote desktop solution is often the best route for an extablished business.
Having said this if I were starting a business up I'd certainly use a web-based app, QuickBooks online if or when it's available in the UK.Posted by: Dan Hancock |
January 31, 2010 1:09 AM -
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I did it!
I finally finished the manuscript for Your Money: The Missing Manual; I e-mailed the last chapter to my editor at 9:10 this morning.
This book was a lot of work. I started writing it on 23 September 2009 at 12:27 p.m. Over the next 115 days, I gained fifteen pounds. (I actually gained eighteen, but I’ve lost three since the start of the year.) The final manuscript contains 125,244 words and 269 pages in Microsoft Word, which would be about 400 printed pages. That’s too long, so we’ll spend the next month whittling it down to something more manageable.
During the past few months, I’ve been a virtual hermit, cloistered in my office (”deep in the word mines”, as I like to say), working 8-10 hours every day — and sometimes many more. Now that the book is nearly finished (aside from editing and printing), I calculate that my hourly wage for this project is…drumroll please…less than minimum wage!
Still, I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing it because I want to help people turn their financial lives around. I’m doing it because I wish I’d had a book like this twenty years ago. If Your Money: The Missing Manual sells enough copies to earn back its advance, that’s great. But if it helps even a handful of people get out of debt and start saving for the future, I’ve done my job.
Chock full of goodness
What’s in the book? Plenty of the stuff you see at Get Rich Slowly — but also lots of new topics, too. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter breakdown:- Introduction — I give a brief summary of my background and share the fourteen tenets of Get Rich Slowly. (2304 words, 5 pages, completed 09 January 2010)
- Chapter 1: Happiness — I survey current happiness research. I explain how money is important but it isn’t everything. I also discuss the notion of lifestyle inflation (though we’re calling it “the hedonic treadmill” for the book). (6800 words, 15 pages, completed 05 October 2009)
- Chapter 2: Goals — I discuss the importance of setting goals. Without goals, you have no reason to save. (6090 words, 13 pages, completed 12 October 2009)
- Chapter 3: Budgeting — If goals are your destination, then a budget’s your map. But as most of you know, I’m not a fan of detailed budgets. Instead, I focus on looking at the Big Picture (including my favorite, the balanced money formula), suggesting readers can add detail as needed. (6975 words, 15 pages, completed 19 October 2009)
- Chapter 4: Debt — I lived with debt for fifteen years. This chapter shares a bit about how I overcame my own debt, and then shares some of my favorite resources. My goal is to give readers the tools they need to kick debt to the curb. (7163 words, 16 pages, completed 16 October 2009)
- Chapter 5: Frugality — This chapter got out of control! How can you compress this topic into just 25 pages? You can’t. I know some folks think frugality is pointless, but I’m not one of them. I sing its praises here. (11676 words, 26 pages, completed 04 November 2009)
- Chapter 6: Income — The most overlooked topic in personal finance: how to make more money. You guys know I’m a passionate believer in boosting your income in whatever way you can. This chapter suggests some ways to do it. (11081 words, 24 pages, 10 November 2009)
- Chapter 7: Banking — Banking’s not a very sexy topic, but there’s still some important stuff to cover, like how to find the best checking and savings accounts. (7836 words, 18 pages, completed 17 November 2009)
- Chapter 8: Credit — Credit can be dangerous…but it doesn’t have to be. Here I go over credit scores and credit reports and offer some tips for using credit cards responsibly. (6350 words, 14 pages, completed 25 November 2009)
- Chapter 9: Big Stuff — As great as it is to save money through frugality, it’s even more important to save on big things, such as cars, furniture, and vacations. This chapter tells you how. (13085 words, 26 pages, completed 03 December 2009)
- Chapter 10: Housing — Yikes, this chapter was tough to write. I’m not sure why, but it got away from me. I had so much I wanted to say! In the end, I had to cut the info on “cost of living”, and I may have even had to cut the stuff on selling a house. There’s still plenty of meat here, though. (9906 words, 20 pages, completed 22 December 2009)
- Chapter 11: Death and Taxes — When I started writing, I told my editor this chapter would suck. I didn’t feel confident about the subject. In the end, it was fun to write — and it turned out well. It’s tough to make taxes, insurance, and estate planning interesting, but I did my best. (10000 words, 21 pages, completed 16 December 2009)
- Chapter 12: Investing — I outline the basics of investing, including some of the psychological pitfalls investors face. I encourage readers to look at index funds, but point them to good resources for other strategies if they simply must try to beat the market. (10684 words, 24 pages, 05 January 2010)
- Chapter 13: Retirement — The chapter I completed this morning! I talk about the power of compounding and the importance of saving early. I also go on a rant about how much I hate retirement planning based around “replacement income”. (It’s so stupid!) (7872 words, 17 pages, completed 15 January 2010)
- Chapter 14: Relationships — I close the book with a look at how money affects our relationships with family and friends. (The book is dedicated to my friend Sparky, who died a year ago today.) I also spend a little time exploring the notion of social capital, which is something I haven’t written about much here, but that I think is very very important. (7422 words, 15 pages, completed 11 January 2010)
So you bought a $4 latte for the fourth time this week. Or maybe you forgot to bring the coupon for your kid's favorite cereal to the grocery store. Most of us make money mistakes all the time (even personal finance bloggers are no exception!), but some of them matter more than others. We here at WalletPop interviewed experts in saving, spending, borrowing and investing to find out the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to their hard-earned money. Thousands of people will make these very mistakes in 2010. Just don't be one of them.Not having life insurance. “If there's anyone who depends on you financially, get term life insurance,” says Gail Hillebrand, an attorney with Consumers Union, the not-for-profit organization that publishes Consumer Reports and the blog Consumerist.com. “If you have a spouse or dependent kids, they'll have money worries if you're gone,” she points out. It's an uncomfortable topic to think about, which is probably why it's something many Americans put off until it's too late, she adds. Even if you're a stay-at-home parent, you need life insurance, because if anything happened to you, child-care costs would come into play.
So how much is enough? Roughly five times your annual salary, says Hillebrand. The idea isn't that your surviving spouse or dependents would spend the money; rather, you want an amount that's large enough for them to invest and be able to live in a manner to which they're accustomed off the returns.
Being late with a credit card payment. This is just an all-around bad thing to do. “Especially now, it's the biggest mistake you can make,” says Jeanette Pavini, a household savings expert at Coupons.com. Your credit score gets dinged, you get slapped with a nasty late fee and your interest rate will probably zoom up — not just on the card whose payment you sent in late but possibly on your other ones, too. (That practice, called “universal default,” will be forbidden under the new CARD Act, but it's still in practice now, so watch out!)
At WalletPop, we hear from a lot of people who are having trouble right now making ends meet, and for many of them, their spiral into financial trouble began when they started paying their credit card bills late. It's a sad story, and it's one we've heard many, many times: Those rate hikes and fees add up faster than anyone thinks they will, until consumers find themselves deeply in debt.
Buying a company's stock just because you like what it sells. There are a host of investment strategies out there, and experts will argue themselves blue in the face about why one is better than the other. But they're in agreement when it comes to this tip, which was shared with WalletPop by Adam Mesh, author of The Average Joe's Ultimate Beginner's Guide to the Stock Market. (If his name sounds at all familiar, it's because he was also on the NBC reality show Average Joe.)
“If you like Starbucks coffee or Apple iPods, great, but you don't want to focus on the name,” Mesh advises. Plenty of companies have great products or services, but there are so many other factors that contribute to a stock's day-to-day price and its long-term value that you could end up losing money anyway. Do your homework and expand your investment strategy beyond the facile.
Not having an emergency fund. “The biggest mistake I've noticed is that while a lot of people know it's important to have a 401(k), they forget to focus on an emergency savings fund,” says Clarky Davis, a personal finance expert who offers advice under the moniker “the Debt Diva” for media outlets like Oprah.com and ABC News. “A 401(k) can't match the security of an emergency fund,” she points out, since there are steep penalties for taking money out of a 401(k) early. Also, that 401(k) is money you're going to need to live on once you leave the workforce, so raiding it now deprives you of the chance to build up that nest egg.
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Steve Marmel: The Good <b>News</b> About Sarah Palin's Hypocritically Bad <b>…</b>
Never before has there been somebody so clearly hypocritical, so obviously agenda-based, and so unabashedly opportunistic in her demagoguery and indignation as Sarah Palin.
Good <b>News</b>! G7 Nations Announce They Will Cancel Haiti's Debt <b>…</b>
I am so pleased this is finally happening. Haiti has been burdened by its national debt for a long time and this will help speed their recovery from the massive earthquake: The world's leading industrialised nations have pledged to …
Brad Pitt Angelina Jolie Suing <b>News</b> Of The World Over Split Rumors
Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have filed suit against a British tabloid that published a report claiming the pair recently called it.
Making Money Online Forum
In the last 24 hours two teaching resources have launched that will help you to learn some great lessons on making money online:
1. Blog Masters Club – presented by David Risley, this resource is in it’s second class and will be available until next Tuesday. David presents a comprehensive 16 module course for bloggers including 92 videos, loads of transcrips, MP3s, forum, action guides and some nice bonuses. He’s offering a discount for those who act to join in the first 24 hours so to get in at the discount you need to act today.
To get a taste for whether this is the type of teaching for you David has released some free stuff worth checking out:
- Six Figure Blogger Blueprint
- How to Psychologically Evaluate Any Niche
- The Blut Simple Truth About Making Money Blogging
2. Shoemoney System – presented by Jeremy Schoemaker, the Shoemoney System launched today and Jeremy tells me that he’s already 75% sold out (he’s taking a maximum of 500 students). It looks like they’ll close their doors inside 24 hours if signups continue at the same rate that they have been.
The Shoemoney system is a little broader in it’s approach than David’s course above (which focuses more upon blogging). Jeremy’s system again focuses heavily upon video presentations (over 100 hours) and is a 12 month training course. He also throws in some good bonuses including $2500 in free advertising from a variety of companies that will help you get yourself going.
Jeremy is a well connected buy and he pulls in some big names and knowledgeable people in his teaching with lots of interviews and tools.
To get a taste of what it’s all about here’s some stuff to check out:
- Q and A call with Jeremy
- 6 Ways to Make Money Online
If you’re wanting to focus your energy just on blogging – I’d go with David’s Blog Masters Club. If you’re wanting a broader introduction to online marketing that goes beyond blogging, go with the Shoemoney System.
Share This
Dear NFL executives:
We, the Detroit Lions fans of the Nation, have endured a decade like no other in the history of professional football.
We have seen our team break the record for consecutive road losses, and seem poised to challenge that mark again. We have witnessed an unprecedented 0-16 season, and have endured more than our share of mismanagement, bad luck, and outright decrepitude, while posting the worse record in the league throughout the new millennium.
And though we'll admit that fan support has waned, and in the last two years the stadium has not always been filled, it's also fair to point out that many of us have had to make very hard decisions about how to spend our money in the most depressed economy in the nation, and winner or no, professional football had to take a backseat at times.
Unfortunately around the league many have taken the opportunity to spat on us, decrying our Thanksgiving day tradition, ridiculing the city of Detroit, making light of our circumstance, and having the temerity to call us “bad fans.”
But even in the midst of the turmoil, most of us are still here, still passionate about our beloved team, and still looking toward the future with great hope.
We love the Lions and always will.
Proof of that can be observed on the very pages of Bleacher Report, this online forum for sports fans to have their say, where we analyze the potential of the current roster, surmise about the team's greatest needs, and agonize over their many defeats.
We keep the idea of Detroit Lions football alive and burning, hungry for some success perhaps, but mindful of the greatest ideals of competition: perseverance, loyalty, and commitment to something larger than yourself.
We've been tested, you see, but have refused to fold.
And there's one man who is more responsible than any for keeping that hope alive, and you've probably heard his name before.
The great Barry Sanders.
Or just Barry in the state of Michigan.
And though Mr. Sanders is largely recognized as one of the greatest running backs of all time (we say THE best), around here he represents even more.
Around here, for those of us old enough to remember his glorious years in the NFL, he burns as a beacon, and an ever-present reminder that greatness can bloom in Detroit.
Success can bloom in Detroit.
Respect can bloom in Detroit.
Around here Barry Sanders is a name that is whispered, and to the young he's a bed time story that plants the seeds of fandom, spreading roots in a soil more fertile than they've experienced in their formative years.
And at risk of proclaiming something overly grandiose, it might not be too far from the truth to say that Barry Sanders saved a generation of Detroit Lions fans.
He's the rock upon which modern day fans plant their flag, and he remains the foundation from which we hope to build our legion into the future.
We by no means live in the past, but we relish it, and use it to fuel our optimism in the present.
But even the most steadfast of us could use a little reminder every now and again, and herein lies the point of our request.
We, the long suffering but steadfast citizenry of the Detroit Lions Nation, humbly request an NFL production highlighting the Barry Sanders years.
At this point the definitive collection does not exist, and though there is one to my knowledge that has been produced, it covers a scant portion of his career, is largely inaccessible, and could use updating both in the breadth of coverage and in the use of modern day technology.
I can't think of a more exciting assignment for anyone in your video department.
And though the task might seem daunting, given the sheer number of breathtaking plays incurred during Barry's incandescent ten year NFL career, this is also what would make it such a rewarding enterprise, and one that we would willingly assist in or even initiate were we in a position to do so.
We realize that the production of such a video would require both man-hours and capital, but also wholly promise that it is a desired item of value to Detroit Lions fans everywhere.
We would cherish this product.
We would gift it to our family members and friends.
And they will smile their broad smiles, or shout with delight, or dance a touchdown dance when they see it.
Can you help us, NFL executives?
We offer our services freely if there's anything we can do to assist you in this endeavor, forever looking towards the future but proud and sure of our past.
Sincerely,
DLN (Detroit Lions Nation)
This note will be sent to the NFL and will serve as a petition. Please respond below if you have interest in this request. We recognize that many fans around the league also have interest in the great Barry Sanders, and would welcome your support as well!
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In the last 24 hours two teaching resources have launched that will help you to learn some great lessons on making money online:
1. Blog Masters Club – presented by David Risley, this resource is in it’s second class and will be available until next Tuesday. David presents a comprehensive 16 module course for bloggers including 92 videos, loads of transcrips, MP3s, forum, action guides and some nice bonuses. He’s offering a discount for those who act to join in the first 24 hours so to get in at the discount you need to act today.
To get a taste for whether this is the type of teaching for you David has released some free stuff worth checking out:
- Six Figure Blogger Blueprint
- How to Psychologically Evaluate Any Niche
- The Blut Simple Truth About Making Money Blogging
2. Shoemoney System – presented by Jeremy Schoemaker, the Shoemoney System launched today and Jeremy tells me that he’s already 75% sold out (he’s taking a maximum of 500 students). It looks like they’ll close their doors inside 24 hours if signups continue at the same rate that they have been.
The Shoemoney system is a little broader in it’s approach than David’s course above (which focuses more upon blogging). Jeremy’s system again focuses heavily upon video presentations (over 100 hours) and is a 12 month training course. He also throws in some good bonuses including $2500 in free advertising from a variety of companies that will help you get yourself going.
Jeremy is a well connected buy and he pulls in some big names and knowledgeable people in his teaching with lots of interviews and tools.
To get a taste of what it’s all about here’s some stuff to check out:
- Q and A call with Jeremy
- 6 Ways to Make Money Online
If you’re wanting to focus your energy just on blogging – I’d go with David’s Blog Masters Club. If you’re wanting a broader introduction to online marketing that goes beyond blogging, go with the Shoemoney System.
Share This
Dear NFL executives:
We, the Detroit Lions fans of the Nation, have endured a decade like no other in the history of professional football.
We have seen our team break the record for consecutive road losses, and seem poised to challenge that mark again. We have witnessed an unprecedented 0-16 season, and have endured more than our share of mismanagement, bad luck, and outright decrepitude, while posting the worse record in the league throughout the new millennium.
And though we'll admit that fan support has waned, and in the last two years the stadium has not always been filled, it's also fair to point out that many of us have had to make very hard decisions about how to spend our money in the most depressed economy in the nation, and winner or no, professional football had to take a backseat at times.
Unfortunately around the league many have taken the opportunity to spat on us, decrying our Thanksgiving day tradition, ridiculing the city of Detroit, making light of our circumstance, and having the temerity to call us “bad fans.”
But even in the midst of the turmoil, most of us are still here, still passionate about our beloved team, and still looking toward the future with great hope.
We love the Lions and always will.
Proof of that can be observed on the very pages of Bleacher Report, this online forum for sports fans to have their say, where we analyze the potential of the current roster, surmise about the team's greatest needs, and agonize over their many defeats.
We keep the idea of Detroit Lions football alive and burning, hungry for some success perhaps, but mindful of the greatest ideals of competition: perseverance, loyalty, and commitment to something larger than yourself.
We've been tested, you see, but have refused to fold.
And there's one man who is more responsible than any for keeping that hope alive, and you've probably heard his name before.
The great Barry Sanders.
Or just Barry in the state of Michigan.
And though Mr. Sanders is largely recognized as one of the greatest running backs of all time (we say THE best), around here he represents even more.
Around here, for those of us old enough to remember his glorious years in the NFL, he burns as a beacon, and an ever-present reminder that greatness can bloom in Detroit.
Success can bloom in Detroit.
Respect can bloom in Detroit.
Around here Barry Sanders is a name that is whispered, and to the young he's a bed time story that plants the seeds of fandom, spreading roots in a soil more fertile than they've experienced in their formative years.
And at risk of proclaiming something overly grandiose, it might not be too far from the truth to say that Barry Sanders saved a generation of Detroit Lions fans.
He's the rock upon which modern day fans plant their flag, and he remains the foundation from which we hope to build our legion into the future.
We by no means live in the past, but we relish it, and use it to fuel our optimism in the present.
But even the most steadfast of us could use a little reminder every now and again, and herein lies the point of our request.
We, the long suffering but steadfast citizenry of the Detroit Lions Nation, humbly request an NFL production highlighting the Barry Sanders years.
At this point the definitive collection does not exist, and though there is one to my knowledge that has been produced, it covers a scant portion of his career, is largely inaccessible, and could use updating both in the breadth of coverage and in the use of modern day technology.
I can't think of a more exciting assignment for anyone in your video department.
And though the task might seem daunting, given the sheer number of breathtaking plays incurred during Barry's incandescent ten year NFL career, this is also what would make it such a rewarding enterprise, and one that we would willingly assist in or even initiate were we in a position to do so.
We realize that the production of such a video would require both man-hours and capital, but also wholly promise that it is a desired item of value to Detroit Lions fans everywhere.
We would cherish this product.
We would gift it to our family members and friends.
And they will smile their broad smiles, or shout with delight, or dance a touchdown dance when they see it.
Can you help us, NFL executives?
We offer our services freely if there's anything we can do to assist you in this endeavor, forever looking towards the future but proud and sure of our past.
Sincerely,
DLN (Detroit Lions Nation)
This note will be sent to the NFL and will serve as a petition. Please respond below if you have interest in this request. We recognize that many fans around the league also have interest in the great Barry Sanders, and would welcome your support as well!
Lost Remote | ABC <b>News</b> content now available on Hulu
NBC <b>News</b> and Fox <b>News</b> are also available on Hulu. This comes at a time when there are questions over if/when Hulu will begin charging for content. The move to paid content seems likely, but the form that it takes has not been announced …
AMERICAblog <b>News</b>: GOP now distancing itself from top budget guy's <b>…</b>
<b>News</b> and opinion about US politics from a liberal perspective.
Facebook helps the <b>news</b> industry, but it's no white knight <b>…</b>
Facebook is assuming its rightful place in the Internet ecosystem as a significant distribution channel for media properties. Hitwise reported …
web site promotion internet marketing
Facebook is Africa’s Most Popular Mobile Destination – Facebook is the most popular mobile web destination in Africa, according to a report from Norway-based mobile software developer Opera. Africa’s 400 million mobile subscribers often turn to mobile devices for Internet access because it’s more reliable than hardwired connections and, even as Twitter begins to gain ground there, Facebook was the top social networking site in six out of 10 countries surveyed by Opera.
Mplayit Releases Most Shared Mobile Apps – Mplayit, an app that recommends new apps, released a list of the most shared apps on the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Java devices. The list included a variety of apps for a variety of functions, ranging from CafeSolitaire to the Finger Physics game to ReaderScope RSS feed reader to Call Blocker Professional.
Facebook Goes to Washington – Adam Conner is a 25 year-old Facebook lobbyist who’s been acting like tech support for much of Washington, D.C., fielding as many as 20 help requests a day, helping representatives and staff learn to use Facebook more effectively. His free services earn him $75,000 a year with equity from Facebook and he’s got more than 2,500 friends on his profile.
Notes App Imports Images from Blogs – Facebook’s Notes app now includes images when blog feeds are automatically imported to the site. The changes were likely made in the past few weeks, previously images were lost when blog posts were automatically imported.
It’s 20-10, not 2010 – A web site, in conjunction with a Facebook group and fan page, has set out to change the way we talk about the next decade — literally. The site, twentynot2000, is dedicated to the simple idea that speaking “two thousand and ten” is too long, whereas “twenty ten” is much shorter, “If we don’t fix this now, we’ll be stuck saying years the long way for the next 89 years,” the site pleads. The site’s fan page boasts over 20,000 fans so far and the group has over 1,400 members.
Indonesian Woman Cleared after Facebook Snafu – A 32 year-old woman in Indonesia was cleared of defaming a hospital she claimed misdiagnosed her after an email she wrote about the ordeal was widely circulated on Facebook. An Indonesian court threw the case out on December 29 and Prita Mulyasari was cleared of criminal defamation under Indonesia’s 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. In the message she wrote to friends, she said she had been misdiagnosed with dengue fever, when she actually had mumps. She was facing up to six years in jail.
Free Snow Goggles for Skiers on Facebook – Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont launched a Facebook promotion encouraging skiers there to make a video promoting their new park in exchange for ski goggles valued at $129.99. The resort’s newest park, Lower Middlebrook, is the largest at the resort and in order to promote the latest offering Stratton is asking fans to friend them on Facebook, sign up to make a short video skiing in the new park, upload it to their Facebook page and vote for the winner of the video via the “Like” button.
McAfee Labs: More Hacks on Facebook in 2010 – McAfee Labs published its 2010 threats predictions this week, noting an expected increase in threats to social networking sites like Facebook in particular. The report stated that spammers are likely to take advantage users trusting their friends on social networks and that this “friendly fire” will reach “new heights” in 2010.
Facebook consumes 5.5% of Internet Time in U.S. – comScore reported in December that Facebook use accounts for 5.5% of the total amount of time U.S. users spent in 2009, up from 2.5% a year ago.
Facebook Files New Lawsuit Against Spammers – Facebook filed its latest lawsuit in its crusade against spammers and phishers on December 14, accusing three men of phishing and spamming its users.
The suit, filed in San Jose, California, alleges that Jeremi Fisher, Philip Porembski and Ryan Shimeall phished users’ accounts, gained access to them, and then sent spam to other users from the compromised accounts. Facebook accuses the defendants and their companies — Choko Systems, Harm, and iMedia Online Services — of launching at least four spam campaigns during the last few years and recently sending nearly three-fourths of all spam on the site.
This latest suit follows two previous suits Facebook won against spammers and phishers: a $711 million judgment in October of 2009 and a $873 million judgment in November of 2008.
[Conner photo via The Washington Post.]
Facebook is Africa’s Most Popular Mobile Destination – Facebook is the most popular mobile web destination in Africa, according to a report from Norway-based mobile software developer Opera. Africa’s 400 million mobile subscribers often turn to mobile devices for Internet access because it’s more reliable than hardwired connections and, even as Twitter begins to gain ground there, Facebook was the top social networking site in six out of 10 countries surveyed by Opera.
Mplayit Releases Most Shared Mobile Apps – Mplayit, an app that recommends new apps, released a list of the most shared apps on the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Java devices. The list included a variety of apps for a variety of functions, ranging from CafeSolitaire to the Finger Physics game to ReaderScope RSS feed reader to Call Blocker Professional.
Facebook Goes to Washington – Adam Conner is a 25 year-old Facebook lobbyist who’s been acting like tech support for much of Washington, D.C., fielding as many as 20 help requests a day, helping representatives and staff learn to use Facebook more effectively. His free services earn him $75,000 a year with equity from Facebook and he’s got more than 2,500 friends on his profile.
Notes App Imports Images from Blogs – Facebook’s Notes app now includes images when blog feeds are automatically imported to the site. The changes were likely made in the past few weeks, previously images were lost when blog posts were automatically imported.
It’s 20-10, not 2010 – A web site, in conjunction with a Facebook group and fan page, has set out to change the way we talk about the next decade — literally. The site, twentynot2000, is dedicated to the simple idea that speaking “two thousand and ten” is too long, whereas “twenty ten” is much shorter, “If we don’t fix this now, we’ll be stuck saying years the long way for the next 89 years,” the site pleads. The site’s fan page boasts over 20,000 fans so far and the group has over 1,400 members.
Indonesian Woman Cleared after Facebook Snafu – A 32 year-old woman in Indonesia was cleared of defaming a hospital she claimed misdiagnosed her after an email she wrote about the ordeal was widely circulated on Facebook. An Indonesian court threw the case out on December 29 and Prita Mulyasari was cleared of criminal defamation under Indonesia’s 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law. In the message she wrote to friends, she said she had been misdiagnosed with dengue fever, when she actually had mumps. She was facing up to six years in jail.
Free Snow Goggles for Skiers on Facebook – Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in Vermont launched a Facebook promotion encouraging skiers there to make a video promoting their new park in exchange for ski goggles valued at $129.99. The resort’s newest park, Lower Middlebrook, is the largest at the resort and in order to promote the latest offering Stratton is asking fans to friend them on Facebook, sign up to make a short video skiing in the new park, upload it to their Facebook page and vote for the winner of the video via the “Like” button.
McAfee Labs: More Hacks on Facebook in 2010 – McAfee Labs published its 2010 threats predictions this week, noting an expected increase in threats to social networking sites like Facebook in particular. The report stated that spammers are likely to take advantage users trusting their friends on social networks and that this “friendly fire” will reach “new heights” in 2010.
Facebook consumes 5.5% of Internet Time in U.S. – comScore reported in December that Facebook use accounts for 5.5% of the total amount of time U.S. users spent in 2009, up from 2.5% a year ago.
Facebook Files New Lawsuit Against Spammers – Facebook filed its latest lawsuit in its crusade against spammers and phishers on December 14, accusing three men of phishing and spamming its users.
The suit, filed in San Jose, California, alleges that Jeremi Fisher, Philip Porembski and Ryan Shimeall phished users’ accounts, gained access to them, and then sent spam to other users from the compromised accounts. Facebook accuses the defendants and their companies — Choko Systems, Harm, and iMedia Online Services — of launching at least four spam campaigns during the last few years and recently sending nearly three-fourths of all spam on the site.
This latest suit follows two previous suits Facebook won against spammers and phishers: a $711 million judgment in October of 2009 and a $873 million judgment in November of 2008.
[Conner photo via The Washington Post.]
Bill bartmann, Bill bartmann, Bill bartmann robert shumake, robert shumake
Business <b>News</b>: Did General Larry Platt Steal 'Pants On The Ground <b>…</b>
Blacks in the <b>News</b>. From left, Horst Schmidt, chairman of FIFA's ticketing sub-committe, Jerome Valcke, FIFA's secretary general and Danny Jordan, chief executive of South Africa's 2010 World Cup Soccer organizing committee, …
Lackluster Economic <b>News</b> Pushes Market Lower - DealBook Blog <b>…</b>
Wall Street was hit with a string of disappointments on Thursday: a weaker-than-expected unemployment picture, a tepid recovery in manufacturing and skepticism about the technology sector, including concerns about Apple's new tablet.
<b>News</b> Ticker: Carrie Underwood, Phish, Simon Cowell, The Shins <b>…</b>
Shins frontman James Mercer may be busy with his new project with Danger Mouse, Broken Bells, but he tells MTV <b>News</b> the Shins are not breaking up — in fact, they may have a new release in 2011, though he's already working on the …
Humana Careers
Wesley J. Smith tem uma postagem excelente [em inglês] no seu blog First Things sobre como o recente escândalo do ClimateGate como sendo apenas um sintoma de um problema muito maior envolvendo a corrupção ideológica da ciência:
“O aquecimento global não é a única área na qual nós temos testemunhado este tipo desavergonhado de corrupção ideológica da ciência nos anos recentes years. Eu tenho visto esta mesma abordagem ser tomada repetidamente contra os pontos de vista heterodoxos na controvérsia da clonagem humana/pesquisas com células-tronco embrionárias, a ponto de aquelas pessoas terem sido mandadas embora das faculdades ou serem negadas estabilidade. Os meus colegas no Discovery Institute enfrentam uma serra circular semelhante no seu empenho em favor da hipótese do design inteligente, e depois eles servem de motejo dos censores por não terem sido publicados em journals científicos com revisão por pares. Na verdade, quando Richard Sternberg publicou um artigo a favor do DI, ele foi atacado e vilipendiado tão implacavelmente pelos darwinistas, que isso mandou uma mensagem clara e ameaçadora para todos os demais editores de journal que publicassem artigos a favor do DI correndo o risco de suas carreiras.”
+++++
NOTA IMPERTINENTE DESTE BLOGGER:
Quando eu mencionei aqui estes aspectos bem destacados por Wesley Smith, a Galera dos meninos e meninas de Darwin disse que isso é a 'teoria da conspiração', mesmo tendo apresentado as evidências de que tais fatos assim se sucederam.
Como foi bom ter sido vindicado por esses hackers [não endosso o que fizeram]: há algo de podre na Nomenklatura científica, e determinadas teorias científicas são defendidas, não cientificamente, mas IDEOLOGICAMENTE.
E na defesa de uma ideologia vale tudo maquiavelicamente: sonegar informações, distorcer evidências, perseguir e, se possível, eliminar os 'diferentes' [dissidentes e céticos].
Enfim, fazer a caca que esta turma do CRU fez. Agora, na pressa de fazer valer sua agenda $$$ sobre os males do aquecimento global ser provocado antropogenicamente, Al 'Apocalipse' Gore vai comer CRU! [Não pude resistir!].
NOTA
1. “Global warming isn’t the only field in which we have witnessed this kind of brazen ideological corruption of science in recent years. I have seen the same approach taken repeatedly against heterodox views in the human cloning/ESCR controversy, to the point that people have been driven off of faculties or denied tenure. My colleagues at the Discovery Institute face a similar buzz saw in their pursuit of intelligent design hypothesis, and then are taunted by the censors for not being published in peer reviewed journals. Indeed, when Richard Sternberg published an ID article, he was attacked and slandered so mercilessly by the Darwinists, that it sent a clear and threatening message to all other journal editors that they publish ID-oriented papers at peril to their own careers.”Wesley J. Smith tem uma postagem excelente [em inglês] no seu blog First Things sobre como o recente escândalo do ClimateGate como sendo apenas um sintoma de um problema muito maior envolvendo a corrupção ideológica da ciência:
“O aquecimento global não é a única área na qual nós temos testemunhado este tipo desavergonhado de corrupção ideológica da ciência nos anos recentes years. Eu tenho visto esta mesma abordagem ser tomada repetidamente contra os pontos de vista heterodoxos na controvérsia da clonagem humana/pesquisas com células-tronco embrionárias, a ponto de aquelas pessoas terem sido mandadas embora das faculdades ou serem negadas estabilidade. Os meus colegas no Discovery Institute enfrentam uma serra circular semelhante no seu empenho em favor da hipótese do design inteligente, e depois eles servem de motejo dos censores por não terem sido publicados em journals científicos com revisão por pares. Na verdade, quando Richard Sternberg publicou um artigo a favor do DI, ele foi atacado e vilipendiado tão implacavelmente pelos darwinistas, que isso mandou uma mensagem clara e ameaçadora para todos os demais editores de journal que publicassem artigos a favor do DI correndo o risco de suas carreiras.”
+++++
NOTA IMPERTINENTE DESTE BLOGGER:
Quando eu mencionei aqui estes aspectos bem destacados por Wesley Smith, a Galera dos meninos e meninas de Darwin disse que isso é a 'teoria da conspiração', mesmo tendo apresentado as evidências de que tais fatos assim se sucederam.
Como foi bom ter sido vindicado por esses hackers [não endosso o que fizeram]: há algo de podre na Nomenklatura científica, e determinadas teorias científicas são defendidas, não cientificamente, mas IDEOLOGICAMENTE.
E na defesa de uma ideologia vale tudo maquiavelicamente: sonegar informações, distorcer evidências, perseguir e, se possível, eliminar os 'diferentes' [dissidentes e céticos].
Enfim, fazer a caca que esta turma do CRU fez. Agora, na pressa de fazer valer sua agenda $$$ sobre os males do aquecimento global ser provocado antropogenicamente, Al 'Apocalipse' Gore vai comer CRU! [Não pude resistir!].
NOTA
1. “Global warming isn’t the only field in which we have witnessed this kind of brazen ideological corruption of science in recent years. I have seen the same approach taken repeatedly against heterodox views in the human cloning/ESCR controversy, to the point that people have been driven off of faculties or denied tenure. My colleagues at the Discovery Institute face a similar buzz saw in their pursuit of intelligent design hypothesis, and then are taunted by the censors for not being published in peer reviewed journals. Indeed, when Richard Sternberg published an ID article, he was attacked and slandered so mercilessly by the Darwinists, that it sent a clear and threatening message to all other journal editors that they publish ID-oriented papers at peril to their own careers.”
backinlifesets bill bartmann rosegill blatantusage bill bartmann boblo believein magic Bill bartmann's choice bill bartmann bill bartmanniGEA welcomes ratings consultation // News
The Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (iGEA) has released a statement welcoming the news of a public cons…
Sony reveals the SingStar Viewer News | PS3 | Eurogamer
Read our Sony reveals the SingStar Viewer News for PlayStation 3.
Modern Warfare 2 PC mod tool news 'coming in the future'
Responding to a fan asking about mod tools for the game via his Twitter account, Infinity Ward spokesman Robert Bowling said, “there may be some Mod Tools news coming in the future, I'll pass it along once I have it.” …
Franchise Franchisor
In the franchise system, there are two roles: franchisee and franchisor. The two work together to create and expand a successful business concept. So what role does each play in relation to the other?
The Franchisor
The Franchisor has built a successful business system and is willing to sell you the right to use that system, and all that goes with it, to begin your own business. An important distinction is that the franchisor is not selling you a business; he/she is selling you a right to operate a business using an established system.
The goal of the franchisor is the same as any other business owner; to increase the value of their business. In the franchise arena, this is accomplished by selling the right to use their business model so that there are more franchise locations doing business successfully. In this way they expand their market reach, increase the value of the franchise, and the brand as a whole grows. As the number of successful units grows, the franchisor's royalty stream (the percentage of profits they get from each unit) also grows.
It is in the franchisor's best interest to continue to support you as you exercise this right to do business. Some of the things you can expect from a franchisor are:
* Professional national marketing and advertising materials and campaigns: they are still the captain of the fleet and will manage the overall strategy of the brand.
* Management of products and services for the brand as a whole, including research and development of new products and services. A proven system of doing business.
* Protected territory from other in-brand units: in other words, they will manage how close your market area is to another unit so there are both enough stores to have good market penetration, and also enough territory for each store to generate the business they each need to operate successfully.
* Opportunities to own more than one unit.
* A network of colleagues.
* Frequently, a buying cooperative; that is, a group of people who together have more buying power and ability to negotiate prices than does a single business owner.
The Franchisee
The Franchisee is ready to start a new business, but may not have enough experience in running a business to be comfortable starting one from scratch. Most new businesses have a fairly high failure rate, sometimes due to mistakes made by inexperienced business owners, other times due to unexpected conditions in the market. What the Franchisee is looking for is a leg-up in starting a business so they have an increased chance of success. This is exactly what purchasing the right to use an existing business system and brand name provides them.
What you need to keep in mind is that this is your business, but someone else's brand. It's your responsibility to find and negotiate your lease or building, but the Franchisor will usually provide guidance. You are responsible for hiring and training all employees, but again, the Franchisor can provide helpful tips for recruiting and employee development. You manage all of the pieces of the business yourself, tapping into the expertise of those from whom you've purchased this system whenever you need advice. You can also expect the franchise to provide training in the methods of running your business according to the system they licensed to you.
What is important for you as the Franchisee to understand from the beginning is that while you are part of an entire franchise system and will work as a partnership, you are not actually a partner. This doesn't mean that you have no say in how the business is run, but it does mean that your say is limited. In more established franchises, there is usually a franchise group that represents the franchisees' interests and works with the franchisor to present ideas and resolve business issues to the benefit of the franchise as a whole.
If not quite a partner, the franchisee still can expect from the franchise those things outlined above. So what can the franchisor expect from you?
* Well money, of course. You can think of it as leasing their ideas. Each month you will report on your financials and a certain percentage of the profit you make goes to the franchisor. They use this money to fund things like advertising campaigns and research and development of new products, and to grow the value of the brand.
* You to run your business according to their standards regarding products and services. Consistency from store to store is what brings customers into franchise businesses. A customer should expect to get the same product or service from that brand name regardless of which building they walk into. If you don't, other units suffer.
It's important to note that the services listed above are somewhat standard to all franchise systems, but the extent to which they are applied varies greatly. Your Franchise Agreement will explicitly state the levels of support you will get in terms of advertising, training, and other areas. If it isn't in writing (in your Franchise Agreement) then it's not required. Keep this in mind during your conversations with any franchise organization.You are most likely aware of the rise in franchises over the past few years and have heard of the benefits and the accomplishments that some companies have achieved. If you are set for a change in your working life and are thinking about setting up a Franchise, then there is a Franchise Opportunity out there for you. Before you throw yourself into the franchise there might be a few questions that you will require to ask yourself.
The first thing to ask yourself is do you have sufficient money to acquire a franchise? There are numerous Franchise For Sale options currently on the market and they vary from a small investment for your training to large investments for premises and staff. Most franchises will have a calculated return of your investment, or ROI. This is not set in stone as such and the money that you have invested may take longer to earn back than imagined. The general thought is to have a least three months worth of money to last before you gain back the initial investment.
Have you decided on which product or service you want for your Franchise? There are numerous Franchise For Sale options and they cover a great array of businesses from fast food chains to cleaning services. The best way to narrow your choice down is to think about what you have done in the past or what you are excited about. If you have come from an IT background then maybe an Internet based franchised will be high on your list, in the best part of cases, training will be provided but a basic knowledge of the product or service will give you a head start.
Do you have the appropriate personality and character to be a franchisee? There are restrictions on numerous franchises that are at this time for sale, each franchisor will have a meticulous rule book which the franchisee will have to abide by. These may include pricing structure, operations, training and planned targets. If you are looking to do things your way and have your own ideas on these areas then you may find that a Franchise Opportunity is to controlling for your character.
You must do research into the Franchise For Sale. Firstly weigh up the franchisor, are they a well-established business? Is the product or service that they are offering a practical solution to sell in your area? Make sure that the business that you are buying the franchise from has a top brand and has been successful in selling its brand. You can now check business growth reports for your chosen franchisor and the other franchisees that at this time work under their system.
A good Franchise Opportunity is where the franchisor offers recurrent support for the franchisee. On top of the preliminary training a franchisor should be able to give recurrent support when the franchisee sets up, in case of financial worries or other problems. The franchisor will have experience in these struggles and should be able to help you out.
If you can answer these questions then you should get a clearer picture if you are going to commit to the Franchise options.
When you purchase a franchise, you enter into a legally binding agreement with your franchisor. Most such companies go to great lengths to ensure that their legal interests are protected, but entrepreneurs and investors are defrauded on a daily basis. If you have a legal dispute with your franchisor, you might have recourse, but make sure you stick to the following advice.
Keep Meticulous Records
Any written or verbal communication can be future evidence in a legal dispute, so make sure you save every document that pertains to your franchisor. Record verbal conversations whenever possible, and with his or her consent, or you can simply record the date and time of the call and the issues discussed. However, legally speaking, it is best to limit contact to written communications to protect your own interests.
Familiarize Yourself with the Laws
Although you'll probably need an attorney to settle a legal dispute with your franchisor, it doesn't hurt to educate yourself on the laws surrounding franchises. The Federal Trade Commission Web site is a great place to start, and you'll also want to re-read your contract to make sure you know what it says. Most of these disagreements come down to boilerplate clauses in contracts.
Obtain Evidence of Fraud
If you know that your franchisor has committed fraud, your legal dispute has escalated to a serious matter. However, you'll need solid evidence to prove that fraud has occurred, so make sure to obtain and save any evidence you can possible find. The more you have in physical evidence, the stronger your case will be, and you need to remember that these cases are rarely decided in favor of the complainant.
Prepare for the Long Haul
Most legal disputes concerning a franchise or franchisor take at least a year to settle when no court proceedings are involved, and longer if they are. There will be no quick solution to your case unless the franchisor lets you out of your contract, which is probably not going to happen. So prepare yourself mentally and emotionally to have a long, protracted battle.
Honor Your Contract
Just because you have a legal dispute with your franchisor doesn't mean you can ignore your contract or any associated agreements. Unless the franchise is determined to be fraudulent by a court, you are responsible for your franchise and the business you run. If you don't pay your royalties or fees, you could easily fall into breach of contract and find yourself on the opposite end of the courtroom. At that point, your complaint is likely moot.
Even if you aren't successful in your legal dispute with your franchisor, you can still lodge a complaint with the FTC and the Better Business Bureau. It is possible for a franchisor to perpetuate unethical business practices while still technically remaining within the law. Make sure others know of the dangers and request that the authorities investigate this business.
In the franchise system, there are two roles: franchisee and franchisor. The two work together to create and expand a successful business concept. So what role does each play in relation to the other?
The Franchisor
The Franchisor has built a successful business system and is willing to sell you the right to use that system, and all that goes with it, to begin your own business. An important distinction is that the franchisor is not selling you a business; he/she is selling you a right to operate a business using an established system.
The goal of the franchisor is the same as any other business owner; to increase the value of their business. In the franchise arena, this is accomplished by selling the right to use their business model so that there are more franchise locations doing business successfully. In this way they expand their market reach, increase the value of the franchise, and the brand as a whole grows. As the number of successful units grows, the franchisor's royalty stream (the percentage of profits they get from each unit) also grows.
It is in the franchisor's best interest to continue to support you as you exercise this right to do business. Some of the things you can expect from a franchisor are:
* Professional national marketing and advertising materials and campaigns: they are still the captain of the fleet and will manage the overall strategy of the brand.
* Management of products and services for the brand as a whole, including research and development of new products and services. A proven system of doing business.
* Protected territory from other in-brand units: in other words, they will manage how close your market area is to another unit so there are both enough stores to have good market penetration, and also enough territory for each store to generate the business they each need to operate successfully.
* Opportunities to own more than one unit.
* A network of colleagues.
* Frequently, a buying cooperative; that is, a group of people who together have more buying power and ability to negotiate prices than does a single business owner.
The Franchisee
The Franchisee is ready to start a new business, but may not have enough experience in running a business to be comfortable starting one from scratch. Most new businesses have a fairly high failure rate, sometimes due to mistakes made by inexperienced business owners, other times due to unexpected conditions in the market. What the Franchisee is looking for is a leg-up in starting a business so they have an increased chance of success. This is exactly what purchasing the right to use an existing business system and brand name provides them.
What you need to keep in mind is that this is your business, but someone else's brand. It's your responsibility to find and negotiate your lease or building, but the Franchisor will usually provide guidance. You are responsible for hiring and training all employees, but again, the Franchisor can provide helpful tips for recruiting and employee development. You manage all of the pieces of the business yourself, tapping into the expertise of those from whom you've purchased this system whenever you need advice. You can also expect the franchise to provide training in the methods of running your business according to the system they licensed to you.
What is important for you as the Franchisee to understand from the beginning is that while you are part of an entire franchise system and will work as a partnership, you are not actually a partner. This doesn't mean that you have no say in how the business is run, but it does mean that your say is limited. In more established franchises, there is usually a franchise group that represents the franchisees' interests and works with the franchisor to present ideas and resolve business issues to the benefit of the franchise as a whole.
If not quite a partner, the franchisee still can expect from the franchise those things outlined above. So what can the franchisor expect from you?
* Well money, of course. You can think of it as leasing their ideas. Each month you will report on your financials and a certain percentage of the profit you make goes to the franchisor. They use this money to fund things like advertising campaigns and research and development of new products, and to grow the value of the brand.
* You to run your business according to their standards regarding products and services. Consistency from store to store is what brings customers into franchise businesses. A customer should expect to get the same product or service from that brand name regardless of which building they walk into. If you don't, other units suffer.
It's important to note that the services listed above are somewhat standard to all franchise systems, but the extent to which they are applied varies greatly. Your Franchise Agreement will explicitly state the levels of support you will get in terms of advertising, training, and other areas. If it isn't in writing (in your Franchise Agreement) then it's not required. Keep this in mind during your conversations with any franchise organization.You are most likely aware of the rise in franchises over the past few years and have heard of the benefits and the accomplishments that some companies have achieved. If you are set for a change in your working life and are thinking about setting up a Franchise, then there is a Franchise Opportunity out there for you. Before you throw yourself into the franchise there might be a few questions that you will require to ask yourself.
The first thing to ask yourself is do you have sufficient money to acquire a franchise? There are numerous Franchise For Sale options currently on the market and they vary from a small investment for your training to large investments for premises and staff. Most franchises will have a calculated return of your investment, or ROI. This is not set in stone as such and the money that you have invested may take longer to earn back than imagined. The general thought is to have a least three months worth of money to last before you gain back the initial investment.
Have you decided on which product or service you want for your Franchise? There are numerous Franchise For Sale options and they cover a great array of businesses from fast food chains to cleaning services. The best way to narrow your choice down is to think about what you have done in the past or what you are excited about. If you have come from an IT background then maybe an Internet based franchised will be high on your list, in the best part of cases, training will be provided but a basic knowledge of the product or service will give you a head start.
Do you have the appropriate personality and character to be a franchisee? There are restrictions on numerous franchises that are at this time for sale, each franchisor will have a meticulous rule book which the franchisee will have to abide by. These may include pricing structure, operations, training and planned targets. If you are looking to do things your way and have your own ideas on these areas then you may find that a Franchise Opportunity is to controlling for your character.
You must do research into the Franchise For Sale. Firstly weigh up the franchisor, are they a well-established business? Is the product or service that they are offering a practical solution to sell in your area? Make sure that the business that you are buying the franchise from has a top brand and has been successful in selling its brand. You can now check business growth reports for your chosen franchisor and the other franchisees that at this time work under their system.
A good Franchise Opportunity is where the franchisor offers recurrent support for the franchisee. On top of the preliminary training a franchisor should be able to give recurrent support when the franchisee sets up, in case of financial worries or other problems. The franchisor will have experience in these struggles and should be able to help you out.
If you can answer these questions then you should get a clearer picture if you are going to commit to the Franchise options.
bill bartmann on making forensic mortgage audit
Making Money on the Internet
Learn How To Make Money On Internet – 3 Things That Are Must Haves To Making Money On Internet
Wondering how to make money on internet? There are 3 things that you need to make money online and I am going to show you in this article.
# 1 – A Desire For knowledge
You can actually make a good living on the internet if you are ready and ready to discover as well as put time into internet marketing. Your friends may even be passed up by you – those associates with the comfortable office jobs – then you can inform them about your comfy home job.
# 2 – A decent Landing Page
Some individuals may believe that you can still make money by sending people directly to an affiliate offer, yes you can still make money but the most money will come when you send them to your own landing page. A landing website is a web site where your traffic will “land” when you send traffic to the site. A mini site can be created or you can have a one site landing website.
# 3 – Traffic
It is exceedingly critical that you generate traffic to go to your site. More traffic = more earnings How do you cause traffic? There are numerous different ways to breed traffic – social networking, blogging, link exchanges, article writing and PPC are some of the most popular.
find out How To Make Money Online Now
Are you trying to produce a decent income and have you been working rigorously to find a way to work online? For those of you that have been working intensely but getting no where – I am really glad that you are at this web site. You can use the same things that have helped me to make money online.
Maybe you are thinking about clicking out of this website now… ok but just think about yourself plugging away at internet marketing or you 9 – 5 job, sinking money into another one of those get rich quick schemes and NOT making money. On the other hand you could start to discover from a proven source just how to make money on the internet.
learn How To Make Money Online Now
Sick Of Being Trapped In A Dead End Rut? Find Out How To Make Money On Internet. Click Here : http://www.GoogleMakeMoney.com
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-
Twittersphere
- I like living. I've sometimes been wildly miserable but through it all I still know that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~Agatha Christie http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- @BobbyCrank YAY thank you!! :=) http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- The greatest pleasure of life is love. ~ Euripides http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- @JackBastide doing ok, could be better if i could get rid of this darn cough & cold. other than that, im swell & still a social butterfly http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson http://twitter.com/nancyperez
-
Twittersphere
- I like living. I've sometimes been wildly miserable but through it all I still know that just to be alive is a grand thing. ~Agatha Christie http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- @BobbyCrank YAY thank you!! :=) http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- The greatest pleasure of life is love. ~ Euripides http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- @JackBastide doing ok, could be better if i could get rid of this darn cough & cold. other than that, im swell & still a social butterfly http://twitter.com/nancyperez
- Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson http://twitter.com/nancyperez
Shara Says:
January 12th, 2010 at 9:04 am
For those of you who want to know what extra payments on your loan will do go to bankrate.com. Go to their calculator section (at the top above the tabs) and look for ‘amortization calculator’. It is great to see what theoretical loans would cost, but if you know how to use it you can apply it to any existing loan as well. If you want to know how to input an existing loan just ask and I’ll walk you through it. You need the balance, interest rate, and payment or remaining time on the loan.
@Max
We DO have a program to help poor people buy homes. It’s called the FHA (Federal Housing Administration). It is administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are two quasi-government agencies. And recent events have shown us why they don’t work.
First let me explain, FHA loans are typically set at a price a little bit above the going rate for “great credit” people. But they are, sometimes significantly, lower than those for which most people qualify. They have significantly lower down payment and up front cost requirements and can bend some rules (such as allowing sellers to pay for closing costs, or using a third party’s money for down payment). This is a problem for two reasons: Without requiring a down payment the risk of a house being worth less than is owed is a significant risk, and people who can’t manage enough financial discipline to scrape together a down payment often don’t have the financial discipline to faithfully make their house payments.
In an ideal world people who are upside down on their mortgages would suck it up and keep paying as long as they could afford it. The reality is that many people would rather walk away, hand over the keys, and take the hit to their credit that bankruptcy will cause. The problem with a poor person as a credit risk is the same reason you want to help them: they have nothing to take away. Therefore you have no leverage to sue them and make them pay you what they owe you. I am a landlord and one thing I have learned is that people really want to do the right thing, but they have an infinite number of ways of justifying to themselves that something dishonest is okay. I had one lady argue that I shouldn’t have evicted her because her HUSBAND was the one who wasn’t paying the rent. I used to think that kind of convoluted logic was crazy, but I have found most people are more than capable of twisting ‘right’ to magically be whatever they want at the time.
Second, I know more than a handful of poor people. Most of the people I know who are perpetually poor are so because they make really bad choices. Sad to say, many of them do drugs that precludes them from being successful. The middle class (both upper and lower) people I know who are scraping by and have no money to buy a house are doing so because they can’t manage money. These are the people who break a leg and have to take a week off without pay and suddenly can’t make their bills. Not because they don’t make enough, but because there is nothing there left at the end of the month in case of emergency. If it’s there it’s spent.
I don’t want any of these people as homeowners. You can’t know until you own a house what a big responsibility it is. Everyone I know who has bought a house has had a learning curve much like a new parent, of “This is MY responsibility?!” and “I had no idea how much this would cost!” Even if you plan for it, you don’t understand until the bill’s in front of you.
As far as poor people having housing, there are a number of housing assistance programs available, the most prominent being section 8. Section 8 is a program that pays a percentage of the rent for a poor person, depending on the size of the family and how poor they are. I have talked to tenants that were 50% covered, a neighbor of mine was 100% covered, and I know people on the waiting list. The waiting list in typically quite long because there are a lot of people who want help paying their bills.
And this brings us to the crux of the matter, which is how much assistance to offer. The reason many of us are anti-socialist is because while it is great to want everyone to be happy, healthy, well fed, educated, and have a nice house, these things cost money. It costs me nothing to allow you free speech, but if you want food someone has to produce it and that person must be compensated. And if the compensation is coming from me instead of you what is your motivation to produce anything for yourself? You know the saying about giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish?
I am with Kevin that there are things that our government is designed to do: national defense, freeways, international treaties. And things that our federal government is NOT designed to do. Housing assistance is one of them. But that doesn’t mean I think no one should get an assistance, I just don’t think it is the job of the federal government, because a bureaucracy of that size has a really hard time administering such benefits, programs of that size are just asking to be cesspools of waste, fraud, and abuse, and as the concerns lately about INFLATION (remember that word? ;)) show, the federal government can print their own money if they get in trouble.
I think there are people who deserve housing assistance: The severely mentally retarded, people with mental illness, people with severe physical limitations, etc. But if you can’t BUY a house on your own then you shouldn’t be doing it. You either don’t make enough to survive the ups and downs of the market, or you aren’t mature enough to own a house. In this case there is a GREAT alternative: renting.
bubfffvrnwe Bill bartmann's billions roadside Online Stock Trading fast credit repair Online Stock Trading brute force seo dryer vent repair online stock trading Online stock trading internet marketing course
Learn How To Make Money On Internet – 3 Things That Are Must Haves To Making Money On Internet
Wondering how to make money on internet? There are 3 things that you need to make money online and I am going to show you in this article.
# 1 – A Desire For knowledge
You can actually make a good living on the internet if you are ready and ready to discover as well as put time into internet marketing. Your friends may even be passed up by you – those associates with the comfortable office jobs – then you can inform them about your comfy home job.
# 2 – A decent Landing Page
Some individuals may believe that you can still make money by sending people directly to an affiliate offer, yes you can still make money but the most money will come when you send them to your own landing page. A landing website is a web site where your traffic will “land” when you send traffic to the site. A mini site can be created or you can have a one site landing website.
# 3 – Traffic
It is exceedingly critical that you generate traffic to go to your site. More traffic = more earnings How do you cause traffic? There are numerous different ways to breed traffic – social networking, blogging, link exchanges, article writing and PPC are some of the most popular.
find out How To Make Money Online Now
Are you trying to produce a decent income and have you been working rigorously to find a way to work online? For those of you that have been working intensely but getting no where – I am really glad that you are at this web site. You can use the same things that have helped me to make money online.
Maybe you are thinking about clicking out of this website now… ok but just think about yourself plugging away at internet marketing or you 9 – 5 job, sinking money into another one of those get rich quick schemes and NOT making money. On the other hand you could start to discover from a proven source just how to make money on the internet.
learn How To Make Money Online Now
Sick Of Being Trapped In A Dead End Rut? Find Out How To Make Money On Internet. Click Here : http://www.GoogleMakeMoney.com
Make a Comment
Make A Comment: ( None so far )
News Media: Don't Give Google The NoIndex Finger
Discussing/insulting newspaper business models is all the rage these days. Danny Sullivan has had some choice words for the whole let's give Google the.
Google and News Corp need each other – Tech Products & Geek News …
Nov. 30, 2009 - In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, the news feeds have been stuffed like a holiday turkey with news of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch's ongoing dispute with.
Senate Democrats Face Rocky Road On The Way To The Health Reform …
Democratic leadership in the Senate may not have the 60 votes to pass a health care reform bill anymore as debate begins Monday.
foreclosure
Many people would like to invest in bank foreclosures and look for basic information about foreclosure real estate. To get accurate and reliable data, they resort to a listing service, because online foreclosure listings are a very convenient way to keep informed. They provide extensive details about foreclosure homes available, concerning both the foreclosure properties as such and how to contact the owner. The interest in foreclosure real estate is very high, because foreclosure prices are usually below the real estate market prices. Homeowners who have secured a bank loan with their property and have failed to make several payments will have their home taken by the bank and included among other bank foreclosures.
The main benefit of buying foreclosure real estate is that foreclosure homes usually come with a great price. Bank foreclosures are sold below their market value, because the main objective of banks owning such properties is to recover the money they have loaned. The best offers of foreclosure properties can be found by searching online foreclosure listings. All areas of interest of potential foreclosure real estate buyers are covered here, and one can sort through available bank foreclosures according to numerous criteria, such as geographical region, property type and condition, or foreclosure prices.
Online foreclosure listings are essential for potential investors. Getting reliable information on foreclosure real estate means you can buy a good home for yourself by paying a low price. If you are a real estate investor and want to sell the property later on, you should definitely go for bank foreclosures. Not only are foreclosure prices lower than those of regular homes, but they are also negotiable. The banks who own foreclosure homes are usually open to discussions of contractual provisions, and this means you can gain significant advantages when you buy foreclosure real estate. Prices keep going up on the real estate market, but bank foreclosures never fail to attract potential buyers, because foreclosure properties are always sold below their market value.
It is common knowledge that bank foreclosures are an opportunity for anyone who could not afford to buy a home otherwise, given the high prices on the real estate market. Investing in foreclosure real estate means you actually get to save money, because you have the chance of buying a good home at a more than reasonable price. Look out for attractive offers of foreclosure properties by searching online foreclosure listings and you will certainly find your desired home among the bank foreclosures available in your region. Foreclosure real estate properties owned by banks are a safe and profitable investment, as the low foreclosure prices are more than appealing.
Subscribing to a service offering online foreclosure listings means you get exclusive information on foreclosure real estate that may be of interest to you. The offer of bank foreclosures covers a wide range of foreclosure homes, located all across the country. Experts in evaluating foreclosure properties sometimes advise potential buyers to focus their interest on bank foreclosures that are not in tiptop shape and which the bank is not planning on reconditioning. Foreclosure prices can get pretty low with this type of foreclosure real estate, and the buyers can make all the necessary repairs and improvements along the way.
Locating affordable bank foreclosures can be a tiresome business, unless you subscribe to a specialized listing service. Online foreclosure listings are a very useful tool for those who want to invest in foreclosure real estate, because they include a lot of information in one place, thus saving a lot of research time for potential buyers. Once someone decides to buy foreclosure homes, they need some guidelines in understanding the process, as well as tips that will help them locate the best foreclosure properties available and reliable information about foreclosure prices. You can find all the necessary details about the bank foreclosures you find attractive by searching through an online foreclosure real estate list.
Whatever the type of foreclosure real estate you may be interested in, you will certainly find good offers of bank foreclosures if you resort to online foreclosure listings. The offers of foreclosure homes can vary according to property condition and location, which also have an impact on general foreclosure prices. Such properties can come in a wide range of prices, depending not only on their location and condition, but also on the banks who own them, but they are generally sold below their market value anyway. Checking up a comprehensive list of foreclosure properties in your geographical region of interest will help you make a solid impression and develop your strategies, while also saving you a good deal of time.
Amelie Mag
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/how-to-locate-the-best-foreclosure-real-estate-properties-71188.html
Another Broken Myth: Foreclosures and Crime Rates
Remember when real estate foreclosures
were decimating
neighborhoods in Cleveland,
eroding neighborhoods in Boston,
creating ghost towns in Chicago?
No? Then maybe you remember the foreclosure-driven crime wave
that hit
Washington D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; and
Charlotte, North Carolina; prompting New York State ACORN
President Pat Boone to
explain, “It is common sense that foreclosure and crime go
together.”
Still drawing a blank? Then surely you recall how 2008 Democratic
presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both
proposed a $30 billion fund to
combat crime and blight in high-foreclosure areas. Republican
candidate John McCain considered rising foreclosure rates so
hazardous to civil order that he
proposed having the Treasury Department buy up all the bad
home loans in America.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Massachusetts
Connecticut) spelled out
the connection between foreclosure and crime with admirable
specificity last year:
It isn't just the foreclosed property that causes the problem.
There's the next door neighbor, the community that also
suffers. For every one foreclosure in a square block,
one-eighth square mile, there is a decline in value almost
immediately of 1 percent of every other home in that square
block. There's an increase of crime of 2 percent almost
immediately in that area.
You don't recall any of this because none of it happened. If the
foreclosure-driven crime trends that journalists and politicians
have been predicting since 2006 had actually come to pass, our
streets would by now be impassible wastelands where Toecutter and
Bubba
Zanetti prey upon the citizens with impunity.
Yet crime statistics continue
to head downward throughout the country — even or especially in
those areas marked out as foreclosure clusters.
Camden, New Jersey, supposedly America's most crime-ridden
city, has seen a 14 percent crime reduction in 2009.
Prince William County, Virginia, which has the highest rate of
foreclosures in Old Dominion, nevertheless saw its violent crime
rate
fall by 36.8 percent between 2008 and 2009.
Foreclosure-plagued Oakland,
California has seen a 3 percent annual drop.
Still, the perception that foreclosures are linked to the
deterioration of law-abiding areas is not necessarily susceptible
to statistics. Many intelligent people say they have a sense that
crime is getting worse as more residences end up unoccupied.
Again, my own experience contradicts this: I live in a
not-so-nice part of Los Angeles County and spend plenty of
time in
less-nice areas (in California nothing ever goes below nice),
yet I am absolutely certain I hear less gunfire and fewer police
helicopters this year than I did in 2006.
So I try to keep up on an area-by-area basis with the great
sub-prime crime wave. Today I spoke with Lance Eber, the
statistics guy for the Merced, California police department.
Merced is famously known as California's “ground
zero” for foreclosures. If any place were to experience an
increase in crime, this should be it. According to Eber, on a
year-to-date basis, 2009 violent crime (including homicide, rape,
robbery, assault, burglary and larceny) is 14 percent below its
2008 level. What about victimless offenses that you might expect
to see goosed by the presence of unoccupied buildings, such as
prostitution, drug use, and vagrancy? “Those are continuing
problems,” says Eber, “but we have not seen any increases in
those.”
Am I missing something? If you click on the Charlotte link above
you'll see that with a sufficient amount of gnat-straining and
to-be-sure-ing you can create the impression of a
foreclosure-driven crime increase even with the statistics
against you. Could I just be misreading the
crime numbers from nationwide-foreclosure-leading
Florida, for example? If anybody has evidence of a
foreclosure/crime correlation in the current recession, I'm eager
to see it.
Because in a way, I agree with the ACORN president. It does seem
to be common sense that high foreclosures would lead to an
increase in crime. It's just that there is no evidence to back up
the common sense.
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Many people would like to invest in bank foreclosures and look for basic information about foreclosure real estate. To get accurate and reliable data, they resort to a listing service, because online foreclosure listings are a very convenient way to keep informed. They provide extensive details about foreclosure homes available, concerning both the foreclosure properties as such and how to contact the owner. The interest in foreclosure real estate is very high, because foreclosure prices are usually below the real estate market prices. Homeowners who have secured a bank loan with their property and have failed to make several payments will have their home taken by the bank and included among other bank foreclosures.
The main benefit of buying foreclosure real estate is that foreclosure homes usually come with a great price. Bank foreclosures are sold below their market value, because the main objective of banks owning such properties is to recover the money they have loaned. The best offers of foreclosure properties can be found by searching online foreclosure listings. All areas of interest of potential foreclosure real estate buyers are covered here, and one can sort through available bank foreclosures according to numerous criteria, such as geographical region, property type and condition, or foreclosure prices.
Online foreclosure listings are essential for potential investors. Getting reliable information on foreclosure real estate means you can buy a good home for yourself by paying a low price. If you are a real estate investor and want to sell the property later on, you should definitely go for bank foreclosures. Not only are foreclosure prices lower than those of regular homes, but they are also negotiable. The banks who own foreclosure homes are usually open to discussions of contractual provisions, and this means you can gain significant advantages when you buy foreclosure real estate. Prices keep going up on the real estate market, but bank foreclosures never fail to attract potential buyers, because foreclosure properties are always sold below their market value.
It is common knowledge that bank foreclosures are an opportunity for anyone who could not afford to buy a home otherwise, given the high prices on the real estate market. Investing in foreclosure real estate means you actually get to save money, because you have the chance of buying a good home at a more than reasonable price. Look out for attractive offers of foreclosure properties by searching online foreclosure listings and you will certainly find your desired home among the bank foreclosures available in your region. Foreclosure real estate properties owned by banks are a safe and profitable investment, as the low foreclosure prices are more than appealing.
Subscribing to a service offering online foreclosure listings means you get exclusive information on foreclosure real estate that may be of interest to you. The offer of bank foreclosures covers a wide range of foreclosure homes, located all across the country. Experts in evaluating foreclosure properties sometimes advise potential buyers to focus their interest on bank foreclosures that are not in tiptop shape and which the bank is not planning on reconditioning. Foreclosure prices can get pretty low with this type of foreclosure real estate, and the buyers can make all the necessary repairs and improvements along the way.
Locating affordable bank foreclosures can be a tiresome business, unless you subscribe to a specialized listing service. Online foreclosure listings are a very useful tool for those who want to invest in foreclosure real estate, because they include a lot of information in one place, thus saving a lot of research time for potential buyers. Once someone decides to buy foreclosure homes, they need some guidelines in understanding the process, as well as tips that will help them locate the best foreclosure properties available and reliable information about foreclosure prices. You can find all the necessary details about the bank foreclosures you find attractive by searching through an online foreclosure real estate list.
Whatever the type of foreclosure real estate you may be interested in, you will certainly find good offers of bank foreclosures if you resort to online foreclosure listings. The offers of foreclosure homes can vary according to property condition and location, which also have an impact on general foreclosure prices. Such properties can come in a wide range of prices, depending not only on their location and condition, but also on the banks who own them, but they are generally sold below their market value anyway. Checking up a comprehensive list of foreclosure properties in your geographical region of interest will help you make a solid impression and develop your strategies, while also saving you a good deal of time.
Amelie Mag
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/how-to-locate-the-best-foreclosure-real-estate-properties-71188.html
Another Broken Myth: Foreclosures and Crime Rates
Remember when real estate foreclosures
were decimating
neighborhoods in Cleveland,
eroding neighborhoods in Boston,
creating ghost towns in Chicago?
No? Then maybe you remember the foreclosure-driven crime wave
that hit
Washington D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; and
Charlotte, North Carolina; prompting New York State ACORN
President Pat Boone to
explain, “It is common sense that foreclosure and crime go
together.”
Still drawing a blank? Then surely you recall how 2008 Democratic
presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both
proposed a $30 billion fund to
combat crime and blight in high-foreclosure areas. Republican
candidate John McCain considered rising foreclosure rates so
hazardous to civil order that he
proposed having the Treasury Department buy up all the bad
home loans in America.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Massachusetts
Connecticut) spelled out
the connection between foreclosure and crime with admirable
specificity last year:
It isn't just the foreclosed property that causes the problem.
There's the next door neighbor, the community that also
suffers. For every one foreclosure in a square block,
one-eighth square mile, there is a decline in value almost
immediately of 1 percent of every other home in that square
block. There's an increase of crime of 2 percent almost
immediately in that area.
You don't recall any of this because none of it happened. If the
foreclosure-driven crime trends that journalists and politicians
have been predicting since 2006 had actually come to pass, our
streets would by now be impassible wastelands where Toecutter and
Bubba
Zanetti prey upon the citizens with impunity.
Yet crime statistics continue
to head downward throughout the country — even or especially in
those areas marked out as foreclosure clusters.
Camden, New Jersey, supposedly America's most crime-ridden
city, has seen a 14 percent crime reduction in 2009.
Prince William County, Virginia, which has the highest rate of
foreclosures in Old Dominion, nevertheless saw its violent crime
rate
fall by 36.8 percent between 2008 and 2009.
Foreclosure-plagued Oakland,
California has seen a 3 percent annual drop.
Still, the perception that foreclosures are linked to the
deterioration of law-abiding areas is not necessarily susceptible
to statistics. Many intelligent people say they have a sense that
crime is getting worse as more residences end up unoccupied.
Again, my own experience contradicts this: I live in a
not-so-nice part of Los Angeles County and spend plenty of
time in
less-nice areas (in California nothing ever goes below nice),
yet I am absolutely certain I hear less gunfire and fewer police
helicopters this year than I did in 2006.
So I try to keep up on an area-by-area basis with the great
sub-prime crime wave. Today I spoke with Lance Eber, the
statistics guy for the Merced, California police department.
Merced is famously known as California's “ground
zero” for foreclosures. If any place were to experience an
increase in crime, this should be it. According to Eber, on a
year-to-date basis, 2009 violent crime (including homicide, rape,
robbery, assault, burglary and larceny) is 14 percent below its
2008 level. What about victimless offenses that you might expect
to see goosed by the presence of unoccupied buildings, such as
prostitution, drug use, and vagrancy? “Those are continuing
problems,” says Eber, “but we have not seen any increases in
those.”
Am I missing something? If you click on the Charlotte link above
you'll see that with a sufficient amount of gnat-straining and
to-be-sure-ing you can create the impression of a
foreclosure-driven crime increase even with the statistics
against you. Could I just be misreading the
crime numbers from nationwide-foreclosure-leading
Florida, for example? If anybody has evidence of a
foreclosure/crime correlation in the current recession, I'm eager
to see it.
Because in a way, I agree with the ACORN president. It does seem
to be common sense that high foreclosures would lead to an
increase in crime. It's just that there is no evidence to back up
the common sense.
