Why Bother with Customer Satisfaction Surveys For Credit Unions?

Why Bother with Customer Satisfaction Surveys For Credit Unions?
If you want to find out what your customers think of your
credit union, then you may want to conduct a few customer
satisfaction surveys for credit unions.You see, taking the
time to conduct these customer satisfaction surveys for
credit unions can really make a huge difference in your
credit union, how you run it, and how satisfied your
customers are. No doubt you want to keep your customers
around, so it's time that you listen to what they have to
say. Not sure that customer satisfaction surys for credit
unions are for you? Well, here are a few great benefits you
will enjoy when you use them.

Benefit #1 - Learn What the Customer is Thinking - First of
all, using customer satisfaction surveys for credit unions
will allow you to figure out what your customers are
thinking. You may never find out what they really think
about the credit union until you give them surveys and
allow them to voice their opinion. So, if you want to know
what they are really thinking, use customer surveys to find
out.

Benefit #2 - Find Out Where You Need to Make Changes -
You'll also benefit from finding out where you need to make
changes when you use the customer satisfaction surveys for
credit unions as well. There may be some areas that people
would like to see changed and it may be easy to implement
these changes to make the customers happier. So, you'll
find out where you need to change some things to make your
customers more satisfied.

Benefit #3 - Learn What Customers Love about Your Credit
Union Another benefit of using customer satisfaction
surveys for credit unions is that you'll also learn what
your customers love about your credit union as well. This
can help you know what you are doing right so you don't
change it.

Benefit #4 - Make Your Customers Feel Special - Customers
love to know that you really care about what they think,
and using these customer satisfaction surveys for credit
unions will allow them to give their opinions so they feel
that you really care about serving them to your best
ability. This is important if you want to keep your
customers, so it will help you make sure that you keep your
customers around as well.

So, these are a few great benefits that you can enjoy if
you use customer surveys for credit unions. Make sure that
you use them yourself so you can reap these benefits and
make sure your customers have a great experience at your
credit union.

----------------------------------------------------
Ann Born is a writer, researcher and website designer. She
has managed Credit Repair sites including
http://www.officialcreditrepairtips.com for over 3 years
and has written 100's of articles. All rights are reserved.
This article may not be reproduced in any way without
including the Author's Bio.

Mortgage Companies Set Off the Great Foreclosure Crisis Of 2008

Mortgage Companies Set Off the Great Foreclosure Crisis Of 2008
Yes, that's right the mortgage companies and their henchmen
caused the foreclosure crisis that is affecting everyone in
the United States right now. I'm not saying the homeowners
are blame-free, but the actions and the practices of the
mortgage lending industry set-up many homeowners to fall
into foreclosure. Thousands of homeowners are trying to
stop foreclosure process right now because of the runaway
lending practices from the last eight years.

The very types of mortgages offered to the homeowners are
evidence that the mortgage companies set loose a runaway
train. Now that train wreck of foreclosures are sweeping
our nation right now. The types of mortgages that were
statistically destined for failure include these 3:

(1) Interest Only Loans
(2) 80/20 Loans, AND
(3) Self verification of income.

(1) INTEREST ONLY LOANS: this meant a buyer's mortgage
payments did not put one red cent toward equity. This type
of loan was offered to bring down monthly payments and
most buyers, overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork at a
mortgage closing, were unaware none of their money went to
the principal of the home. These loans, by bringing payment
amounts down put buyers in to homes in expensive housing
markets they could not otherwise possibly afford. Other
cases, mortgage officers outright conned unsuspecting
people into more house then they could afford.

(2) The 80/20 loan: what a classic twist, we leverage the
home for a 100% with no money down on the house, but
thousands paid in closing costs. No equity was disaster
leading to the foreclosure process.

(3) NO INCOME VERIFICATION LOAN: What can I say about this
one, the loans name says it all.

The loan officer would tell you nothing down on the house,
but when you would receive the closing documents you would
see thousands of dollars towards shady fees that a person
couldn't make out if they even had a Harvard law degree. So
buyers put down an amount of income they made and mortgage
staff did not verify it. These no money down,
interest-only and no income verification methods produced
millions for the mortgage companies and what did the
homeowner receive? Houses they couldn't afford, a ride on a
runaway train headed straight for the foreclosure wreck we
are in now.

But let's look at what the mortgage companies got out of
it. The Loan Officers received their commissions; the
mortgage companies received their fees then sold the
mortgage to an investor in China, Japan or Europe. When the
homeowners go into foreclosure does anyone go back to the
loan officer and ask for the commission back, based on
their unethical and unsound business practices? No. Does
anyone ask for the fees and commissions collected by the
mortgage companies? Nope, not one penny back. The biggest
concern by the mortgage industry was getting their money
from the mortgage closing process and their payments
thereafter. This market has mostly collapsed on itself
now, the sub- prime market where many of the mortgage
company bottom feeders lived thankfully have gone out of
business with the sub-prime market shut down in August of
2007. Problem is the full weight of this foreclosure crisis
is still falling on homeowners now.

The real estate agents and the real estate appraisers
assisted this foreclosure crisis with inflating the value
of property to get in on the sale. The real estate agents
having little training in many cases and in their blind
quest to get rich, real estate agents would push buyers
into property they couldn't afford, by assuring them, the
buyer must be able to afford it because Look!!! You
"qualified for" the loan "they wouldn't give you a loan if
they didn't believe in you. We now know this is not true.
But real estate agents are also keeping their commission
right now.

Real estate agents also helped drive prices up. For
example, in 2003, I told an agent that I wanted to make an
offer on a house and I wanted to bid under the asking
price. You'd have thought I'd just asked the agent to give
me a ride to Mars! The agent replied, "People offer more
than the asking price to make sure they get the property."
But it's not true, it's a bargaining process and if you
have an agent that won't write a lower bid, get another
agent because the agent's biggest concern is not if you are
paying more for a house than it's worth, their biggest
concern was the commission. Appraisers in the rush to keep
real estate brokers and mortgage companies happy (and
themselves in jobs) made sure the appraisal value would
come in at the required asking price. The bank took the
appraisal and the homeowner has a house. Look at that
chain of events; does it leave more than a little room for
over inflation of prices? Do you think any of these
professionals are going to hand back their fees for the
rampant mishandling of home buyers' lives?

The United States government inadvertently started the
foreclosure crisis way back in 2003 when Federal Reserve
Bank dropped the interest rates to its lowest in four years
in an attempt to slow down a potential recession. The
mortgage companies swung into high gear handing out
mortgages, biggest requirement to see if you qualified was
by having a pulse. The mortgage companies started issuing
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) to virtually anyone, and
issued with with a promise that the market will still be
strong when the ARM comes due, property values would
increase, and the buyer would be earning more as time went
on. The issuing of mortgages with glee and total abandon
for consequences lead up to the foreclosure crisis starting
in 2006 and beyond.

Now the Big Boys of mortgage companies are crying to the
government for help due to the reckless handling by
mortgage companies of buyer's credit and the funny part is
the government is listening to them. But the government is
not listening to the homeowners who are fighting to stay
above the surface and stop the potential foreclosure
looming over their heads. The government has offered some
minuscule relief for certain homeowners, but the ones that
will qualify is about a 1/3 of those homeowners facing
foreclosure. And the relief is very temporary, measured in
weeks or months. We have a long way to go before the end of
this foreclosure crisis; I'm curious how the great
foreclosure crisis of 2008 will lead us. Will the
government need to step in to regulate the mortgage
industry more stringently? Will the government help the
homeowners keep their homes? Time will tell.

----------------------------------------------------
MJ Jensen has studied Real Estate from the Homeowners
perspective for over 20 years. He provides tips on mortgage
problems, and understanding debt and credit solutions for
consumers. You can visit his site at
http://www.stopbankforeclosurestips.com/free_report

Should I Buy a Home or Rent, Which is Better?

Should I Buy a Home or Rent, Which is Better?
Should I buy or should I rent? This is a perennial question
for those who want to move into a new home. While many
people answer this question with broad generalizations, not
backed up by actual facts and figures; the best way to
determine whether you should buy or rent a home is to
compare all the costs, factors and figures involved. Let's
take a detailed look at the question, comparing rental
costs, mortgage payments, increases in home values and
other factors which determine whether a person who buys a
home gets a better deal than someone who just rents.

As an example, let's compare renting to buying a $250,000
home with 5% ($12,500) down payment. Purchasing this
property in Toronto would require about $6,000 closing
costs and an approximate total of $2,000 per month which
includes mortgage payments ($1,460), property tax ($150)
and maintenance fees ($390). The rent on the same property
is about $1,500 per month, therefore it would seem like it
is easier to just rent the home instead of purchasing and
to invest the $500 extra monthly payment, down payment and
the closing costs.

The total investment growth from renting could be
approximately $ 7,115 after 5 years. This was calculated by
growing the monthly savings from renting ($500.00) plus the
down payment of $12,500 and closing costs of $6,000 at a
standard after-tax rate of 4% per annum. Indeed after five
years, a person who rents could retain $55,615.

Now what about the position of the person who buys a
$250,000 home with 5% down payment? After deducting the
down payment ($12,500) and adding the mortgage insurance
($6,531) to the purchase price, the buyer takes a 25 year
mortgage at 5.3% in the amount of $244,031. What would be
his or her situation after selling his home at the end of
the five year term? If there was an estimated increase in
property value of 5% per year, after five years the
$250,000 home would be worth $319,070. By subtracting the
approximate selling costs ($20,000) and the mortgage
balance at the end of the five year term ($216,990), the
net amount received after a sale would be $82,080.

In this case, the person who bought and then sold the home
after five years would have about $26,465 more than someone
who just rented and invested the $500 extra monthly
payment, down payment and the closing costs.

This is just an example and the figures presented here are
just an estimate. A lot will depend on the trend of the
housing market in your area, interest rates on mortgages
and the interests earned on investments. Check with the
real estate and financial experts in your area and seek
professional advice to make a wise decision.

So, if you are not sure whether to buy or rent, do not make
the decision only by looking at how much you would pay per
month as a homeowner or a tenant. With a help of a
qualified professional, calculate all the costs and
investment growths and compare your probable position as
either a home owner or a renter at the end of a certain
time period, then make your choice.

----------------------------------------------------
Hamed Mahmood Salehi is a Toronto Real Estate Broker. His
website http://www.FindYourHomeValue.ca/ offers great tips
for home buyers and sellers, free home evaluation, real
estate news and information about Toronto home values.

Car Insurance Coverage for Pets in Car Accidents

Car Insurance Coverage for Pets in Car Accidents
Pets ride in cars all the time, but what if they're injured
in a car accident? Whose car insurance company pays to
treat their injuries? The answer depends on the cause of
the accident.

Riding in cars can be dangerous for pets (as well as
distracting to the driver), especially because they ride
without the benefit of seat belts. If someone crashes into
you and causes injuries to your pet, you're entitled to
make a "third-party claim" with their car insurance company
for your pet's medical bills. That's because their
liability car insurance policy must put you "back where you
were" before the accident.

If you are at-fault in a car accident in which your pet is
injured, you'll want to check your car insurance policy for
exclusions. Say you crash into another car or a fence:
Collision insurance pays for the repairs to your own
vehicle. But you may have an exclusion on your collision
insurance coverage for damage to personal property that you
are transporting, whether it's your antique vase or your
pet. If your car insurance policy has such exclusions, you
won't have a valid claim. For example, State Farm says that
its policies don't provide coverage for pet injuries. Car
insurance coverage may vary depending on the car insurance
company, so be sure to carefully check your policy.
In this scenario, if you don't carry collision coverage at
all, you must pay for all damage from the accident,
including your car and pet.

Perhaps someone comes to visit you and your dog goes to lie
down under their car. Then, unknowingly, the visitor backs
over your pet. Is the visitor liable for your dog's
injuries? Yes, he is, but not under the bodily injury
section of his car insurance policy. Bodily injury pays out
for injuries sustained by any "one person" in an accident.
Your pet doesn't qualify as a person so he's not covered by
this portion of the car insurance policy policy.

However, for car insurance purposes, your pet qualifies as
your "personal property," and you have the right to be "put
back where you were" before the accident — in this
case, meaning having a healthy dog. You'd have the right to
make a claim on your visitor's car insurance policy for
your dog's medical bills, just as you would have the right
to make a claim if the driver backed over your lawnmower.

The death of a pet

Certainly pets are part of the "family," and the death of a
beloved pet can lead to extreme grief. But your pet's
status as your "personal property" may limit your options
for compensation if someone causes an accident that kills
your pet. State laws do not recognize the loss of personal
property as valid claims for "loss of companionship"
compensation, unlike the loss of a spouse. In the event
your pet is killed in an accident, you can likely make a
claim only for the "market value" of your pet.

Some courts have allowed damages for deceased pets to go
beyond "market value" by applying "pecuniary value" or
"special value," which applies to personal property that
has no ascertainable market value.

Tips for traveling by car with pets

Source: American Veterinary Medical Association

-Cats should be in a cage or in a cat carrier to allow them
to feel secure and prevent them from crawling under your
feet while you are driving.
-A dog that must ride in a truck bed should be in a
protective kennel that is fastened to the truck bed.
-Dogs riding in a car should not ride in the passenger seat
if it is equipped with an airbag, and should not be allowed
to sit on the driver's lap.
-Harnesses, tethers and other accessories to secure pets
during car travel are available at most pet stores.
-Pets should not be allowed to ride with their heads
outside car windows. Particles of dirt or other debris can
enter the eyes, ears and nose, causing injury or infection.

Car insurance coverage for pets has been a long standing
issue between car insurance companies and pet owners. There
are certain scenarios in which car insurance policies do
cover pets, as well as those that do not. It is important
to be safe when traveling with pets in your car, hopefully
you will remember the tips that we provided. Check with
your car insurance company to determine if your pet is
covered by your car insurance policy.

----------------------------------------------------
Amy Danise is an editor for http://www.insure.com . Visit
http://www.insure.com for a comprehensive array of
comparative auto, life and health quotes, including a vast
library of originally authored insurance articles.
Insure.com is dedicated to providing impartial insurance
information to consumers. Visitors can obtain instant
quotes from more than 200 leading insurers, achieve maximum
savings and have the freedom to buy from any company shown.

Credit Cards for Students

Credit Cards for Students
If you are a high school student and are willing to start
building an early credit, you can apply for a student
credit card. Through a credit card, you can also learn how
to become a responsible person and become really skilled in
managing your financials at a fresh age. These special
credit cards are addressing only high school students, and
applying for one must be accompanied by the co-signature of
one of the parents or guardians of the student. But
remember that a credit card also comes with a lot of
responsibility.

Before even considering the decision of obtaining a student
card, the students and their parents or tutors should first
look at the offers available on the market. There is a wide
range of banks and financial companies you can make a
choice from, so it's best if you just looked around. Not
all cards available are reasonable, and some are issued
with a highly unfair APR or annual fee. Because students
don't have credit at all, banks and institutions will try
pulling off more money out of your pocket by imposing
higher rates. This is a good enough reason for you to
always check before rushing in accepting a credit card
offer.

Co-signers will usually guide the students in taking the
most suitable decisions. He or she will accompany the
student when he applies for the card, and he or she will
also be the person that the loaner turns towards when the
student can't afford to pay the issued bill. Parents are
more skilled in choosing credit card offers, so students
should always request their help.

Those students that can't cope with normal credit cards
could be better off with prepaid credit cards. They are
absolutely risk free, and they can still help the students
on managing their financials. For this type of credit card,
the amount available on it also represents the limit in
which you can spend. In order to have the application form
completed correctly, students should fill them in with
their parents' supervision.

Each time a student gets approval for a credit card, adults
should instruct them on how to make proper use of the newly
obtained credit card. And though some students will be
tempted to boast by paying with their credit card every
time, they should keep some spare money on those credit
cards for special situations, or emergency cases. And at
the end of each month, they should put an effort in paying
their bill, so as not to risk raising a debt. Paying their
bills regularly will provide students with a good credit
score as well.

High school credit cards can also be applied for online.
The applications are usually processed right away and you
receive the answer to your request in a couple of minutes.
Although credit cards are both practical and "trendy", you
may consider a prepaid card for your almost grown-up kid.
If you don't know which offer is best for your family,
compare all options you can find on the market.

----------------------------------------------------
Article written by : Alitsa Neuyo. She is the professional
freelance writer. To read more articles, please visit :
http://www.108money.com
&
http://www.108money.com/edition/help-please.html

Contractors Drive Down Liability Insurance Costs By Comparing Notes With Each Other

Contractors Drive Down Liability Insurance Costs By Comparing Notes With Each Other
Smart and wealthy building contractors are the ones who
associate with winners in their specialties, for good
reason. They've come to realize they will never live long
enough to learn all they need to know by themselves. They
see the value of sharing information and comparing notes.
They skip long, expensive learning curves suffered by the
do-it-yourselfer's. As a result, they get smart much
faster, and avoid making costly mistakes that happen using
only trial and error.

For example, consider commercial liability insurance for
general contractors. When buying insurance, contractors
are typically isolated, and the insurance industry likes it
that way. It is nice and complicated, and there are plenty
of ways to spread fear, to keep contractors from doing much
about it.

Your job as the insurance buyer is to stop asking
questions, and pay the premiums. Isolated contractors try
to ask intelligent questions, but they have no benchmark
idea of what the best deals look like. They have very
limited power.

I happen to know that rates are all over the map for
contractors liability insurance. General contractors
focused on residential remodeling are a good example. I've
seen premium rates range from 0.7% of sales to over 3%. As
I collect more and more examples, I finally start to see
into the murky marketplace. Turn on the lights, and it is
easy to see what to demand.

Contractors are reluctant to show their insurance policies
to their peers, because they are also competitors. Their
don't want to show their numbers for sales and payroll for
one thing. Also, they are not all that confident they have
the best deals, and don't want to feel dumb. Every time
I've seen contractors pull out their policies and compare
them, there are always a good percentage wondering how the
best deal on the table came to be that way. 80% of them
discover they've been overpaying large sums of money.

To get maximum value from comparing notes, you want to do
it with others who have very similar operations to yours.
Compare with others in your state, with similar license
categories, similar sales volume, doing very similar types
of work. That will eliminate most of the variables that
make it hard to understand what is going on with pricing.
Significant claim history can influence rates. If one of
your group is paying a lot more, ask about claim history,
to see if that explains it.

You've got to keep an eye on coverage variation also.Really
cheap policies might be claims-made forms instead of
occurrence forms. You can't compare the two. They are
completely different animals. Coverage limits and
deductibles also vary, as do exclusions. With all that
said, I've seen insurance companies quote identical
accounts with one quote being double the other.

The more contractors work together, the more power they
have when it comes to purchasing insurance. If a hundred
contractors doing an average of one million in sales
organized themselves into a buying group, they could
probably buy an insurance company. Working together, they
could expect to see insurance costs 20% to 30% lower than
those dealing with the industry one on one.

----------------------------------------------------
Opt in at my website to get smarter about controlling
business insurance costs. You don't have to go it alone.
http://www.contractorinsurancetoohigh.com
http://www.icrs.biz
Don Bury, President
Insurance Cost Reduction Services
3663 Camino Bella Rosa
Sierra Vista, AZ 85650
Phone/Fax: 800-760-1867

Debt Quicksand − Six Ways To Pull Yourself Out

Debt Quicksand − Six Ways To Pull Yourself Out
Today, many Americans find themselves in a financial crisis.

Personal bankruptcies are being declared in record numbers
with one out of every 100 families experiencing this tragic
legal process, according to a survey conducted by American
Express.

Although the stigma has lessened, the effects can be
long-lasting. Getting a job or an insurance policy can be
very difficult if personal records are marred by bankruptcy.

Acquiring material possessions, taking trips to popular
vacation destinations or dining out regularly at fine
restaurants will eventually lead to faded memories. But the
aftereffects of many credit card charges can linger for
decades due to the power of compound interest. Paying three
to four times the original purchase amount in fees and
interest charges is a definite possibility. Making minimum
payments on credit cards or other unsecured debt will
eventually bury consumers in debt quicksand.

Here are six tips that can help to completely eliminate
personal debt if individuals are willing to make some
lifestyle changes:

Itemize debts from the smallest balance to the largest
regardless of the interest rates. List the minimum amounts
due on each bill. Make the largest payment possible on the
smallest debt and make minimum payments on all other
consumer debt. Once Debt #1 is fully paid, apply the
payment from Debt #1 to Debt #2 (plus its minimum payment).
Work through each debt obligation using this strategy until
all debt is fully paid. Some financial advisors would
suggest reducing high interest rate balances first but the
goal here is to gain pay-off victories and to keep momentum
rather than being concerned with interest rates. Attempting
to pay-off a large, high interest rate balance first could
lead to frustration and diffuse any good intentions to
eliminate debt.

Cut up the credit cards. This will take some courage but
it's necessary in order to get out of debt completely. If a
plastic card is necessary, consider a debit card which acts
like cash, not credit.

Don't borrow by establishing a home equity line of credit.
The inability to make these loan payments, could eventually
lead to a home going into foreclosure.

Create a money spending plan based on the "10-10-80"
formula. The first 10% goes to charitable organizations or
to a place of worship. The next 10% goes to personal
savings. The final 80% is used to pay for basic living
expenses. Keep in mind, that these are ideal percentages.
Consider lower percentages to start if it's difficult to
give or save 10%. The importance is in the order, giving,
saving, and spending.

PAY CASH for things. No cash, no purchase.

Get debt counseling but be cautious of credit counseling
agencies, debt management plans (DMP), debt settlement or
debt consolidation companies. There are too many predatory
"debt counseling" companies looking to make a fast buck at
someone's expense. The best approach is to consult with a
financial planner, preferably a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER™ professional (CFP®). These individuals
have a client's welfare as their top priority. Their fee is
a small price to pay if it means getting out of debt
permanently.

Making the transition from a credit/debt lifestyle to
cash-basis living takes time, effort and discipline but the
rewards make it worthwhile.

Digging out of a debt hole requires a change in mindset. If
financially distressed individuals are willing to commit to
change, the road can eventually lead to financial freedom
and peace of mind.

----------------------------------------------------
Rob Smith, CFP® and President of Debt Mentors, LLC
devotes his financial planning practice and website to
helping people with solid strategies related to money
management, debt elimination, and wealth building. He has
worked with individuals, families, small business owners,
and credit unions for the past 25 years.
http://www.debtfreelivingplan.com/home
http://submityourarticle.com/rss/author/3857

Devalued Dollar, no match for gold

Devalued Dollar, no match for gold
Suppose I say to you, there is no difference between a $100
Dollar bill and a $1 Dollar bill except the way the ink is
printed on them. It cost exactly the same amount of money
to print each of them. Ultimately they are practically
worthless in what they are physically. If you however take
a $.50 piece from the year 1880 which was made from 90%
silver, that had value in and of itself. The Dollar had
twice as much silver in it as the $.50 and so twice as much
worth. It was the silver that gave it its value.

Can you see what I am saying? No? Well, today, one of those
$.50 cents coins with the 90% silver content is worth
$5.00. How can that be? I hear you say. Well, they hold
there value and always will, inflation will make sure of
that. As the Dollar gets less and less, silver & gold will
rise and rise. If you buy it now, you can be sure it will
rise within in a few years time and keep on gong for years
to come.

In 1964, three silver dimes would buy you a gallon of gas;
gas cost roughly $.27 cents. Those silver dimes today are
worth a $1.25 each; those three silver dimes would nearly
buy you a gallon of gas plus about $.25 cents in today's
Dollar value. That's three dimes from 1964.

So what is happening is this, the price of gas hasn't gone
up, it's the value of the paper Dollar that is going down.
Inflation is causing deflation to the paper Dollar. Why?
Because the government is printing more and more paper
money from their own printing press we call the Federal
Reserve, which in turn devalues your Dollar every time they
do this.

Its like this, if you have 10oz of gold and 100oz of gold
exists in the whole known world, well then you own 10% of
the worlds gold. Let us say that 10% gold you have is worth
$100.00 and that is the world recognised value for 10oz of
gold. Now let us say a huge amount of gold was discovered
equalling to the same amount already in existence. That
would devalue your 10oz by half of its price. The more you
have of something, the less worth it becomes. There is only
so much gold in the world that has been found, this is why
it is called a precious metal. There is so little in fact,
that you could fill an average size house with the gold in
existence which is roughly 20x20x20 yards when combined to
make a cube.

This is exactly what is happening to your Dollar. The
Federal Reserve has a licence to print money whenever the
government needs debt paid off and so dumps more paper
money onto the market and devaluing yours. Only 5% of the
money created is in physical paper money, the rest is in
digital format. That's how easy it is, a few pushes of a
button creates millions of Dollars.

This method of creating money whenever we feel like it is
unsustainable. Eventually the Dollar will go to zero; it is
on an uncontrollable inflation course straight into the
ground. To protect yourself I will tell you this, go and
buy gold and silver bullion. It doesn't have to be in coins
and you don't have to store it a your home or business, you
can buy online and have the gold never leave the vault
where you buy it from, they can store it for you and I
guarantee you this, gold is an investment product that can
not just be created out of thin air like paper money can,
it will hold its value in times of uncertainty and it will
be worth more and more as time goes on.

Why settle for paper when you can have gold.

----------------------------------------------------
In a effort to inform people of the impending Dollar
disaster, I am writing this article and more. Visit my
website to find out where to buy gold online at
http://www.wheretobuy-gold.com and veiw my blog where I
will update it often with new the new articles I write at
http://howtobuy-gold.blogspot.com
Thank you for your time in reading this article.

Real Estate Investment Strategies to Accumulate Cash

Real Estate Investment Strategies to Accumulate Cash
Plenty of fancy words have been written about real estate
investment strategies. But I want to cut to the chase in
this article. No matter how fancy the language is,
investment strategies boil down to two objectives:

Buying real estate to accumulate cash.

Buying real estate to build equity and wealth.

Which strategy to choose depends entirely on you—your
needs, your personality, and so forth. Frankly, either
choice is fine as long as you choose one early in your
career, commit to it over the long term and do everything
you legally can to make it successful.

In this article, I'll look at the cash accumulation
strategies and the pros and cons of each. I'll treat the
build equity and wealth strategy in another article.

The Cash Accumulation Strategy - Let's assume you're
relatively new to the real estate market and need methods
for pursuing a cash accumulation strategy. Below are
several methods you can try:

Bird Dogging - In simple terms, you find good properties
for investors and charge them a finder's fee for doing so.
This is strictly a cash strategy.

Advantages: It doesn't require any cash on your part or
previous knowledge. It's also the fastest way to earn cash.
In addition, it's a great way to "learn the ropes" of the
local real estate market.

Disadvantages: The money you earn per transaction is the
least in the market. It also takes considerable time and
effort to locate suitable properties.

Flipping - Flipping is the art of buying a property,
waiting for the right moment, and then selling it for a
quick profit. In basic terms, you're get control of the
property with a binding purchase contract. Essentially,
it's a speculative strategy; that is, you're gambling that
the market value will rise to the point where you can make
a fast profit before you close on the deal. This strategy
is most effective in areas where the demand for housing is
so high that there's a limited supply, causing prices to
rapidly rise.

Advantages: With this method, you'll get negotiation
leverage and good profit potential. You can put little
money down and get great gains. Also, it can be a good life
if you enjoy an entrepreneurial life style and a lot of
freedom.

Disadvantages: Volume can be low, depending on market
conditions so your income can fluctuate. Although flipping
is entirely legal, it received bad press due to con artists
making a quick buck by duping customers. So, you may need a
very thick skin in terms of other people's opinions of you.
A second disadvantage occurs when too many speculators get
into the market. When that happens, prices drop quickly,
and you end up stuck with the property and no immediate
profit. A third possible downside is that interest rates
can rise, thus dampening the demand for housing. A final
disadvantage is hidden property problems. If you don't
pursue careful due diligence, you can end up with expensive
repair costs that eat up your profits or even cause a loss.

Buy and Sell As-Is - This method is simple: buy a property,
leave it as-is, and then put it back on the market but at a
higher price.

Advantage: When done right, you'll find that the profit
margin is even higher than with the flipping method.

Disadvantages: This method takes time and, due to that
fact, volume may be low.

Buy, Improve, Sell - With this method, you purchase a
property, make cost-effective improvements, and then sell
it at a higher price.

Advantage: Margins are even better with this "rehabbing"
method than with the previous methods.

Disadvantages: With this method, you have a much bigger
investment of time and money than the previous methods.

Key Point: Choose the strategy that best suits your
situation and your personalit

----------------------------------------------------
Jack Sternberg is a nationally recognized expert on real
estate investment and the creator of the renowned "Buyers
First Program" who's been in the business for more than 30
years. Sternberg's deals have totaled over $750 million and
he's been to the closing table more than 1,500 times. For
more, visit http://www.askjacksternberg.com

How To Negotiate With Commercial Insurance Brokers - Take Control Of Broker Sales Interviews

How To Negotiate With Commercial Insurance Brokers - Take Control Of Broker Sales Interviews
From years of helping contractors and business owners
negotiate with insurance brokers, I've developed some
useful methods you can use in your own cost control
efforts. For example, you may have experienced as your
business insurance policy expiration date approaches, your
insurance broker(s) want to schedule sales interviews with
you to deliver their quotations. Some may also try the
asleep-at-the-wheel method of renewal to see if they can
get away with it; which is to simply mail you a renewal
billing and hope that you pay it without comment or further
action on their part. (Don't let this be you!)

Since, as an commercial insurance buyer, you are destined
to experience one or more of these interviews, here's a bit
of counsel to help minimize your suffering, and save you
valuable time. When you follow these procedures, the need
for traditional sales interview is largely negated.
Furthermore, the farther ahead of policy renewal time these
procedures are executed, the easier your renewals will
become. When renewals are properly managed, such meetings
become more celebrations of a job already well done over
the phone, email, and fax machine, rather than a
high-pressure last-minute negotiation session.

When a broker calls to announce a quotation is ready for
delivery and asks to schedule a meeting, consider the
following response in lieu of what you might normally say:

"Great. Thank you. Please (email/fax/mail) me the proposal
so I have time to absorb it in preparation for your visit."

If you make that your standard response, brokers will come
to expect you want information transmitted in advance. This
single request is very powerful, and goes a long way
towards protecting you from manipulative broker sales
tactics. It does so because it helps to separate the
commodity of insurance policies (the quotes, and their
associated quality and pricing factors) from the
professional relationship you have with your broker (the
meeting, your broker relationship, the servicing of your
account, etc.).

Insisting on getting proposals sent to you in advance, and
even asking the broker to include an agenda for the
meeting, will do you a great deal of good. You will have
time to understand your options and prepare your questions.
The meetings will be more professional and productive. And,
in some case you may even end up canceling a meeting
because the proposals sent proved unworthy of further
consideration (saving you from wasting your valuable time,
or worse - agreeing to a bad deal in a meeting due to the
pressure of the moment or a sense of obligation).

Eventually, professional insurance advice may be given,
and purchased, separately from the financial commodity that
we call business insurance. I think that paying for advice
via commissions is a dangerously flawed structure, and also
represents one of the worst conflicts of interest in
existence in the world of business today.

But that, as they say, is a topic for another day...

----------------------------------------------------
Get help from the author of The Buyers Guide To Business
Insurance (1993), and founder of Insurance Cost Reduction
Services. Over $20 million in measurable savings delivered
by helping buyers negotiate with their brokers.
http://www.contractorinsurancetoohigh.com
Don Bury