Visual Job

The art of using high-leveraged activities.

Here I would like to make just a few suggestions that will hopefully save you from wasting years of hard effort only to learn in the end that had you invested using a better strategy, you would have realized more profit, happiness, satisfaction, control and free time as a result.

I’m not going to make you wait to find out the secret, so here is the crux of this technique. FIND’EM, DON’T FIX’EM! It sounds easy, doesn’t it? Please continue reading to get the full flavor of this topic. There are a few steps to follow if you are to succeed in using this method and you will really need to understand before you go and do it. I need to stop here and take into consideration the new investor who doesn’t have a war chest of greenbacks to get started with.

If you’re just beginning or starting out with a small amount of capital then you will most likely have to find’em and fix’em on the first one or two properties. By finding them and fixing them, then selling on your own, you will limit the amount of initial expense that you incur. Naturally you will keep more of the profit as a result. The trouble with this technique is that you eat up valuable time that could be more profitably spent on finding more great deals!

Here is what I am saying. If you spend your day painting a property, how much have you saved or earned? Let’s say a painter at $30 an hour multiplied by eight hours equals $240 dollars a day. You, in effect, have given yourself a new job that pays $30 dollars an hour. Instead of painting, let’s say you hire the painter so that you can go hunt down another bargain property with a $20,000 margin of profit. Let’s also assume that it takes 100 hours of effort to find, fix and sell this property; $20,000 divided by 100 hours equals a $200-per-hour rate of pay. Don’t do $30 when you can do $200!

By doing the first property using your own time and labor, you may get most of that $20,000 dollar profit when you sell, but it will generally take you an average of three months to do it, or 480 hours. That boils down to $41.66 an hour and you can’t look for more great deals. What this will do is give you the capital to pay someone else to do the labor on the next one. Once you have your nest egg you can begin to pay up to $5,000 for the labor to include materials. Now you let the lower wage scales do the dirty work of cleaning, repairing, painting and installing new fixtures and you no longer spend your more valuable time doing the low paying labor jobs, so now you can quite feasibly make $20,000 and spend $5,000 to do it. This leaves you with $15,000 profit divided by 100 hours, which equals $150 an hour or five times the pay of the painter! Don’t be a laborer if you don’t have to be.

I hope you see how it pays to find them rather than fix them. Granted your going to have to learn this higher skill of finding and evaluating good deals, however, throughout “Magic Bullets” I’ve given you at least 150 ways to find those deals, such as from bandit signs, newspaper ads, bird dogs, professional search services and so forth. You have the ammunition to launch a campaign that will yield plenty of these deals.

Once you find what appears to be a motivated, distressed or disinterested seller, your next skill set will be to evaluate the property to insure that a profit will result if you do proceed. Here again, you’re focusing on plumbing, electrical, foundation, structure, roof and location, as the rest will generally be cosmetic repairs that can be done quickly and inexpensively in an effort to realize the true value without going broke!

Once you have some accurate figures concerning a probable sales price, the cost of materials, labor, marketing time and transfer costs you can project your profit. Will it yield $20,000 or more in 90 days? It should! If not, then you may consider passing on the deal and continue the hunt for another property that does satisfy your strategic objectives. Side note here: Often when you walk away from deals like this, they end up coming back to you later when the sellers can’t sell. You’ll have an opportunity to lower your offer to an amount that will satisfy your objectives and it will usually be accepted at that time.

Let’s assume that you have found and evaluated the property. Now you will need to negotiate the sales contract and buy this property for the lowest possible price. By having your own offer sheets, sales contracts and financing in place, you can move swiftly to acquire these moneymaking assets. As there are so many creative ways to finance real estate, I’ll only touch on a few here: owner financing, subject to existing loan, leases w/ option to buy, H.U.D. 203k rehab loans, conventional bank loans, assumptions, all cash, etc. You will see what type of financing can be used as the deals begin to take shape. Just be prepared to use the method that will work when you make your offer. Hint: It helps to be pre-qualified and if possible to have equity lines available to tap into if necessary.

Now that you have found, evaluated and acquired the property, you will have to affect the repairs. I did not say you would have to do the repairs yourself, remember? Here is where you play Mr. or Ms. General Contractor; by hiring licensed and bonded professionals who come highly recommended you begin to pass off the labor issues back to the lower earning wage scales so that you can get back to finding more good deals.
Note: One trick to getting good workers and companies is to ask appraisers who they would recommend for certain jobs if they needed work done. Appraisers know a lot about value, folks! They seldom steer you wrong so build your network through their referrals.

Another way to save money is to begin getting familiar with local suppliers of all types of construction materials. I’m not talking truss members and cinder blocks but you will have to create your repair list often, otherwise known as a punch list. You can create this list of items that you will need to fix or replace in a few short hours. By using your notes from your initial evaluation, you’ll be half way home. These items may include tile, vinyl, carpet or wood for floors, toilets, faucets, sinks, tubs, vanity cabinets, mirrors, towel bars, light switches, electrical receptacles, light kits, ceiling fans, knobs, handles, locksets and paint to make the property look and smell new again. Now you can spend another eight hours shopping for and scheduling the dates of delivery and installation for the larger items but that is where your labor ends and you revert back to the supervisory role of periodic inspections to insure the laborers and contractors are getting the job done on schedule.

Up to this point we have done four things: We have found, evaluated, acquired and are repairing. With these steps behind you, the next step will be to start the marketing efforts to find a buyer for this beauty. By pricing it right and advertising it for sale to the entire market of potential buyers, the word will get out. You can help that word get around by using newspapers, yard signs, corner signs, word of mouth, flyers, fact sheets, neighbor alerts, network partners and a host of other avenues of approach that can almost guarantee you a steady stream of buyers when the time to sell is near.

So you have found, evaluated, acquired, repaired and marketed the property. Now the final step is to get the sales contract signed and a closing date scheduled. This should all be accomplished in about 90 days and you will have cleared no less than $15,000 as a result. Your results may vary – it could be lower, and quite possibly could be higher depending on how good you are! I’m giving you the overview here. You will be doing many tasks along the way that are not being explained in depth here.

You will have capital gains taxes. However, when you keep every receipt and use a C.P.A. to do your taxes, the process will be fairly painless. This work will pay very well regardless of that fact. By having two or three of these rehabs going on at any one time and having just one closing a month, you should be making over $100,000 a year, after Uncle Sam gets his.

Many highly trained or experienced investors never even touch the property. They simply find great deals, handle some paperwork and sell it for less than they could get if they spent more time on it. These people are leveraging their time and techniques to squeeze out the maximum profit in the shortest possible time with the least amount of effort. I don’t condone being a paper pusher and taking advantage of other people’s ignorance or misfortunes by doing paper trades. I personally have a hard time finding value in deeds done by using such methods. This is why I have given you a value-driven road map to follow in this brief report. I sincerely hope that you will create value for those that depend on you to deliver in an honest and caring professional manner. Happy hunting!

Dan Auito is a dual-licensed real estate agent and appraisal assistant. Founder of a non-profit drug prevention corporation, a real estate consulting group and is the author of “Magic Bullets Real Estate.” This 300-page power-packed book (due out in late Sept 2004) comes with a website that further supports its readers.

Dan may be reached at magicbullets@alaska.com or by visiting http://www.magicbullets.com Call 1 907 481-6300 or write 1619 Three Sisters Way Kodiak AK 99615

Are you baffled by the huge variety of French wines and completely lost when it comes to deciding which wine will best suit your needs?

Each of the eight wine producing regions of France specializes in producing wine of a particular type and flavor and this simple overview will hopefully make choosing French wines a little easier.

Burgundy

Burgundy wines are produced from the black Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes and from the white Chardonnay grape.

The Pinot Noir is probably one of the world’s oldest grape varieties and is notoriously difficult to grow. It does however produce some of our best wines which are full-bodied and rich and at the same time can be light, soft and velvety. Pinot noir wines often have an aroma of cherries accompanied by a spiciness that is reminiscent of cinnamon or mint.

The Chardonnay grape is a very popular grape which produces light, delicate dry wines with a distinctive but often difficult to describe aroma conjuring up a vision of apples, peaches or lemons.

Bordeaux

The wines of Bordeaux are based upon the related black Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, found particularly in the Medoc district of Bordeaux, and the black Merlot grape.

Cabernet Sauvignon wines improve greatly with age and are often amongst the world’s truly great wines. With age the distinctive blackcurrant aroma of wines from this grape develops overtones of cedar, violets and leather and the wines, which are characteristically deep in flavor, often become smooth and soft.

Wines made from the Merlot grape are very similar to those produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape but have a less distinctive aroma and flavor.

If it seems strange that white wines should be produced from black grapes then bear in mind that grape juice, whether from black or white grapes, is essentially colorless and it is the skin of the black grape that gives the wine its color.

Rhone

The grape varieties most often seen in the Rhone valley are the black Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah grapes and the white Muscat grape.

Syrah grapes produce intense rich wines which are almost black in color and which have an aroma that is spicy in nature. The Rhone Syrah grape forms the base for many blended wines including the well known Chateauneuf du Pape

The Muscat grape gives rise to intense, sweet wines with a strong and easily recognized aroma. In addition, and unusual for a wine, wines from the Muscat really do taste of grapes.

Loire

The grapes of the Loire include the black Pinot Noir and the white Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris grapes.

The Sauvignon Blanc grape is grown all over the world today and it is very widely used for blending. In the case of the Loire however it is used to make a distinctive unblended dry white wine with a characteristic sharp and aggressive smell.

Pinot Gris wines often display a slightly floral and lightly lemon flavor and, depending upon the ripeness of the grape at harvesting, wines that are either light and tangy or rich, round and full bodied. Pinot Gris makes one of the few white wines that can be said to age well.

Alsace

Although the grapes of the Alsace are similar to those used in the Loire, growing conditions in this region tend to produce wines which bear the characteristics of many German rather that French wines.

The wines in this region are similar to Riesling and the sweeter German wines. Some rosé wines are also produced in Alsace.

Champagne

The main grapes of the Champagne region are the black Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the white Chardonnay.

The wines of the Champagne region can best be described as thin and tart and provide the perfect base for what many believe to be the world’s finest sparkling wine.

Beaujolais

Beaujolais wines are made from the black Gamay and white Chardonnay grapes.

The wines of this region are often light in nature, fresh tasting and with a somewhat fruity flavor. Many Beaujolais wines are also slightly fizzy in nature.

For more information on wine and wine tasting please visit GreatWineTastings.com today.

Colic is basically uncontrollable crying in a healthy baby. It
can come as early as two weeks and last as long as three months.
Typically they will cry for hours at a time and may do this a
few times a week. If your baby is crying like this and appears
ill of course seek medical attention. If you think your baby has
colic but are worried or not sure don’t hesitate to seek a
diagnosis. Crying is the only way a baby has to communicate and
the crying doesn’t always mean colic. If your child is hungry or
tired this can definitely produce a crying baby. Check to see if
your baby is comfortable. Take into consideration your baby’s
personality some babies just like to be held. If all else fails
there is a chance it is colic. I will say it again if you’re
concerned seek professional advice. Colic is stressful on you
and baby but thankfully it does not last forever. Dealing with a
colicky baby can be a true test on your physical stamina and
emotional stability. I was lucky enough to endure it twice. At
times I felt like I was going to begin crying uncontrollably my
self. There is no medically proven treatment to cure colic but
there are things that can be done to treat the symptoms of colic
and to help console your child. No two babies are the same and
it may take trying several things before you find what comforts
your baby. Sometimes infants with colic will experience gas
symptoms which can cause tummy pain. Some physicians will
recommend using infant gas drops. They are non prescription and
can be purchased over the counter. A common brand is Mylicon yet
many major retailers or drug stores will have a store brand that
is more affordable. I used it with both of my colicky babies and
did see some benefit. But keep in mind it only helps the gas
symptoms your child still may keep right on crying. Before
giving your baby any kind of medicine you should consult their
physician first for proper dosing instructions. While there is
no proven cause for colic some suggest that for bottle-fed
babies the formula can be the cause. Your physician may suggest
changing formulas. Some infants exhibit a sensitivity to the
proteins in cows? milk similar to a food allergy. Sometimes the
physician will replace the baby’s formula with a soy formula or
a hypo allergenic formula. Although there is nothing proved that
soy formula helps with colic I did use it with my first colicky
baby and I did not see much improvement but that is not to say
it won’t help your baby. I used the hypo allergenic formula for
my second colicky baby and it worked wonders. Within days I
noticed a dramatic change in the crying, he had less gas and
fewer bowel movements. He has done so well with this particular
formula we still use it. The down side to the hypo allergenic
formula is they are quite costly. For me it was well worth the
price. Keep in mind you should never change your baby’s formula
unless under the direction of the doctor. Aside from the medical
interventions here are some things you can do as a parent to try
and comfort your little one. burp them often during feedings
wrap them snugly in a blanket make use of a swing a relaxing
bath if they enjoy bath time a car or stroller ride vibration
or sound from washer or dryer rocking them pacifiers These are
just a few suggestions it may take several tries to find
something that works for your baby so be patient and don’t give
up. Besides the stress colic puts on a baby it can be just as
bad for the parents. Frustration can set in but remember your
baby can sense these feelings and in return could make the
crying worse. Don’t take the crying personally. The crying is
not the result of something your doing. During this time you
need to take breaks. Mom and dad can switch off taking care of
the baby. Utilize friends and family. Believe me it helps. They
were a life saver for me. You need to take time away and enjoy a
bit of quiet time. Remember this will not last forever and
before long you will have a bright-eyed smiling baby on your
hands.

Hair cells are some of the fastest growing in the body, so your hair is a fairly accurate barometer of your health. If you are under a lot of stress, hair cells can actually shut down and redirect their energy elsewhere to places where it is needed in your body. There are numerous physical situations that can cause hair loss such as hormonal changes, medications, nutritional deficiencies, surgery, and many other types of medical conditions and in particular, a malfunctioning thyroid. Under these types of circumstances, hair regrowth may become difficult. According to the American Academy of dermatology, nearly half of all the adults in the US will experience thinning hair by the age of 40.

Hair, as a rule, grows for about three years at a rate of 1/2″ per month. Hair goes into a resting period and one in 10 hairs is resting at any one time. After three months, a new hair pushes the old out, commonly referred to as hair regrowth. Hair loss occurs when this balance becomes disrupted and more hairs go into resting or the conversion process speeds up.

Some people that have a severe thyroid problem complain of rapid hair loss and thinning hair. The hair usually falls out in large amounts in the shower or sink, and is often accompanied by changing hair texture, which is usually coarse, dry and easily tangled. Some people, interestingly enough, find that their thyroid problem has been found initially by their hairdresser! Called hypothyroidism, this thyroid disease frequently causes general hair loss on the head and you can also have hair loss on the outer edge of the eyebrows. If you are losing body hair from parts of your body, other than the head, this could also be a sign of thyroid disease and you are advised to visit your doctor.

By Terry Price- Remember to visit- http://www.hair-loss-baldness-solutions.com/sitemap.html –Not only males get male pattern baldness: http://www.hair-loss-baldness-solutions.com/129-male-pattern-baldness-canada.html

Putting in a wooden fence around your lawn or garden adds a
decorative accent that many will find attractive. However, your
fence may soon lose its appeal if you don’t keep it up with
regular care and maintenance. Some fencing materials, like vinyl
or aluminum, require their own brand of upkeep. But wooden
fences benefit most from routine scraping, painting, and
sealing. Plan for this annual or bi-annual maintenance when
budgeting the cost for new wooden fencing.

Of course, if you can do the work instead of hiring it out, you
can some substantial costs. But if you cannot, you will need to
factor in the labor costs of caring for your fence. In addition,
you need to cover the cost of supplies, including the paint or
sealant products, along with equipment needed to do the work.

Check your fence every few months for peeling, splintering,
mold, or breakage. Insect nests are another potential problem,
along with knotholes where birds may be nesting. If you decide
to treat the nesting areas, do so humanely, for the birds at
least. Otherwise, you may wish to leave these areas alone and
concentrate on actual damage to the wood. Look for signs of
termite infestation, and call an exterminator if you find them.
Manage pest problems before they get bigger, or you could end up
paying a premium for pest control.

Depending on the style of wooden fence you have, you may want
to sand off rough edges or remove protruding fragments that
could cause splinters, especially if you have children or pets
that are likely to play on or around the fencing. For split-rail
fences, a natural look works well, but you still may need to
check for problem areas that need to be treated with fungicide,
herbicide, or pesticide.

Painted fences should be touched up every year or two. You will
probably have to scrape away flakes and chips to get a smooth
finish before repainting. You also may want to seal the fence
with a product that will help to protect and preserve it. There
are several on the market, so check with your local home supply
outlet for details on what to buy and how to apply it.

When painting your fence, buy the right kind of outdoor paint,
along with primer, if needed. You might want to put up a string
barrier along the fence that you have painted to keep it from
being bothered until it dries. If you are painting a wooden
fence for the first time, you will want to match or at least
coordinate it with other colors in your outdoor decorating
scheme. These may include your porch, house door, window
shutters, or shed. Otherwise, a neutral color like white, brown,
or red should work well for many kinds of outdoor fences.

Even though your fence may be used for mostly functional
purposes, like keeping neighborhood dogs away or protecting a
parking area, it doesn’t hurt to make the fence attractive and
aesthetically appealing. Check out your decorating options at
your local home supply store.

In my opinion, one of the biggest skills of being able to sell well is developing your listening skills. Most sales companies and sales people talk about being consultative but they don’t really know what consulting is! No-one can consult if they cannot listen first. You cannot sit around a table with your fellow sales people and decide what consulting services you are going to offer to a client – it doesn’t work like that. Yes, you need a clear picture of what your services are but consulting services require you to listen to the client.

Now I guess most people think they can listen well, don’t you! Wrong! 90% of people have appalling listening skills and even those who know how to listen don’t a lot of the time. Think about it! When you are in a conversation and someone is saying something to be able to understand it you are constantly translating their words into your own experiences and your own words. Its the way our brains are wired – you make sense of other peoples’ words by interpreting them into what you think they mean!!!

How many times have you been in a conversation and before the other person has finished you ard thinkng, “I know what he/she means here, I can sort this out.” And the first thing out of your mouth is, “I know what you mean exactly, its just like when I……” Get it?

So here are 10 Levels of Listening. Read through them carefully and think about where you are on the scale. Your will probably be at different levels at different times and in differing circumstanced dependant upon your mood, the environment, how stressed you are, how interested you are etc etc. Note your level and try to remember to concentrate on moving up the levels.

Warning: Trying this is not easy – it breaks most of what we know and the benefits when you have done it will not just be in your business life. Your partner or your mother might just say to you, “You know I think you really understand me!” Got it now!

LEVELS OF LISTENING

Which level of listening are you at?

1. Not there physically (You didn’t show up!)
2. There physically, but not mentally. (Not paying attention at all)
3. Hearing the speaker but doing something else at the same time (such as watching elsewhere, reading, or thinking about a different matter.)
4. Interrupting speaker early and frequently.
5. Interrupting speaker later and less often.
6. Allowing speaker to finish, but meanwhile intensely thinking of a counter argument or response.
7. Allowing speaker to finish while earnestly trying to understand what is being said, and then replying immediately.
8. Allowing speaker to finish, pausing, thoughtfully considering what has been said, and then replying.
9. Allowing speaker to finish, pausing, summarising what you think you heard, and only then replying.
10. Allowing speaker to finish, summarising what you’ve heard, and then honing in on ‘limiting beliefs’(e.g. I must/should/ought to, I can’t), unuseful assumptions and generalisations’ (e.g. People are….., women can’t… nothing ever….), and unuseful connections (e.g. I’m too old, I won’t get another job)

Enjoy working with your listening skills!

Watch out for a further listening skills article coming soon…

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

Visit http://www.gaviningham.net now to join Gavin’s free monthly newsletter packed full of sales secrets, strategies and tactics. Join now and get Gavin’s ground-breaking 9-part objection handling course absolutely free.

Thousands of golfers flock to the Carolinas each spring and fall
to enjoy some of the greatest golf courses in the country, and
booking a golf package in Myrtle Beach is one of the best ways
to experience what the area has to offer to devoted fans of the
sport.

Purchasing a golf package in Myrtle Beach not only provides
visitors with great opportunities for golfing but can also make
available the finest in first-class accommodations, great meals,
and a chance to hear some of the area’s best entertainment.

A number of golf packages may be booked through the town’s many
resorts. While some resorts limit the number of area courses
from which visitors can choose, many offer the full gamut of
nearly 100 courses in the Myrtle Beach area, in conjunction with
accommodations at the resort and the other amenities and
activities available on the premises. Such resort-based Myrtle
Beach golf packages often include reduced-rate accommodations
and meals as compared to the cost of booking only a room at that
particular resort during a golf vacation in Myrtle Beach.

Many golfers choose to book their golf package in Myrtle Beach
through companies that are experts in the area’s golfing
resources. Such companies usually offer packages at any of the
areas fine courses so there are plenty of choices and visitors
needn’t repeat the same courses year after year, if they so
choose.

Golfers may want to play on the courses of North Myrtle Beach
during one season, come back and experience the links of the
south part of the Grand Strand the following season, and return
the next year to enjoy the courses on South Carolina’s Brunswick
Isles like Bald Head Island. The choices are plentiful and
experts can help golfers choose the courses that are right for
their skill level, ensuring an enjoyable game.

Packages such as these may include beachfront accommodations but
quite often offer lodging at golf villas, condos, or hotels
located on the grounds of a chosen golf course. Such
accommodations offer close proximity to the golfer’s favorite
activity, meaning that they’ll be able to take advantage of each
and every moment on the links without having to travel a
distance to play each day.

Many golf package accommodations include fully-equipped kitchens
and visitors may also take advantage of the other activities and
amenities available onsite, such as tennis, swimming, fitness
centers, and fine restaurant meals.

When visitors book a golf package in Myrtle Beach, they’ll have
the opportunity to choose all features that will make their golf
vacation the perfect one for them, whether they’ve been playing
the sport for years or are new at the game, having just
recognized the tons of fun involved in being a golfer.