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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236</id><updated>2024-03-08T05:14:21.013-08:00</updated><title type='text'>avghgjhj</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>8</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-6571837990422860716</id><published>2022-06-09T08:14:00.002-07:00</published><updated>2022-06-09T08:14:54.566-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Quality Video Content - Creating Top Quality Video for Your Web Content</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Home made Web video used to be kind of a joke. Unless you were either putting up a home video for folks to laugh at or you were an aspiring pornographer, most of the content was low quality, badly framed junk with scratchy sound. Those days are past, with the explosion of YouTube, affordable digital video cameras, microphones for Web content and user-friendly software to put all the parts together. Now, just plain folks can create quality video content.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whether you want to create short commercials, full-length infomercials, teaching/training pieces, entertainment with a message or testimonials, the technology and skill you need is easy to acquire. While there are now plenty of folks willing to grab a big chunk of your cash to show you how, you can do a bit of your own research and weed out the &quot;overpromise and underdeliver&quot; types yourself. You&#39;ll need to understand the basics of why you should use video, common mistakes in making one, cameras, lighting, microphones, composition and editing.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Once you have a decent understanding of the basics, you&#39;ll have an easier time of getting from idea to finished product if you plan out your work. Creating a screenplay may seem daunting to the new, but it&#39;s nothing more than a plan to make what you do easy and effortless to do and view. Just watching television, with an eye to what the folks who created what you see did to prepare, will help you understand the process. Every show, commercial, PSA (Public Service Announcement), etc., began as a written description.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The technical part of compressing and decompressing your video for the Web (codecs) may seem difficult to master, but a bit of common sense and practice will get you where you want to go -- online! Without getting too technical here, what you want to accomplish will help you decide which format and codecs to use. Screen resolution, bit rates and the like will make more sense once you&#39;ve tried a few combinations and can understand the results.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whatever your goal in making video part of your online presence, it&#39;s nice to know that things are much easier these days to get you there. Advances in digital video for the Web, some of them appearing in just the last six months&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://yoo.rs/&quot;&gt;https://yoo.rs/&lt;/a&gt;, mean that you could be ready for your close-up in no time flat! Quality video content is the future of the Internet -- make your move to multimedia before you miss out!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Nothing comes easily. It is not easy to be successful in the online market place. Thousands of people are competing there. They all are trying to attract their target people. They are changing their techniques over time. They are innovating new ideas regularly. You, as a market player in the online market place, can not restrain yourself from the race. Here are some basic questions and answers which will direct you to the right path to be successful in that hypercompetitive online market place:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why do people search the web?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;People seek information for their needs, they want to evaluate their purchase decisions they make, they try to find out the solutions to the problems they face, they collect information to check the ideas they develop and so on. In a word, they enter into the vast sources of information for a variety of reasons. The reason for which they make their searches may vary from person to person, but what is unique to them all is the content. They all seek rich content. Once they get rich content from a source, they will definitely utilize the same route to find out the similar kind of information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What do high page ranked sites consider valuable?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;High PR sites consider rich and awesome content valuable. When they find your content valuable, they put their valuable links to your site. In return you get the opportunity to put a reciprocal link in that renowned sites. And you know the ultimate result. Right? Yes, you get regular visitors from that well established sites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When do media concentrate on your content?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you write rich and awesome content, you will definitely gain the media concentration. Here you have to learn the ways of writing good and quality content. Professionalism is not always mandatory if you know the ways. Just try to write something new and valuable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What is important to the Search Engine?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Search engines always evaluate rich and awesome content positively. Most important thing is that you have to find out what people are seeking for. The keywords or the search terms must be accompanied with the people&#39;s view. Search Engines give high value to rich keywords.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What is the ultimate outcome?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you write rich and awesome content, links will come naturally. Not only that, the number of visitors will increase day by day. Search engines give high value to the links that are related to your site. If the links are quality ones, you will gain positive reputation. And you know there is a term &#39;Word of Mouth&#39;. You will do nothing but people will spread over your reputation like virus. Being successful in writing quality contents and bringing quality links, you will enjoy the longterm benefits.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/6571837990422860716/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/06/quality-video-content-creating-top.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/6571837990422860716'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/6571837990422860716'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/06/quality-video-content-creating-top.html' title='Quality Video Content - Creating Top Quality Video for Your Web Content'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-8238340774793088393</id><published>2022-02-24T07:09:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-24T07:09:05.943-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Real Estate Stories that Show You How!</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Let&#39;s begin easing you out of the pits. I mean, comfort zone! I&#39;m going to slowly and methodically give you as many little sparks and insights to the relatively simple ways that ordinary people use real estate to achieve extraordinary results.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stories are the best spark plugs.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.penidaland.com/&quot;&gt;https://www.penidaland.com/&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;They let you casually observe from a safe, secure and understandable view point. I will write to answer most of the questions that I feel I myself would ask if I was reading what you are about to read.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I want you to know something from the very start of this report and that something is this: I care about you and I sincerely mean that. I really do want you to move to a new comfort zone, one that is pleasurable and free from fear. A place where you realize you have the power to achieve greater things than you currently can imagine.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&#39;s possible for you to start being a more powerfully directed purpose-driven individual who is well organized and on track to higher achievement. You will change and grow, slowly and steadily with every page you read. With every thought and insight you gain, your desire and courage will grow as well.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Napoleon Hill wrote one of the greatest books of all time.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a class=&quot;oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo483o9r gmql0nx0&quot; href=&quot;http://www.sempersolaris.com/?fbclid=IwAR126HM-5OhqqCw8dnrn5YyuGkTQ_q1LYWkwx6Aoba48-qv0ADIctowBnJ8&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; role=&quot;link&quot; style=&quot;-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: #e4e6eb; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: &amp;quot;Segoe UI Historic&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;Segoe UI&amp;quot;, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; touch-action: manipulation; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot; tabindex=&quot;-1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.sempersolaris.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;It&#39;s called &quot;Think and Grow Rich.&quot; The essence of that book, the secret it reveals time and again is this: you must develop a burning desire.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Don&#39;t put this book down thinking the previous statement is cliché and that you already knew that! I am simply leading you to my next point, the next point being is - your desire needs a starting point. So to start developing desire, my secret is you must have a purpose. Why do you want to pursue real estate? I know what you&#39;re thinking: to make money, to have security, to feel useful and appear successful. Good points. I agree you can have all of that and more if that is what you desire.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now here is something that comes before any of those things you desire. What is the purpose of all those things? Purpose, purpose, purpose...you need to first define purpose before you get the things. My purpose, or so I thought early in my career, was to move up to a nicer house and have my first house become my first rental property. When I moved up to the next one, I quickly learned as soon as I rented it out, I was in some way responsible for creating happiness and security in the life of another person that was of no relation to me.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It soon was evident to me how the choices I made in choosing that first property either would help me or hurt me in my quest to succeed in the real estate investment business.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All of it is cumulative, everything you do and how you do it adds up. It compounds itself and it either makes your life easier or more difficult. I am going to give you experiences that you can learn from that will make your life easier; I am going to show you how. That is my purpose.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The book that gave me the unknowing courage to take my first steps in real estate was a book called &quot;How I Turned $1000 into $3 Million in real estate in my spare time&quot; by William Nickerson. He was a master storyteller and by osmosis, after reading his book, I found myself gravitating towards the real estate classified section of my Sunday paper.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eventually I leapt and my life had changed. It was an FHA foreclosure, a two-bedroom, one-bath home with a built-in, screened-in pool, with a Jacuzzi and a built-in sprinkler system. I bought it for $46,000 and used the HUD 203K rehab program to fix it up. I spent $16,000 to update and make repairs. They then gave me one loan for a total of $62,000. It took me three months to complete it and I was in; I had done it!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My life changed, I learned, I took the leap. From then on I had confidence. I had already had my first home but now I had two. Well, I was in the Coast Guard and wouldn&#39;t you know, three months later we moved. Uncle Sam took me out of St. Petersburg, Florida and dropped me in Kodiak, Alaska, for my next tour of duty.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Well guess what? I was armed with ambition, courage, confidence and just enough knowledge to be considered dangerous, so I bought a duplex as soon as I came ashore on Kodiak Island. Now I had three dwellings and my relationships and responsibilities were growing with my new tenants counting on me to provide a clean, functional and pleasing environment for them to exist in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It looked like this: My mother rented my first house and an elderly couple rented the second one and my duplex came with an existing tenant who was a hospital administrator, so I was lucky. I was able to ease myself into the role of landlord without getting burned early in my career. I now had two houses and a duplex in the span of about one year. My brothers and some other family members took notice and were pretty well dumbfounded.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;They couldn&#39;t figure out how I had, all of a sudden, become a real estate wizard.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It felt good to make that change in so short a time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I got that from reading a book! And that my friend is how you are going to do the majority of everything you do in real estate, by reading and taking steps towards duplicating the success of others in a repeatable pattern. The key is to understand that you can do it if you read the right books and apply the very basic formulas that are handed to you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There lies in: Magic Bullets in Real Estate&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a common man or woman&#39;s real estate manual. William Nickerson never gave me anything so easy as &quot;Magic Bullets!&quot; So I learned trial by fire and it has been very gratifying. I&#39;ve since went on to collect 17 properties, 23 tenants, 2 real estate licenses in Florida and Alaska, an assistant appraiser&#39;s certificate and over a hundred books on real estate. I just kept learning and growing and gaining momentum for the last 13 years. I am still in the Coast Guard, too, and I work at Alaska One Realty in my spare time. In two more years, I will be retired at the ripe old age of 42. Sounds like a sort of fairytale, doesn&#39;t it? Don&#39;t let me fool you. It&#39;s hard work and I&#39;m still not a millionaire, but I want you to have the truth, so I will be honest with you every step of the way.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I know why I am not a millionaire and here is why. I would periodically sell property that was going up in value and paying for itself through the rent checks. But being in the Coast Guard would dislocate me every four years, so I found myself selling out in order to avoid being what is called &quot;an absentee landlord.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is an important lesson for you. It has prevented me from becoming a millionaire up to this point. The lesson is: find an area on this planet that you could and will live in, and stay close to it. Don&#39;t move more than 10 miles from your farm area. The farm area is where all your properties are located. Long distance &quot;land lording&quot; is tough! It can be done but you lose the ability to control the situation compared to if you were there. I&#39;ve served my country and saved people&#39;s lives, so for me it has not been in vain. I have no regrets but if you don&#39;t have to leave your area of expertise, don&#39;t!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The networks you build and the contacts you build, in the process of &quot;doing&quot; real estate, are so valuable that when they are no longer at your disposal, it puts you at a serious disadvantage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not to mention when you move you have to acclimate yourself to an entirely different market, build new trust-based relationships and start all over again. It&#39;s like a treadmill you&#39;ll be running and running, however it gets you nowhere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&#39;ve used it to my advantage. I have been forced to accelerate my abilities to rapidly duplicate my success whenever I am moved, but it is still an uphill battle. My point: Don&#39;t move too far from your farm or your network of bankers, appraisers, carpenters, tradesman, real estate, friends, tenants and so on. Once you have the skill you can duplicate your success anywhere you go but if you don&#39;t have to go...enough said on that!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I like to say, &quot;Don&#39;t sell the goose to get the eggs.&quot; What that means is if you need money to buy more property, use equity lines from other property to do it. You will get the same amount of money or more by using an equity line as if you sold it. However, you get to keep the asset and the money! I go into this in &quot;Magic Bullets,&quot; so I won&#39;t drone on here. Just know you don&#39;t have to sell your property to get the cash out of them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So here we are. You know a little bit about me and you may have picked up a nugget or two. Let&#39;s find a few more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There once was a man who wanted to buy some investment property, so what he did was look at growth patterns. You should do this too, by going to your city&#39;s planning and zoning department. You can see growth patterns and you definitely want to buy property that stands in the way of growth.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is how he used what he learned. He saw that city planners had decided that a new artery (highway) would benefit their city by creating linkage to another city about 100 miles away, so being a smart investor he only went as far as a ten mile limit to be able to be close to his investment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now on average, new growth will radiate out from existing prosperous cities in the direction it is planned at a rate of about one mile per year. So our smart investor had a 10 - 12 year plan to cash out in about 10 - 12 years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What he did was buy, I believe, 10 acres of commercially zoned property very cheaply because there was no demand at the time. He bought it, fenced it in, put up some lights and a gate, and held onto that little bugger. Now that new highway was coming his way and the good folks, through their taxes, were paying to have it built.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It didn&#39;t take long for the heavy equipment to start cutting a swath towards his fenced-in storage facility and when they got close enough to him, he started renting out a secure area for everything, from road cones to generators to backhoes. You name it - it was stored there. This more than paid his land off.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now the men and their equipment eventually moved on further down the trail but they left a finished highway behind them. And guess what? Low and behold, people started driving on it, and then started buying property to build houses on to get away from the city. Since the new highway was a straight shot into town, ten miles out was breeze.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Well, of course, here comes the herd and everyone is just populating the whole darned area. And within ten years, residential housing surrounds Mr. Investor, and can you guess what he&#39;s got? Yep, a prime piece of commercial property, 10 acres large.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So in accordance with his 10-12 year plan, he sells his storage facility to make room for the new office/business park complex for over $2,000,000. That, my friend, is vision, and the sooner you get a clear picture of what it is that you want to specialize in, the sooner you can retire to the islands.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How hard was that? Don&#39;t tell me you can&#39;t do it, you can! I&#39;m here to help you. I&#39;m going to give you secrets no one else dares. Do you ever wonder why people won&#39;t tell you the secrets? Of course you already know this but I&#39;ll tell you anyway. It is because they are operating on a scarcity mentality, as though there won&#39;t be any left for them. Or if learn something and act on it, you will get ahead and have a great life. Well, misery loves company and silent oppression is the rule.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s a little story that poor quality real estate agents won&#39;t appreciate either but I&#39;m going to tell it to you anyway. The reason I can tell it is because there are some great real estate agents out there who absolutely don&#39;t fear what I am about to tell you and would let you know it if they were in my position.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s the deal: Some agents want to be like the Wizard of Oz. They want to create the appearance of marketing and transacting real estate as being technical and very legal, a deep dark mystery. Well, it&#39;s not! The truth be told, you can write a contract on a napkin and it would stand up in court. I will emphasize here that you write on that napkin along with the terms of your agreement, &quot;The terms set forth on this here napkin are subject to my attorney&#39;s approval.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;An attorney will cover you completely for around $750.00. Prices may vary, however that is an average home transaction. There is a lot I am leaving out here but my point is this: If you own property, you can sell it anyway you want. &quot;Magic Bullets&quot; will teach you. Let&#39;s move on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Exposure is the key to finding buyers and sellers in real estate. If a property is priced fairly and everyone who is looking for that type of property knows that it is in the availability pool, it will be found and the transaction will proceed as advertised. Price it right, advertise it properly and let the lawyer take care of the details. No commission, just a flat fee. Period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now that I have that off my chest, I will tell you a story about Dan, a 21-year old friend of mine, and his wife and their new baby. He&#39;s a hardworking guy who does his work without complaint and all the other &quot;workers&quot; pick on him for working so hard. Can you believe it? The other guys are so insecure and lazy that they make fun of a guy who is doing the work of three men, mainly of the three who are ridiculing him. Well, believe me, this doesn&#39;t go unnoticed by me and I take him under my wing. Dan wants to buy a house, so I begin the process of saving him years of trial by fire and save him $25,000 at no charge. That is because he deserved my help.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anyway, here is the story: I began with him by asking him what type of home he thought he would be comfortable with and a price range. He indicated a 3-bedroom for around $100,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Knowing what he wanted and knowing the area, I was able to take him shopping for the house he was looking for. Now I always go after the &quot;For Sale by Owner&quot; homes first because I know they won&#39;t be adding any commission figure into their price, because they won&#39;t be paying one. So at 6% of $100,000 he will get $6,000 more &quot;house&quot; for his precious dollar.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I also told him besides the &quot;For Sale by Owner&quot; homes, we would be looking at oddball discount companies that help distressed sellers further part with their money and property. The mentality of a seller who uses cheesy companies to help them sell their property is pennywise and pound-foolish. If you&#39;re going to use professionals, then get a professional.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So off we go. After a day or so, we have found our house. Sure enough, El Cheeso Inc. has a sign on it. The screen doors are flapping in the breeze, the weeds are dancing on the lawn, but this house is indeed a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1-car garage with a fenced yard and it&#39;s selling for $110,000. Well, due to the fact that there is a divorce in progress, and a new girlfriend who doesn&#39;t like the place, and El Cheeso Inc. giving no representation, I negotiate for Dan and he gets it for $99,000. What&#39;s so great about this deal is this exact same floor plan in another house was for sale down the street, on the same street, for $25,000 more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The moral of the story is good things come to those who deserve it, and that is another key to real estate. You must work hard so others will take notice of you and help you succeed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s a beauty for you. This is about being in real estate circles and keeping your eyes and ears open and often times your &quot;yapper&quot; closed. This is the story of Brian and Julie. Here we have two hardworking souls. They have been married for 20 years and they have weathered the storms of matrimony. Julie works at a real estate office as an office manager. No real estate license, but she works at an office that sells a lot of waterfront property. So we are talking about location and being in the right place at the right time, and here comes a seller in the door of the office stating she is going to sell her older waterfront home. She is willing to take $180,000.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Julie tells Brian, they look at it and sure enough, this pearl is right on the water. She&#39;s a gem waiting to be polished up, so Brian and Julie sell their condominium and move in. Well, they aren&#39;t making any more waterfront property, so Brian goes to work polishing this jewel up.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now, they have bought this house under market value in an appreciating market. So about one and a half years later, this property is worth over $350,000 and still climbing. Well, Brian is no dummy, so he gets to know his neighborhood. He strolls, takes walks and notices, you guessed it, a vacant, neglected jewel on an inside double lot. He tracks down the elderly lady, who is living with her sister, through the county records office and buys the house, including the extra lot, for a total of $120,000. Now Brian can walk to his new &quot;jewel&quot; and he starts polishing it. The neighbors start noticing and are amazed at his deal. He has offers of $180,000, $200,000 and $60,000 for just the lot. You name it. Now that the exposure is there, everyone wants a piece of it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Well, this is what Brian did. He rented his first house out, moved into the second one and used plans that I gave to him to build a third house on the vacant lot, using the equity he accumulated from the first house that went up so much. And here&#39;s how this thing shakes out: $180,000 for his first house and it&#39;s value goes up to $365,000; he picked up the next jewel for $120,000 and he paid cash using the equity from the first house. Now he takes out a new mortgage on his second house for $120,000 and builds a third. The value at last count was $815,000 and he owed a grand total $300,000. That&#39;s a half million-dollar profit in 5 years!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now what does this story tell us? #1 - it says, &quot;work hard&quot;; #2 - keep your eyes open; #3 - use equity lines; #4 - don&#39;t sell; #5 - learn how to be a landlord; #6 - be in locations that appreciate; #7 - buy things that are limited in availability; #8 - know how to research owners and repair property; #9 - get your partner&#39;s help (spouse); #10 - use knowledgeable friends to help you see potential (I gave him the plans and advised him not to sell anything!).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Can you get any more lessons out of this story? I&#39;m sure you can. Just read it again and think on it. Jot down your ideas and put them to work. Real estate is not that hard, folks! You can do it. With a few magic bullets, some spark plugs and a good mentor to show you how, you can do it too!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let&#39;s you and me talk for just a minute here, OK! Have you ever been really good at something and been able to step back and see the whole thing for what it is was? You just know exactly how to do it and you can see the end result clearly in your mind before you start. It&#39;s predictable to you. It&#39;s almost second nature, so you are comfortable doing it. It&#39;s almost become boring to you; your comfort zone is such that you can do it in your sleep.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&#39;ve gotten that way with certain types of real estate and I see people everyday that are so afraid of taking the first step that they are literally paralyzed. They make excuses and put it off, and rationalize and live a quiet life of desperation. They don&#39;t trust themselves and as a result of the unknown they can&#39;t trust anyone else either. This is a vicious cycle because the longer they wait the more it reinforces their beliefs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I just want to grab them by the collar, take them to the bank and make them tell the banker, &quot;Pre-qualify me!&quot; Then walk them out the door and show them how to do something that will change their life forever, and that is to buy the first property, and then a second. Then their fear is gone and they grow to be of service to everyone who is ready for their assistance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let me tell you this: After you finish reading the rest of this report and you read the &quot;Magic Bullets&quot; book, your fears will be subdued and you will do something and your life will change. If you cannot succeed with what I am intent on showing you, then something is not right. I believe your desire would be your major obstacle, so if that&#39;s the case, read &quot;Think and Grow Rich&quot; by Napoleon Hill and come back to me then.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let&#39;s get back to real estate education, shall we? Do you know who the largest commercial real estate owner in the U.S. is? It&#39;s McDonalds Corporation. Yep, and on top of that, they also have the most valuable locations for their type of business. The research they do on demographics and traffic counts is unparalleled!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you were ever going to open a fast food restaurant, just put it near a McDonalds. You would survive just on the volume of people who flock or pass by the location that McDonalds has already decided meets all the critical data to support their restaurant business. Your restaurant, if you had good food and service, would flourish. Just sell something a little different than McDonalds. That&#39;s leveraging someone else&#39;s expertise in evaluating a location for a certain type of real estate.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now that is a principle and principles are like natural laws. A natural law always works in every situation in its own way. It&#39;s like gravity - it always works! Here on earth, anyway.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So in real estate it doesn&#39;t matter what type it is, whether it&#39;s commercial, residential, industrial or recreational. Look for signs that serious market studies have been undertaken by major operators and buy things that can flourish in the presence of those concerns.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For instance, let&#39;s use Home Depot as an example. If Home Depot decides to build on a site, every residential lot within a mile of that new center will be bought up as soon as the Home Depot commits to build! Why?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because smart investors know that Home Depot has done the market study and the area will be a prosperous one.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On top of that, it will provide jobs, it will pay taxes, it will provide materials to actually build the neighborhoods with, and people will shop there once their houses are built. The same goes for Wal-Mart, Lowe&#39;s and other smart business concerns.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You may or may not have noticed this but take a look the next time you are driving around. Here is what you should see. As you drive into cities from the suburbs, you&#39;ll notice donut shops, gas stations with convenience coffee centers, bagel shops, and etcetera, on the side of the road that people travel to on their way into the city to go to work. These are morning activity business centers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now on your way home, out of the city, you will see restaurants that cater to the evening meal crowd: KFC, Taco Bell, Subway and Pizza Hut. That&#39;s because people don&#39;t go there for breakfast. They get it on their way home, outbound from the city at night. If you put your restaurant on the wrong side of the road, you could be making a huge strategical error. Think!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Location, location, location as they say, are the 3 most important things in real estate. That is a very true statement. With residential property, that boils down to safety, security and convenience. So buy homes in good neighborhoods, cul-de-sacs preferably. No noise or through traffic, no escape routes for thieves, and a private setting, where kids play in the street without getting run down.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Security = close to hospitals, police and fire protection for obvious reasons.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Convenience = stores, gas stations, restaurants, small businesses, parks and recreation and access to major highways to circulate or evacuate if necessary.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You might get a great deal on a piece of properly but if it takes you a half hour to get a loaf of bread. What kind of resale will that great deal offer? Another great deal may back up to or face a busy street. That&#39;s often a poor choice as well...noise, pollution, the loss of privacy and curb appeal are all factors here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The two best types of property to buy are:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Property that no one else knows is for sale! Why? Because you have no&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;competition.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Property no one wants! You just have to figure out why people don&#39;t want it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you can turn that lemon into lemonade through some problem solving, that&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;jewel may just shine because you used the right magic polish.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In real estate, you get paid when you solve problems. That is a fact!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here is a golden nugget for you. If you do this, it will catapult your real estate investment career. I guarantee you will gain more insight to real estate by doing this one thing than just about anything else you could possibly do. The golden nugget is this: Take a real estate appraisal course. It will fly by, a few weekends and it&#39;s over, but the perspective and the information you gain from the class is priceless. It gives you vision, ideas and understanding. You will have an edge over every other investor who has not done it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I had an instructor, who by some stroke of luck, I was privileged to be taught by. His name is Steven V. and he is truly a genius. This guy could make millions if he applied himself to real estate investment but he chooses to teach and give back to others in that way. He is very comfortable in life and money is a by-product for Steven. When I finished the class, I had appraisers wanting to hire me to go to work. Now I don&#39;t want to work as an appraiser. I just want to think like one and that is why I took that four-weekend course. That class taught me more than both of my real estate licensing courses combined. The reason for that is real estate classes deal with state laws, contracts, regulations and ethics. Appraisal focuses on evaluating real estate and that is what you want to learn as an investor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A real estate license can actually hold you back from being a savvy investor and here&#39;s why: #1 - You have to announce to every seller that you are an agent. It&#39;s an ethics rule and a disclosure law. Well, now the seller is on guard for all kinds of reasons and you waste precious time overcoming negative reactions. #2 - When you go to sell your real estate, the same things apply but add to that scenario the fact that if you make large profits on property that you sell, people can come after you, saying you took advantage of them because of your expertise. And they win!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So you don&#39;t need to go to college for 4 years and you don&#39;t need a real estate license. What you do need is a guy like me to convince you to go to appraisal school and read books like the one you have now.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Then go out and do it, using a lawyer to protect you every step of the way. Again, here is a good point to make. Simply weave into every agreement or offer you make the following statement: This entire agreement is subject to my attorney&#39;s approval. I can&#39;t stress that enough. That&#39;s one line of text. That covers it all. It gives you time to investigate deals. It protects your interests and keeps you from getting burned in this business.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are a couple more beauties that I use to protect myself and you should too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;These are used with initial purchase offers:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Willing to pay X amount of dollars or appraised value, whichever is less.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;(That says, &quot;I&#39;m only going to pay so much but if the appraisal is lower than&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;what I offered, than I am going to get it for the lower price. I don&#39;t get&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;burned!)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Subject to my partner&#39;s approval. (My partner was always my wife, and if she&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;didn&#39;t like it, the deal was null and void, cancelled, over, kaput, finito.)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now nothing says my partner wasn&#39;t my dog, so if there&#39;s no fire hydrant, well the deal could be off.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Those are examples of escape clauses that could be abused to the point of being called &quot;weasel clauses.&quot; Don&#39;t be a weasel! They give you a short period of time to have the option to buy something first with the right to cancel the deal, contingent upon something or someone else&#39;s decision.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I use them to protect myself and to get a little time to do my research on the property. Don&#39;t use them to unfairly tie a seller&#39;s hands. Be fair and try to move quickly when you do employ them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What you are doing is creating a short time, zero-cost option to buy real estate. Here is a little trick and I don&#39;t use it very often but it can be used in a fair manner so I will give you the nugget. When you write an offer to purchase property, on the top line of the contract is a line that indicates who the buyer is. On that line in certain cases, I will write my name plus the words or assigns, like this:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Buyers: Dan Auito or assigns&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What that word &quot;assigns&quot; does is this: it allows me to sell by assigning my right to buy the property to someone else. Dirty dealers will take advantage of people with that word if they can get away with it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s where I would use it. In real estate, a lot of bargain hunters look for distressed property. You know, the fixer-uppers, the abandoned, condemned, fire-damaged stuff. I go a step further and look for distressed sellers such as death, divorce, relocation, but a lot of times I don&#39;t specialize in that type of property.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That&#39;s OK because if it&#39;s a steal and I get it for 40 - 50% off, I will assign it to someone who does deal in that type of property and make a profit by assigning it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&#39;ll always ask the distressed seller if that is a problem and if it is, I will buy it outright, then flip it but it costs more to do that. So I&#39;ll explain this to the seller and get their permission to use it. I don&#39;t slip it in on them. You will have a miserable existence if you practice real estate by deceit. Natural law will crush you; play fair! Purpose, passion and desire cannot be achieved or acquired by deceit. That&#39;s a quotable quote. I hope you remember it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let&#39;s get on with another story. This illustrates another fine example for you. This story is about a family who had business interests outside of real estate investing and as a result of the successes of their other businesses they had fairly large sums of money to play real estate like a monopoly game. Power can be dangerous in the wrong hands!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So here we go. This flush with cash family sees an opportunity to take advantage of an overlooked or left alone market. That market is the old-fashioned trailer park, or shall we say Mobile Home Park.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anyway, the way most mobile home parks came into existence was this: Usually a man of integrity and strong work ethic coupled with a love for his fellow man would buy a piece of land suitable to the placement of mobile homes. As people moved in, he and his wife would welcome them and the neighbors would greet them and the community would become established.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The private owner would dig his own sewer lines and cut his own roads and landscape the park. Maybe put in the clubhouse complete with a swimming pool, shuffleboard, pool table and meeting hall. As time marched on, the residents bonded with each other and a family-friendly community took root. Well this man of integrity had a problem. Since all of his tenants are his friends, he is pressured not to raise the lot rents with inflation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So the rents over the years are kept very low in the park and now this man and his wife are getting old. Perfect timing for our investors to come knocking and offer our private aging park owner a 2 million dollar price for his 10 acres of mobile home lots. This is a once in a lifetime offer and many park owners cashed out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What people didn&#39;t see was these investors were systematically and methodically doing this all over the place and once they cashed out as many mom and pops as they could, they lowered the boom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now they the investors had control of many parks in the same areas and they started raising the lot rents. You see, they didn&#39;t have any emotional ties to the residents and they didn&#39;t live there, so it was a straightforward business deal: either pay the new higher rent or move.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The residents said, &quot;To hell with you new owner, we are moving.&quot; &quot;Well, fine, go ahead,&quot; they said. Now the residents started calling around to find another park with low rents but guess who owned those? Yep, our investors did, and those lot rents were going up too. So the mom and pops who didn&#39;t sell were full and it would cost on average of about $7,000 to relocate to another park even if they could find a vacancy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The old folks who had it so good for so long were faced with a new reality and that was that they had no choice but to pay up or move, and moving, in many cases, wasn&#39;t an option. These investors exploited a complete segment of the market and made millions and millions in profit and continue to do so today.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It wasn&#39;t long after this happened that you started seeing signs saying, &quot;This is a resident owned community.&quot; People eventually got smart and started buying that little lot that their trailer was sitting on and they began paying association dues for the clubhouse and security and grounds, maintenance and road repair. The good ole days are nothing but a fond memory.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Life goes on but America did not change for the better as a result of these types of people. Their only purpose was to make money; I believe they will die alone and in misery as a result of their way of life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So I ask you again, can you be passionate and put your heart into investing in real estate by investing the way our corporate investors did? I think not. Money is no good when you get it by deceitful ways. I encourage you to work at balancing your objectives. Lease optioning, flippers...you are walking a fine line.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here&#39;s a flip side to communal living. This story is a happier scenario, so let&#39;s have a little joy here. I once lived in Key West and I lived off base. Well, I thought I lived next door to Noah, and it sounded as though he was building another ark. All summer long, hammers and saws seemed to be making some type of racket, so naturally being the neighbor I was, I got to know the man next door. He never went to work and I asked him one day, &quot;Don&#39;t you have a job and he kind of grinned and put his hammer down and this is Mark&#39;s story.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mark and his brother were from the Northeast and they had a 30-room boarding house for college kids there, at something like $300.00 a month. That was about $9,000 a month and they made the parents responsible for the rent payments. Mark would spend his time with his family in the Keys for the nine months that school was in session. His brother was a local up North and he took care of the toilets, faucets, doors and windows. Yes, they had their very own animal house going on there, but Mark factored in the abuse and would spend 2 - 3 months a year, putting the animal house back together while the animals went home for summer break.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mark only worked three months a year and the house (ark) that he built next to us was a masterpiece; it was beautiful. He was a master craftsman and he loved his work and spent a lot of his time with his family in a wonderful climate. Makes you kind of jealous, doesn&#39;t it? Well, don&#39;t let it because you can do it, too, but you must get started. Mark was 45 when I met him. I believe he was 25 when he got started, so my advice to you is to get started now!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/8238340774793088393/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/real-estate-stories-that-show-you-how.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/8238340774793088393'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/8238340774793088393'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/real-estate-stories-that-show-you-how.html' title='Real Estate Stories that Show You How!'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-3848337337352734510</id><published>2022-02-08T07:30:00.007-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:30:28.232-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Protection Requirements From Roof Anchors</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; There are a number of protection requirements for roof maintenance and construction works. These protective measures have been the focus of many contractors everywhere around the world. The innovations as to the products and systems have been very beneficial to professional contractors in terms of providing the necessary protection when climbing atop a roof to perform various tasks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are several regulations and protection requirements in place as to roof anchors and related materials. Protection harness should be worn at all times when working on a roof. This safety requirement helps avert the chances of a fall.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://secupohl.com&quot;&gt;https://secupohl.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;The harness to be used should be the full-body harness type. This harness should be attached to a retractable cable or a lanyard. This material is then secured to an immovable object like the truss or floor joints. These two materials should be used together to provide maximize protection to a contractor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another, protection requirement is the installation of temporary rails. These railing systems meet safety standards and increase the protection to the contractor. The temporary railings, which are essentially made of metal posts, should be able to endure at least 200 hundred pounds of pressure. They are quite easy to install and disassemble.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The roof anchor points, which could either be permanent or temporary, are installed into the roof to hold the roof anchors and make them more stable. This supports the weight of the person who does the roof repairs. They are suitable for use on almost any roof type.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Roof anchor makes it easier for repairs to be done of the roof. It offers protection to the repairman especially when working on fragile glass roof or when doing repairs on the roof&#39;s edge. The repairman can stay up in the roof to finish the repairs in no time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When it&#39;s time to install a satellite dish or a solar hot water system, be sure that there are roof anchor and roof anchor points installed on the roof to prevent accidents from happening at heights. Take the advice of the roof experts and you contractors. Besides these equipment would only cost you a few bucks, so no cause to worry about breaking the bank.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Anchor Points Vs Ladder Brackets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The ongoing design of fall protection systems has ensured that no matter what industry you are in, there is a system that will meet the needs and requirements of your particular job circumstances. But what are the criteria for establishing if you need anchor points or ladder brackets. This article will outline elements that will identify your specific requirements and assist in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each system.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anchor Points&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anchor points are the most commonly used type of fall restraint system installed on industrial buildings. Also known as safe roof access points, a simple anchor point when used in conjunction with a certified harness can offer protection from major injury and death to trained users. Anchor points come in a very wide variety of designs. So you need to establish what your needs are, and then make an informed decision. Do you require a maximum threshold rate? Do you need multiple users attached to a single safe roof access point? Do you want an aesthetically pleasing design? Should the anchor points be permanently installed, or temporary? These factors will make your decision easier if you decide that anchor points are the ideal fall protection system for you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anchor points are often used on buildings that are regularly frequented by staff, as they offer comprehensive protection for individuals, and offer great freedom of movement at heights. Roof safety points need to be installed by certified installer, who will not only decide where is the ideal location of the points, but will also be able to perform annual certification. Every fall prevention system installer that you come across will recommend a system with an energy absorbing feature. This is not a marketing ploy, but a genuine advance in the safety features of fall prevention systems. The energy absorbing feature slows the deceleration of the falling weight, thereby reducing the trauma that a body is under when slowing down.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If your building requires a fall prevention system that offers complete protection across the entire area of the roof, then installing multiple safe roof access points will offer the highest standard of safety. But if there is a significantly smaller area that needs safe roof access, then a simpler and cheaper option may be available.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ladder brackets&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ladder brackets are a simple way to ensure individuals that are working at heights can maintain the safety of their environment. There are two types of ladder brackets, ones that are permanently fixed onto the roof, and ones that are installed on the ladder itself. Both types of ladder brackets prevent the ladder from falling back, and also prevent any horizontal movement. By stabilising the ladder at a fixed position, an individual can have greater stability while working at heights.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ladder brackets are limited in the safety that they offer. An individual can still slip, or lose their balance while on top of the ladder and fall. So in contrast to an anchor point they do offer the same level of safety. One advantage that ladder brackets have over anchor points is that they are very user friendly, because they do not require a user to put on a harness, and therefore they have a higher rate of use. Also the price range of ladder brackets offers significant savings in comparison to fixed safe roof access systems.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So what should I choose?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Examine your specific needs. What height are you going to be working at? Is portability important? Will I need to train multiple staff in the use of the equipment, or just one member? What is the price range that you have at your disposal for a fall protection system?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After analysing your needs and consulting with a certified fall protection installer you will see the system that will work best for you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For expert advice on fall prevention systems from the premier anchor points and ladder brackets installers in Sydney, talk to the professionals at Sydney Anchor Points. They will provide genuine service, and reliable advice so that you can safely fall into making the right decision.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Anchor Point, the Center of Your After Effects Universe&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We like to animate opacity and position but what do we do with the anchor point? In this world of balance and timely relationships, you might say the anchor point is the center of your After Effects universe. Let&#39;s see why.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You have to do a little &#39;After Effects math&#39; to get a good handle on using the anchor point and the first is understanding how After Effects lays out its grid and the other is understanding how sometime the anchor point is what I would call a relative value.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Create a composition and for easy numbers choose the &#39;Web Video, 320x240&#39; composition preset. Create a text layer and type the letter &#39;a&#39;. Now create a shape layer but don&#39;t draw anything yet. Also create a solid layer with default settings of composition size. Under the top pull down menu options, choose &#39;View&#39;, &#39;Show Rulers&#39;. This will display a ruler with units marked in pixels. This is a valuable tool for seeing your spatial relationships and especially for aligning objects. There is also a &#39;Show Grid&#39; option which applies a grid to your composition workspace.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Take a look at the numbers displayed on your rulers. The origin for your composition &#39;stage&#39; is the upper left where you will see 0 for x and 0 for y. If you visually inspect the area you can see that it is 320 pixels wide and 240 pixels in height. The info panel displays the coordinates underneath your mouse. If your info panel isn&#39;t open simply click &#39;Info&#39; under the Window pull down menu on the far right.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hold your mouse over the upper left hand of your stage then move to the lower right hand corner. You will see the values &#39;0,0&#39; to &#39;320,240&#39;. You see your letter &#39;a&#39; in the center of the stage. Click on all three of your layers, then enter the keyboard shortcut &#39;a&#39; to display their anchor point value.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For the solid you will see &#39;160, 120&#39; but for your text and shape you will see &#39;0,0&#39;. I am going to refer to these values as &#39;relative&#39; because they all have the same anchor point, the center of the composition! Just for a simple illustration, create a second shape layer and draw another ellipse. Choose both layers, enter &#39;a&#39; to display the anchor point. You will see &#39;0,0&#39;. Now enter &#39;r&#39; for rotation and increase the rotation value for both shapes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You will see that they rotate around the center of your composition. This makes sense, that every object shares a center anchor point but it can be a bit confusing when you see different numbers for the same value! Using a combination of your grid, info panel, and understanding these relative values for shapes and text will help you use the anchor setting with confidence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/3848337337352734510/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/protection-requirements-from-roof.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/3848337337352734510'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/3848337337352734510'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/protection-requirements-from-roof.html' title='Protection Requirements From Roof Anchors'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-5171142961958527630</id><published>2022-02-08T07:30:00.004-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:30:18.899-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Eastern European Banking Model</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; A traditional banking model in a CEEC (Central and Eastern European Country) consisted of a central bank and several purpose banks, one dealing with individuals&#39; savings and other banking needs, and another focusing on foreign financial activities, etc.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.bonitrust.de/&quot;&gt;https://www.bonitrust.de/&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;The central bank provided most of the commercial banking needs of enterprises in addition to other functions. During the late 1980s, the CEECs modified this earlier structure by taking all the commercial banking activities of the central bank and transferring them to new commercial banks. In most countries the new banks were set up along industry lines, although in Poland a regional approach has been adopted.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On the whole, these new stale-owned commercial banks controlled the bulk of financial transactions, although a few &#39;de novo banks&#39; were allowed in Hungary and Poland. Simply transferring existing loans from the central bank to the new state-owned commercial banks had its problems, since it involved transferring both &#39;good&#39; and &#39;bad&#39; assets. Moreover, each bank&#39;s portfolio was restricted to the enterprise and industry assigned to them and they were not allowed to deal with other enterprises outside their remit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As the central banks would always &#39;bale out&#39; troubled state enterprises, these commercial banks cannot play the same role as commercial banks in the West. CEEC commercial banks cannot foreclose on a debt. If a firm did not wish to pay, the state-owned enterprise would, historically, receive further finance to cover its difficulties, it was a very rare occurrence for a bank to bring about the bankruptcy of a firm. In other words, state-owned enterprises were not allowed to go bankrupt, primarily because it would have affected the commercial banks, balance sheets, but more importantly, the rise in unemployment that would follow might have had high political costs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What was needed was for commercial banks to have their balance sheets &#39;cleaned up&#39;, perhaps by the government purchasing their bad loans with long-term bonds. Adopting Western accounting procedures might also benefit the new commercial banks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This picture of state-controlled commercial banks has begun to change during the mid to late 1990s as the CEECs began to appreciate that the move towards market-based economies required a vibrant commercial banking sector. There are still a number of issues lo be addressed in this sector, however. For example, in the Czech Republic the government has promised to privatize the banking sector beginning in 1998. Currently the banking sector suffers from a number of weaknesses. A number of the smaller hanks appear to be facing difficulties as money market competition picks up, highlighting their tinder-capitalization and the greater amount of higher-risk business in which they are involved. There have also been issues concerning banking sector regulation and the control mechanisms that are available. This has resulted in the government&#39;s proposal for an independent securities commission to regulate capital markets.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The privatization package for the Czech Republic&#39;s four largest banks, which currently control about 60 percent of the sector&#39;s assets, will also allow foreign banks into a highly developed market where their influence has been marginal until now. It is anticipated that each of the four banks will be sold to a single bidder in an attempt to create a regional hub of a foreign bank&#39;s network. One problem with all four banks is that inspection of their balance sheets may throw up problems which could reduce the size of any bid. All four banks have at least 20 percent of their loans as classified, where no interest has been paid for 30 days or more. Banks could make provisions to reduce these loans by collateral held against them, but in some cases the loans exceed the collateral. Moreover, getting an accurate picture of the value of the collateral is difficult since bankruptcy legislation is ineffective. The ability to write off these bad debts was not permitted until 1996, but even if this route is taken then this will eat into the banks&#39; assets, leaving them very close to the lower limit of 8 percent capital adequacy ratio. In addition, the &#39;commercial&#39; banks have been influenced by the action of the national bank, which in early 1997 caused bond prices to fall, leading to a fall in the commercial banks&#39; bond portfolios. Thus the banking sector in the Czech Republic still has a long way to go.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In Hungary the privatization of the banking sector is almost complete. However, a state rescue package had to be agreed at the beginning of 1997 for the second-largest state bank, Postabank, owned indirectly by the main social security bodies and the post office, and this indicates the fragility of this sector. Outside of the difficulties experienced with Postabank, the Hungarian banking system has been transformed. The rapid move towards privatization resulted from the problems experienced by the state-owned banks, which the government bad to bail out, costing it around 7 percent of GDP. At that stage it was possible that the banking system could collapse and government funding, although saving the banks, did not solve the problems of corporate governance or moral hazard. Thus the privatization process was started in earnest. Magyar Kulkereskedelmi Bank (MKB) was sold to Bayerische Landesbank and the EBDR in 1994, Budapest Bank was bought by GE Capital and Magyar Hitel Bank was bought by ABN-AMRO. In November 1997 the state completed the last stage of the sale of the state savings bank (OTP), Hungary&#39;s largest bank. The state, which dominated the banking system three years ago, now only retains a majority stake in two specialist banks, the Hungarian Development Bank and Eximbank.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The move towards, and success of privatization can be seen in the balance sheets of the banks, which showed an increase in post-tax profits of 45 percent in 1996. These banks are also seeing higher savings and deposits and a strong rise in demand for corporate and retail lending. In addition, the growth in competition in the banking sector has led to a narrowing of the spreads between lending and deposit rates, and the further knock-on effect of mergers and small-hank closures. Over 50 percent of Hungarian bank assets are controlled by foreign-owned banks, and this has led to Hungarian banks offering services similar to those expected in many Western European countries. Most of the foreign-owned but mainly Hungarian-managed banks were recapitalized after their acquisition and they have spent heavily on staff training and new information technology systems. From 1998, foreign banks will be free to open branches in Hungary, thus opening up the domestic banking market to full competition.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are several legal and regulatory compliance implications with offshore banking that I&#39;d like to cover in this article. However, please don&#39;t construe information on this site as legal guidance. I am providing this information for free based on my own experiences. Please consult your professional attorney or CPA (accountant) before you get involved with offshore internet banking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What is an Offshore Bank&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To be over simplistic, an offshore bank is a financial institution outside the shores of your country. If you are in Australia, a bank in the United States is an offshore bank to you. If you are in the United States, a bank in Singapore is an offshore bank to you. Therefore, the idea of offshore banking is relative.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A business or an individual, in this case you, may select an offshore bank account in a jurisdiction that is typically favorable in terms of taxes (often referred to as a tax haven by media), as well as in terms of legalities. In addition to choosing a jurisdiction with no to little income tax, for many, privacy and &quot;secrecy&quot; of banking activities are two of the bigger key considerations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It goes without saying that access to your funds is important, as well as protection from corruption and stability in terms of certainty.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;List of Common Offshore Online Banking Services&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is a brief list of services offered by offshore banks. This list is by no means a full comprehensive list of an offshore bank&#39;s offerings, but rather a list of some of the most common offshore online banking services that businesses and individuals are offered:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Remote Deposits of funds&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Direct Deposits of funds&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ACH / Wire Transfers / EFT - Electronic Fund Transfers&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Consumer and Commercial Lending&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All Basic Credit Activities&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Access to Capital - Offshore Debit Cards&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Forex - Currency Exchange&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Wealth Management&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Offshore Trading Account&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Offshore Brokerage Account&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Administrative Services&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Trustee Services&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Note: Offshore banks typically tend to focus on either consumer or commercial banking. Within consumer, banks differentiate between retail consumer (the average individual) or private banking (meant for high net worth individuals).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because each concentration involves a different cost structure from the bank&#39;s perspective, when selecting an offshore bank for yourself, be clear on what type of consumer you are and what offshore online banking services you need. Gaining this clarity will ensure you are not disappointed in your choice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;List of Common Offshore Banks&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No doubt the two most common names in offshore online banking are Switzerland and Cayman Islands. Just pick up any business journal or pop in a business based Hollywood flick. There is likely a mention of a Swiss bank account somewhere.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is because as of at least 2012, these two jurisdictions held the most number of total deposits amongst all offshore online banks. Some other jurisdictions that offer offshore online banking are the following:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Singapore&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Malaysia&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Panama&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cook Islands&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dominica&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Saint Kitts and Nevis&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Antigua&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Malaysia&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anguilla&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;New Zealand&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Luxembourg&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bahamas&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Barbados&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bermuda&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;British Virgin Islands&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cyprus&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cook Islands&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Channel Islands&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Monaco&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mauritius&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hong Kong&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Malta&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Macau&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Regulating Offshore Online Banking&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;With complexity comes increasing regulation. The regulation around offshore online banking activities has steadily increased over the years, but according to many of its supporters it is still not enough. This means much more is in the pipelines. Regulation has particularly increased significantly after the significant events of September 11, 2011.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Regulatory guidance is issued and monitored by global bodies such as the International Monetary Fund or the IMF, who require financial institutions worldwide to maintain a certain level of operating or performance standard, specifically in terms of capital adequacy and liquidity. These key performance indicators are to be reported by banks on a quarterly basis to its designated regulator (such as the Fed or the FDIC in the United States).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The list of regulations is endless and quite comprehensive to say the least. Some notables are the Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulation and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). These acts require banks and financial institutions to immediately report suspicious activity resembling money laundering to local government authorities despite stepping out of the BSA jurisdiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another example is the information sharing requirements between a certain group of countries with regards to capital flow and taxation which was initiated by members of the European Union. On the other side of the pond, the taxing body of the United States, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires financial institutions to report to it names of businesses and individuals who benefited from interest income resulting from deposits in US based institutions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The most notable in my opinion of recently enacted regulations is the US Patriot Act, which permits the US Government to seize all assets of a financial institution if it suspects that the institution holds assets that belong to a potential criminal. Several other countries have since followed suit.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I personally feel these regulations strengthen the global banking infrastructure. But then again I am just one person. There are others who feel in all sorts of ways about offshore online banking.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Interesting Fact: Did you know that just until the 1990s, individuals were allowed to create their very own offshore banks. This practice was stopped and now only large institutions are allowed to do so.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Connotations and Implications of Offshore Online Banking&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is not illegal to conduct offshore online banking, but such activities tend to carry with them a certain set of connotations and legal implications that you must be aware of and comply with. There can be severe fines, penalties and legal repercussions if you fail to comply with the legal and regulatory requirements.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Why you must be thinking? Because offshore banking historically has been used and abused by those who intended to evade taxes, as well as those that used funds for illegal causes. For example, organized crime networks heavily use offshore online banking to launder money.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But like I said, conducting offshore online banking isn&#39;t an illegal activity. All persons conducting offshore online banking are required by most countries (depending on their residency) to disclose the activities and the outcomes, such as interest income for example.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Specifically in the United States for example, a US resident&#39;s income is taxed on a global basis. This means that even interest earned overseas is subject to taxation by US authorities. Now although financial institutions are not required to disclose this information to countries of interest due the bank secrecy guidelines, individuals are required to disclose this information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Similarly, one can legally avoid taxes in certain situations. For example, a resident of Country X living and working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may not have to pay taxes if Country X does not tax the individual&#39;s global income.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Because there is no taxation on income earned in many Arab nations, interest income earned from deposits in a UAE bank account is not subject to tax. Further, the income is also not taxed in Country X. This is a common reason why so many affluent folks change residency and citizenship status, one that resonates most with their financial goals and objectives.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&#39;s a very interesting dynamic and there is a ton of opportunity for strategizing as you can imagine.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dollar Concentration in Offshore Online Banking&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Although offshore online banking is not a subject delved into by the average individual, the numbers involved (concentration of wealth and financial activity) are quite significant. You may find a lot of these simply fascinating.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For example, specialized banking economists and analysts indicate that half of the global capital (money) flows through one of the many offshore banks out there. The so called Tax Havens (think Switzerland) have over a quarter of the global wealth (think high net worth individuals and big companies). These Havens also hold over 30% of profits generated by companies based in the United States.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;And that&#39;s not it. Over 6 trillion US dollars owned by high net worth individuals are also reported to be held in offshore bank accounts in one shape or another.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Illegal Monies in Offshore Bank Accounts&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Opportunists have identified weaknesses in the offshore banking system and thus have taken advantage of the systems to launder monies generated through illegal means and used for illegal purposes. According to the IMF, this amount is as large as 1.5 trillion US dollars on an annual basis. To put things in perspective for you, this is roughly 5% of the world&#39;s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In addition to illegal monies, there are also monies that have evaded taxation as well as monies that were generated through fraud, graft and corruption. All in all, the amounts are super significant. And as I stated above, the two jurisdictions with the biggest concentration of these amounts are the Cayman Islands and Switzerland (as of 2012).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Offshore Internet Banking for Corporations of All Sizes&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have already stated this earlier, but offshore online banking is not only for large companies, but companies of all sizes as well as individuals. There are a certain set of requirements that any institution, an individual or a company have to meet in order to open and maintain an offshore bank account.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In fact, it is easier for individuals to open and maintain an offshore bank account before companies are required to complete additional forms in a specific manner when establishing an offshore internet bank account.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Corporations typically engage in offshore online banking when they contemplate one or any mix of the following purposes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cost containment (bank fees and charges)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paying and receiving payments from vendors and customers in local jurisdictions&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Asset protection strategies&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;International acquisitions and investments&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Compensating local employees in an offshore jurisdiction&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Political reasons - Stability and predictability&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Establishing a local business presence&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Again, this is not a comprehensive list of why companies engage in offshore online banking. There are several other reasons why a company may decide to establish an offshore bank account. The only true way to find out the best offshore bank for you, and whether your objectives will be met through offshore internet banking is by speaking to a professional who can walk you through the entire process.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Concluding Thoughts on Offshore Internet Banking&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I gave you a ton of information to read and digest in this article. As you have read, offshore internet banking is used by several different constituencies for several different purposes with several different intentions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are some significant advantages that can be derived from opening an offshore bank account such as entering new global markets and some serious offshore tax planning. I obviously recommend opening an offshore bank account for the right reasons, with full compliance with laws and regulations. For those contemplating abusing the system, understand that bank secrecy is a weakening concept, and one that will continue to weaken over the years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/5171142961958527630/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/eastern-european-banking-model.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/5171142961958527630'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/5171142961958527630'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/eastern-european-banking-model.html' title='Eastern European Banking Model'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-2765267684394650100</id><published>2022-02-08T07:30:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:30:08.137-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Some Ideas for How You Can Reduce Waste in Your Office</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; Most of us these days will appreciate the need to reduce the amount we waste. This is not only so that we live more sustainably but also so that we save money - more of us are counting the pennies these days. In most offices there is a high degree of unnecessary wastage. By taking steps to eliminate some of this waste we can save a lot of money over the course of a year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tips for Reducing Waste in Your Office&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are a few ideas for how you can reduce waste in your office:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you have drink vending machines or water fountains you will want to make sure that these can accommodate glasses and mugs. That way your team members will able to use their own utensils rather than relying on disposable plastic cups.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mindseteco.co/&quot;&gt;https://mindseteco.co/&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;This will save you a lot of money over time. It also means that you avoid creating a lot of plastic that needs to be disposed of.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Paper and ink are probably the resources that get wasted the most in offices. If you look in most bins in these places you will likely see that they are crammed full of paper. This is because whatever was printed was not usable or not actually needed. It is important that you teach your team how to use the printer more sensibly. This includes fully checking documents for errors before printing them off. They should also only print when they have a reason to do so. If you notice that one of your employees has a bin full of paper beside their desk you will want a good explanation for what has happened.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another huge cause of waste in your office will probably be electricity. There will usually be plenty of devices in your office that are not being used but still sucking up electricity. It only takes a few seconds to turn these off and it is not like there is any real benefit to having them on. If you are serious about not wasting electricity in your office you should notice a significant drop in the amount you need to spend on electricity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;During winter it is a waste to heat rooms that are not in use. Make sure that the heat is turned off in any empty offices or seminar rooms.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Times are hard at the moment so it is vitally important that you save as much money as possible across the board.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Reducing Waste - 3 Steps Restaurants Are Taking to Reduce Waste&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have helped hundreds of restaurants over the past few years move toward zero waste -- a philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused or recycled.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Businesses pushing toward zero waste focus on reducing waste as much as possible and then diverting any remaining waste toward recycling and composting environments. To accomplish this, I&#39;ve seen these businesses incorporate 3 major tactics:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1) Eliminating Non Recyclable or Compostable Waste - I&#39;ve seen a variety restaurants and cafes effectively eliminate waste that can not be composted or recycled. For outbound supplies (ones used by customers), many have moved over to compostable food packaging for their cutlery, to go containers, cups, bowls, etc. Inbound supplies can be a bit more difficult to control (e.g., it&#39;s more difficult to force your vendor not to cover your produce with plastic wrap), but still in many cases restaurants have been able to ask vendors to stop using packaging which is difficult to recycled such as Styrofoam.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2) Eliminating their Trash Cans - I&#39;ve seen quite a few sustainably minded business owners eliminate or dramatically reduce the size of their trash can. This seems to be a very powerful tactic so long as you&#39;ve already implemented #1 and reduced most of your packaging to compostables &amp;amp; recyclables. By eliminating your trash can, you force customers to think before they discard their waste, and when combined with proper recycling &amp;amp; composting signage, this can be very effective for getting customers to self-sort their waste.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3) Employee Education - I&#39;ve found that businesses that are the best at moving toward zero waste actively educate and train their employees on recycling, composting, use of re-usables, etc. Training is key for answering customer questions (e.g., which bin does this fork go in?) and for the sorting of waste left at tables or in the kitchen. Further, having employees that are excited about a businesses move toward zero waste will go a long way in embedding that sentiment into the businesses culture and the minds of it&#39;s customers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;3 Practical Ways for Landscapers to Reduce Waste&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Green business is a hot-ticket commodity in many parts of the country. Virtually every industry has a market segment of green specialists offering services marketed towards consumers who prioritize the environment and sustainable alternatives. Many business owners find that their customers are willing to pay more for a highly quality product or service that is more sustainable and less destructive to the environment locally and globally.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For this reason, many landscapers and design-build firms market themselves as environmentally conscience or even &quot;green&quot; in their techniques and material choices. After all, the companies that make our environments beautiful should aim to keep them that way. However, their dedication to green practices may not extend beyond their choice of native plants. Landscapers, golf courses maintenance crews, and other routine maintenance providers ought to work towards developing more sustainable procedures in their day-to-day work. Here are three practical ways that lawn and tree care companies can improve their practices and reduce waste.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. Use recycled materials for landscaping&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The EPA advises that landscapers and home owners recycle waste from their landscaping projects, including green waste (suggesting mulching some byproducts), lumber, brick, concrete, and asphalt. Obviously, the more materials which we can salvaged for reuse in other projects, the better for the customer&#39;s budget and for the environment. This may require the innovative use of old, weathered materials in new, thoughtful ways by other customers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. Compost green waste&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Composting is a great small-scale solution for individual home owners, some of whom may choose to hire a lawn and tree care company which offers composting services. Composting can also be done in large-scale facilities or landfills, but may have some drawbacks, such as smell which affects the surrounding community. Often times, websites run by your state or local government provide more information about how to set up effective compost piles in either home-made or industrial compost bins. Landscapers can help educate their clients about the benefits of home composting and assist with the set up of systems that will radically reduce their waste output.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. Recycle lawn grass clippings&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While the EPA&#39;s suggestions target landscaping projects instead of the byproducts of routine maintenance, lawn and tree care companies as well as golf course maintenance crews dispose of a significant amount of lawn clipping grass into non-composting landfills. In fact, the amount of lawn clippings produced in 6 months in the United States could feed all of our cattle for a year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Time will tell how effective green landscapers are in protecting and enhancing the local environments that they serve. If all landscapers practiced these guidelines, our waste would be radically reduced and our affected ecosystems better supported.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/2765267684394650100/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/some-ideas-for-how-you-can-reduce-waste.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/2765267684394650100'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/2765267684394650100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/some-ideas-for-how-you-can-reduce-waste.html' title='Some Ideas for How You Can Reduce Waste in Your Office'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-5505570744397239784</id><published>2022-02-08T07:29:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:29:53.494-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Build Your Own Solar Panel System</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;The 2003 the Northeast blackout affected 45 million people in eight US states. Those using alternative sources of energy such as solar panels were able to benefit from their independence from the grid. No food going bad in refrigerators, no sitting in the dark for them. The Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, has reported that electricity consumption and production have consistently expanded, resulting in an increased burden on a system not designed for such a large load, meaning that many people are turning to solar panels for security as well as financial and environmental reasons.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Solar power is a &quot;green&quot; and renewable power and doesn&#39;t emit harmful carbon dioxide, which means it&#39;s a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Close to 3000 pounds of CO2 per year can be saved by a typical home solar energy system, which works out to about 30 tons over its lifetime. These clean, green technologies will be the core of the next industrial revolution, according to Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth director.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The use of solar power drastically reduces electricity costs, and this is one of the most common reasons for choosing it.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sempersolaris.com&quot;&gt;www.sempersolaris.com&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;Federal and state governments offer solar incentives, which help to offset the initial expenses of a solar energy system. The 2005 Energy Policy Act provides two ways to be given a solar energy tax credit from the federal government. Solar energy rebates are also offered by more than 50% of US states.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;An average of 164 watts of solar power per square meter is delivered to the Earth&#39;s crust by the sun. If we placed enough solar panels in the Sahara desert to cover just one percent of it, we could generate enough electricity to power the entire planet. This abundance of solar power means there&#39;s more than we&#39;ll ever need. But because the power sent out by the sun arrives as a mixture of light and heat, we can&#39;t use it as it is to directly power a car or a computer. This is why solar panels were invented - to convert the sun&#39;s power into a form we can use, like electricity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Any extra electricity you create using your solar panels, if you&#39;re attached to the grid, will be paid for by the utility company. Accounting for a solar energy system&#39;s electricity production and enabling utilities to purchase excess energy from homeowners, net metering is allowed in 30 states. The most frequently used option is a single, reversible meter. As a solar energy system produces electricity, the kilowatts are used first to meet on-site energy demand. Excess electricity is then fed into the grid, turning the electric meter backwards, instead of being stored in a battery. The homeowner is credited for the extra kilowatts at the end of each metering period.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Excess electricity can be stored for use on days that are overcast. The ability to store excess electricity in batteries means you don&#39;t need to be attached to the grid even for cloudy days. In stand alone solar power systems batteries are charged with surplus electricity for night-time use. The life cycle of a battery is what determines its suitability for use with solar cells. The amount of electricity required, along with the size of the battery, will determine the number of hours energy will last during periods of no sunlight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;How is solar power produced? To produce solar power, you&#39;ll need a solar panel, which is composed of one or more solar cells. As sunlight falls onto a solar cell, the cell takes in light particles (called photons). Each photon contains power, and when soaked up, the photon releases an electron in the material of the solar cell. Electric wiring on both sides of the cell enable a flow of current as the photon is absorbed. Using this method, the solar cell produces electricity, which can be used immediately, or stored within a battery for future use.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Solar panels are made up of solar cells. An individual solar cell is not able to produce enough power for most purposes; therefore, several are joined in solar panels because of course, they create more electricity together. Solar panels are available in many types and sizes, the most typical of which produce as much as 50 W of electricity and consist of silicon solar cells. Interconnecting solar panels produce even more electricity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A solar panel is a sizable flat, rectangular shape, usually somewhere between the dimensions of a radiator and a door. Power collectors, called solar cells, make up solar panels. A solar cell is usually 8-sided and blue-black in color, about the size of your palm. Just like the cells in a battery, these cells are intended to generate electricity. However, these cells use sunlight instead of chemicals to create electricity. Solar panels are also called photovoltaic panels (or PV panels), which comes from a combination of the Greek word for light, and electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You may be curious about how sunlight is transformed into electricity. When the sun shines onto a solar cell, photons (light particles) are bombarded onto the upper surface of the cell. Each light particle then carries its energy down through the cell. The photons then transfer their power to electrons in the lower layer of the cell. The electrons use this energy to escape into the circuit by jumping the barrier into the upper layer. The movement of these electrons through the circuit generates the power for our lights and appliances.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Photovoltaic cells generate electricity from sunlight, but there are other methods for making solar energy. You can also get solar-thermal panels which heat water as opposed to creating electricity. Solar-thermal panels work differently than PV panels, and don&#39;t involve electricity. Although they seem similar to solar panels, instead of light particles being grabbed by solar cells, solar thermal panels have black glass which absorbs the sun&#39;s heat. Hot water is generated by directing water between the solar panels, heating it up as it goes, after which it is channeled into the water system and of course, comes out of the faucets as hot water.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&#39;s incredible to think that the power transmitted by the sun in just one hour, is more than the whole world uses in a year. Designing (or redesigning) a building to take advantage of sunlight and heat is using passive solar power. This can be achieved by adding more insulation to your roof, or installing an extra south-facing window. Any &quot;passive&quot; adjustments like these would be installed either when the house is initially built, or during major renovation. Adding solar panels or other sunlight collectors would be referred to as active solar energy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Any form of light that hits solar panels can be transformed to solar power, which means that even on gray days they can still create some power. You can receive back-up energy (for example at night) in one of two ways. One is that you can apply to be connected to the grid in the regular way, so that this acts as a back-up supply for when your solar panels are not operating as would be the case after dark. The other option is storing additional electricity from your solar panels in batteries which will then power your appliances and lights during hours of darkness.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this environment of global warming and diminishing oil resources, it makes sense.to turn our awareness to natural and renewable resources. Solar power systems have become the most widespread source of renewable energy due to the fact that they make no clatter and manufacture no pollutants. Fitting photovoltaic (solar) panels while continuing to be connected to the grid is the most common method of changing to solar power. Any added electricity generated by the solar system is then fed into the grid. In this way the household can get paid for additional electricity produced, and can also acquire electricity at night.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Water bills can be cut by 50 to 70 % by using a first-rate solar water panel system. Apart from the evident environmental benefits of solar power, it makes financial sense. By combining both solar water panel and PV panel systems you can save even more. Installation costs for solar energy systems are high, although there are different grants available to help finance solar technology. A much more reasonably priced option is to assemble your own solar panels.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Traditional fuel sources are proving to be more tricky and costly to use, meaning an expansion in the value of solar power. Considering global warming and pollution it&#39;s apparent that traditional energy sources will no longer be viable. Renewable power sources, by definition, are limitless, unlike fossil fuel. As renewable energy technology continues to mature and the prices of accepted power sources rise, solar technology is starting to become more affordable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Environmentally aware Hollywood celebrities, such as Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom, have taken their commitment further than recycling and driving hybrid cars. These actors have switched to using solar panels and other renewable power sources in their homes, slashing their energy use. Johnny &quot;Captain Jack Sparrow&quot; Depp&#39;s island in the Bahamas is to be powered by solar power rather than environmentally unfriendly generators. &quot;Dallas&quot; star, Larry Hagman has saved $24,000 per year by switching to solar power, taking his electricity bill from $37,000 to a mere $13,000 a year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Actor, Edward Norton was so inspired by the solar panels installed in his own house that he created a program, in partnership with BP, to provide solar energy systems to lower income households in the LA area. Through the BP Solar Neighbors program a free solar system is offered to a low income household each time a celebrity buys one. An outstanding idea, the project has already had some of the best of Hollywood talent participating in it, including Owen Wilson, Alicia Silverstone and Will Ferrell. This project is probably contributing to the 30% annual growth of BP&#39;s solar division.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Around 50% the world&#39;s power supply will come from sustainable energy sources within the next 30 years according to forecasts from Shell. A great sustainable energy project is being shared by some of the top global corporations, including Total, General Electric and BP. The recent BP oil spill disaster has turned the world&#39;s attention to the increasing demand for alternative sources of energy and has increased public interest in solar energy as well as other renewable sources of power. The serious consequences of the oil spill have resulted in a substantial reshuffle of investment priorities, with American energy marketing campaigns placing a lot more focus on sustainable sources of power.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The United States is by far the major energy consumer in the world. 25% of the world&#39;s power consumption is by the US - even though it accounts for only 5% of the entire population of the earth. A 100mw solar energy plant in Israel will provide more than 200,000 people with electricity, and they have plans to build an even bigger plant in the future - a 500mw plant. The world&#39;s largest solar electricity system can be found in Bavaria, while around 1/2 of solar panels manufactured worldwide are used in Japan. When looking at these facts we can see how far America has to go in order to make the most of solar energy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you switch to using solar panels for your house, there are 2 aspects to the financial benefits. Using solar energy firstly means lower electricity bills. Second, if you stay connected to the grid, you&#39;ve got the option to sell excess electricity to the utility company. With installation costs still being very high, the typical residential solar power system takes around 18 months to have paid for itself - although making your own solar panels is a less expensive option.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many more individuals are creating their own solar panels now than ever before. Since solar system installation costs are still very high DIY solar panels are fast becoming popular. And the process is easier than you may think. DIY solar panels can be safe and highly effective if created and installed using a good instruction guide. Certainly, creating your own solar panels saves the initial installation costs which means the savings are even greater in the long run.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Property value can be increased by the addition of solar panels. According to HUD, for every $1,000 you save in annual utility bills the value of your home rises by $20,000. A house which is energy efficient is of great value in the eyes of a potential buyer. In addition to the other benefits, a solar system means a home has a back-up system during electricity blackouts. A home-buyer knows that if they buy a house with a solar power system installed, they are also buying peace of mind - knowing that during any power outages they will be unaffected.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Installing panels on a roof that faces east or west will still work - you don&#39;t have to have a south-facing roof. Another effective option is the ground-mounted solar system placed in a flat, un-shaded area. A pole, cemented into the ground holds the solar panel in place. Batteries which have been charged with any surplus electricity produced by the solar panels during the day can provide energy overnight.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Solar panels will still work with a roof that faces east or west and are not reliant on a south/north one. Another effective option is the ground-mounted solar system placed in a flat, un-shaded area. A pole, fixed into the ground with cement holds the solar panel in place. Your overnight energy can come either from the grid - if you&#39;re still connected - or from batteries which have been charged with excess electricity from your solar system during the day.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/5505570744397239784/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/build-your-own-solar-panel-system.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/5505570744397239784'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/5505570744397239784'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/build-your-own-solar-panel-system.html' title='Build Your Own Solar Panel System'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-3884365502363911680</id><published>2022-02-08T07:28:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:28:49.333-08:00</updated><title type='text'>How to Buy a New Bed Sheet</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; Keep in mind when buying a bed sheet for your bedroom that you will want to match your existing decor, unless you are buying a whole new bedroom set, which is the most fun but also the most expensive option. A lighter colored bed sheet will show stains, but the darker ones will fade easier. Also, if you are getting a pattern you will want some element of it to coordinate with your bedroom and you will want to make sure the pattern willl not clash with any other patterns you already have in your room.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Make sure you choose the right size. In addition to twin, full, queen, king, or California King, you will need the depth of the mattress. If you have a deep mattress, you&#39;ll want to make sure that you get the deep pocket sheets so that the bottom sheet will go all the way to the bottom of your mattress and that you have enough fabric to tuck it in.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://beddingnbath.com.au&quot;&gt;https://beddingnbath.com.au&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with the bed sheet coming off of your mattress and you find yourself sleeping on top of the mattress instead of the sheet. This happens to me sometimes when I am staying at a motel and I hate it! Usually this happens because the maid has put the bottom sheet on in the wrong direction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What type of fabric do you like for your sheets? A lot of people don&#39;t really think of the type of fabric when they are buying bedding sheets, they go more for the aesthetic appeal. The type of fabric that you are sleeping on can have a large impact on the comfort of your sleep. Silk, in my opinion, would be the ultimate sleeping experience. However, real silk sheets, not the fake ones, can run you over $1000. And the fake silk sheets just do not have the same feel. Satin can often be confused with silk, but once you have felt the difference you will not be able to make that mistake.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Cotton is the most common fabric used for a bed sheet. But even with cotton there is a large variety in the type of cotton that is used. There is Egyptian cotton, which is the highest quality, best cotton that can be used for a bed sheet. Then there is regular cotton, which can be 100% cotton or a cotton blend. With the blends you are getting some of the features that you cannot get with 100% cotton, such as the sheen on a sheet, or wrinkle free. Other products that are used to produce bedsheets is bamboo and hemp. Cotton, Bamboo and Hemp are all choices for natural bedding. You may think that bamboo or hemp would be rough to the touch, but these fabrics can be very soft to the touch. To add to the choices, you can have regular fabrics or organic fabrics. If you are concerned about the environment or health choices, organic bedding is a good choice, but make sure you choose certified organic. So many choices!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Once you&#39;ve chosen the type of fabric that you want, you&#39;ll want to look at the quality of the product. The amount of money you will want to spend for your new bed sheet is directly proportionate to the quality of the fabric that you will choose. And of course that will be dependent upon the type of use you have planned for your new bed sheet. If you will be using this bedsheet as a beach blanket, then I suggest that you go for the lowest quality sheet you can find. After all, it will be blasted with sand and soaked with salt water. So you won&#39;t want to spend a lot of money on it. If you&#39;re using your new bed sheet in a guest room, then you&#39;ll probably want to get something that is going to be comfortable for your guests to sleep on, without costing you a lot of money. If you grab something around the 300 thread count range, it should be comfortable without being scratchy. That is the range where the line is drawn between poor and good quality.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you are buying a new bed sheet for your own bed, you will of course want to get the best quality that you can afford. There is some controversy regarding thread counts. While most people agree that a quality thread count starts at 300, the controversy comes in the higher range thread counts. Some people feel that once you get beyond the 800 thread count range the quality does not improve. I say test it for yourself. Some people have more nerve endings in their skin than others, the same as some people have a better sense of smell than others and some have better eyesight than others. To me it makes sense that if you are squeezing 1500 threads into a single square inch as opposed to 800 threads squeezed into the same square inch, that there must be a difference. Whether that difference can be felt by you, only you can tell. But if you are one of the people who can tell the difference you will want to get what feels best to you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The next step in the process, it is to shop until you drop! If you are like me you like to get the very best quality at the very lowest price. I don&#39;t mind spending a little time shopping around, if it will help me to find the best bang for my buck. Many times, if you are willing to do a little shopping around you can find clearance prices on your new bed sheet. Just because it is clearance, does not mean that it is in inferior in quality, it simply means that it is the last of that product, and they are wanting to move the old product out so they can bring the new products in. Bonus for you! If you do not like to comparison shop, I suggest you go to a store or estore that specializes in bed sheets and find a product there. They will have the best selection and a good range of prices.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here are some other suggestions for using your new bedsheet, besides putting on your bed. Use it as a very large beach towel, the sand shakes out of it nicely and it folds up much smaller than a beach towel and will fit better in your bag. Use it as a table covering. Use it as a backing for a quilt. Use it as a curtain, just remove the stitching from either side of the top hem, and you have a place to insert the curtain rod. Use it as a floor covering for a baby to lay on to play. Fold it up and put it on a tabletop to use as padding to iron on if you do not have an ironing board. Attach it to your gazebo in the summer, inside the netting to create shade.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;King Size Bed Sheets&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To spruce up your king size bed and to prevent the mattress from being soiled, you need king size bed sheets. These sheets are available in various materials such as cotton, flannel, silk, polyester etc. Cotton king bed sheets are ideal for every day use, whereas occasionally, you might want to move up to silk sheets. Either way, it is advisable to have different types of bedding to recharge and brighten up your bedroom.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Harlow King Sheet Set: This set is made of beautifully designed flat sheets, fitted sheets and two pillow covers. The sheet is made in pure cotton with 400-thread count. The superior quality cotton and close construction of the sheets ensure that they will provide a comfortable night&#39;s sleep. This set is extra soft and durable but are machine washable. The bed sheet set is priced at $180 and is available in two colors, charcoal grey and blue. The design of the bed sheet is simple yet elegant.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Tempest King Sheet Set: Do you want to know what it feels like to be a king? Select this royal golden shade bedding set by Tempest. The bed sheet is made in pure cotton with solid 400-thread count.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This Tempest set is made of a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillow covers in king size and is available for around $220. They will absolutely enhance the beauty of your room with its golden color. and is an absolute must if you want to live in luxury every single night.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Etoile King Sheet Set: These sheets are for those who have an aura of sophistication about them. The bed sheet set contains fitted sheet, two pillow covers, and a flat sheet in beautiful ivory color. The pillow covers and the flat sheet hem contain detailed pin tucks which makes them look absolutely stunning. They are made with 300 thread count pure cotton thread. The bed sheet is suitable for machine wash; hence, you need not worry about its light color. The light color of the bed sheet brightens the room and matches with the bed. The sheet is available for $110.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pure Beech Sateen King Sheet Set: Who said you need to spend lots of money for elegant bedding? This beautiful satin king bed sheet set is available for$100. They are made using strong fiber that is regenerated from the Beachwood trees in Europe and hence the bed sheet is eco friendly too. The beautiful melon color of the bed sheet will spice up the room. The fabric is 100% modal with a thread count of 250. No pesticide or toxic material is used in making of these sheets and they are so soft it is much liking sleeping on a cloud (if you have ever done that).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Don&#39;t just buy your bed sheets willy-nilly. You will be sleeping on them every night for years to come, and you definitely want to make sure that you get sheets that fit and will be comfortable.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the first things you need to understand is the thread count and how they affect the quality of the sheet. The thread count is the number of threads per square inch. The thread count works in both directions as the sheets are made by crossing threads vertically and horizontally one on top of the other. Usually sheets with a higher thread count feel much more comfortable, but they are also made of thinner sheets so they tend to wear faster. However, a low thread count generally feels scratchy and rough.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Secondly you should understand the different types of fabrics, and you should definitely choose the best you can afford. The most popular sheet fabric is cotton but cotton tends to wrinkle. Flannel is good for those cold, warmer nights. Satin and silk feel smooth and soft. A good idea when choosing which type of fabric to use it to buy pillowcases in various fabric types and sleep on them for a few nights. You will quickly learn which type of fabric you like the best.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, be sure to buy at least 2 sets of sheets that you like. Otherwise you will find yourself having to wash the same set over and over again with no backup. There is nothing like relaxing in the bed and spilling some wine or juice all over the bed right before you go to sleep. If you only bought one pair of sheets, you will be out of luck that night! This brings up one more point - be sure to follow the manufacturer&#39;s instructions for washing your sheets. You don&#39;t want to ruin the sheets you just bought!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/3884365502363911680/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/how-to-buy-new-bed-sheet.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/3884365502363911680'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/3884365502363911680'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/how-to-buy-new-bed-sheet.html' title='How to Buy a New Bed Sheet'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8945241864716294236.post-517149172750148624</id><published>2022-02-08T07:27:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2022-02-08T07:27:35.872-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Online Shopping - Best Way to Shop and Save</title><content type='html'>&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp; We live in an era of style even in the busy and hectic life. At times, it becomes very difficult for most of people to go to market to shop. Keeping in view the growing demand of online shopping, entrepreneurs have created many shopping portals online that are very inspiring and profitable for the customers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Online shopping is rapidly becoming the first choice of people in the world for modernized or traditional shopping. Gradually, online shopping is being accepted as the new and fashionable way of shopping. It is becoming popular because people have many other things to do in their busy life and shopping online saves time in numerous ways.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The process of shopping online has become very simple and easy. We have plenty of examples of sites that facilitate online shopping in the United Kingdom, where you can easily make purchases online with great offers and discounts. You can also find a directory of online shopping; which will help you to ensure safe access and security of your details.&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://downloadmymanual.com/&quot;&gt;https://downloadmymanual.com/&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;So you can shop online with great conviction. You can also easily get all the details about the range of products, services delivery, price, special offers and gifts, etc.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Online purchases are not only safer, but it is now easier than ever. Shopping online can be as easy as consumers wish it to be. Internet shopping can be full of fun, very easy and convenient. One advantage of shopping online is that one will be able to use the power of the internet to find the best deals available for items or services in the markets of the world. Search engines will help you to find high quality products in a simple and easy manner.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Another advantage of shopping online is one can also quickly find the offers of items or services with many different suppliers just by sitting at one place. Perhaps the best potential locations for shopping centers are available online. Online shopping is an online marketplace where numbers of stores of different brands provide their services under the same website for 24*7 that is made available everyday and every time of the year.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shopping community generally refers to a group of buyers who are connected with each other online. They put forward their experience and information in the lengths of writings with the good and bad qualities of the goods that they have purchased. These comments and evaluations often help other buyers, especially those planning to purchase products via the Internet to make the right choice.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the main reasons that the consumers are not fine with shopping online is lack of awareness and knowledge about the quality of the products and retailers. While online retailers have a solid brand exposure to comfort the customers, which smaller retailers do not have. However, a major reason for the continuous growth in online shopping is due to the increasing confidence of customers in shopping the sites online. Other major factors are the wide selection of products that is available to customers online, the recent growth and efficiency of shipping companies dealing with Internet traffic, and growth of high-speed Internet.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While shopping online you can also send special gifts to your loved ones on special occasions, as there are online stores that provide the services to send gifts as well. Websites that are designed to send gifts online contain almost all types of gift items ranging from flowers to jewelry items, from chocolates to perfumes and games etc. that are designed for almost every type of special event in the life of the person.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thus one can easily say that the online stores have brought a revolutionary and sensational change in today&#39;s racing world with their great services and offerings. So do not waste your precious time in thinking about how to buy any product? Just go online and enjoy the facilities of the online store which will fulfill your desire with comfort and very conveniently. You will surely receive benefits in various online stores compared to shopping from the local markets.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Your Ultimate Shopping Guru - 5 Reasons Why Online Shopping Is the Best&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Internet today have changed many people&#39;s lives. It made their lives easy and comfortable. So comfortable that almost everything can be done online - socialization, work, pay bills and shop without leaving their homes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Above all, one activity done in the internet which is online shopping is growing tremendously. A recent study in US alone found that nearly half of the population is purchasing online. This is because a lot of people have discovered the advantages of online shopping.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Convenience&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This is one reason why people love to shop online. Shopping on the web allows consumers to shop at the convenience of their own home. People who have disabilities, ill or those who are too busy to go to stores can still purchase what they need online.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Imagine how crowded shopping malls are during holidays or weekends. Shopping online can avoid crowds that make people irritated waiting and falling in line just to pay for the items that they have just bought. And problems finding a parking place can be eliminated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It is very convenient because consumers can shop anytime of the day without worrying about store hours. Online shopping gives consumers the ability to shop at a time that is convenient to them.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Moreover, shopping online makes it easier to send gifts to relatives, friends and loved ones since most online shopping websites offer fast and reliable shipping options. It&#39;s a great way to surprise loved ones too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Accessibility&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anyone with an internet access can just log and can look and purchase for items they want no matter where in world they are. No need to waste time and energy to go to stores that are too far just to buy items they want.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Through online shopping, people can shop overseas without even traveling.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Affordability&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shopping online can save money from traveling expenses, food and impulsive shopping. Used or old stock items can be easily found online which are much cheaper such as books and furniture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sometimes is it is even tax free. Those online stores that don&#39;t have a physical store in some state don&#39;t have sales tax.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Best Buy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Easy access to the product&#39;s information gives the consumers better choices. Aside from the information that is available at the online store, consumers can easily search the internet for more information. Moreover, they can look for the product reviews and ratings which are great help to the consumers in making wise decisions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Aside from the information, product reviews and ratings, online shopping gives consumers wide range of choices. Going to traditional stores usually limit the choices of consumers which force them to buy things that they don&#39;t really like.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Confidentiality&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are things people want to buy in private. Items such as adult toys, sexy lingerie etc, through online shopping consumers can do discreet purchases.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Even with these advantages of shopping online, a lot of people still don&#39;t trust online shopping for security reasons. However, there are simple solutions for this problem.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shop Online Securely&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Find out about a merchant by visiting its website. Look for guarantees, warranties and return information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Look for online shops that have symbols like unbroken lock or key, URL that begins with https:// and sites that have SSL or &quot;Secure Socket Layer&quot;, this means that the consumers and the merchants can only view the payment information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Look at the privacy statements to know how the consumer&#39;s personal information will be used. Reliable merchants always make this information easily available to the consumers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Always pay purchases with a credit card, check card or PayPal.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;• Always keep records of transactions. If it is possible, always have them printed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There are so many advantages of shopping online that attracts consumers to shop online - convenience, accessibility, affordability, best buy and confidentiality. However, there are few consumers who don&#39;t trust online shopping. On the other hand, with these simple tips on how to purchase online securely, consumers can enjoy the wonderful benefits of online shopping and be satisfied.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/feeds/517149172750148624/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/online-shopping-best-way-to-shop-and.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/517149172750148624'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/8945241864716294236/posts/default/517149172750148624'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://agffgffhg.blogspot.com/2022/02/online-shopping-best-way-to-shop-and.html' title='Online Shopping - Best Way to Shop and Save'/><author><name>vgffghf</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02621111823361153963</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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