Archive for July, 2008
As a business owner, you are both the boss and the employee. Some people can thrive in this type of situation and achieve more than they could in a traditional work environment. For other people, this situation can spell disaster. That is why it is important to analyze yourself several times a year to make sure you are staying on track.
Are you focused on your business? This alone can throw your business into high gear or create a standstill. It can be easy to lose focus when you work at home, as there will always be other things competing for your attention. It is okay to let the laundry wait for a few hours while you work on your business. Your laundry can’t pay your bills, but those few hours you put into your business could reap you many financial rewards.
Not only is focusing on business tasks important, but it is important to be focused within your business. It is easy to get sidetracked with new business ventures and other offers. It can be hard to spread your time and energy over too many projects. It is easier to manage a select few projects that are tightly woven within your target market.
Are you being productive? At the end of the day, do you ever feel like you worked all day but accomplished nothing? Take a look at the tasks you are working on, and whether they are actually important to your success. If you find yourself getting sidetracked by surfing the web, chatting in forums, or reading blogs, try to schedule time for those activities after your “real work” is done.
On the other hand, if you feel your time is being sucked away by answering email, updating your website, or collecting research for an upcoming information product you are working on, try outsourcing those tasks to a virtual assistant. This will help you free up some time to work on business tasks that need more attention.
Are you reaching your goals? If you find that you are constantly missing your goal deadlines, you may want to take the time to revamp your goals. Create an action plan that will be easy to follow and help you get to your end result.
Would I hire myself? This is a tough question to ask yourself, but it is very important. It may sound silly, but perhaps you could write out a job description and give yourself an interview. Are you the type of employee you would want to hire?
If you answered “no” to the above question, take some time to write out the areas within yourself that you would like to improve. This can be a hard exercise to complete, but once you have analyzed yourself, you’ll be on your way to becoming a better business owner and having a better business.
Internet Home Based Business
Internet Marketing Strategies
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Estella Summer Sale on Baby & Kids Clothes
Live-PR.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria - … and owned by the family that founded famed children’s clothier Bonpoint), See Kai Run, Kingsley, Evisu Bonsai, Caramel Baby & Child and many others. … |
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BOTANICALS: Shore juniper
Fresno Bee (subscription), CA - It's a popular choice for bonsai. Size: This ground cover grows 6-12 inches tall and spreads 3-6 feet. Flowers: Shore junipers are conifers that produce … |
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Pediatric cardiologist can't get enough of outdoors
Memphis Commercial Appeal, TN - Japanese stone lanterns punctuate outdoor spaces along with three bonsai ficus trees. He got interested in the miniature trees of the Orient after seeing a … |
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Downtown Oak Park stores prepare for annual sidewalk sale
ABC7Chicago.com,  USA - Local stores such as, The Book Table, Taylor's Gifts & Bonsai, Kelly Frame Co., Carriage Flowers and Fringe Home Design are getting ready to make room for … |
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Artisans work their magic on 16th Street Mall
YourHub.com, CO - Shoppers there can find anything from handmade jewelry and clothes to bonsai trees. The Urban Market runs from 11 am to 9 pm on Thursdays through Aug. 7. … |
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TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Tampa Tribune, FL - BONSAI: Eve's Garden, 5602 Land O' Lakes Blvd., Land O' Lakes, offers free bonsai tree demonstrations from 11 am to 4 pm Saturday. … |
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Asian blend in dcor
Deccan Herald, India - Japanese style homes incorporate well manicured bonsai plants. Furniture in Asian style homes serves multiple purposes, due to minimum space in their homes. … |
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Buddhists celebrate life at Obon festival
Ventura County Star, CA - The event drew hundreds of visitors in a daylong celebration that featured classical dance, judo and karate demonstrations, bonsai exhibits and Japanese … Obon dance ends festival Obon Festival |
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If you like this post, please buy me a beer for $3 8-)It has been 1 year since our business at Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC at http://www.foreclosureinfo.bravehost.com has intensively and extensively helped Michigan homeowner’s with their home situation to help prevent foreclosures. Times, policies and events within the Mortgage industry have been rapidly changing within this time period. One important change involves the department of Loss Mitigation. When I now call some lenders to loss mitigate, the lender will say that we no longer have a loss mitigation department. Today, they have two departments: A collection department and a loan modification department. I think this is due in part to the new federal legislation that is coming down the pipe (so to speak) to ultimately slow down the rate of foreclosures and to help homeowners who are trapped in a loan due to predatory lending.
On this note and a bit of a tangent, one must also realize that this legislation is also designed to help bail-out the lending institutions, and the national and international investors who backed the loans. The lending institutions are having to make significant changes in this subprime meltdown and economic recession just to meet federal mandates and to stay in business (eg. Bank of America just bought-out Countrywide). Certainly, Congress is pressuring them and their financial portfolios are requiring them to make these changes. Not only are banks hurting financially, but they are also having trouble with property management. Furthermore, banks are no longer able to easily make the “fast and staggering bucks.” Understanding this helps me to say to Mr. and Mrs. Homeowner that the lender truly doesn’t want your home. They know that if a house goes into foreclosure, they will lose between $30,000 to $50,000. Lenders’ commodity is money and they make money on the interest of the performing loan. So lenders, really, just want the mortgage payments to be paid and in a timely fashion as promised within the documents signed at the closing table. In fact, it is in the best interest of the lender to mitigate to cut their losses. So the question always comes back to “How can the homeowner meet this obligation when he/she is similarly facing a financial hardship and can’t pay today?”.
Well, the two parties must communicate, negotiate, and loss mitigate. If the homeowner is behind in their payment(s) and wants to save their home, it is important for the homeowner to call the lender to tell the lender when they think or they will be able to make the next mortgage payment. In the preforeclosure stage, one will be referred to the collection department. The service representative will help to set-up a work-out solution or forbearance plan which usually involves signing a written agreement while they refer the current loan or loan in default to the loan modification department. It is important that the homeowner knows three things:
A. Usually, lenders automatically through a computerized system place a homeowner into foreclosure proceedings when they are 60 days late in their payments. This is the danger zone, and negotiations and communication needs to occur.
B. Loan modifications are not guaranteed. Right now lenders are considering and qualifying each homeowner for a loan modification depending upon their hardship and their adjustable rate mortgage especially if the rate adjustment is going to occur within the next 60 to 90 days. Know that the lenders are more likely to grant a loan modification if the ARM caused the financial hardship or will cause a financial hardship. Simple debt or the loss of a job is not always enough to permit a loan modification. After all, everyone would like to lower their interest rate. Lenders have set parameters, guidelines, and rules that they must follow. A new interest rate in a loan modification is many times determined by the homeowner’s pay stubs (income) and tax returns, and the willingness of the investor who holds the deed. It normally takes between 45 to 60 days to obtain a loan modification. During this time period, the lender wants to be assured that the homeowner can make monthly payments.
C. Documents needed vary depending upon the lender, but typically the lender will need the following items so they have the right information to consider and process the loan modification:
A hardship letter
IRS tax returns from the last two years
Last two paystubs of borrower, coborrower and/or anyone else in the home that would help establish income to cover the mortgage
Last two bank statements
Insurance declaration page to show insurance is paid and current.
Social Security, disability, or chid support documentation
An old or new appraisal might also be helpful within negotiations especially if one cannot sell the home because it is over-leveraged. Completing a financial income statement/budget is also important to establish financial priorities.
If you, the homeowner, is unable to talk to your lender or the lender won’t listen to you then please call Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC at 1 800 826-1929 and ask for Dave or Janet. Specifically, Dave has worked full-time in the foreclosure market for over 20 years. We will answer your questions, discuss options, and if wanted provide coaching services so you can save your home through loss mitigation. 1st Loss Mitigation of Michigan, dba of Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC also does Short Sales for homeowners who are unable to keep their home, but want to save their credit. Time is of the essence, so call today. Don’t be afraid to pick-up the phone, just call Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC at 1 800 826-1929. Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC is truely helping homeowners save their homes from foreclosure. Also, please visit Foreclosure Prevention Institute, LLC at http://www.foreclosureinfo.bravehost.com and http://www.grandrapidshomeplace.com/real-estate/for more information on foreclosures and the foreclosure process.
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