Are You Buying a House or a Home?
As you read and study about buying real estate, you will often find the words "house" and "home" used interchangeably. There is a huge difference between a house and a home. A house can be a place to eat, sleep, park your car, and put all your "stuff" (including other family members). It is a material possession and an investment. A home is where you feel comfortable, warm, safe, and protected.
A home is where you live.
A house is something you buy logically. A home is an emotional purchase. When buying real estate you have to balance your emotional wants and your logical needs because there will almost certainly be a time when the two conflict.
Example
For example, you may want a house with a view, but the payment is higher than you feel comfortable with on a thirty-year fixed rate mortgage.
What do you do?
Purchase the house anyway and budget more carefully for the next few years? Buy the same house without the view and get it cheaper? Make a larger down payment by borrowing from your 401K or family members, so you get a lower payment? Get an adjustable rate mortgage with a smaller payment instead of a fixed rate loan? Or buy a smaller house and still get the view?
When viewing the house, most people look at it emotionally and envision it as a safe, happy, comfortable home. Later, when making the offer or filling out a mortgage application, your logic may begin to kick in, instead. That's when "buyer's remorse" may come up, but...that's a different article.
Balancing Act
The trick in buying real estate is to view all decisions with both a logical perspective and an emotional perspective. If a situation presents itself that requires a trade-off, decide on whether there is a huge conflict or a small one. Logic should win the big conflicts, but emotion should always be a factor, even winning the small ones.
You will find yourself owning a warm, happy, safe home – and an investment for the future at a price you are willing to pay.
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Buying Land & Building a Home
Before you spend much time looking for land to buy, first do a little research to find out what costs and steps have to be take before the actual construction. You may decide it is worth more to buy an existing home and make personal modifications.
Many first time home builders think you just buy a lot and get some building permits and start building. Not so, there are a number of steps and issues one has to consider before
applying for building permits.
When buying land, you need to check the zoning to see if a home can be built on it. If it is zoned for residential, one must consider if it can be hooked up to sewer and water or is capable of supporting a septic system and well. Septic systems generally cost $5,000-$10,000.
Wells can cost $15,000-$40,000, depending on the depth, location and the need for a secondary pressure tank. Building in an unincorporated area usually requires a secondary pressure tank for the required interior fire sprinklers. Then there is the cost of bringing in other utilities such as electricity, propane tanks and phone lines.
Certain areas in the county require a "Perq Test" to determine if the site is suitable for the required septic system. This involves digging a hole about 10 feet deep and waiting a few days to determine if the ground water rises to the point where a septic system would contaminate it.
This test can only be done during the rainy season which generally ends in April. Grading a lot can be a major cost of building a home. Many lots are priced seemingly low because the high cost of grading and site preparation in order to build. Obtaining a loan on land is not as easy as getting a loan for buying a house.
Buying raw land, lenders typically require 50% down usually with a shorter term and a higher rate of interest. Once these steps are taken the next stop is the local planning department. The following information was derived from materials provided by the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy and should be considered as only a guideline. Contact the City for the most up to date information.
Follows are some of the steps necessary to complete the process of building a home.
Advanced Review Group
This group, consisting of a Planner, an Engineer, a Plan Review Technician and the Fire Marshal, meets with the project owner and his/her staff at their request, prior to the submission of any application, to discuss the process for that particular project.
This optional meeting is designed to result in both the owner and the City having an understanding about the nature and scope of the project, the steps required in the process, an approximate time frame in which the project can be completed and an approximation of the fees which will be charged.
Land Use Applications
Land use applications are processes such as General Plan Amendments, Zoning Changes, inclusion in the Urban Service Area, Residential Development Ordinance applications, Tentative Map applications, Conditional Use permits, and Architectural and Site Reviews. One or more of these applications may be necessary on some developments.
Environmental Review Certain projects, because of their size or potential impact, may require an environmental review. This determination is based on rules of the California Environmental Quality act.
Development Review Group
The Development Review Group meets every week to discuss all applications received in the past week. This group consists of members of each Division within the City organization which has responsibility for any part of the development process.
The group reviews Architectural and Site Review applications. It will also review preliminary plans in order to help the applicant identify any problem areas prior to a full submission of an application. In many cases, this results in a significant time savings for both the applicant and the City, allowing us to reduce your costs as well as the fees we must charge to recover our costs.
Sewer Allocations
Additional or new allocations for sewer capacity are granted by the Engineering Division in accordance with policies set by the City Council. Utility Connections Connections to water, sewer and storm drainage systems are handled by the Engineering Division. Engineering also reviews all infrastructure plans associated with new development and inspects the work.
Parcel Maps
Parcel maps are required in order to split lots and for subdivisions of less than five lots.
Building Permits and Inspection Building permits are generally required for any building or construction involving any plumbing, electrical, mechanical, or structural alterations. The Uniform Building Code states that a permit is required for all new construction, demolition, remodeling, improving, removing, repairs, or moving of all buildings or structures.
Regardless of the type of occupancy, a permit is required for additions, swimming pools, hot tubs, spas, decks over 30" above grade, carports, sheds over 120 sq. ft. of roof area, skylights, covered patios and walkways, retaining walls, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, termite repairs, reroofing, solar panels and most interior and exterior remodeling work. Permits are also required for plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling work. When work is done without a permit, the permit fees will be doubled, the completed work may have to be dismantled or uncovered to provide access for inspection.
Who May Apply for a Permit?
Property owners or licensed contractors may apply for a building permit. The person signing for the permit must declare they have no employees, or they must show proof of a valid Workers' Compensation Insurance policy before a permit
can be issued.
General Permit Requirements
For new construction, additions and most remodeling, complete plans are required. All plans must include the name and address of the architect, engineer, or other person preparing the plan. Energy calculations are required and must be incorporated into the plans. Generally 3 or 4 sets of plans are required to be submitted.
Information Required on Drawings
A plot plan must be included in plans for any work which alters the use, exterior footprint, exterior of an existing structure, or for any new buildings. Plot plans must show lot dimensions, front, rear and side setback distances to all property lines and existing buildings. Indicate all easements and underground utility lines. Show locations and sizes of proposed and existing water, sewer, gas and electric meter. Floor plans must show dimensions and the location of all walls, plumbing fixtures, doors, windows, appliances, kitchen counter, furnace and water heater. All electrical fixtures and locations must be indicated.
Framing plans must indicate the sizes of floor joists and girders, ceiling joists and roof rafters. If you are using main beams, trusses or any unconventional framing, calculations must be submitted.
Four exterior elevations are required which show windows, doors, skylights and architectural finish features. Heights of buildings must be indicated to show compliance with zoning regulations.
Engineered Plans
If you are constructing a new building or addition on a hillside, engineered footings are required, with soils and geology reports to substantiate all design assumptions. Calculations shall be submitted in two copies with the designer’s wet signature and stamp. Structures in the residential hillside zone must have noncombustible roofing and have ceiling fire sprinklers.
How Much Will it Cost?
Building permit fees are based on a proportion of the total construction cost, including all labor and material involved in the proposed work. A plan check fee is assessed at a percentage of the building permit fee. Plumbing, electrical and mechanical permit fees are based on the actual work done, such as how many receptacles, sinks, etc. Where applicable, all site development fees, parks development fees, public safety fees and school impact fees, mitigation fees and water meter hook-up fees must be paid prior to permit issuance.
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How to Make Your Mortgage Business Thrive in 2007
Your 7-Step One Day Marketing Plan
In my consulting experience working with hundreds of mortgage professionals, I have noticed a similar attribute that is common to most independent mortgage brokers. Most are “doers”, not “planners.”
In reality, being a doer is perhaps the ultimate mark of a successful person. It’s what makes entrepreneurs a rare breed. Rather than thinking or wishing, they get out there and make things happen.
But I have encountered many mortgage brokers who get into trouble “doing” the wrong marketing activities the right way or “doing” the right marketing activities the wrong way. If you want to “do” the right marketing activities the right way you must start with a marketing plan.
You don’t have to kill a tree to create an effective marketing plan. In fact, you can create a successful plan for your mortgage business in just one day. To begin, don’t worry about writing style or making your plan fancy. Just go get a pencil and paper and let’s get started.
Step 1 — Understand Your Market and Competition
A big mistake that many mortgage brokers make is that they start marketing their services without first understanding the market and what it wants (not what it needs). If you try to sell something that people don’t want, they won’t buy it.
It’s that simple.
A profitable market consists of people who have dire wants that are being unmet, so much so that they will jump to buy your solution (mortgage product or brokering service). A profitable market can be compared to a lake with thousands of starving fish. All you need to do is throw in the bait and it turns into a feeding frenzy.
To get an understanding of your market you should ask yourself questions like:
• Are there segments in my market that are being underserved?
• Are these segments of my market big enough to make money?
• How much of a share of that market do I need to capture, to just break even?
• Is there too much competition in the segment of my market to be competitive?
• What unique problems does my market segment face when getting financing?
• What are the weaknesses in my competition’s offering that I can capitalize on?
• Does my market want or value my unique competitive offering?
Step 2 — Understand Your Ideal Client
Knowing your ideal client intimately is the first step to easy sales. Until you know (1) who your ideal clients are, (2) what they want, and (3) what motivates them to use your services, you can’t prepare an effective marketing plan.
To really get to know your ideal clients you’ll need to ask yourself questions such as:
• How does my potential client normally research their mortgage options? (e.g. search online, ask a friend, Yellow Pages etc. )
• Who is the primary buyer and the primary buying influencer in the purchasing process? (e.g. husband or wife, real estate agent, financial planner, accountant)
• What kind of habits does my ideal client have? For instance, where do they get their information? (e.g. television, newspapers, magazines, internet, word of mouth)
• What are my target market’s primary motivations for getting financing? (e.g. pride of ownership, lower payments, building equity, eliminate financial stress, etc.)
Step 3 — Pick a Niche
If you say that your target prospect is “everybody” then nobody will be your client.
The marketplace is jam-packed with competition. You’ll have more success jumping up and down in a small puddle than a big ocean.
Carve out a specific niche and dominate that niche; then you might consider moving on to a second niche (but not before you’ve dominated the first one!).
You could be a “Home Ownership Consultant specializing in Turning Renters into Home Owners” or a “Small Business Financing Expert specializing No-Income Verification Mortgages”. ” You get the picture. Make sure to choose a niche that interests you, that you are passionate about and that is easy to contact. I can’t stress this point enough.
There’s nothing more destructive than to pick a niche that you can’t communicate with or that costs you a ton of money to contact.
Step 4 — Develop Your Marketing Message
Your marketing message not only tells your prospect what you do, but persuades them to begin a relationship with you. You should develop two types of marketing messages. Your first marketing message should be short and to the point. Some may call this your elevator speech or your audio logo. It’s your response to someone who asks you, “So, what do you do?”
The second type is your complete lead generation marketing message that will be included in all your lead generation marketing materials. To make your marketing message compelling and persuasive it should include the following elements:
• An explanation of your target prospect’s problem.
• Proof that the problem is so important that it should be solved now, without delay. (e.g. painful mistakes to avoid, high interest debt to consolidate, stop renting and own your own home etc.)
• A free offer that you invite your prospect to take as the first step (i.e. free report, free consultation, free seminar etc.).
• An explanation of the benefits people will receive from taking your free offer.
• Examples and testimonials from happy clients you have helped with similar problems.
• A clear call to action (e.g. To get your free copy, call 24-hour Recorded Hotline 1-800-123-1234 ext. 34
• Emphasize that your offer is FREE with NO OBLIGATION
Step 5 — Determine Your Marketing Medium(s)
Remember, when I said that it’s critical to choose a niche that you can easily contact?
When you go to choose your marketing medium(s) you’ll understand why that was sound advice.
Your marketing medium is the communication vehicle you use to deliver your marketing message. It’s important to choose a marketing medium that gives you the highest return on your marketing dollar (ROMD). This means that you want to choose the medium that delivers your marketing message to the most niche prospects at the lowest possible cost.
The following is a small sample of tools you might use to get your message out:
• Newspaper ads
• Posters
• Seminars
• Television ads
• Signs
• Radio ads
• Trade shows
• Yellow Pages
• Articles
• Classified ads
• Newsletter
• Networking
• Take-one box
• Telemarketing
• Magazine ads
• Postcards
• Flyers
• Email
• Door hangers
• Fax broadcasts
• Brochures
• Website
• Business cards
• Public speaking
The trick is to match your message to your market using the right medium. It would do you no good to advertise your “Debt Consolidation Services, on a hip-hop radio station targeted at young adults who rent. This is a complete mismatch of the market, message, and medium. Success will come when there is a good match of these three elements.
Step 6 — Set Sales and Marketing Goals
Goals are critical to your success. A “wish” is a goal that hasn’t been written down. If you haven’t written your goals, you’re still just wishing for success. When creating your goals use the SMART formula. Ensure that your goals are, (1) Specific, (2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4) Realistic, and (5) Time-specific.
Your goals should include financial elements, such as mortgage amount funded, annual sales commission, gross profit, and so on. However, they should also include non-financial elements such as closed deals, applications taken, leads generated, new clients.
Once you’ve set your goals, implement processes to internalize them with all of your team members if applicable. This might involve reviewing them in sales meetings, displaying thermometer posters, and awarding achievement prizes.
Step 7 — Develop Your Marketing Budget
Your marketing budget can be developed several ways, depending on whether you want to be more exact or to develop just a quick-and-dirty number. It’s good to start out with a quick-and-dirty calculation and then to support it with further details.
First, if you have been in business for over a year and tracked your marketing-related expenditures, you could easily calculate your “cost to acquire one client” by dividing your annual sales and marketing costs by the number of clients acquired.
The next step is to take your cost to acquire one client and simply multiply it by your client acquisition goal. The result of this simple computation will give you a rough estimate of what you need to invest to meet your sales goals for the next year.
Conclusion
There you have it: The Seven-Step, One-Day Marketing Plan. It’s simple really. Of course you’ll need to study up a bit more about your marketing medium(s) of choice, its appropriateness for your message, and its associated costs. But try not to make the development of your plan a laborious, drawn-out task. Remember the 80 / 20 rule: 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort.
My final word of advice is to make sure you set aside uninterrupted time to develop your marketing plan. It could very well be the most important document to which you and your team members will ever refer. Now you have the blueprint for success to not only survive in 2007 – but thrive!
About the Author:
Doren Aldana, the nation’s leading Mortgage Marketing Coach, is dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort. Aldana is also the author of a 21-part Audio Seminar, "21 Secrets of Superstar Mortgage
Brokers and Loan Officers!" To pick up your copy of this special free resource visit:
http://www.mortgagemarketingcoach.com/
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Are You Confused by the Basics Of Feng Shui ?
As you move into the world of Feng Shui you will find that is not one simple system to apply. Over the centuries, different schools of thought have developed.
For example the “Form School” relies on a great deal of intuitive insight and places great emphasis on the shape and contours of the landscape. Next the
”Compass School” is more concerned with the magnetic effects of the earth’s gravitational fields. , the movement of Qi , and utilizes the eight trigrams of the I Ching.
Solutions within these schools vary as well, as if you were not confused enough already with the concepts and practice of Feng Shui. Within the Compass School, some practitioners use a compass to find their ideal orientations to determine the health relationships or career corners; while others calculate their personal lucky and unlucky areas according to their birth dates.
Each of these systems helps you work out which part of your home need to be balanced. With the help of the concepts of “Bagua” as well as finding your own lucky and unlucky directions. You can further work to balance your own home as well as your life and its directions and stability.
As you apply the concepts of Feng Shui and learn to look at the different approaches that the compass, you will find that these are interchangeable in terms of their shapes and that these are simply and merely different ways of depicting the eight compass directions. Of north, northeast, southwest and northwest and the areas of life that these directions govern.
The ideal site for Feng Shui is said to be the where the descending heaven qi meets the ascending earth qi. There is no hard and fast rule about the perfect site. However there are some general conditions that you can look for.
Generally halfway up a hill facing the sum is considered good feng shui because you will get cool summer breezes and warm winter ones.
Next the ideal Feng Shui spot for a house is called xue or shu. It has an open space in front, the “bright hall” or Ming tang, with four mythical animals or spirits surrounding it. The red bird is the distant front view; the black tortoise is the protective hill at the back; the azure dragon is to the left and the white tiger to the right. Ideally you should have a stream flowing in front of the sine because water is regarded as a source of food and means of transportation. It is also believed that the heavens qi descends down the hill and is contained by the water.
As well in your quest to understand the concepts and complexities of Feng Shui that the idea of this protective, armchair shape can be applied not only to the site of your home, but to the Feng Shui of a particular room, where chairs are placed so that the backs are protected and there is an open space in front of you, or to your garden, where you can plant protective trees at the back if there is not a hill. After all feeling safe and secure is a large part of being happy. Feng Shui!
About the Author:
Kerry Francis
Sell Your Manitoba Cottage
www.fishlakemanitobanarrows.com
www.sellyourmanitobacottage.com
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Becoming a Note Business Expert and Professional
Many “get rich quick” schemes available in the market today make their program sound so easy that a chimpanzee could make it work. There are those in the discounted cash flow or the note brokering/investment business that would also make those claims. The reality is the same as it is for any business - you need to be good at what you do in order to be successful. However, if you are good, you can be very successful in the discounted cash flow business.
By far the most difficult and time-consuming aspect of the note business is finding quality notes that are for sale. The competition to buy quality notes is fierce. Once you find a quality note that is for sale you had better know your stuff to make sure that you close and make a good profit. Most note holders will only deal with you if they are confident that you know the business and respect you and your business as a professional.
There are two components regarding becoming a note business expert and professional that those starting out in the business need to understand. The first is the perception you leave with the client. The second is related to the depth of your understanding of the business and how it works. Anyone claiming that all you need to do is to find the notes and forward some information onto someone else, who will do all the work for you, is fooling you. You need to build a relationship with the client and they need to be confident in your professionalism and integrity. They will have lost of questions and you need to be able to answer them as an expert. If you can’t they will just move on.
Your marketing campaign is what gives your potential clients their first impression of you and your company, and can be the opportunity to buy their note, or just as easily close the door on any potential business in the future. Because this impression is so critical, it is absolutely essential that every part of the campaign be carefully designed and thought out. The postcards, your website, the newsletters, the emails, the letters, flyers etc. – whatever you are using must be integrated and connected to you and your company. It is about building up brand value in the way you present yourself as a professional. Think of the best marketing campaigns and how they are so successful. The campaign message is linked together by the brand. Clients should start to feel like they know you. They especially need to know exactly what you do – help them with their personal financial situation, whether they sell you their note or not.
The second component, becoming an expert in your field, takes time and effort. The best way to learn is through experience. Document the reactions you get from clients when you deal with them. Listen to their concerns and craft your strategy accordingly.
The other obvious way to quickly become an expert is to read extensively and research the subject. There are tons of information sources available on the discounted cash flow business. You need specialize in a particular area of the business by reading and studying the material like you’ve got a final exam in the subject next week. Take notes of the important points and keep them in notebook for reference later on. You will need to periodically review those notes as well to become and remain a real expert. A word of caution though - don’t believe everything you read. After enough reading and experience, you will start to sort out the reality from the fantasy.
Finally, you need to consolidate the information that is relevant to your clients and pull it together into a format that you can provide them. For example, as you keep track and document your interactions with clients, you will notice that many of the questions are the same. Compile your list of frequently asked questions and send them to potential clients. Not only will they perceive you as an expert, you will actually become an expert by compiling the answers. As time goes on, you will build a solid reputation with potential clients as an obvious choice to deal with.
Providing information to your potential clients about how they need to manage their note, such as tax reporting issues, dealing with late payments, monitoring the value of the property value that secures the note etc. etc. builds creditability and makes you an expert. This can be done, by a newsletter, email, factsheets, or via your website. Make sure the information presented is consistent throughout the information vehicles you chose.
In conclusion, you will close a lot more deals if you commit to these two principles: Present yourself as a professional with a well-crafted and professional marketing campaign and secondly, write, prepare and provide your clients with tons of helpful and relevant information about the business. The combined one-two punch is what is needed to experience real long-term success in the discounted cash flow note business.
For a proven and effective note marketing system, visit my site at http://dcfturnkey.avintus.com.
About the Author:
Eric Bosveld is a real estate investor, note broker and entreprenure. His company, Avintus Financial is involved in a wide range of real estate related businesses. http://dcfturnkey.avintus.com
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