Commercial University

I have just done a search on Google, and typed in “Retire in 5 years.” Here are the results:

1. A Real Estate company in Australia says - invest with us
2. A Website entitled: “Seven tips for successful saving and investing.”
3. Six keys to an Early Retirement by Microsoft Money
4. A website by the US Office of Personnel Management discussing Retirement
5. MLM Secrets - How to retire in 5 years or less
6. A website called “Free Financial Advice” with lots of table calculations
7. Three Real Estate Investment websites
8. And a “Friendster” ad that made it onto Google’s Top Ten list

What do you think?

I’ll tell you what I think: Most people have way too much debt to start saving. And it is way too tempting to walk into a store with a credit card and not buy anything when everything is shouting: “Buy Me!” Besides that, Real Estate supposes that you have some money to invest, and most people can just make it on their salaries and have nothing left over for saving and investing. I know from my years as a single parent on a teacher’s salary: You just have some money saved, then this one needs shoes, or that one needs braces, or the car needs a service, or the washing machine breaks down. You never seem to be able to get ahead.

Now if you look at statistics: The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that 96% of the population at the age of 65 end up dead, dead broke or on a pension or need their family to support them to survive. These are the same people who are following the “success” formula of going to school, get a good education, work hard and hope to retire to the good life.

Only 3% of the population become what we call financially independent, which means that at age 65 they are able to stop working, but continue to live in a basic manner. It doesn’t mean they’re rich. It just means they have enough money to support themselves, usually less than $35,000 p.a.

1% of the population at age 65 will become what we call “rich”. The ABS classifies “rich” as having a net worth in excess of $1 million dollars. There are nearly 200,000 millionaires in Australia, but even then, do these people necessarily have the lifestyle associated with a “millionaire”? Many of these millionaires have earned the title because their property is worth a million dollars. These are the millionaires that still lack time and money and unfortunately for them TIME + MONEY = LIFESTYLE and they fail to have both. It’s clear that this so-called “success” formula most of us have been taught isn’t working. Should we look at this as evidence it is highly unlikely that we’re going to succeed and say, “What’s the point of really trying? The people making it must be really, really lucky”.

While it is true that no investment is as good as property investment, it is also true that few people have the money, the knowledge or the time to pursue it as a way to get out of the rat race. What then is the solution?

Some people look at business as a solution, and because very few people have the resources to start their own business and build it up to a point where it works for them rather than the other way around, most people look at franchising as a solution.

Let us weigh the pros and cons for starting your own business versus buying a franchise:

In starting your own business you need an original idea, seed capital to research the idea, start-up capital to get started, venture capital for projects. You need a business plan, showing that you researched the market thoroughly, looking at your competition, your competitive advantage and your risks and threats to ensure that you won’t end up like 95% of new businesses who fail in their first year. Those are the cons. The pros are that when your business starts growing and expanding, and you are looking at branches or franchising, it gets to a point where it doesn’t need you anymore, and runs itself. You have leveraged your income.

Compare that to buying a franchise: A franchise is safer to get into because it has proven products, packaging, delivery and training systems that increases the likelihood of success. However, it has the following disadvantages:

1. Its high cost to purchase: ranging from $40,000 to $500,000
2. the franchise fee which ranges from $2,500 - $100,000 annually or more
3. Ongoing percentage of revenue: between 5 - 7 percent
4. Time limited contract
5. Territorial limit
6. You have a better chance to leverage your income, but most franchisees have just bought themselves a job with lots of money to pay off on top of it

There is a new business model that is growing in popularity and seriously challenging the franchise model: It is called Network Marketing (Not to be confused with illegal Pyramid Schemes)

These are the advantages:

1. Low start up costs (from $45 - a few hundred)
2. Excellent high quality products
3. An established company
4. A proven system
5. No large investments required
6. No stock or delivery problems
7. No legal or accounting problems
8. Fair remuneration and promotion
9. No experience needed to get started
10. You get help from your team members
11. No territorial limits
12. You can keep working at your job until you have built up an income
13. You can leverage your income off the efforts of others up to a certain level deep

The disadvantages:

1. You have to have the discipline to work at it, and the patience and tenacity to learn how to sell and how to work the system.

Using this business model and working at it persistently, and resolving not to quit, you can build up your income slowly between 5 - 10 years while working at your job into a comfortable income that you only have to work at for about 2 - 4 hours per day. You can even have money to invest in Real Estate, saving schemes and shares. And most importantly, you will have a business that runs whether you work it or not, giving you time for the lifestyle you want.

Undisputedly the real estate market has large potential for those investors who are interested in generating enormous profits with minimum risks involved. One such aspect of the real estate industry, which is gradually gaining popularity, is pre-construction investing. As the name suggests, it is investing in real estate like vacant plots of land or prospective sites of development. Then, with time, as the real estate property is developed, the market value of the property also appreciates. The basic of the pre-construction investing is that you should be cautious and aware of the market conditions. The trick of the trade is to invest only in emerging markets or markets that are expected to emerge.

Investment in pre-construction sites offers unparallel advantages. Not only do you get an opportunity to buy the real estate at a low price, but later on as the construction progresses, the value also increases. The investor can buy the land according to his affordability, and by the time the development is over, the value appreciates significantly. Investing in the right market is the key element to success in pre construction investment. Not only as the construction takes place, does the property appreciate but even as the construction progresses from one phase to another, appreciation continues.

The unique point about this type of real estate investing is that no mortgage loans are required and hence no payments have to be made by the investor. The sole responsibility of developing the property and financing the construction at the pre construction site lies with the builder and not the investor. By securing pre-construction land at a rebated price and a guaranteed appreciation after the development ends, the investor can be assured of reaping huge profits. Besides this profit, the investor is also the proud owner of a new and fully developed real estate property.

Many real estate investors largely undertake pre construction investment because it is comparatively easy. All you need to do is invest in the right property in the right market, wait for the price to appreciate during the construction and then sell it at the best possible market value. You dont need to face other related issues that are generally associated with other types of real estate investments.

Since you are dealing with a brand new property, you dont need to be concerned about other problems like fixing or making major repairs. Investors are also easily convinced of making pre-construction investment because once the construction is over, you also have the option of renting or leasing it while you can also repay the mortgage. The fact that you are earning income from the rent and at the same time paying off your debt, while you are still in possession of your property whose development has been financed by someone else makes it all the more appealing. Thus, it is advisable to have some pre-construction investments along with other real estate investments, as a part of the business.

Although the pros of pre-construction investment certainly outweigh the cons, an investor still needs to consider the drawbacks of the business before making any investments. Due to the steadily increasing popularity of this type of investment, developers have started demanding a higher down payment. An investor needs to have the foresight to find the appropriate pre-construction site, which will yield maximum profit after development. As an investor, you need to take cautious steps to minimize the risks and maximize your profits. To accomplish this, you need to do satisfactory research so that you dont end up with a raw deal.

With the appropriate insight and investment in the right emerging market, pre-construction investment offers tremendous scope for growth and profit maximization.

In the future, a large portion of people are likely to find
local businesses through the web. The following 6 factors
suggest the importance of local businesses investing in a web
presence…

> Google and Yahoo are developing local search engines. In the
future, no matter where you are in the world, all you’ll have to
do is enter your address and a business type and Google or Yahoo
will return a list of businesses closest to you.
> Some of
your potential customers will already be using the search
engines to find your local business. For example, if you are a
real estate agent in Perth, Australia, some of your potential
customers will be using Google to find “real estate agent in
Perth Australia”.
> The number of users with Internet
access is increasing rapidly. Young people in particular will
almost certainly use the web rather than page through a yellow
pages directory.
> Very few local businesses have websites
that are listed in the search engines. Competition is weak but
in the future local businesses will compete aggressively for top
positions in the search engines.
> A website is by far the
most effective and inexpensive way to manage a growing customer
database. Web forms make it easy to capture client’s data and
e-mail management systems make it easy to send personalized
e-mail.
> A website can save a lot of time and money by
including frequently asked questions and giving the customer the
ability to pay via credit card, thus reducing the manpower
needed to service your clients.

The trends and patterns in the real estate industry are often defined by the lifestyle patterns and the general standard of living of people. It often happens that a particular land area shows such sharp fluctuations in trends that it ends up changing the entire pattern of the industry.

In the recent years, the sharp rise in prices in Florida lots has given a new meaning to success in the real estate sector with figures, which have never been seen before.

Success in the real estate sector

The amount of success you get by investing in the real estate sector depends on lots of factors. The first and most important factor is the criteria on which you based your decision to invest in a particular lot.

The main criteria for deciding on a particular lot are the location of the land. The lot in question should ideally be centrally located, having all the required facilities in close vicinity. For instance, if you intend to invest in a particualr lot with the plan of developing it into a tourist attraction, you should ensure that such a lot should be easy reachable from the airport or other arrival destinations.

Besides, to gain success in the real estate sector, you should also conduct a preliminary research of the rate at which the land in that particular area has appreciated over the last few years. Chances are that the same pattern will continue to occur in the near future as well.

Florida Lots - Success Story

The rate at which the land of Florida Lots got appreciated in the recent past has definitely set new trends in the real estate sector.

As per reports, the land in the Port Charlotte area of the Charlotte County, Florida has appreciated by a whopping 100% over the last 12 months. Such figures in this region have been quite uncommon in the past.

Moreover, with the fast development of vast range of utility and recreational facilities around the Charlotte County area, the land prices have gone considerably high, setting new records in the real estate sector.

Procuring a Florida lot

To choose a suitable Florida lot for residential or other purposes, the easiest way is to sign up at a local real estate agent’s office. He will then keep you informed of all the opportunities available from time to time. You can also get the required information from the advertisements published in your local newspapers.

Another alternative is to research the internet for such information. In fact, you will find that there are various websites that carry information of the vacant lots in a particular area.

An estate agent is one who is involved in the sale of houses and land. The job of estate agent is not new. But with a rise in population, the task of estate agent has gained momentum. With increasing number of people there are more houses and lands to be sold and purchased. This article will thus mainly deal with the job profile of an estate agent, the requirements to enter this business and an evaluation made by enumerating the pros and cons of it.

What basically is the Job of Estate Agent-

An estate agent can work independently or under a broker. There are many agents working under a broker. Most often agents are confined to the estates of a particular area. This job is best suited to those who have excellent interacting skills or those who like communicating with people. Estate agents have the advantage to work liberally. But it requires acute capital investment and endurance. Outlay comes in the form of opening an office, advertisements and making contacts.

What it takes to be an Estate Agent -:

Any 18 year old or above individual can become an estate agent. In order to be so, an individual has to join a training college, which will not only impart usual knowledge (rules and regulations and strategy to work) and skills to this business but will also facilitate him with a license. There are many colleges and courses available in this regard. However, try to join the best or eminent college in your area and the course that meets all your essentials. There is ample of information online and in yellow pages with respect to this.

Any individual meeting the age criteria and can apply for a license. The license is given on the grounds of performance in a test. In order to take the test, fees has to be paid. The amount of the fees and the format of the test vary from state to state. But everywhere this test comprises of questions on English, Math and your wisdom about the job of an estate agent. This license thus procured has to be renewed within a span of time like two, three, four years or so. The duration also depends on your state government.

The merits and demerits-

Like every job or business, the task of estate agent too has several pros and cons attached to it. � There is an opportunity to work democratically as an estate agent. There is no pressure by seniors and thirst to impress your boss here but on the same hand large amount of money is needed to make your business a success story.

� Working independent makes you the sole master of your earnings. There is no sharing of it with other agents. But lot of risk is involved in running your own business for it is quite possible that even after some years of your work you may not be able to incur any great profits.

� The job of an estate agent requires you to be clever and hard working. There is lot of competition in this area. It is upon you that how you make the deal possible by outwitting the rest of the agents of your area.

� Those agents who endeavor to make money by hook or by crook do not flourish for long. Being adroit in business does not implicate cunningness. The state laws should be followed throughout and one should never aim to deceive the client or government. The amount of margins is fixed and legal on a deal. To accrue benefits apart from that is illicit in any case.

E-Renter USA Ltd is a Consumer Reporting Agency, serving property managers, landlords and real estate investors for over four years. E-Renter offers Tenant Screening, Rental Credit Check, and Background Check services needed to meet the challenges of today’s Real estate market or any other business sector. Our full-service, hands-on approach to tenant and employee screening draws on the expertise of our staff of dedicated professionals. A strong commitment to excellence has helped E-Renter become a leader in the field, and has won praise from our diverse group of clients. In fact, E-Renter was awarded the Certificate of Excellence by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) as the â??2006 Winner of the Western Washington Better Business Bureau innovative Business Practices Awardâ?.

Our nationwide services allow our clients to relax with the knowledge that their rental property is in safe hands, is well-managed and their return is maximized. Similarly, our pre-employment background checks are as effective with large offices as they are with smaller businesses of all sizes. Wherever you are in the United States, E-Renter services are targeted and result-oriented. We identify prospective candidates for your company or property and approach them directly. All our investigative activities are geared towards identifying the best possible tenant for you or the most capable employee to take your business from one success to the other. The entire process is cost-effective!

E-Renter provides extensive and significant coverage as far as evaluating your prospective residential tenants or employees are concerned. Specifically, we use our search records compiled from 38 states to return felonies, misdemeanors, traffic violations, sex offenders and incarcerations, bankruptcies, judgments, liens, credit limits, payment patterns, reported employment and evictions records search of all 50 states and more! We conduct the broadest possible searches to provide you the most comprehensive details about your prospective tenants or employees, at whatever level of confidentiality you require.

The Nationwide tenant screening services at Eâ??Renter include Name and Address Identity, Social Security Number Identification, Previous Name and Address, Birth Date, Employment History, Public Records and Civil Judgments, Consumer Trade Report, Payment and Loan History, Previous and Current Credit Information. In addition, free customer support 7 days a week is a cherry on the cake!

Property managers can use the E-Renter online access to order and review reports. This service demands no monthly fees, no minimum billing amounts, and no annual fees. You only pay for the reports you order! The following reports can be yours in a matter of seconds-

â?¢ Consumer Credit Report

â?¢ Criminal Records Search

â?¢ Eviction History

â?¢ ID Verification

â?¢ Business Credit Reports

In today’s complex world- wrought with crime and distrust, you need the representation of a professional Consumer Reporting Agency that places your interests first. We would like the opportunity to put our experience to work for you. E-Renter can help you! Please visit www.E-Renter.com for more information.

Look in business advice articles or ask business leaders about the keys to successful business and you will notice that time management emerges as one of the top cite strategies for success in business. Success is what you want for your VA business or you would still be working for someone else in that 9 to 5 job you walked away from to work for yourself in your own business.

Why is time management cited so often as a strategy for success in business? How can time management make or break your VA business? Time management does not top the list just because it sounds professional and business like. Time management is crucial to the success of your practice because if you can not manage your time well, you will not be able to manage the other aspects of your VA business successfully.

I am sure that you have heard before that time is money, and this is a truthful statement that bears repeating, and often. If as a result of the bad budgeting of your time you are unable to produce good results for the clients who outsource work to you then they will be unhappy and the money it generates for you will stop. Realtors are busy enough and have deadlines they must meet, without having to deal with work that is poorly done or turned in late to them because the virtual assistant they have chosen to outsource work to can not perform the work expected of them.

Work hard yes, but work smarter at the same time. Figure out how much time is required for various tasks and choose the ones with the highest payouts versus time spent on them to concentrate your energy and efforts on. This may mean narrowing your list of services that you offer agents through your real estat VA business. This is much more preferable for the success of your VA business than offering so many services that you can not possibly find the time needed to complete them professionally, and deliver them on time.

Time management can make or break your business if you have not taken the time first to plan out how you will produce the highest quality of work for your clients. Budget your time wisely, select those services that have the highest payouts for you. Create a schedule for completing and delivering this work to the agent, who has outsourced it to you, and you will be happier and more successful in your real estate VA business.

Online networks for the VA can provide the virtual assistant with the resources needed to further their success and offer an opportunity to learn from your peers that have already been there done that.

To attain maximum financial benefits from your local Fraser Valley real estate investment with minimal risk and maximum gain, you must clearly define your goals and objectives and plan to achieve them. You can accomplish this in various steps. The process of determining your plan is comprised of several elements. First, Determine your current financial need. Then, assessing your future personal and financial needs brings you into your overall game plan for success.

Your success in real estate investments has a lot to do with the qualities that you bring to the table. Know your strengths and know your weaknesses so that you can focus on your strengths and compensate for you weaknesses. Are you considering group investments? Or a new home construction in Surrey, or Langley? This type of self annalist is crucial for success in this type of situation.

Complete a personal cost of living budget for the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver area. Your cost of living may be different if you are located in Richmond, Coquitlam, New West, Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Langley or Surrey. Your cost of living is generally more in those areas. However, it’s generally less expensive in Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack. After your living budget, calculate your personal net worth as a statement. Then calculate your gross debt service ratio and total debt service ratio. Keep in mind that these are only guidelines and that there are several creative ways to manage your finances. Talking to a financial money manager is sometimes a good source of structure and advice.

The amount of risk your willing to take should reflect the kind of time commitment your involved in. Be realistic with short, medium and long term goals and objectives. Maybe you want to be financially independent within 10-15 years. Write this down as a “need to be” statement. With that kind of time frame, don’t look at real estate as a “get rich quick” scheme. There are many who have adopted that attitude, this has been their downfall. Avoid the prophets of profit! Some real estate seminars will show you how to become rich through property tax sales in the Fraser Valley. Or foreclosure sales in the lower mainland. Some will show you how to flip property in the Greater Vancouver area but in most cases in Canada the reality of these options are not applicable. If they are, you will be undertaking considerable difficulty and risk when undertaking such investments. The key is to give yourself a realistic time frame to achieve your investment objectives. For example, normal real estate cycles are 5-8 years. Work within that time frame for your success. Be patient and stay positive! You will be successful!

Behind the success of a man is a woman, and behind the success of a real estate business is an ideal agent. Indeed, it’s the human resource that is considered to be the most important factor for real estate business to succeed.

Indeed, real estate can be a lucrative activity when managed properly by the right person. But what does it take to be an ideal real estate agent? Here’s how:

1. Have a solid track.

Most people who succeeds in life knows where they want to got, what they want to do, and the reasons behind it. And so, for a person to be a successful real estate agent, he or she must encompass this trait in order to succeed in the industry.

2. An ideal real estate agent knows who he or she is.

Skills, strategies, and marketing tools will all go to waste if the real estate agent does not have a solid assessment of his or her own personality.

Consequently, a successful real agent is honest in his or her endeavors especially those that involves transactions with a client. If, in the first place the real estate agent is not being true to himself or herself, then the real estate agent will most likely have difficulty in dealing with other people.

This all boils down to the fact that an achiever is a believer not of any other thing, but in himself.

3. Optimism.

A lot of people who succeeds in life are optimistic. This means that a person has always a positive outlook in life. An optimistic person believes that there is no such thing as failure. And an ideal real estate agent knows this too.

4. Motivation power.

An ideal real estate agent knows how to motivate or move people into action. It’s that unique power of every sales person to device a strategy that can motivate their clients to buy the product he or she is selling.

5. Awareness of the value of properties.

To become an ideal real estate agent, one should be aware of the ebb and flow of the cost of the properties. These should be taken into consideration with utmost care and skill.

6. They should not price.

To be an ideal real estate agent is to be considerate with their client’s purchasing capability. They should be sensitive enough to detect if the price of the real estate is reasonable enough to hit their market.

7. An ideal real estate agent does not engage into hard selling.

8. An ideal real estate agent knows how to make a pleasant showcase of the property.

There are two aspects of real estate and marketing that are paramount to your success as a real estate professional; the acquisition of new customers and the retention of old ones.

As is the case in other industries the cost of acquiring new customers is escalating. So, it becomes more prudent to continue marketing to past customers. Itâ??s less expensive and can be equally profitable.

However, many real estate agents, to their financial detriment, often fail to maintain relationships with clients they have â??closedâ? deals on.

Take you for example. If youâ??re like the majority of agents you probably spend a lot of time, money and effort acquiring new customers; and heaven knows it’s anything but easy. But how effective are you at retaining past ones?

You probably feel, real or imagined, pressure to make the next “close”, but in doing so you are leaving a lot of money on the table. Actually, itâ??s more like youâ??re putting money into a competitorâ??s pocket.

Marketing to past clients can be especially rewarding. You probably shared a genuine care for each other, and if they were satisfied with you and your services in the past, there is a greater chance than not that they will come back to you for future transactions. Also, they are likely to refer friends, family and colleagues in the interim.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros immediately shift their strategy to building long term relationships once they “close” buyers.” You should, too! Rather than simply abandoning a client after a sale continue nurturing the relationship, but in a different way.

Savvy real estate and marketing pros also, maintain continuous, routine and ongoing contact and relations with past clients. This helps to you protect your customers/business from competitive encroachments.

For example; put them on an every other month “post sale marketing campaign”, whether it’s via post cards, letters or flyers.

Something is better than nothing, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of time or money. The alternative is to do nothing and let a competitive agent convert them to their client! If you snooze you’ll lose!

An old friend once said. “Sometimes it’s better to keep what you got than to replace it with something new.” Avoid the pain of seeing a recent past client transact a real estate deal with another agent. Don’t let them get away - you spent too much time and energy converting them into a customer.