Stop Throwing Good Money In The Fire (business web development) And Work From Home

October 8th, 2008 admin Posted in finance |

By Aydan Corkern

There is a rising urge in people to be able to work from home. While it might be impossible for many of us to have a job that can be done at from a home base, there are probably many who could have that dream if they set their mind to it. We all know that having a job that involves a computer can many times be done at home, but what about other small businesses that do not necessarily involve a computer?

Small businesses owned by individuals have always been the heartbeat of America since the very beginning. Some where along the line it became necessary for people to rent or buy a building somewhere in a commercial zone and put their business there so it could get more public exposure. With the help of the internet, many small businesses are finding that is no longer necessary.

If you own and operate a business like handmade crafts, sewing and alterations, car mechanics, or any other thing that can be done from your house, why not stop paying that high priced rent in a strip mall or where ever else you could be spending money to keep up a building. You have to pay either rent or a payment to a bank or mortgage company for a building you may no longer even have to have to be successful.

When you house a small business somewhere besides your home, you must go back and forth to work everyday. This requires gas, car maintenance, and your time. Then there are utility bills for that building to pay and the upkeep if you own it. You could be subject to city or other taxes for having a business located where you are.

While it is true that many businesses are better off being located in the public eye, you can still be out there and get plenty of exposure for less money on the internet. If you sell a product of some kind, you can advertise on the internet and instead of customers coming into a physical store, you simply ship the item to them. This way, you no longer have to deal with people personally to get them to buy something or even have to be there at all. Of course, you must still make sure your customers are satisfied, but the way you must show up at a particular place and stay there for certain hours out of every week could change.

Working from a home based business might not be for everyone, but for those who can, it can be a great way of life. You could find more time to spend with your family, have more free time for yourself, and hopefully save some money on overhead at the same time. It is well worth looking into if it is something you think you could do with your small business.

Aydan Corkern is a writer of many topics, visit some of her sites, like

Water Damage Restoration and Chicago Water Damage Restoration.

How to Analyze Commercial Properties
By Lorenzo Hills

Financing commercial properties or income-producing real estate is not an exact science. It requires subjective analysis, experience, and an ability to be innovative and creative. It is especially important to know the fundamentals lenders will be looking closely at in order to fund a specific type of commercial property.

But one thing is certain. Across all commercial property types, some fundamentals do not change. Virtually every commercial project is analyzed by location, physical property and borrower strength.

Generally, the location must be suitable for the project. The location elements that commercial lenders typically consider are:

- Compatibility with environment

- Functionality of entrances and exits

- Transportation options

- Workforce potential

- Utilities and zoning in the area

- Other characteristics of the location and market

Proper financing can greatly enhance a commercial location, while poor financing can squander an otherwise excellent location. Many commercial projects in good locations have been ruined by poor financing, and it is not at all uncommon to find commercial projects in marginal locations that have been successful because of strong financing.

When looking at the physical property itself, commercial lenders usually analyze:

- The size of the facility

- The parking situation

- Drive-by appeal

- On-site amenities

- Physical and mechanical components of the building

- Functional and economic utility

- Physically and economically obsolete aspects

In assessing most of these elements, common sense may be the most important tool. To illustrate this point, consider an apartment with no bathroom or a “full-service” hotel without adequate parking. Commercial lenders must be able to judge the project for its current and future market appeal, and function plays a large role.

It goes without saying that components that go into the physical property must be technically sound. These include the foundations, heating and air conditioning, lighting, ceilings and windows.

Commercial lenders also often require further explanation when it comes to general-purpose, limited-purpose or single-purpose properties. General-purpose properties are those for which there is a competitive rental demand with generally accepted physical characteristics that appeal to many general users. Examples are warehouses and retail stores. A limited-purpose property would be a facility like a service station or department store capable of conversion to another use. A single-purpose property would be a facility such as an oil refinery that is difficult to convert.

When looking at borrower strength, lenders will want to analyze the property’s developer and manager. Although an individual partnership or corporation may develop the real estate, it may not manage the property, collect the rent and pay the debt.

Commercial lenders also want to look at what other properties the developer has produced - particularly, those similar to the subject property. Developing includes finding the land, arranging for physical development, arranging for financing and bringing the concept to fruition. A commercial lender should know the amount of real estate actually managed by the sponsorship group and be fully aware of its payment record.

Overall, to be successful when evaluating a commercial financing project, it is important to understand these three basic characteristics of a given project - location, physical property and borrower strength.

Lorenzo Hills, managing director of East Coast Commercial Finance

Lorenzo is located in Charlotte, N.C., and can be reached at 980-226-6746.

Defrosting Credit - Financial Meltdown Continues
By ratetake

Federal Reserve and The Treasury Department took major steps to support commercial paper markets. Many investors stayed away from purchasing commercial paper, which was a cause of economic slowdown, but central bank was creating a special facility to help the $1.7 trillion commercial paper market. This includes also credit cards and auto loans to move economy forward.

Market did not respond in positive way just yet, today it was announced how Fed will lay out loans for banks. All bank loans will be available through action with loans available for 28 days or 84 days. Fed also announced that it will provide up to $900 Billion in loans to help banks ease credit crises.

With market going down this start to effect 401K or any other portfolio. According to AARP study, because of the economic downturn, one in five workers 45 and older has stopped putting money into a 401(k), IRA or other retirement savings. And retirement pans have lost as much as $2 trillion in the past 15 months. In most cases this will delay retirement for many people and some of them cannot retire and would have to keep working.

Financial meltdown is starting to create problems everywhere.

According the Fed, consumer borrowing fell an annual rate of 3.7 percent. Consumer borrowing is defined by Fed as all loans not secured by real estate. Economy has shown slowdown in housing market, layoffs and the credit problems as banks have slow down on borrowing due to consumer defaulting on their loans, credit cards and mortgages.

So far steps by Federal Reserve to calm things down did not work. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned in speech that the financial crises could prolong. Even financial companies such as Bank of America slashed its dividend and reported loss on their third quarter profit of 68 percent.

Many investors, companies are defending their portfolio. Selling everything they have and just sit on cash until market calms down. Even Fed will be forced to slash its Fed Funds rate by at least 0.50 basis points to boost some strength in the market.

Key point currently is to help banks unfreeze their credit lines; allow banks to borrow more money in which banks can create loans. However, even banks are afraid if customers will repay their loans.

Susan Duey represents RateTake Refinance marketplace. RateTake matches consumers with mutiple lenders offering low mortgage rate quotes. For more information please visit Defrosting Credit

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