Items to Consider Before Buying an Investment Property
Tax Concerns and Other Costs. Potential buyers should consider costs for maintenance and interest. Depreciation is another concern. As the property depreciates in value, owners will have to make upgrades to keep the property marketable.

Determine which expenses will be tax deductible. Taxes are generally higher for investment properties. Higher taxes should be factored into the cost of the home. When interest costs, loan repayments and mortgage fees exceed the rental income, this situation is called negative gearing. The difference in the two creates an allowed deduction. This will effectively lower taxes on income.

Investment Plan. Buying an investment property can help clients build wealth in equity over a period of time. A long term investment plan should be devised to maximize the amount of equity wealth accumulated before selling a property. A financial planner or accountant can evaluate an investors’ portfolios to determine if investors are financially prepared to invest.

Combine Resources. Investment properties in prime locations may carry significantly more income potential than other property types. Experts advise purchasing a property with family and friends to reduce expenses associated with investment property. An investment partner may later use the equity in the investment property to purchase another home.

Perform Adequate Research. Consumers should research news articles, reports and business updates. This information may be used to determine the current value of the property, and the potential value of the property based upon future development in the area. Adequate research will help investors get the best price possible and also determine if the investment is a good one. Ensure the property is one others want to purchase if flipping is the goal.

Obtain Building Insurance. Obtain building insurance while renovating or building a property. Building insurance is also necessary when renting out a property to protect it in the event of fire, flood or other major disaster. Do not lose an entire investment because the building is not properly insured.

Know Comparables. Rental comparables and sales comparables are essential to purchasing a property at fair market value. For instance, an investor may want an investment property near public transportation in a gated community. To obtain the best price, check all the comparables in the area to determine the amount similar properties sold for in the area.

Loans. The type of loan chosen can make a difference in the amount paid on the loan. A mortgage broker can help investors find the best loans for an investment property. Potential rent gained from the property will be a major factor in the loan.

Other Items to Consider. Factor in the costs of hiring a property manager to maintain the property and collect the rents. If the property is not maintained, the value of the property will decline. The rent collected should cover the property costs and the maintenance for an ideal investment.

Reputable contractors are recommended to ensure the property is maintained optimally. When the property is maintained, the investor may request higher rents and earn a larger profit on a home. When someone else is paying the rent on an investment property, ownership becomes easier.

Summary
In general, an investment plan is necessary to map out the goals of the property. Investment brokers can devise a long term plan for investors to ensure the property will be profitable. Always involve experts to avoid losing money on the investment. Building wealth with real estate is viable if approached wisely.

Link Your Files with DropBox

Have you ever spent all day in the library, researching and crafting the perfect paper for your Victorian literature class and get a call from the girl you’ve been interested for a study date at a coffee shop? You want to go, but there is no way to transfer your files and research documents onto your MacBook from the library’s PC. With the innovative DropBox software you can easily pick up from one location to the next. By placing files in the DropBox, you can pick up work from any location or device without a lot of complicated USB drives, wires, or technical support.

Connect with Call of Duty

Instead of going to lame social functions sponsored by the dorm room association, one of the best ways to meet new people on campus is through online gaming. You can meet people who share the same interests as you just as easily through playing online games than by attending casino nights or Hawaiian luaus in the cafeteria.

According to a report on ABC News, more women are playing online games than ever before. If you are not into the party scene or have a difficult time engaging strangers at the rec center; hooking up to an MMO or first-person based shooter is a sure-fire way to meet people of the opposite sex and spark a romantic relationship. You might also find that people playing games online are more attractive than others because the same report stated that gamers have a lower BMI and better exercise habits.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

When you go to a frat party or popular bar, there is a good chance that someone is going to snap an unflattering photo of you and post it on Facebook for everyone to see. The worst part about this is that professors and instructors can view your profile and discover that the reason you weren’t in class isn’t because of a stomach ache, but because you were out all night (and probably because of a stomach ache).

The best way to use social media to your advantage at campus is to set your privacy control options so only selected individuals can view your information. You can also use Twitter to make it sound like you are really getting into a course. You can create entire Twitter domains dedicated to a specific course and make it sound like you are becoming an authority on the subject matter.

By using these methods to stay networked on campus, you can improve your classwork productivity and your social life with ease; all without the hassle of talking with sorority girls all day.

Because here, for your reading pleasure (unlike the reading of Plato and Dostoevsky you’re about to be inundated with) are the top 5 items you should start combing Ebay for in order to ensure that your name becomes a name that brings the throngs to your room.  So, here goes, my experience shared with you just for the sake of your popularity.  Your very welcome.

1)         Techy Video Projector

Come out with a bang!  We all know you’re going to spend 98% of your time in front of a screen anyway, whether that’s for Wii, movies, games, who knows.  The point is, that if your screen covers the entire wall of your dorm room, it’s your wall and your room that are about to become the hottest spots in the entire dorm complex.  Seriously.  I don’t’ know why more people don’t think of this, but they actually don’t, so take advantage of it, but they don’t.  And don’t worry about buying/hanging a screen, just use the wall.  It’s cooler that way anyway.

2)         Quarters Required Candy Dispenser

Now, if you really wanna be the hottest thing in the dorms, you’re going to need to be able to readily dispense sugar to all your buds and all the girls too.  A candy dispenser does this very easily.  They only cost about $30 bucks, you can put whatever you like in them (Reese’s Pieces is my vote, but hey, if you’re all about the Jelly Bellys, who am I to stop you?)  Also, a little note: if you buy one that actually requires quarters to function, you will easily pay for your own candy and pop habits, no problem.  You may even make a buck or two.  Your room, after all, is quite a step ahead of the sketchy basement machines that are probably hazardous to one’s health anyway.

3)         One-of-a-Kind Ice Cream Maker

Candy is good.  But, candy “can” be found elsewhere if need be.  Having a personal ice cream maker in your room is guaranteed popularity boosting.  Number one, you don’t need anything.  You announce an ice cream par-tay in your room.  Then, you give all the girls a job (they love this stuff) and tell them to bring the ingredients, which, they will go nuts over.  They’ll find a bazillion recipes and come running with arms loaded full of sugar and cream and caramels and crushed oreos.  It’ll be heavenly, just wait.

4)         Snazzy Little Espresso Machine

If you haven’t yet developed an addiction to coffee, you will, right along with everybody else on your floor.  “Pounding down the caffeine” will soon take on a whole new meaning, and there’s only so much Mountain Dew one can drink and only so many hours when it is appropriate.  5 AM is not one of them.  So, rather than choking down the “stuff” served in the cafeteria, if you can offer palatable, or even delectable shots of espresso to your fellow colleagues? Instant success.  Just be prepared for visitors at all hours of the night and day.  Pajamas included.

5)         An Ending Supply of Soft Blankets and Body Pillows

Yeah, it might sound cheesy, but deal with it.  No guy out there will ever admit appreciation for a good pillow, but they all want one, and every girl on the planet will become your new best friend if she can pile herself into a mound of pillows and some super soft blanket.  So, suck it up and get yourself about 5 of each. They’ll go fast, so be prepared for re-stocking.

And there you have it.  Stock your first dorm room with one or all (the more the better, obviously) of these fantastic items and just wait for crowds.  Your popularity will skyrocket faster than you could’ve imagined and your room is, guaranteed, to be the room.  Your personality, now that’s all up to you.

Freelancer Jocelyn Anne misses her college days like mad.  But since she’s learned a thing or two since then, and if she could go back, she would have two espresso machines + 1 for backup and a stylin’ fan heater for her bed to combat unchangeable thermostats and drown out snoring roommates.

How is your business capturing the excessive use of text messaging in this demographic?

Old Spice has launched its search to find and hire two candidates to travel to Fiji or Matterhorn (Switzerland not Disneyland) with a salary of $5,000 and an itinerary of “jobs” (shark diving/snowboarding/etc.) to complete and document while on location.

To help better prepare the interns for their adventure, Old Spice is teaming up with two world-class athletes: professional snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler – fresh from the Olympics – and professional surfer Anastasia Ashley, who are coming on-board as internship mentors.

Applicants for the Old Spice Fresh Adventure Internship contest have until April 15, 2010 to enter!  Learn more about this unique opportunity by visiting www.OldSpiceAdventure.com.

Winners will be announced in May 2010, and the internships will take place in June 2010.

While in college, I partied, and sometimes pretty hard – hey, it happens. There was a bar that we would all go to on Thursday nights for a great priced beer, a ridiculous long island ice tea, and dancing. On top of that, they sold pizza’s at the end of the night as you walked out the door. For just a couple bucks you could enjoy a freshly cooked pizza on your way home. What a treat!

Well, one day I was in the local Wal-Mart doing some grocery shopping and as I come down the frozen food isle, I see the owner of this bar which sells the pizza with a shopping cart full of Tony’s Pizza. He was buying the pizza’s at Wal-Mart and selling them at the end of the night at his bar! First I thought, that jerk and then I thought, what a great freaking idea. Anyway, I bought one of the pizza’s and it wasn’t as good as it tasted after a Thursday night out at the bar at 2 AM, but it was pretty close.

Now, Tony’s Pizza have released a new line of pizza’s featuring a thin crispy crust. While I haven’t seen one in my local stores yet to get my hands on to try for sure, I’m betting it’s pretty good.

There are a few other reasons BESIDES the good taste to check out Tony’s Crispy Crust.

• First, the price! They are a great low priced item to keep stocked in your freezer – whether at college for students or at home with your family. Nothing like just pulling a pizza out of the freezer and popping it into the oven for a quick dinner.
• So much faster than delivery! Why wait 30-45 minutes for the delivery guy to show up when the solution is right in your freezer?
• They are perfect for game day when your friends are over and hungry. Feed a big group for a great price!

So, now I’ve got a few coupons for a free Tony’s Pizza. If you’re interested in trying one out, leave a comment and I’ll be in touch to get your address and drop the coupon in the mail. I only have a few coupons, so they will go to the first people who comment!

Inflated Posse – Get a group of 4-6 friends and take turns being the baller. Each night choose one guy and designate him as baller for the entire evening. Let him carry around all the money and purchase drinks throughout the night. Also you can hype his swagger by asking questions about his latest trip to Dubai or if he closed that multimillion dollar deal last week in London.

Empty Bank Account On Friday Night – Take out all the money from your bank account (literally, take all your money out) before hitting your first destination. Here’s the trick. Pay for each drink you order but don’t start a tab. This gives you the chance to pull out your extremely huge wad of cash for each drink purchase. Make sure you pull out this cash when ladies are nearby.

Getting A Car You Have no Business Driving – This was the inspiration to the story. Our customer wanted to get a sick Mercedes on the cheap. The secondary lease market (LeaseTrader.com) lets “faux ballers” get a Mercedes or even a Maserati for pennies on the dollar with little financial commitment.

Sharing Payments – Purchase that sweet condo or house with a group of friends (the same friends that serve as your club entourage). You’ll hopefully be making money on your investment and getting immediate satisfaction telling girls you bought the place as your vacation home when you’re not traveling around the world. Just make sure your buddies are staying at their parents’ place for the evening or sleeping in their car.

Fake Passport Locations – Nothing says “faux baller” like your faux passport. When you’re talking about running with the bulls in Spain, catching the Cannes Film Festival, or dropping in on Carnaval in Brazil, pull out your faux passport with proof of being in each country and this should seal the deal.

Thanks to the guys over at LeaseTrader.com for this great guest post submission! No go out there and get crunk with your pimp cup and entourage.

With a new year upon us, it’s all about setting goals, making resoultions, and planning for the rest of the year.

So, what are you doing to prepare for the next 12 months? What goals have you set for yourself or business? Share it here!

I’ll have a post shortly about my goals and resolutions for the year for myself and my businesses!

Talk to you all soon!

Chris

But, we couldn’t jump directly into it and just drive off the lot with one, we spent time planning for the purchase, doing research, and finding out what the best price we could get was. Now, if you haven’t realized it, now is a great time to buy a new car – any type of car. With so many dealerships closing up, trying to shrink their stock, and merging together with other dealerships or bringing on more brands, they want to sell you a car and will do almost anything you want them to do to get a sale.

We didn’t have a lot of money saved up

We were not completely expecting to just go out and buy a new car when we moved into our townhouse (which we rent), bought a bunch of furniture, and other necessities, so we didn’t exactly have all the cash saved up that we wanted to right away. So, we set a plan and decided on when we would want to make the purchase – at the end of June. So for 2 months we cut down on other expenses, saved our pennies, and moved money around. If we were the more frugal types, we could have completely cut extra spending AND saved up for many more months. But, with the situation we were in, we most likely could not have waited through August before her car would just completely drop dead…which is not something anyone wants!

Now, after doing research, checking out different sites, and negotiating with the dealership, I’ve got a few tips to share and sites that you should check out if you are a first time car buyer or just looking for some extra ‘backup’ that you could take with you to the negotiation table when dealing with a sales associate.

To Trade In or Not To Trade In

That is the question! With Courtney’s car we knew we didn’t want to mess with trying to sell it to someone else, deal with transferring the title, etc. We just wanted to trade it in, get what we could, and knock our payments down a bit.  To get an idea of what your current vehicle may be worth, check out the Kelley Blue Book website.

Once you have a price in mind from KBB, then head to your dealer or CarMax to see what trade in value you can get. At the same time you should be looking at comparable vehicles for sale in your area to see what prices they are fetching. When you get an idea from your dealer, CarMax, or similar car buying service you can decide if you want to trade it in or try to sell the car on your own. This could be a major money make for you depending on your vehicle, the condition, and the mileage. I know someone who was offered around $1000 for her car by CarMax (a 2002 model) and then sold it to someone from Craigslist’s for around $4000. That extra money will sure help make your new car payments!

American Automobile Association (AAA)

AAA is actually a membership based organization that provides services like car towing, road side assistance, travel information, and more, but they also have a great car buying resource. If you head to their website, http://www.aaa.com, they have Car Buying Tips and Car Buying Tools sections that are very helpful. Within these, you can do new and used car buying research and get online quotes. If you are a AAA member, then you can get exclusive AAA discount prices from 3 local dealers. This is a great advantage to have on your side. After I got 3 quotes, I printed them off and took them to our local dealership that we were going to buy from. This immediately let me say “Your price needs to be less then this or we’ll go someone else.” It worked and instantly dropped $2K off our price. Just don’t show all your cards at once!

TruCar.com

This is another great site to check out…especially if you love bar graphs like @CollegeTownMenu does! Basically, it lets you see what others really paid for their cars.  Just start by putting in your zip code and then select the type of car you are looking at. You get to see what a “Great price” is, the actual dealer cost, the average paid price, the factory invoice, and the sticker price. This is a great tool for negotiating!

So there’s a few tips and sites to check out when you go to buy your next vehicle, new or used. Also be sure to shop around for financing if you need to get it. Check with your bank as well as the dealership. The dealership wanted us to finance the car through them so bad that they dropped the rate almost 4% from what they told us originally when I told them that we were going to go through our bank at a much lower rate.

Just remember – it’s all a game. They want to sell cars and you want to buy one. There are tons of dealerships in every city, so if you can’t get the price you’re looking for from one, just walk out the door. I’m sure they will stop you!

Good luck! Leave your car buying tips here if you have some to add!