i.e. Property Scheme

I remembered seeing a commercial by Swatch watch with the theme song, “Something About You” by Maroon 5. This got me into thinking and reevaluating how important time is.

I also read somewhere that the most important thing you can give someone is not Love, but time. I completely agree. Because love, you can freely give it to anyone whom you like at any time; but time is constrained and limited. The time you spent with someone or used for someone can never be recalled or reused to do something else or for future use. It’s as good as loss if you wasted it.

This also holds true when it comes to business. As I’ve read in a book by Francisco Colayco, “All of us, rich and poor, has the same amount of time… Time is a resource…Time is the most taken-for-granted resource.” That is, if someone makes you wait for an hour for nothing, that someone is actually stealing time from you wherein you could have been productive or you could have used it to earn income. That one hour is lost forever, and can never be returned.

So, before doing something, ask yourself this important question, “Is it worth my time?”

A friend recently asked me to help her out with estate planning in Nevada. At the mention of Nevada, the words “CSI Las Vegas” started blinking in my mind. I think I had too much CSI marathons for the week.

Anyhow, I asked her what in particular does she need help in estate planning. She said she needs to elaborate more on the asset protection planning in real estate Nevada since her company is planning to acquire office spaces there with their inevitable expansion next year. Just so you know, asset protection planning generally means ensuring that your assets are well-protected from claims of future creditors by making use of a well-planned series of lawful techniques. In short, lawful techniques are applied to deter or frustrate potential creditors to grab hold of your assets.

I guess her boss really means business if a simple buying of real estate in Nevada involves asset protection planning. Then again, one can never be too sure…

In the fell clutches of circumstances, some people cannot help but have bad credit loans. However, this is quite demeaning especially since with a record of “bad credit” you will have a hard time paying off your debts and rebuilding your credit history because you wouldn’t be able to get another loan or chance.

It’s a sort of stigma. Which is why, a lot of people just jump at the opportunity of being approved by the first mail offer that comes their way. This shouldn’t be the case.

Breaking yourself off your “bad credit” stigma need not be complicated or rushed. Do not be hasty when looking for a credit repair and debt relief services. There are lots of services like that available nowadays and some even has a “no-obligation assessment” to help you start.

Foreclosure - an act or instance of foreclosing; specifically : a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgagor’s right of redeeming a mortgaged estate — Merriam-Webster

One man’s loss is another man’s gain. This holds true especially when it comes to real estate.

Home foreclosures can be pretty devastating to a person. Then again, houses in foreclosures are the gold mine for people hunting for houses. This is because searching through bank houses is one of the best ways to find incredible bargains in Real Estate.

As with any other business transactions, make sure to do in depth research when you’re planing to invest in foreclosures. If you do good research, you just might be able to get one at around 30% off and be assured that there are no liens against it. Still, the safest way of purchasing foreclosed houses is to buy bank owned homes (REO) because of the guaranteed clear property titles.

Happy bargaining!

Some people turn their nose down on vacation home rentals and consider them as luxuries that you can definitely do without.

True. But then again, having one of those Lake Tahoe vacation home rentals or even an Orlando vacation rentals makes that luxury worth your money. It’s not every day when you can get some time off your stressful work for a heavenly vacation. So why not make the most out of it by renting a villa? Get a deluxe one while you’re at it. Pampering yourself every now and then should be a guilt free reward. As my friend Nap keeps telling me – work hard, play harder.

Oh, and in case you aren’t aware, you can book vacation rentals in top resort areas and be able to save up to 30% on rental rates – provided you find a good resource for that of course.

Landscape, as defined by some, is “an expanse of scenery that can be seen in a single view”. Personally, I don’t care much about how large a house is unless its landscape either rivals or exceeds our CEO’s summer house, which was beautifully done by a Scottsdale landscape company.

Although landscape artists and companies abound these days, I still find the landscape at my CEO’s summer house incomparably picturesque; simple but picturesque. I guess having a green certification and being an authority on nature-based Landscape Architecture can make companies like the one our CEO chose to really stand out.

I could go on about how charming and noteworthy the landscape was at my CEO’s. But then again, at times like these, to see is definitely to believe. So I guess I’ll just have to leave it all to your imagination. Do keep in mind that landscape architecture, when done wonderfully, can brighten up the ambiance of your home.

While going over some real estate reviews with my colleagues during brunch, I encountered a fascinating question, “When looking for apartment or homes for rent, what do you do first?” Below are some of their interesting answers:

• “I search Google with the specific keywords of the location where I’m planning to move in and the type of place I’m looking for (e.g. apartment or condo).”
• “I call up some friends who are knowledgeable about the area and ask for recommendation.”
• “I count and recount my budget to know what my limitations will be before hunting for a place.”

Each answer shows what type of person they are and what they value. That is, the first person goes for tangible data, the second goes for other’s opinion, and the third is very prudent.

My point? They are all great answers for a first step. But do make sure that you do all three, plus consult an experienced real estate agent before finalizing your deal in buying or renting a place.

I already consider having a list of over 12,000 UK estate agents a great feat for a company. But add having a website that has an advanced property finding tools to that company… now that is something. I’m referring to WelcomeHome.co.uk.

How did I encounter that heaven sent UK real estate website? I found out about it from my very good friend, Jehan. You see, her cousins recently bought properties for sale in York at a very good rate with the help of that website and their staff, and are planning to buy some properties in Sheffield when their company gets sold. They were so happy about the service, the advanced search tools and helpful property tools that they excitedly spread the word to their entire clan (Jehan included) and circle of friends.

I couldn’t blame them though. Those looking for, say, flats to buy in Leeds, would be able to easily sift through properties in Leeds in their website. If you’re not satisfied with the result, they have a “Get Property Alerts” to keep you up to date of the latest properties for sale in your chosen location, and a “Find Estate Agents in Your Area” to help you get properties that may not be on the web.

Unbelievable? You can check it out for yourself to see how useful that website is.

Lester, my college adviser, is moving to Phoenix, Arizona because he got a great teaching offer in Collins College. Although his salary rate pretty much doubled from his current job, he’s still not sure if he’ll just avail of the school faculty housing or buy a house in Arizona.

He asked one of his future co-faculty from Phoenix about the great places where he could buy a house. She suggested Carefree, Cave Creek, Paradise Valley, Pinnacle Peak, Rio Verde and Scottsdale. I advised him to think about it twice. Just because one’s salary doubled doesn’t mean you ought to splurge at whim. The places his future colleague suggested were more of luxury real estate. I didn’t want him to end up broke with paying off a luxury house should something happen with his future job.

He ended up consulting a dedicated Phoenix real estate agent and realtor who gave him several options and suggested some other places with stylish but not posh houses that will suit his budget. Should this happen to you, I hope you do the same – seek professional advice first.

When I saw the website “National Relocation” I thought it was some government or NGO project, and was on the brink of ignoring it completely until I saw the words “real estate information”.

The website basically offers relocation services such as home inspectors and realtors, and mortgage calculators and tools as well. It also provides insightful information on the schools and neighborhoods of your target relocation area. What’s more is that it has maps which can help you pinpoint how far a school is from your target relocation area plus essential school information such as, address, contact information, enrollment figures, and even the student to teacher ratio.

Anyhow, I haven’t had much time to really go through the website. It sounds promising though. Do visit it if you have time and let me know what you think.