September 29th, 2008 B. Slade
With the rising costs of fuel and gas prices, and the incredible advances made in building materials green building is beginning to make a buzz in the construction industry today. Green building is the practice of creating structures and using practices that are environmentally friendly and resource efficient. It is not only an environmental initiative, but a smart economic move as well. Although green building practices tend to increase up-front construction costs, they often provide long-term benefits that may offset these increases. In fact, energy efficiency improvements can provide approximately 30 percent less energy than standard homes and can save homeowners approximately $200 to $400 per year. Green building standards are: building with materials that incorporate sustainable resources or utilize recycled materials, low energy consumption, minimal site disturbance, water conservation, solar orientation, water and energy efficiency, and healthful indoor-air quality. These standards include the Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) rating system, which is a nationally accepted standard developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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August 13th, 2008 B. Slade
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Many Agents today are working longer hours to keep on the treadmill of life. They are delaying, or scrapping, long-range focus in the marketing and prospecting business system arenas. They often are neglecting their time investments for their health, families, and self-development areas of their life. They are spending a tremendous amount of time working on their business. They are truly an employee of their real estate business, rather than the owner, CEO, and visionary of their multi-million dollar sales company. If we are to continue to learn and grow, we need to be continual learners. We must become master-students of ourselves. We need to study our strengths and weaknesses. We must clarify our desires and passion for our life. Then create the plan to seize opportunities. The true key to success is through action and implementation. Think about where you are going and if you are fully equipped to get there. Do you have the tools ready to put into action? If you don’t have the tools of implementation, but you do have the desire for improvement and success, you are a candidate for a coach. Don’t sit back on your past success. Grab for the brass ring.
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June 6th, 2008 B. Slade
Real estate is an investment. As an investment, it is expected to bring you returns either in the form of revenues or to increase its market value. In looking at the return of investment, it is important that you understand the characteristic of the real estate property you invested in.
Knowing what type of property you purchased would give you a better picture of how it would perform in the future for you. It will help you to understand the potential of your property to increase in market value. Here are the typical types of real estate on the market:
1. Income and Non-Income Producing
2. Office Spaces
3. Retail Property
4. Industrial Property
5. Multi-family Residential
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January 7th, 2008 B. Slade
Real property like land, buildings and land improvements that are utilized by businesses to produce income are considered real estate. Real property in contrast to personal property is held for the purpose of investments. Typically, the increasing value of real estate exceeds the inflation rate but real estate uses an inflation hedge which differs in each locality.
In real estate, there is also leverage because of the high percentage of the investment which can be made with the use of debt funds with down payments usually less than 25 percent. Real estate also provides for capital appreciation and depreciation however, with a large capital investment.
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