Your Dog Can Help You Quit Smoking

Want to stop smoking for the New Year? You know the pitch. You’ve tried the patch. Time to send in the pooch.

Your dog can be an invaluable aid in your quest to quit cigarettes. Here’s the scoop on 8 ways to enlist your best friend to help you kick the habit.

Studies show that way people will attempt to quit smoking for the sake of their dog than  themselves or their children.

Make your dog an anti-smoking billboard. Buy your dog a T-shirt that will remind you of your goal every time you see him in it. When your dog is wearing clothing that implores you to quit smoking, you’ll find it harder to reach for a cancer stick. Start your shirt-shopping spree here or here. Or just type “dog t-shirt quit smoking” into your favorite browser.

Train your dog as a smoke alarm. Some people train their dogs to be household smoke detectors who bark at the first sign of smoke. These dogs work as a kind of backup to the more traditional plastic versions of smoke detectors. If your dog is really good at this, she may go the next step and woof you into non-smoking submission.

Share your financial windfall with Fido. If you smoke a pack a day, you’ll save nearly $1,500 per year if you quit! Think of the fun you and your dog could have with that extra dough. You both deserve it! Take a little road trip together. Buy yourselves something you’ve each always wanted.

Tips on Selling Your Property

When it comes to selling real estate, one of the most difficult and
frustrating situations for sellers is when market conditions make it
nearly impossible to sell at the desired price point. A high initial
listing price might be because the seller simply has an unrealistic
idea of how their house stacks up against the competition in the area,
or because the owner needs to sell for a set minimum price in order to
pay off their loan against the property.

With traditional property sales methods, the only way to prevent the
property from sitting on the market indefinitely is to keep dropping
the price. Unfortunately, this technique doesn't always work -
especially if the seller is unwilling to "discount" their house by
much.

In areas flooded with homes for sale, reducing the asking price
slightly will not bring the desired result. In fact, it's common that
the property will continue to sit on the market without offers,
alongside the multitude of other unsold properties with similarly
reduced prices.

Anyone experienced in sales understands that making your product stand
out from the crowd is a critical technique for success. But if there's
too much competition offering the same attributes, the only logical
way to attract the attention of serious buyers is to drop the price so
that your property is a much better value than the competition.

In cases where the seller is too inflexible with their asking price,
this is not a practical solution. Without an alternative strategy, the
seller is forced to keep the house on the market for an extended
period of time with an unrealistic asking price, hoping for the right
buyer to come along. And as you know, that "Mr./Mrs. Right" might
NEVER materialize!

The Seller Finance Solution

Property sellers who want to both obtain their desired price and close
on the deal quickly should consider seller financing. Seller financing
is a powerful tool to remedy real estate situations that otherwise
look grim.

Many home sellers (and their real estate agents) do not see seller
financing as a viable option. In actuality, seller financing can bring
new attention to the listing and invite a different group of potential
buyers - thereby opening up a unique, untapped market.

A large percentage of people throughout the country cannot get
approved for bank funding to buy real estate because of their credit
situation. Many of these people are still in the market to buy a
house, however. The "credit-challenged" are often frustrated with the
limitations of apartment living or being renters; as a result, many
are willing to pay a higher price just for a chance to get seller
financing and improve their quality of life.

A savvy property seller who recognizes this opportunity can salvage an
unfavorable situation and turn it into a bonafide seller's market. By
using this type of creative financing, the seller could actually end
up getting more than the original asking price - without resorting to
the questionable strategy of patiently waiting for the "right buyer".

Seller finance can enable homeowners to receive a favorable selling
price despite bad market conditions. In addition, the real estate
agent (if any) gets to close a deal and move on to other sales, while
a home buyer with poor credit is able to become a home owner. It's one
of those rare situations where everyone at the negotiating table gets
what they want.

Paper Tigers

Many home sellers never consider seller financing because they don't
understand the benefits. There are also common misconceptions that
it's much too complicated to attempt to orchestrate a seller financed
deal, or that there are no buyers willing to sign a private note.

Once a property seller takes the time to learn about the basic
process, the advantages of offering financing instead of a lower price
to sell their property become very clear. Plus, a little education
about seller finance will make it apparent that drafting a secured
private note is actually a very straightforward process.

The bottom line is seller financing can enable a home owner to "have
their cake and eat it too" - i.e., sell at the desired price, close
the deal quickly, and even receive additional income from interest
payments as well.