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.

Need Cash Now? Sell Your Mortgage Notes!

Get cash now and forget those monthly payments FOREVER! We work with buyers who are ready to pay top dollar for your notes. If you have a trust deed, a mortgage note or any private loan, it's time to find out exactly how much CASH you could be entitled to.

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List your Note at Smiling Dog Enterprises
Email us for information. Get Cash Now

Selling A Home In A Tough Market

In previous issues, the best method for selling a home in a tough
market with seller financing was explained. The benefits to the seller
from involving a qualified cash flow finder with a seller financed
deal and having a note buyer "on board" before the note is created
were also covered. While using seller finance techniques to sell a
property are no more difficult than a traditional real estate closing,
following a logical and proven plan is the best method for ensuring a
successful real estate sale with seller financing.

The sellers' misconception

Many property sellers stay away from seller financing because they
mistakenly believe that creating a note is not a viable solution for
selling their home. After all, if they can't walk away with enough
cash to provide the down payment on another property, they'll be
powerless to replace the property they're selling.

As a consequence of this common misunderstanding, many sellers feel
compelled to stick with conventional real estate methods, limiting
their options and missing out on the benefits that seller financing
could offer them.

In actuality, many notes created through seller financing are quickly
sold and the seller ends up with the cash they need. Even better, if
the note is created with buyers' purchasing criteria in mind, the
seller could walk away from the closing table with cash in hand. This
means that the net result is almost exactly the same as with a
conventional real estate sale!

In the cases where the note holder does have a problem selling their
monthly payments, the difficulty in liquidating the note is typically
a result of one general problem: the note was not created with the
buyer in mind. Instead, it was created with only the payer in mind. To
ensure that a newly-created note will be attractive to potential
buyers, it is important to recognize that their purchasing criteria
are important as well.

Too good of a deal

For property sellers looking to sell their note immediately, it would
be a grave mistake to create the note by prioritizing only the payer's
demands. A buyer must have a compelling reason to agree to collect
payments in order to buy a note, such as a substantial down payment, a
respectable payer's credit score (to minimize risk), a competitive
interest rate, or a fairly short term.

An example of a "bad note" from a buyer's point of view would be a
seller financing situation where no down payment was collected, the
payer's credit score was not checked, and the interest rate is fixed
at 3%. Basically, this is TOO good of a deal! Even payers that qualify
for loans from traditional lending institutions would jump at this
offer with no out-of-pocket money required and a rate below prime.

Clearly, the note payer and note buyer are looking for very different
things. Payers would love a "no money down" purchase with financing at
a low interest rate, but most buyers wouldn't want anything to do with
this sort of note simply because it is a bad deal for them.

In a situation without a reasonable down payment there is nothing
holding the payer to their obligation. After all, a payer involved in
a "no money down" purchase could walk away and lose almost nothing
financially. Abandoning their obligation to pay may hurt their credit
score, but it was their substandard credit that forced them into a
seller-financing situation in the first place.

When there is no equity in the property (buyers will use the lower of
the property value or the sales price to calculate equity), all offers
to purchase the secured note will be discounted substantially in order
to compensate for the buyer's risk of default. A heavily discounted
buyout offer often means the seller will not be able to get the money
they need.

If the seller of a private note needs a large amount of cash
immediately, they must be able to sell the note as soon as it has been
created. And to quickly find a buyer, the note must meet the general
buying parameters of these people, which include a solid down payment,
a decent interest rate, and typical terms.

Creating notes that can be sold

Every buyer has their own criteria that determine what they will or
won't buy, but a down payment of at least 10% is a good minimum figure
when creating a note. This upfront payment immediately creates equity
in the property which acts as the buyer's safety net in a foreclosure.
A competitive interest rate is important because it will make it easy
for the buyer to purchase the note and yield the desired profit
without much of a discount to the note holder. Finally, keep in mind
that people typically avoid notes that do not follow a traditional
term (amortized over 120 months, 180 months, etc). A two-year,
interest-only balloon term is a perfect example of a note that most
buyers would avoid.

The points described above are only a rudimentary starting point for
note creation; there are certainly other things that buyers look for
when considering a note. It is always a good idea for the seller to
contact a qualified note finder in order to get the specific
information they need.

The finder will be able to utilize their experience in working with
buyers to give the seller general guidelines about what should meet
most buyers' parameters. Of course, there are no absolute guarantees
of a quick sale, but when the seller creates a note with the buyer.s
needs in mind, it should not be a problem to locate an interested
buyer who will give the seller the cash settlement they need.

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Secrets to Selling Your Property

I'm sure that you've heard the old saying that there are three things that sell a home, "Location, Location, Location." I'm going to let you in on another little secret. It AIN'T SO! Sure, location is a prime factor in the saleability of your house, but even a bad location can be overcome. The following 3 things are the Real secrets to getting your property sold.

PRICE

The price of the property is the single most important aspect of getting your home sold. If the home is priced correctly for the area, the market and it's condition, then it will sell. It's as simple as that. What makes pricing difficult to do correctly is that several factors make it hard to determine sometimes what a person would be willing to pay. For example, you may have a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that compares to others in a nearby neighborhood suggesting a price of, let's say, a $150,000. However, you happen to live on an old side road, next to the newly built county landfill. That's going to affect value, without a doubt, but determining that effect is difficult to do in some cases.

MARKETING

If you have a great house worth $150,000 and you want to sell it for only a $100,000, you'd think that people would be climbing the fences trying to get at it. But, if you don't let anybody know that you're wanting to sell, how will they know about the great house with the even better price? You cannot be a "Secret Seller," especially in a a slow market, like the one were in now. Running ads is a great start to marketing, but there is really more to it than that. Slapping an ad everywhere you can think of is good, but target marketing is MUCH better.

Putting the ads in the correct places where they will get the most exposure is better than the 'spray n pray' method of throwing them out everywhere. The BEST marketing, though, is putting the RIGHT ad in the best locations. Anybody can put a "House 4 Sell. Call XXX-XXX-XXXX." You need to put together a marketing plan with several good ad layouts.

TIME

Time is the final factor in getting a house sold. How much time are you willing to wait in order to sell your home? A property will eventually sell for any price you want...if you're willing to wait on the market to "catch up" to what you're asking for the property. If you have something that could sell for $150,000 today, but you want a cool $1 million for it, you can eventually get. No Really! Of course, you may have to wait 100 years or more, but you CAN eventually get that price.

But if time is a real issue for you, then it's a factor in selling, too. If comps for your house so a reasonable selling price of $150-160,000, with an average time on market of 6 months, then you can expect (assuming that you're marketing!) to sell in that range in the given time, more or less. If you price it at the top end of the range, it will likely take longer to sell, while pricing at the low range, less time to sell.

Again, if you're willing to wait it out and see, price a bit high may work, but if you need to be moving NOW, then you'd want to price it on the low side, or maybe even lower, in order to get the quickest sale possible.

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Mortgage Notes Trust Deeds and how to get a home loan with bad credit

Do you know why getting a loan with bad credit can be so difficult? The main reason is that most banks believe that if you default on your loans or credit card payments once you will do so again in the future. Not keeping up with your payments will damage your credit. However a lot of people have bad credit because of some circumstances outside their control where they had a choice of making their credit card payments for example or feeding their kids.

We all get into financial difficulties leading to a bad credit rating at some time in our lives. This happens for many reasons ranging from unemployment, divorce, serious illness or the death of a spouse. These are just a few of the many reasons why a persons credit score may be low for a short period of time in their lives.

Now at the present time there are a lot of people experiencing financial difficulties due to the economic downturn. They may need a loan to tide them over until the economy improves and jobs become available again. So how do you go about getting a loan with bad credit? It may not be as difficult as you think.

There are many sites online offering loans to people with bad credit. You may be looking to pay medical bills, replace your car or pay school fees. If so then are many bad credit loan resources available to you online. Or you may be looking to consolidate your debts which are also available through online lenders.

Now because there are so many people with bad credit who need finance and deserve a second chance, there are many financial institutions creating programs for people with poor credit. This gives them a chance to get the finance they need and rebuild their credit rating.

One way you can get the loan you need is to apply for a secured loan if you can provide some collateral. There are many lenders and especially credit unions that will offer secured loan with poor credit. These loans are usually secured by you home or some other real estate or collateral you may have available. This is also a good option if you are just looking to do is rebuild your credit score.

However if getting a loan with bad credit is the only option available to you, a secured loan is your best bet. If you have collateral it should be relatively easy to qualify. So getting bad credit loan is not impossible, you just need to your research and apply to the best programs that are available to you.

Mortgage Notes or Trust Deeds are one option. Email us for more information.

Seller Financing Without Slashing The Price

Seller financing can be a great way to get a house sold without slashing the price.

By recognizing the millions of people who can't get traditional financing as potential buyers, resourceful property sellers (and their real estate agents) can minimize their time investment in getting a property sold. Even better, sellers
who offer financing can usually get a higher asking price for their property, even in the slowest markets.

Clearly this is a win-win situation.

Most home sellers never consider financing the buyer directly because they are not aware of the benefits or don't fully understand how creating a note works. Let's take a closer look at the advantages of owner finance.

Three Advantages

Seller financing is very powerful when the market is slow or when there are many similar houses on the market. Just listing the house as "OWC" -

Owner Will Carry - will make the house stand out and attract more buyers. Because many individuals cannot get funding from a bank, offering financing will open the doors to these prospective customers as well, essentially significantly increasing the pool of potential buyers. So, advantage #1 is MORE BUYERS.

Seller financing also brings the property seller another critical advantage . the likelihood of selling for a higher price. Offering to carry back a note will not only greatly increase the number of potential buyers, but also bring a unique demographic of buyers who are willing to pay more for a given property than the general population.

Advantage #2: MORE MONEY.

Additionally, when the property seller finances the buyer, they get to act as "the bank". That means they could structure the deal to collect interest. Over time, if the seller holds on to their note, this can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in additional income.

Advantage #3: LONG TERM PROFIT.

The Seller's Strategy

Even when these benefits to "carryback" lending are made clear, many sellers are still hesitant to offer financing because they are entering unfamiliar territory. It's a natural, human response -- everyone is uncomfortable with new things.

For many property sellers, considering owner financing when they've only dealt with buyers via traditional funding is definitely "thinking outside the box". But once sellers understand the process, they are likely to choose seller financing instead of the unattractive option of cutting the listed price or waiting indefinitely
for the "right buyer".

A seller-financed real estate sale is simply a real estate transaction where the seller acts as "the bank" or lending institution. The seller sets the sales price, determines and accepts a down payment, and then finances the remaining
balance. The final step is the part that may scare some sellers, but in actuality, it can be very simple. Here is an example.

If the sales price is $100,000.00, and the buyer gives the seller $10,000.00 cash (the agent's fee will be deducted from this down payment), the seller will finance the balance of $90,000.00.

The buyer and seller would then agree to the terms, such as the interest rate and the total term, and use an attorney to create the mortgage document and close the deal.

From that point on, the buyer sends the seller monthly payments for the house he/she has just purchased.

Special Circumstances (and a Solution)

The whole process can really be that simple. But, there are some substantial differences between a seller-financed deal and one that relies on traditional bank funding.

First of all, the seller in this example does not receive a large, one-time payment at the time of the sale. In fact, they will only receive the down payment, and in some situations, most of that will go towards paying the real estate agent's fee.

On the other hand, the seller will be receiving monthly payments at a decent
interest rate, but this income stream can't be used as a down payment for a new house.

Since many home sellers are also looking to buy another property, the seller will need to get enough at closing to pay their own down payment.

Without this payment, the seller's hands will be tied when they look to purchase another house and need to have a substantial amount of funds available. There is a common solution to this issue, however.

The Solution

In order to get the money the seller needs from the loan they just created, the seller could sell the monthly note payments to a specialist buyer for a lump sum of cash. If the seller finds someone willing to buy the payments, now they can
"have their cake and eat it too".

In summary.

Step one: Use the seller finance option to find unique customers willing to buy the house at a higher price than would have been possible otherwise and complete the real estate transaction quickly.

Step two: Decide on the terms of the deal and create the note.

Step three: If the property seller needs immediate cash to buy another house or for any other reason, their new incoming payment stream can be resold. The person who buys the future payments from the seller will provide the funding to act as a down payment on a new house, and every party involved in the deal comes out smiling.


email us with any questions you may have or to sell your mortgage note or trust deed.

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Why Investing Near Universities is Your Best Bet!

I've always been bullish on real estate for long term investment, portfolios, retirement. But the real estate I love the most was where I first started buying, next to a big, growing, sprawling university.

I still believe these areas are what I call "Real Estate to Die For." Universities, colleges and schools of higher learning are all pillars in our communities. They are here in perpetuity, during our lifetimes, our children's and their children's lifetimes. They contribute greatly to the local economies, and hopefully, will grow in size as more Americans and foreign students want to be educated.

Look in areas within a short distance to the school of your choice. The closer the proximity, the less time it takes for your tenants to get to school. They can stay at school longer, too, without having to be pressured to leave campus and have a long commute home.

There are tons of opportunities to rent to students and many colleges have off-campus housing offices to help students find landlords and vice versa. Make sure you get parents co-signed on the lease, even if you need a local attorney to draw up paperwork for you. It might cost a little at the beginning, but will more than pay off if there's a problem with collecting rents down the road.

What's the difference between a student to living in the college-owned dormitory or your off-campus housing? Lots of differences. First of all, students prefer the privacy of living in their own room/space and not having to share a room with another student or two! They are adults for the first time in their lives and the last thing they want is the loss of privacy that comes with sharing a dorm room. Next, they are much more independent out of the dormitory, sharing a condo or town home with another student or more.

Properties do not have to be hi-end or include crazy upgrades. It's enough that they are clean, spacious, comfortable and near school.

We can help you finance your property if you have a mortgage note or trust deed to sell.  email for more information.

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Should You Sell Your Property as a For Sale By Owner?

Thousands of homeowners ponder the question of whether or not to sell privately. This is a question that gets a lot of attention on the internet, and also spawns an enormous amount of erroneous information. Many people want to sell their own properties, but are afraid of "hidden" problems that may rise up to cost them money, or cause them grief. Fear is the number one reason that people are willing to pay a Realtor to sell their home. Unfortunately, this fear is often unfounded, and all too often promoted by someone with a vested interest in taking your money to sell your property.

For some time now, many articles that pretend to promote selling privately, while in actual fact, they are designed to discourage you from taking on this task.

Obviously, such articles do not come right out and say "Hey don't do it!", but instead they tell you all of the seemingly bad stuff that "could" happen if you dare try it. They paint such a grim picture of selling privately while "encouraging" the reader, that nobody would try it if they chose to follow the advice of such articles.

This article will cover, albeit briefly, the reasons that many people should, or should not sell on their own. I will try to dispel the immense amount of misinformation on the subject of selling privately, and in the end, hopefully, you'll be in a better position to choose for yourself whether or not to sell privately.

In my opinion, selling privately is not for everyone, but most people can do it easily enough, and succeed.

First some basics. You've probably heard the term FSBO. This acronym to describe the term For Sale By Owner.

First question. Do you need a license to sell privately? To the best of my knowledge, no license is required in any American state or Canadian province in order to sell property privately. In fact, your right to sell privately is protected by law.  I will suggest that you check with your lawyer.

I am not a lawyer and therefore cannot give you legal advice.  So check with your lawyer before you do anything.

How much time will it take to sell my property? I am NOT going to try and tell you how long it will take for you to find a buyer who will transact a sale. I will talk about the time it takes to market a property on your own in order to give you a sense of what sort of time commitment you'll need to make to do it correctly. The answer, surprisingly, is very little time, about an hour or two a day at most. In fact, once you've taken the time to set up your sale, which is something I will talk about in another article, it will take little or no time at all, unless you're showing your property to a prospective buyer.

What is the general process of selling a property privately? In many ways it's exactly the same as selling with a real estate agent. Here is the process of selling a property, privately or not. First, the property is advertised to let the public know that it's available for sale. Prospective buyers inquire about the property, ask questions, and arrange a viewing appointment. The prospective buyers come and see the property, sometimes more than once. If they like the property, they make an offer in writing on a legal form. You (or your agent) and they (or their agent) negotiate the terms of the offer, the price, and closing date. Then once everyone has agreed, and all parties have signed the offer, everything goes to the lawyers so they can do their stuff to effectively convey title, and exchange monies etc..

It seems pretty straight forward, and usually it is. First you'll have to market the property, show it to prospective buyers, and negotiate the terms of the sales agreement. Once the agreement has been signed by both the Seller and the Buyer, then your lawyer will do the rest for you. Also, don't forget to get contact information for the Buyer's lawyer. Your lawyer may need this information to begin the process with the other attorney.

More articles will follow.  One thing to consider when selling FSBO is to provide financing for the prospective buyer.  You can become the bank and take back the mortgage.  You can provide financing with a mortgage note or trust deed for a short period of time, then sell the note for cash.

Please read the articles on our blog for more information.  Click here to email us with your questions.

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