Business Management and Growth Articles

When it comes to entrepreneurship, starting, growing and managing a business, I’ve done it several times.  I’ve been my own boss my entire adult life.  Writing about business and how make it successfully are my specialty.

Whether it’s starting up, customer development, marketing, advertising, technology, and so much more, get a thorough look at my knowledge and writing ability by checking out the many articles I’ve placed (all are mine) at the About.com site.

Basic Real Estate Business and Startup Articles

I do a huge amount of instructional writing for Realtors just starting in the business.  Subjects range from basic property and ownership information to developing a business plan, financial planning, marketing budgeting and more.

Here is a link to a full section of my new real estate agent articles.

Reverse Mortgage and FHA Loan Articles

A regular client sends requests for articles monthly. Most are on mortgages, financing, the FHA and reverse mortgages. Here are a couple of excerpts of the latest:

What Is a Reverse Mortgage?

Homeowners are familiar with how a normal mortgage works. If you own a home, you have likely paid monthly payments on a mortgage, or more than one in your lifetime. The characteristics of the normal type mortgage include:

· You pay a monthly payment.

· The lender takes out interest and some is applied to your growing equity.

· Your equity builds up over time as you continue your payments.

· Your payoff amount to fully end the mortgage goes down over time.

· If you sell, you normally would pay off the balance on the loan, leaving your equity minus selling expenses.

Now there’s a new mortgage out there called the “Reverse Mortgage.” We’re going to turn the normal mortgage on its head and you get paid instead of the lender. It’s a mortgage whose time has come with the maturing of the Baby Boomer generation, and its characteristics include:

FHA Loans – Multiple Solutions to Mortgage Needs

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages made by qualified lenders to people purchasing or refinancing a home of their own. Lenders can expand home loans to many more individuals because they can rely on the FHA insurance in case of a default. Of course, there are minimum requirements, but there are also several different types of loans that make home ownership available to many. Let’s look at the types of loans, and the situations in which they apply.

FHA Fixed Rate Mortgage (Section 203b) – This mortgage provides funds for either purchase or refinance of one to four family housing units. The fixed rate feature means that the interest rate remains stable at the initial rate throughout the loan period.

· Down payments can be lower than conventional mortgages, sometimes as low as 3% of the appraised value of the home.

· Many of the closing costs related to a mortgage loan can be financed in this type of FHA loan. That even includes the initial loan insurance premium.

By limiting fees that lenders can charge for certain items and services, the FHA fixed

Technology Articles for Realtors

Agent Direct News, a print publication with more than 100,000 Realtor subscribers, also has a subscription only online version of their articles.  I am a regular monthly contributor to this newspaper.  Articles are around 800 words and are intended to help Realtors to embrace new technology and use it to help them be more successful.

Here’s a link to one of the article’s text.

E-Marketing – Email or Blog

Realtor Magazine, with a circulation of more than 1.2 million Realtor readers, asked me to do an article for both print and online concerning the decision of whether to use email and newsletters or a blog for real estate marketing and ongoing client communication.

I have extensive experience doing both, and tried to present a balanced analysis, though I am very much in favor of the blogging method, with an email newsletter created from the blog’s posts.

Here’s the link to the story.

Technology and Real Estate – Intranets for Real Estate

With a circulation of more than 1.2 million readers, Realtor Magazine is quite careful in their editorial acceptance and writing policy. I am gratified to have been asked to contribute two articles to their Tech@Work feature column in the past. One is the use of an intranet in the management of a real estate brokerage.

Here’s the link to the online version.

Real Estate Consumer and Investment Articles

Though this client at http://acepropertyinvestments.com is in site redesign, with my content not yet up, I have done multiple small writing projects for them. The general focus is on Rent to Own and Lease Purchase as a viable option for all involved, Buyers, Sellers and Realtors.

Here are a couple of titles and excerpts:

The Buyer’s Guide to Home Purchase Negotiations

Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines “negotiation” as “a conferring, discussing or bargaining for an agreement.” Turning a negotiation into a battle of wills is rarely a strategy of value.

As a buyer in a real estate negotiation, you are making the first contact with the seller via your purchase offer. This is a defining moment, and how you craft your offer often sets the tone of the entire negotiation process. The most successful negotiations almost always end with all parties feeling like winners. Don’t let your offer create ill will with a seller, as this will usually result in a difficult proces

Does this mean that a buyer shouldn’t make an offer significantly lower than the asking price? This will depend on the current market, as well as property condition and perceived seller motivation.

Understanding Title Insurance

Most homeowners are quite careful to examine their homeowner insurance policy for the dollar amounts of coverage, as well as the damage and events that are covered and which aren’t. There should be even more attention focused on the coverage provided by title insurance.

In most real estate purchase transactions, a document called a “title insurance binder” is issued to the buyer. This document “binds” the insurer to the issuance of a policy of title insurance with certain exceptions and requirements.

Title insurance provides protection to a property owner for possible future actions of others, or information discovered, that damages the property owner’s benefits of ownership. It does not cover restrictions or other limits on use that already exist