To date, I have looked at almost 40 foreclosed properties from Augusta to Kittery, Maine, with the hope of finding a nice home for a nice price, that’s worth the frustration and work that need to be applied. Unfortunately, is seems that any house meeting even 70% of my expectations, is under contract before I can get an appointment to see it.

The amount of coordinating that it will take to even get a mortgage on a ‘distressed’ property is almost unbelievable. Within 30-45 days, a seller is expected to complete the following;

1. Apply for financing – usually within 3 days of finalizing a purchase and sale agreement
2. Fix any broken pipes – they all have them!
3. Dewinterize the property for proper inspections
4. Turn on the electric
5. Inspect heating system
6. Inspect/test water
7. Inspect/test sewer system including any leach field
8. Schedule a full home inspection – including mold from the water damage
9. Get an appraiser to assess the property – property location can determine how long this takes
10. Get the bank to review the appraisal and determine required repairs
11. Get estimates for the bank’s required repairs
12. Complete any repairs that the bank requires prior to closing – such as mold remediation
13. Possibly renegotiate with the seller
14. Schedule the closing date

Why bother? Well, if you (or someone you know very well) have the ability to put in some ‘sweat equity’, then generally you can get a foreclosed property for a discount.

How much of a discount would you need to get, for it to be worth the work and aggravation? This depends. You have to determine what your lender will require to be fixed, then determine what you want to fix over and above that. This number should be subtracted from the value of the property, but keep in mind that very few lenders will give 100% of a property’s value. Many will still lend 90% for a purchase, but if you intend to complete any repairs afterward with a home equity loan, then you may only be able to get 80-85% of the property’s value.

How does this translate? If you anticipate a home is worth $150,000, but you will need to invest $20,000 in work, then your offer might look something like this:

$150,000 * 85% = $127,500 is how much a lender might give you for a loan
$127,500 – $20,000 in repairs = $107,500 is the most that you might consider offering for this property

In the end, it all becomes a game of unknown factors. The true value is unknown, the actual amount of work needed is unknown, and you hope for the best.

My Advice (for what it’s worth), make sure you have a good realtor and a great lender! Need recommendations? Contact Me!

Most people would agree that they (should) mail an average of five cards per month just to family and friends, 60 cards per year. If you are a business owner or manger, then you probably mail an average of ten cards per month to clients or coworkers, 120 cards per year.

If each card cost you about $4.00, plus tax and $0.44 in postage, then you may spend an average of $45 per month on cards. Now, there is a website that allows you to mail custom cards and gifts to anyone you like without leaving your house, and for less than $1 per card!

Send Out Cards helps to simplify the process of staying in touch, making you more efficient and productive! Send Out Cards helps make reaching out easier, allowing you to stay in touch and communicate more effectively and more often!

You can send a printed greeting card in your own handwriting in just 3 easy steps;

1. Choose your card
2. Write your message
3. Click send

Send Out Cards prints it, stuffs it, and mails it for you, all for less than a greeting card at the store. It’s as simple as an e-mail, but the results are more tangible and effective.

Send Out Cards also provides you with a contact management system to help remind you of upcoming events, personalized handwriting and signature options, and picture editing software for adding images to your greeting cards.

If you would like to try Send Out Cards, then visit this site: www.SendOutCards.com/KFarris and mail a FREE card to someone today!
For more information about sending cards and gifts, and how you or your organization can benefit from this services, please Contact me!

830 square feet, 1st floor, 2 bedrooms, combination living/dining room open to kitchen, wood fireplace, private back deck, electric hot water heater, washer/dryer hookups, efficient K-1 monitor heater, electric baseboards, oil tank in the rear of the building, private entrance

1^st floor Condo
2 bedrooms
1 bathroom
830 square feet
Wood Fireplace
Efficient Monitor heater
Great working Kitchen
Back & Front Deck
Plenty of Parking
Ceramic Tile floors
10 minutes to Portland, Maine

Realtor.com Listing

I have owned this condo for almost 4 years now. This is a very private setting on 5 acres of land, with a 400 ft driveway off Route 100. The location is great, right on the Gray-West Cumberland town line, only about 10 minutes to Portland, 5 minutes from Gray center, and 15 minutes from North Windham. All exterior maintenance is taken care of by the association; including siding, roofing, plowing, mowing, trash removal, etc…

Please feel free to contact me or the listing agent for more details on this property!

Association on 5 Private Acres

4 Unit Building

Side of Building

Back of Building

Private Back Deck

Open Living Room Area

Wood Fireplace

Wood Bar to Kitchen and Slider to Deck

Bedroom

Standard Full Bathroom

Affordable Maine Condo for sale, just minutes from Portland! Visit MaineCondo4Sale.com for more pictures and details!

For those of us that support other small businesses, it seems like everyone disappears either because they’re too busy to communicate or because they are so slow they went on vacation.

The e-mails slow down, the phone calls aren’t returned as promptly, and the networking seems to fall flat. And, we are all aware that September brings a wave of productivity, but what can we do to keep business going and communication flowing in the summer months?

1. Focus on Organization – Complete the projects that you haven’t been able to accomplish during your busy time, or that you’ve been avoiding. Finish that new website done, get those new business cards designed, organize your electronic filing, etc…
2. Focus on Education – Take a training class or get a new certification that will help you grow your business. Summer classes are usually shorter in duration and smaller in size, so they can feel more tolerable and allow you more personal attention.
3. Focus on Follow-up – Reach out to existing and potential clients, so that when they become motivated (in September), they know/remember who to call.

Good luck this summer, and enjoy what you do!

We hear selling or sales and think high pressure, being forced into something, having someone trick us into a product or service that we don’t need. We hear sales and we think of lies and deceit. We hear sales and we imagine dishonest people taking our money in exchange for products or services that don’t meet our expectations.

So, what are Sales people doing to change this perception? What are Sales people doing to earn trust and respect? What are Sales people doing to Sell to us?

Some are calling them selves Advertising Professionals or Promotions Specialist! Some are asking for appointments under the false pretense that they actually want to help YOU with YOUR business. More trickery… that seems like a great way to instill a sense of trust and honesty, right? Not in my book.

If you’re a sales person, tell me! Tell me that your job is to sell your product. Then let me decide if I want to listen to you. I guarantee you will waste less time in meetings where people aren’t interested! More over, I guarantee you will earn more respect and a good reputation.

Selling resembles dating, you are selling yourself as much (or more) than the product. If you’re not good at what you do, or you’re not trustworthy, people will talk. And in Maine, news travels fast.

Do yourself a favor, be honest from the start! And if you really are interested in helping MY business, then do so before you pitch me YOUR product.

There’s nothing wrong with being a sales person, every company needs them and every company needs to make money. Believe in what you’re selling enough to admit you are selling it. Be proud of what you do and do it well!

I’ve had a lot of fun designing my website, creating my business cards and brochures, and attending numerous networking events. I am my business, therefore what I believe and who I am becomes my brand and my business culture. Now, as approach the 1^st anniversary of Office Solutions ^ME, I find myself sponsoring events and joining organizations, in an effort to advertise my business and support initiatives that I am passionate about.

Some of the events I have/will sponsor;

• Good Friday Breakfast – April 2010
• Maine Women’s Network Annual Event – June 2010
• Entreverge Awards Party – June 2010

Some of the organizations I have joined;

• Maine Women’s Network
• Women Standing Together
• Freeport Chamber of Commerce
• Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce

As for Networking, I have been enjoying a number of different events around Southern Maine. Visit the Maine Networking Calendar to see upcoming events.

Easter Resources -

Wikipedia

Easter (Ēostre (Old English); Greek: Πάσχα Paskha, from Hebrew: פֶּסַח Pesakh,) is the central religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.[1] According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Some Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday[2] (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday. Read more at Wikipedia…

Holidays.net

Easter is the springtime holiday marking the rebirth of Jesus and the renewal of the Christian faith.

Answers.com

Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his Crucifixion. Sandwiched between the 40 preparatory days of Lenten penitence and the seven weeks of Eastertide, it is the most important and most joyous holiday on the Christian calendar.

Willstar.com

As with almost all “Christian” holidays, Easter has a secular side as well. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication.

]]> http://kurlykat.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/happy-easter-everyone/feed/ 0 KurlyKat http://kurlykat.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/time-management-tips-software/ http://kurlykat.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/time-management-tips-software/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:30:27 +0000 kurlykat http://kurlykat.wordpress.com/?p=68 ]]> Time is money, time is of the essence, time heals all… there are many realities of time, it is a valuable commodity! Time is something we take for granted, yet we never get back!

How do we make the most of the time we have? While I can’t answer that for everyone, or all situations, I can answer how I make the most of my time and organize my busy schedule as a full-time banker, part-time business owner, part-time teacher, and full-time wife.

It’s all about organization and scheduling, while this may not allow for a lot of spontaneity, it does help with sanity!

1. Set Priorities – Tasks will be different for everyone and may even change depending on the week or month. They can include any of the tasks you complete on a daily weekly or monthly basis; Health, Making Money, Children, Family Dinners, Client Relations, Blogging, Time with your spouse, Cleaning, Filing, AR/AP, etc…
2. Arrange Availability – Coordinate the activities that require others’ participation. Check with those that are involved in your tasks and be sure they set aside time for you. There’s no sense in scheduling time with your spouse if they aren’t planning on being home, or setting aside time for a family dinner on nights that everyone has sports practice. Be practical about your time usage in order to get the most out of it.
3. Organize a Schedule– After you’ve determined the most important tasks and the best times to coordinate with others, it’s time to set a schedule. Set up task in order of priority and then block off the time during the week or month that works the best for each task. You may find that Tuesday and Thursday are the best nights for the family dinners, Wednesdays are dedicated to business networking events, your spouse is your priority on Friday and Saturday Evening, Blogging will get done on the 10th and 20th of every month, AP/AR will be best completed on the 14th or 15th of each month, and you will check e-mails at 8am, 10am, 2pm, and 4pm.
4. Use Tracking Tools – Whether this is new to you or not, chances are you will need some sort of tools to assist you. This could be as simple as setting timers or alarms on you cell phone to remind you to check your e-mail or start dinner. This could also be as complex as utilizing time tracking software. There are many versions of time trackers available, many are even free.
5. Adjust as Needed – If it’s broke, fix it! If your schedule isn’t working, then adjust it! It’s not set in stone, it’s a tool that’s suppose to make you more organized and less stressed, more efficient and more productive. So, make it work for you. And you may find that you can’t do everything… it’s okay to get help!

Here is a list of some time trackers and project managers that I’ve discovered;

• Hassle Me
• HiTask
• Memo To Me
• My Hours
• Printable Checklist
• Ta-Da List
• Teux Deux
• To Do ist
• Toodle Do
• Voo2Do

Find More time Management tips;

• Mind Tools
• Study Guides and Strategies
• Time Management 101
• Time Management Guide

If you have tips or can recommend any time management software, please feel free to comment!

Here are some great links to better understand home ownership and these tax credits;

• Internal Revenue Service http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206291,00.html
• US Department of Housing and Urban Development http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/buying_a_home
• National Association of Home Builders http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/
• National Association of Realtors http://www.realtor.org/home_buyers_and_sellers/2009_first_time_home_buyer_tax_credit
• Top 10 Things First-Time Homebuyers Should Know http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1008015

If you have tips or suggestions for potential home buyers, please feel free to comment!

I was looking for both portability and functionality, necessities for a Virtual Assistant and a Laptop!

My Requirements;

• 6 pounds or less – the lighter the better
• 14” – 17” screen – large enough to see, small enough to transport
• At least 2 hours of battery life – the more the better
• At least 3GB of memory – the more the better
• At least 320GB of storage – with a portable external hard drive, this is not extremely important
• At least 3 USB ports – the more the better
• HDMI port
• White or illuminated keyboard – so much easier to see in dim lighting (during a presentation for example)
• Built in camera – is now usually a standard feature
• Built in Wi-Fi – is now usually a standard feature
• Windows 7 – no need to even try Vista
• $1,000 or less

What I got;

• 5.2 pounds
• 15” screen
• 3 hours of battery
• 4GB of memory
• 320GB of storage
• 3 USB ports
• HDMI port
• White keyboard
• Camera
• Wi-Fi
• Windows 7
• Blue ray player
• $750

All-in-all, I’m very happy with my new laptop!

Stay tuned for a review of Windows 7…