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Buying or Selling Real Estate – Tips About Real Estate Law

I have held a real estate license and been a full time agent in the state of Illinois for many years now and I love what I do. Yes, even in this down market, I still have fun. People still need places to live. With the market the way it is though, there are lots more rental and rent to own properties than there were a few years ago. And that is not likely to change any time soon. The market is ripe for anyone wanting to invest in real estate in what will turn out be the most lucrative time to buy in a very, very long time. But there are things to be cautious about, whether you’re a buyer or seller, or want to be an investor.

To the Buyer or Seller -

Caveat Emptor, let the buyer beware. There’s a good reason for that phrase, there’s a lot of truth in it. If you are a buyer or seller, you should be very careful when approached by someone saying they are an investor. They do not have your best interest at heart, no matter what they say. They are looking to make money on the buying and or selling or leasing of property. They are not an agent and answer to no regulating agency. They are not your AGENT and do not owe you any obligation other than to honor the contract they enter into with you, which may or may not be a good deal for you. Sure, if they’re engaging in licensed real estate activities without a license, they may be subject to penalties. But that won’t stop you from getting screwed. So beware. My advice is get someone to represent you, either a real estate broker or attorney, or both. You may or may not, by law, have to have a real estate attorney in your state. In my state, Illinois, it’s optional for buyers or sellers to have one. But also, in Illinois, real estate brokers can’t act as an attorney, only as an agent. So it’s recommended that you have an attorney, even though it’s not required.

To the Investor -

Periodically, I run across individuals who say they want to buy “wholesale”. They describe a process where they make an offer to purchase a peace of property. Then once under contract, they procure an “investor buyer” for their purchase contract. They make their money buy charging their buyer a finders fee.

There are a couple of things a would be investor should be wary of. Each state has licensing laws, and certain things require a professional license. Being a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, a real estate broker are all fine examples of this.

Section 1-10 of The Illinois Real Estate License Act of 2000 defines several called licensed activities for a broker. Here are a few excerpts from Section 1-10:

“Broker” means an individual, partnership, LLC, corporation, or registered LLP who, whether in person or through any media or technology, for compensation, or with the intent of receiving compensation, either directly or indirectly:

Sells, exchanges, purchases, rents or leases real estate.

Offers to sell, exchange, purchase, rent or lease real estate.

Negotiates, offers, attempts, or agrees to negotiate the sale, exchange, purchase, rental or leasing of real estate.

Assists or directs in procuring or referring of leads or prospects, intended to result in the sale, exchange, lease or rental of real estate.

Now, I’m not a lawyer nor did I play one on TV, or did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night. But when an investor is looking for a buyer for that contract they have, they may be skirting the law in a very dangerous way. A slip of the tongue, say the wrong word, and it could be very costly for them.

People wanting to invest should do just that. They should buy it and hold it as a rental property, or buy it, fix it up, and sell it. I would not recommend buy/fix/sell though in the present market unless you’re getting the property incredibly cheap. Resale is hard, unless you’re well below market value. To be an investor, you don’t have to have an agent. It’s legal for an individual to represent themselves in a transaction without having a license. They just can’t represent someone else without one. For those folks who wanting to “wholesale” – sell real estate contracts, I recommend checking with your state regulating agency and finding out just how close you are to violating laws. And you might want to consider getting the appropriate license.

There’s a Reason It’s Called a Home-Based Business

Many people launch a home-based business and immediately begin working like they’re on vacation. They sleep late, lounge around the house during the day, talk to friends, exchange e-mails, chat online, and send text messages, all during the time that they are supposed to be working. But because they are working from home and they don’t have a boss, it’s very easy to fall into the trap of self-employed freedom. The key element of a successful home-based business is the discipline to make it successful.The very thing that makes a home-based business so attractive is also its biggest liability. The freedom that comes from working at home is a tremendous luxury, because it affords the home-based entrepreneur the ability to control his or her own working life. It’s not only comfortable working from home, but very convenient as well. A home-based business offers a legitimate financial incentive as well because there are tremendous savings from not having to commute, buy lunches out, and purchase office attire, to name a few.The thing anyone working from home needs to focus on though is that a home-based business entrepreneur’s biggest resource is time. In virtually any home-based business, income production is directly related to the amount of time spent producing it-even when working from home, there is no such thing as the figurative free lunch. Once the business is up and running and residual income develops, the time requirements diminish significantly. But a person who is in the process of launching a home-based business must understand that in the early stages of the enterprise, hard work is the order of the day.With hard work and committed effort, the home-based entrepreneur can make a tremendous income and literally create a recession proof of income for life. The key is to understand that the home-based business is a serious matter, and not a boondoggle. It’s called a business for a very good reason-that’s exactly what it is. Working from home isn’t an excuse to slack off, although it’s easy to do just that. The entrepreneur must be able to resist temptation, and to buckle down and work hard. Do that religiously every day, and your home-based business will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

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Considerable Factors Involved in Product Creation & Marketing

The niche you have chosen should allow creation of more than one product or service. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts, to complete turnkey solutions; there is no need to worry about spending time on the real products sold to the customer. The main ones are keyword selection, sales copy principles, graphics, affiliate programs, product creation, online payment processing, auto responders, and search engine optimization.

Once you’ve earned money from this type of information product business, you can invest in the creation of your own products if you want, or start offering more informational products that allow you to sell your knowledge. But the creation and production costs of a similar big ticket in sequence product, although higher, are still pretty low. A key by-product of this process will be the creation of 3-D, Computer Assisted Design art.

The Association for Financial Professionals permits the following activities for repatriating funds: Research and Development activities, advertising and marketing programs, hiring and training new recruits, acquiring patent and other rights to intangible property, improving transportation, funding capital investments with the purpose of job creation and job retention & funding product responsibility or environmental claims.

It prohibits certain activities like: Tax payments, Payment of executive recompense, Payment of dividends, Redemption of stocks, Debt investments and Portfolio investments. Therefore, before repatriating the money, you must consider whether it is worth or not.

Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate includes: Exceptional vocals, musicianship and/or songwriting skills, Continued education and enhancement of musical skills, Quality equipment, Performance ability, Image creation and maintenance, Plan of action, goal setting, excellent promotion materials including photographs, press releases and artwork, Business management skills, Marketing, Publicity and Promotion knowledge, Online and Offline Professional management, Basic knowledge of recording, producing, engineering, and mastering, Basic knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, and sales online, brick and mortar and air-play, Good choices in members, staff and advisors, Physical and mental preparedness, Basic knowledge of finances, accounting Law and legal issues etc.

The goals for doing so are for the product owner to: Communicate the whole, Determine and communicate when releases are needed, Determine what functionality is sufficient for each release & focus on business value derived from the releases. The delivery team on the other hand will see the whole, learn about the steps to realize the vision, learn the business priorities, provide technical input to the roadmap and provide estimates for the projected features. The salesperson must lead the prospect through the various decision criteria needed in order to secure a sale. Whether your idea is the development of a product, launch of a service business, or even the creation of an event or program for a non-profit, creativity is the root of all entrepreneurial efforts starting with the vision itself.

People quickly learn to spend their time on marketing and product creation, rather than repetitive tasks. Apart from empowering companies and individuals, there should be a particular focus on identifying labor intensive businesses that have the potential to make a significant and positive impact on employment creation as well as those businesses that have a product or service offering for export markets with the final objective of booming local economies.

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