Archive for July 7th, 2010

Computer Consulting: Should You Moonlight While Starting Up?

A tremendous number of people are able to earn sizable supplemental income by having a moonlighting computer consulting business. But even more importantly, by moonlighting, you can figure out if you enjoy computer consulting before you take the plunge into building a full-time computer consulting business.

Learn True Billable Hours

Moonlighting as a computer consultant will also give you an appreciation of true billable hours. What does this mean? For example, let’s say you spend 10 hours working, but you may only be able to bill for 4. Or you spend 10 hours and can only bill 6 or 7 of these 10 hours. That’s the reality. You can read about it until the cows come home. But unless you experience it firsthand, you will not get the full picture.

What Constitutes Non-Billable Hours?

What takes up those non-billable hours? The other responsibilities of running a business. These include:

· Marketing
· Business Development
· Paperwork
· Organization
· Billing and Collections
· Accounting

Until you experience owning a computer consulting business firsthand, it’s very difficult for you to know whether you’re really going to enjoy it, and whether you’re really cut out for small business computer consulting.

The Benefits to Moonlighting

But the number one benefit of moonlighting while you still have a day job is there’s no pressure on you. If you don’t like computer consulting, oh well, no big deal. But the moonlighting experience gives you a great way to put your toe in the water without making a huge commitment. Plus, you don’t have to bet your family’s financial well-being on the whole thing.

Joshua Feinberg has helped thousands of computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua’s free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training at http://www.ComputerConsultantsSecrets.com/blog/

Tags: Computer, Consulting, Moonlight, Should, Starting

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

Green Government Contracts Beginning To Roll Out

With the passage of the stimulus bill in early 2009, much money was allocated to the renewable energy market. The bill staggered funding to support the following successive objectives:

1)Encourage adoption of current technology through efficient energy tax credits.

2)Support innovation through research and development incentives.

3)Encourage training and support of “green collar” jobs through education.

4)Adopt sustainability practices and clean energy solutions in the federal government and grant money to state and local governments for adoption incentives.

The initial stimulus objectives have already begun rolling out. Tax credits for the purchase of solar panels, energy efficient windows, and the replacement of inefficient appliances and HVAC systems helped this industry take less of a hit amidst the last recession. Research and development for renewable energy solutions is at an all time high thanks to this package, despite the typical logic where R&D is a focus only when existing sources of energy become too expensive. So called “green collar jobs” are the new buzz word, in industries like construction, engineering, and architectural services. General contractors and building renovators are speaking green lexicon with retrofitting services like sustainability upgrades and efficient energy audits.

All of these incentives promoted by the federal government were designed to create the perfect storm of research, adoption, and training to nurture a new green energy industry, designed to spur economic growth, technological competitiveness, and better energy security. The long term goal is to sustain growth ahead in a world with dwindling and more sought-after non-renewable resources.

The final stage of stimulus funding begins to roll out at the end of 2010 for implementing green technologies and efficient energy solutions for use across all sectors of public purchasing in federal, state, and local government agencies. The funding of renewable energy government contracts fall into two primary sectors: (1) analysis and consulting for existing infrastructure, and (2) products and services to build new infrastructure.

Comprehensive energy audits and environmental consulting are among the most common RFPs that are opening. At the moment there are active RFPs for state departments and municipalities in California, Colorado, New York, Texas, and more. These requests for proposals include carbon analyses, environmental planning, and consulting services.

Ultimately, the greatest beneficiary of Federal stimulus funding—through training incentives, grants, or government purchasing—are government contracts for the products themselves. Photo voltaic and solar panels, wind turbines, and geo-thermal energy bids are being released daily from state and local governments nationwide. These bids do not end at the installation of solar and PV panels on top of the local City Hall; rather, state and local governments are purchasing contracts for school zone and traffic sign flasher assemblies powered by solar panels, solar-powered water heaters for public buildings, renewable charging systems, and electric/non carbon-emitting vehicles and fleet services.

The stimulus bill’s aim was not solely to spend money to pull the country out of a recession. The goal was to support the new and emerging green technology industry from the ground up, where federal, state, and local governments could lead by example in adopting these practices. In addition to spurring research and development and job training, an overhaul of government energy consumption would save energy and costs in the long term, while finally introducing these products into the mainstream.

Tags: Beginning, Contracts, Government, Green, Roll

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

The History And Hauntings Of Deane House

Haunted houses are often thought to be inhabited by the spirits of the unhappy dead, people who have died without completing an important task and people whose lives came to a violent end. If this is truly the case, Calgary’s historic Deane House certainly fits this profile and to this day, there are people who swear that this house still contains something uncanny.

In 1906, Richard Burton Deane was ready to assume the post of Commanding Officer of Fort Calgary. Accordingly, Deane arrived in Calgary in July 1906 with the intention of sending for his wife, Martha once he was established. He found that the building that had housed the previous superintendent had been condemned and destroyed. Deane decided to build a new house in the southeast corner of the Fort, facing the barracks. The house was begun in July and cost an extravagant $6000, but Martha was never to live there. Deane remained in the house until his retirement in 1914.

The year 1914 also saw the closure of Fort Calgary. The land and buildings were bought by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The Railway tore down all the structures but the Deane House, which was removed from its position near 9th Avenue and 6th St SE. It was relocated within Fort Calgary and then across the Elbow River in 1929 by one Charles L. Jacques, who transformed it into a rooming house under the name of “Gaspe Lodge”.

The rooming house era was to furnish the Deane House with the majority of its ghost stories. That period was a dark one for this historic building. Boarding houses were seldom pleasant places, inhabited by people who could not afford better and whose circumstances were often desperate. A young woman committed suicide by jumping out a second story window, a man was fatally shot on the porch. An epileptic boy, bullied and shunned due to his illness, killed himself in the attic in 1933. In 1952, a man stabbed and strangled his wife to death and killed himself in front of their two small children.

The Deane House was purchased by the City of Calgary in 1973. The Dandelion Gallery operated within it until September 1979. This was the era when stories about something eerie in the Deane House surfaced.

One story tells of a woman exploring the basement during a Murder Mystery night encountering an aged First Nations man with long black braids who told her that she “shouldn’t be here” because “the land was sacred”. A subsequent investigation found no one in the house or on the grounds meeting this description.

Unexplained activity has been reported – cigar smoke in the non-smoking house, ringing of the unplugged vintage telephone in the study, and disembodied laughter in the front foyer. Many of the staff have reported otherworldly experiences – footsteps, an image of a man cut off at the waist, a mysterious bloodstain in an attic closet that resists all attempts to clean it.

There are more tales about the Deane House, but to really experience them, it is necessary to visit the historic building at 806 9th Avenue SE, Calgary.

By: Lina Horner

To explore Calgary luxury homes for sale, head over to SmartCalgaryHomes.com, your resource for Calgary infill houses.

Tags: Deane, Hauntings, History, House

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

Small Business Start Up Loans

Business firms avail loans for financing start-ups by approaching lenders like banks and credit unions who decide on the prudence of the investment based on the following factors. They evaluate the loan application and decide on conventional small business financing, that does not require a Small Business Administration (SBA) guarantee, provided the borrower is deemed credit worthy. In case, the applicant’s credit history is not up to the lender’s credit standards, the financier would require an additional guarantee, the absence of which would disqualify the borrower from obtaining the loan. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, was instrumental in the US Small Business Administration (SBA) temporarily eliminating administrative fees and raising the level of guarantee on some of its loans. These steps have been taken to provide lenders with the security necessary to accelerate the process of disbursing loans to millions of small business owners who are in desperate need of capital. The reason for the meltdown in lending, was on account of the lending institutions being unable to securitize their loans. Securitization is the process of pooling loans together and issuing securities with the underlying pool of loans acting as the collateral. These securities are purchased by investors who receive income from the interest and principal payments made by the borrowers. Securitization increases the lending power of the banks by freeing up funds. However, over time, the liquidity in the secondary markets declined since the securitizing institutions were unable to find buyers for investments backed by the pool of debts. Hence, banks who depended on the secondary markets for liquidity, became hesitant in extending credit to small businesses. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, tackled this problem by providing assurance, that the government would purchase 7(a) and 504 first-lien securities, which were backed by the the popular SBA loans that promulgated small business start up loans.

Start Up Loans for Small Business Entities

7(a) Loan: SBA guaranteed 7(a) small business start up loans are meant for borrowers who are interested in starting a business, expanding or acquiring small business entities. The typical applicant lacks the necessary collateral to clinch a loan and has insufficient equity to start the enterprise. The maximum amount of SBA guaranteed 7(a) loan, that can be availed by a borrower, is around $2 million and the SBA guarantees up to 75 percent of the amount of the loan. Administrative fee, on processing the loan, has been eliminated on loans originated on/after Feb. 17, 2009, with retrospective effect. Lenders, who have been approved to participate in SBA lending programs, are eligible to provide SBA guaranteed small business loans. People operating a home-based business can apply for this loan provided they meet the standard eligibility and credit criteria.

Micro-Loans: These loans are provided to start ups, newly established, or growing small business concerns by nonprofit intermediaries who receive funds from the SBA. The amount of money, that can be provided as a micro-loan, cannot exceed $35,000. On an average, the money lent to a borrower is to the tune of $13,000. The borrower is expected to submit applications to the local intermediary who decides on the prudence of advancing money to the aspiring entrepreneur.

504 Certified Development Company Loans: These loans are meant for expanding small business enterprises by offering long-term, fixed-rate financing for the purchase of fixed assets, viz. land, building, machinery and equipment. The borrower brings with him/her a small amount of equity while the remaining portion is shared between the bank/primary lender and a certified development company(CDC). The portion of the loan from the CDC comes with a SBA guarantee for loans not exceeding $4 million.

SBA backed loans are generally provided to services, retail, accommodation, food, construction and manufacturing industries. These loans are geared towards helping minorities and women owned businesses become self sufficient and successful enterprises that benefit the society by generating employment.

Tags: Business, Loans, Small, Start

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

Nurse Handed Over $400,000 to Web Scam Despite Fbi Warning

An American woman has revealed how she was swindled out of $400,000 (£269,000) by Nigerian internet fraudsters, in what is believed to be one of the biggest cases of its kind ever recorded.

Janella Spears, a registered nurse from Sweet Home, Oregon, said she started sending money to the scammers in 2005 after she received an email promising her several million dollars from a long-lost relative. In what is commonly known as a 419 scam – named after a section of the Nigerian criminal code – the fraudsters randomly contacted Spears over the internet, claiming they would offer her a substantial cut of $20.5m fortune in return for the cash injection which would help move it out of the country.

“I kept thinking it’s only a couple hundred dollars – I can get it back,” she told local news. Over a period of two years, the fraudsters strung her along and encouraged her to send more payments of up to $14,000 at a time. In the end she became obsessed and sent the fraudsters more than $400,000, which she raised by remortgaging her home and spending her husband’s retirement savings.

Despite advice from bank officials, police and even the FBI that the scheme was a ruse, Spears said she continued to send cash in the hope of a large pay-off. Even fake emails claiming to be from the President of Nigeria and US president George Bush could not dissuade her.

“I said how come you’re using this non-government address? ‘Oh, because our computer has a worm’,” she said. The 419 fraud is one of the most common internet deceptions, and like most similar schemes is reliant on sending millions of spam messages in the hope that they land in the in box of a gullible victim.

Although finding victims requires luck rather than judgment, the incredibly low cost of sending email means that such fraud can be highly profitable. A study by researchers at University of California showed that it took an average of 12.5m spam emails for each response – but that large operations sending billions of messages could make as much as £2m a year.

Although Spears is an exception she is far from being alone. Last year British police helped crack a similar fraud ring, which was holding fake checks worth more than £1bn, which had links to groups in the Netherlands and Nigeria.

Although it is difficult to calculate the value of such swindles because many victims are too embarrassed to report the crime, the government has estimated that such frauds could cost £3.5bn a year in Britain alone.

Spears claimed she was sharing her story now in order to prevent others from falling victim to similar scams. “You’re sitting there going ‘how can I fall for something like that’,” she said.

Tags: $400000, Despite, Handed, Nurse, Over, Scam, Warning

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

How to Protect Your Baby From the Sun’s Rays

When the sun is out and the weather is crisp and clear, it’s difficult to resist going outside to enjoy time with your little one. Whether you’re visiting the park together or enjoying a meal on your patio, the warmth of the sun’s rays feel especially soothing on the skin. Unfortunately, these rays are also damaging to the skin – and even more so for your baby.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the sun’s ultraviolet rays in the context of what they can do to your infant’s skin. We’ll offer a few suggestions for buying suntan lotion and describe the benefits of staying in the shade. You’ll also learn how to protect your little one’s eyes in the event you’re going to be outside for an extended period of time.

The Danger Of Ultraviolet Rays

You might think that a golden-brown tan is the quintessential sign of good health. It’s actually a clear sign of skin damage caused by ultraviolet rays. Over time, too much exposure will eventually cause premature wrinkling and skin blemishes.

There are three types of ultraviolet rays that span a wide spectrum of light: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVA and UVB are the most well-known because they directly impact our health. UVA rays penetrate several layers of skin. UVB rays penetrate the surface, but little else. Both types of UV light can damage your baby’s skin beyond the visible signs of sunburns and mild irritation. Over years of exposure, the cellular damage accrues and can even lead to skin cancer.

Using The Right Suntan Lotion

Most sunscreens and suntan lotions have an SPF rating. The abbreviation stands for “sun protection factor.” The rating reflects the number of minutes of protection offered by the product. A simple rule of thumb – though not entirely accurate – is to multiply the SPF rating by twenty. For example, a person who normally burns after fifteen minutes would be protected for 450 minutes while using an SPF 30 sunscreen.

Few people realize that a product’s SPF rating only indicates protection from UVB rays. It does not reflect the product’s ability to protect your infant’s skin from UVA rays. This is an important distinction because UVA rays can be just as damaging.

Another important note: ultraviolet rays can penetrate cloud covers. If you and your baby are enjoying time together at the park on a cloudy day, you should still apply a high-quality sunscreen to her skin.

Fun In The Sun Versus Safe In The Shade

A lot of parents think the sun is unable to cause damage during short periods of exposure. In reality, UV damage accumulates. Even if you and your baby spend five or ten minutes outside, the ultraviolet rays can still penetrate her skin. Because her skin is still fragile, it is more susceptible to cellular damage than your skin.

This is one of the reasons pediatricians suggest limiting babies’ exposure to the sun whenever possible. Stay in the shade. Otherwise, liberally apply a strong sunscreen to your baby’s skin that offers her protection from UVA and UVB rays.

Safeguarding Your Baby’s Eyes

In the same way ultraviolet rays can damage the skin, they can also cause eye problems. Millions of people suffer from cataracts due to prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays. Keep in mind, your baby’s eyes are extremely sensitive. They need protection. Consider buying sunglasses that provide a guard against ultraviolet light. The darkness of the tint matters less than the UV protection.

Don’t underestimate the power of the sun’s rays. Their warmth may feel comforting against the skin, but they penetrate the surface and cause damage. Your baby relies upon you to help ensure she’s protected. If you intend to spend time outside, ask your little one’s pediatrician for sunscreen recommendations.

Tags: Baby, From, protect, Rays, Sun's

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Government Student Grants No Comments

Grants for Child Care for Mothers Enrolled in School

Mothers always lead over-worked and extremely busy lives, coping up with the needs of their children. Life for them is never simple and they usually get held-up in their careers as they cannot move forward due to the lack of specific educational qualifications. Scholarships and grants prove very valuable to them but there is an aspect in their lives, for which they require proper assistance, which is childcare. Hence, understanding this basic problem, grants for childcare for mothers enrolled in school has been started up as an effort to provide the right educational environment for the mothers.

Childcare grants to mothers are extremely important because the question of a proper childcare is very crucial. Scholarships and grants only cover the fees towards the educational course but money required towards childcare is extremely essential. Realizing this fact, many colleges and universities have started with childcare facilities inside the campus itself. This has led to an improved percentage of attendance from the mothers and better dedication from the mothers towards education.

There is an excellent organization which cannot be forgotten in this regard which is called the Grant Basics101. The organization provides free childcare assistance to all the mothers and hence, stringently monitors the attendance and the dedication of the mothers towards education. If the mothers do not show the same dedication, they will be removed from the program. This organization has been working out especially well by providing mothers to relax and attend classes and thus they are not worried about the costs of day care as well. Even though this wonderful organization has been working out from 1993, it does not receive any government funding. It receives $460,000 through contributions, grants, fund-raisers and the United Way and uses these funds exclusively for the daycare assistance and the needs of the mothers.

Many states in the U.S are extremely concerned about the absence of specific daycare grants for the mothers. There are various state funded grants which can be utilized towards the childcare needs of the mothers. The scholarships and the childcare grants together help the mothers to find enough money to afford school and college education which is an extremely important thing. Also, there are childcare assistance programs which are provided to eligible families via the state agents which provide federal childcare and development grants. The eligibility requirement for the federal childcare assistance varies from state-to-state. Also, non-profit organizations like Raise the Nation and W.I.S.P provides grants to the mothers for their educational purposes and a part of the grant amount can be used towards childcare needs of their children.

Grants for childcare for mothers enrolled in school are extremely significant and helpful for the mothers as they support them in a big way to realize their dreams by being able to carry on with their educational routine without any hindrances.

Did you know you can get a $10,000 scholarship for moms just for registering? Apply right now for free and no obligation: Scholarships for Moms.

Tags: Care, Child, Enrolled, Grants, Mothers, School

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

Energy Efficiency Analysis Program for Hotels Unveiled

Environment Articles | June 15, 2010

EcoGreenHotel President, Scott Parisi, announced the launch of his company’s new Energy Efficiency Analysis program, or E2A, designed to help green hotels
assess their exact energy usage and develop cost-effective ways to reduce it.

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Company Develops New Energy Efficiency Program for the
Hospitality Industry

ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. – EcoGreenHotel President, Scott
Parisi, announced the launch of his company’s new Energy Efficiency
Analysis program, or E2A, designed to help green hotels
assess their exact energy usage and develop cost-effective ways to reduce it.

“As other
industries look to reduce their negative impacts on the environment, hotels
have struggled to do the same without it having an adverse effect on the guest
experience and the bottom line. Energy
efficiency programs that have been good for other industries have not necessarily
been applicable to hospitality for those reasons,” Parisi said. “Our goal was to develop a
hospitality-specific program for evaluating and increasing the energy
efficiency of hotels without sacrificing guest satisfaction or the hotel’s
financial wellbeing, and we’ve achieved that with E2A.”

The energy
efficiency process begins with EcoGreenHotel analyzing a year’s worth of each
property’s utility bills using ENERGY STARS benchmarking system. An EcoGreenHotel E2A professional
conducts an on-site visit to evaluate the property’s operations and efficiency. EcoGreenHotel then creates a customized,
cost-effective energy efficiency strategy taking industry-specific factors,
property specifics and region into account.

Once the
analysis is complete, each hotel receives a comprehensive report, a
cost-benefit breakdown for each of the recommended Energy Conservation Measures
(ECM’s), a five-year cash flow analysis for each of the ECM’s, and a list of
federal, state, local and utility-sponsored rebates, grants, incentives and
loans that will help pay for them.

“Our
mission is to encourage greater energy efficiency throughout the hospitality
industry, and our new partnership with EPA’s ENERGY STAR Program will greatly
enhance that effort,” Parisi said.

“Another
thing that sets EcoGreenHotel’s E2A program apart is that it’s
completely vendor neutral,” Parisi said.
“Our recommendations for products, services and technology are based
solely upon our clients’ best interests, and nothing more. We guarantee that each E2A program
will result in an actionable plan that will save our clients money, lessen the
impact on the environment and improve cash flow.”

To learn
more about EcoGreenHotel’s E2A program, visit Energy Efficiency Analysis for Green Hotels.

About EcoGreenHotel

EcoGreenHotel
LLC is a privately held company,
dedicated to help lodging facilities address the broad spectrum of
sustainability issues. The company provides information, tools, checklists,
current news and trends to the hospitality through its website, www.EcoGreenHotel.com.
In 2009, the company launched an online marketplace for green products and
services at www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com. In addition to the
online offerings, EcoGreenHotel provides customized consulting services in the
areas of energy efficiency and certifications (LEED, Green Seal and Energy
Star), tailored to the needs of the hospitality industry. For those properties
that have reached certified levels of sustainability Free Reprint Articles with marketing services to position the properties within the growing “green”
space and enhance revenue. For further information emailinfo@EcoGreenHotel.com
or call 888.229.0213.

Article Tags:
Energy Efficiency Analysis, Energy Efficiency, Efficiency Analysis

For more information, please visit : http://www.ecogreenhotel.com

Tags: Analysis, Efficiency, Energy, Hotels, Program, Unveiled

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Free Government Grants for Women No Comments

Charities at Risk As Diana Fund Freezes Grants

More than 100 charities could face closure or severe cutbacks following a decision by trustees of the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to freeze its grants to preserve its assets, in the latest stage of a long-running battle against a US corporation making memorabilia of the late princess.

The fund has appealed to other charities and grant agencies to help bail out small charities dependent on its funding but has warned that hundreds of jobs may be at risk if its legal battle in the US courts fails.

The fund is being sued for $25m (£15m) by the Franklin Mint, a Californian-based corporation which specialises in making and selling souvenirs of personalities, following the failure of the trustees’ bid to stop it cashing in on the princess’s memory three years ago.

The corporation wants the money, which would otherwise be spent on charitable work around the world, in compensation for what it claims is the damage done to its sales efforts and reputation and for the “embarrassment” it suffered.

It also emerged that the trustees could be personally liable if they are successfully sued by the Franklin Mint.

Andrew Purkis, the fund’s chief executive, said: “I think you will have to point the finger particularly at a big American corporation, which already had its victory and had all the dues paid to it in court, launching a quite unnecessary malicious prosecution suit against a charity which is doing fantastic work among the most vulnerable people in the world. If you really have to get into the blame game, look at that.”

Among the 120 charities assisted by the fund are those closely associated with interests shown by the princess before her death, including HIV/Aids, landmine and cluster bomb clearance and a relief fund for the families of prisoners.

The fund has paid out £40m in grants over the past five years, with a further £10m promised to charities. It was expecting to disburse £4.5m before the end of this year.
It has already had to pay out £4m in legal costs.

Lucy Gampell of the charity Direct Action for Prisoners’ Families told the BBC’s Breakfast programme that her organisation was facing the loss of a quarter of its annual budget. “I had to tell all my small staff team, who are all very hard-working individuals, that every single one of them is going to have to go on to reduced working hours because it’s either that or making one person redundant,” she said.

“It also means that we will have to cut a number of our services … It’s a huge amount of money to lose.”

In a statement, the fund said its decision to freeze funding had put its trustees in a “most painful legal and moral dilemma as to whether to continue grants or retain all such money in the fund until the legal position becomes clearer … the fund is legally obliged to freeze not only new grants but the payment of existing grants.”

The problem, which could see the collapse of the fund and the loss of 500 jobs, stems from the fateful decision taken by the trustees in 1998 to try to stop the mint cashing in commercially on the princess’s memory. But its claim that the mint was engaged in unfair competition, false advertising and trademark dilution was thrown out in 2000 by a US district judge, who said the princess had done nothing to prevent others from using her image while she was alive.

Dr Purkis told the BBC Today programme: “We are going to ask a range of different grant-giving bodies if they can replace the funding, if we can no longer fund it from our own assets, and then when our assets are unfrozen again we will of course reimburse them. There would be a very good chance they will get their money back, with interest if they want it. The worst outcome for them would be that they would end up paying a very good grant.”

He added: “At the time the trustees were doing what they thought was right for the memory of the princess. It is only with hindsight that it is clear it was a mistake.”

Tags: Charities, Diana, Freezes, Fund, Grants, Risk

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments

Commercial Real Estate Lending

Enlarge Image

If you are interested in starting a small commercial real estate business then you should be aware of the commercial real estate lending options that are available to you. There are many different commercial lenders that offer a variety of different commercial real estate loans. Which commercial lender you visit will depend partially on the type of investment property you are considering acquiring.

For instance, if you are relatively new to the commercial real estate loan market and are just beginning to get your feet wet then you will probably want to start by investing in a smaller investment property. For our purposes let’s suppose a smaller investment property is valued in the $500,000 to $2,000,0000 range. To secure a commercial real estate loan for this amount you will have to look around. Not all commercial real estate lending centers are interested in making loans in these amounts.

In fact, as you shop around you will notice that the larger banks are more interested in the high value commercial real estate loan. Larger commercial real estate lending centers are interested in going after these high value investment property loans because they offer higher returns. That is to say the higher value commercial real estate loans are often more profitable to the commercial real estate lending center than lower value loans.

The smaller banks tend to fill in the market need by serving the niche of customers who are interested in these lower value commercial real estate loans. Because there are a number of small commercial real estate lending centers competing for your business you will be offered competitive rates. As you shop for the ideal commercial real estate loan to fund your investment property deal be sure to compare and contrast the rates and terms proposed by the commercial real estate lending centers. When you first start out in the commercial real estate business you may not have much room to negotiate on rates and fees. However, as you gain experience and your commercial lender gains confidence in you they will be more likely to cut you a deal to retain your business.

Another thing to keep in mind as you search for the perfect investment property opportunity and the ideal commercial real estate lending center is the type of property you are interested in. There are a variety of different property types to be considered when you invest in real estate. For example, some of your options will include owner occupied and investor owned single tenant and multi-tenant office and retails spaces or industrial buildings and warehouses.

The commercial lender you decide to do business with will also partially depend on the property type. Every commercial real estate lending center adheres to a risk profile and can only extend loans for property types that fit that risk profile. Knowing the type of the property you are interested in is just one more thing to keep in mind as you search for your investment property and as you narrow down your list of possible commercial lenders.

Adam Smith is an informational author for 10X Marketing. For more information on small business loans please visit SNCLoans.com

Tags: Commercial, Estate, Lending, Real

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Grants No Comments