Archive for May, 2008
May 31, 2008 at 7:23 pm · Filed under Finance Resources
I want to tell the story about how I came up with what has proven to be a viable process to remove IRS liens and levies.
I discovered what amounts to a needle in a haystack. I found somebody in the IRS that is motivated to take some action on your behalf. You can send your legal argument to this person respecting why the IRS should remove your lien or levy and he will do something more with it than just put it in the file like some administrative assistant.
In about 1990 the Creator of the universe instructed me to get a computer and learn how to use it and start studying law full time. I estimate for 10 years I studied law about 40 hours a week. I also attended a weekly law meeting I discovered. Somebody who came to those meetings on a regular basis approached me. He was an older man. He asked me if I would help him get a levy off his significant other’s retirement pay.
I researched his project for several months. I read many cases where people tried to sue the IRS under all kinds of different theories. They tried to sue them under Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents. They tried to sue them under 42 USC 1983 for civil rights violations many other kinds of tactics. The courts were just bouncing them left and right.
In one of the decisions I read the judge saying in his opinion, your remedy is in 26 USC 7433 and 26 USC 7432. I looked those statutes up. In 1988 the United States waived sovereign immunity in 26 USC 7433 and made it possible for someone to sue the U.S. when IRS agents fail to follow the statues or the regulations while they are involved in tax collection activity. Section 7432 made it possible to sue when the IRS refuses to remove a lien that is legally unenforceable.
I looked up all the cases that cited to that statute. I read through those and almost all of them were losses. The primary reason they were losing is that in order to get the Waiver of Sovereign Immunity, first, a letter must be sent to them noticing them of your intent to sue.
I went to work on the letter for this man. Pretty soon I had a ten page double spaced letter that laid out the different reasons why it was illegal for them to levy this retired teacher’s pay and noticing them according to the regulation why she would be suing them.
My law buddy finally got around to sending in the letter.
One day, just in passing, he says, “Oh, by the way. That letter that you wrote worked.” I said, “Really?” He says, “Yeah.” He says, “In fact, it worked twice.” He says, “They released the one on her retirement pay, and then they had threatened to levy on a different year on the retirement pay as well, and they never executed on that levy.”
I put the statute, the regulation, the 38 cases (now 56 cases) along with the first letter I wrote into a package and called it the Calling Off the Dogs Package. I call it the Calling Off the Dogs Package because the Technical Compliance Officer has the authority to call off the dogs (The dogs would be the IRS collections people).
Some have noticed that all of these cases on their surface are losers. There is a scripture in Proverbs, Chapter 21, Verse 11 that says, “Men of righteous wisdom and good sense learn by being instructed.” The reason any one would read those cases is to find out what the other people did wrong so that the same mistakes are not repeated.
Let us talk about what it is that is motivating this Technical Compliance Officer. Why does he want to do something for someone that sends him a letter under this procedure? I think there are a number of reasons. The federal courts are overloaded and the U.S. Attorney’s office is overloaded.
A federal judge might have, who knows, 7,000 cases going at once. One study showed that in the United States they need 500 more Federal courts to handle the case load.
If you file a suit against the United States for something the IRS did, it is going to be the U.S. attorneys that are going to defend them. I do not care that it is the United States; the U.S. Attorneys have all the litigation that they can handle.
When officials feel personally uncomfortable, they use their official capacity to make themselves feel better. I believe that Congressmen and Senators feel uncomfortable when their constituency shows up at their office complaining about the IRS. What they did is pass these laws so that people have somewhere to complain besides their offices.
Here comes your credible threat to sue in the form of a letter. The Technical Compliance Officer reads down through it and asks himself, what would make more sense, have a lawsuit, or do something for this person? The next thing you find is that they release the lien or levy.
I’ve been selling this Calling Off the Dogs Package, and also suits to remove unlawful liens for something like eight years now. In eight years - maybe it’s longer than eight years - I have never had anyone contact me back and, one, say you know what? What you sold me was a rip off. Or two, I’ve never had anyone contact me back and say what you sold me didn’t work.
I have another story. This older man contacts me. He wants to know about the removing levies package. He is retired and the IRS is levying his Social Security. He decides to get the package.
The next thing that happens is I get a barrage of emails from this man that are full of questions related to his inability to look up the statutes and regulations that I quoted in the letter I wrote that comes with the package because he can’t find them. He sends me emails that say things like, “I can’t find that statute; I can’t find that regulation. I can’t–.” What his emails are telling me is that this man does not know how to do legal research.
We had kind of become friends, and so we had a number of conversations about different topics over the phone. We both enjoy studying the scriptures.
We are talking on the phone one day, and just in passing he says, “Oh, by the way, ever since I sent that letter in, I’ve been getting a full Social Security check.” He just told me that in passing. I guess people just expect that what they ordered is going to work and when it does, then they go, “That’s what it’s supposed to do.”
The letter I wrote that comes with the package is nothing more than a sample. That letter is not a boilerplate. Do not put your name on the top of that letter and send it in, because some of it only applies to retired teachers. You need to write your own, individual, personalized letter.
There are people who have seen the first letter I wrote, and they go, “Man, those arguments are weak. The IRS addresses some of those on their web page and calls them frivolous.” I have had a couple people say that to me. I reply back, “You know what? You need to call up that Special Operations Officer and tell him that he made a mistake.”
This package is not me telling you what the perfect argument is to get every lien and levy removed. This package starts with the assumption that you have been doing research; that you have been studying; and that you know some error or some mistake that they made where they failed to follow the regulation or the statute; or, they wrongly interpreted the statute or the reg. Everybody that is going to read this is going to have some thought about why what the IRS did is illegal. All you would have to do is put those reasons in the letter threatening to sue and send it to the place specified in the statutes and regulations.
This package is a delivery system. It is a bow and it is an arrow. You take your arguments, put them on the tip of it in the form of a letter, a notice of intent to sue, and you shoot it at that Technical Compliance Officer, the motivated target.
And if he wants to stop you from filing a law suit, then he’s going to figure out a way, a reason, to call up those IRS agents that are hassling you, and tell them, leave this person alone because they’re threatening to sue and we don’t need any more lawsuits.
The same principle works for liens, the important concept that is true for both liens and levies is that the Technical Compliance Officer wants to keep you from suing. If you have liens, then you are going to be using the 7432 process. You are going to have to shoot two arrows. First, you are going to have to shoot an arrow based on 26 USC 6325 and you are going to have to demand that they remove the lien and tell them why they have to remove it.
Secondly, they are going to refuse to remove the lien or, they are going to take no action. If they fail to take action after so many days, then, under 7432, you shoot an arrow with your notice of intent to sue at the Technical Compliance Officer and wait to see what he does. The concept is the same for both liens and levies; liens are a two-step process; levies are a one-step process.
You cannot say that the process does not work until you have filed suit.
Look at these seven collateral wins that I found in the case law in these research packages. These are all results that came after the suit was filed:
Mrs. Shaw received a refund of all the money collected, and the remaining tax liability was abated. Shaw v. U.S., 20 F.3d 1982, Fifth Circuit.
The government dismissed the criminal action against the 7433 plaintiff. Fishburn v. Brown, Sixth Circuit, 1997.
The IRS returned a seized Cadillac. Washington v. U.S., Ninth Circuit, 1992.
The propriety of the defendant’s (IRS/US) calculation of the plaintiff’s tax liability was resolved in the plaintiff’s favor in tax court. Templeman v. U.S., First Circuit, 1994.
See, there is something that goes on that not everyone understands. One judge calls the other judge behind the scenes and says, hey, I have this case over here that is related to a case filed in your court, what do you want to do? What are you going to do on your side? Or whatever. They decide behind the scenes what is going to happen to your cases. Doing something like that does not violate the judicial code of ethics as far as I know. So, I think what happened was the 7433 court contacted that tax court and said, hey, do something for this guy so I can dismiss his suit and write in the dismissal that something just was done for the plaintiff.
An injunction restricting state court filings was vacated. Templeman v. U.S., First Circuit, 1994.
Improperly levied funds were returned. Raymond v. U.S., Sixth Circuit, 1993.
The government conceded that an assessment was erroneous and released its liens. Miller v. U.S. (N.D. Cal. 1992).
Another thing that you maybe did not know; the U.S. Attorney calls up the IRS and he says, we have this suit going on over here and you guys are making it a pain in the butt for me because I’m having to work extra hard because of this lawsuit that you created. Do something for these people. Then the government goes, oh, well, that assessment was erroneous and they release the liens.
To me, that is just amazing to find a published decision that goes against the IRS because they do not publish those. They usually find a way to keep that information from getting out.
Those are just collateral wins that were published in the case law. It is my position that there are hundreds of administrative wins; wins that we will never hear about; wins that never get published anywhere. Wins where the Technical Compliance Officer calls up the IRS agent and says we are going to be sued unless you do something for these people, and we want you to just release those liens because that is better than getting sued.
Now, we could do some FOIA Requests and we could and ask the IRS disclosure officer, how many of these were handled administratively and so forth? Suppose that we discovered that 50 percent that sent in a letter got a win just by sending a letter. I mean, wouldn’t you try it? Wouldn’t you send in a letter just hoping that you would be one in the 50 percent that got the win?
Now, suppose that we said okay, now let’s do an analysis of whoever won. We would then go from one to the next asking why this person won. Some may have won because they did not get notice. Others won because their assessment was invalid; or maybe they won because their particular IRS agent did this, that, or the other thing, and that is why they won.
Then, you would have to cross it over to yours and you go, well, can I win on that in mine? You might sit there and go, well, no, because my IRS agent did not do that.
Just analyze your own case. Compare what they did on your case with the statute and the regulation, and see where they have made errors. It is my position that they cannot ever get it right.
I want to discuss with you the issue of your own credibility. If you write a letter threatening to sue, and it looks like a clown wrote it then why would the Technical Compliance Officer do anything for you?
You have to write a credible letter. How are you going to do that? The way you are going to write a credible letter is to get my package of research on this, sit, and read all 56 cases. Read the statute and the regulation.
If you have liens to remove, to write a credible letter you would read the statute and the regulation for 6325. You would read the 10 cases that cite to 6325. You would read the statute and the regulation for 7432 and all the cases that have to do with 7432.
You read them so you do not make the same mistakes those people did because you do not want to be a loser like the cases preceding you. After you have read and studied those cases those words will come out in your letter and it will sound credible because what you studied will be coming out your word processor as you write your letter. You will not write things in your threat to sue that make the Technical Compliance Officer laugh. When the Technical Compliance Officer looks at your letter he will recognize your words and phrases as being those that came from those decisions, and he will think to himself, this is a person that can follow through on the suit. You need him thinking that you are actually going to sue. You can learn more about this process at http://www.irslienthumper.com.
Part of what my package includes is Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that I call “Killer FOIAs.” You can read about these “Killer FOIAs” at the above web page.
If you go through this process, it should work and they should take off your liens and levies. If it does not work, what do you do?
I am convinced that there are two things to do. One is, write another letter under a different theory and send that in. On the other hand, you file suit. Only you can decide what your next step is. You are going to have to be led of the Spirit or you are going to have to make the decision yourself.
If you send another letter to the same Special Operations person, he may go, “Oh, this is another empty threat to sue.” On the other hand, he may go, “Wow, this one here is better than the other one and I don’t know why he didn’t send this first.” Maybe your second letter will work.
Your other option is to file suit. Maybe then, you will be one of those people that will get your 7433 or 7432 suit dismissed but, at the same time, you will be getting your levy or your lien released.
Or, maybe you’ll be one of these people that just really gets diligent and you’ll take it all the way to trial, and maybe it’s there that they’ll just give you damages for everything they have done to you.
It is likely that you will win while you are exhausting your administrative remedies.
My package of research is in digital format. You can save yourself time by ordering my package of research and the sample letter at my web page.
If your letter does not work and you want to file suit, then one of the things I would like to recommend that you do is go to http://www.legal-research-video.com and get my legal research video that many have called excellent. It shows you how to go into the library and find sample complaints organized by statute. It shows how to find formats and arguments for any step of filing and prosecuting a suit in Federal Court.
These same principles can work in a state situation, but it is a situation where the wheel needs to be reinvented for each state.
If you have some interest in pursuing relief from state tax lien or levy, I am available to help with tutoring, research and strategizing on ways to get rid of state levies and liens. You may write me at legalbearatlegalbears.com.
Barry Smith is a self-taught lawyer. He is a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Israel only. View his free online video about spiritual tactics for dealing with the IRS at http://www.irs-armory.com
May 30, 2008 at 9:34 pm · Filed under House Of Gardening
Because www.gardendirect.co.uk was opened during 1996 it has with momentum become one of a selection of very best mail order suppliers of plants and garden tools. During the current 12 years that GardenDirect.co.uk have been selling the business presently have 2 million clients that have been attracted through very reliable convenience, excellent charges, value for money with consistently high quality plants and garden tools. The companies supply are so different; GardenDirect.co.uk are also regularly valued in their uncommon shrub sorts which are also continually introduced to its’ range, that furthermore includes gardening shears & add ons that help shoppers that create the very best for their well kept garden. GardenDirect.co.uk sell beyond 130 million very best select flower plants each and every year, the massive majority raised within Garden Direct’s own nurseries, all this enables people to be assured about a buy & consider that what one have ordered are of the greatest standard.
The online store don’t forget provide the choice of a catalogue for folk to browse through or maybe purchase from in some own time. They stock the best choice from across old favourites to many unusual varieties folk will probably not get at the greater part of garden outlets; the catalogue might additionally integrate a selection of seasonal deals too. The business provide different options of flower plants which you might well buy within GardenDirect.co.uk online store. Folk might either go for a plug, ready or super seeding. All of which are totally diverse, plug plants, sold at 4-6cm tall in a plug of compost the above can be found the best excellent value for money, you then have the bigger ready shrub plants that are sold at at 6-8cm tall and being further mature will often be set direct into your garden, don’t forget you have super plants these are ideal for folk who have less time to spare, sold at 9-11cm high they of course could be directly set into the garden.
Along with flower plants Garden Direct have the accepted gardening products that people might buy; the above consist of gardening tools, gardening sheds and garden shears along with countless others. Garden tools from Garden Direct, they stock all the garden tools you might require to make the most of your garden.
May 30, 2008 at 9:14 pm · Filed under Home Improvement Management
Choosing the right blind for your home can be challenging at the best of times. One of the best ways to choose window coverings is to visit one of the many internet merchants that sell blinds and browse through their blind gallery. It is important to create a cleaner look by matching the colors properly. Think about your room and how you would like your window blind to compliment it. If you would like to create a cleaner look, matching colors will make your blinds seem less important.
Here are five basic ways to choose the right blind color for your décor. With vinyl blinds, you can find one that matches the window molding or trim or the color of the wall. You can coordinate with an accent color, match to a wood tone in your room, or your mini blinds can contrast with other colors in the room.
Regardless of your décor, you might like to get wooden blinds or vinyl shutters, for when it comes to choosing color you’ll find that some blinds are better suited to your needs than others. Fabric blinds are easy to contrast with almost any room, as there is a wide selection of colors and patterns to choose from. Do you have wall or trim colors that you would like to match? Why not try aluminum or cellular blinds? They can offer you a wide selection of colors, and are remarkably versatile and easy to clean. You will find that vertical blinds are made from many different types of material such as wood, plastic and aluminum.
Many different styles are available including roller, roman, pleated, vellux, venetian, and vertical styles. No matter which style or color you choose remember to not make your faux wood blinds or shutters the focal point of the room, but just something that blends in well to accent your other décor.
By Terry Price- Remember to visit- http://www.best-window-blinds-shutters.com/faux-wood-blinds.html — With a few simple steps, cleaning wooden blinds can be easy and straightforward. http://www.best-window-blinds-shutters.com/102-cleaning-wooden-blinds.html-.html.html
May 30, 2008 at 6:04 pm · Filed under Web Of Loans
The interest rate of the loan that you purchase is a very important number. This number will tell you just how much you will be paying for your purchase in the long run. See, it is not just that you are borrowing $5000. You are borrowing $5000 with an interest rate figured in. This is a much higher number than originally thought, then. Yet, this is the cost of borrowing money. One thing is for sure, though, you can find the right choice for your needs by comparing the interest rates that are offered to you.
To do this, take some time to get rate quotes for the type of loan that you are looking for. If you are looking for secured financing such as financing for a home or a vehicle, this rate is generally lower than that of unsecured financing of a credit card or some personal loans. In any case, you will find that many lenders will provide you with an online quote of how much the financing will actually cost you. They will provide you with a quote as to how much of an interest rate you can qualify for. Do this with several lenders to find the lowest rate options for your needs.
From here, use a loan calculator to help you to determine which the best is for you. You will want to enter such things as a the interest rate that was offered, the term of the financing which is the length of time it will take you to pay the money back as well as the amount of money that you will be borrowing. The calculator will then tell you just what you can expect from the financing at this point. It will include what you will pay in total in both interest as well as principle for the financing as well as telling you how much you can expect to pay for the financing monthly.
Of course, finding the lowest rates of interest on a loan is essential to affording the financing both monthly as well as in the long run. You can change the criteria of the financing as well. For example, if you need to lower the amount of money that you pay per month on the borrowed funds, you may want to extend the terms of the financing to make them longer. If you would rather pay less, then shortening them will help. By far the best way to cut your costs in the financing, though, is to use a lower rate of interest. For that reasons you should always shop around for the right choice.
With so many options offered to you right on the web, there are many benefits that can come from you purchasing financing here. By simply taking the time to find the options that are available to use, using one of the calculators to help you to figure them all out in plain English you can actually find yourself saving money in the long run. The right loan is the one that you can afford to own.
Arseniy Olevskiy is a freelance developer, specialising in finance subjects such as loans, banking, mortgages, loan, etc. He recommends use of an amortization calculator for calculations at http://www.amortization-calc.com.
May 30, 2008 at 1:46 pm · Filed under Management Tips
One of the greatest challenges for the event organiser is to arrange a variety of activities that will appeal to everyone in the group. Obviously it is impossible to choose activities that will appeal to everyone, but it is important to have variety so that everyone will have something to enjoy.
The most common format for outdoor participation events is to have a range of activities. A group of thirty might be divided into five teams to attempt five different activities.
There is a general feeling that shooting and motorised activities are enjoyed more by men than by women. This is by no means a rule and there are always exceptions, but if an event is dominated by this sort of activity some people will enjoy it more than others.
Choosing the activities wisely will help; for example archery tends to be enjoyed by more people than clay pigeon shooting because some people find the noise and kick back of the shotgun too violent.
The best event companies will offer a wide range of activities and you can include ferret racing, duck herding and a whole assortment of activities which have a broad appeal. As well as the more physical participation activities you might consider including some puzzle based cerebral challenges; many prefer to think than to be active.
If you are very concerned about getting the choice right you can put all of the options down on a form and have the participants vote on which they would like to try.
The most important thing is to ensure that the organisers stresses that the event is run on a ‘challenge by choice’ basis. If someone decides that they do not want to do something they will not be forced to participate or humiliated. This is the last thing that should happen on a team building day.
One of the most popular types of event is the Treasure Hunt. These are popular because they are not particularly physically demanding and do not obviously appeal to either sex more than the other. Challenges can be built into the format and events can be tailored to a client’s particular needs.
Treasure Hunts can be run in more or less any location in town and country. London Treasure Hunts are extremely popular and professional organisers will know the best routes to ensure an interesting experience without teams spending hours in queues with the tourists.
There is a wide range of options available in the participation event industry. Organisers should consider the make up of their group and any special needs that people may have. Organisers should avoid simply choosing activities which appeal to their own preferences; working with a professional event company and taking their advice will ensure that an event with broad appeal is chosen.
James Coakes is Managing Director of Progressive Resources, The Teambuilding Company, one of the UK’s largest organisers of events for corporate clients.
May 29, 2008 at 7:44 am · Filed under Real Estate Infos
For decades, the real estate world turned in a predictable manner. The roles of buyers, sellers and real estate professionals were fairly well defined and transactions followed a predictable path of yard signs, newspaper ads, open houses and miles of paperwork.
Recently, online and empowered consumers have changed the game. Real estate professionals now face issues similar to the ones that have transformed the retail, personal finance and travel planning industries. As technology advances and new business models evolve, the real estate industry has begun to transform itself from providing traditional, carefully controlled “agent-centric” transactions to new “consumer-centric” practices. The following is a look at some of the recent industry trends and how buyers, sellers and investors can expect to benefit. The “Five Ds” that are driving change in real estate are:
1. Disruption - Over the past 10 years, the Internet has matured into a powerful platform for delivering real estate information, forever changing the interaction between buyers, sellers and real estate professionals.
2. Displacement - The popularity and acceptance of self-service and consumer-direct business models is being felt by real estate professionals, who are striving to develop attractive new offerings for Web-savvy consumers.
3. Demanding consumers - You now have more real estate knowledge, tools and resources at your fingertips than ever before. More savvy consumers tend to be more independent and demanding.
4. Downward pressure - Traditional real estate commissions of 5-6 percent of a property’s sales price are facing downward pressure.
5. Developing alternatives - The real estate industry is transforming itself to provide targeted services and exciting new options that add value for consumers.
Disruption
“We are going to see our industry go through dramatic transformation via the Internet and consolidation of agents and companies.” - eRealty Times Columnist Dirk Zeller
Some industry observers have adopted Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen’s term “disruptive technology” to explain recent developments in real estate. Though it’s easy to point to the World Wide Web and advancing technology as the main changes in real estate, that’s only part of what’s shaking things up. Essentially, the real cause of disruption is not just technology, but technology-enabled real estate consumers.
Web-enabled consumers
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), more than 72 percent of homebuyers now begin their home search online. The popularity of online real estate ads surpassed newspaper property listings back in 2001, and the gap is widening. Less than one percent of buyers first learned about the home they purchased on the Internet in 1995, while in 2004, that number passed 20 percent.
According to a California Association of Realtors (CAR) survey, 97 percent of respondents said the Web helped them understand the buying process better and 100 percent said using the Web helped them understand home values better. Web-enabled homebuyers like you are taking a more active role in researching homes and neighborhoods. You also now spend less time with real estate professionals once you have completed your research. Internet homebuyers also used the Web effectively to filter out properties that did not interest them, visiting 6.1 homes on average versus 15.4 for traditional buyers.
Today, you can view photos and detailed information for hundreds of properties in the time it used to take to visit a single one. And the Web provides much more opportunity than simply moving print listings online. The growing availability of residential high-speed Internet connections has boosted the popularity of virtual tours and interactive maps, providing consumers with powerful and flexible visual search tools.
In addition to making home searches easier, automated valuation model (AVM) software is making a big impact in how properties are evaluated. AVMs, which generate valuation estimates by analyzing and comparing property information data, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and accurate. While not considered a substitute for human appraisals, AVMs are gaining popularity because they are inexpensive, easy to use and produce valuation estimates in minutes. Now AVMs, used extensively in electronic mortgage approval processing during the recent refinancing boom, are becoming available on real-estate Websites aimed at consumers. This is a significant development for independent sellers, who often find it challenging to price their properties correctly when selling on their own.
The MLS goes public
“In real estate, MLS data sits at the apex of the change, specifically the MLS information that is pushed to the Internet every minute of the day.” - Bradley Inman, Publisher of Inman News
Once an exclusive tool for real estate professionals, the multiple listing service (MLS) has in recent years become a very public platform for real estate listings. The MLS is the nation’s most comprehensive database of properties for sale - four out of five homes sold in the United States are listed on the MLS.
MLS properties are available to agents and brokers worldwide, and are now accessible via consumer Web sites such as Realtor.com, WSJ.com, Excite, Netscape, AOL and MSN. MLS listings also appear on local, regional and national brokerage Websites through Internet Data Exchange (IDX) agreements that allow participating Realtors to share listings and display them to consumers. Even though only licensed realtors can list property on the MLS, the system has begun to figure prominently for the $110 billion independent seller (for-sale-by-owner or FSBO) market. About 13 percent of real estate sales are now FSBO, conducted without a broker’s assistance.
Type “flat fee MLS” into any major search engine, and you’ll see dozens of real estate professionals willing to list your property in the MLS for a fee. If you are willing to pay a commission of 2-3 percent, you can attract the attention of thousands of agents who will show your property to prospective buyers. You can then reduce the cost of the sale to about half a traditional 5-6 percent sales commission, plus the cost of the MLS listing. If you find an independent buyer working without an agent, you could make a sale with no commission at all and pay only an MLS listing flat fee.
Displacement
Currently, about 2.4 million real estate licensees operate nationally, according to the Association of Real Estate License Law officials. The NAR has more than one million members, up from about 760,000 members five years ago. Many real estate professionals and industry observers expect a significant decline in this number because some tasks traditionally performed by agents and brokers can now be done more quickly and easily by Web-enabled consumers.
“Historically the fundamental driver of the real estate industry was the control of information. The real estate agent and the real estate office were the only sources of comprehensive information on which properties were for sale and those who might be interested in buying them. With this control revenues were practically guaranteed.
Moreover, because this exclusive control was akin to a monopoly by virtue of the multiple listing service (MLS) any firm of any size could serve the customer equally well. As a result, the number of real estate companies grew without regard to market efficiencies.
Simply put, the traditional model is too inflexible. Consumers are seriously questioning the value of a real estate agent. They frequently feel that many of the traditional tasks undertaken by the agents are now either no longer required or can be done by the consumer themselves.”
- Swanepoel & Tuccillo, Real Estate Confronts Profitability
The quotes above, from a popular report on emerging real estate business models and dwindling profit margins, highlight a number of issues traditional real estate professionals are now facing. And if the real estate industry has grown historically without regard to market efficiencies, the issue has only been compounded since 2001, as new agents signed on in droves, lured by low interest rates and skyrocketing home prices in many areas. It’s likely that the number of traditional real estate agents will decline, while new types of real estate jobs will be created to deliver value to Web-savvy customers.
NEXT in Part 2 of 2: - Demanding Consumers, Downward Pressure and Developing Alternatives
Charles Warnock is Marketing Communications Manager at Homekeys in Miami, Florida. Homekeys is a non-traditional real estate Web site that helps consumers buy, sell and save thousands on real estate. Learn more at http://www.homekeys.net. Charles writes frequently on real estate, finance, advertising and marketing communications.
May 29, 2008 at 7:15 am · Filed under Cyber Lifestyle
By Vigdis S. Aas
Antique firearms can be found in the online auctions. If you are searching to add to your collections, you can find the firearms of days gone by in the auctions online. There are many online auctions, such as ebay, or the reverse auctions, but they are all going to lead you to the same place, to where others are selling firearms that are antique.
Antique firearms are the types that are over fifty years old. Sometimes a firearm that is about forty years old is also considered an antique firearm, but it depends on the name brand and the type of gun that it is. Meaning some companies have long since gone out of business, while other type of guns were made as a limited edition type of gun.
If you are looking for firearms that are antique, you might belong to one of the following groups or organizations such as: the NRA, the OGCA, CCA, PAGCA, CADA, or the MAAS. These groups promote the ownership and the use of guns. These groups sponsor many of the gun shows, where you are likely to find guns from the 1800’s or the 1900’s. Some collectors will only purchase guns that are over 100 years old, while other gun collectors are going to seek out guns that are of a certain type that are over so many years old.
Gun shows are where you will find a wide range of guns. From the pistol, to the twenty-two to the shotgun or the mini automatics. Antique guns will sometime also include the guns that are used today, in about another fifty or so odd years. When searching for antique guns or antique firearms, one could also be looking at guns that require powder, and packing sticks but you decide what type of firearms you want to collect and from what year as you start building your collection. No two collections of antique firearms are going to be alike.
In buying antique firearms, you are also going to want to find other items such as the bullets, the powder, and the cleaning supplies made just for that type of weapon. Antique firearms could include those that are one shot or multiple shots. Look for the types of weapons that interest you the most and then you can build your collection from that point.
What other types of topics should one be looking at if they are looking to start building a collection of antique firearms? You should look into how to store your firearms, where you should look for insurance to cover your special collection of firearms; you should also look into information about purchasing locks to keep children away from your antique firearms. Antique firearms are often the types that are cleaned, polished and put to use only under special circumstances. An antique firearm is one that will add that special touch to your collection that brings back a nostalgic time in history to your memory and to add value to your collection.
Written by Vigdis S. Aas, webmaster and author of www.antique-firearm.net
This article may be reproduced as long as a Live link back to www.antique-firearm.net is present.
May 28, 2008 at 4:30 pm · Filed under House Of Travel
Hampton Court Palace lies to the south-west of London City, on the edge of the River Thames, enclosed by wooded areas and incredible gardens. Hampton Court Palace, King Henry 8’s remarkable river shore dwelling is positioned in well over five hundred acres of plants & grounds.
Provoking the ambience of over four hundred & fifty years of legacy, uniformed entertainers can be spotted in Henry VIII?s and King William III?s outstanding private homes. The views, noise & stench of the awe-inspiring Tudor kitchens where royal feasts were planned for Henry?s court of well over five-hundred individuals can also be viewed.
Hampton Court Palace has been divided into six different routes or expeditions. The Maze at Hampton Court Palace which is placed on the River Thames to the west of the Capital is perhaps the most loved hedge maze on this earth. Enjoy England has many great places to visit. Hampton Court Palace is no exception.
Hampton Court palace has an unthinkable heritage & is supposedly inhabited by many spirits, including 2 of Henry VIII?s deceased wives & a nursemaid to his kids. Hampton Court Palace stewards and hostesses will be at the ready to help guests to their designated state home for a cava & canap?s introduction. Fancy dress workers will declare dinner and visitors will be invited to take their designated seats for an extraordinary 2 course meal with chosen fine red & white wines.
Hampton Court Palace has over 60 acres of ceremonial grounds in addition to the four-hundred acres of royal parkland. The palace grounds date back to the sixteenth Century, when the 1st Privy Garden was put down between fifteen thirty and fifteen thirty-eight for King Henry VIII.
May 28, 2008 at 9:11 am · Filed under Fine Fare
Originally, all foods were “organic” - grown and prepared without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, irradiation to prevent spoilage, and microwave cooking.
Our food these days, whether of vegetable or animal origin, is not only deficient in
nutrients but also full of pollutants and farm chemicals. The modern denaturing of
foods through massive refining and chemical treatment deeply affects their
EnergyRich qualities, making them devoid of the exact boost that we should be
getting from our food.
Here is a great recipe for the summer using some yummy, organic Swiss Chard:
Organic Swiss Chard
1 or 2 bunches Organic Swiss chard
1/8 teaspoon Brittany sea salt
2 teaspoon Organic virgin olive oil
4 lemon wedges
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1. This recipe works for many different cooking greens like: collard greens, turnip or
beet tops, mustard greens, spinach, tat-soi, and rapini (broccoli rabe)
2. Wash chard well to remove all sand and remove all tough stems.
3. In a large saucepan, bring to a boil about 1/2 inch of water and drop in the Swiss
chard leaves.
4. Return to a boil, cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes until leaves are tender.
5. Add salt and remove from heat.
6. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of cooking liquid.
7. Add oil to the reserved liquid and pour desired amount over the chard before
serving.
8. Serve each portion with a lemon wedge and sesame seeds.
9. Enjoy!
To your health and success, Heather
Heather Dominick is a Nutrition and Energy Consultant accredited by the
American Association of Drugless Practitioners and creator of The Energy Rich
Lifestyle Program. In addition to her nutrition services, she is a motivating and
dynamic speaker.
Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine? You absolutely can! But
here’s what you MUST include: Heather Dominick, Certified Holistic Nutrition
Counselor, is founder of the EnergyRich Lifestyle Program, the proven step-by-
step program to help you achieve your best health and fullest life. Sign up for her
freebie EnergyRICH Tips and receive a Free Report: Crucial Tips For Grocery
Shopping at http://www.individual-health.net
May 28, 2008 at 5:07 am · Filed under Biz Ops, Finance Resources, Information Parlor
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world”.
This advice has motivated many to invest in property as it is considered a solid, trusted and reliable lifetime investment. Many Britons, through successful property investment abroad, have come to enjoy increased financial independence. Such investments were once thought of as a ‘preserve of the wealthy’ but easier access to credit allowed many to start small and build successful property investment portfolios abroad.
Portugal, France, Spain and the US have long been hotspots for many Britons seeking a vacation home or a lucrative financial investment. The UKs partcipation in this market, however, is slowing as a result of the credit crunch, which makes it difficult for many buyers to get an international mortgage or a property finance deal.
The global property market is becoming much more affordable in the wake of economic and political change. Whether the UK economy will allow residents to take advantage of these changes remains to be seen.
For any enquiries regarding asset management please contact Nigel Walter chairman of Connaught AM
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