foreclosure search

Every day we see more drama in the foreclosure debacle, with increasing number of lenders being pressured to put them on hold.

But what's the strategy for those of us who are still paying our mortgages and not in danger of losing our homes? This should be a perfect opportunity to take Arianna Huffington's wildly successful "Move Your Money" campaign one step further by "shopping for a lower-cost mortgage" and refinancing with a more responsible lender. This won't just punish those who loaned recklessly and reward those who didn't, i.e., community bankers, it will likely save you big bucks if interest rates have dropped at least two percentage points below the rate you are paying on your mortgage.

In the first seven days alone of the "Move Your Money" campaign which began in December 2009, about 340,000 people searched zip codes to find community banks that are highly rated. More importantly, they also moved big bucks out of big bad banks: according to Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics, who created a search engine on the site, more than $1 billion was moved in the first three months of 2010. Finding a bank couldn't be easier. When you go to Move Your Money you simply need to enter your zip code to find a list of sound local banks and credit unions to choose from.

There's a big difference between the Too Big To Fail banks that got bailed out and the Small Banks Who Failed. For one thing, the community banks tried to stop these reckless lending practices while the big banks threw bucks at Congress to try to stop reform, James MacPhee, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).

"Along with several ICBA member bankers and staff, I have testified numerous times in the past three years in front of Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking committee," MacPhee said. "Conversely, the American Bankers Association and the largest Wall Street firms ran a full court press trying to stop (reform) from ever being passed."

Have community banks failed? Yes, MacPhee maintains, but it wasn't because they were reckless but because their prudent loans were "bundled" with bad loans.

"As these debt instruments became worthless, hose buying our debt stopped purchasing, and foreclosures ran in the tens of thousands. When that occurred, the market value of the solid loans became worth less, as foreclosed homes were being sold well under their market value. As the job market dried up, even good loans had to be written down by the community banks. The resulting loss of capital dropped below regulatory standards, and the banks were closed and then typically merged into other banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "

The good news -- or let's hope so -- is that the exposure of reckless practices will humiliate the bad banks into changing their practices. If it doesn't? All the more reason to "boycott" them and only do business with those who put their customers first.

Ready to consider refinancing? Consider taking these steps.

Before you do any "mortgage shopping," get a copy of your credit history at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you have a low score, you might want to consider postponing refinancing until you've built a better bill-payment history; it could literally cut your mortgage cost in half.

Consider only fixed-rate mortgages. Some "experts" may claim that adjustable rate mortgages are okay if you're only going to stay in your home for three years or less, but your home is not a disposable item like a cell phone. If you're only planning to live in one place for three years or less, you should rent, not buy. MacPhee agrees with me that one of the biggest ripoffs in the banking industry -- that the media STILL isn't covering -- is the adjustable rate mortgage. "If (a bank is) going to write an ARM mortgage because someone cannot afford a home under standard bank rates, who are you kidding? The custom is happy for three years, or the period of the ARM balloon, the bank makes big fees, and then sells off both the credit risk and the interest rate risk and walks away."

As I pointed out in my book, America, Welcome to the Poorhouse, another big bargain is the little-talked about 15-year mortgage. Savings are significant both because the loan features a shorter payback period and because these mortgages generally feature lower rates. For example, assuming a 6% interest rate, your total interest costs on a $100,000 30-year mortgage are nearly $116,000. If that same mortgage were converted to a 15-year term, it would require somewhat higher monthly payments -- $844 instead of $600 -- but you'd save nearly $64,000 in interest payments.

Never take out an interest-only mortgage. While you pay no principal during the interest-only period, your payments will rise when that period comes to an end. Furthermore, the mortgage has to be paid off during a shorter term -- 25, 23, or 20 years -- so your monthly payments will be higher.

Avoid one of the riskiest mortgages, a balloon loan. Talk about bait and switch: typically, after the end of a three- or seven-year period, you owe the bank all the remaining principal, in one lump sum. If the value of your home drops you won't be able to find another mortgage to repay that loan and you risk foreclosure. And let's hope that this option won't even be broached by your responsible community banker.

Folks, check this out!

 

 

http://www.usagold.com/goldtrail/archives/another1.html

ANOTHER ( THOUGHTS! ) ID#60253:

All: I ask you, why did the world go off the gold standard in the early 70s? You have an answer, yes? For all the problems this created, could the countries not just revalue gold upward, to say $300 ( back then ) ? What was the real reason the world entered a period of "freely traded" "managed gold"? "

This question has more impact on the gold market of today than it did then! In days past, it was held as good knowledge that the US stopped gold backing to protect the dollar and keep gold from leaving to other shores.

But, in the same time frame, all central banks did sell gold to all persons, even the US. All treasuries held gold and dollars as reserves. To what end did the world financial system gain with the dollar off gold backing, and then allowed to "dirty float" against all currencies? Would the world not have been better off to find gold revalued to, say $300 and then begin a "dirty float"? Noone would have lost, and the inflation would have , at best, not have been worse!

Truly, I tell the reason for this action. The US oil companies knew that the cheap reserves were found. The governments knew this also. The only low cost oil reserves in the world at this time were in the Middle East, and their cost to find and produce was very low. It was known, that, in time, ALL oil would come from this land. As much higher US dollar prices were needed to allow exploration and production of other reserves, worldwide. But, how to get crude prices, up, when the Gulf States were OK to pump and produce in exchange for "gold backed dollars"? I will not name the gentlemen that brought this thinking to the surface in that era, but it was discussed. It was known that oil liked gold. It was known that "local oil" would be used up without higher prices. What if, the US dollar was taken off the gold standard, and gold was managed "upward" to say, $208 per ounce? The dynamics of the market would force oil to rise and allow for much needed capital to search for the higher priced oil that was known to exist! The producers would find shelter in gold even as the price of oil was increased in terms of a now "non gold dollar"! Price inflation would rise, but gold and oil would also increase. The dollar would continue to be used as the only payment for oil, and in doing so replace gold as the backing for this "reserve currency". All would be fair.

The war in 1973 and the Iran problem did make markets "overshoot", but all did work to the correct end. The result was "a needed higher price for a commodity that was, as reserves, in much over supply by the wrong countries"! It was known that the public would never have accepted this "proposition" as fair. To this end, we have come.

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake twitter

Every day we see more drama in the foreclosure debacle, with increasing number of lenders being pressured to put them on hold.

But what's the strategy for those of us who are still paying our mortgages and not in danger of losing our homes? This should be a perfect opportunity to take Arianna Huffington's wildly successful "Move Your Money" campaign one step further by "shopping for a lower-cost mortgage" and refinancing with a more responsible lender. This won't just punish those who loaned recklessly and reward those who didn't, i.e., community bankers, it will likely save you big bucks if interest rates have dropped at least two percentage points below the rate you are paying on your mortgage.

In the first seven days alone of the "Move Your Money" campaign which began in December 2009, about 340,000 people searched zip codes to find community banks that are highly rated. More importantly, they also moved big bucks out of big bad banks: according to Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics, who created a search engine on the site, more than $1 billion was moved in the first three months of 2010. Finding a bank couldn't be easier. When you go to Move Your Money you simply need to enter your zip code to find a list of sound local banks and credit unions to choose from.

There's a big difference between the Too Big To Fail banks that got bailed out and the Small Banks Who Failed. For one thing, the community banks tried to stop these reckless lending practices while the big banks threw bucks at Congress to try to stop reform, James MacPhee, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).

"Along with several ICBA member bankers and staff, I have testified numerous times in the past three years in front of Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking committee," MacPhee said. "Conversely, the American Bankers Association and the largest Wall Street firms ran a full court press trying to stop (reform) from ever being passed."

Have community banks failed? Yes, MacPhee maintains, but it wasn't because they were reckless but because their prudent loans were "bundled" with bad loans.

"As these debt instruments became worthless, hose buying our debt stopped purchasing, and foreclosures ran in the tens of thousands. When that occurred, the market value of the solid loans became worth less, as foreclosed homes were being sold well under their market value. As the job market dried up, even good loans had to be written down by the community banks. The resulting loss of capital dropped below regulatory standards, and the banks were closed and then typically merged into other banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "

The good news -- or let's hope so -- is that the exposure of reckless practices will humiliate the bad banks into changing their practices. If it doesn't? All the more reason to "boycott" them and only do business with those who put their customers first.

Ready to consider refinancing? Consider taking these steps.

Before you do any "mortgage shopping," get a copy of your credit history at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you have a low score, you might want to consider postponing refinancing until you've built a better bill-payment history; it could literally cut your mortgage cost in half.

Consider only fixed-rate mortgages. Some "experts" may claim that adjustable rate mortgages are okay if you're only going to stay in your home for three years or less, but your home is not a disposable item like a cell phone. If you're only planning to live in one place for three years or less, you should rent, not buy. MacPhee agrees with me that one of the biggest ripoffs in the banking industry -- that the media STILL isn't covering -- is the adjustable rate mortgage. "If (a bank is) going to write an ARM mortgage because someone cannot afford a home under standard bank rates, who are you kidding? The custom is happy for three years, or the period of the ARM balloon, the bank makes big fees, and then sells off both the credit risk and the interest rate risk and walks away."

As I pointed out in my book, America, Welcome to the Poorhouse, another big bargain is the little-talked about 15-year mortgage. Savings are significant both because the loan features a shorter payback period and because these mortgages generally feature lower rates. For example, assuming a 6% interest rate, your total interest costs on a $100,000 30-year mortgage are nearly $116,000. If that same mortgage were converted to a 15-year term, it would require somewhat higher monthly payments -- $844 instead of $600 -- but you'd save nearly $64,000 in interest payments.

Never take out an interest-only mortgage. While you pay no principal during the interest-only period, your payments will rise when that period comes to an end. Furthermore, the mortgage has to be paid off during a shorter term -- 25, 23, or 20 years -- so your monthly payments will be higher.

Avoid one of the riskiest mortgages, a balloon loan. Talk about bait and switch: typically, after the end of a three- or seven-year period, you owe the bank all the remaining principal, in one lump sum. If the value of your home drops you won't be able to find another mortgage to repay that loan and you risk foreclosure. And let's hope that this option won't even be broached by your responsible community banker.

Folks, check this out!

 

 

http://www.usagold.com/goldtrail/archives/another1.html

ANOTHER ( THOUGHTS! ) ID#60253:

All: I ask you, why did the world go off the gold standard in the early 70s? You have an answer, yes? For all the problems this created, could the countries not just revalue gold upward, to say $300 ( back then ) ? What was the real reason the world entered a period of "freely traded" "managed gold"? "

This question has more impact on the gold market of today than it did then! In days past, it was held as good knowledge that the US stopped gold backing to protect the dollar and keep gold from leaving to other shores.

But, in the same time frame, all central banks did sell gold to all persons, even the US. All treasuries held gold and dollars as reserves. To what end did the world financial system gain with the dollar off gold backing, and then allowed to "dirty float" against all currencies? Would the world not have been better off to find gold revalued to, say $300 and then begin a "dirty float"? Noone would have lost, and the inflation would have , at best, not have been worse!

Truly, I tell the reason for this action. The US oil companies knew that the cheap reserves were found. The governments knew this also. The only low cost oil reserves in the world at this time were in the Middle East, and their cost to find and produce was very low. It was known, that, in time, ALL oil would come from this land. As much higher US dollar prices were needed to allow exploration and production of other reserves, worldwide. But, how to get crude prices, up, when the Gulf States were OK to pump and produce in exchange for "gold backed dollars"? I will not name the gentlemen that brought this thinking to the surface in that era, but it was discussed. It was known that oil liked gold. It was known that "local oil" would be used up without higher prices. What if, the US dollar was taken off the gold standard, and gold was managed "upward" to say, $208 per ounce? The dynamics of the market would force oil to rise and allow for much needed capital to search for the higher priced oil that was known to exist! The producers would find shelter in gold even as the price of oil was increased in terms of a now "non gold dollar"! Price inflation would rise, but gold and oil would also increase. The dollar would continue to be used as the only payment for oil, and in doing so replace gold as the backing for this "reserve currency". All would be fair.

The war in 1973 and the Iran problem did make markets "overshoot", but all did work to the correct end. The result was "a needed higher price for a commodity that was, as reserves, in much over supply by the wrong countries"! It was known that the public would never have accepted this "proposition" as fair. To this end, we have come.

bench craft company reviews

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake twitter

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake detroit

Every day we see more drama in the foreclosure debacle, with increasing number of lenders being pressured to put them on hold.

But what's the strategy for those of us who are still paying our mortgages and not in danger of losing our homes? This should be a perfect opportunity to take Arianna Huffington's wildly successful "Move Your Money" campaign one step further by "shopping for a lower-cost mortgage" and refinancing with a more responsible lender. This won't just punish those who loaned recklessly and reward those who didn't, i.e., community bankers, it will likely save you big bucks if interest rates have dropped at least two percentage points below the rate you are paying on your mortgage.

In the first seven days alone of the "Move Your Money" campaign which began in December 2009, about 340,000 people searched zip codes to find community banks that are highly rated. More importantly, they also moved big bucks out of big bad banks: according to Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics, who created a search engine on the site, more than $1 billion was moved in the first three months of 2010. Finding a bank couldn't be easier. When you go to Move Your Money you simply need to enter your zip code to find a list of sound local banks and credit unions to choose from.

There's a big difference between the Too Big To Fail banks that got bailed out and the Small Banks Who Failed. For one thing, the community banks tried to stop these reckless lending practices while the big banks threw bucks at Congress to try to stop reform, James MacPhee, chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).

"Along with several ICBA member bankers and staff, I have testified numerous times in the past three years in front of Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking committee," MacPhee said. "Conversely, the American Bankers Association and the largest Wall Street firms ran a full court press trying to stop (reform) from ever being passed."

Have community banks failed? Yes, MacPhee maintains, but it wasn't because they were reckless but because their prudent loans were "bundled" with bad loans.

"As these debt instruments became worthless, hose buying our debt stopped purchasing, and foreclosures ran in the tens of thousands. When that occurred, the market value of the solid loans became worth less, as foreclosed homes were being sold well under their market value. As the job market dried up, even good loans had to be written down by the community banks. The resulting loss of capital dropped below regulatory standards, and the banks were closed and then typically merged into other banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "

The good news -- or let's hope so -- is that the exposure of reckless practices will humiliate the bad banks into changing their practices. If it doesn't? All the more reason to "boycott" them and only do business with those who put their customers first.

Ready to consider refinancing? Consider taking these steps.

Before you do any "mortgage shopping," get a copy of your credit history at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you have a low score, you might want to consider postponing refinancing until you've built a better bill-payment history; it could literally cut your mortgage cost in half.

Consider only fixed-rate mortgages. Some "experts" may claim that adjustable rate mortgages are okay if you're only going to stay in your home for three years or less, but your home is not a disposable item like a cell phone. If you're only planning to live in one place for three years or less, you should rent, not buy. MacPhee agrees with me that one of the biggest ripoffs in the banking industry -- that the media STILL isn't covering -- is the adjustable rate mortgage. "If (a bank is) going to write an ARM mortgage because someone cannot afford a home under standard bank rates, who are you kidding? The custom is happy for three years, or the period of the ARM balloon, the bank makes big fees, and then sells off both the credit risk and the interest rate risk and walks away."

As I pointed out in my book, America, Welcome to the Poorhouse, another big bargain is the little-talked about 15-year mortgage. Savings are significant both because the loan features a shorter payback period and because these mortgages generally feature lower rates. For example, assuming a 6% interest rate, your total interest costs on a $100,000 30-year mortgage are nearly $116,000. If that same mortgage were converted to a 15-year term, it would require somewhat higher monthly payments -- $844 instead of $600 -- but you'd save nearly $64,000 in interest payments.

Never take out an interest-only mortgage. While you pay no principal during the interest-only period, your payments will rise when that period comes to an end. Furthermore, the mortgage has to be paid off during a shorter term -- 25, 23, or 20 years -- so your monthly payments will be higher.

Avoid one of the riskiest mortgages, a balloon loan. Talk about bait and switch: typically, after the end of a three- or seven-year period, you owe the bank all the remaining principal, in one lump sum. If the value of your home drops you won't be able to find another mortgage to repay that loan and you risk foreclosure. And let's hope that this option won't even be broached by your responsible community banker.

Folks, check this out!

 

 

http://www.usagold.com/goldtrail/archives/another1.html

ANOTHER ( THOUGHTS! ) ID#60253:

All: I ask you, why did the world go off the gold standard in the early 70s? You have an answer, yes? For all the problems this created, could the countries not just revalue gold upward, to say $300 ( back then ) ? What was the real reason the world entered a period of "freely traded" "managed gold"? "

This question has more impact on the gold market of today than it did then! In days past, it was held as good knowledge that the US stopped gold backing to protect the dollar and keep gold from leaving to other shores.

But, in the same time frame, all central banks did sell gold to all persons, even the US. All treasuries held gold and dollars as reserves. To what end did the world financial system gain with the dollar off gold backing, and then allowed to "dirty float" against all currencies? Would the world not have been better off to find gold revalued to, say $300 and then begin a "dirty float"? Noone would have lost, and the inflation would have , at best, not have been worse!

Truly, I tell the reason for this action. The US oil companies knew that the cheap reserves were found. The governments knew this also. The only low cost oil reserves in the world at this time were in the Middle East, and their cost to find and produce was very low. It was known, that, in time, ALL oil would come from this land. As much higher US dollar prices were needed to allow exploration and production of other reserves, worldwide. But, how to get crude prices, up, when the Gulf States were OK to pump and produce in exchange for "gold backed dollars"? I will not name the gentlemen that brought this thinking to the surface in that era, but it was discussed. It was known that oil liked gold. It was known that "local oil" would be used up without higher prices. What if, the US dollar was taken off the gold standard, and gold was managed "upward" to say, $208 per ounce? The dynamics of the market would force oil to rise and allow for much needed capital to search for the higher priced oil that was known to exist! The producers would find shelter in gold even as the price of oil was increased in terms of a now "non gold dollar"! Price inflation would rise, but gold and oil would also increase. The dollar would continue to be used as the only payment for oil, and in doing so replace gold as the backing for this "reserve currency". All would be fair.

The war in 1973 and the Iran problem did make markets "overshoot", but all did work to the correct end. The result was "a needed higher price for a commodity that was, as reserves, in much over supply by the wrong countries"! It was known that the public would never have accepted this "proposition" as fair. To this end, we have come.

robert shumake twitter

robert shumake detroit

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

how to lose weight fast robert shumake hall of shame
robert shumake twitter

robert shumake hall of shame
robert shumake twitter

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake twitter

Where to Find Foreclosure Cleanup Clients for Your Business

A fertile client base for new foreclosure cleanup businesses can be the large property preservation company -- specifically those companies that handle several states. These businesses will be larger companies that already have the business. You will be contacting them in an effort to seek subcontracting work.

Many of these companies perform a host of property preservation activities such as the following:

--Trash Removal
--Yard Work and Tree Service
--Re-Keying
--Painting
--House Cleaning
--Debris Removal and Trashouts (Interior and Exterior)
--Pool Service
--Hazardous Material Removal and Pest Control Services
--Mold Removal and Inspection Services
--General Inspection Services
--Carpet Repair and Installation
--Flooring/Tile, Repair and Installation
--General Contractor, Drywall and Stucco Repair
--Cabinetry Services
--Electrical and Plumbing Services
--Roofing, Masonry and Concrete Work
--Window and Door Repair/Installation
--Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
--Winterization
--Etc.

Services for Which You Should Sign Up: As a smaller foreclosure cleanup company, you may only offer some of the services for which the larger companies seek contractors. For example, you might not offer winterization or lock changing, but you may specialize in debris removal and lawn care. That's okay; you can still apply to become a vendor offering only the services for which you are set up to perform.

Many of the foreclosure cleanup online applications have checklists where you can simply indicate which services you are interested in handling for the larger company.

What's in a ZIP Code? Most of the larger, formal companies will ask you to specify which areas you service based on zip codes in your area. It may be tempting to list all of the zip codes in your surrounding counties. But don't. Only list the zip codes you know you can comfortably service, or you may get overwhelmed.

Go to the United States Postal Service's website and click on ZIP Code Lookup (by City) to find all the ZIP codes in your city and narrow down those areas you want to service. Once you have your ZIP code service list, you will need to refer to it often, so keep it in a file on your computer for easy access when filling out foreclosure cleanup applications.

License and Tax ID? Are you all set up to target the larger companies for foreclosure cleanup work? You will need to be properly licensed as a business and will have to submit tax ID information to the larger company to be considered as a vendor.

Business Insurance: Also, there are often strict insurance guidelines when you are seeking to become a subcontractor for a larger property preservation company, so pay close attention to the individual requirements.

Liability Coverage: At the outset, here are some basic liability insurance limits to consider, at minimum:

Each Occurrence: $1,000,000

General Aggregate: $2,000,000

Product/Completed Operations Aggregate: $2,000,000

Workmen's Compensation: Many of these larger companies will also require workmen's compensation insurance, which can be expensive for a new business owner, but many will not require proof of workmen's compensation until they are considering sending you foreclosure cleanup work.

How to Find Larger Property Preservation Companies: Below are some key phrases to research in Internet search engines that will help you find larger contractors who specialize in foreclosure cleanup work. Go to search engines like Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, AltaVista, etc. Start out searching these keyword phrases:

--property management companies
--property preservation companies
--asset management companies
--mortgage field services companies
--real estate management companies
--property management companies
--maintenance and management companies
--REO management companies
--field services companies
--private mortgage insurance companies
--bank REO departments
--asset management departments
--mortgage servicers
--REO departments
--asset management branch
--property disposition companies

As you search, you will have to sift through a lot of non-relative websites, but you will eventually come across some viable companies to target.

It's a Numbers Game: Don't stop at one or two foreclosure cleanup vendor applications. Sign up with as many larger companies as you can find so you are greasing the pipes for future business.

Good luck with your foreclosure cleanup business!

Cassandra Black is the Author of How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business and How to Market Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business: A Step-by-Step, Shoestring Marketing Guide for Foreclosure Cleaning Business Owner and CEO of Foreclosure Cleanup, LLC, Real Estate Cleanup, Atlanta, GA, and an investor and landlord (TheCassandraGroup RE).



robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

robert shumake hall of shame

Virginia Thomas Leaves Anita Hill a Voicemail Asking for An <b>...</b>

A few days ago, Brandeis University professor Anita Hill received a message on her voice mail at work. Political Punch Blog.

UT <b>News</b> » College of Business and Innovation featured in Princeton <b>...</b>

UT College of Business and Innovation faculty, staff, students and graduates were on top of the world — and on top of the Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement — celebrating the news that the college again was ...

The openSUSE Build Service 2.1 released - openSUSE <b>News</b>

This iteration has enhanced the web user interface of openSUSE Build Service with features that were previously only in the osc command line client. It now allows submitting of packages to other projects, showing a history of changes ...

managing personal finances

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

CBS <b>News</b> Reporter Arrested for Growing Pot | PopEater.com

Police arrested CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein and his wife, along with reporter Orly Azoulay, Saturday for drug possession with intent to di.

The Birmingham <b>News</b> Pink Edition: Supporting the fight against <b>...</b>

Reports on the work being done in our community to fight the disease and sharing the stories of breast cancer survivors.

Monday Morning Breakfast &amp; Baseball: Roster <b>News</b> - Twinkie Town

Here's what's making news in Twinkie Town on Monday, October 4.

eric seiger eric seiger

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

Having a hard time managing credit card debt problems? Try using Creditable, a web app that can help you tackle your debt head-on by tracking your progress, generating suggested achievable goals based on your situation, and by allowing you to interact with other people that can help you.

The best part about Creditable is that it is free and anonymous, thus it can still generate your personalized goals even without submitting a credit report.

Creditable requires users to sign up before being able to use it, but the registration only requires an email address so you don’t have to divulge your identity. You do not have to be worried about security issues when using the site since you won’t have to reveal any personal information.

Creditable will also produce goals that are particular for your situation which can serve as your guide that can help you out of your current credit issues.

Creditable also fosters an online community where people can ask about credit related issues and receive advice from other people, who may have gone through your current situation. In addition, you can easily find other users that have the same goals as yours, for more social support.

Features:

• Manage your credits without revealing your identity.
• Track the progress of your credit, works with multiple accounts.
• Suggests achievable goals based on your particular situation.
• Connects you with other people that have similar credit issues.
• Provides personalized credit card suggestions when re-establishing credit.
• Similar Tools: Mint, Paystr, Accpal, TripLittle.

Check out Creditable @ http://getcreditable.com

CBS <b>News</b> Reporter Arrested for Growing Pot | PopEater.com

Police arrested CBS News correspondent Howard Arenstein and his wife, along with reporter Orly Azoulay, Saturday for drug possession with intent to di.

The Birmingham <b>News</b> Pink Edition: Supporting the fight against <b>...</b>

Reports on the work being done in our community to fight the disease and sharing the stories of breast cancer survivors.

Monday Morning Breakfast &amp; Baseball: Roster <b>News</b> - Twinkie Town

Here's what's making news in Twinkie Town on Monday, October 4.

eric seiger eric seiger

Making Money Tips

Theresa Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am

@Amanda, If you want to delete their access to your page, just click on account in the top corner. Choose application settings. A list of all the pages that have access to your account come up. You can click the x next to the ones that you want to erase. I have had to do that a few times. Don’t know if that will help your problem, but it has cut down on the companies that have been sending me updates.

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Off & Away

Quick Pitch: Members bid in auctions on stays in hotel suites for up 99% off retail rates.

Genius Idea: How many five-star hotels have you stayed at? Of those, how many of those stays have been in the resort’s most prestigious suite? And how many of those stays have been for two nights or more? If your answer is greater than zero, then this post isn’t for you, money bags. The rest of us, though, might want to try our hand at the innovative auction site Off & Away.

Off & Away promises unheard of discounts on luxury suites (up to 99% off retail prices) at top resorts in the U.S. and Mexico. These aren’t the economy rooms you can find on other travel sites. There is one giant catch — one that applies to all auction sites, including eBay, the granddaddy of them all. You must be the highest bidder when the auction ends in order to seal the deal.

Off & Away auctions start off cheap to begin with. Each new bid raises the auction price by $0.10, and each auction runs for a limited period of time. Once the time runs out, the highest bidder wins the auction. The process sounds simple enough, but Off & Away throws a few curve balls into the typical online auction format, making the auction experience a quirky ride that will likely get your blood pumping.

First, you’ll need to buy bids if you want to participate in auctions. Each bid costs $1.00, and you can buy as many or as few as you want. You can then use these bids during actions, but you’ll want to keep in mind that each bid is essentially costing you a buck.

Off & Away gets especially interesting when a hotel deal is just seconds away from going to the highest bidder; this is when the hidden bidders come out to play. Once the auction reaches the final two minutes, each new bid resets the countdown clock to 20 seconds and raises the auction price by $0.10.

Let’s say a resort stay is ready to go to the highest bidder for $49.50 with just seconds left on the clock. A lurking user could pop in with one second remaining, submit a bid, reset the clock to 20 seconds and raise the price to $49.60. Bidding continues until the rest of the bidders give up and allow the auction clock to run down to zero.

To say the formula is a catalyst for frenzied competition between stubborn bidders holding out for the best deal till the very end is a huge understatement. In my own experiences, the bidding competition that happens in the last few seconds can extend an auction for hours — it’s an exciting, adrenaline-enthused experience that often results in disappointment. Most of these hotel deals are so remarkable that your desire to win will outweigh the potential risk of defeat.

The good news is that your used bids don’t completely go to waste. Each used bid can be applied towards $1.10 off another room at the resort in question. You’re obviously not getting the suite experience with these standard room offers, but it’s still a decent consolation prize.

But Can You Really Win?

I’ve tried my hand at a few auctions to no avail. Just the possibility of a win is enticing enough to lure me in and compel me to use my prepaid bids, but I’ve yet to reach the finish line. I’ll keep trying though, and that’s in no small part due to the genius formula cooked up by CEO Doug Aley and team.

Aley assures me that eventually I will win — and that you will too. Earlier today he penned a blog post with tips on how to win. He recommends picking auctions that are less competitive and strategizing ahead of time about how and when to bid. Of course, he also recommends stocking up on bids, but that’s a no-brainer strategy that also works to the startup’s advantage.

Off & Away’s continued success will be dependent on helping more users win. After all, who wants to spend money to buy bids that essentially just go wasted?

Risk Versus Reward for Hotels

The quality of hotel stays offered through Off & Away is impressive to say the least — these hotels are the hotels we only dream about staying at. With the price of sale totally dependent on site users, we questioned Aley about the risk-reward potential for hotels who use the service.

“We have special deals worked out with our hotel partners that ensure that they don’t field any of the risk. Beyond that, our hotel partners and customers know that just because an auction goes for an incredibly inexpensive price doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of people lurking that were interested in the room. Many times, we have a group of people that are just ’saving their bullets’ for what they think is the end of the auction, only to see their chance to bid slip away,” explains Aley.

Off & Away is a Seattle-based startup that’s raised $1.35 million from Madrona Venture Group and additional private investors. The site’s pedigree includes a staff of travel veterans from Amazon and Orbitz. As the startup evolves, look for it to reduce total auction length and introduce better ways for members to apply bids used on lost auctions for better deals.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

For more Tech coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Techclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Tech channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Barack Obama - Fox <b>News</b> - New York Times | Mediaite

News Corp's recent donation to the Republican Governors Association in light of editorial positions at, in particular, Fox News certainly turned heads among Democrats and gave President Obama even more fodder to challenge the company.

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Barack Obama - Fox <b>News</b> - New York Times | Mediaite

News Corp's recent donation to the Republican Governors Association in light of editorial positions at, in particular, Fox News certainly turned heads among Democrats and gave President Obama even more fodder to challenge the company.

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Theresa Reply:
September 27th, 2010 at 10:53 am

@Amanda, If you want to delete their access to your page, just click on account in the top corner. Choose application settings. A list of all the pages that have access to your account come up. You can click the x next to the ones that you want to erase. I have had to do that a few times. Don’t know if that will help your problem, but it has cut down on the companies that have been sending me updates.

This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Off & Away

Quick Pitch: Members bid in auctions on stays in hotel suites for up 99% off retail rates.

Genius Idea: How many five-star hotels have you stayed at? Of those, how many of those stays have been in the resort’s most prestigious suite? And how many of those stays have been for two nights or more? If your answer is greater than zero, then this post isn’t for you, money bags. The rest of us, though, might want to try our hand at the innovative auction site Off & Away.

Off & Away promises unheard of discounts on luxury suites (up to 99% off retail prices) at top resorts in the U.S. and Mexico. These aren’t the economy rooms you can find on other travel sites. There is one giant catch — one that applies to all auction sites, including eBay, the granddaddy of them all. You must be the highest bidder when the auction ends in order to seal the deal.

Off & Away auctions start off cheap to begin with. Each new bid raises the auction price by $0.10, and each auction runs for a limited period of time. Once the time runs out, the highest bidder wins the auction. The process sounds simple enough, but Off & Away throws a few curve balls into the typical online auction format, making the auction experience a quirky ride that will likely get your blood pumping.

First, you’ll need to buy bids if you want to participate in auctions. Each bid costs $1.00, and you can buy as many or as few as you want. You can then use these bids during actions, but you’ll want to keep in mind that each bid is essentially costing you a buck.

Off & Away gets especially interesting when a hotel deal is just seconds away from going to the highest bidder; this is when the hidden bidders come out to play. Once the auction reaches the final two minutes, each new bid resets the countdown clock to 20 seconds and raises the auction price by $0.10.

Let’s say a resort stay is ready to go to the highest bidder for $49.50 with just seconds left on the clock. A lurking user could pop in with one second remaining, submit a bid, reset the clock to 20 seconds and raise the price to $49.60. Bidding continues until the rest of the bidders give up and allow the auction clock to run down to zero.

To say the formula is a catalyst for frenzied competition between stubborn bidders holding out for the best deal till the very end is a huge understatement. In my own experiences, the bidding competition that happens in the last few seconds can extend an auction for hours — it’s an exciting, adrenaline-enthused experience that often results in disappointment. Most of these hotel deals are so remarkable that your desire to win will outweigh the potential risk of defeat.

The good news is that your used bids don’t completely go to waste. Each used bid can be applied towards $1.10 off another room at the resort in question. You’re obviously not getting the suite experience with these standard room offers, but it’s still a decent consolation prize.

But Can You Really Win?

I’ve tried my hand at a few auctions to no avail. Just the possibility of a win is enticing enough to lure me in and compel me to use my prepaid bids, but I’ve yet to reach the finish line. I’ll keep trying though, and that’s in no small part due to the genius formula cooked up by CEO Doug Aley and team.

Aley assures me that eventually I will win — and that you will too. Earlier today he penned a blog post with tips on how to win. He recommends picking auctions that are less competitive and strategizing ahead of time about how and when to bid. Of course, he also recommends stocking up on bids, but that’s a no-brainer strategy that also works to the startup’s advantage.

Off & Away’s continued success will be dependent on helping more users win. After all, who wants to spend money to buy bids that essentially just go wasted?

Risk Versus Reward for Hotels

The quality of hotel stays offered through Off & Away is impressive to say the least — these hotels are the hotels we only dream about staying at. With the price of sale totally dependent on site users, we questioned Aley about the risk-reward potential for hotels who use the service.

“We have special deals worked out with our hotel partners that ensure that they don’t field any of the risk. Beyond that, our hotel partners and customers know that just because an auction goes for an incredibly inexpensive price doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of people lurking that were interested in the room. Many times, we have a group of people that are just ’saving their bullets’ for what they think is the end of the auction, only to see their chance to bid slip away,” explains Aley.

Off & Away is a Seattle-based startup that’s raised $1.35 million from Madrona Venture Group and additional private investors. The site’s pedigree includes a staff of travel veterans from Amazon and Orbitz. As the startup evolves, look for it to reduce total auction length and introduce better ways for members to apply bids used on lost auctions for better deals.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

For more Tech coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Techclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Tech channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

bench craft company rip off

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Barack Obama - Fox <b>News</b> - New York Times | Mediaite

News Corp's recent donation to the Republican Governors Association in light of editorial positions at, in particular, Fox News certainly turned heads among Democrats and gave President Obama even more fodder to challenge the company.

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Barack Obama - Fox <b>News</b> - New York Times | Mediaite

News Corp's recent donation to the Republican Governors Association in light of editorial positions at, in particular, Fox News certainly turned heads among Democrats and gave President Obama even more fodder to challenge the company.

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

The WORCESTER PARK Blog, Surrey ¦: Sky <b>News</b>

"I came out of my front door this morning to see a VERY low flying BA jet passing over Trent Way - just seen on the news that it had to make an emergency landing after just 10 minutes. Never seen one that low even though we're used to ...

Barack Obama - Fox <b>News</b> - New York Times | Mediaite

News Corp's recent donation to the Republican Governors Association in light of editorial positions at, in particular, Fox News certainly turned heads among Democrats and gave President Obama even more fodder to challenge the company.

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

Making Money From the Internet

The Non-Traditional Workspaces Series is supported by RingCentral, the leading business phone system designed for today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. Visit RingCentral.com to learn more.

Finding the right workspace is like dating — the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet has made it a lot more complex. In essence, this means more options.

Whereas the traditional office once served as the default choice for effective communication and collaboration between coworkers, today’s businesses can be just as productive by collaborating on the web, with as little as $10 and a Google account. Entrepreneurs operate from coffee shops, kitchen tables, and coworking spaces in addition to the traditional office.

We asked three entrepreneurs with drastically different office strategies for their advice on choosing a workspace. Read on for their tips and add your own in the comments below.

What Kind of Office is Best to Start In?

“When you’re starting out, you should absolutely not be spending money on rent,” says Jason Fried, the founder of web-based software company 37signals. “It’s a huge waste of money.”

After Fried started 37signals, he and the other two employees working for the company at the time shared a room with another business. “Basically we had a corner of a desk,” he jokes. Assuming you can find another company that is willing to share, teaming up on a space saves cash while still providing a place to work away from the distractions of home.

Others see value in setting up their own offices from the get-go. After a brief stint at the virtual office, Anthony Franco chose a house in Denver to set up his company, EffectiveUI. It wasn’t an ideal workspace, but he got a deal on the rent. New employees were often greeted on their first day with an Allen wrench, to be used for assembling their own desks.

“We started at home, but if we were going to handle demand, we needed to have a place where we could come and work,” Franco said. He added that the extra value of being able to work as a team (in person) more than made up for the cost of an office.

While the lease route worked out well for EffectiveUI, there’s a certain amount of risk involved with jumping into your own space too soon.

“Most commercial leases are for three to four years, and so if you’re small and you’re starting out and you’ve got a couple people, you’re making way too much of a commitment,” Fried argues. “You don’t know where you’re going to be in three years.”

Is Coworking Right for Your Business?

One modern compromise between working completely virtually and committing to a lease is working at a coworking space. These office spaces provide a work environment and an alternative to coffee shops for independent workers.

Campbell McKellar discovered the value of coworking spaces when the company she worked for left their expensive traditional office and started working virtually. The move allowed her to work from anywhere, and she chose Maine. “I was trying to do work in a cottage with family members and dogs running around,” she said. “I loved being fully mobile and independent, but I also wanted to have a platform to do my work.”

LooseCubes, the company McKellar founded in May, runs a website that matches independent workers with coworking spaces and spare desks in other companies. Quite appropriately, it’s currently being run out of a coworking space. McKellar says that working from the space has helped her launch.

“Especially if you’re in a creative business, the best way to get ideas is to meet new people,” she says. “You can get stale by talking to the same five people every day.”

Coworking allows McKellar to “unintentionally network” with the other people in the space, to seek advice from other entrepreneurs, and to host meetings and work with her team at a place that isn’t her living room.

On the other hand, coworking has its challenges and might not be a great fit for every company. Coworking spaces can be distracting, and most of them are set up in a way that requires people making phone calls to seek silence in the hallway.

“For us, quiet and privacy is very important,” Fried says. “So, coworking spaces and coffee shops don’t work for us.”

McKellar admits that on days when she’s “under the gun,” she chooses to work at home. And there is a point at which a company outgrows a coworking space. LooseCubes, for instance, plans to move to its own office space sometime in the next three months.

When Should a Company Transition to a Traditional Office?

“We need to be in a room with a whiteboard that isn’t erased every day, where we can have a conference call in an open environment,” McKellar says of her hopes for transitioning to an office space. Before she commits, however, she wants to wait to see how her site’s public launch goes. In the meantime, she’s renting a room at a Manhattan coworking space called New Work City.

All companies should do something along these lines before committing to a lease, Fried says. “You don’t know if you’re going to be successful,” he says. “And if you are, you might need more space than you have right now…You don’t want to lock yourself into anything when you’re getting started. You want to be as flexible as you possibly can.”

For some people, this means staying virtual for as long as possible. For others like McKellar, it means launching from a coworking space. For Fried’s 37signals, which is based in Chicago but has employees in 11 cities, it meant working from a variety of shared office spaces for about ten years before finally opting for an office of its own in August.

But how do you know when it’s time to make the switch?

One obvious factor is space: “We were only able to rent five or six desks in our last office,” Fried says. “We had nine people in Chicago. We were out of desks at six. So everyone couldn’t come in at the same time, and that was problem.”

Another factor is work environment. If the space you are working in is interfering with your work, it might also be time to opt for an environment you can control. “We work very quietly,” explains Fried. “So our whole thing is be as quiet as possible, don’t talk throughout the day, just have a very quiet setting like a library…You can’t impose those kinds of rules on another company, especially if it’s the other company’s space.”

What are the Benefits of a Traditional Office?

For EffectiveUI, the traditional office was always a great fit. Having grown from a couple of founders to 100 employees since 2005, the company long ago left its house-office behind. They now work from a 12,000-square-foot office space.

But both spaces fulfilled the same requirements: “Whiteboarding, talking with each other and eating lunch together: It’s part of the team culture,” Franco says.

The more traditional office, however, has given him some additional perks. “We have clients come to visit us. We’re able to brand the building and the space, and when people come they can see we’re a real business,” he says.

A lot of people associate traditional offices with being trapped in a cubicle, but Franco maintains that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Just get creative and make it fun, but also give everyone a place to go,” he says.

Can I Have an Untraditional Traditional Office?

Fried thinks of his new office as more of a home base than a traditional office. Employees are free to work at home whenever they want, and half of the company still works in other cities.

“We feel that a combination of both is the best route,” Fried says. “Because we all do want to get together occasionally, and sometimes small teams of five or six people want to get together for a while.”

The home base strategy combines the benefits of virtual and traditional workspaces. When people want to work from another city or find they work better in their pajamas, they can stay home. When they need to collaborate or want to get out of the house, they have a great place to work.

“Our office is highly customized for the way we work,” says Fried. For instance, it has soundproof walls, phone booths for people to make uninterrupted calls, and rooms for small teams.

Most employees who work from Chicago come into the new office about three or four days a week. “We want people to work wherever they work best,” Fried says.

What are your tips for choosing a workspace? Add them in the comments below.

Series supported by RingCentral

The Non-Traditional Workspaces Series is supported by RingCentralclass="blippr-nobr">RingCentral. Power your business with a phone system designed to meet the needs of today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. With RingCentral, you can take control of your phone system anywhere — using your existing phones, smartphones, or PCs. Sign up today for a special 60-day free trial.

More Startup Resources from Mashable:

- 8 Funding Contests to Kick Start Your Big Idea/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed/> - 6 Ways to Recruit Talent for Startups/> - 10 Essential Tips for Building Your Small Biz Team

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, francisblack

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Social games are the rage these days, but making money from them isn’t easy. Gamers play these titles for free, but Adknowledge is figuring out how game publishers can wind up making money from 100 percent of the players.

Adknowledge’s Burlingame, Calif.-based Super Rewards subsidiary is launching a three-part system for making money from virtual currency in games. That could help boost the engagement of players in social games and help raise the revenue generated from each user, said Adknowledge chief executive Scott Lynn. Adknowledge can offer this money-making system as a one-stop shop for publishers and game advertisers.

The three elements include an in-game overlay, offer banners, and a new offer wall for online game publishers. Adknowledge claims the new platform improves the experience for users and increases the number of paying users in a game. Adknowledge is one of a number of companies that give users the option of accepting special offers in lieu of payment for an online game. You can accept an offer such as signing up for a Netflix subscription in return for virtual currency in a game.

But results show that roughly 75 percent of players do not use offers. Super Rewards can target those missing the offers with an in-game overlay, which brings a single, high-value offer to users within a game. The overlay shows up at strategic moments in a game, such as after the initial load. The offers can include promotional language such as “Get More Coins.”

The offer banner uses the space around the main game landscape, presenting a mini version of an offer wall during game play. Users can pay for virtual items at the moment with direct payment methods.

Publishers using the three-part system include The Broth, whose Facebook game Barn Buddy saw its revenue increase 25 percent after using the new system for just five days, said Broth chief executive Markus Weichselbaum. Other publishers have seen a 45 percent increase in the number of new paying users. Adknowledge said developers have seen a 40-percent increase in the number of first-time payers. Super Rewards’ rivals include TrialPay and Offerpal.

Adknowledge has more than 300 employees and $300 million in revenue, making it the largest privately owned internet advertising network. It was founded in 2004 and has grown through acquisitions. The company has raised $48 million in funding from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Next Story: Game media firm IGN Entertainment to give free office space to indie game startups Previous Story: DEMO: VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall touts tech and farming trends (video)

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

Apple TV jailbreak <b>news</b>: USB restore mode discovered

Breaking news Feed � iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage � Office 2011 to ship October 26 � Apple Remote app v2 now available for iOS 4 � Confirmed: No FaceTime in UAE, reported working in SA unless phones are updated ...

Reese Schonfeld: Third Quarter Cable <b>News</b>: Bad <b>News</b> for All <b>...</b>

Could it be that the decline in news viewers is symptomatic of a general and genuine disgust by news viewers who are just fed up with the kind of news being fed to them?

bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

Apple TV jailbreak <b>news</b>: USB restore mode discovered

Breaking news Feed � iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage � Office 2011 to ship October 26 � Apple Remote app v2 now available for iOS 4 � Confirmed: No FaceTime in UAE, reported working in SA unless phones are updated ...

Reese Schonfeld: Third Quarter Cable <b>News</b>: Bad <b>News</b> for All <b>...</b>

Could it be that the decline in news viewers is symptomatic of a general and genuine disgust by news viewers who are just fed up with the kind of news being fed to them?

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

The Non-Traditional Workspaces Series is supported by RingCentral, the leading business phone system designed for today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. Visit RingCentral.com to learn more.

Finding the right workspace is like dating — the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet has made it a lot more complex. In essence, this means more options.

Whereas the traditional office once served as the default choice for effective communication and collaboration between coworkers, today’s businesses can be just as productive by collaborating on the web, with as little as $10 and a Google account. Entrepreneurs operate from coffee shops, kitchen tables, and coworking spaces in addition to the traditional office.

We asked three entrepreneurs with drastically different office strategies for their advice on choosing a workspace. Read on for their tips and add your own in the comments below.

What Kind of Office is Best to Start In?

“When you’re starting out, you should absolutely not be spending money on rent,” says Jason Fried, the founder of web-based software company 37signals. “It’s a huge waste of money.”

After Fried started 37signals, he and the other two employees working for the company at the time shared a room with another business. “Basically we had a corner of a desk,” he jokes. Assuming you can find another company that is willing to share, teaming up on a space saves cash while still providing a place to work away from the distractions of home.

Others see value in setting up their own offices from the get-go. After a brief stint at the virtual office, Anthony Franco chose a house in Denver to set up his company, EffectiveUI. It wasn’t an ideal workspace, but he got a deal on the rent. New employees were often greeted on their first day with an Allen wrench, to be used for assembling their own desks.

“We started at home, but if we were going to handle demand, we needed to have a place where we could come and work,” Franco said. He added that the extra value of being able to work as a team (in person) more than made up for the cost of an office.

While the lease route worked out well for EffectiveUI, there’s a certain amount of risk involved with jumping into your own space too soon.

“Most commercial leases are for three to four years, and so if you’re small and you’re starting out and you’ve got a couple people, you’re making way too much of a commitment,” Fried argues. “You don’t know where you’re going to be in three years.”

Is Coworking Right for Your Business?

One modern compromise between working completely virtually and committing to a lease is working at a coworking space. These office spaces provide a work environment and an alternative to coffee shops for independent workers.

Campbell McKellar discovered the value of coworking spaces when the company she worked for left their expensive traditional office and started working virtually. The move allowed her to work from anywhere, and she chose Maine. “I was trying to do work in a cottage with family members and dogs running around,” she said. “I loved being fully mobile and independent, but I also wanted to have a platform to do my work.”

LooseCubes, the company McKellar founded in May, runs a website that matches independent workers with coworking spaces and spare desks in other companies. Quite appropriately, it’s currently being run out of a coworking space. McKellar says that working from the space has helped her launch.

“Especially if you’re in a creative business, the best way to get ideas is to meet new people,” she says. “You can get stale by talking to the same five people every day.”

Coworking allows McKellar to “unintentionally network” with the other people in the space, to seek advice from other entrepreneurs, and to host meetings and work with her team at a place that isn’t her living room.

On the other hand, coworking has its challenges and might not be a great fit for every company. Coworking spaces can be distracting, and most of them are set up in a way that requires people making phone calls to seek silence in the hallway.

“For us, quiet and privacy is very important,” Fried says. “So, coworking spaces and coffee shops don’t work for us.”

McKellar admits that on days when she’s “under the gun,” she chooses to work at home. And there is a point at which a company outgrows a coworking space. LooseCubes, for instance, plans to move to its own office space sometime in the next three months.

When Should a Company Transition to a Traditional Office?

“We need to be in a room with a whiteboard that isn’t erased every day, where we can have a conference call in an open environment,” McKellar says of her hopes for transitioning to an office space. Before she commits, however, she wants to wait to see how her site’s public launch goes. In the meantime, she’s renting a room at a Manhattan coworking space called New Work City.

All companies should do something along these lines before committing to a lease, Fried says. “You don’t know if you’re going to be successful,” he says. “And if you are, you might need more space than you have right now…You don’t want to lock yourself into anything when you’re getting started. You want to be as flexible as you possibly can.”

For some people, this means staying virtual for as long as possible. For others like McKellar, it means launching from a coworking space. For Fried’s 37signals, which is based in Chicago but has employees in 11 cities, it meant working from a variety of shared office spaces for about ten years before finally opting for an office of its own in August.

But how do you know when it’s time to make the switch?

One obvious factor is space: “We were only able to rent five or six desks in our last office,” Fried says. “We had nine people in Chicago. We were out of desks at six. So everyone couldn’t come in at the same time, and that was problem.”

Another factor is work environment. If the space you are working in is interfering with your work, it might also be time to opt for an environment you can control. “We work very quietly,” explains Fried. “So our whole thing is be as quiet as possible, don’t talk throughout the day, just have a very quiet setting like a library…You can’t impose those kinds of rules on another company, especially if it’s the other company’s space.”

What are the Benefits of a Traditional Office?

For EffectiveUI, the traditional office was always a great fit. Having grown from a couple of founders to 100 employees since 2005, the company long ago left its house-office behind. They now work from a 12,000-square-foot office space.

But both spaces fulfilled the same requirements: “Whiteboarding, talking with each other and eating lunch together: It’s part of the team culture,” Franco says.

The more traditional office, however, has given him some additional perks. “We have clients come to visit us. We’re able to brand the building and the space, and when people come they can see we’re a real business,” he says.

A lot of people associate traditional offices with being trapped in a cubicle, but Franco maintains that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Just get creative and make it fun, but also give everyone a place to go,” he says.

Can I Have an Untraditional Traditional Office?

Fried thinks of his new office as more of a home base than a traditional office. Employees are free to work at home whenever they want, and half of the company still works in other cities.

“We feel that a combination of both is the best route,” Fried says. “Because we all do want to get together occasionally, and sometimes small teams of five or six people want to get together for a while.”

The home base strategy combines the benefits of virtual and traditional workspaces. When people want to work from another city or find they work better in their pajamas, they can stay home. When they need to collaborate or want to get out of the house, they have a great place to work.

“Our office is highly customized for the way we work,” says Fried. For instance, it has soundproof walls, phone booths for people to make uninterrupted calls, and rooms for small teams.

Most employees who work from Chicago come into the new office about three or four days a week. “We want people to work wherever they work best,” Fried says.

What are your tips for choosing a workspace? Add them in the comments below.

Series supported by RingCentral

The Non-Traditional Workspaces Series is supported by RingCentralclass="blippr-nobr">RingCentral. Power your business with a phone system designed to meet the needs of today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. With RingCentral, you can take control of your phone system anywhere — using your existing phones, smartphones, or PCs. Sign up today for a special 60-day free trial.

More Startup Resources from Mashable:

- 8 Funding Contests to Kick Start Your Big Idea/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed/> - 6 Ways to Recruit Talent for Startups/> - 10 Essential Tips for Building Your Small Biz Team

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, francisblack

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Social games are the rage these days, but making money from them isn’t easy. Gamers play these titles for free, but Adknowledge is figuring out how game publishers can wind up making money from 100 percent of the players.

Adknowledge’s Burlingame, Calif.-based Super Rewards subsidiary is launching a three-part system for making money from virtual currency in games. That could help boost the engagement of players in social games and help raise the revenue generated from each user, said Adknowledge chief executive Scott Lynn. Adknowledge can offer this money-making system as a one-stop shop for publishers and game advertisers.

The three elements include an in-game overlay, offer banners, and a new offer wall for online game publishers. Adknowledge claims the new platform improves the experience for users and increases the number of paying users in a game. Adknowledge is one of a number of companies that give users the option of accepting special offers in lieu of payment for an online game. You can accept an offer such as signing up for a Netflix subscription in return for virtual currency in a game.

But results show that roughly 75 percent of players do not use offers. Super Rewards can target those missing the offers with an in-game overlay, which brings a single, high-value offer to users within a game. The overlay shows up at strategic moments in a game, such as after the initial load. The offers can include promotional language such as “Get More Coins.”

The offer banner uses the space around the main game landscape, presenting a mini version of an offer wall during game play. Users can pay for virtual items at the moment with direct payment methods.

Publishers using the three-part system include The Broth, whose Facebook game Barn Buddy saw its revenue increase 25 percent after using the new system for just five days, said Broth chief executive Markus Weichselbaum. Other publishers have seen a 45 percent increase in the number of new paying users. Adknowledge said developers have seen a 40-percent increase in the number of first-time payers. Super Rewards’ rivals include TrialPay and Offerpal.

Adknowledge has more than 300 employees and $300 million in revenue, making it the largest privately owned internet advertising network. It was founded in 2004 and has grown through acquisitions. The company has raised $48 million in funding from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Next Story: Game media firm IGN Entertainment to give free office space to indie game startups Previous Story: DEMO: VentureBeat’s Matt Marshall touts tech and farming trends (video)

bench craft company rip off

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

Apple TV jailbreak <b>news</b>: USB restore mode discovered

Breaking news Feed � iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage � Office 2011 to ship October 26 � Apple Remote app v2 now available for iOS 4 � Confirmed: No FaceTime in UAE, reported working in SA unless phones are updated ...

Reese Schonfeld: Third Quarter Cable <b>News</b>: Bad <b>News</b> for All <b>...</b>

Could it be that the decline in news viewers is symptomatic of a general and genuine disgust by news viewers who are just fed up with the kind of news being fed to them?

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

Apple TV jailbreak <b>news</b>: USB restore mode discovered

Breaking news Feed � iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage � Office 2011 to ship October 26 � Apple Remote app v2 now available for iOS 4 � Confirmed: No FaceTime in UAE, reported working in SA unless phones are updated ...

Reese Schonfeld: Third Quarter Cable <b>News</b>: Bad <b>News</b> for All <b>...</b>

Could it be that the decline in news viewers is symptomatic of a general and genuine disgust by news viewers who are just fed up with the kind of news being fed to them?

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

ScribbleLive plans to reinvent the <b>news</b> article | VentureBeat

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining VentureBeat in ...

Apple TV jailbreak <b>news</b>: USB restore mode discovered

Breaking news Feed � iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage � Office 2011 to ship October 26 � Apple Remote app v2 now available for iOS 4 � Confirmed: No FaceTime in UAE, reported working in SA unless phones are updated ...

Reese Schonfeld: Third Quarter Cable <b>News</b>: Bad <b>News</b> for All <b>...</b>

Could it be that the decline in news viewers is symptomatic of a general and genuine disgust by news viewers who are just fed up with the kind of news being fed to them?

bench craft company rip off