Looking for a Job? Are you OVERqualified ?

Posted on August 10, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Be upfront. When gunning for a job that’s a step down, don’t be coy about your intentions. The hiring manager will probably be concerned that you won’t feel challenged or stick around long in the role. Avoid this by remaining clear and upfront with the hiring manager — tell them exactly why you want to take the job, and help them understand your motivation.

Try an internal transfer. If you’re currently employed, an internal transfer may be more successful than sending out your resume to other companies that don’t know you. Most companies don’t want to lose employees, even if it means letting them move around and take on other roles. You already have valuable knowledge of about how the company works, and sometimes you can bring more to the table.

Network. Try reaching out to your professional network to help you get a foot in the door at a new company. When you have someone on the inside vouching for you, it will go a long way in terms of the hiring manager’s confidence in you as a candidate. Don’t get discouraged. If you aren’t having any success with sending your resume out or reaching your internal network, reconsider your approach. Talk to people in the industry you’re interested in to get a better sense of what skills and experience you need to highlight on your resume.

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Need some Commercial Real Estate help?

Posted on August 9, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Like with anything in life, there’s a right way to invest in commercial real estate and there’s a wrong way to do it. Unfortunately, most people do it the wrong way, even if they believe they’re doing it correctly. Don’t become one of the misinformed. Be sure to read this article and find out how to do it the right way.

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Now is a great time to build a house. Interest rates are low, property is readily available, and construction workers and contractors are chomping at the bit to get jobs lined up. There may never be a cheaper time to have a custom home built, so do your homework and make those dreams come true.

One important tip to remember when investing in commercial real estate is to buy a property with as many units as you are able to afford. This is important because your income ratio will increase with the more units you are renting out. While you do have to pay more upfront, your return on the investment will be much greater.

Look at the neighborhood you’re thinking about investing into, you want to check things like unemployments rates, income levels, and different rates of expansion so that you have an idea of where the neighborhood stands, and what potential it has in the future. Your house will sell more quickly and at a higher value if it is near a university, hospital or any large employment center.

If your future rental property or apartment complex allows you to host a yard sale or garage sale, ask them if you’re allowed to post your signs within the complex such as light poles or tree stumps. Some property managements do not allow the display of any sort of advertisements publicly.

Be prepared to put a large amount of time into a real estate investment right from the start. Finding a good opportunity, going through the transaction and making any necessary repairs to the property takes time. Don’t let the amount time you need to put in during this phase discourage you. The investment will be repaid as time goes on.

Be careful when you are purchasing a property and make sure that it does not have any hazardous waste problems. When commercial properties have this type of problems it becomes the responsibility of the owner to handle it even if they were not the ones that caused the problem.

If you flip homes, you should always attempt to buy when the market selling prices are at their lowest. Even if this means you will have multiple properties to work on at one time, you will quickly find that these homes will bring you a fantastic profit when the buying market significantly improves.

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Investing in Real Estate

Posted on August 8, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

We all look for some easy and efficient way of making money, over the years real estate sector has become one of the popular investment options, mainly because of the predictability and accessibility associated with it. In fact many of the people, who have invested in it, testify to the fact that it is the most reliable and effective investment option as compared to others. As per the experts it is not only a reliable but also a profitable investment, if few time tested rules are followed properly.

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There are a number of benefits that come with investing in real estate and these are mainly responsible for the exaggerated popularity of this sector as the best investment option. Some of the benefits, which you can surely enjoy by investing in real estate, are mentioned below.

The great returns for your investment are the time tested benefit that most people seem to concur with. As property and land are the only two types of assets which appreciate with time, thus you can be sure of getting profits from it after sometime, irrespective of whether any up-gradation is done or not.

Investing in real estate is quite profitable and reliable, as real estate is a source of constant income. Rental properties are the best option if you are looking for an investment which offers an uninterrupted source of income, without putting any extra money into it. Although the renting option is not a very profitable option in short term, as it is the case with the buying and reselling strategy, however it is quite lucrative in the long term. It is the simplest way of getting uninterrupted flow of money every month. All you have to do is to invest in a property, rent it out and just sit back and enjoy the returns for as long as you like.

One of the main reasons why people invest in real estate is for the tax benefits. Actually these tax benefits are granted by the government, which allows you to keep more of the money you make and minimizes your taxable income.

Other major benefit is that it is one investment option for which you can easily get loan from banks. In turn, your property can also help you to attract better and meaningful funding, if you are looking to get a loan.

Due to the appreciation nature of the real estate properties, these can be a very important asset for you especially for your future and your long term investment. Also these are the safest options which can be bought by the parents or relatives, with the view of selling them at the time of need.

Investing in real estate has a pool of advantages which you can enjoy and the above mentioned list is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are planning for this type of investment, then real estate is surely worth consideration, especially in the current highly unstable and erratic economic environment.

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Trusting your Employees

Posted on August 7, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Should I keep an employee that I don’t trust?

My first response would be, “What don’t you trust?” And is it possible that you as the leader are feeding the distrust.

At Robert J Russell Companies we visit many companies and have learned a tremendous amount about how different organizations operate, what makes them successful and what gets in their way. On occasion we meet companies that are based on a foundation of distrust, which is usually driven by the leader at the top. Employee practices are set up as policing documents instead of guiding principles and micro -management is the rule of the day.

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We recently met a company just like this. The Executive Director contacted us to discuss a problem she was having with an employee, when I asked questions to get to the root cause of the problem she had to share some information that was not favorable for the company as a whole. When we advised the Executive Director on recommended next steps, and she reported the information to her board of directors she was yelled at for airing their dirty laundry in public. Where is the root of the distrust is it the Executive Director, or the Board, or both?

A few years ago I came into the office and noticed that my Outlook had been opened and that email had downloaded, I knew the only way that could happen is if someone had opened my email. I contacted our IT support and they immediately took a look at what had caused the breach – however there was nothing out of the ordinary.

About 3 hours later (after a few password changes and some forensic work) a long time trusted employee (let’s call him Harry) emailed me to tell me that he had made a terrible mistake. He told me that he was the one that went on to my computer because he needed to delete an email he sent to me in error. Immediately I felt that this was a one time encounter and that it was merely a mistake that would not happen again. I waited until the next day to make sure I felt the same way, and I did. I trust this person the same today as I did before the breach occurred.

I think the question of trust is not an easy one, it depends on many factors. Is the lack of trust a real issue or a perceived one? Has the employee given you any reason to not trust them, and most importantly – as the leader/the person responsible for the decision to keep or fire them, are you trusting?

To find out more about business – visit: http://www.robertjrussellcompanies.com

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Successful Time Management

Posted on August 6, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

The Six Ways to Attain Successful Time Management

Productive time management would be the primary factor. No seriously it really is. When it comes down to the most valuable tools we have to generate revenue, lose weight, or just about everything we want to accomplish successful time management techniques is on the top ten list of tools to possess.

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For those who do not know how you can manage your time effectively, life can turn out to be hard and overwhelming causing unbelievable failures in your endeavors. I have discovered a few fantastic recommendations on profitable time management and would like to share some with you.

Get yourself a pen along with notepad (or an app on your android/iPhone). Jot down your goals and what you’ll need to get accomplished so you can have profitable time management. Make sure to specify the tasks that really need to be accomplished so that you can eventually get to your goals. By way of example, don’t just write down “plan dinner party at some point.” Get the exact specifics of planning the party and break it down; at 6pm finish guest list, create menu, and come up with a theme. Make a decision how much time this should take you and give yourself a timeline. In the event you think it’s going to take sixty minutes to carry out the list of assignments write down from 6pm to 7pm and try to meet the timeline.

Get organized. Obtaining productive time management goes hand and hand with being organized. So much time might be lost by just trying to find an item you misplaced or perhaps trying to keep in mind what you needed to get completed that day. Take an hour or much less just about every morning (or the night before) to plan out each and every task you’ll need to achieve through that day. And like the suggestions above, make sure to plan it out to specifics and down to the hour.

Always keep everything clutter free and make certain to find a location for everything. Permitting for a clutter free household, mind, and workplace will perform wonders on gaining profitable time management.

We’ve all heard it before, PRIORITIZE. This is crucial on the list to attaining successful time management mainly because it is going to enable you to pick which tasks should be on the top of the list or what can be moved down. Should you find that it’s much more crucial to finish that progress report rather than plan a dinner party, move the progress report to the top of the list. Ordinarily affairs which are critical to get accomplished coincide with issues that you are dreading to get done. When you do the important matters first, as you go down the list you will be more likely not to waste time which will inevitably save time along with effort.

Acquire time to get a break. You don’t necessarily have to plan for a break, but you’ll need to keep in mind to give yourself several hours of extra time for the day ahead, in order to not come to be stressed and start playing Sudoku instead of getting your work completed. When you give yourself time for distractions you are going to be less distracted as you are working on essential issues.

Put your list into action. As the saying goes “Just Do It.” As soon as the time comes for you to start your list delve into it without having hesitation. You need to already know job from task what requires to be completed so there ought to be no room to think, so just work.

Stay on task. Like we have all been hearing from birth to right now, we have to stick to what we are undertaking in an effort to gain productive time management. While we live within a society where it really is challenging to get away with not multi-tasking, to achieve effective time management there has to be focus on one task at a time. If you go from 1 activity to the next lacking completion with the 1st it is going to cause for uncertainty and disorganization (and we know organization is very important). Start the activity and follow it through to the end.

Take care of oneself. This may perhaps be last on my list, however it is by far by far the most important. Getting healthy and mentally robust to take on your day will certainly keep you from overloading and winding up staring at the wall wearing down, and wondering the next day why nothing was achieved the prior day; causing a chain of events leading to lost time and productivity.

Productive time management can actually transform your life should you comprehend the value of it and employ it as a tool to realize the objectives you have started out for.

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Real Estate Negotiation Tips

Posted on August 5, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

In property negotiations it is usually the real estate agent who deals with the one on one discussions. It is nevertheless important as the customer to know certain a number of negotiation methods in order that you can actually examine, in an prepared approach, the strategy your agent takes.

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Listed below are 12 different real estate negotiation methods:

  1. Focus on your own real estate broker.

In the past half a dozen months your agent has probably performed much more property deals than you’ll in your own lifetime. Focus on their own guidance and leverage their earlier experiences.

  1. Be well prepared to provide and take.

You need to be ready to give and take in any discussion. Before your negotiation list out the elements/terms you are flexible on and those that you are not. Be prepared to give up with your versatile elements when it indicates having the things/terms that are essential for your requirements.

  1. Be sensible.

Through discussions be realistic, keep your end goal in mind. You may have to pay a little more to get the house you want. But If you consider it realistically, how will an extra few thousand impact your monthly mortgage payment? Most likely the affect will be negligible.

  1. Leverage your real estate investment broker.

Your real estate agent will most likely be objective through this process, when your emotions get high look to your agent for their suggestions.

  1. Don’t low ball.

Low balling contributes to often an instant, similarly impractical sign back or they may just ignore it. It will also almost certainly insult the vendor and set the discussion off on a negative note. There is certainly one exception to this particular rule, which is if your rentals are legally costly.

  1. Learn why they are selling.The greater details you have the better the problem you may be in.
  2. When should you submit your offer?Once you have made your decision receive the offer in or it might be too late
  3. How short need to the irrevocable period be?

The quicker the irrevocable period the greater, given that this doesn’t put unnecessary pressure on the seller. The smaller the time the less time the vendor’s broker must find additional last minute offers.

  1. Do your research and be realistic.

Estimate the value of the residence by looking at additional equivalent sales. Generate a fair offer, and stay realistic. This will generate a much better negotiation position. Expect you’ll walk in lieu of permit your feelings dominate your cause.

  1. Walk a mile in the Sellers shoes.Assess the offer that you would be the seller and consider the way you would respond to the offer.
  2. Get the seller to reply on paper.

By mouth promises aren’t recognized as binding by the law. They must be in writing.

  1. Gets the property been sitting in the marketplace?

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Saving for Your First House

Posted on August 4, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Buying a house can be an exciting time in your life, but unfortunately, it can also be an expensive business and it is very important to start saving sooner rather than later. We’re in a buyer’s market at the moment, so the more savings you can put aside, the better positioned you’ll be to act quickly when you find the house of your dreams.

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It’s important to know what you’ll have to spend money on when buying a house, because there’s a lot more to it that just arranging a mortgage. Here are a few expenses you should account for when saving for your new home.

  1. Mortgage Down Payment

The most important expense is the down payment because without this, you simply won’t get your mortgage. The amount of the down payment can vary between loans and lenders so you must research the type of loans you qualify for. The down payment could be as low as 3.5% or as high as 20% of the total sum you want to borrow. So, if you want to buy a house valued at $100,000, that would mean a down payment of between $3,500 and $20,000.

  1. Title, Insurance & Survey Work

Once you’ve seen the house you want to buy, and you’re ready to go ahead, you will also need to pay to get the title insurance and survey work carried out. This is an important part of the house buying process and isn’t something you can ignore. The cost for this work will usually be a percentage of the house value, so on average between 0.5% and 1.5%. It can vary depending on the location of the house, but again, using the example of $100,000 property, this would come out to between $500 and $1,500.

  1. Closing Costs

When the sale is ready to complete, there are a number of costs and taxes to pay during the closure of the sale. These closing costs are usually calculated as a percentage of the sale, so if you budget for between 0.5% and 1.5% will differ between locations and property values, but is another expense to budget for.

  1. Private Mortgage Insurance Premiums

If you make a down payment of less than 20%, you may have to take out Private Mortgage Insurance. This is to protect the lender in the event you default on the loan. The premiums would be calculated on the amount of the loan.

  1. Bank & Lender Costs

When you arrange your home loan, make sure you clarify details of any additional bank or lender costs that are not obvious. Sometimes a bank will charge an additional fee which they might add on to the total loan. If your bank will charge fees, make sure you budget accordingly.

  1. Home Insurance

Property insurance is something all home buyers should budget for. Any structural damage to your home, including theft or fire needs to be covered, so you can research appropriate insurance premiums while you are still saving and include this in your budget plan.

  1. Home inspection fees

When your real estate agent introduces you to your ideal house, it’s important to get a professional home inspection. Some inspectors will charge a flat rate and others will charge by square footage, but on average, and inspection will be in the region of $300 to $1000 for the average property. An inspection report is well worth the investment as it could identify potential problems with the house.

  1. First Mortgage Payment

After everything goes through and you’re in your new house, don’t forget that first mortgage payment. If you’ve taken out a low interest loan, this first payment might be small, but these payments aren’t always deducted from your bank account at the right time, so you must make sure you have sufficient funds in your account to meet that first payment. Subsequent payments will settle down to a regular day in the month around your payday.

Saving money towards buying a house is the sensible thing to do, and by understanding which expenses are involved in the process, you’ll be able to set yourself realistic goals and targets. For some people this might mean planning 5 or 6 years ahead whereas for others, it might just mean saving for a year or two. Open a new bank account specifically for your savings and preferably opt for one which offers a better rate of interest if you don’t withdraw the money for a set period. Above all, determination and the commitment to reach your savings goal are really important

Saving up to buy your first home isn’t always easy and this list may seem like a mountain, but every home buying situation varies a little bit. Some costs can be absorbed in the loan which means you may pay more for them in the long run but there’s less cost up front and you may get in your home sooner. Don’t be discouraged. No one ever said buying a home was easy, but most would say it’s worth it when they hand you the keys to your new home.

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Wait….Before you sign that….

Posted on August 3, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

We all need to borrow money in order to purchase our homes, hardly anybody pays cash for such a large purchase, which means we need a mortgage. But there are several questions you should ask before you sign that mortgage and that’s exactly what I want talk about in this article today.

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First be sure to ask about points. Points are a percentage of the amount of the loan that are paid to the lender at the beginning of the loan. The bank is not required to charge points, they do so because they can get away with it if you let them. Many times you can negotiate them away by threatening to go to another bank who may be charging fewer points.

The next question to ask is about prepayment penalties. Most of the time this won’t be much of a big deal because most loans give you the right to pay off your loan in full without any penalties. But make sure and ask because sometimes a bank may try and slip this one in because they know that people like to refinance their loans and this is a way for the bank to profit when you do that.

Next look at any do on sale clauses. These clauses usually mimic the prepayment clauses in that they attach conditions or payments that are due when you sell your house or refinance your loan, so be sure to ask about any clauses like that in your mortgage.

Finally look at any escrow payment clauses. Sometimes escrow payments require a portion of property taxes to be paid before hand or certain homeowners insurance policies to be paid before hand and you’ll need to know specifically what your escrow payment clauses are before you sign the mortgage.

The best thing to do when signing a mortgage is to have an attorney check it over to make sure everything is on the up and up. It’s best to use a lawyer that has experience with real estate law because not all lawyers are created equal and like anything else in life they specialize in certain areas. It’s usually not good enough just to give your mortgage to your regular attorney, instead insist on somebody who has experience with real estate because they can do a better job and they’ll do a quicker job which means you’ll pay less since lawyers charge by the hour.

Buying a house is a big responsibility and borrowing money can be intimidating to many people but it doesn’t have to be if you follow the simple tips that I outlined in this article today, then you shouldn’t have any trouble in the long run. Remember, when in doubt, ask questions!

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Ever considered a Interest Only Payment ?

Posted on August 2, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

Loan providers truly want your business and are prepared to create attractive loan solutions to get it. Sometimes, loan companies will offer you adjustable rate mortgages. These loans are usually offered to you with an incredibly low initial rate of interest, that has you checking out mansions and other houses totally out of your reasonable budget.

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The issue with these loans are the rate increases significantly after six months or a year once the rate gets placed into an index.

Indexes really are a unique animal when looking at the mortgage loan industry. An index is a formula of common interest rates charged throughout several financial markets that a lender uses to set a real rate of interest on your mortgage.

Lets talk about Cost of Funds Index,when discussing this it will become a bit complex, however this index symbolizes the rates being used by lenders in Nevada, Arizona and California and many other states as an average.

Also you should know about L.I.B.O.R, formally referred to as London Interbank Offered Rate Index, L.I.B.O.R is a favorite index on which to base adjustable rate mortgage rates. Now, you may be wondering what London has to do with the United States housing market. L.I.B.O.R represents the interest rate worldwide lenders charge to borrow U.S. money on the London foreign currency markets. L.I.B.O.R rates move rapidly and can lead to unpredictable rates of interest for your adjustable mortgage.

Why do indexes matter? Indexes matter simply because they set the base of the rates that are being charged on your mortgage. Assume you are applying for an adjustable rate mortgage centered on a L.I.B.O.R index. Assume the L.I.B.O.R rate is 2.2 percent whenever you apply. The 2.2 percent is the starting rate of interest. If your L.I.B.O.R shoots up one percent in eight months, the loan is going to do exactly the same.

Essentially, the index rate used in your mortgage loan is not the monthly interest you will pay. Instead, you need to include the lenders margin into the index rate. Most lenders will charge two to three percent into the index rate. Using our L.I.B.O.R example, the original rate of interest of your mortgage would be 2.2 percent in addition to anything the lender is applying as a spread. Clearly, this means you have to closely read through the mortgage paperwork to find out the way the game is being played!

http://www.robertjrussell.com is the place to find Real Estate all over the world.
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Owning a Second Home

Posted on August 1, 2015 by robertjrussellcompanies

When you have achieved a certain level of success in your life, you may want to find a wise way to invest your money. What better way can you invest your money than to invest in real estate? Whether your first home is in the US or not, purchasing a property outside of your home state or property in Europe is a wise idea but there are also other countries to consider.

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Purchasing a new home will be a good investment and it will also be a good place for you to enjoy your life anytime you want. Following are some of the best places to buy a second home.

France is a popular destination for those who wish to purchase a second home because there are some real bargains to be found. If you have the time and the willingness, you can find an old property to renovate, saving a substantial amount of money. If you find an old home to renovate you also have the benefit of being able to make it into your dream home so it is exactly the way you want it.

Portugal is another place where people enjoy purchasing their second home. The lifestyle of this country is so laid back that it is a great place to buy a second home where you can live while on vacation or if you just want to spend part of the year there. The housing is not too expensive so you can often get a lot for your money.

Many people love getting second homes in England. Depending on where you choose to live, you can experience a great mix of cultures and take in some historical sites as well. London is a place where many people dream of living when they move to England, but it can be expensive to purchase property in London. If you have a limited budget, you might consider a smaller city in England. You can always travel to visit London if you live nearby and you can save a significant amount of money when you buy property in a smaller city.That is why our mission is to provide you with all the information, resources and service you need to make the right decision.

No matter the reason you are buying a second home, the world has some properties available that can make you want to pack up and move. Decide the kind of lifestyle you want to live and find the country that is right for you!

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