The human animal and real estate investing.

By Doc Schmyz

Ever noticed how when you walk in to a book store and find your way to the business or financial books all the views that are expressed in the titles are almost the same??? Almost all of them,in one way or another, call out for a monetary version of bloodshed. I mean the titles are about how you can crush the other guy, or it's not personal its business. Years ago when I got into the real estate investment game I spent hours looking thru the book titles. Trying to find the one book that would teach me how to become a "REAL ESTATE INVESTING GOD" That I knew I could become. After reading most of the popular books of the time I actually would feel beat up over the content. I mean did I have to be a "take no prisoners " type of investor? Did I have to prey on some one else's misfortune?? No, of course I dont. However I did need to learn to take somethings to heart and NEVER let go of them. I had to build my investment suit of armor so to say. So I set out to build a list of my investment rules. We each should have our own set of investment rules. It will help you keep the animal investor inside of you in check. In my case,being that I am a VERY competitive aggressive alpha male type personality I need rules that would keep me "Human". My own set of personal laws that would keep me on the "non- predatory" path. Doc's Rules for investing:

1) Your personal guidelines: Define and follow some personal guidelines. This is the most important rule I have. These guidelines define the investments I will go after as well as the amount of investment I'm willing to part with to get it. It outlines my investment tactic as well as how I want to conduct my the business of this investment Things to include are: Top dollar amount and lowest dollar amount. Type of investment you want to deal with. Period of term for investment.. Etc etc. (Between you and me I even have a guideline about the amount of time I will work per-day)

2) Remember some ones family is behind the deal you?re working on. Simply put,whoever you are dealing with has mouths to feed. Don't forget this. Just because you can get a great deal on a house because the current owner is in a facing some sort of adversity that is causing them to sell below market value, doesn't give you license to kick them when they are down. Treat everyone with dignity and respect. If the price they are offering still falls within the personal investing guidelines you have set for yourself don't use your position to abuse the seller. If you are getting the house for .40 cents on the dollar,don't be a jerk and push for .38 cents. Always remember...it could be you in the sellers postion. (This rule DOES NOT come in to play when dealing with a bank owned property)

3) Always ask for what you want. No where does it say you can't ask for something in an investment deal you like, I.E. if you're looking at a piece of real estate with a pool,ask the seller if they would be willing to throw in new carpet to the sale. I once met a investor who was looking at a house that had been on the market for more than 6 months. When he went to talk to the seller he happen to see a 1954 Merc Coupe in the garage, so he asked if it was included in the deal. The deal eventually closed for the house AND the car. 4) Offer everyone the chance to make money as a bird dog for you. I always give several of my business cards to anyone I do business with and offer them a portion of any profit I make from any investments they help me locate. You would be amazed at how many people are willing to help you make money when they get a small part of it for doing very little work. (And if you follow rule #2 you will be amazed at how many of those bird dogs will sing your praises from the highest mountains)

These are just some ideas of things to keep in mind when you're working on your investment mindset. These rules have worked well for me over the years,and in more cases then not, have gotten me more return and repeat networking opportunities then I can count. - 23222

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has done real estate deals all over the US and Mexico. His free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find Real estate investing information by state

The key things to Know for CFD Trading

By cfd

In today's trading world there are many different options of where to trade, from stocks, commodities, bonds and CFD. What is growing in popularity is the trading stocks using Contracts For Difference or CFD's it allows you leverage up, and gives the full facilities where you can go long or short in the market. What most traders are now finding is the CFD Trading is the most lucrative of them all, mainly due to the fact that you can trade for 24 hours a day 6 days per week and it is the most liquid market in the world, as you can also trade Forex. So with all the hype around CFD Market, what do you need to know before you start trading CFD.

What we will do now is go through and reveal the four most important things you need to know before starting to trade. The Four Things you must Know before you start CFD Trading:

1. Obviously you need to know what is CFD Trading, Contracts for difference, how to trade them, where you can trade them, what countries you can trade CFD's. This is one of the fastest trading tools in the world. For more information on the market, and which Broker to use visit the CFD FX REPORTthey specialize in free education and helping people find the best CFD Broker.

2. The CFD Trading Terminology, such as contracts, short, long, mini contracts, full contracts. So make sure that you educate yourself on these terms before jumping into the market.

3. Finding a Broker, finding the right CFD Broker is important as selecting a winning trade. So make sure you do your research, find one that offers a Free Demo Account so that you can practice with pretend money as opposed to real money. When selecting a CFD Broker you are looking for the spread they offer, who and how they are regulated, what level of service whether it is online or over the phone, what charting packages they offer. To assist you in find the best CFD broker, the CFD FX REPORTrecently researched all the CFD Brokers and have come up with who they believe is the best.

4. Are you going to trade yourself or are you going to use a robot to help you trade. CFD trading robots have disadvantages and advantages, it does depend on your risk profile, so feel free to investigate the CFD Robots in the market.

So this has given you the key things you need to know before starting to CFD Trade, remember the educated trader is normally the more successful trader. So educate yourself first, which doesn't necessarily mean spending thousands on courses, there are great educational sites which give you lots of information for Free. Happy Trading - 23222

About the Author:

The CFD FX REPORT is a real time trading tool that offers clients free trading reports, with trading ideas, stock market and forex market education as well helping them with. Also if you are looking for a Forex Broker, then feel free to visit our broker section as we recently reviewed all the forex brokers and have found the best on the market.

Exchange Your Debt With A 1031 Tax Exchange

By Kevin Y. Delno

The basic premise behind a 1031 exchange is that that you, the taxpayer, are shifting all of your equity from one property to the next. In effect, the old debt is being offset by the new debt on the replacement property. However, there are two ways to usurp this premise and cash out some of your equity: pre-exchange refinancing, and post-exchange refinancing. Pre-exchange financing will be discussed first.

1031 rationale requires all of the proceeds from the sale to pass to the Qualified Intermediary. This prevents you from receiving any cash benefit from the sale. There may be times, however, when you would like to use some of your equity for your own entertainment or investments. If you decide to refinance your property shortly before the 1031 exchange and use that equity for your own entertainment, you may run afoul of the IRS.

Garcia was a taxpayer who decided to refinance his property in anticipation of the 1031 exchange. The IRS successfully argued that when Garcia took out money before the 1031, it was akin to telling the settlement agent to pay him some of the sale proceeds at closing. In short, you cannot take out your equity just before the 1031 exchange. Cashing out equity, called "boot," is acceptable if you pay taxes on it. Garcia tried to avoid the tax and ran afoul of the 1031 rationale, and the IRS.

In order for you to avoid the Garcia issue, you may decide to refinance the replacement property. In post-exchange financing, taxpayers may not want to leave all of their equity in the replacement property - some want to take out that equity and buy more real estate. However, how long should you wait after completing the 1031 exchange before you take out the equity in the replacement property?

The nanosecond refinance is waiting just long enough after the 1031 to show the IRS, through the closing statement, that you've re-invested all of your equity into the replacement property. In a separate transaction, a new settlement statement is used to show that the replacement property was encumbered with new debt via a loan or mortgage, then there is a cash payment from the lender to you. Thus, there is a pool of money you can access after the exchange.

Whether the nanosecond exchange is legal is debatable. There are risks because there is no definitive IRS rule regarding how long you have to keep the equity in the replacement property. The conservative school of thought says to keep the money in the replacement property in order to avoid the Garcia trap. In this case, keep the equity in the replacement property until the following tax year, or until two years have passed from the 1031 exchange to the ultimate refinance. - 23222

About the Author:

U.S. investors can save big money by utilizing 1031 exchanges to defer all of their capital gains tax on the sale of investment property. A 1031 tax exchange is similar to an interest free loan from the IRS.

Forex Trading Success or Failure?

By fxreport

How would you like to make money 24 hours per day? Then you need to be trading the Forex Market as it is open 24 hours a day and almost 6 days per week. This is the most traded market in the world and turns over in excess of $2 trillion dollars, so how much of that money are you making? The forex market is also the fastest moving of all markets so it is important that if you are forex trading that you track the market or at least have stop losses in places. The major factors that affect the movements of the market are political and economic events, such as interest rate rises and decreases, so understanding the outside affects is very important. As by understanding these economic events can provide some excellent trading opportunities.

The Forex investment is greatly affected by the exchange rate and in order to understand the relationship between the two, you should also be familiar with Forex quotes. Like the currency pairs, Forex quotes can be found in pairs as well.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE:

1.Suppose the currency pair is USD (US dollar) and CAD (Canadian dollar) The Forex quote for this pair is USD/CAD=150.50; this is interpreted as 'every one US dollar is equivalent to 150.50 CAD. The currency found at the left side is known as the base currency and it is always equivalent to 1. The currency found at the right side is called counter currency. The stronger currency is always the base currency and in this case, the USD. The Forex quotes central currency is USD and so you can find it in most Forex quotes.

Forex trading involves a lot of risks just like stock markets and any form of investing. The fluctuations in the exchange market are responsible for such risks. It all comes down to risk versus reward yes the risks can be higher, but the rewards are also great. However by educating yourself as a trader you also increase the chances of you becoming a successful trader so it is important that you educate yourself prior to trading. A great place to find excellent education lessons is the CFD FX REPORT they offer a host of free education lessons and they can also help you find the best forex broker.

One important aspect to become a successful trader then you must set financial goals for the short term, as well as for the long term. By doing so, it will be much easier to balance the risks involved and the security. Know when you set goals try and be realistic for example if you are starting with $1000 don't set a goal to make $1,000,000 in 3 months this is simply setting yourself up for failure. You will be able to conduct your trades with ease and comfort. Make use of all the available Forex Trading tools so that you can make wise and profitable trades. After reading this article, you can already calculate if you're gaining profits or your losing money. - 23222

About the Author:

The CFD FX REPORT is a real time trading tool that offers clients free trading reports, with trading ideas, stock market and forex market education as well helping them with. Also if you are looking for a Forex Broker, then feel free to visit our broker section as we recently reviewed all the forex brokers and have found the best on the market.

Forex Trading Pays Big Dividends

By fxreport

One of the easiest ways to make money from home today is through forex trading. Since the inception of computers and internet many people are Forex Trading their way to financial freedom. This industry is now turning over in excess of $2 trillion dollars every day and it is growing, making it the most liquid market in the world.

Some of the key benefits to forex trading:

Firstly since the introduction of computers and the internet the forex market is easily accessible from anywhere in the world.

The Forex market's popularity with ordinary home traders means that there are more and more online forex brokers catering specifically for the home forex trader. They offer online training, live helpdesk support, trading platforms that are easy to understand and operate. They also offer demo accounts so you can practice first before using your own capital. You see forex brokers want you to be successful as that is how they make money by you trading so they will give you all the tools you need to become successful.

Secondly, the forex market is relatively simple to understand and trade on and it has less influencing factors than the normal stock markets. As you don't have to rely on fundamentals as much and you can just learn technical analysis. So through proper education you can be up and trading profitably within a couple of weeks. For more education lessons feel free to visit the CFD FX REPORT they specialize in offering free education lessons and can also help you find the best forex broker in the market. This website is a must for any serious trader.

Remember Forex Trading does take a certain amount of skill and it is not a get rich quick scheme, so do not expect instant success. This is why it is important to use a demo account first to build up your knowledge and confidence.

Please start off slow get the feel for placing trades, exiting trades, taking losses and the rewards will soon come. - 23222

About the Author:

The CFD FX REPORT is a real time trading tool that offers clients free trading reports, with trading ideas, stock market and forex market education as well helping them with. Also if you are looking for a Forex Broker, then feel free to visit our broker section as we recently reviewed all the forex brokers and have found the best on the market.