Month: May 2016

Real Estate Investing – Free Vacations While Searching for Real Estate Acquisitions

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Real estate investing professionals look for all possible tax deductions because of the generous profits derived from real estate investing.

For example, real estate investors are concerned whether the sale of their real estate is subject to capital gains taxation or qualifies as ordinary income. Determining this status in the sale of real estate investments affects net profit.

In addition to this consideration, tax deductions are allowed for expenses incurred in the normal operation of any real estate investing transaction. These deductible expenses include the costs of office supplies, professional fees, property repairs, and depreciation.

This article is not a legal or accounting commentary on IRS Code regulations, so you should ask your personal professionals about your qualifications for any specific deductions regarding real estate investing.

Consult with your accountant to determine if the search for new real estate acquisitions away from home would allow you tax deductions for travel, meals, and lodging.

If so, why not combine a vacation with a search for new real estate investing opportunities?

Tax deductible expenses always require that you obtain and keep all receipts relating to the property investment search while on vacation. Pick up newspapers, and mark properties investigated in the classifieds. Collect business cards of realtors contacted. Keep copies of submitted offers.

Many of us real estate investing professionals are workaholics, and a fine line might distinguish the difference between relaxing on vacation and work to find investment properties. But the “working vacation” also might be good therapy to clear your head while simultaneously generating new idea after keeping your nose close to the grindstone over an extended period of time.

A Few Things To Know About Sport Physicals

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Many parents choose to have a sports physical conducted on their children during the summer. This makes sure they are ready for another activity filled sports season while last minute, mad rushes to the physician are avoided. Although most parents know that they need to get a sports physical conducted on your child, in order for him/her to participate in athletics, there are still a few unanswered questions.

How Should I Prepare Myself For This Checkup?

Make a list of questions about your child’s health and well being, should you experience any concerns or alarming signs. Ask your child if there is anything they s/he would like to ask the examiner. Take the medical history of your family and your child’s medical history reports with you.

Do Parents Need To Be Present At This Check Up?

Minors under the age of 18 require parental consent in order to have a sports physical performed. Parents also need to fill up the health history portion of the form. All in all, it is best that you are present for your child’s physical.

Is It Required For School Sports?

Yes, most schools do need a pre-participation checkup before enrolling students into their many athletic programs.

For How Long Is The Report Valid?

The report that you get is generally valid for one year. You need to pay special attention to this duration. Students who fail to go for this checkup can be disallowed from participating in sport and athletic activities.

What Should You Expect During The Procedure?

During a procedure, a child’s blood pressure, height and weight are checked. The physician will also look at the lungs, heart and spine. The immunization schedule will be reviewed and signs of puberty will also be taken into consideration.

What Is The Difference Between An Annual And Sports Physical?

Although an annual physical is the same as a sports physical, you go in for a sports physical when your child wants to involve himself/herself in a sport or physical activity. In such cases, the sports physical can be incorporated into the annual physical.

How Can I Prepare My Child For The Upcoming Check Up?

Sit down and have a thorough conversation with your child. Tell him/her about the procedure that is to be conducted and that there is nothing to worry or be fearful about.

These are just a few answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about this checkup.

Three New York Attorney Recommendations

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The search for a New York civil rights attorney can be a bit daunting if you aren’t sure where to start. While there are hundreds of New York civil rights lawyers to choose from, we’ve listed a few in this article to help you get started on your hunt.

The first firm we’re going to mention is located in Manhattan. The Law Offices of John M. Lambros specializes in cases such as discrimination. They have particular experience in handling cases in which police are guilty of brutality and wrongful arrests based on discrimination. You may also want to seek this firm if you believe you have been a victim of employment discrimination. They have a pretty good track record and might be worth looking in to if you’re around the Manhattan area.

Raff & Becker, LLP, specializes in employment law as it relates to civil rights. They work primarily with cases that deal with harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the workplace.

Deutsch Atkins, PC, is a small New York civil rights law firm located in Bergen, NJ. Although not located in New York City, they consider themselves a New York civil rights attorney, as most of their cases are tried in the city. They specialize in protecting the rights in employees, especially from large and established companies. They work exclusively with cases of employer discrimination, whether it is based on age, race, gender, religion or disability, harassment, sexual or otherwise, and people who are retaliated against for trying to ensure that their and others civil rights are protected.

If you find that none of the New York lawyers mentioned here are suitable for your case, you may want to try having a look on the Internet. You can type in a specific search criteria in Google or a similar site and find plenty of results that should precisely match your specified terms. If all else fails, you can always contact the New York Bar Association for a referral near your area.

How to Find the Right Health Clinic With a Personal Touch For Yourself

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When you’re looking to find the right health clinic, there are several alternatives to bear in mind before you make a decision.

First of all, what is your situation? What are your goals?

You wouldn’t try to find a personal injury rehab health clinic if you’re pregnant, would you? Of course not. So the first thing you’ll need to do is define your problem. You might want to consider the right type of health care.

These days, everyone is turning to the internet to find answers. There’s no doubt that’s how you found this page.

So let’s begin there. Fire up your favorite search engine, like Google, for example. Then begin to enter the right keywords in the search box. If you’re trying to find an assisted living clinic, you might enter something like, “assisted care living facility” and begin to go over the results.

If you’re not able to find something in your immediate area, you might try to enter your city & state in the search box as well. For example, “assisted care living facility in Dallas, Texas”. Chances are, you’ll get several results you can work with.

When it comes to your health – or the health of a loved one, don’t make your final decision based on a web page. Instead, you should use the internet as a great guide to finding a list of possibilities. From there, you can start calling the local facilities to begin narrowing things down. I’d suggest that you have a good list of questions to ask the right person.

Finally, you can go and visit the appropriate clinics that you have on your final list.

Big-League Customer Advises Bush-League Vendor

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Sudden growth is rarely a smooth ride, especially for a boot-strapped venture. Well past their fifth year in business, one small custom manufacturer serendipitous developed a product that met a real need in a niche market populated by industry giants. The vendor’s new customers were used to buying from large, well-managed firms. As a custom manufacturer, this company had the freedom to focus on one customer per product. It wasn’t yet clear to them that they had entered into a phase of development where the signs of professional management would be taken for granted by customers. In this case study, a frustrated customer advises the vendor to learn how to manage their resources to simultaneously (and seamlessly) complete commitments made to past customers and start projects for new customers.

This is one in a series of case studies highlighting “Key Questions and Course-correcting Quotes” taken from 20 years of B2B customer insight projects. All names are fictitious, but the situations are real. Case studies paint a picture of how important it is to learn what your B2B customers think–but aren’t saying. These are real-world examples of how soliciting and acting on customer feedback has helped companies hold onto customers longer, grow relationships bigger and pick up new business faster.

Case study: Your Bootstraps Are Showing

Key Question (asked of a VP–the vendor’s chief contact in a 6-figure relationship):

VP: “This vendor’s president was badly criticized by customers who attended last year’s trade show. He changed how his company prioritizes customer issues. Do they now seem to be on the right track, or are they overlooking a blind spot that’s obvious to you?”

Course-correcting Quote:

“Their president has to get his organizational structure in place and build a senior management team. He has a bandwidth problem. On the one hand, he hasn’t delivered on all his outstanding obligations to his existing customers. On the other, he needs to make enough sales to keep his company afloat. They need to learn not to make contractual commitments for products that take resources away from their existing obligations. Reality for a small company like that is, you have to make the big sale. It takes a lot of discipline to not over-commit. They need to get a better handle on their existing staff’s capacity.”

My Client’s Quandary:

This $7 million vendor had a product that Fortune 50 companies were interested in, but the company was having growing pains. Their founder knew how to design and develop new products, but he didn’t have a lot of management training or experience. His senior managers were two of his buddies with the same technical background and lack of management experience. His company was at risk of being marginalized by a stronger competitor as soon as someone else developed a decent competing product.

More immediately, the president would be facing his customers at an upcoming trade show. He had been badly pilloried a year earlier. Before risking that again, he wanted a customer relationship consultant to conduct deep-dive interviews with his customers and expose the themes and patterns that would clarify which decisions he needed to make.

Conclusion:

Several of his customers gave similar feedback. My recommendation: Acquire experienced outside talent to manage operational and customer-facing functions. He hired the experienced talent he needed, held onto his customers, attracted funding, grew the company to serve additional niche markets, and eventually found a strategic buyer. Honest feedback from his customers helped him find his way and achieve his vision.

I categorize projects as assessments, investigations, treasure hunts or rescue missions. This project was an investigation. The client’s question was “Why are our customers still angry with us?”

Common Bail Bond Questions and Answers

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There is a lot to know about bail and bail bonds. Many people are very unfamiliar with the difference between the two, and the details of the industry and the services they offer. Fortunately, you have resources like these to help you understand what bail bonds are, what a bail bondsman does, and how to obtain bail in your time of need. In this article, we will cover plenty of frequently asked questions regarding the bail bonds industry, arrest warrants, getting out of jail, and more. Continue reading to learn about all of these topics, and more, when it comes to the indemnity industry.

What is Bail? What are Bail Bonds?

Bail bonds are formal documents that allow a release from jail for a person being detained on suspected charges or crimes. Bail is the amount of money or surety set by the courts. These amounts differ for everyone; depending on the crime, a person’s criminal history, and more. Once bail is set, a bail bond can be obtained so that a person can be temporarily released from jail to await their following court hearing at home.

What is a Bail Bondsman? How Much is a Bail Bond?

A bail bondsman, or bail agent, is the individual who operates a service that provides bail bonds for people who need to turn themselves into authorities, or need a release from jail. They operate by lending, or covering, the bail amount for those who cannot afford the entire fee upfront, in exchange for a non-refundable fee. Bail can be set as low as a few hundred dollars for minor infractions, and some in the high-thousands.

To get out of jail, a person has the option to pay this money as a deposit to the court, and then receives this money back when they show for their scheduled court hearing. The issue is that not everyone has this type of cash on hand, and cannot afford to pay the courts these amounts to get out of jail. This is where a bail bond agency comes in handy. They will pay the entire bail amount for you, in exchange for a fee.

These fees are regulated by the state, so bail bondsmen can only charge between 10-15% of the person’s total bail amount. So if a person’s bail is $5,000, they would pay a bail agency $500-$750 for bail. They do not get this money back. They are also obligated to sign a contractual agreement promising their return to court. If a defendant obtains a bail bond, then skips their court date, the bail bondsman does not get that money back. This is when they come for you.

Are Bail Bondsmen Bounty Hunters?

Bounty hunting is not a real vocation, and bail bondsmen are nothing of the sort. If a person skips bail, the bail bondsmen will simply track them down with the information they have, and give police a heads up on the whereabouts of a fugitive. They do this in order to get their bond money back. They will send police to your home, office, work, daycare, gym, friend’s house, and any other place they think you may be. Before they come looking for the fugitive, they will contact the person who signed for the bail contract, and pursue recompense from them. Since most individuals do not wish for their loved ones to get stuck paying thousands of dollars, most people choose to show up for court. An arrest warrant is issued for anyone who skips a court date, so police can arrest them anywhere at any time; such as routine traffic stops, the BMV, the post office, border crossing, and more.

How to Disconnect During Your Next Vacation

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You’re lying on the beach. You’re basking in the hot sun while the cool breeze sweeps across your skin as you’re surrounded by the breathtakingly beautiful paradise… And your face is nose deep in your phone checking emails. Sound at all familiar? We’ve all been there. The reality is that it is hard to disconnect from your daily life, especially from work. However, a vacation’s purpose is just for that. We all need a little rest and relaxation so we can perform at our best in our daily lives. Here are a few ideas to help you get away from the earlier scenario and toward having a true vacation disconnected from work.

1. Give ample notice – Let co-workers, business partners, clients and customers know of your vacation well in advance. Informing pertinent personnel of the dates you will be away at least two weeks ahead of time will also help them prepare for your absence. This way, important projects and tasks can be assigned and completed before your departure, or it will be known they will be taken care of when you return. Chances are, they won’t want to intrude on your vacation time so letting them know can help keep those emails from constantly coming in while you are away as well.

2. Take care of your to-do list – About two weeks prior to your vacation, plan your days out so that you can take care of all your outstanding tasks before your departure. Leaving for a trip with a long list of unresolved projects can take focus away from your vacation. The anxiety of having all the unfinished tasks you already have to do plus all the new tasks when you return on your mind will overcome the relaxation you’re supposed to be having. It’s better to leave a clean slate and return after your trip with a new to-do list.

3. Nominate a backup – In case of emergency, request a trusted co-worker to be your backup while you are away. Make sure to ask for their assistance at least two weeks prior to your trip so they have enough time to prepare as well. It is a good idea to give your contact information in case of any extreme cases. However, choose a backup that you trust can handle most situations without your help.

4. Set an away message – This is a good way to let anyone trying to contact while you’re away that you are on vacation and will respond after you return. This way, you won’t be getting multiple emails with the same requests and having people ask where you are. It will give you peace of mind and you won’t feel rushed to get back to them until after your trip.

5. Focus on those you’re traveling with – Give importance to yourself, your spouse, your family, your friends, or whomever else you’re traveling with. Yes, work is important. But we also have to dedicate time and energy on the other wonderful aspects of our lives. There’s no better way to do that than to spend a vacation with loved ones.

6. Remind yourself why you’re on vacation – Vacations are the time to take a break from work, which is truly imperative to our continued work productivity and overall well-being. Taking time to recuperate and regenerate will leave you feeling refreshed and at the top of your game when you return. It’s also very important for the mind and body to decompress and give yourself breaks from your daily stress. Constant tension can take a toll on you over time so make sure to sit back and relax when you have the opportunity to.

7. Literally disconnect – Don’t pack your laptop. Put your phone on airplane mode. Shut off email and notifications on your phone/tablet. These ideas may be provoke anxiety, but there are no better ways to actually disconnect from work than to literally disconnect from it all. You have the rest of the year to work. Why not use the vacation time how it’s supposed to be used and stay away from work?

8. Set boundaries – If you know you will need to check emails, texts, messages, etc. while you are on vacation, give yourself limits and stick to them. A good idea would be to allow a few minutes before bedtime to check in on the day and resolve any pressing issues. It’s understandable that not knowing what’s going on with work for a week or more may cause the stress that you’re trying to avoid while on vacation. In this case, make it a little easier on yourself, but don’t let it start to take over your days. Set a certain amount of time at a certain time of day to check, and that’s it.

Think you could implement any of these ideas for your next vacation? Even if you’re not planning a trip for a while, it may be good to consider them now so you have some tactics to utilize when a trip does come up. Again, it is important to remember that it is beneficial to your overall health to take a true vacation away from work and the stress it can produce. Making sure to take care of yourself is key. By utilizing some, if not all, of the above strategies, you can be well on your way to having the vacation you need and deserve.

Need Cash For Home Repair? Free Home Improvement Grant Money Can Help

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If you have a home that could classify as unsafe, unsanitary, or inhabitable, you may qualify to receive as much as $50,000 in home improvement grant money to help repair your house. These funds are often provided by government agencies, but you can often find cash for home repair by uncovering private grant programs available to the public.

With a home improvement grant, the funds obtained can typically be used for material and labor costs. Each grant program has different terms, and you’ll want to be sure you are familiar with those terms in order to apply for the grant that is most appropriate for you.

In most cases, as long as you do not violate the terms of the grant, you won’t need to repay the money. Grant are provided as cash awards and do not accumulate interest, and you usually don’t have to pay taxes on the money awarded.

Grants for home improvement may or may not be available in your area, but by searching a grant database you can find what grant programs you can qualify for. For instance, if you are a student or single mother, you may be able to claim grant money for other purposes, which cold free up you spending in other areas.

An up to date grant database will allow you to see exactly what programs are available and how much you can obtain if your application is accepted. Access to the database will also help you with the grant writing process so you can be sure you submit the best possible application to get the money you need.

Civil Rights and the Lawyers Who Defend Them

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A San Antonio civil rights lawyer advocates on behalf of their clients whose rights have been infringed upon. This infringement can come from public officials, such as police officers, employers or any individual. A good civil right lawyer in San Antonio is well versed in Texas civil law and is willing to address a wrong done to their client.

When we say “civil rights,” we are actually talking about the basic rights ensured by the constitution. These rights belong to every American citizen and give everyone the right to practice religion, speak freely, own a gun, and to live without discrimination based on race, gender, or religion. When a person feels they have had their rights breached, they can seek the help of a San Antonio attorney.

The history of our rights is a long, and sometimes unpleasant one. Over the course of that history, countless numbers of people from all racial groups have given their lives to fight for these freedoms. Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are just a few historical figures who drastically progressed the lives of the people from their generations.

Texas state laws and the codes of San Antonio are directly influenced by the regulations of the constitution, and any San Antonio civil rights case should be handled by a lawyer who understands the limitations of all of the state and federal laws. Some of the best attorneys will be very passionate about protecting the rights of all citizens.

A civil rights lawyer should have a legal education in this particular area of law. Their experience should be noted and their cases are well documented. Using online sources to check credentials and review the lawyer’s resume helps the client understand better the caliber of the attorney and their potential to be a good advocate.

Why Modern Home Design Is Oh So Wright

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Frank Lloyd Wright was not only considered one of the world’s greatest contemporary architects, but was also one of the most prolific and controversial public figures of his time. He was a writer, art collector, philosopher and visionary, all of which combined to inspire his craft. An outdoorsy child, Wright fell deeply in love with the Wisconsin landscape he explored as a boy. “The modeling of the hills, the weaving and fabric that clings to them, the look of it all in tender green or covered with snow or in full glow of summer that bursts into the glorious blaze of autumn,” he later reminisced.

Widely known for four distinct architectural styles, his work stemmed from his belief that buildings should be made from the land, and benefit the land.

  • Prairie: born out of his belief that we needed fewer, larger rooms that flowed more easily and incorporated low pitched roofs, overhanging eaves, a central chimney, and open floor plans which, he believed, was the antidote to the confined, closed-in look of the Victorian era.
  • Textile: these took on a more linear approach, combined with influences from Mayan architecture.
  • Organic: this drew from natural resources, combined with the influence of Japanese architecture.
  • Usonian: smaller than his sprawling Prairie style residences, these contained little ornamentation and lacked basements or attics. These houses were set up into zones, typically with three areas: living space, small bedrooms, and a kitchen-dining area. Built-in components and furniture allowed homeowners to appreciate the simpler, integrated space Wright intended.

Frank Lloyd Wright was clearly a man ahead of his time. The design of many of his homes once seemed light-years ahead of their time, and people often had trouble understanding his vision, yet almost all of our modern home design and custom home building construction puts to use the ideals he thought so important.

The works of Frank Lloyd Wright are unique. No two homes or buildings look alike. He built according to his vision of what the future would be. He saw the need for homes to be more fluid, more open, more live-able, and less restrained. His architecture both documented a time in history and yet managed to push the envelope with his modern philosophical approach to the future of building.

Wright stood for clean lines and simplicity. He believed that a well-built building complemented its environment and surrounding. He disliked the intricate detail and fussiness of the architectural styles that preceded him. His ideals, words and foresight continue to be used as inspiration for modern home design and custom home builders. The echoes of his style are evident in many of the contemporary homes we see designed today.