New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Markets were closed in the U.S. Monday as the nation celebrated Labor Day. But trading in European markets and gold were not on holiday, one falling and one rising on debt concerns and global demand.

Gold pricing exceeded $1,900 an ounce Monday in London as concerns persisted about slowing economic growth worldwide. Europe’s debt worries also spurred renewed demand for the yellow metal.

Foreign markets and overseas gold reacted to the weak U.S. jobs report on Friday that showed that no jobs were added in August. Already jittery markets looked anywhere for any sign of improvement, which have been and continue to be hard to find.

Gold is enjoying an 11-year bull run. It is the precious metal’s longest running streak since the 1920′s. For the year, the yellow metal is up 33 percent, outshining global equities, commodities and U.S. Treasuries.

U.S. stock markets will open for trading as usual on Tuesday and markets anxiously await President Obama’s address on Thursday night about jobs.

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Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – The good news is that a lot of men who were laid off during the recession are back at work. But the downside is they are at jobs with leaner staffs, meaning many men are working longer hours away from their families.

CareerBuilder’s annual Father’s Day survey shows that the majority of participants who were laid off over the last 12 months are working again. But more than 20 percent of the respondents say they are working more than 50 hours a week, up from 19 percent last year.

Two in five men spend two hours or less with their children each day, and 16 percent say they spend one hour or less with their kids.

The survey also found more men are taking their work home with them.

“As companies downsized during the recession and work demands accelerated, we saw dads having a harder time finding balance between providing for their families financially and spending quality time with them,” Alex Green, general counsel for CareerBuilder, said in a statement.

A third of the men taking the survey said that work commitments are forcing them to miss significant events in their children’s lives.

Twenty one percent of the respondents say they feel their work has had a negative impact on their relationship with their children.

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Miami, Florida, United States (AHN) – Customs agents in Miami and elsewhere along the southern U.S. border are working overtime to inspect flowers imported into the United States from South America for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The flowers can carry pests that could spread into U.S. croplands. Customs and Border Protection also is concerned the packages of flowers might conceal cocaine.

The agency held a press briefing recently in Miami to alert the public about the dangers of the imports.

About 80 percent of the roses, chrysanthemums, daisies and lilies imported from South America come from Colombia and Ecuador, where some of the world’s most potent cocaine is grown.

Many of the other flowers come from Holland and Thailand.

Last year, about 272 million flowers passed through Miami International Airport between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14.

This year, the shipments are slightly ahead of 2010, according to Customs and Border Protection.

The federal agency runs the boxes of flowers through a refrigerated warehouse at the airport, where they are X-rayed for cocaine. Customs agents also shake the boxes to see whether insects fall out.

The insects they often carry can cause “significant economic impact,” said Rolando Suliveres, director of Customs at Miami International Airport.

Customs agents report finding aphids, moths and leafminers in the boxes almost daily.

All of them could breed in Florida’s warm, humid climate, creating a danger to the state’s fruit and vegetable crops that feed the rest of the United States in the winter.

The flowers are fumigated with methyl bromide to get rid of the insects, but the cocaine is typically shipped to the destination marked on the packages.

When the packages arrive, federal law enforcement agents try to arrest the persons who receive them.

About 1.5 million plant and animal products were imported into the United States last year, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Occasionally, the agency reports “first findings” of insects never identified previously. They are sent to insect specialists at the Smithsonian Institution to be categorized.

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Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada (AHN) – A software problem at SaskTel caused thousands of mobile phone subscribers to be disconnected temporarily during one of the busiest holidays.

The glitch left about 35,000 customers without cell service on Boxing Day from 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The problem affected SaskTel’s short messaging and voice services.

The problem could have been caused by too many calls in the system as SaskTel estimated Christmas Day long distance calls would reach 950,000.

About 44 percent of the Dec. 25 calls were expected to be within Saskatchewan, 51 percent long distance and 5 percent to the U.S. and other countries.

Last year, SaskTel registered 946,000 Christmas Day calls broken down into 736,000 long distance calls and 210,000 wireless long distance calls.

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Miami, FL, United States (AHN) – Two South Florida twin sisters share more than their birthdays, they both gave birth on the same day too.

As fraternal twins, Cristina and Alexandra Lima have always been very close.

This Wednesday the two sisters and best friends became first time mothers together too delivering at Baptist Hospital in Kendall.

“They probably would have conceived within 72 hours of each other, across the country, which is very unusual,” said Dr. Randy Fink who delivered both babies.

Ava was delivered by C-section and weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces, and Olivia, who was delivered naturally, was 8 pounds 5 ounces.

Alexandra said, “We have so many similarities being twins, but we could never have predicted or asked for something as special as this. We are really blessed.”

The twins said even though their two girls aren’t twins because of their special connection they will probably feel like sisters.

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If you intend to jump into foreclosure auctions, follow these tips to help insure a profitable transaction: A? Do your homework: I recently had one of my investors call me and ask me if he would be risking anything greater than his security deposit if he simply walked away from a house he purchased at auction. Because he was intimately familiar with the neighborhood, he didn’t bother to visit the property. After the auction, he learned the damage to the property was more extensive than he anticipated. In a aEoehotaE? market, price appreciation could have bailed him out but, in today’s market, he was sunk. Lesson? Never buy a property sight unseen, and make sure to get the best contractor estimates possible prior to auction day. A? Read the advertisement carefully: The devil is in the fine print. You could buy a lot of trouble if you don’t read and understand every word. Examples: Many auctioneers require a Buyer’s premium. In my area, it could be as much as 10%. If your bidding on a $120,000.00 property, that’s an additional $12,000.00 expense! Even worse, you may be required to pay interest on the prior owner’s defaulting Note from date of auction forward to the date of settlement. That’s an additional 30-45 days of interest expense (or more in some instances). Worst of all, in some cases the auction purchaser could be responsible for certain outstanding liens due at the time of sale, such as water, taxes, or even condo liens. Do you really want to be responsible for the prior owner’s $3,000.00 past due HOA bill because you didn’t read the ad? A? Be careful of flipping: Flips are still possible in this market but could be dangerous to the financial health of an unseasoned or careless investor. If you intend to flip to another investor, remember he or she will be leery of buying anywhere close to retail because of the likelihood of additional price erosion over the next few years.

Did you properly discount your bid price for this? Will the property cash flow at your proposed sales price? Many investors use the 1% Rule as the aEoegold standardaE? aE” a $100,000.00 purchase price should yield a renter at $1,000.00. If you don’t carefully account for these factors, you could get stuck in the property. If you are using short-term hard money and your credit is weak, you even run the risk of loan default because you won’t be able to refinance out of your hard money loan. A? Setting property values: In addition to recent comps, you may want to go back to 2004-05 tax assessment records to review pre-bubble pricing. Is it possible for prices to retrace back to those levels? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it doesn’t hurt to bid based upon worst-case scenarios. A? Keep your cool: Don’t get caught up in the emotion of the auction. Know your absolute high price going in. Once the bidding has exceeded that price, don’t even think about it anymore. Walk to your car and leave. There’s always another deal tomorrow. A? Get finances in order before bidding: You will be required to bring to the auction a cashier’s check for the advertised deposit amount. But you may also be asked to increase the initial deposit to 10% of total purchase price within a certain time period after the auction date.

Check with the auctioneer the day of auction. Also, get lender approval prior to the day of auction. A hard money lender can be your best friend in these situations, as an approval from a hard money source accomplishes 2 things: 1) you’ll know up-front whether you’ll be able to close on the property, thereby reducing any risk of losing your deposit; and 2) you’ll get a second, and often expert, opinion on the conservative value of the property. Even if you end up using conventional lending, the hard money approval can give you great peace of mind. A? Insurance: It is critical to get a hazard insurance policy in place the day of auction. Many times, the risk of loss is contractually passed to the successful auction bidder. If you don’t have insurance and the building burns down, you lose! A? Bankruptcy: Call the auctioneer the night before (for early a.m. auctions) or the morning of the auction to make certain the foreclosed-upon borrower has not filed a bankruptcy. A bankruptcy filing stops the foreclosure process, even if it is filed one minute before auction. Probably 90% of foreclosure auctions get cancelled this way, so you’ll waste a lot time if you don’t call beforehand. A? Default: Always remember that the re-auction of a property is almost always aEoeat the risk and expense of the defaulting bidder.aE? This means if you bid on a property and don’t follow through, you could be sued for a lot more than just your deposit. Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

About Author
Jeffrey Shiller, Esq. www.hardmoneybankers.com MD DC VA Hard Money Lender

Winging It – virtually every real estate course made available online or in the offices of real estate investors advises potential investors to practice the “fake it, ’til you make it” strategy and to just go with the flow even without a plan. This is one of the many ways so many people are swindled out of hundreds and thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars. You never want to go into a business without a plan.

The Absence of a Professional Team – if you’re seriously considering breaking into the business of real estate; good luck. The important thing to remember is to not go at it alone. It’s important that you build a team of professional that have your best interest at heart. This may be difficult from the offset but with research and information it can be accomplished.

Breaking the Bank on a Deal – never enter into a business deal with the intent of purchasing a home without first knowing the worth of the property. There’s never a bad time to invest in real estate regardless of what the media is saying.

Building Business Entities without Your Name – to many people end up losing everything they own for this very reason, don’t become a victim of this. If you’re in the business of gambling, it would be best to go to Las Vegas. It’s important that you do extensive research in order to get a better understanding of how corporate entities work.

The Wild, Wild West Mentality – if you’re under the impression that you can do whatever you like when facing homeowners in dire need, it would be best to take a look in the mirror and rethink your assumptions. It’s all about following the rules if you want to be successful in this line of work.

Title Researching or Not – this can lead you into an abyss with no possible way of getting out. Title searching is important and should not be taken lightly, so it would be smart of anyone investing time, money and life into real estate to learn how to search titles wherever necessary.

Cash Reservations – in the real estate business it will always be about the money, no matter what. It’s not always about using your money to find deals, land deals or close deals; however, it will always take money to make money in real estate regardless of what anyone may say.

Your Education Should Not Go Ignored – education has always been the gateway to success and it doesn’t change in the business of real estate, and education should not be based upon some infomercial you saw last night. Educating yourself can come in various forms but don’t waste money on education that you could be using for handling deals. Too many people spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on real estate classes only to have nothing to show for it. Let your education speak for itself through the closing of MASSIVE DEALS.

Crunching the Numbers Correctly – this is one way many people learn the hard way about real estate investing because they end up misjudging either their purchase figures or their fixer up and/or holding cash. This is one mistake that could end your career before it even gets started.

Last but not least, it goes without saying, real estate is not a get rich scheme – GO FIGURE!

Author: Chris B. Jenkins
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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