Archive for August, 2007

by Dr. D.S. Merchant
Stock exchange or bourse is a mutual organization which provides facilities for stock brokers and traders, in trading company stocks and other securities, and for the issue of redemption of securities and other financial tools and capital events like the payment of income and dividends. The securities traded on a stock exchange include: shares issued by companies, unit trusts and other pooled investment products and bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Usually there is a central location at least for recordkeeping, but trade is less linked to such a physical place. Electronic networks run modern markets are, providing them great speed and cost of transactions. Stock exchange is often called the most important element of a stock market. The Demand and Supply in the stock markets is attracted by number of factors that affect the price of stocks.

Mobilizing Savings for Investment:
When people draw their savings and invest in shares, it leads to a more balanced allotment of resources because funds, which could have been consumed, or kept in idle deposits with banks, are mobilized to promote business activity that benefits several economic sectors like agriculture, commerce and industry, resulting in a stronger economic growth.

History of stock exchanges:
In 12th century France, the courratiers de change were concerned with managing the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks and these men also traded in debts. These men were the first brokers.

In the middle of the 13th century, Venetian bankers traded in government securities. In 1351, the Venetian Government outlawed spreading rumors about lowering the price of government funds. Because of this rumor people in Pisa, Verona, Genoa and Florence also started trading in government securities which was possible because there were independent city states ruled by a council of powerful citizens during the 14th century.

Raising capital for businesses:
The Stock Exchange helps current and newly-formed companies raise capital for building and expanding their business through selling shares to the investing public.

Creating investment opportunities for small investors:
The Stock Exchange provides opportunity for small investors like the big investors to own shares of the same or different companies.

Government capital-raising for development projects:
Governments at various levels may decide to borrow money for financing infrastructure projects like sewage and water treatment works or housing estates by selling another category of securities known as bonds. These bonds are raised through the Stock Exchange where public buy them, thus loaning money to the government. The issuance of such municipal bonds can prevent the need to directly tax the citizens in order to finance development, although by securing such bonds with the full faith and credit of the government instead of with collateral, the result is that the government must tax the citizens or otherwise raise additional funds to make any regular coupon payments and refund the principal when the bonds mature.

Listing requirements:
Listing requirements are the set of conditions forced by any given stock exchange upon companies that want to be listed on that exchange.

Requirements by stock exchange:
For companies to have their stock and shares listed at the stock exchange have to meet certain requirements of the exchange. But requirements vary in different exchanges.

Ibrahim Machiwala is a recognized authority on the subject of trading and online marketing. For FREE reviews on Stock Exchange and Articles on Stock Market, Stock Broker Visit: Online Stock Investment and http://www.australiastockexchange.net.

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by Steve Selengut
How many of you remember the immortal words of P. T. Barnum? Of Yogi Berra? On Wall Street, the incubation period for new product scams may be measured in years instead of minutes, but the end result is always a lopsided, greed-driven, gold rush toward financial disaster. The dot.com melt down spawned the index mutual funds, and their dismal failure gave life to “enhanced” index funds, a wide variety of speculative hedge funds, and finally, a rapidly growing number of Index ETFs. Deja Vu all over again, with the popular ishare variety of ETF leading the lemmings to the cliffs. How far will we allow Wall Street to move us away from the basic building blocks of investing? Whatever happened to stocks and bonds? The Investment Gods are not happy.

A market or sector index is a statistical measuring device that tracks the movement of price changes in a portfolio of securities that are selected to represent a portion of the overall market. Index ETF creators: a) select a sampling of the market that they expect to be representative of the whole, b) purchase the securities, and then c) issue the ishares, SPDRS, CUBEs, etc. that you can trade on the normal exchanges just like ordinary stocks. Unlike ordinary index funds, ETF shares are not handled directly by the fund, and as a result, they can move either up or down from the value of the securities in the fund, which, in turn, may or may not mirror the movements of the index they were selected to track. Confused? There’s more… these things are designed for manipulation!

Unlike managed Closed-End Funds (CEFs), ETF shares can be created or redeemed by market specialists, and Institutional Investors can redeem 50,000 share lots (in kind) if there is a gap between the net-asset-value and the market price of the fund. These activities create demand in order to minimize the gap between the fund net-asset-value and the fund price. Clearly, these arbitrage activities provide profit-making opportunities to the fund sponsors that are not available to the shareholders. Perhaps that is why the fund expenses are so low… and why there are now hundreds of the things to choose from. It is also why a famous 30 stock Market Average has gone up at three times the speed of all the other indicators!

Two other ishare/ETF idiosyncrasies need to be appreciated: a) performance return statistics for index funds typically do not include fund expenses… it should be fairly obvious that an index fund will always under-perform its market, and b) some index funds, ishares in particular, publish P/E numbers that only include the profitable companies in the portfolio. How do you feel about that?

So, in addition to the normal risks associated with investing in general, we add: speculating in narrowly focused sectors, guessing on the prospects of unproven small cap companies, experimenting with securities in single countries, rolling the dice on commodities, and hoping for the eventual success of new technologies. We then call this hodge-podge of speculations a diversified, passively managed, inexpensive approach to 21st Century Asset Management! How this differs from the roots of the dot.com mess is a mystery to me. Once upon a time, there were high yield junk bond funds that the financial community insisted were appropriate investments because of their excellent diversification. Does diversified junk become un-junk? Isn’t “Passive Management” as much of an oxymoron as “Variable Annuity”? Whatever happened to the KISS Principle?

But let’s not dwell upon the three or more levels of speculation that are the very foundation of all index funds. Let’s move on to the two basic ideas that led to the development of plain vanilla Mutual Funds in the first place: diversification and professional management. Mutual Funds were a monumental breakthrough that changed the Investment World. Hands on investing (without the self-centered assistance of the banks and insurance companies) became possible for absolutely everyone. Self directed retirement programs and cheap to administer employee benefit programs became doable. The investment markets, once the domain of an elite group of wealthy entrepreneurs, became the savings accounts of choice for the employed masses. But only because the Funds were relatively safe with their guarantees of diversification and professional management! ETFs are just not the answer to the problems we’ve experienced lately with traditional Mutual Funds. (Those problems are a function of Fund Manager Compensation, conflicts of interest within Fund Sponsor Organizations, the delivery and pricing system for the funds, and believe it or don’t, the self directed retirement programs themselves.)

Here’s a thumbnail sketch of how well the major Passively Managed Indices have done since the turn of the century: For those six years, the DJIA growth rate averaged Zero % per year, the S & P 500 averaged Minus 2% per year, and the NASDAQ Composite averaged Minus 8% per year! How many positive sectors, technologies, commodities, or capitalization categories could there have been? Go ahead, add in 1999 just to make yourself feel better and you’ll come up with +2% per year for the DJIA, Zero % annually for the S & P, and a stellar -1.5% per year for the NASDAQ. Now subtract the fees… hmmmm. Again, how would those ishares have fared? Hey, when you buy cheap and easy, it’s usually worth it. Now if you want performance, I suggest you try management. Any management is better than no management, so long as you are receptive to the strategies or disciplines employed by the manager. If you can’t understand or accept the strategy, don’t hire the manager. During the past six years, there have been more advancing issues than declining ones on the NYSE, more stocks achieving new highs than new lows. Why did you lose money?

Sure, you might find some smiles in an ishare or two, particularly if you have the courage to take your profits, and there may be times when it makes good business sense to use these products as a hedge against a specific risk. But please, stop kidding yourself every time Wall Street comes up with a new short cut to investment success. Don’t underestimate the value of experienced management, even if you have to pay a little extra for it. Actually, there is no reason why you (and I mean every one of you) can’t learn either to run your own investment portfolio, or to instruct someone how you want it done. Every guess, every estimate, every hedge, and every shortcut increases risk, because none of the crystal balls used by those creative product hucksters works very well over the long haul. Products and gimmicks are never the answer. ETFs, a combination of the two, don’t even address the question properly… AND their rising popularity has raised the risk level throughout the Stock Market. How’s that, you ask? The demand for DJIA stocks included in ETFs is raising their prices to levels that have nothing to do with company fundamentals.

What’s in your portfolio?

Note: The 2nd Edition of “Brainwashing” is coming this fall.

Steve Selenguthttp://www.sancoservices.comhttp://www.valuestockbuylistprogram.comProfessional Portfolio Management since 1979Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

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by Andrew Stratton
Real estate investment can be very financially rewarding if you invest wisely, and then keep track of your investments with the same vigor as when you were initially evaluating properties for purchase. If you are simply going to buy a property, improve it, and flip it for profit, then you can easily do that with a simple project budget. However, if you are going to purchase and hold properties over time, you will likely find that investment property software is a must. You will want an application which can take all of your rental property variables into consideration to maximize your profits and know when to hold and when to sell.

Investment property software today varies from a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to complex financial applications developed specifically for the investment property industry. No matter which you choose, you will want to make sure your software allows you to quickly determine if your investment is paying money or draining it away, determine how much rent you can charge, and even examine multiple properties and compare and contrast them against each other.

If you are in the market for investment property software, you will want to make sure that any application you consider can calculate each of the figures you need it to. Good investment property software can assist you in comparing and contrasting various properties and determining which one would be the most profitable for you. By being able to compare multiple properties you can insure that you choose the one where you will make the most money.

Investment property software can help you to determine what you can expect to charge for rent in any given property. By understanding how much rent you can charge you can determine if your internal rate of return (IRR) and modified internal rate of return (MIRR) numbers make sense or not.

Investment property software is also excellent for tracking your residential properties and their need for regular maintenance and repair. You will know which appliances, heaters, AC Units, septic systems, etc? are likely going to need to be serviced and what those costs will approximately be to you. This will help you to better plan your expenditures and provide better up-keep on your properties.

One of the best things that investment property software can do for you is to let you know when it might be the most profitable to sell any given property which you own. Once a property is no longer generating profits for you then you want to know it so that you can sell it off and purchase something which will make you profits.

If you have multiple investment properties, investment property software works very well to track your various mortgages, taxes, and insurance costs. This insures you pay all of your obligations on time and that you can refinance when the rates make sense to do so.

While a pencil and a pad of paper can help you to manage your investment property, software can do a much better job and can save you some common and costly pitfalls. By utilizing the technology available today, you will find your profits soar and you will be selling off your looser properties much sooner than you have before.

Get the most out of your commercial property with tools at your fingertips in investment property software. KISCL, http://www.kiscl.com/, has all of the tools and resources of experienced real estate professionals to help you navigate the commercial market.

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by Andrew Stratton
If you are considering a refinance of your investment property mortgage, now is still a very favorable time. While interest rates are no longer at rock-bottom prices, the rates are still historically low.

Refinancing your investment property mortgage loan is never a simple matter, but there are a few things which you can do to insure that you get the best refinance rate possible. Here are 4 tips you can use to help you in the process:

Tip #1: Get the Best Refinance Investment Property Interest Rate by Doing Your Homework

Even if you choose to use a mortgage broker, you will find that interest rates constantly change, literally hour by hour. By taking the time to educate yourself about mortgage rates you can help yourself to better gage when the rate is at its best it is likely going to be. By reading about mortgage rate trends, the U.S. economy and other financial news you can help insure you get the best refinance mortgage rate possible.

Tip #2: Get the Best Refinance Investment Property Interest Rate Possible by Using a Mortgage Broker

Brokers are professionals in their trade. Just as an accountant is the best person to do your income tax returns, a commercial mortgage broker is trained and skilled in helping you to find the best refinance investment property rate possible. A broker has access to literally thousands of lenders and programs to choose from. They can suggest lenders for just about every scenario possible. If you have bad credit, if you are self-employed, etc., no matter what your unique situation is a commercial mortgage broker can help find you the absolute best deal possible.

Tip #3: Get the Best Refinance Investment Property Interest Rate by Buying Down

Assume for a moment that the best commercial mortgage rate available today is 6%. By buying down your rate you can lower your interest rates over the length of your loan. This is also called “paying points.” If you were to buy down the 6% rate, you might easily end up with a 5.5% mortgage. The cost to you would be a few thousand dollars at closing; however, this would save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage term. Paying points always makes sense if you have the available capital and do not need to use it in other areas of your business.

Tip #4: Get the Best Refinance Investment Property Interest Rate by Negotiating

A little known fact is that mortgage rates and even fees are always negotiable! By playing two lenders, or even two brokers, against each other, you can come up with an absolute rock-bottom interest rate. Successful negotiation requires that you are always prepared to walk away from the deal, that you say “no” until you get what you are looking for, and that you are both patient and well educated.

By educating yourself, using a mortgage broker, paying points, and using simple business negotiation skills, you can get the best refinance investment property interest rate available. Whether you have excellent credit, or not so good credit, you can find an excellent rate and refinance your current commercial mortgage. By doing your homework you can save yourself thousands of dollars over the life of your investment property loan.

Get the best refinance investment property interest rate by doing your homework. KISCL, http://www.kiscl.com/, has all of the tools of seasoned real estate pros to help you navigate the commercial market. With our program you can analyze your property instantly and know the deal is right!

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by Roberto Bell
Introduction - Clients of our law firm frequently ask us what are the good opportunities for investment in Panama. This web page is probably a long time coming and here it is. Investments are rated by the number of stars *****, five is the best and one is the worst.

Real Estate Flipping * -This is buying a not yet completed condo or townhouse and selling it before it is completed. This gives you a gain (well you hope anyway) and the ROI (return on investment) is great since you only put up to 30% down. Many people we know are trying to sell their flip positions without success. Several large prominent real estate projects have failed to move forward to completion thus the speculators just tied up their capital for no gain and wasted their time and money. The clichés concerning panama real estate flipping would be as follows: If it was that good everyone would be doing it and If it is too good to be true it probably isn?t true.

Construction Raw Materials **** - Now you are talking about a good investment. There is still a tremendous amount of construction taking place in Panama and this is likely to continue for some years to come. All real estate construction materials are in short supply and prices are high. You can start with cement, go to marble, tile, etc and the preceding is all true. This is how one can make some serious money. Capital is required and one would import the raw materials required by the construction industry. We are a Panama Law Firm and we can assist clients strictly as your legal counsel, who wish to engage in such a business enterprise.

Construction Heavy Equipment **** - There is a shortage of all heavy construction equipment used in constructing high-rise residential buildings. It is all in short supply. You could import new or used equipment. You can rent it out by the day, week or month. You can also contract with developers over longer periods as well. The construction of the Panama Canal expansion has not even started yet and this should serve to increase the shortages.

Dump Trucks ***** - There is a serious shortage here. Some projects are severely backed up since they lack the trucks to haul away the dirt from the job site. These can be rented short or long term or supplied to developers on a long-term basis. You could supply, drivers, do the maintenance, have replacement trucks etc and make a fortune. You need not import new equipment; used equipment in serviceable condition would work fine. The developers are more interested in quick completion times than they are interested in extra truck expense costs.

Cement Mixer Trucks **** - Again another shortage, see above.

Expensive Horses *** - Panama has lot of them, many different breeds and at prices much below the North American market prices. This is simple for one in the business. Better yet set up a breeder facility in Panama taking advantage of low land cost and cheap labor and export the horses to the North American market at a tidy profit.

Customer Service Residential Businesses **** - Think of something all the foreigners moving into condos in Panama will want that is not already here and watch your cash register ring. The completed condos are about to occupy and more are completing monthly. This is an amazing market of high disposable income people, mostly without children in their home that are over 40. This one requires excellent marketing skills and is not for the me too businessperson. If you try competing against the locals in their business you will probably lose. You need to bring something new to the table and need to make sure it is not easily copied. Imagine the potential, all you need is the product that the people will want that no one else has in Panama. Of course our law firm can provide all the legal assistance you need.

Hard Money Lender*** - Want to loan money against houses, townhouses and condos this is the market. Imagine 30% to 40% down (60% to 70% LTV), 5 to 15 year mortgages at 3 points over bank rates which are currently in the mid sixes so you would be in the 9% + range. Strictly equity loans in first position giving you serious protection. Rates are currently not so exciting but servicing costs are low in Panama and you would run out of money before you ran out of mortgages.

Panama Web Hosting **** - There is a serious shortage of reliable web hosting companies, no shortage of bandwidth. Run in your lines to a secure facility. Have 24-hour camera surveillance of the site. Use swipe cards for all staff coming and going. Have 24-hour serious security. Promote it as such and you will have no shortage of customers.

Restaurants* - Forget this they come and go all the time. High failure rate, lots of competition.

Hotels *** - Shortage of real five star hotels. There are no real five stars using North American standards. What they call a five star here is at best a four star elsewhere. Good four-star hotels would also fare quite well since they are in short supply as well.

Alternative Health Care ***** - Big shortage, great demand. Come on down. Look into licensure first since that gets tricky.

Maids ***** - Panama currently has a serious shortage of maids. Think of a solution to this and clean up.

Please feel free to contact our law firm for any matter in which you require legal representation in Panama.

Smythe Bradley is an expat living in The Republic of Panama. He has published many articles on offshore banking in panama, panama visas and residency, as well as many other expat issues.

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by Mary Wozny
Like any other form of investment, real estate has its fair share of market cycles, but of late, it has been getting bad publicity. Investors are now having second thoughts about investing their money in real estate, what with all the misconceptions about the housing bubble bursting, unsold homes and condominiums, the increasing number of foreclosures and the declining property values.

But, there’s still big money to be made in real estate, be it in good or bad economic times. Everybody needs to live somewhere, shop somewhere and work somewhere and there has to be someone who will provide them with that space. For real estate investors, who are looking for a long-term investment, owning any kind of real estate means financial freedom.

Why Invest in Single-Family Homes?

Now that you know the value of investing in real estate, here are a few reasons why it is a good idea to invest in single-family homes. But, why invest in single-family homes and not in apartment buildings, office buildings, shopping centers or raw land? Nothing is really wrong with these types of real estates, but single-family homes have several advantages over these, including:

• Less money needed — The average person just does not have the kind of funds to go out and buy an apartment building or shopping center. However, it is possible to go ahead and buy a single-family home with 10% or even less in down payments. In this way, you can now buy a $ 100,000 home for only $10,000 down payment. Single family homes are brilliant for the average real estate investor, as it is quite feasible for the average investor to save $10,000 to buy a property.
• Flexibility — For instance, let’s say you could buy 1 apartment building or 5 houses with the same amount of money. When you need money, with the apartment building you would have to sell the whole thing, bring in a partner or refinance the whole thing. With the houses, you might have to sell one, bring in a partner for one or refinance just one. Apartment buildings are harder to sell. Houses, on the other hand, are far easier to sell. However, the demand for single-family homes has increased and so they can be sold very quickly.
• Higher Equity build up — Generally, there will be more appreciation in single-family homes than in other types of real estate like apartments and houses. The value of apartment buildings is usually based on how much money they can bring in or the income approach. On the other hand, the value of single-family homes is based on comparable sales.
• Less chance of rent control — Rent control is when the government informs you about how much to charge as rent. In big cities that have rent control, many buildings have been abandoned, as the owners were not able to charge sufficient rent to cover their costs. For a property owner, rent control comes as a menace. Fortunately, for the single-family home investor, the rent control laws in most cities only apply to buildings that have 4 or more units.
• Less risk — Single-family homes don’t give you the opportunity to keep all your eggs in one basket. These homes are generally scattered all over the area. Single-family homes attract a much better class of tenants than most apartment buildings. They tend to attract families with school going children, who are generally permanent residents, whereas, apartment buildings attract single people who are more open to moving in and out. In addition, people who live in apartments are less likely to take on repairs and maintenance and look after your property.

By Mary Wozny

Mary Wozny is the author of “How to Build Your Families Million Dollar Real Estate Empire”, specializing in providing quality training and information products teaching women, families, and investors how to accomplish their goals and build wealth with real estate, creatively, legally, with little risk. She is the founder of www.MillionaireRiches.com & www.MyRealEstateClassRoom.com, showing people how to be vibrantly healthy, wealthy and financially free through real estate & residual income.

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by Andrew Stratton
Owning rental property can be one of the best ways to boost your personal net worth. The profits can be great from your property income investment. Unlike the ups and the downs of the stock market, real estate generally always appreciates in value over time. And, if you purchase the right property, in the right area, you can easily surpass the returns available from the stock market and other more traditional forms of investment.

Not everyone has the skills to be a good landlord, but those who do find that they can build a lot of wealth and monthly income with their investment properties in a relatively short period of time. If you are looking into purchasing investment real estate and are not yet skilled at being a landlord, you can always hire a property management company to manage your properties for you. They can manage for you until you either gain the skills yourself, or decide that a management company is your best long-term option.

Finding profitable investment property can take a bit of time, some local connections, and tons of research. However, once you learn about the industry, and start buying investment properties, it does get easier and easier to do.

Before you ever place an offer on a piece of property, you should be familiar with the following three things:

Understand Your Timeframes and Commitment Time

One of the first things you should consider is how long you are looking to own the property. You should always know the answer to this question before you purchase any investment real estate. The length of time you plan on owning the property has a lot to do with how much the property will cost you in repairs and maintenance. It also has a lot to do with how much improvement you are willing to make to a property.

The length of time you plan to own the property also determines some of your risk factors. Just about any property will increase in value over 20 years. However, if you only plan to own the property for 2 years, then you need to much more carefully consider the repair costs and initial price you pay for it. For most people, and for most properties, investing over a longer period of time makes the most financial sense.

Take Time to Build a Network of Real Estate Agents and Other Landlords

One of the best things you can do as a new property investor is to build yourself a network of real estate agents and other landlords. They will be the first to bring properties to your attention which they think you might be interested in purchasing. They will also serve as great references when you have questions about the industry or problems with one of your properties; nothing is better than talking to others who have experience!

Clean Up Your Credit

One of the most important things you need to do, before ever applying for investment property financing, is to clean up your personal credit and reduce your debt load. You will get much more favorable lending terms if you have no credit card debt and high credit scores. Also, by freeing up as much of your income as possible each month you will have the cash you need to invest and to maintain your properties well.

By considering your timeframes, building your network and having great credit you will be well on your way to becoming a successful real estate investor.

Get the most out of your property income investment with research and tools at your fingertips. KISCL, http://www.kiscl.com/, has all of the tools and resources of experiences real estate professionals to help you navigate the commercial market.

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by Andrew Stratton
The state of North Carolina is blessed with beauty & diversity. North Carolina offers beaches as well as beautiful mountain ranges to its residents & visitors. The Western North Carolina real estate market becomes especially tempting & valuable because of the breathtaking scenery of the Blue Mountains, Great Grandfather Range & Pisgah mountain range etc. The area is brimming with beauty and its no wonder that of late, tourisms has become one of tho major industry in the state.

One beautiful town in the area is Hendersonville. The town offers a very tranquil lifestyle, picturesque scenery, centuries of history & culture. No wonder real estate in Hendersonville NC is much sought after.

Hendersonville is gifted with many natural wonders, as one might call them. Jump
off Rock is one the famous look out point that provides a brilliant view of the Blue Ridge, Pisgah maintain ranges & the rolling pasture. As the legend goes, a young Cherokee Indian maiden jumped off this rock after she was told about the death of her lover, a young chief, in a war. On moonlit nights her ghost visits the Rock. The park is at a very convenient 5 miles drive from downtown and is open from sunrise to sunset. Alas, you cannot stay there on a moonlit night to confirm the romantic legend.

Another major attraction in the area is the 10,000 acre DuPont State Forest. The
forest has around 100 miles of trails & roads, used for biking, riding & hiking, as well as opportunities for swimming & kayaking. From the views from mountain tops to the tranquillity of lakes such as Lake Tulia, Fawn Lake & Lake Dense and the excitement of numerous water falls, the forest offers diverse experiences to its visitors.

The numerous water falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Grassy Creek Falls, High Falls, Triple Falls, etc., are very popular among visitors. All of the water falls offer something different. For example, when you look at the fall you realize why it is named Bridal Veil fall.

For picnics, sheltered areas are available for rent. The forest has specially marked tracks for biking & horse back riding. Hunting & Fishing is also allowed, subject to the Forest Rules & Regulations. Motorized vehicles are not allowed is the forest, except on public roads & can incur fines.

The Holmes Education State forest is one of the seven educational state forests in North Carolina. The forest, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, offers an out door educational experience for children & adults alike, with rugged terrain & a diversity of plant & animal life. This managed forest offers opportunities to understand the complex eco-system of the habitants living inter dependently & teaches the importance of preserving & using our natural resources with care. The forest rangers hold classes & there is a specific curriculum designed to provide the best possible educational experience for visiting students.

With such abundance of natural beauty, historic Hendersonville is a place away from the loud noises of bigger metropolitan with the modern town facilities coupled with natural beauty. These features make a trip to a Hendersonville real estate agent worth considering.

Natural beauty and quaint downtown atmosphere are the features to make a trip to a Hendersonville real estate agent. Work with the experienced Hendersonville real estate agents at Preferred Real Estate Center, http://www.preferredrealestatecenter.com. Preferred has the local knowledge to find you the perfect place.

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by Mary Wozny
While it is never good to make blanket statements about housing markets from coast to coast, with the release of the first quarter 2007 numbers, it is safe to say that all of Canada right now is showing signs of growth. That growth even extends to markets like Montreal that just two years ago were showing signs of recession.

It is impossible to compare the modest but encouraging growth in the Montreal housing market in the first part of 2007 with the incredible growth seen in other parts of Canada like Alberta and British Columbia. Even in the best of days, Quebec’s housing market was much steadier and far less prone to rapid increases or decreases. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good investment opportunity however, it just means that growth, as well as loss, is much more even. Imagine real estate investing without the roller coaster ride.

The current upturn in the Montreal real estate market can be directly attributed to the improved economy in the last calendar year. Experts believe that improved consumer confidence drove up average home prices in Montreal and throughout southern Quebec and that while the trend isn’t rocket-powered, it is expected to continue well into the second quarter of the year. The best news coming out of the first quarter in Montreal was on condo sales. They were the best performing part of the market, but again, like all good news coming out of Montreal, it is tempered by the fact that the best selling condos in the city so far this year tended to be lower priced ones, with higher priced condos staying on the market for a significant amount of time.

As with most of Quebec, experts predicted at the beginning of the year a real estate slow down or even a small recession, but the first quarter numbers have proven them wrong, at least so far. In the always important category of units sold, the first quarter performed extremely well. But analysts are hesitant to predict that the rest of the year will proceed as smoothly.

In fact, it is hard to find a consensus on what the Quebec housing market is going to do for the rest of 2007 since so many experts were sure the year would start out on a sour note. Now that the market has taken a turn for the better, the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board has boldly predicted record years for condo sales and overall resales. Condo resales were up 14 percent over last year, with the average price for a single family home climbing a healthy 5 percent over the same period.

Even commercial space in downtown Montreal performed better than expected during the final two quarters of 2006. Vacancy rates in downtown Montreal plummeted from over 8 and a half percent during the middle of 2006, to just above 8 percent at the end of the year. Again, as with the housing markets, these numbers fooled most experts who were expecting a more stagnant market.

So, what does the future hold for Canada’s most culture-rich city? Well, based on the predictions of experts, no one really knows. Most prospectors have adjusted their early-year predictions of gloom to reflect the new reality that appears to be in place now in Montreal, and while no one is really predicting a record year for real estate investment, the market has taken on a friendlier glow this summer. If you watch the market carefully and make the right choices, Montreal can be an attractive real estate market to invest in throughout the 2007 fiscal year.

By Mary Wozny

Mary Wozny is the author of “How to Build Your Families Million Dollar Real Estate Empire”, specializing in providing quality training and information products teaching women, families, and investors how to accomplish their goals and build wealth with real estate, creatively, legally, with little risk. She is the founder of www.MillionaireRiches.com & www.MyRealEstateClassRoom.com, showing people how to be vibrantly healthy, wealthy and financially free through real estate & residual income.

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by Andrew Stratton
The modified internal rate of return is a financial calculation which is used by investors to determine the possible success and attractiveness of an investment choice. The modified internal rate of return assumes that cash-flow generated is reinvested into the business. While the modified internal rate of return has its value, it also has some limitations.

The Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

The internal rate of return, separate from the “modified” version, has long been used to determine whether or not it is a good idea to make a long term investment. The internal rate of return (IRR) has historically been used by corporations to calculate the ability of an investment to perform over time. The IRR is essentially the amount of income which comes from the corporation’s invested assets and funds.

The goal of any business is to have its IRR be larger than any other IRR which could be realized by another investment option. For any investment you are considering, you will want to calculate the IRR and compare that IRR to the returns you could realize in other investments. The goal in investing is to have the highest IRR as possible to make sure you at least hit the break-even point in your investments.

The Modified Rate of Return (MIRR)

An enhancement to the traditional IRR calculation is the MIRR, the modified internal rate of return. This is a bit more of a complex equation which is used to gauge how effective an investment may really be. The MIRR is used to look at the possible rate of return on your investment after you have re-invested your business profits over time. By calculating the MIRR, rather than just the IRR, you can easily get a better picture of how your investment can be since the MIRR takes into account the reinvestment of profits and not just your initial investment.

When you are looking at commercial property investment, you will want to use the MIRR because it will not mislead you like the IRR can. The MIRR uses much more accurate data than the IRR and this makes it much more reliable to use. The formula for the MIRR uses both positive and negative values, the investment finance rate, the net present value, and also the re-investment rate in its calculation.

In order for you to calculate the IRR and MIRR of your potential investment property deals you are well advised to consult a financial professional. However, if you choose to do the calculations on your own you can easily find calculators on the internet or can use spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel.

By understanding how the IRR and the MIRR differ, you can learn to better judge your investments for their longevity and success. Knowing just the IRR is of value, but because the MIRR uses more accurate data, the MIRR will be your best guide to keeping your investments safe and as profitable as possible.

The modified internal rate of return is used to determine the possible success of an investment choice. KISCL, http://www.kiscl.com/, has all of the tools and resources of experienced real estate professionals to help you succeed in the commercial market.

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