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'Elliot Epstein works with many top 100 Australian

companies, high profile sports people and BRW Fast

100 companies, improving everything about the way

they present'

BRW Magazine

'Sceptics will become believers Elliot Epstein actually

delivers positive results'

David Smorgon OAM

Executive Chairman

Generation Investments

'Elliot is the master presentation coach, when you really

need a result.'

Lauren Burns OAM

Olympic Gold Medallist

Tae Kwan Do, Sydney 2000

Corporate Speaker

Elliots skills in negotiation, persuasion and executive

communication training are the best I've experienced in

over 20 years selling.'

Steve Kelly

Sales Director

HP

'I highly recommend Salient to any organisation looking

to improve sales performance and results.'

Sean OHalloran

CEO Alcatel-Lucent Australia

Simply the Best...!

HP

'Elliot provides important insights that remind us that in

todays electronic world our success still largely stems

from an ability to influence people.'

Commonwealth Bank

'I used the magic Salient structure as the basis of my

presentation and used this to Avaya's advantage to

change the game. Brilliant!'

Avaya Channel Partner Manager

Elliots understanding of what it takes to win business

elevates him above traditional consultant-speak

because he delivers real bottom line results.

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Director

SCCS

'Elliot is one of those consultants who is truly able to

bring deep experience to the learning table'

Ron Gauci, CEO (fmr),

Melbourne Storm

"Elliots presentation at the 2010 MYOB ProfitOptimiser

Conference was inspiring and challenging.truly

Excellent"

Mark Holton Director, Smithink

'Elliot gets to the crux of any issue/challenge, which in a

sales capacity is critical, as we are here to get results,

not waste time just doing courses - The outstanding ROI

on Salient speaks for itself.'

Greg OBrien

Sales Director

Avaya

'Amidst a highly competitive environment, Elliot

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Thinc Projects

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Gen-I

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Computershare

Outstanding from your reputation my expectations

were highyou delivered

Adrian De Luca

Director, Solutions and Pre-sales

Hitachi Data Systems

There is no doubt that the Salient Communication

approach helps our clients clearly understand what we

do and more importantly how it benefits them.

Biagio La Rosa

Managing Director

Generation-e

'My confidence in engaging C-level executives was

largely due to the Salient program you ran with us and I

would recommend it to anyone in Sales.'

BDM , Fuji Xerox

'Following the application of the Salient Communication

training in one account we didnt have to negotiate on

any of our fees and we had the order the following

week

Partner, Global Professional Services Firm

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Sales Training, Negotiation Training, Presentation ...

During the 1920s and '30s, George Gurdjieff accumulated followers who were interested in his methods for attaining a higher level of consciousness.

G.I. Gurdjieff was born circa 1866 in Alexandropol (present-day Armenia). In 1922, after settling in France, he reopened his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. There, he taught students to reintegrate their spiritual nature with their daily modern lives. Gurdjieff's followers included writers P.L. Travers and Katherine Mansfield. He died in Neuilly, France (near Paris) in 1949.

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff, generally referred to as G.I. Gurdjieff, was born in Alexandropol, in the Armenian region of the Russia Empire (present-day Armenia). His birth date is possibly January 13, 1866a date that is listed in one passport. However, another passport puts the date as December 28, 1877, and some close friends believed that his birth year was 1872. Gurdjieff himself was vague about his origins.

Gurdjieff's mother was Armenian and his father was Greek. Though his father worked as a carpenter, he also regaled Gurdjieff and others with recitations of legends, such as the epic of Gilgamesh. These tales may have spurred Gurdjieff's later belief in the existence of ancient knowledge that surpassed what was offered by science and religion.

Gurdjieff received early tutelage from the dean of the military cathedral at Kars, who was a priest and family friend. According to his autobiography, Meetings with Remarkable Men, he journeyed across Central Asia, Egypt and India in a voyage of spiritual discovery. However, there is no corroboration for Gurdjieff's self-reported accounting of his travels between 1887 and 1911.

When his travels were over, Gurdjieff returned to Russia. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he moved to Tiflis, Georgia, where he opened the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in 1919. A few years later, Gurdjieff settled in France, where his institute took shape once more.

From his base at the Chteau du Prieur, near Fontainebleau, Gurdjieff shared his new philosophy. He believed that man was in an almost constant sleep state, and that people must work to revive themselves in order to regain the higher consciousness that they are capable of. He also averred that the sleep state made people easy to manipulate, and was therefore a proponent of questioning everything.

At Fontainebleau, Gurdjieff often required people to listen to his writings as they were read aloud. People at the center also performed exercises and dance movements, sometimes to music created by Gurdjieff and composer Thomas de Hartmann.

Though he had brought followers with him to France, Gurdjieff gained more once he was ensconced in Fontainebleau, particularly as one early acolyte, P.D. Ouspensky, elucidated and propagated his teachings. His prominent followers included architect Frank Lloyd Wright's third wife, Olgivanna Hinzenburg, writer Katherine Mansfield, editor A.R. Orage and Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers.

Gurdjieff developed a special vocabulary of his own in some of his writings, using words such as "blastegoklornian." For his disciples, these words increased his aura of deep understanding and mystery. For Gurdjieff's detractors, they made his writings even more nonsensical.

Gurdjieff continued teaching even after his Fontainebleau center closed its doors in 1933. He remained in Paris during World War II, surviving under the German occupation. On October 29, 1949, in Neuilly, France (near Paris), he died at the approximate age of 83. He left behind works that include All and Everything (containing Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, Meetings with Remarkable Men and Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am') and The Herald of Coming Good.

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George Gurdjieff - Religious Figure - Biography

In 1990, in my role as a science reporter at The New York Times, I chanced upon an article in a small academic journal by two psychologists, John Mayer, now at the University of New Hampshire, and Yales Peter Salovey. Mayer and Salovey offered the first formulation of a concept they called emotional intelligence.

Those were days when the preeminence of IQ as the standard of excellence in life was unquestioned; a debate raged over whether it was set in our genes or due to experience. But here, suddenly, was a new way of thinking about the ingredients of life success. I was electrified by the notion, which I made the title of this book in 1995. Like Mayer and Salovey, I used the phrase to synthesize a broad range of scientific findings, drawing together what had been separate strands of research reviewing not only their theory but a wide variety of other exciting scientific developments, such as the first fruits of the nascent field of affective neuroscience, which explores how emotions are regulated in the brain.

I remember having the thought, just before this book was published ten years ago, that if one day I overheard a conversation in which two strangers used the phrase emotional intelligence and both understood what it meant, I would have succeeded in spreading the concept more widely into the culture. Little did I know.

The phrase emotional intelligence, or its casual shorthand EQ, has become ubiquitous, showing up in settings as unlikely as the cartoon strips Dilbert and Zippy the Pinhead and in Roz Chasts sequential art in The New Yorker. Ive seen boxes of toys that claim to boost a childs EQ; lovelorn personal ads sometimes trumpet it in those seeking prospective mates. I once found a quip about EQ printed on a shampoo bottle in my hotel room.

And the concept has spread to the far corners of our planet. EQ has become a word recognized, Im told, in languages as diverse as German and Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Malay. (Even so, I prefer EI as the English abbreviation for emotional intelligence.) My e-mail inbox often contains queries, from, for example, a doctoral student in Bulgaria, a school teacher in Poland, a college student in Indonesia, a business consultant in South Africa, a management expert in the Sultanate of Oman, an executive in Shanghai. Business students in India read about EI and leadership; a CEO in Argentina recommends the book I later wrote on the topic. Ive also heard from religious scholars within Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism that the concept of EI resonates with outlooks in their own faith.

Most gratifying for me has been how ardently the concept has been embraced by educators, in the form of programs in social and emotional learning or SEL. Back in 1995 I was able to find only a handful of such programs teaching emotional intelligence skills to children. Now, a decade later, tens of thousands of schools worldwide offer children SEL. In the United States many districts and even entire states currently make SEL curriculum requirement, mandating that just as students must attain a certain level of competence in math and language, so too should they master these essential skills for living.

In Illinois, for instance, specific learning standards in SEL abilities have been established for every grade from kindergarten through the last year of high school. To give just one example of a remarkably detailed and comprehensive curriculum, in the early elementary years students should learn to recognize and accurately label their emotions and how they lead them to act. By the late elementary years lessons in empathy should make children able to identify the nonverbal clues to how someone else feels; in junior high they should be able to analyze what creates stress for them or what motivates their best performance. And in high school the SEL skills include listening and talking in ways that resolve conflicts instead of escalating them and negotiating for win-win solutions.

Around the world Singapore has undertaken an active initiative in SEL, as have some schools in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea. In Europe, the U.K. Has led the way, but more than a dozen other countries have schools that embrace EI, as do Australia and New Zealand, and here and there countries in Latin America and Africa. In 2002 UNESCO began a worldwide initiative to promote SEL, sending a statement of ten basic principles for implementing SEL to the ministries of education in 140 countries.

In some states and nations, SEL has become the organizing umbrella under which are gathered programs in character education, violence prevention, antibullying, drug prevention and school discipline. The goal is not just to reduce these problems among schoolchildren but to enhance the school climate and, ultimately, students academic performance.

In 1995, I outlined the preliminary evidence suggesting that SEL was the active ingredient in programs that enhance childrens learning while preventing problems such as violence. Now the case can be made scientifically: helping children improve their self-awareness and confidence, manage their disturbing emotions and impulses, and increase their empathy pays off not just in improved behavior but in measurable academic achievement.

This is the big news contained in a recently completed meta-analysis of 668 evaluation studies of SEL programs for children from preschoolers through high school. The massive survey was conducted by Roger Weissberg, who directs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning at the University of Illinois at Chicago the organization that has led the way in bringing SEL into schools worldwide.

The data show that SEL programs yielded a strong benefit in academic accomplishment, as demonstrated in achievement test results and grade-point averages. In participating schools, up to 50 percent of children showed improved achievement scores and up to 38 percent improved their grade-point averages. SEL programs also made schools safer: incidents of misbehavior dropped by an average of 28 percent; suspensions by 44 percent; and other disciplinary actions by 27 percent. At the same time, attendance rates rose, while 63 percent of students demonstrated significantly more positive behavior. In the world of social science research, these remarkable results for any program promoting behavioral change, SEL had delivered on its promise.

In 1995 I also proposed that a good part of the effectiveness of SEL came from its impact in shaping childrens developing neural circuitry, particularly the executive functions of the prefrontal cortex, which manage working memory what we hold in mind as we learn and inhibit disruptive emotional impulses. Now the first preliminary scientific evidence for that notion has arrived. Mark Greenberg of Pennsylvania State University. A codeveloper of the PATHS curriculum in SEL, reports not only that the program for elementary school students boasts academic achievement but, even more significantly, that much of the increased learning can be attributed to improvements in attention and working memory, key functions of the prefrontal cortex. This strongly suggests that neuroplasticity, the shaping of the brain through repeated experience, plays a key role in the benefits from SEL.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for me has been the impact of EI in the world of business, particularly in the areas of leadership and employee development (a form of adult education). The Harvard Business Review has hailed emotional intelligence as a ground-breaking, paradigm-shattering idea, one of the most influential business ideas of the decade.

Such claims in the business world too often prove to be fads, with no real underlying substance. But here a far-flung network of researchers has been at work, ensuring that the application of EI will be grounded in solid data. The Rutgers University-based Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations (CREIO) has led the way in catalyzing this scientific work, collaborating with organizations that range from the Office of Personnel Management in the federal government to American Express.

Today companies worldwide routinely look through the lens of EI in hiring, promoting, and developing their employees. For instance, Johnson and Johnson (another CREIO member) found that in divisions around the world, those identified at mid career as having high leadership potential were far stronger in EI competencies than were their less-promising peers. CREIO continues to foster such research, which can offer evidence-based guidelines for organizations seeking to enhance their ability to achieve their business goals or fulfill a mission.

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Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman

Sales training with a difference.

What do customers prefer, to be sold to or served?

This is why we train sales people in how they can use service to build more trust. This approach is not justgood for business its good for improvingyour reputation and protecting your margin as well.

Whether selling is seen as acareer ora skill worth developing it is a key aspect of everyones role in life or business. Selling your ideas to others whether customers, colleagues or even your friends or children can be helpful sometimes.

Using the law of attraction and customer service gets better results than trying to sell.

This is the challenge for many businesses when it comes to developing their sales team.

We understand this challenge and it is exactly why we have developed training that is different in content and delivery.

We work with new sales people, non-sales people who need some sales skills and experienced sales people as well. Adapting our approach and customising the training so that it is at the right level for the audience.

Typically we facilitate either day courses (1,2 or 3 days maximum) or development programs over short time periods.

Whatever you require we will be pleased to discuss how we can help.

You can call us on 0800 634 3399 or email us atenquiries@psl-uk.comor by using our contact form.

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Sales Training | PSL Training

Columbia Association Health and Fitness in Columbia, MD

Columbia Association offers a variety of health and fitness services to the community. Regardless of your age, interest or activity level, the following programs can help you achieve optimal wellness.

Group fitness classes held at Columbia Athletic Club, Columbia Gym and Supreme Sports Club are taught by nationally certified fitness instructors. Classes include a broad variety, ranging from Zumba, to dance, to yoga and much more.

Aqua classes are available at CAs three fitness facilities, as well as Columbia Swim Center and CA Outdoor Pools during the summer months.

Mind body classes are available at Haven on the Lake. Designed to relieve stress, increase physical fitness and enhance your overall wellness, classes include aqua fitness, barre and dance, Pilates, yoga and more.

Martial arts classes provide a host of benefits, such as improved concentration, confidence, self-esteem and self-discipline. Children enjoy CAs martial arts program because its fun. Parents have found that it helps instill discipline, self-respect and character development.

Mature adults. CA is dedicated to providing a wealth of services that will improve quality of life for Columbias older adult residents and visitors. Health and Fitness programs include exercise classes that are designed to decrease the effects of issues like arthritis, osteoporosis and imbalance.

Other health and fitness programs for mature adults include a variety of opportunities designed to better serve the community. Such opportunities include classes held at Columbia Art Center, Senior Events Shuttle, volunteer opportunities and more.

NewU is comprised of four physician referral programs to help you improve your health and achieve your wellness goals. Fit Beginnings provides guidance on successfully integrating exercise into your life; Columbia Optimal Health pairs physical activity with nutritional counseling and wellness coaching; Columbia YouthFit helps families become healthy through motivation, physical activity and healthy eating; and Optimal Health for My Baby & Me focuses on pre-through post natal health to ensure optimal wellness for you and your baby.

Personal training. CAs personal trainers will guide you to a new level of fitness. All of our trainers are certified by nationally accredited certifying organizations and continually build their knowledge through professional training and educational programs. Trainers design a program tailored to your background, lifestyle and level of fitness, so that you can reach your goals.

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Columbia Association - Health and Fitness - Columbia, MD

What is 'Return On Investment - ROI'

A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. ROI measures the amount of return on an investment relative to the investments cost. To calculate ROI, the benefit (or return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment, and the result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

The return on investment formula:

In the above formula, "Gain from Investment refers to the proceeds obtained from the sale of the investment of interest. Because ROI is measured as a percentage, it can be easily compared with returns from other investments, allowing one to measure a variety of types of investments against one another.

Return on investment is a very popular metric because of its versatility and simplicity. Essentially, return on investment can be used as a rudimentary gauge of an investments profitability. ROI can be very easy to calculate and to interpret and can apply to a wide variety of kinds of investments. That is, if an investment does not have a positive ROI, or if an investor has other opportunities available with a higher ROI, then these ROI values can instruct him or her as to which investments are preferable to others.

For example, suppose Joe invested $1,000 in Slice Pizza Corp. in 2010 and sold his shares for a total of $1,200 a year later. To calculate the return on his investment, he would divide his profits ($1,200 - $1,000 = $200) by the investment cost ($1,000), for a ROI of $200/$1,000, or 20%.

With this information, he could compare the profitability of his investment in Slice Pizza with that of other investments. Suppose Joe also invested $2,000 in Big-Sale Stores Inc. in 2011 and sold his shares for a total of $2,800 in 2014. The ROI on Joes holdings in Big-Sale would be $800/$2,000, or 40%. Using ROI, Joe can easily compare the profitability of these two investments. Joes 40% ROI from his Big-Sale holdings is twice as large as his 20% ROI from his Slice holdings, so it would appear that his investment in Big-Sale was the wiser move.

Yet, examples like Joe's reveal one of several limitations of using ROI, particularly when comparing investments. While the ROI of Joes second investment was twice that of his first investment, the time between Joes purchase and sale was one year for his first investment and three years for his second. Joes ROI for his first investment was 20% in one year and his ROI for his second investment was 40% over three. If one considers that the duration of Joes second investment was three times as long as that of his first, it becomes apparent that Joe should have questioned his conclusion that his second investment was the more profitable one. When comparing these two investments on an annual basis, Joe needed to adjust the ROI of his multi-year investment accordingly. Since his total ROI was 40%, to obtain his average annual ROI he would need to divide his ROI by the duration of his investment. Since 40% divided by 3 is 13.33%, it appears that his previous conclusion was incorrect. While Joes second investment earned him more profit than did the first, his first investment was actually the more profitable choice since its annual ROI was higher.

Examples like Joes indicate how a cursory comparison of investments using ROI can lead one to make incorrect conclusions about their profitability. Given that ROI does not inherently account for the amount of time during which the investment in question is taking place, this metric can often be used in conjunction with Rate of Return, which necessarily pertains to a specified period of time, unlike ROI. One may also incorporate Net Present Value (NPV), which accounts for differences in the value of money over time due to inflation, for even more precise ROI calculations. The application of NPV when calculating rate of return is often called the Real Rate of Return.

Keep in mind that the means of calculating a return on investment and, therefore, its definition as well, can be modified to suit the situation. it all depends on what one includes as returns and costs. The definition of the term in the broadest sense simply attempts to measure the profitability of an investment and, as such, there is no one "right" calculation.

For example, a marketer may compare two different products by dividing the gross profit that each product has generated by its associated marketing expenses. A financial analyst, however, may compare the same two products using an entirely different ROI calculation, perhaps by dividing the net income of an investment by the total value of all resources that have been employed to make and sell the product. When using ROI to assess real estate investments, one might use the initial purchase price of a property as the Cost of Investment and the ultimate sale price as the Gain from Investment, though this fails to account for all of the intermediary costs, like renovations, property taxes and real estate agent fees.

This flexibility, then, reveals another limitation of using ROI, as ROI calculations can be easily manipulated to suit the user's purposes, and the results can be expressed in many different ways. As such, when using this metric, the savvy investor would do well to make sure he or she understands which inputs are being used. A return on investment ratio alone can paint a picture that looks quite different from what one might call an accurate ROI calculationone incorporating every relevant expense that has gone into the maintenance and development of an investment over the period of time in questionand investors should always be sure to consider the bigger picture.

Recently, certain investors and businesses have taken an interest in the development of a new form of the ROI metric, called "Social Return on Investment,"or SROI. SROI was initially developed in the early 00's and takes into account social impacts of projects and strives to include those affected by these decisions in the planning of allocation of capital and other resources.

For a more in-depth look at ROI, see:FYI on ROI: A Guide to Calculating Return on Investment.

Excerpt from:
Return On Investment ROI - investopedia.com

Organically grown foods can beand often are mixed with non-organic ingredients, genetically modified organisms and artificial ingredients despite boasting organic labels. Organic fruits and vegetables can comingle with conventionally raised produce, be exposed to pesticides and other contaminants in shipping, storage and on display at your local supermarket. And sometimes, products labeled organic arent even organic at all, like the recent case of an Oregon man sentenced to more than two years in prison for selling conventionally raised corn as organic.

Beyond the health, environmental and flavor benefits in growing organic food, theres the enticing higher sticker price for farmers, distributors and retailers. Just ask any farmer who made the switch from conventional to certified organic how much more theyre making with premium organic crops. Money certainly tempted Harold Chase, 55, of Eugene, OR who appeared to double his profits by selling more than 4.2 million pounds of non-organic corn as certified organic.

In 2009, Target was accused of falsely advertising soymilk as organic when it was not. The retail giant faced a similar situation just two years earlier when the USDA considered pulling the organic certification from Targets main organic dairy supplierand the nations largestAurora Dairy (supplier for Horizon), for selling non-organic milk marketed as organic for more than four years. Horizon had once been considered a leader in the organic food movement.

How does this happen?

Regulations, especially in livestock conditions, were loosely defined when the National Organic Program was implemented in 2002. While stricter rules exist now for meat, egg and dairy farms claiming to be organic, unresolved issues about ethical treatment still remain a contentious point in defining organic animal products.

The USDA organic labeling system has several levels of organic certification. You may recognize the USDA seal on the front of 100 percent certified organic products. But they also allow the word organic on products that contain only 70 percent organic ingredients. A bag of corn chips, for example, could say something like made with organic corn, but could contain no other organic ingredients (and could also contain genetically modified canola or soybean oil). So make sure you read your labels and ingredient panels on any processed foods.

100 percent certified organic means just that. But the USDA defines organic as meaning at least 95 percent of the product is organic, and therefore can also contain ingredients like natural flavoring which canand often doesinclude MSG (monosodium glutamate), known for severe side effects including headaches and tinnitus. Because MSG naturally occurs in autolyzed yeast extract, it is considered a natural product. So is carrageenan, a seaweed substance known to cause adverse reactions like digestive disturbances. Other products that may or may not be labeled as more than just natural flavors include enzymes, gums and yeasts.

China is a major exporter of organic products from canned tomatoes to milk to dried fruit and tea. But their certifying program varies greatly from our own, and banned toxic pesticides and other chemicals have shown up in organic foods on several occasions. Just recently, Chinese officials announced that they will take extra measures to stop illegal fraudulent activities including misuse of certifications and counterfeit organic products.

Supermarkets are loaded with fruits and vegetables labeled organic. But field-testing to ensure compliance with organic standards is a rarity in the U.S. Organic produce fetches a higher sticker price, so it is highly appealing to both farmers and supermarkets, making us all victims of organic fraud likely at some point or another. Supermarkets that arent certified organic can often co-mingle organic and conventional produce leading to residual pesticide contamination, even though theyre not supposed to share storage or display units. Visiting and supporting a local farmer, either at a farmers market or through a CSA, greatly improves your chances of getting truly organic items.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Resources:

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/organicP.html

http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/235740-ore.-man-sent-to-prison-over-organic-corn-scam

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/20/target-accused-of-organic_n_327639.html

http://www.startribune.com/business/11225536.html

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-05/03/content_15203108.htm

Image: Yogue_style

Jill Ettinger is a Los Angeles-based journalist and editor focused on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, diet preferences, health, and politics. She is the senior editor for sister websites OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com, and works as a research associate and editor with the Cornucopia Institute, the organic industry watchdog group. Jill has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, Reality Sandwich, and Eat Drink Better. http://www.jillettinger.com.

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Is Your Organic Food A Fraud? - Organic Authority

The housing market crash has become a distant memory, and home prices are looking healthy again. But does that mean there are good opportunities for investing in the residential real estate market?

Home values are climbing in most places. According to the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, 92 percent of major metro areas saw gains in prices for existing, single-family homes during thethird quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier.

But while interest rates remain low, the days of quick, easy financing are over, and the tightened credit market can make it tough to secure loans for investment properties. Still, a little creativity and preparation can bring financing within reach of many real estate investors.

If youre ready to borrow for a residential investment property, these tips can improve your chances of success.

Since mortgage insurance wont cover investment properties, youll need to put at least 20 percent down to secure traditional financing. If you can put down 25 percent, you may qualify for an even better interest rate, says mortgage broker Todd Huettner, president of Huettner Capital in Denver.

If you dont have the down payment money, you can try toget a second mortgage on the property, but its likely to be an uphill struggle.

Although many factors among them the loan-to-value ratio and the policies of the lender youre dealing with can influence the terms of a loan on an investment property, youll want to check your credit score before attempting a deal.

Below (a score of) 740, it can start to cost you additional money for the same interest rate, Huettner says. Below 740, you will have to pay a fee to have the interest rate stay the same. That can range from one-quarter of a point to 2 points to keep the same rate.

The alternative to paying points if your score is below 740 is to accept a higher interest rate.

In addition, having reserves in the bank to pay all your expenses personal and investment-related for at least six months has become part of the lending equation.

If you have multiple rental properties, (lenders) now want reserves for each property, Huettner says. That way, if you have vacancies, youre not dead.

If your down payment isnt quite as big as it should be or if you have other extenuating circumstances, consider going to a neighborhood bank for financing rather than a large national financial institution.

Theyre going to have a little more flexibility, Huettner says. They also may know the local market better and have more interest in investing locally.

Mortgage brokers are another good option because they have access to a wide range of loan products but do some research before settling on one.

What is their background? Huettner asks. Do they have a college degree? Do they belong to any professional organizations? You have to do a little bit of due diligence.

A request for owner financing used to make sellers suspicious of potential buyers, during the days when almost anyone could qualify for a bank loan. But now, its more acceptablebecause of the tightening of credit.

However, you should have a game plan if you decide to go this route.

You have to say, I would like to do owner financing with this amount of money and these terms,' Huettner says. You have to sell the seller on owner financing, and on you.

If youre looking at a good property with a high chance of profit, consider securing a down payment or renovation money through a home equity line of credit, from credit cards or even via some life insurance policies, says Ben Spofford, an Ohio home remodeler and former real estate investor.

Financing for the actual purchase of the property might be possible through private, personal loans from peer-to-peer lending sites like Prosper and LendingClub, which connect investors with individual lenders.

Just be aware that you may be met with some skepticism, especially if you dont have a long history of successful real estate investments. Some peer-to-peer groups also require that your credit history meet certain criteria.

When youre borrowing from a person as opposed to an entity, that person is generally going to be more conservative and more protective of giving their money to a stranger, Spofford says.

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5 Tips For Financing Investment Property | Bankrate.com

Often, people build stories in their mind which have no basis in the contours of reality. Those which build these images, are building such images which are based on their relatively limited sense of understanding about the particular subject or person. This is a "fill in the blank" reality, which often manifests itself into the hearts and the minds of those who have a "fill in the blank" mindset, not the person with the here said reality.The universe is designed in a way that reflects itself, just like a mirror, showing you exactly who you are to yourself, not who others are. Your largest and most concealed insecurities have their way of presenting themselves to you in a fashion that is relative to your self designed way of communication.This short writing is a reminder that your preconceived notions on a particular subject or person, are a construct of your inner mind and emotional-relational well being and not of others. This is one of the largest fundamental truths in which you must have large insight to carefully watch who and what you massacre with your personal thoughts.Having a keen sense of control on this subject will lead you to enlightenment in many platforms of life. Will Barnes, The Expansion of The Soul

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Quotes About Personal Development (1420 quotes)