“J” is a smart man. He is also a very poor man in a developing African country, with a family to feed, an inadequate housing situation and not a lot of opportunities. However, with just a few dollars “J” could set up a small shop that would bring in enough money to support himself and his family, with enough left over to begin saving for a better home. The only problem is, a few dollars might as well be a million to “J” given the state of the local economy.

That’s where you come in. Instead of denying and backing away from the title “rich Westerner,” why not embrace it and use it to do some good? Even if you don’t feel rich in comparison to the Jones’, when compared to the “J’s” of the world you’re Croesus in a spiffy suit. And it really doesn’t take that much to do a world of good.

How much? How about $25.00?

That’s the minimum contribution to Kiva, a new peer-to-peer microloan project that enables those of us who have been fortunate enough to be born into a relatively wealthy, first-world situation to help those whose fortune didn’t pan out so well.

The concept is simple: First, you sign up for and “purchase” a piece of a loan via Pay Pal a credit card. Kiva then combines that purchase with money from others to make short-term loans to needy African entrepreneurs. The beneficiary sets up shop (or whatever) and pays the loan back. After the entire loan is repaid, you get your money back (no interest is paid to donors, although interest may be charged to the beneficiary of the loan to help defray costs), at which time you can opt to take your money out, re-loan it, or donate it to Kiva to either cover administration costs or to be added into a growing permanent loan pool, whichever you choose.

Of course, Kiva does due diligence research before adding prospective loan recipients to the pool and all of the money you put in goes toward the loan process – Kiva’s low overhead is covered by interest charges (if any) on the loans, fundraising and donations. So far, Kiva’s payback percentage has been 100%, although the microfinance industry average is 97% so there’s always a chance, however small, that you won’t get your money back.

But the coolest part of the whole process is that you get ongoing monthly updates about the person or business your money is helping. You get to see the good you’re doing. You can be a part of the conversation, as well, by posting a comment on the site’s update center. Comments are reviewed by staff and passed onto the business, if appropriate.

So what’s stopping you? Go on now – it’s only $25. What’s that these days, for a rich Westerner? A haircut? Dinner out? A Dixie Cup of gas? Whatever it is, it isn’t much. But for a poor but motivated African entrepreneur, it’s the chance of a lifetime to make a lifetime’s worth of change.

Posted by admin | No Comments »

The foreclosure crisis has rippled all from first to last the wider markets and is hitting big financial losses on mortgage-backed securities and institutions with other concerned assets. These delays have led the institutions to hold back and cut down the lending process, since it threatens to move forward the broader economy into depression. The long-term economic outlook on the housing market is a long way to go since new criteria and guidelines is needed to be set. With this, many homeowners are said to have anticipated to failure to pay on their first mortgages the coming years which will in return, they might lose their property.

In the US, Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed to negotiate on a housing bill that would ease gridlocked partisan brawl and potentially letting for an insertion of federal dollars into the upset and troubled housing industry. The lawmakers is set to conclude this agreement and is yet to be compromised and discussed. The proposal will stable the mortgage market to help increase and improve the housing project. In particular, this bill will help the home builder to pay their taxes easier. In the long run, the temporary tax credit will encourage people to buy homes and later on, builders can offer the houses in scheme payments.

Yet after the agreement is signed and unforeseen events are met, there are many particular and information that needs to be taken care of prior to calling your house a home. These days, there are agencies that can help you with the details out of your hands and
everything will run smoothly as possible. Services such as mortgage financing, home insurance, title insurance, and other services with regard to home buying, can be handled by these agencies. They can also get you a mortgage approval as long as all documents are presented in accordance. On top of this, these agencies can make things easier the moving-in process.

Internet, thus, plays a big factor in ones lives. That’s why home buyers all the time ask if their Realtor has a website or is there any Realtor Associations that can be found in the web. Through web marketing, the agent can get more inquiries and eventually will lead to more clients. Homebuyers would like to see their realtors active in the real estate industry aside from the rating system that his clients give. Sometimes the ratings are only a small criterion when choosing a reliable agent. What matters is having a good reputation, his works, and how long he has been in the real estate business.

Home inspectors usually operate as a self-supporting contractors. As a result, it’s hard for them to give a history of consumer criticisms to a new client. There are sites like http://Yellowpages.com that contains ratings. Though some clients don’t bother to rate the inspector’s services. Ratings depend on the are that was covered. An inspector can receive a five star or more especially if his clients like him or are satisfied with his works. There are clients that even recommend his services to his families and friends. And since not all contractors have ratings, this has a big effect on their business.

Posted by pooch | No Comments »

Posted by pooch | No Comments »