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Our last article included 11 Tips to help you get started with the Home Downsizing process. Whereas that article focused more upon how you can „Get Started“, this article takes you to the next step and provides you with 16 tips and strategies designed to „Keep You Moving Forward“ after you have started the Home Downsizing process.

• Know Values Before You Begin Dumping. „Do Not“, I repeat, „Do Not“, begin dumping anything before having someone look at it for potential value. All too often things that you perceive as having value turn out to be valueless, while things that you perceive to have little value end up having considerable worth.

• Have a Professional Help You With Values: Before tossing anything out you would be wise to hire someone who is knowledgeable in Personal Property values to provide you with valuations prior to beginning the dumping process. A Professional In-Home Personal Property Walk-Through Valuation is usually a good place to start for most individuals. A USPAP Appraisal will be more precise and detailed, but will cost significantly more because of the time involved in its preparation. The up-front cost of either should seem quite reasonable when compared to the potential loss if you throw the wrong things away.

• What You Paid Has No Bearing On Today’s Value: We’ll cover this concept in greater depth in a later article, but at this point you must understand that what you paid for something has absolutely no bearing…none…on what it will bring in today’s market.

• Start Early In The Process: Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute to get started. Start early, work in smaller blocks of time, and the job will go much easier.

• Start With A Small Room: Start by selecting a small room to begin with. Once that smaller room has been successfully completed, it will be easier to move on to a more complex room.

• Start With A Room That Has Less Sentimental Attachment: A bathroom, closet, or kitchen may be a good place to start. The most important thing is to start somewhere, and then build momentum towards larger projects.

• Start With Larger Objects: It’s often easier to start by eliminating larger items, such as furniture. The logic here is that you can begin to feel as if you are making progress after only making a few decisions.

• Start With A Portion Of The House That You Don’t Currently Use Much: A grown child’s empty bedroom is often a good place to start.

• Start With Personal Papers and Family Photographs: This won’t gain you that much space, but it can be fun, and is a logical step in starting the downsizing process.

• Work In Limited Blocks Of Time: The process can be very tiring and emotionally draining. Limit yourself to only a few hours at a time, at least in the beginning. Then, if you are feeling up to it, you can work in extended periods of time.

• Stick With A Specific Project Until Done: Once started, do your best to complete a specific project, especially smaller projects. For example, if your start cleaning out a closet, finish that project before moving on to another project. However, recognize that larger projects, such as a basement or attic, will most likely not be completed in a single session.

• Anticipate The Weather: Plan ahead, keeping the weather in mind. You don’t want to work in the attic on a scorching July day, and you don’t want to be working in the garage or outbuildings in sub-freezing weather. Use the weather to your advantage.

• Give Yourself Ample Lighting: Little will get done if you can’t see what you are doing. If the room you are working in isn’t bright enough, bring in some temporary lighting to brighten up the workspace.

• Give Yourself Ample Workspace: You can’t sort much into piles or sorting categories on a single, rickety folding card table. Try to provide yourself with one or more solid 3′ x 8′ folding tables. Today’s tables have light, plastic tops and are much easier to move by yourself than the heavy wooden tables of previous years.

• Use Heavy Duty Plastic Bags For Dumping: It doesn’t matter whether you buy them at the supermarket, home improvement store, or dollar store, be sure that you use heavy duty plastic bags for packing old clothes and linens, or dumping unwanted smalls into the weekly trash. Nothing is more frustrating than having a lighter-duty plastic bag break after you have spent considerable time packing it.

• Homes With More Space Can Sell Better: Selling off your Personal Property can make you even more money when you sell your current home. Clutter tends to make a house look small. By downsizing before you put your house on the market, you can make your house look even bigger than it really is, thereby increasing its salability. We know of one situation where the Real Estate agent felt that a house brought $30,000-$40,000 more than it would have brought had the home downsizing not occurred.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Flatbed trucking is a practical option to transport the large, bulky goods that need the open space of a truck trailer or need to be lifted by a forklift or crane. Some of the common items to transport include plumbing supplies, machinery, airplane wings, lumber and cars. Here are a few pros and cons related to flatbed transportation:

Ease of loading

The open nature of the flatbed trailer is appreciated for the complete ease in loading. The enclose trailer has a confined space and this can make it very difficult to load large items, such as a prefabricated roof. However, the flatbed has the ability to give complete freedom on what can be loaded and will accept the largest pieces of plumbing supplies or lumber. Also, on arriving at the intended destination, the unloading process is much easier and completed in a relatively short time.

Variety of materials

The flatbed trailer is a useful option if planning to transport a high volume of different materials on a single trip. This makes it possible to easily move materials for interior work, basic framing lumber and other essential supplies for a housing project. A great benefit of this is the ability to cut shipping costs for faster project completion and higher profit margin.

No loading dock

While the dry vans are the most popular option for transporting goods of all types, they do have certain limitations. A major issue with this type of van is the need to have easy access to a loading dock to quickly load and unload its contents.

However, the flatbed trailer does not have this type of restriction. It has the ability to deliver loads to virtually any location. This can include a residential neighborhood or a large construction site. The greater flexibility in use makes them more appealing to the contractors and lumber shippers.

Are there any negatives?

In addition to the positives of using the flatbed trailer, there are also a few negatives that are worth mentioning. A trucker in control of a conventional trailer only has to be concerned with damage goods in the event of a load falling over. But, with the open nature of the flatbed, there is the potential to cause significant damage to not only the load, but also those nearby if anything should fall off. For this reason, it is essential that the flatbed trucker is a skilled, detail-oriented, and organized person.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

The buzzword today with residential real estate agents is staging. Staging a home can change a homes atmosphere that appeals to homebuyers and which may bring a higher price and accelerate market time. By adding small decorative touches, rearranging or deleting furniture or creating vignettes a home can look like a professional stager was hired.

Mark Nash author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home has seen the best and worst in home staging as a real estate broker in Chicago and he shares some do’s and don’ts for home sellers that want to try to stage their home.

Do’s

-Pick-up recent home decorating magazines. If your not up to speed on current decorating trends it will help familiarize yourself with how interior design is being marketed. Tab pages with low-cost ideas that which will make your home say today.

-Invite a friend or real estate agent over. A second or third pair of eyes will help you accent the best and edit the worst in your home. Be prepared for some constructive criticism. You want to hear it before you put your home on market, not as feedback from prospective buyers. Go room-by-room with a worksheet so you can take notes. Depending on how much time you have available for an update or a makeover, you will need to prioritize and figure out what will give you the biggest return. Do this at least two months before you put your house on market.

-Stage a home office if you don’t have one. They’re not a trend; they’re required for homebuyers in 2006. Many homebuyers today work from home part or full-time or want a space where they can organize their life and park a computer. Find an extra bedroom, walk-in closet or an unused corner and convert into a home office. Make sure there is a convenient electric, telephone and cable supply.

-Focus on living spaces. These areas are where the majority of homebuyers will spend their time. Place a side table and a floor lamp next to a comfortable chair as a reading corner. Float sofas and coffee tables away from walls for a designer look. Use area rugs to anchor furniture groupings on bare tile and wood floors. Living spaces must have matching table lamps. Streamline family photos and place green plants in room. Fireplaces should always be operable and on in season. Place groupings of candles and clear glass bowls filled with natural potpourri on side and coffee tables. Substantial wicker baskets can organize magazines, remote controls and toys. Limit knick-knacks to make room for staging materials.

-Give attention to Kitchens. Put away in a handy drawer all dish towels and rags. Reduce recipe boxes, barrels of cooking utensils, excess-cooking machines, and cookbooks by two-thirds to open up counter spaces. For a quick update put new hardware on cabinets. Find an out-of-the-way place for a portable dishwasher. Clean off everything on the refrigerator door. Omit throw rugs scattered around the kitchen. Clean off windowsills to open up exterior views. Organize cabinets with clear containers. If you can’t see the back wall of a cabinet, buyers will think you don’t have enough storage space. Ditto closets. Budget to keep a variety of fresh fruit in a glass bowl on the counter. Edit family bulletin boards. Remove old curtains and install new wood blinds on windows.

-Spend time on sleeping and bathing spaces. Often over looked in the frenzy to get a home on market, these spaces can make or break a home. Buy a set that consists of a matching bed skirt, bed spread, pillow covers and blinds to match. Buy a new shower curtain and separate liner. Wash the liner often if mold develops. Add complete sets of towels that coordinate with your new shower curtain. Clear all cosmetics off vanity. If you have an over-the-toilet cabinet consider removing and place a piece of artwork in its place. Remember to keep items in the „too much information“ category, out of view. If you have a king-size bed in a small room, you’ll pay to have buyers over come this negative, so get rid of it now. Clear off dresser and nightstands of excess. Make sure the bedroom receives the maximum natural light. Install closet organizers in closets. Eliminate wall and door hooks for clothes. People might look under your bed, no surprises please.

-Remember first impressions in entries. A simple consol table with mirror over makes a nice entranceway. Make sure this space is well lit day or night. Place adhesive under rugs so buyers don’t trip or slide.

Don’ts

-Use inexpensive silk flowers. Nothing distracts buyers more that silk flowers that are past their time, inappropriate for the season or thrown together. Throw them out, now.

-Forget to upgrade Fido’s bowl. I’ve experienced more unhealthy pet food bowls, watering stations and litter boxes than I care to remember. We know you love your pet, but prove it to homebuyers.

-Overlook window coverings. Buyers today think less is more in window fashion. They want the most light and the least embellishment on windows. And no layered treatments with sheer panels please.

-Use low wattage light bulbs. Dark, dim rooms are unappealing to homebuyers. They want to see what they might buy. Replace bulbs with manufacture recommended wattages and especially the burned out ones. The newer low-energy bulbs don’t cast home or people in flattering light.

-Think that everyone loves wallpaper. No two people have the same taste in this instant decorator finishes. If it’s more than three years old, take it down and paint in a neutral color. And wallpaper boarders are out.

-Paint with commitment colors. If you’ve determined that you need to paint, stay away from bold or as I call them commitment colors. Commitment colors are those buyers either love or hate. It can be difficult for buyers to overlay their style on them. As one client said to me “ I don’t live in a magazine.“

-Think cleaning is a part of staging. Cleaning is what you do before staging. Everything should shimmer and shine. Don’t forget the windows.

Use these do-it-yourself tips to place your home on the stage of your local home sale theater.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Home ownership, has been considered, an essential component of the so – called, American Dream, for generations! However, every potential, qualified, buyer, does not seek the same things, nor, necessarily, has the same combination of needs, priorities, qualifications, necessities, and finances! Therefore, not only, must these people, proceed, without rose – colored glasses, and have, some focus, on balancing their needs, and wishes, as well as comparing it to their personal finances, etc, but, nearly all, would benefit, by hiring the right, professional, real estate agent, to meet their personal, best – interests! Since, for most, the value of their house, represents, their single – biggest, financial asset, doesn’t it make sense, to take the time, and make the effort, to carefully, interview, prospective agents, to choose, the one, best, for you? A great agent, realizes, he must, be ready, willing, and able, to FIND the right house, for his clients, based on their personal needs, necessities, and requirements, in an attentive way. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, using the mnemonic approach, what this means and represents, and why it matters.

1. Face facts; features; funds/ finances; future; feelings: Begin the process, facing – the – facts, in a realistic way, because, if, you, merely, seek to Keep Up With the Joneses, rather that, what your personal needs are, it won’t serve you, effectively! Evaluate, the features, you need, versus, those you like, know what you can afford, as well as the quality of the, Bones of the House! Realistically, know your true feelings, by giving yourself, a thorough, self – analysis, and/ or, check – up, from the neck – up! It’s also important to consider future issues, including family needs, affordability, and whether, you plan to live there, for a considerable period, or only, as a so – called, Starter Home!

2. Instincts; insights; inspiring: Many homeowners discover their home, inspires them, and, have the instincts, to realize, what means the most, to each individual! The greatest agents respect and understand these feelings and perception, and proceed, with the expertise, and insights, which best serve a client’s best – interests, etc!

3. Needs; nuances/ niche; neighborhood: Before buying a house, a potential buyer, should walk – the – neighborhood, and discover, if he would feel comfortable, and, truly, enjoy, living there! True professionals know and understand their client’s needs, perspectives, and priorities, and respect these, thoroughly, while addressing the nuances, and niche, which might provide the highest – quality, personal service, and representation!

4. Delve deeply; discourse; deliver: You can’t customize, properly, unless/ until, one delves deeply, and listens carefully, during the entire discourse, emphasizing, delivering, the best house, for the particular client!

How a quality real estate agent, proceeds, forward, to FIND the best house, for a client, differentiates the greatest ones, from the rest – of – the – pack! Doesn’t it make sense, for a prospective buyer, to carefully, choose, who, he hires?

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

The ample amount of online information regarding how to hire a real estate agent can be helpful for homebuyers and sellers, but finding the right one can still be a challenge. Professional agents should have the necessary skills and expertise to help find exactly what the client desires. These four qualities can clue in buyers and sellers that a real estate agent is a great choice.

Suggests Realistic Prices

When planning to sell a house, it is recommended to get listing presentations from several agencies. They will provide the market prices of comparable homes, as well as the amount of time it usually takes to sell similar properties. Working with professionals to ensure that a home is priced appropriately will make the process less time consuming and stressful.

Works Full Time

Some real estate agents connect home buyers with sellers as a part-time job; however, it is wise to choose one who works in the industry full time to get the best results. Such professionals are in a better position to provide accurate recommendations and tips as they have more experience and a deeper understanding of the industry. A full-time agent will likely spend more time scouting for a home on various listings or showing prospective buyers the house to ensure that the clients acquire or sell a property quickly and at the right price.

Charges an Appropriate Commission

In most states, the commission ranges between five and seven percent and is split between the selling and buying agents. Ask agents about commission rates when putting a home on the market or beginning a new home search. This is an ideal method to ensure that all parties understand the agreement. Also, be sure to ask about any offered rate rebates, as some companies actually pass on a percentage of the commission to the seller or buyer.

Has Experience in the Area

A buyer who is interested in purchasing a full-time residence should pick an expert who specializes in selling such properties in the area. On the other hand, people who are looking for investment properties are better off working with someone who has been facilitating such deals with other investors for years. It is also important to note that most professionals in this industry have multiple specialties.

Even if a candidate meets these four qualities, organize a face-to-face meeting with the home expert to get a full picture of his or her skills and expertise. Most professionals are more than happy to speak with potential customers to answer questions. Finding a real estate agent by following these guidelines will make the entire process of buying or selling a home far simpler.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Austin Real Estate has always been the most prominent option for all those who love to be in touch with nature. The aspect of environmentalism has gained much popularity in all walks of life. It has got so much importance in the modern world. In the earlier times, the people were not much concerned about the environment and its significance in the process of sustaining life in this planet.

Now, the situation has changed a lot. Even the residential and commercial construction designs are giving prominence to the being in close touch with the nature. Austin was the foremost city of the United State of America to establish and implement a green-building program. It was done by planning for long term environment friendly home building guidelines for the people interested in the construction of new homes.

The national association of home builders has selected the city of Austin as their target area to launch their campaign for a complete green building scenario, with the view of changing the outlook towards environment within the whole real estate industry. This was done in the year 2004. They have selected the city of Austin itself because, the Austin Real Estate is considered as the leader in this process in the whole of US. These guidelines are aimed at creating a unified nature friendly home building strategy, which features energy efficient and high quality indoor environmental homes. It is a surprising fact that the city of Austin was having such guidelines for a long time even before the association has started to implement it in a nationwide basis.

The Austin energy and the guidelines in the Austin city have created a visible move in the direction of conserving energy and the building of nature friendly homes. An energy conservation program was also initiated with constituting team of experts to conduct energy analysis in the existing homes and to suggest options to conserve energy with some minor changes.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

The real estate market thrives with many opportunities that give chance to people to earn. The portfolio is diverse such that there are also many investments to try.

Rental properties are among the most common of the real estate property investments. This is as simple as buying out the property and letting someone (tenant) rent it for some period as determined by a contract. While the landlord (property owner) is responsible for maintenance and tax dues, the tenant has the obligation to pay for the monthly rent.

The downside to this investment is if the landlord will have to deal with irresponsible tenants. These people do not care at all and can end up damaging the property.

If you’re not keen with this property investment, you can try the real estate investment group. It will let you buy apartment blocks, condo units or even townhouses with a single company acting as the property manager. You keep ownership, usually documented in block and white. The investment company collects payments for you whole keeping some portion of what the tenants pay for the monthly rent. In some cases, there is a portion allotted to cover for units which are left vacant for short periods.

Another property investment is called flipping. In this method, you buy a property and flips it to the next owner. It’s like buy and sell. Usually, flipping a property takes three to four months. You just have to be keen on eyeing properties that can be sold without having to alter them at all.

However, there are new flippers who also shell out small amount of money to make the properties they buy more attractive. Few renovations and improvements are done before they look for the next buyer. This buyer may be someone who just looks for his new house or someone who is also a property flipper.

There are also property investors who take risks on financing people who have mortgage dues. Some do these in exchange for collaterals like cars. Some take the property titles and return them to the owner when the debt has been repayed.

Real estate is truly diverse. Many forms of investments are now available for those who do not only seek shelter but also seek shield from financial crisis.

If you are looking for real estate investments within your place, seeking the help of a real estate professional is a big leap towards this realization/

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

„If you use Emotion and Love to drive your sales and your business, you will create Loyalty Beyond Reason. And I promise you, you will build relationships and enjoy a business that exceeds beyond your wildest expectations“

First of all, before you decide to start your cleaning business, make sure this kind of work is right for you. You will need to be in good physical condition. Cleaning is very hard strenuous work. You will need to have good customer relation skills. You will need to have basic office skills and some accounting skills.

If you are planning on leaving your full time position to start a cleaning business, make sure you have at least six months of savings. Or keep your full time job and start out part time.

Research all the aspects of the cleaning service business. From customer service to advertising, taxes, employees, insurance and bonding, what to charge and how to clean a home professionally. Cleaning your own home and cleaning professionally is totally different. Learning how to clean professionally takes a lot of time. When a client pays for your services they expect to come home and find their home spotless.

Getting those first clients takes time, persistence and patience. You will not get a hundred clients overnight.

Obtaining Those First Clients The hardest part of starting your own cleaning service is obtaining those first clients. Most clients want to know how long you have been in business and want references. The best thing to do is let clients know that, yes, you are new to the business but that you have thoroughly researched all aspects of the cleaning business and assure them that you know what you are doing and that you are quit capable of cleaning their home to their specifications. Be confident. I can’t stress this enough. Clients love to see confidence. It relieves their worries and lets them know that their home is in good hands.

References: To get a few good references when starting out, ask some friends or family members if you can clean their home for free or at a discounted rate. The sound of working for free may not be appealing but it will be worth it to get some good testimonials.

When cleaning those first homes, go for quality, not how fast you can clean the home. Cleaning efficiently takes a long time, but you will get to the point where you can do a thorough cleaning in a short time. After cleaning make sure you go back and double check all rooms to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Impress those first clients and word of mouth will spread soon.

Advertising Your company image is everything. Before you start advertising, decide what image you want to portray on your advertising material. Your image is very important. Be consistent with all your advertising. If you have a logo be sure to use it on all your advertising materials. I think it is best to have a website developed before you start advertising. When advertising, stick with the same logo and colors.

Advertise in Local Paper: Start by running a text ad in your local newspaper. Try to come up with an eye catching ad. Do not sell your services on low rates, sell your services on your quality of work and what you can do for the client that other companies don’t. There is a lot of competition in the cleaning service. You have to stand out from the rest.

Magnetic Signs or Lettering for your Vehicle: Having your business name and contact information on your vehicle is a great way to advertise. We use the vinyl lettering. The lettering looks much more professional than the magnetic signs.

Flyers: You can print nice flyers on your home computer, but I would suggest investing in some professional flyers. Hang flyers at Hair Dressers, Laundromats, Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores, etc. Put flyers on car windows at local groceries stores and businesses. You can even go door to door in neighborhoods you would like to work in. You cannot put them in mailboxes. but you can put them in the front door.

Door Hangers: Door hangers are a great way to get new clients. Pick the neighborhood you would like to work in and hang the door hangers on the doors. When people get flyers or ads in their mailbox they usually throw them away with the junk mail. But if there is a door hanger on the door they will take the time to look at it.

Business Cards: Start passing out your business cards to friends and family members. You can also ask your local businesses if you can leave some cards on their counters.

Referral Program: A great way to obtain new clients is through a referral program. Offer existing clients a discount when they refer a friend. You can give your existing clients a discount when the friend uses your services three times.

Website: These days people live very busy lives so they use the convenience of the internet to shop for the services they need. A lot of working women will shop for services while at work. Everyone that has a business should have a website. It shows clients that you are serious about your business and allows them research your business in their own time.

Cleaning Products: By using all natrual products, you can offer your clients a healthy cleaning experience and protect ourselves against harsh chemicals. Clients love the natural cleaning products with essential oils. They come home to a healthy clean home filled with the wonderful scents of aromatherapy essential oils.

Tip: Always carry hand sanitizer and wash your hands often while cleaning homes. Wear gloves when cleaning bathrooms. You will be exposed to a lot of different germs in clients homes.

Remember most customers prefer that you bring your own cleaning supplies. That way they do not have to worry about going to the store for cleaning supplies before you clean. Some customers have special cleaners for certain appliances or floors in their houses. These customers usually will have these cleaners on hand for you to use. We almost always use the customers vacuum cleaner. That way you do not have to carry a heavy vacuum from house to house.

What to Charge I mentioned earlier that you should sell your services on your quality of work and not your low rates. If your rates are too low, clients will think that your work is sub-standard and that you are not experienced. Also you want to attract the clients that can afford your services. I made the mistake of pricing my work too low when I first started out. Cleaning is hard work, charge what you are worth. As the old saying goes „You get what you pay for.“

Some companies charge by the hour, some charge by the room, some charge a flat rate per home and some charge by the square foot. I think it is better to charge by the home, not by the hour. If a client knows they have to pay one set fee, they don’t care if you take 2 hours or 5 hours. Also your clients will know what they are paying up front and won’t have to worry about added expenses.

No two houses are the same. And there is no set charge for all homes. You have to clean for awhile yourself to get some experience and to work out a system to clean efficiently. Only you know what you want and need to make. Decide what you need to make hourly to cover all expenses and still make a good profit.

A word of advise: Make sure when you start your company that you charge what you would charge if you had employees. Some people make the mistake of under charging when they start out just to get customers and then later on when they grow and need to hire help they aren’t making enough money on their houses to pay help. Don’t under price your work. Cleaning homes is very hard physical work and you didn’t get into this business to work for nothing.

New Construction Cleaning If you decide to do this type of work you will need more equipment. You will need ladders, window cleaning kits with long extensions, a shop vac, etc. These types of jobs are usually 2 to 3 person jobs. New construction cleaning requires a lot more cleaning. You may have to remove stickers and labels from windows and bathroom showers, sinks and toilets. Some require that you clean the vents to remove dust from construction work. There will be ceiling fans to clean, scrubbing floors, and cleaning woodwork to remove dust. New construction cleaning rates depend on the area you live in.

Insurance and Bonding. You need to be an honest person and somewhat personable. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their house, with good reason. You should be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance rates depend on your insurance carrier and where you are located. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It’s well worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or yearly. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You will need to renew the bond every year. *Note: if you hire employees and cover them under your insurance, they must be an employee on payroll and not a sub-contractor. If you employ them as a sub-contractor your insurance will not cover them. If they are a sub-contractor they are required to carry their own insurance. You

Hiring Help If you start out cleaning the homes by yourself, you will eventually get to the point where you need to expand your business. Start out with one part time employee. Train her and let her take your place one day a week. Then have her take your place 2 days a week and so on. This will give you the free time that you need to market your business and obtain more clients. After you get more clients you will be able to hire more part time help. Eventually you will be able to stop doing the cleaning yourself and just run the business end, which is the only way you will be able to grow your business. When training new employees, always, either train them yourself or have a lead person train them. Make sure there is a lead person on each and every cleaning job. Employees have a tendency to slack off when they are on their own.

Growing Your Business You will eventually get to the point where you have enough employees and lead people and you will be able to stop working in your business and start running your business. You will find that after awhile it will get to be too much trying to clean everyday and at the same time giving estimates, answering calls, scheduling, doing book work, obtaining new clients, etc.

Remember one of the most important qualifications for a cleaning service is TRUST. A client has to know they can trust you alone in their home. After you acquire a few cleaning positions ask the clients if you can use them for a reference. Most of the time they are more than willing to let you use them for a reference. This is how you build your business and acquire new clients is through referrals. Be dependable. Most clients will want to be set up on an every week or every other week schedule on the same day of the week. Try to always keep this same schedule unless the client asks you to switch to another day. If you have to cancel a cleaning date, make sure you try to reschedule at the earliest possible date to make up the cleaning.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Animal Farm is one of the two greatest works of George Orwell, the other being 1984. Animal Farm makes satirical allegories of the totalitarian communism of Soviet Russia. The novel is regarded as one of the all-time bests ever written by any author.

Animal Farm is a novel of betrayed revolution. It presents the corruption that followed the revolution led by Lenin.

In Animal Farm, the characters are animals and human beings. Among the animals, many of them are pigs, who are more often than not rulers. Apart from pigs, we see three main horses, a donkey, a goat, some puppies, rats, the sheep (plural number), a raven, a cat and hens.

The animals are more allegorical than real. The interpretation of the meanings is often left to the reader, but generally the consensus is that they represent different classes. Again, the humans represent another class. Thus, the novel demonstrates multiple classes.

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than the others.

All animals are supposed to be of the same class, but in reality, some animals are of superior class.

Pigs: Old Major represents Lenin/Marx. He had introduced the animals to the song Beasts of England. Napoleon (allusion of Stalin), the villain, a Berkshire boar, gets more powerful gradually, with help of the puppies whom he uses as secret police. He drives out Snowball (allusion of Trotsky), from the farm and uses dogs to enforce his dictatorship. He changes the commandments to allow him have privileges such as eat on a table. He and the other pigs learn to walk upright and behave like those humans against whom they had revolted. Snowball, allusion of Trotsky, was working for the good of the farm and had won over most of the animals hearts, but was driven out by Napoleon and his dogs. Napoleon also had spread negative rumors on Snowball. Squealer (allusion of Molotov) is Napoleon’s minister of propaganda, and his main assistant for all practical purposes. He uses statistics to confuse the animals and show that they had improved quality of life, and the animals, with little memory of life before revolution, accept. Minimum is a poetic pig representing all the admirers of Stalin inside and outside Russia.

Humans: Mr. Jones, a heavy drinker, the disposed tsar. His attempt to recapture the farm is spoiled by the Battle of the Cowshed (Russian Civil War). Interestingly, Napoleon eventually becomes as much a drunkard as Jones. Mr. Frederick, the tough owner of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm, represents Hitler and his farm represents Nazi Party. Mr. Pilkington is apparently nice but is shrewd. He and Napoleon draw the Ace of Spades (the highest card in a card game) and begin a bad fight, symbolizing the tensions between US and Russia. Mr. Whymper (loosely alluring Western intellectuals) is hired by Napoleon to represent Animal Farm in the human society.

Horses: Boxer is the hardest-working entity in the animal farm. He is dedicated to the success of the farm. Boxer invests all his loyal, kind, dedicated self to the farm’s „good“ as portrayed to him by the farms leaders. His hoofs eventually splits and he is sent to death by Napoleon when he could not work any more (and Napoleon spread the rumor that he died peacefully in a hospital). „I will work harder“ was the motto of Boxer in any tough situation, and his brain-washed trust was shown by his maxim „Napoleon is always right“. Clover is Boxer’s companion. She works with Boxer and loves him and cares for him, and takes the blame on herself when Boxer splits his hoof. She is deeply respected by the three younger ones who eventually take Boxer’s role. Mollie is a third horse – a self-centered mare – who wears ribbons in her mane and eats sugar cubes (lives a life of luxury), and is pampered by humans. Later she leaves for another farm seeking better comfort.

Other animals: Benjamin, the wise donkey who could read also, represents the Jews and lives till the end of the novel. Muriel is a wise old friendly goat like Benjamin, but dies earlier in the novel from old age. The cat represents laziness, the rats represent some arbitrary people who roam around, the sheep represent the masses (and Napoleon manage the sheep such that he is supported and believed by them) and the hens represent the rich peasants. Moses is an old raven (bird) that sometimes visits the farm from Sugarcandy Mountain, a place where the hard-working animals go after death he claims. The puppies are the ones that Napoleon specially raises and makes a secret police out of them. They become one of the backbones of Napoleon’s power in the Animal Farm.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg

Before getting into the explanation of an inactive agent and an active agent we will begin with a short summary of how the real estate Brokerage system works in Ontario. We will refrain from getting into too much detail and thus the following will be a very simplified version.

In Ontario we have a Brokerage governing board called R.E.C.O. or the Real Estate Council of Ontario. A Brokerage is registered with R.E.C.O., pays its fees and dues which include errors and omissions insurance and is then ready to trade in real estate in the Province of Ontario only. The Owner/Broker may work alone as a single entity or invite licensed real estate salespeople and Brokers to join his or her Brokerage Firm and trade in real estate on behalf of the Brokerage.

A real estate Brokerage in Ontario may apply to become a member of its local real estate board. If accepted, the Brokerage will pay the board fees and dues which may include fees and dues applicable to the Ontario Real Estate Association and the Canadian Real Estate Association. If this option is taken by the Brokerage, then all the registered realty agents with this Brokerage must also become members and pay their applicable fees and dues to the said board and associations. In very rare cases, the Brokerage will cover these fees and dues for selected agents. The difference between being a board member or not is, the board members will have the privilege of all the services available to them from the board and associations including the multiple listing service which has proved invaluable to the real estate full timer and professional.

So, what is an inactive real estate agent? Simply put, an inactive agent in Ontario is one who is licensed under R.E.C.O. and for whatever reason has decided that he or she will not be trading in real estate and has not been doing so for a specified amount of time. There are still many agents in Ontario who remain with their current Brokerage and if that Brokerage is a board member, then even though an agent is inactive, he or she may still be paying fees and dues. Fees and dues may also include their Brokerage monthly fees, desk fees, franchise fees and other expenses. Since this is obviously a big waste of money these inactive agents will seek other Brokerages that will allow them to park their license without the wasted expenses.

Here are some of the terms used when referring to a Brokerage that will accept inactive real estate agents in Ontario. „Park your license“, „warehouse my license“, „hang my license“, „hold your license“, „real estate license holding company or Brokerage“, just to name a few.

A real estate agent who decides to park their license will still have some fees to pay but the difference will save them hundreds if not thousands of dollars yearly. Some of the fees will be to R.E.C.O. like their license registration fees due every 2 years and the errors and omissions insurance will still apply. In Ontario, they must earn 24 credits in their continuing education requirements as well and these credits are due on renewal.

What about the real estate Brokerage that provides the license holding services? Here the agent must do their due diligence. Seek out a trusted and proven Brokerage Office who is not a member of any real estate board. Ask for the highest commission split available to you in the event you do sell a property or 2 or if you refer sales out to other Brokerages or agents you may know. Even though your license is on Park, and you are inactive, your license in good standing is still active. Make sure you do not pay any ridiculous desk fees, extra monthly fees, franchise fees etc. Having said that, there most likely will be a small membership fee applicable for their services. Shop around for the best deal but remember to keep the experienced Brokerage that park or holds licenses a priority to you.

Inactive then, refers to the actual agent who is not active in the day to day trading of realty properties. As long as the license is registered with the Real Estate Council of Ontario and remains in good standing, your real estate license is „active“. If you decide, as an agent, to become inactive, you now have a wonderful and money saving choice to transfer and join an Ontario Brokerage that you can park your license with. This Brokerage will hold your license and this will allow you the opportunity to keep your license active so it does not fall by the wayside and lapse or be terminated.

I shudder to think about if I had to go over the process and expense of getting my Realtor license all over again..yuk! If you now have this valuable asset and are thinking of becoming inactive for whatever reason, think hard about keeping your license active because you never know how valuable this asset will be for you in the future. Hang it, park it, warehouse it, hold it, keep it active! Good luck.

Immobilienmakler Heidelberg

Makler Heidelberg