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For homeowners, the one word that invokes the most concern is foreclosure. Whether through tragic circumstances or situations beyond the homeowner’s control, foreclosure is a threat that can lead to many problems in the future. Fortunately, foreclosure is something that can be avoided in times of financial trial, if one knows where to get help.

Foreclosure is defined as the legal process that occurs when a homeowner, or owner of any property, loses interest and ownership in the property when he is unable to make regular payments on the mortgage. In other words, a if a homeowner can’t come up with the monthly amount to satisfy lenders, he can lose his home if it is foreclosed.

How Does Foreclosure Happen?

There are a number of reasons why foreclosure happens, all of which are related to a homeowner’s inability to make payments on the mortgage. These may include:

• Loss of job - whether by downsizing or disability, the lack of a steady income can prove hazardous to one’s finances
• Divorce or separation - where jointly-owned property is concerned, a homeowner may have to foreclose if he/she doesn’t have enough in a solo income to make house payments
• Unplanned home or car repairs - unexpected situations may happen, and leave the homeowner unprepared if money is needed for emergencies
• Filing for bankruptcy - sometimes when a person files for bankruptcy his/her tangible assets are liquidated to satisfy debt

For homeowners dangerously close to any of these situations, it is best to be prepared in the event foreclosure must become an option to relieve debt.

What are the Effects of Foreclosure?

Foreclosure means more than just losing a home. It can haunt a person for years down the road. Other problems that may result from foreclosure include:

• Loss of equity earned in your home. The value of your home may increase each year. In many cases the combination of the equity and the increased value of your home can translate into losing thousands of dollars.
• Increased taxes. A lender who loses money from the sale of a foreclosed home must report the loss to the IRS. Subsequently, the IRS may require you to report the lender’s loss as income on your next tax return and you may be required to pay taxes on it.
• Inability to borrow money in the future. A foreclosure can destroy your credit profile almost overnight. This derogatory mark on your credit report will label you as a bad credit risk for at least 7 years. This can result in declined applications for credit, the inability to rent an apartment, limited employment opportunities, and a host of other implications that can follow you for a long time.
• Lawsuits. The mortgage company can go after you for damages.
• Loss of employment. Some employers require their employees to maintain good credit histories. Notification of a foreclosure may be grounds for dismissal or loss of a chance for advancement and better pay.
• Loss of self-esteem and self-worth. Emotionally the stress of foreclosure can have serious effects on your well-being. The stress that foreclosure brings can lead to depression, feelings of worthlessness, lack of motivation, embarrassment around family and friends, and the list goes on.

In order to prevent foreclosure, it is strongly recommend to take action if your finances begin to appear unstable. The guidance of a loss mitigation counselor, for one, can steer a homeowner in the right direction with regards to saving property.

Dan Schultz operates American Loss Mitigation, Inc., a consultancy dedicated to helping people prevent home foreclosure. Schultz also trains interested people to become loss mitigation counselors.

A New Home, My Story

I finally found a new home today! Six months of looking to get here. Six months of searching Craigslist everyday like a drowning person looking for a life preserver. There are too few houses on the market with far too many displaced families looking to fill vacancies.

The competition was unbelievable. With only days to spare, my search is finally over, and I signed my 12 month lease today on a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1700 square foot older home, in a very nice neighborhood. No AC or swimming pool, but it does have a very sweet landlord who decided to take a chance on me.

My new landlord told me that in 24 years of owning and renting this house, he had never seen this many people come through looking for a rental. Just yesterday, three separate people who looked at the house, also lost their homes in foreclosure.

Yes, like so many others, I have to move because I lost my house in foreclosure. I still find it hard to believe. The bank, who now owns my home, gave me until the end of May, only 6 days away, before turning me out.

My journey to a new home has been grueling, even ugly, I won’t deny it. I just had my home foreclosed on so I have awful credit, I don’t have a job, and I’m a single mom with four kids and a dog. Also, my sources of income are from unemployment and child support. I can’t remember how many days involved tears of despair.

I have heard it all, no foreclosure applicants, no children, no dogs.

After sinking into despair, I realized that I wasn’t going to find a home unless I was willing to do something different, I decided to fight back.

A Plan That Worked

Here is what I did to get the advantage over other renters and it worked! I received an acceptance on my application for a great home right away!

I made a ‘Rental Application Package’, which included:

* Pictures of me and my family in my cover letter (pics help landlords remember who you are and also help to ‘humanize’ you)

* A thorough list of my lease, or rent history

* My credit explanation letter (make sure not to blame)

* Character reference letters complete with photos of each person

* A ‘dog resume’ detailing the training and accomplishments of my 10 yr old golden retriever, Cody

* I also included letters from my current neighbors to say what a good neighbor I’ve been

* It would help to get and include a verification letter from your employer

Be sure to add a cover letter with your rental application. I helps to identify the positive things you may have discussed when you met with the landlord, like any work you are willing to do on the property or that you are seeking a ‘long term’ rental. In my cover letter I included my promises: To pay rent prior to the 1st of each month with an auto deduction from my bank, To work out any issues in a friendly manner, To be a quiet tenant and good neighbor, and To take good care of the landlord’s property.

Most important of all, don’t give up. It may not be an easy challenge, but you really can get the home you want if you stay focused and diligent. I did, and so can you.

Jennifer Long, a San Diego native, lives and writes about life in Southern California. Check out my very interesting blog which talks about my life having gone from riches to rags overnight. http://www.mortgagemommy.blogspot.com

Exposure to Millions of Web Surfers

Whether you’re selling a product or service, job hunting, exploring or just surfing the net for pleasure or other reasons, you can explode your online presence and be seen or known by hundreds of thousands or even millions of persons. It needn’t be a lengthy process to do so either. The very nature of the internet allows for views to me made by hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in a matter of days or hours, in many cases. So how can you ramp up your online exposure forthwith without spending your inheritance in the process? Read on.

The Internet’s Top Five

Essentially, you’ll need to get exposure on the internet’s top five websites. This will almost automatically expose you to views from millions of online views from web surfers worldwide. Once exposed on these sites, in a matter of a few hours, you can be seen and on the lips and minds of literally millions of people. How does that sound? Here are the internet’s top five sites and what they offer.

YouTube

youtube.com

The internet’s newest online mega-site player, you can post screen captures and videos here for free. Setting up an account takes only a few minutes. Uploading a video can be done within an hour or so and be available to millions of viewers. You can also link to your video’s individual site using hypertext and back links to speed the viewing process along.
Videos are rapidly snatched up by search engines so your video’s presence will be noted sometimes in a matter of minutes.

Blogger

blogger.com

Blogs are all the rage from business and technical to personal thoughts and insights on virtually any topic. The top two are Blogger.com and Wordpress with no-cost Blogger being more widespread at the moment. Again you have the potential for millions of viewers almost instantly and they can come fast and furiously too depending on your blogging topic. Since blogs are picked up quickly by the major search engines too, your exposure can skyrocket in a matter of hours.

My Space

myspace.com

Another people-to-people biggie, you can create your own personal site here and post to your heart’s consent on any topic or theme of your choosing. Add photos, graphics and sound clips to round out you space, making it more interactive and you can easily wind up with a winner on your hands. Network like crazy to your other online presence sites and you’ll get checked out by hundreds of views per hour if your topic and theme are hot. Even if they’re not, you’ll still have massive exposure potential.

EBay

ebay.com

You’ve heard of the mega-site EBay for sure unless you’ve been living on another planet, the ozone layer or a desert island somewhere. So get yourself a posting here to garner at least a piece of the internet’s millions of viewers and surfers. Be it a product, service or information offer, this is a site you need to be on as part of your web presence explosion process. Payments are managed through PayPal which reaches globally to more than one hundred countries. Now you can offer services and products just as easily in Hanoi, Hong Kong or Hoboken.

Craigslist

craigslist.com

The place to advertise globally for free, this vast site allows you to reach potential clients, customers and other interested parties in a global market of your choice. You can hawk your wares and information by continent, country, or city area. Want to become known in Mexico, Malaysia, Madagascar or Mongolia? Then this site is definitely the place for you.

Summary

Yes, you can certainly explode your online presence in 48 hours or less by posting to these top five internet websites with your information, voice, videos, products and services, among other options. Only you can set the limits as to what you can achieve. Think up your campaign and get your posts and materials ready. Then set up your accounts at each of these massive exposure web site mega-sites and then just watch as your online presence soars through the roof.

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with “free ELT Ebook” in the subject line. Need professional, original content and photos or images for your blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Want more information, have a comment or special request? E-mail the author for a prompt response.

How To Become the Center of Attention
There are millions of people with tons of advice, techniques, and strategies for how to reach your audience and get them to take action. Yet, if we’re drowning in such advice, then why are so many marketing campaigns, books, speeches, articles, blogs, and other content painfully ineffective? Why does it seem so hard to get others to take action?

This is a must-read article for you if any of the following are true:

• You are a marketer, writer, entrepreneur, politician, or leader and you want to increase your ability to impact your audience, lead your organization, and make a positive difference.
• You’ve struggled with getting your message across in the past and have wondered why.
• You have an excellent product, service, or message that you know people will benefit from, but are having a hard time selling it.
• You have a passion for a particular message, but more often than not people seem to tune you out.
• You want to learn how to increase your conversion rate on your website and marketing campaigns.

When it comes to marketing, publishing, websites, public speaking, writing and all forms of content creation and distribution, there’s one secret that supersedes anything else you’ve ever heard on the subject. Learning and applying this one secret will make a bigger difference in your style and presentation than anything else.

Are you ready for it?

Let me give you a hint: Why are you still reading this article? You’ve made it this far for a reason-what is that reason? Is it because I’m such a great writer? Is it because you like my website? Is it because you think I’m a cool guy?

Does it have anything to do with me at all? Of course not. You’re still reading this because you have your own needs, struggles, and issues that you’re dealing with and you’re looking for answers. It has nothing to do with my writing style or my charismatic personality, charm, or wit. It’s all about you and your needs. I’ve promised to help you meet your needs and answer your questions by giving you a secret that will increase the effectiveness more than any other factor. You haven’t made it this far because of me; you’re here because of you. You might care about my credibility, but only as it relates to your purposes.

Have you figured out the secret yet? Lean in closer while I whisper it in your ear. Here’s the secret: It’s not about you.

That’s it. It’s really that simple. It’s not about you — it’s about your audience. It’s about your customer, or potential customer. It’s about their needs, desires, passions, fears, perceptions, sense of belonging, personality, sense of humor, tastes, preferences, and aversions. It’s about giving them what they want, not what you want.

The Golden Rule says to treat people how you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule says to treat people how they want to be treated. The Golden Rule is great for avoiding conflict and war, but horrible for marketing. No one cares that your product is the best and that it was the result of your years of toil and passion. They only care if it happens to coincide with what they want.

To give a tangible example of this secret, I’ve extracted and analyzed two writing samples from websites of freelance writers. Consider the differences between the two:

Example 1: “I enjoy working with people and I love to write. The combination gives me an edge in the freelance writing industry. I’m outgoing enough to ask all the right questions and lucky enough that I never get bored doing my job. I believe any piece of writing is worthy of perfection…I have always gone the extra mile for my clients. You will find that I am meticulous, that my work is original, and that I will consistently produce above and beyond expectations.

Example 2: “I am here to make your life easier. Partner with me for your writing needs and give yourself the freedom to focus on other aspects of your business. If you are looking for an experienced freelance writer who is committed to your satisfaction, you have found her! I look forward to helping you achieve more with words.”

While the first one isn’t written too badly, notice that “I” is used eight times with only two references to the writer’s potential clients. In an effort to sell you on her services, she has told you all about herself. In the second example, the writer references herself just four times while referencing you, the potential client, six times. The first person tells you how great she is; the second shows you that she’s all about meeting your needs.

For some reason we think that to sell people we need to tell them how great we are. The reality is just the opposite - you must show them how in tune to their needs you are. They only reason they care about how great you are is if your perceived greatness coincides with what they’re looking for and the particular pain that they’re feeling that your product, service, or message will alleviate.

Learning that it’s not about you and writing to the perspective of your audience will impact the effectiveness of your message more than any other factor. Stop being self-centered in presenting your message - make your message customer/audience-centric and you will quickly become the center of attention.

Stephen Palmer is a freelance writer and editor and the co-author of Killing Sacred Cows: Overcoming the Financial Myths that are Destroying Your Prosperity. He would love to help you make your book, articles, business plan, website, and/or speech effective, relevant, and memorable. Visit http://www.yourwritingcure.com now to find solutions to your content, writing, and editing problems.

With the credit crunch now having a very tight grip on the whole of the United Kingdom you may be surprised to find out that regardless of many of us struggling to manage when it comes to finances, and with price of living souring up all the time, the British public have their highest priority set on the annual summer holiday.

Research done proved that the number one priority when it came to saving at the moment, for most people, was a summer holiday abroad. A sort break closer to home came in at a close second, with all other priorities trailing behind. It seems that we Brits see the summer holiday as a necessity rather than a luxury.

If cash is a little bit scarce at this point in time and you are still looking to get away from it all, you need to spend some time looking into how you are going to pay for it all when you get there. There are added fees when it comes to currency exchange, cash withdrawal and commission charges, so you need to make sure you get a good balance for your money sources so you don’t get bitten by charges. There are good points and bad points to all of these methods, but most would agree that if you use a combination of the two you’ll be best off.

Examples of what bundle of methods to use are traveller’s cheques, the new “top up card”, cash already taken out at a low charged source in the United Kingdom and a decent credit card too. When you go to get your pre withdrawn currency in cash, try to stay away from the high street, as you can usually find much more competitive deals elsewhere. By taking the time to shop around you can find some brilliant deals that will get more bang for your buck.

It is highly recommended that you do your homework and research into who is doing the best exchange rate at the moment and pounce on the deal. The market for this is getting more competitive and therefore cheaper and is well worth taking advantage of.

For finance info on credit cards make sure you check out all the summer deals being offered for credit cards. If a credit card could help you sort your finances, speak to a financial advisor.

Buying any type of used car is always a bit of risk. When looking for a second hand Audi Quattro this is no exception. After all there is no guarantee that the car is all the seller claims it to be. However when using the internet you can cut down the risks some, for instance you can get a car data check. This will at least let you know whether the car has any outstanding finance on it, if it has been written off or if it was reported stolen.

You can also follow a few safety rules to ensure that your search for a second hand car goes as smooth as possible. You also need to give certain factors some consideration such as insurance, the cost of running the car and where you will get the finance to buy it.

It goes without saying that a test drive is needed and this should be extensive on different road surfaces and in different situations such as on the motorway and small side streets. Always go for the test drive during daylight hours and this way you will be able to give the car a good inspection. The inspection should include the bodywork, engine and all exterior including the paintwork and testing the lights. You also need to go over the cars interior paying attention to electric windows, the dashboard, electrical equipment on the dash and the seating. Always insist on seeing the paperwork for the car and the service history of it, a seller should never have any qualms about giving you this to check over.

Of course a little background history of the Quattro never goes amiss and can tell you a lot about your choice of car and how well it might service your needs.

The first thing you should know about the Quattro is that it is a four wheel drive. The four wheel drive from Audi was first shown to the world over 25 years ago and its popularity just kept on growing. In the 1980s it was the first road car to be mass produced that had four wheel drive and also an engine that was turbocharged. It was the highlight of the Geneva motor show in 19080 where it was presented as the first ever sports car for the road to feature permanent all wheel drive. The road holding capability of the car was untouched and even by today’s standards it takes some beating.

The Audi Quattro was the brainchild of Ferdinand Piech back in 1977. The very first test car was red in colour and 2 doors, an Audi 80 that came with just the test name of A1. It was not until March 1981 that the Quattro car first came to the United Kingdom when 163 cars were shipped in. It wasn’t until much later that this all changed and it become Audis best export. Over time many slight changes and improvements have been made to the car which all went towards making it what it is today, one of the most popular choices of Audi. While this is just a brief history it does go to show that a second hand Audi Quattro is an excellent choice of car.

Louis Rix is a Director of NetCars, one of the UK’s leading motoring websites. First established in January 2000, it provides car finance, loans and insurance. We also provide an online car search for Used Audi Cars