Refinance Home Loan: How to Find the Best Home Loan When Refinancing Your Mortgage

If you are in the process of refinancing your home loan, shopping around for the most competitive loan offer will save you thousands of dollars. There are other steps you can take before applying that will improve the interest rate and loan terms that you qualify. Here are three tips to help you qualify for the best mortgage when refinancing your home loan.

I. Clean Up Your Credit First

greeneasylife.com/LoanCalculator Mortgage interest rates are on the rise and anything you can do to improve your credit score prior to applying will save you money. Your credit score has a major influence on the interest rate and terms you will receive on your new mortgage. Your credit score is derived from the contents of your credit reports and because these reports are maintained by three separate companies, they are prone to mistakes. Before you apply for any home loan it is important to request copies of your credit reports and carefully review them for errors. If you find errors you will need to dispute the mistakes with each credit agency.

II. Shop Around for the Best Home Loan

Comparison shopping for a mortgage will help you find the best home loan offer. The Internet is a useful tool for quickly locating and comparing mortgage offers. You can easily screen greeneasylife.com mortgage loans from dozens of lenders with little time and effort. When you compare home loans it is important to compare all aspects of the mortgages you consider, not just the Annual Percentage Rate. There is a simple way to do a line by line comparison to determine which mortgage is a better deal. You can learn more about mortgage comparison shopping by registering for a free mortgage guidebook at the end of this article.

III. Take Your Time

One common mistake homeowners make when refinancing is rushing through and accepting the first promising offer they receive. When you take your time and learn mortgage terminology you will understand the home loan offers you consider. Comparison shopping will also help you avoid common mortgage mistakes that cost you thousands of dollars. Remember, never rush your financial decisions and you will save yourself money and future headaches.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid common mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. For a free copy of "refiadvisor.com Mortgage Refinancing: What You Need to Know," which teaches strategies to find the best mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process, visit Refiadvisor.com.

Claim your free guidebook today at: refiadvisor.com refiadvisor.com

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5 Tips on How to Market to Government Agencies

Many businesses have lost their private sector work. Businesses with any relation to real estate were hit hard by the recession. These businesses include real estate brokers and agents, construction concerns, interior designs, architects, land surveyors, civil engineers, and building permit expeditors. I went to a doctor visit and my doctor was hit hard too. When her clients got laid off, they no longer had health insurance. A lot of my colleagues in the insurance industry were hit hard too because insurance was dropped by many as they trimmed their budgets. Therefore, going after government work may be the only viable option to survive this down economy.

My business Lemongrass Consulting helped with zoning applications, community outreach, and permitting large commercial private sector building developments. We were hit hard in 2008 and shifted gears in 2009. I turned to teaching business law and contracting. I re-engineered and turned my firm toward offering customized, affordable strategic plans to small businesses. I now teach government contracting for the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC).

Here are five (5) tips for going after government sector work:

1. Develop a strategy - Based on work you enjoyed doing in the past, figure out the type of work you want to do and with what government agencies. You do not want to shot gun your approach and bid on anything that comes your way. You want to be credible. You want to do work that you will likely deliver on time and within budget because you love what you are doing. Given your past work experiences in product sales or service offerings, figure out which agencies buy what you sell. Also, make the agencies that have a nexus to your background a priority.

For example, if you served in the military, then military bases should be a priority if they buy what you sell. My background is in planning - urban, transportation, community outreach, strategic planning. So, government agencies with planning departments are ideal. With respect to transportation, more specifically, agencies in the transportation horizontal construction of road and bridge work are ideal.

Your strategic plan can be as simple as a list of government agencies to target. Start close to home and branch out - your city, county, state agencies, and federal agencies. Target about 5 agencies at first and then branch out.

2. Aggressively go after work - Armed with your strategic list of government agencies to target, look for bid opportunities and forecasts of purchases that they intend to buy. If you do not bid on work, you will never win a government contract. You must be appropriately aggressive in going after government work. You have to read bid solicitations and follow through by preparing bids for submittal. You also need not wait until a bid opportunity is advertised. Drill down through each target agency and figure out what type of work you want to help them with or which products you sell that they will likely buy. Then offer those products and services to the agencies. Send them print materials and emails and make offers.

3. Build relationships - This is the most important part of government contracting. It is all about people. Once you stop focusing on contracts and dollars coming in, and begin to see contracting officials people with real world people needs, then you can build the kind of relationships you need to have to do well in government contracting. Just like you, each contracting official has a name, maybe a family, they have a past, and they have future aspirations. Get to know them. Ask for face to face appointments or conference calls and chat. One of my mentors told me that I needed to learn how to hang out. He hangs out and network at trade functions, on the golf course, and at parties. You have to make time to build a network of people you can count on for leads and assistance.

4. Follow up - As you build relationships with government officials, follow through on any leads they give you. They may tell you to talk with a prime that already has a contract with them. Perhaps this will lead to subcontracting work for you. They may tell you which end users to meet - e.g. department heads or project managers. You need to make sure you are reaching decision makers. For services, find out how vendor selections are made and who have typically sat on selection committees. For products, you want to get to know the contracting officials, the purchase card holders, and the end users with budget. These are individuals that you need to get to know.

5. Show appreciation - Whenever someone helps you, be sure to thank them. Be careful about gift giving to make sure you do not break any rules.

Speaking of rules, you need to study the rules of the game of government contracting. You cannot play a game when you do not know the rules. So, you should be sure to take government contracting classes to learn more about vendor registrations, certifications for set aside work, and other topics.

By Clovia Hamilton, President, Lemongrass Consulting, Inc., lemongrassplanning.com lemongrassplanning.com Clovia founded Lemongrass Consulting in 2005 with 25 years of government work experience and serves as a procurement counselor in the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). Lemongrass Consulting provides strategic planning solutions including government contracting strategic marketing plans.

Getting Homeowners Insurance

Whether  you own a home or rent one, having home owners insurance is essential for protection and peace of mind. One of the problems is that the cost of coverage can vary greatly from company to company. A great way to solve that problem is to get multiple home insurance quotes. Any legitimate company will provide written home insurance quotes. You have to remember that these quotes are based on the information that you provide via the phone or internet. You need to be as accurate as possible in giving the necessary information. You may be asked for things like the current market value of the home, mortgage amount, value of personal belongings like clothes, furniture and appliances, and the value of any surrounding structures like garages and sheds. The insurance agent or computer program takes this information and puts it into a formula for your area and comes up with a quote for certain levels of coverage.

Most of the time in evaluating home insurance quotes, the home owner has choices over the protection level that they want. Opting for slightly lower coverage can reduce the annual or monthly premiums that you will be charged for the coverage. Another way to keep your premiums down is to select a higher deductible. A zero deductible may seem like a great idea, but the cost of higher premiums for many years could end up costing you a lot more. You have to look at your cash on hand or savings to decide exactly what deductible amount is comfortable to pay. A deductible is the cash amount you pay toward covered losses before the insurance company issues any money toward the claim. You must satisfy your deductible up front before you can receive any money from the insurance company. Since claims are rare, the higher deductible may pay for itself in lower premiums over the life of the policy.

Home insurance quotes can be confusing. Companies purposely present their numbers in different ways, so it is difficult to compare them to other companies. It is important to get the same information from each company. Another area to be careful of is the list of exemptions stating what isn't covered and any caps or limits to the amount that will be paid for particular claim items. Discount policies are very good at exempting some of the most likely events, so they can limit their liability.

A great thing that is available now is the ability to get multiple home insurance quotes from one website at one time. The internet can provide quotes from several leading companies for you to do side by side comparisons. The advantage of this system is that you only have to go to one place for several quotes. You don't have to call agency after agency. Another nice feature of this approach is that all of the information will be presented the same way. The use of similar formats makes comparing them much easier than having to piece them together from separate quotes.

Click here to learn how to find the cheapesthomeinsurancehub.com Cheapest Home Insurance quotes, and then get the cheapesthomeinsurancehub.com/cheapest-home-insurance Cheapest Home Insurance.

Protect Your Home From Natural Disasters

Most of us are helpless when natural disasters strike. This is why we have to be ready whenever this happens to reduce the damages and avoid serious accidents. There are different forms of natural calamity, familiarizing them will help us know what we should do to deal with them. Be familiar with the threats in your area. Consider them when building or renovating your home.

Some of the most common natural disasters we deal with are flood, hurricane, tornadoes and wildfire. In order to know how to protect your home, you have to identify the different risks in the area. The first thing you need to do is to check the guidelines set by the Federal Emergency management Agency.

Flood:

If you have encountered flood before, you will be able to assess the damages it can do to your home. If you are building a home in a flood-prone area, elevate your home when building. Building a second floor in this area is also ideal. You can also place a barrier that would stop the water from entering your home. Electrical outlets and wires should be elevated as well. You should also transfer appliances in an elevated area.

Invest in interior and exterior floodwalls. This will help prevent water from entering the house. You should also inspect your gutters and drains regularly to avoid more problems. Finally, install a backflow valve. Check with your contractor to learn about requirements and building codes.

Hurricane:

You should also observe safety measures that will help you and your home. If you are expecting a hurricane, survey the area ahead of time. Anything you will find outdoors will be airborne once the hurricane hits. This is why you have to keep everything that can potentially harm people and properties. Keep all your gardening tools inside the house. Do the same for your other things like the portable ladder, pots and the like. Verify how strong the hurricane will be. Some are strong enough to blow away tables and chairs as well. Reinforce the main bolts of your doors and windows. See to it that all parts of your home are securely fastened. Secure your garage door too.

Tornado:

A tornado can severely damage your home too. If you are prepared, you will be able to protect your home from serious damages. The most important thing you can do is to secure your home. Do regular maintenance for your roof to make sure that it is in good shape at all times. You also have to make sure that your floor and wall systems are properly anchored to the foundation. This will make it difficult for the

tornado to damage your home severely.

Wildfires:

You should also learn how to protect your home and yourself against wildfire. There are also ways to reduce the risks. To do this, you have to be careful with the materials you use. You have to make sure that the materials you use are non-combustible. Check the vents of your home as well. Inspect it and remove any build up of debris that can start fire. An example would be paper cuttings and dry leaves.

The threats of natural calamities are always present. However, you can reduce the risks and damages if you are prepared.

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Nursing Careers - Alternatives For Registered Nurses

If you are getting bored with your nursing job, you may be considering alternative careers which are more exciting or you just simply want to expand your horizon. Bear in mind that you are not stuck in a hospital. You can have other career options related to your field without a 180 degree career shift and wasting your diploma and education. If you are fond of traveling, you can apply for a flight nurse.

If you love suspense and some thrill, be a forensic nurse. If you like a glamorous and relaxed job, try being a writer nurse. Or if you are looking for independence, power and control, being an entrepreneur can be a good one. These are some career possibilities that you can explore depending on your passion and interest.

Flight Nurse

Flight nurse is in-charge of air transferring of ill or injured patients during emergencies or even non-emergency. He can also assist in inter-facility transport and on-call during medical emergencies and sometimes trauma. His role is to extend care to patients, he can also be an educator, trainer, researcher, and administrator. This is a very challenging work because it requires you to be flexible enough to get along with diverse type of patients and medical professionals. For you to qualify, you must be registered nurse with certificates in Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS). Public or private transport, military, and trauma centers are some possible employers for this job.

Forensic Nurse

This type of work requires you to work with officials of law enforcement agencies involved in investigating and treating victims of spouse or child abuse, trauma, sexual assault, unexplained death, and even investigating perpetrators. This profession is new and it requires counselling and investigative skills. Some of the potential employers are correctional institutions, county prosecutor, psychiatric facilities, insurance companies and acute healthcare facilities

Medical Writer

In this profession, it requires you to write, proof read, and edit technical materials which are used for training and education, medical research, sales and marketing, communication, and others. Possible positions could be medical writer, medical copy editor, medical proof reader, managing editor, editorial assistant, medical editor, and medical researcher. It is a good opportunity to work with flexible hours and at the same time you can still use your medical knowledge together with your writing skill. Potential employers are medical publications, general interest publications, pharmaceutical companies, non profit organization, or you can just simply freelance (self-employment).

Entrepreneur/Consultant

You can have this career if you are risk taker. You would start your own business and you will be the boss. However this requires independence and creativity because you will be working in all aspects of the business.

For More Information See: How to startanursinghome.com How to start a nursing agency, visit startanursinghome.com startanursinghome.com.

Caring For Aging Parents? Here's an Action Plan You Can Use

Be proactive.

Don't wait until Mom is lying in a hospital bed to start thinking about finding a good elder care solution-by then the family will be in crisis mode, making it hard for even the most reasonable people to make informed decisions. Decisions made under crisis circumstances are usually bad, expensive or both.

The best time to create a caring for aging parent plan is before a senior parent becomes ill or unable to make decisions. Start by scheduling a family meeting. Invite your parents as well as your siblings and other family members who might help with your parent's care.

Don't let distance prevent family members from contributing to an elder care solution. By using a video conferencing system, like Skype, loved ones across the globe can participate-you just need a web camera, an internet connection, and web-savvy teenager to set it all up.

Name a facilitator.

Help an elder care solution meeting run more smoothly by naming an objective family member to help direct communication. Ideally, your elderly parent will be able to take on the role, but it can be filled by any appropriate member of the family. If you know your family won't be able to meet effectively on its own, consider an outside facilitator. Ask your local agency on aging if they can recommend a geriatric care manager to run the meeting.

Identify needs.

Make a list of everything that needs to be done to help Dad live a life that's as full and healthy as possible. To make the process easier, divide caring for aging parent tasks into time periods. Start by identifying what he needs help with everyday: shaving, preparing meals, and so on. Next, figure out what needs to be done weekly: bill payments, bank deposits, grocery shopping, etc.

As you identify an elder care solution need, write it down. While old-school pen and paper works well, consider using a white board, which can be found at any office supply store, to write down tasks so everyone at the meeting can easily see them.

Ask for help.

Once you've identified what needs to be done when caring for aging parents, it's time to figure out who's going to do it. If a nursing home or assisted living facility just isn't right for your loved one, you may need to appoint a primary caregiver.

Although one person might take on the responsibility for 24/7 care, it's important to ask every family member to contribute in some way. Pair a family member with a task that uses their expertise. A sister with medical training can help translate medical-ese into language you and your family can understand. Even teens can help by doing chores like mowing the lawn or trimming hedges.

Be realistic in your expectations when asking family to contribute to an elder care solution. If your sister is allergic to cats, don't expect her to change litter boxes for Dad's furry friend. Likewise a brother with a special needs child might not be able to care for provide full time care for Mom.

Make sure to recognize elder care solution needs your family may not be able to take care of. However, don't assume Dad will need to live in a nursing facility if you can't provide all the care he needs. For example, if Dad is recuperating from a stroke, consider hiring an outside health care professional.

Meet on a regular basis.

Because caring for aging parents is, in many cases, a long-term commitment, be sure to meet regularly. Find an elder care solution meeting schedule that works best for your family-maybe it's monthly or twice yearly. This gives you the chance to address new needs. For example, maybe Mom's recent stroke left her unable to do the most basic personal care tasks.

It's also a good time to re-evaluate caring for aging parent roles. A granddaughter who enrolls in college might not have as much time to spend weeding Grandma's veggie garden. You might need to assess if another family member can take on the task or if you need to ask Grandma to scale back on the number of prized tomatoes she plants.

Finding an elder care solution is not usually the preferred topic at family gatherings-after all, it's easier to gossip about that girl you and your siblings graduated with. You do, however, owe it to your family and to parents to set aside time to thoughtfully consider how you will be caring for aging parents.

Gregory Weldy is an expert on guiding families through the challenges of finding BestElderCareAtHome.com elder care solutions.He has written an amazing Free report called, "Nursing Home Nightmares: Challenges of Caring For An Aging Parent". To claim you FREE copy, visit: BestElderCareAtHome.com BestElderCareAtHome.com.

Adoption Agency Vs Adoption Attorney: 5 Things to Remember

Adopting a child is a very specific and important process that should handled by a duly licensed and reputable adoption agency rather than an adoption attorney. Adoption attorneys are a vital requirement in finalizing adoptions, even adoption agencies will refer you to a lawyer specializing in finalizing adoptions, but agencies are geared to the personal needs of both the person giving up the child and the one adopting the child. There are five keys that should be remembered when choosing whether to adopt through an agency or through an attorney.

Attorneys specialize, so do agencies. There are hundreds of types of attorneys, even those who specialize as adoption attorneys handle different types of cases, some work with the person giving up a child, others work with the family wanting to adopt, and while others straddle a very fine line in working with the person giving up the child and the family. Adoption agencies however, are just that, licensed professional social workers whose goal is to get families who want to adopt together with parents who are placing a child and work through all the procedures and challenges to come to a viable solution. Agencies, because they are serving a wide variety of individuals have health care professional on staff who can work through the home study visits, the legal concerns (except the final Court adoption), and the psychological concerns. Adoption lawyers are not trained social workers who handle these types of challenges, their focus is on the legalities.
Costs. It is expensive to adopt, unless you adopt a special needs child from the state, where you might be eligible for some type of state assistance. But agencies as well as lawyers all have fees and costs that are not only set by law, but which might include extended services. Usually an agency can tell you exactly how much the adoption will cost and any potential fees that might be higher than normal. However, it is almost impossible for a lawyer to know exactly how much time he will need to spend or what his expenses will be. Some attorneys have a set fee to cover certain parts of the process such as taking the matter to court, but in most adoptions handled by attorneys, the actual costs may be far greater than any estimate. In either case, it is vital to get costs in writing from either an agency or an attorney.
Counseling. Adoption attorneys are not counselors. Unless you can find an attorney who has his certification as a licensed clinical social worker, the attorney is not geared to meeting any counseling needs. He may refer you to a counselor, but those fees will be in addition to his legal fees. Adoption attorneys are not there to hold your hand through the adoption process, they are there to ensure the adoption is done in accordance to the laws of the international community or the state. Agencies, however, understand the vital importance of compassion, counseling and understanding needs that both the parent placing the child and the family adopting the child has. A licensed professional agency has Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW) and counseling social workers (SW) on staff and the counseling fee is included with the adoption. This service makes the adoption agency a much more compassionate partner in the process than an attorney.
Loving care. Adoption agencies care. Quality agencies care, not only about the adoption legalization process, but about the individuals involved. They care that the one giving up the child for adoption is given those legal financial helps she is entitled to, to the counseling to help overcome the sadness, after birth depression, or the guilt in allowing the baby or child to be adopted. Adoption agencies care about the new mother and father to be, about the family as a whole, about the joy and potential overwhelming feelings that can occur when the adoption is finalized. They understand how to help, when to help and when to get a doctor involved in the process. Adoption attorneys are not geared for loving care, they are there to ensure the legal process of the adoption. They are there to make sure each party knows their rights and responsibilities and that the adoption documents are filed correctly and legally with the courts.
Ensuring your best interests. Sometimes the adoption lawyer is the one who contacts you about the adoption. Perhaps he knows you've wanted to adopt, perhaps she understands your needs and problems, and perhaps he's a friend of the young woman who will be allowing her child to be adopted. Whatever, the reason, make sure that the adoption lawyer will look out for your best interests. Ask if she can have both parties' best interests at heart. It is a fine line to serve as the attorney for both sides of an issue. There is client confidentially issues, and conflict of interest issues. You need to be sure that any adoption agency is also looking out for your best interests. Are they giving you the total picture, are they advising the family giving up the child for adoption to ask for more money for living expenses because the adoption agency knows you can pay more? Make sure you feel comfortable about how the adoption process will proceed with the adoption agency. This conflict could be solved by a very simple declaration of service document, or something more extensive. But in either case, make sure your adoption agency or adoption attorney has your best interests at heart.

Hopefully, the information contained above is a good step toward making an adoption-articles-adoptionadvice.blogspot.com/2010/12/adoptionshould-i-use-adoption-agency.html adoption agency decision. It is important to study and learn as much as you can about both lawyers and premieradoption.org/adoptive-parents/faqs agencies, so please be careful.

As the grandmother of two adopted children and the aunt of one, I've been writing articles on a variety of subjects for over 30 years, but I love writing about adoption best of all.