An Arm and a Leg - The Major Issue With This Economy
Paul Sternberg Attorney Major Issue With This Economy By Sinopa Brown
The housing market plummet in this economy has been blamed on many factors, under qualified buyers, greedy mortgage lenders, bank practices and many more perceived errors. One of the main problems that is a major factor in many homes being foreclosed on is Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM). Many adjustable rate mortgages are indeed the reason why so many homeowners were over their heads and lost their homes.
Adjustable rate mortgages are mortgage loans where the interest rate can adjust, meaning either increase or decrease during the life of the loan. The interest rate of the loan will usually adjust according to indexes, most commonly Constant-maturity Treasury (CMT) securities, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and the Cost of Funds Index (COFI). Some of the indexes have rates that are typically higher than others so researching the particular index is the first thing you want to do if considering applying for an adjustable rate mortgage. Some banks also base the interest rates of the ARM on their personal cost of funds.
It is required that the lender provide you with full disclosure of the particular ARM rates, index, and if there are any caps on how high the interest rates can go. Reading over these documents will be the most crucial aspect in deciding if you can afford the ARM loan. If you cannot swing the payment that would be necessary if the interest rate when near the top of the capacity, an ARM loan may be a bad decision. A lot of homeowners are learning this now that a foreclosure notice is on their door, but it’s not too late for you to learn from this mistake and make a wiser decision.
Capacities
Almost all ARM loans will have lifetime capacities for the interest rate. Loans can vary, though, and be regular lifetime cap loan and have a limit for how high the interest rate can go for the life of the loan, or a Periodic Adjustment Period that tells you how much the interest rate can vary from one adjustment period to the next. The adjustment period will depend on the type of ARM loan as some adjust monthly, yearly, tri-yearly, or every five years. The capacity is fundamentally the most important deciding factor in the affordability of the loan for you.
Major issues
One of the biggest issues with ARM loans is that people can end up owing more over the life of the loan than they borrowed. If the interest rate steadily increases, the interest owed on the loan will increase as well, causing you to pay more on the interest, and thereby making the loan more money that what you signed to take out. One of the issues with many homes going into foreclosure is that many home buyers were upside down in their mortgages, meaning they owned more on the home than the home is worth at the time. Due to this realization, some mortgage payers walked away from their homes. In the ARM worst case scenario, not only would your home be worth less than what you are paying for it, but the mortgage itself became higher than what you originally borrowed, causing a deep hit to your pockets. Not all home or ARM’s work out this way, but with the state that the economy and especially the home market is in right now, the risk didn’t seem to be worth the original gain in the beginning.
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December 08 2009 | Paul Sternberg Attorney | No Comments »
Areas of Growth in Our Troubled Economy
Attorney Paul Sternberg Troubled Economy By Jeffrey Wendland
The current state of the economy has a number of people concerned about future job opportunities and the stability of the country. There are of course a number of opinions about the issue, but one industry in particular is seeing a tremendous growth potential and opportunity for American workers to gain employment. The renewable energy field is undergoing a period of tremendous growth and support from public opinion, state and local governments as well as corporate interests.
There are many reasons why the renewable energy industries are experiencing such growth. First, concerns about the environment are driving people to find new sources of energy that will not become exhausted. Worries about the impact of the use of fossil fuels are also encouraging people to find other energy sources. Many people are looking for a way to reduce impact on the atmosphere and the ecology of the globe. Another concern that is contributing to the growth of the renewable energy field is the worries over the international availability of fuels. Some are worried that the United States has little control over the supply of oil. Finally, with the loss of jobs in the auto industry, workers are looking to a way to put machining experience to operation.
The renewable energy field is exciting many machinists and industrial workers who have become displaced since the automobile and aeronautical industries have experienced such difficulty in recent times. The potential to create jobs and put skilled laborers back to work for the renewable energy field is tremendous. These jobs are being created thanks to new advances to old technology that is making the renewable field more effective than ever.
One recent technological advancement is in the field of solar energy. Solar panels are not a new technology, but they are more practical now thanks to the development of several important solar components. Now solar panels can more efficiently capture the sun’s energy and are able to properly store it. This means that this technology will operate even in climates that don’t receive the same amount of sun that was once necessary. Wind turbines are just now becoming appreciated for the energy that they will be able to generate. The United States has tremendous potential for capturing the wind energy throughout this vast nation. Skillful machinists are quickly adapting to the high demand for the precision bearings and gears that are necessary for proper wind turbines.
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December 08 2009 | Attorney Paul Sternberg and Attorney Paul Sternberg Troubled Economy | Comments Off
The Economy is Changing - Are You?
The Economy is Changing from Paul Sternberg Attorney By Dennis Kelley.
I recently read a story about a washing machine manufacturer in China. This Chinese company had produced a washing machine they were proud of and it was getting great reviews. However, they were starting to get complaints from some of their rural customers about the drain becoming clogged. After some investigation, they determined that some of these rural customers were using the washing machine to wash potatoes. Of course, this was not what the machine was designed to do. The manufacturer could have simply said this was the customer’s problem because they were using the machine improperly. Instead, they decided to add a vegetable-wash cycle to the machine. This is true innovation and clearly demonstrates their desire to be customer centric.
Being able to innovate in business is clearly one of the key areas of entrepreneurship. However, the idea of needing to innovate to succeed can be a little scary at times. Many people don’t believe that they are creative enough to do this well. Nothing could be further from the truth. You don’t need to be a creative genius to bring innovation to your business. However, innovation is the way businesses grow and change so you must pay attention to it. As the old saying goes, ‘You are either growing or dying, there is no such thing as standing still.”
Embracing change should be a way of life. While most people do not like to change, it is essential in business. You must constantly adjust the way you look at your business, your market and your competition. It is also extremely important to understand your customer and what changes are occurring with your target customer. By looking at each of these segments of your business, you will be able to determine where you need to innovate.
Innovation does not always need to be as radical as the example above. However, what the example does illustrate is how important it is to stay in touch with what is going on in your market and be willing to adapt to meet the changing needs of the market. In our current economic environment, this is especially true. As you look at your business, think about all the areas where innovation is appropriate. In fact, you could argue that every area of your business needs to be examined routinely for possible innovation.
Here are four areas to take a close look at right now. Ask yourself how these areas of your business are positioned today to handle the changing business climate. Be honest with yourself and ask others for their opinions. Talk to your employees, your customers, your business network and your mentors. Then decide what needs to change and start making the adjustments to keep you poised for success.
Marketing message - take a look at the message your marketing delivers. What are you saying to your prospects and customers? What about the positioning of the message? Is it speaking to people in a way that will attract them in the current climate? Is the message and offer you are giving meeting their needs today and is it persuasive enough to convince them to spend their precious dollars on it? Right now is a time when you may need to modify the way you deliver your message. Quality and value are always important in your message, but how you deliver it may need to change. Innovate the message based on what is important to your customers and prospects today. If you look closely, you will see this happening in many marketing and advertising campaigns for some of the largest and most successful companies in our economy.
Sales scripts - review your sales scripts and determine what you are saying and how it fits into the current environment. This includes your phone scripts, in-person sales scripts and your on-line sales scripts. Are you addressing people’s needs and concerns and showing them why your product is a good investment? Are the objections you get today the same as before and should you address them the same way? If you have salespeople, don’t assume they will modify their approach automatically. Pull the team together and conduct some brainstorming and training. How they approach prospects may need to become more creative right now as people become more cautious. Be proactive, not reactive in your sales process.
Product offerings - does your product line address today’s issues? Should you add a product or service to increase the value to deal with new issues your prospects face? Should you package products together to offer greater value? Can you modify a product or service to better position it within your market? Like the Chinese washing machine manufacturer - do your customers use your products in ways you didn’t expect and can you innovate to meet their needs? Can you offer different payment terms or methods of payment to make buying the product easier and more attractive?
Operational efficiency - take a look at how you make and deliver your product. Where and how can you improve this process to make it more efficient? Can you cut costs or improve quality? Should you outsource specific pieces of the business or conversely, should you bring more of it in-house.? Are there systems you can incorporate into the business that will increase capacity or lower costs? Take a look at every operational aspect of your business and question it all. You will be surprised at the improvements you can make.
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October 05 2009 | The Economy is Changing from Paul Sternberg Attorney | Comments Off
Selling Skills For Today’s Economy!
Paul Sternberg Attorney For Today’s Economy By Bob Urichuck.
In today’s economy sales professionals need to be equipped with the appropriate selling skills, following a proven selling system or sales process, in order to succeed and meet their sales targets.
They can no longer afford to carry on with traditional selling skills of doing dog and pony shows, feature and benefit dumps, or hit and run closes.
Today’s economy demands engaging selling skills, not telling selling skills. Engaging selling skills attract and engage prospects into personal and business conversations - Personal conversations to build rapport and trust; Business conversations to qualify opportunities to do business.
Engaging sales skills starts with a desire to create relationships. Keep in mind that people buy from people, people they like and they trust. Once trust is established, a relationship starts. That is the sales skill foundation to a sales transaction.
To build that rapport, or trust, requires conversational selling skills focused on the prospect, not on you, your company or your products. The selling skill required here is to show a genuine personal interest in the person in front of you. You do that by asking questions, questions that they would like to respond to and talk about.
So, what do people like to talk about?
People like to talk about themselves, their families, hobbies, job, etc. These are more personal conversations. The selling skills required here are asking questions, listening and using your body language to show interest.
Your job is to get them to open up and to keep talking. The more they talk, the more you listen, the more you learn and the more they like and trust you.
Mind you there are also other selling skill techniques to build rapport. One of the best rapport building sales skills comes from Nero Linguistic programming (NLP) where mirroring and matching body language, tonality and words enhances rapport building quickly and magically.
You will know when your rapport selling skill has been established, just by the way the prospect has opened up with you. When they get to the point where they can’t stop talking, you know you got the rapport selling skill that would allow you to move onto the next step in the selling system, or sales process.
With rapport, trust and relationship starting, you can then move from personal to business conversation, by simply interjecting another question - Bill, I really appreciate what you are sharing with me, but how much time have you set aside for our meeting?
With the answer to this sales skill question, a new sort of business conversation starts. Your time allocated is either confirmed or extended, either of which matter, as it is the next sales skill question that will make the difference.
“Bill, what is it that you would like to accomplish over the next X minutes?”
Most sales people only think of their objective, and not that of the customers. It is the customer’s objective that is most important, so let’s get it out of them first. Then we can add our’s into the scenario.
For example, they could reply with, “I would like to learn more about your company and it’s products or services.”
You can then reply with an inclusion of your objective. For example, “that’s great Bill, as I too would like to learn more about your company to determine if there is an opportunity for us to do business together or not. Is it ok if we ask each other questions?
Do you mind if I take some notes?
Getting permission to ask questions, and to take notes, is also an important selling skill. It shows interest, and makes the prospect feel important.
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July 24 2009 | Paul Sternberg Attorney For Today's Economy | Comments Off
Corporate Housing Industry Experiences a Double Digit Revenue Increase in 2006
ATLANTA (June 10, 2007) — A new national statistical study, Corporate Housing Industry Report – 2007, was released by the Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA). Data collected from providers nationwide in 2006 reflects that corporate housing was a $2.5 billion dollar industry, up 23% over the previous year. This makes it the largest year on record. The corporate housing industry is projected to increase by 14% in 2007 to nearly 80,000 units, up from the 70,056 units in 36 metro areas in 2006. There was a 24% spread from the lowest to highest inventory across 2006. Flexible inventory is the hallmark of corporate housing, and permits the strong 90% occupancy nationwide. Overall, the average rate for this segment of the lodging industry is $109, up 9% from 2005.
Corporate housing providers partner with companies to easily accommodate business travelers and relocating families to provide fully furnished and equipped apartments with house wares, linens, and other optional services. Duration of these stays is typically a minimum of 30-days.
CHPA engaged The Highland Group, an independent research firm, to conduct this comprehensive study on this important lodging sector. The report is available for $395. Complimentary copies of the report are available to the press. For more information, please contact Peggy Berg at (404) 872 4631.
About the Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA)
The Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) is the only trade association dedicated to the corporate housing industry. For more information on the Corporate Housing Providers Association, please visit www.chpaonline.org.
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June 07 2009 | Paul Sternberg Houston Revenue | Comments Off
Contact: Amanda Cook
(317) 328-4631
acook@chpaonline.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 28, 2008
CORPORATE HOUSING EXPERIENCES
BOOST WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL NATIONAL CONVENTIONS
Corporate housing providers help cities meet the needs of large scale events, partnering with other lodging
sectors to serve thousands of travelers. Members of the Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA)
have experienced increased sales and occupancy thanks to the presidential national conventions hosted in
Denver, Colorado and Saint Paul, Minnesota. With citywide events, there is often a lack of hotels rooms and
thousands of people expected to attend the conventions; corporate housing has answered the call for
accommodations. Organizers expect attendance for the Democratic National Convention August 25 - 28 in
Denver to reach at least 50,000. The number includes politicians, media and delegates from across the United
States.
“This opportunity has allowed the corporate housing industry to connect with other people and organizations that
it would not normally connect with,” said Kimberly Smith, AvenueWest and a member of the CHPA Board of
Directors. “The event brought many new clients to our business that could potentially turn into repeat clients
and bring new corporate accounts.” While large events like this normally bring out inexperienced entrepreneurs
who call themselves corporate housing providers, Smith stresses the importance of using a qualified corporate
housing provider, such as a member of CHPA, to ensure professionalism, ethical standards and a quality
experience.
More than 45,000 people are expected to attend the 4-day Republican National Convention in St. Paul
September 1 - 4. Local corporate housing providers have been booking accommodations for months in
anticipation of the event. Most convention attendees want to stay in a place that is more comfortable and more
like home instead of a hotel. Corporate housing is typically larger than a standard hotel room and is similar to a
furnished apartment. The accommodations have all of the necessities a guest would have at home, including
comfortable furniture and housewares.
“We have definitely seen an increase in demand for corporate apartments due to the Republican National
Convention being in the St. Paul this year. Not only have we taken many calls from travelers that traditionally
choose a hotel option, we have also assisted many of our current corporate clients with short term stays over
that week in September,” comments Jen Claude, Marriott ExecuStay. Claude also mentions the extra people in
town have resulted in early reservations. “We also experienced increased bookings in August as our clients
secured apartments sooner in anticipation of limited availability over this time period.”
After consecutive years of profits and growth, the $2.95 billion industry has proceeded with caution this year as
similar industries have struggled with the country’s economic downturn. Industry experts are tentatively
optimistic, using the conventions to promote their presence in the marketplace.
“These conventions are opportunities for corporate housing providers to increase their sales and brand, while
offering customers a great product. Large events like this always bring a large number of people who need
places to stay and illustrate the flexibility of corporate housing worldwide,” said Ned Scharpf, Corporate
Apartment Specialists and CHPA President. “We’ll be looking forward to similar opportunities in the future,
including the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.”
About CHPA
The Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) is the only trade association dedicated to the corporate
housing industry. The Association offers networking, educational and informational opportunities to providers
and partners worldwide. For more details and membership information, please go to www.chpaonline.org
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May 18 2009 | Paul Sternberg Houston Press Release | Comments Off
Corporate Housing Industry Experienced Growth in Revenue and Inventory in 2007
INDIANAPOLIS (May 1, 2008) – The Corporate Housing Providers Association (CHPA) has released its annual statistical study, Corporate Housing Industry Report – 2008, finding for the second year in a row, that the industry has experienced double digit growth in revenue. The $2.95 billion industry posted the industry’s most profitable year on record in 2007, and is projected to gain again in 2008. National revenues increased 20% over 2006.
“Corporate Housing’s growth out-paced that of other lodging segments in 2007, including increases in the average daily rate and demand,” says Ned Scharpf, CHPA President. “These increases in addition to expanding inventory led to a successful and profitable year for corporate housing providers.”
The industry also saw growth in occupancy, average rate, and inventory indicating a strong demand for corporate housing. Flexible inventory is the hallmark of corporate housing, and permits the strong 90% occupancy nationwide. Overall, the average rate was $116 in 2007, up 11.5% from the prior year. The US corporate housing market is estimated at a total of 77,799 units on an average day in 2007, up from 70,056 units in 2006. First year numbers from the Canadian market contribute an additional 2,505 units from Toronto and Vancouver. Corporate housing inventory gained an estimated 1.4% in 2007 and is projected to gain about the same in 2008 over 2007.
“This report tracks industry trends, making it a key strategic tool for providers to use in successfully managing their companies.” says Scharpf. “This is also the first year we’ve reported on several Canadian markets; we hope to further expand this report internationally in the future.”
Corporate housing is fully furnished apartments with housewares, linens, utilities and other optional services with a typical minimum 30-day stay. The average stay in 2007 was 81 days. Corporate housing is a uniquely flexible lodging alternative for business travelers, relocating families, as well as providing temporary housing for those needing lodging for insurance purposes or long-term medical care.
CHPA engaged The Highland Group, an independent research firm, to conduct this comprehensive study on this important lodging sector. The report is available for $395. Complimentary copies of the report are available to the press. For more information, please contact Peggy Berg at (404) 872 4631.
Paul Sternberg Houston Press Release
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May 07 2009 | Paul Sternberg Houston Press Release | Comments Off
Top Strategies to Survive a Bad Economy
By Frank Ramsey
No matter how rich a person or a country is, there will always be tough times. In these tough times when the economy is in bad shape surviving a bad economy is a must for everybody. This will not only help themselves to adjust to the current situation but this is also one way of contributing to the overall survival. The following strategies no matter how simple they might be can somehow help a person to survive the downscaling economy.
On transportation:
- It is best to carpool more often. Make it a habit between you and a coworker to take turns in carpooling to the office. This is a good way of minimizing both your expenses in gasoline. If there are more than two of you living in your neighborhood much better, the more the merrier.
- Instead of buying new cars, old used ones. In these tough times, new cars are not a necessity. But still, you need a means of transportation. What best way to save up but to buy old cars and save up some money? When you buy used cars, it would costs you a lot cheaper.
- Put together different errands in one trip. Try to get all of the things you need to do in one trip or on your trip home. This lessens the number of trip you need to make and you can avoid from driving back and forth.
- Take up a hobby and ride a bike. If you live close to stores malls or places you usually go to, ride a bike instead of driving you car. It’s god exercise and it’s good for your health.
- Wash your car yourself. This one is a no-brainer, why spend on something you can do yourself. That’s right, you can do this yourself. Imagine the cost savings that you’ll be making. It’s not much on its own but it’s a lot altogether.
On eating:
- Eat like you’re on a diet. Try and eat off your kids plate sometimes, this will make you eat in smaller portions and you would even notice. This one works if you don’t go for seconds.
- Bottled water alternative. Tap water is the ultimate cheap fix. Try comparing an ounce of bottled water and an ounce of tap I’m sure you’ll see the difference.
- Less meat more savings. Imagine not having meat during the working week and having it on weekends instead. It will definitely cost you less than your usual tab.
On personal shopping:
- Generic is good. Brand loyalty is a thing of the past especially if it cost you a lot. More than anything else the generic substitutes allows you to have options.
- Be a bargain hunter. Despite the downscale, people would still always buy personal items for themselves. Getting good items while surviving a bad economy can be done by buying bargain stuff. Don’t just be contented with the low price the stores have, try and look around if there’s anything better.
Posted by Paul M. Sternberg Houston
Paul Sternberg Top Houston Strategies
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March 22 2009 | Paul Sternberg Top Houston Strategies | Comments Off
Investing in a Rocky Economy
By Debra L. Dragon
With all the talk about a recession (Are we headed for one? Are we already in a recession?), many people are unsure where the safest options are for investing their money. Stock values and retirement accounts are plummeting and whether or not you’re in them for the long haul, you may still want to invest some of your money in investments that are considered “less risky” in an effort to combat the situation of the current economy.
Certificates of Deposit are an option for a reasonably safe investment that also offers the opportunity to earn interest. It’s a bit like loaning money to the bank; and in return - they pay you interest on the money you’ve loaned them. The CD is a note from the lending institution that states you are investing a certain amount of money for a specific time period; and during that time period, the lending institution will pay you a guaranteed interest rate when the CD matures at the end of the designated time period.
You can choose the investment period you prefer, with options ranging from a few months to several years. Usually the longer you invest the higher your interest rate, but the amount of your deposit will also play a role in the interest rate you secure. High yield certificates of deposits are typically offered around 4% interest for deposits of $5,000 or more, but it will vary from one lending institution to another. The varying interest rates are a good example of why it’s important to take some time and compare your options for investing in certificate of deposits. Just as an online bank can offer better rates and terms on checking accounts and money market accounts, they are often likely to have the ability to offer higher rates on their certificate of deposit accounts due to having lower overhead costs for operating expenses.
During times of economic difficulty, a certificate of deposit is a nice option for investing money you can’t afford to lose. The potential of losing your money in the stock market is a much greater risk and you can easily lose your money just as fast as you invest it in stocks. Putting your money into a certificate of deposit, on the other hand, guarantees that the interest rate you are given when you invest is locked in for the life of your certificate of deposit and will not change. You know exactly how much money you’ll have at the end of your investment term.
While safe investments, the downside of a certificate of deposit is that you are committed to investing for the full length of time you arrange when you set up the investment. If interest rates increase after you’ve invested your money, you can’t just pull the money out of your CD and move it to a new investment (at least not without paying early withdrawal penalties on your certificate of deposit!)
In an uncertain economy, and any time you want to invest money in secure, interest earning options, a certificate of deposit is a practical investment. If you have enough money to deposit to qualify for a high yield certificate of deposit, you’ll earn an even more attractive interest rate that does not decrease in value and does not pose any risks of losing your initial investment.
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Rocky Economy from Paul Sternberg Houston
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February 22 2009 | Rocky Economy from Paul Sternberg Houston | Comments Off