Real Estate

How to Maximize Cash Flow with a Tax 1031 – Deferred Exchange

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A possible scenario for the 1031 exchange.

Let’s say you bought a residential property in the San Francisco Bay Area for $250K twenty years ago. Since the property is located in a good area, its value has appreciated to $1M. Over the years, he refinanced the original loan to consolidate his other debts and currently has a $300,000 mortgage on the property. Each month, he collects $3,000 in rent. After paying $1,800/month for the loan, $400/month for property taxes, and $60/month for insurance, you get $500 net cash flow/month after paying for property management and maintenance expenses.

As you get older, you realize that you need a reliable second source of income so you are not completely dependent on your salary. You’re also not satisfied with just $500 of cash flow a month on top of the $750K equity in your rental investment. So, when you see an attractive multi-tenant strip mall in a middle-class suburb of Dallas, lease 100% of NNN with $195,000/yr of net operating income (income after all expenses, excluding rent payment). mortgage) on the market for $2.6 million offering 7.5% cap, get excited!

Since the residential real estate market in the Bay Area has been very seller friendly, consider selling your rental property to buy this commercial strip. He estimates that he would have to pay about $250,000 in federal and state income taxes on $800,000 of capital gains ($1 million minus $250,000 in purchase price and sales fees, plus $50,000 in depreciation recovery). He just hates having to pay $250K to the government, money that can go towards his down payment on the commercial strip. There is a better way – a way to defer income tax.

What is a 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange?

Internal Revenue Code section 1031 generally provides that neither gain nor loss is recognized if the qualifying property is exchanged for another qualifying property of the same class. In the scenario above, you can defer paying $250K in federal and state taxes if you purchase another investment property with equal or greater debt and equal or greater equity. In other words, if you buy another investment property for $1 million or more, using all of the net proceeds as a down payment, then you can defer the $250,000 of taxes. Essentially, the government would loan you $250K, interest free. And you can repeat this deferral and never pay income taxes.

How do you qualify for a 1031 exchange?

You must adhere to several strict rules. Failure to follow any of the rules will disqualify your transaction from a tax-deferred 1031 exchange.

  1. You must change. The property you buy (replacement property) must have equal or greater debt AND equity equal to or greater than the property you sell (transfer property). This means that you must put all of the net proceeds from the relinquished property toward the replacement property. The FMV of the replacement property must also be greater than the FMV of the relinquished property.
  2. The qualifying property must be of the same type. The transferred and replaced property must be held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment, before and after the exchange. And a property class cannot be exchanged for another property class. For example, you cannot exchange a residential rental property for one you intend to occupy as your primary residence, which does not qualify as property. And you can’t trade a factory for equipment, not like the guy. On the other hand, residential and commercial real estate are of the same class. So, you can trade a residential rental property for a shopping center.
  3. In a delayed exchange, you must identify the replacement property within 45 days and receive it within 180 days from the closing date of the relinquished property or before your tax return due date (with extension). , The thing that happens first.
  4. You can identify up to 3 replacement properties and you must close the trust with at least 1 of the 3. Alternatively, you can identify as many properties as you like as long as the total value of these properties does not exceed 200% of the value of the property. relinquished property.
  5. You must acquire the property for investment purposes and not primarily to resell it for a profit. While the IRS does not say how long you have the property before you can qualify for the 1031 exchange. Most tax advisors believe that two years is an adequate holding period for investment purposes. You should check with your tax accountant if the investment period is shorter to make sure your 1031 can withstand an IRS audit.
  6. You must have an exchange broker hold the proceeds from the sale of the relinquished property. Most investors use an exchange company as a qualified intermediary for a delayed 1031 exchange.
  7. If you exchange a property with a related person (your children, parents), both parties cannot dispose of the property within 2 years.
  8. If the proceeds of the sale are deposited into an interest-bearing account during the exchange, you must receive the interest AFTER the closing of the replacement property escrow.

What expenses are allowed?

You can use the 1031 proceeds to pay certain costs of selling the relinquished property and costs of buying the replacement property: homeowner’s title insurance premiums, escrow agent or closing attorney fees, real estate broker commissions estate, 1031 exchange broker fees, document transfer taxes, filing fees, and tax advisor fees. You cannot use the 1031 procedure to pay these expenses: loan fees/points, appraisal fees, mortgage insurance premiums, lender’s title insurance policy premiums, homeowners insurance premium, repair and/or maintenance costs.

Strategies for a Successful 1031 Exchange

The following strategies are intended for investors seeking commercial property as a replacement property.

  1. Have 3 plans for your 1031 exchange: A, B, and C, with plan A being the best case and plan C being the worst. Have at least one different property for each plan.
  2. Start looking for a replacement property early. Since you only have 45 days to identify replacement properties, you should make an offer as soon as the relinquished property is in escrow. By the time you close on escrow on the relinquished property, you should have an accepted offer on a replacement property. This first property does not have to be the most desirable property at the best price. Mentally, you need to think of it as a worst-case plan C property. That way, you don’t wait until the last few minutes to make an offer. It’s also meant to take away worries so you sleep well, like “Oh my gosh, what if I can’t find a replacement property?”
  3. Identify more than 1 replacement property. If something unexpected comes up with your first pick, say the soil is contaminated, you have plan B and plan C properties to fall back on.
  4. Specify a 30-day due diligence and cancellation period in the contract. This will give you more time to specify more than 1 property.
  5. Think twice before choosing a loan assumption replacement property. It is much more difficult to get lender approval for a loan assumption than it is for a new loan. Also, you only have one chance to get approved for a loan assumption versus many chances to get approved for a new loan. You do not want the lender to decline to assume your loan after the 45-day identification period.

Questions for a 1031 Exchange Broker

Technically, you don’t need a 1031 exchange company to handle the exchange. However, it is recommended that an expert help you. This company will make sure that you abide by the strict rules of the IRS. To decide which company to serve you, you should consider:

  1. The fee is around $500-$750 per transaction. The company that charges less tends to limit you to 3 replacement properties and the company that charges more may not have that limit.
  2. Whether your earnings will be deposited into a separate trust account where your money is FDIC insured or commingled with the company’s main account. In the event that the company goes bankrupt, as some of them did during the recession, it is easier to show that the money in the separate trust account is your money and not the exchange company’s money.
  3. Whether your earnings will earn interest and whether the money is insured.

What if you want to buy the replacement property first?

For some investors, the strict 45-day identification period and 180-day exchange period may be too short. Also, some investors would only consider doing a 1031 exchange only if they want to find suitable replacement properties. The alternative is to consider a reverse exchange in which the replacement property is purchased first before the relinquished property is sold. However, the replacement property must be owned by an intermediary party during the pendency of the exchange of the same type until the taxpayer can sell the relinquished property. The replacement property is then exchanged to the taxpayer. A reverse delayed trade is an advanced strategy with a different set of challenging issues that are not intended for average investors. You should consult a tax advisor for guidance.

What are some of the possible problems?

Due to time limits on the 1031 exchange, some people may want to take advantage of their situation. Therefore, you need to mentally realize and accept the fact that as a 1031 buyer, you may not be in the best position to negotiate.

  1. There are sellers or listing brokers who feel very positive about 1031 buyers. They reason that these buyers will either have to buy out and close the trust or send a big check to Uncle Sam. On the other hand, some sellers or listing brokers feel negative about 1031 buyers. They reason that 1031 buyers will offer to buy 3 properties and close the trust on one. And so there’s a 33% chance that 1031 buyers will close on escrow. And so these sellers may not be receptive to your offers.
  2. Sellers know 1031 buyers have to close escrow. And therefore they may become less flexible in negotiating with 1031 buyers once the purchase contract is executed. For example, you request a repair credit that they may accept in a normal transaction, but may be denied in a 1031 transaction. So it’s important to have back-up property, just in case.
  3. Some lenders may reduce the loan amount and/or require 1031 buyers to put all of the proceeds of the sale into the replacement property.

a successful exchange

His offer of $2.6 million for the mall is accepted. The bank lends you $1.82M (70% LTV) at 4.5% interest amortized over 25 years. After paying $10,116/mo on the mortgage, you still have a positive cash flow of over $6,000 a month! This is a substantial increase from $500 per month before the 1031 exchange.

Shopping Product Reviews

5 Surprising Causes of Heart Disease

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Heart disease is known as a silent killer. Most of the time it attacks unexpectedly or is detected in deadly stages. However, early discovery is the key. In addition to the obvious causes of heart disease, there are additional factors that you need to be aware of. Here are 5 surprising causes of heart disease and how to prevent it.

Loneliness. While this sounds like a cliché, there is a real truth to it. According to studies, the risk of heart disease can increase by at least 30 percent due to depression and loneliness. Unwanted isolation and loneliness can cause undue stress, high blood pressure, and depression. When this happens, certain brain chemicals also change, causing more damage to your body. It is important to have good social support and in the face of anguish. Also, if you feel the onset of depression, it is best to seek professional help immediately.

Drink regularly. Regular alcohol consumption can not only result in addiction and liver disease, but also hardening of the arteries. The cholesterol level can also increase. A contributing factor to heart disease. It’s okay to drink once in a while and drink in moderation.

recurring flu. If you get the flu regularly, that’s definitely a cause for concern, and it’s not just the flu itself. Being a viral condition, a person suffering from the flu may have a severely diminished immune system. That’s why the flu often comes with a cough, cold, and other illnesses. Unfortunately, a weakened immune system can be prone to heart disease because the virus can enter the valves and canals of the heart, which in turn will weaken the tissues.

Lack of vitamin D. Vitamin D is an important nutrient needed by the body. Lack of this vitamin is known to cause heart disease in some people. The good news is that vitamin D can be easily obtained from foods like oily fish, leafy green vegetables, egg yolks, orange juice, and soy milk. You can get yourself checked if your vitamin D deficiency is severe. Your doctor will likely give you vitamin D supplements or injections.

Diet pills. Although maintaining a healthy weight is important, the way you do it is also important. Diet pills, for example, can do more harm than good. Some diet pills have chemicals in them that can weaken heart muscles and block arteries, leading to heart disease. Take the safest route: exercise and a good diet. It’s the longest way to lose weight, but it’s still the best. If you really want to take diet pills, consult a doctor. At least one doctor can provide you with an informed choice and good medical advice.

Sports

Mr Irrelevant is the title (name) awarded to the last player taken each year in the NFL Draft

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Mr. Irrelevant is a title that is discussed every April around the annual NFL Draft because it is the dubious title given to the last player taken in the draft. The title of Mr. Irrelevant is given half jokingly due to the lack of faith that exists regarding the final player drafted worth mentioning again because his chances of succeeding in the NFL are seemingly so slim.

For several years now, the NFL Draft has had seven rounds with 32 teams. Although seven rounds with 32 teams gives a total of 224 picks, the actual number of total picks is usually around 255. The reason there are additional picks beyond the one allotted per round per team over seven rounds is due to something called “compensatory”. picks.” While a full explanation of compensatory picks is beyond the scope of this article, the gist of it is that there are additional picks designated for teams that lost more players to free agency than they gained. Therefore, picks Compensatory picks help short-player teams amass a more complete roster.It’s not unusual for Mr. Irrelevant to be selected with the 255th overall pick at the end of a writing process that literally lasts days.

Although the NFL Draft began in 1936, it was not until forty years later in 1976 that the endearing phrase Mr. Irrelevant became popular. The concept was actually the brainchild of a former NFL wide receiver and University of Southern California standout named Paul Salata. At the age of 49, long after his playing days were behind him, Salata founded what would become known as Irrelevant Week near his home in Newport Beach, California.

Mr. Irrelevant Week takes place in Orange County, California during the summer and, among other events, includes a parade, golf tournament, and barbecue for the player who is lucky enough to be selected with the final selection in the NFL Draft held the previous spring. The week-long extravaganza concludes with the presentation of the Lowsman Trophy. The Lowsman Trophy mimics the Heisman Trophy (the most coveted individual award in college football), but instead of depicting a player jabbing a stiff arm, a football player fumbling for the ball adorns this piece of hardware.

Although it can be argued that the first Mr. Gone was Phil Flanagan because he was taken with the last pick in the first NFL Draft in 1936, Kelvin Kirk is more widely recognized as the first official Mr. Gone. Kirk was selected with the 487th and final pick in the 1976 NFL Draft and thus received an invitation for himself and his family to participate in the Newport Beach festivities that summer.

One of the most interesting career paths for a man selected with the last overall pick in the NFL Draft is probably Jimmy Walker, who was taken by the New Orleans Saints with the final 17th round pick (445 overall) in the 1967 draft. That same year, Walker was taken with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Walker would go on to play nine years in the NBA and make a couple of all-star teams before finally fathering a son named Jalen Rose. Rose would play in the NBA and, famously, with the Michigan Fab Squad in 1992 and 1993. Unfortunately, an estranged relationship meant that Walker and Rose never met in person before Walker passed away in 2007.

On a lighter note, casual sports fans may find it interesting that numerous players who have been named Mr. Irrelevant played for top-tier college football programs like the University of Nebraska, LSU, Ohio State, and the University of Texas. , just to name a few.

Tours Travel

Christian Marriages – Continuous Courtship and Honeymoon

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Every year we look for something interesting to add to our leisure list. We have many interesting activities to feel freshness, joy and happiness. We wish to have something new and interesting. It’s very boring if we always keep the status quo. Some cool things long-married couples can do include:

A. Go out on dates at least once a month. We should go without the children or the grandchildren. We can go to the beach and spend the night in the chalet. We can enjoy various activities with the two of us, for example, having a barbecue, drinking a few glasses of beer or wine.

b. Going on a honeymoon to new places if we have enough money. This needs early planning where we can save enough money.

During our courtship or honeymoon there are many things we can do to renew our marriage relationship:

A. Discuss our future goals. We can discuss where to stay and what to do in old age. Who will take care of us when we are old enough?

b. Renew our marriage relationship. We discuss our past achievements or failures. We can discuss how to improve our relationship.

However, in all our discussions:

A. We must pray first;

b. We must agree not to fight or have misunderstandings;

against In any situation, we promise to stay calm and love each other.

After our discussion, we must agree:

A. Improve and make action plans (what, when, where, who and how?);

b. Implement the action plan together;

against Evaluate the action plan and carry out corrective actions together.

Following the above activities, our married life will always be very creative. It is because we have something interesting to look forward to and for continuous improvement. Therefore, as married couples, we must do something now. We should date more together and go on our honeymoon often. It is a good thing to do and go out and explore more about our married life relationship. The creative marriage relationship needs creative thinking to bring lasting joy and happiness together.

We can make a plan now where to go next. Maybe we can ask our children to help financially. Our children are very happy if they know that we are going on new dates or we are going on our honeymoon. Our children like their parents to be happy and have a good relationship at all times. Both money and time are worth a lot to do healthy activities to bring up a happy family.

God bless your Christian marriages.

Technology

Specialized conference applications for associations

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The soul of an association is its membership. Without your membership, the associations would cease to exist. One of the most important functions of an association is communication, both up and down the organizational structure. The national headquarters has a need to communicate with its state and local chapters and their members, and members must communicate with the chapters and national headquarters. One of the best ways to communicate is through conference calls, including audio, web, and video conferencing. Over the past decade, various specialized applications have been developed using conferencing services to achieve association goals, improve the quality of communication with members, generate new revenue, and reduce costs. Here are six specialized conferencing apps that associations can implement now.

Administrative Meetings. Associations can use plain old audio conferencing to hold administrative meetings up and down the association hierarchy. The national headquarters can hold conference calls with state and local chapters and all organizational levels can hold conference calls with members. These calls can be recorded and saved for later playback by conferees, who missed the call, or by participants who just want to replay the call for specific references. A new feature with saved recordings is that a link to the recording can be sent to the moderator of each call in the post-conference report email. When the link is clicked, the audio recording plays automatically, whether on desktop or mobile. The moderator can share the email with the link to all call participants so anyone can listen to an instant replay of the meeting at any time. Conferencing service operators can also be used in these administrative conference calls to implement question and answer sessions and polling.

Individual billing. Conference service providers generally send a monthly bill for all conference calls to the moderator or accountant who pays the association’s bills. However, some of these conference calls, such as lobby calls, may be made up of conferees who are from other associations, which can cause a problem for the moderator, who set up the conference call. This moderator would receive the single bill for the call and would then have to bear the cost of the entire call or split the costs of each of the other participating associations and charge each of them. This is time consuming and a real pain in the shorts. A new application for associations and other non-profit organizations is called individual billing. With this new application, the service provider can split the bill based on the total minutes each organization spent on the conference call. The service provider can then send the specific individual invoices and collect them from each organization. This completely eliminates the need for association staff to waste time splitting bills, invoicing and collecting.

Subconference. Subconference is an operator-assisted feature that allows you to split the main call into subgroups that can be split into separate conference calls. After the subgroups have finished their specific business, they can call the operator, who can then put everyone back on the main conference call. An example would be a national association starting the big conference call with all the participants from all over the United States. When the moderator of the call was ready, the operator would be summoned and the call would then be divided into four subgroups, one subgroup for each section of the country. Once the subgroups have finished conducting their regional business, the operator will rejoin the subgroups in one big call again. Subconferencing is a feature or application that must be scheduled in advance with your service provider so that an operator is available and trained to handle the call.

continuing education. Many professional associations have a requirement to provide continuing education in the profession they represent. Additionally, many of these professionals must take as many continuing education classes each year to fulfill their continuing certification in the industries in which they work. Initially, these classes were taught in person, which required time and travel. These classifieds then began receiving help via conference calls. As conferencing technology has developed, these classes have now moved online and are using web and video conferencing. Associations usually have to develop the curriculum content, do all the marketing and promotion, take all the registrations, run the webinar, send out the invoices, collect the money for the courses, and then send out the certificates that Verify course completion. . One of the new conferencing applications, developed by conferencing service providers, allows the association to focus entirely on the content of the course and who will be teaching the class, and allows the service provider to do all the registration, marketing, submission of collateral materials, conduct the webinar with professional operators supervising the class, collect all the money, and submit the course certificates. At the conclusion of the webinar, the service provider would provide a billing statement to the association along with a check for the difference between the class’s total revenue minus the service provider’s costs. Each webinar should be an income generator for the association.

Market research. Another application developed by service providers over the past decade is focus group interviews conducted via audio or video conferencing. In the past, focus groups were conducted in person and involved the rental of a facility and the necessary travel expenses to get to and from the event, both for the moderators and possibly for the research subjects. With the advent of conferencing technology, these focus groups can now be accomplished through the use of audio or video conferencing services, greatly reducing facility rental and eliminating travel expenses. These sessions can be recorded and recorded for future playback by researchers.

Affinity programs. Affinity programs are designed to give certain associations an additional source of income. Many associations generate additional income by providing and selling products and services to their members. Some conferencing providers have established affinity programs that allow the service provider to market conferencing services to members of the association. Basically, the association gives the service provider permission to market its services to members and helps promote the services through the association’s publications and communications to members. The service provider then develops the program materials, markets its services to members at a discount, and then remits a monthly royalty to the association headquarters based on the income generated by the program. An affinity program can provide a large influx of new income to an association, provided the membership is a suitable user of conference services.

There you have it, six apps that have been developed for associations to help them achieve their goals, generate new revenue and reduce their costs.

Business

Do you really like me? 21 Really Good Ways to Know for Sure

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Isn’t it really frustrating when you just can’t tell if a guy likes you or not? Many women are clueless when it comes to whether or not a certain guy likes them, but I would argue that it’s not really his fault.

Everyone knows that when it comes to expressing themselves, men in general could use a few lessons. But men will be men and nothing will change overnight.

So, here are some great ways you can use to finally find out if he really likes you or not…

Situation 1- When you still don’t know the guy…

1. Gives you the star…

Some men go a little too far when looking for a woman. If you catch a guy looking at you, then she is looking at you. Not a very flattering way to look at someone, but that’s what this guy knows and if you catch him doing this, he definitely likes you.

2. He has the ‘wow’ look on his face…

Some men have a ‘wow’ expression on their face when they look at a woman. The fact is that they are so shocked by what they see that they cannot control the amazement that hits them. If you see a guy looking at you with a shocked expression on his face, then he is looking at you.

3. Looks away when caught…

Some men look away when caught looking at a woman. If you catch a guy looking at you, but the moment your eyes meet his, he looks away, then this is because he was consciously looking at you and now he feels embarrassed that he got caught.

4. He gives you a coy smile…

Sometimes you catch a guy looking at you and when your eyes meet his he gives you a sheepish smile. If a guy does this, then he’s looking at you. He doesn’t really expect you to smile back, but this is his indirect way of letting you know that he likes you.

5. He becomes flirty…

He’ll try to see if he can impress you with all the flirting techniques he knows. He will try to impress you with what he thinks are his likable traits. If you see something like this happen, you know that this guy is completely in love with you.

6. Seek to hear from you…

If you find out that he is trying to find out things about you from your friends, about your personal life, things you are interested in, etc. You know there’s more than meets the eye. The fact that he does all of this just means that he is getting ready to meet you.

7. He is here, there everywhere, wherever you are that is…

He tries all the tricks he knows to be close to you. He’s doing all of this because if he gets an opportunity to start a conversation with you, he doesn’t want to miss it. Signs of romance, no doubt!

Situation 2 – When you already know him…

8. He spends most of his time with you…

If he wants to spend all his time with you, since he’s happiest when he’s with you, it shows that he really likes you. This means that he enjoys your company and no matter how busy he is, he finds time to be with you; This shows his deep affection for you.

9. He listens to you very carefully…

He doesn’t pretend to listen, but he really does and gives you his full attention, he likes you and respects your opinion, and most importantly, he respects your feelings. His action says that he places great value on everything you have to say and will come only when he likes you.

10. You are not disappointed…

If he has made a promise, he makes sure to keep it and will never let you down. He is not one of those who make plans and then forget or do not call in case he cannot be there; this shows his concern as he doesn’t want to hurt you in any way.

11. He wants to know everything about you…

He really likes you and his interest is genuine if he shows great interest in your life and wants to know everything about you. He is interested in knowing about your interests and hobbies, your dreams and desires, small details because his feelings are real, he may actually be falling in love with you and he wants to know everything that makes you the person you are.

12. He accepts you…

He likes you with your flaws and imperfections and does not want to change you according to his expectations. He admires your qualities and realizes that no one is perfect and happily ignores any flaws you may have.

13. He cares about your well-being…

Only when a man has true feelings for his woman will he care about her well-being and wish her happiness and joy. If he really likes you, he will want to see that you are always happy.

14. He will give you clever compliments…

You will notice a lot of compliments when a man likes you. If you find these compliments to be getting innovative and clever in nature, then he definitely likes you and is trying to make a good impression on you.

15. Will initiate some kind of physical contact…

One of the best ways to really know that he likes you is to study his actions around you. You will see that this guy will try to initiate some kind of physical contact when he is near you. Whether it’s helping you cross the street or gently brushing your hair out of your face, he’ll find ways to touch you.

16. Get more information about you… Personal information…

If he really likes you, he will definitely want to know a lot more about your personal life. Especially, things like whether or not you are single, what kind of men you like, etc.

17. He will try to sell himself…

When he really likes you, he’ll naturally want to like you back, and in the process, he’ll try really hard to impress you. And this will become very evident if she finds that he always pushes himself a little when she is in her company.

18. He can’t hide his happiness when he sees you…

If her eyes light up the very moment she sees you and she finds it hard to hide her joy, even if she tries, it means that she has romantic thoughts about you going through her mind. The glow on his face, the stars in his eyes will point to it.

19. Is he extremely happy every time you come…?

Does he seem extremely happy when you are around and has a big smile plastered on his face that is almost impossible to miss? If you are the source of this happiness, then it is extremely obvious that he likes you a lot.

20. He can’t hear anything negative about you…

If you find that he is the first to jump to your defense if someone has made a rude or harsh comment about you at a party or anywhere else, it is because he has romantic feelings for you and cannot bear to listen to anyone. talking bad about you

21. Try to shoot the other guys…

If you notice that when other guys start to get close to you, this guy will try to do something to get you away from them or to get them away from you. This is simply because he doesn’t want any kind of competition around him.

Home Kitchen

Enjoy all the benefits of affordable Venetian marble

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If spending got in the way of getting the look and feel of super marble and granite, keep reading about Venetian marble. As recycling is everywhere in our fight for the preservation of the environment, rescuing natural marble brings us this solution to many dreams. Instead of quite expensive cultured marble and granite, why not go for artificial Venetian marble?

How is Venetian marble made?

The reprocessed marble undergoes a pressing and heating procedure with polymers and pigments. The result is a very resistant and non-porous surface. Made from slabs at the factory, manufacturers cut and polish it, ready for installation. You get VM in various attractive colors and lovely borders for a fairyland feel. Designs come to life in dream settings!

Among Venetian marbles, the advantages are easy installations with few maintenance headaches, resistance to bacteria and stains. Its great durability makes it suitable for floors and shower screens, backsplashes and countertops.

seamless installations

Unrestricted 48″, Venetian Marble is the first marble made 60″ wide. With few seams, install quickly and easily with little waste. Don’t you want the most environmentally sustainable product?

Attractive color options too

Natural rock comes with many surface pits and marks from the wild subsurface through sustained earth processes. Engineered stone is fairly regular in coloration and surface consistency throughout the slab. As a result, seams are minimal and suit applications where color consistency is preferred. Tibetan Beige and Coco Emperador are popular choices unless you go for the more traditional colors like Vanilla Sky and Melange.

How to maintain Venetian marble?

Compared to conventional tiles and natural stone surfaces, these premium marble surfaces are easy to maintain. Just wipe clean with a damp cloth and even a sponge and paper towels would suffice. If heavy staining occurs, you should use a mild soap. A neutral pH cleaner can also be used. A non-abrasive scouring pad will preserve the surface and result in many years of trouble-free service. A marble sealer is recommended for additional protection. This marble is highly durable, use it for backsplashes and countertops to provide a sleek marble and granite look with long life.

Venetian marble would introduce a great natural stone fantasy into the home or business at a reasonable cost. Since there are so many options out there, some are sure to meet your expectations, fancy, lifestyle, and budget. Browse our wide range of premium surfaces to make the best decisions.

Auto

Owner Operator Insurance 101 – Lease Agreement Requirements

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In today’s ultra-competitive marketplace, the stakes are higher than ever. A bad decision can prove fatal to the business aspirations of the ill-prepared entrepreneur. Careful planning and meticulous attention to detail are requirements for success. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of the independent contractor. Without the large cash reserves associated with the corporate world, the success of the individual Owner-Operator is in constant jeopardy. This article is the first in a series aimed at explaining some lesser-known facts that can help you make better business decisions early on and build a more secure foundation for your business.

For an owner operator looking to enter the trucking business, it is often more economically feasible to start operating under the operating authority of a larger motor carrier. Please note that not all motor carriers operate in the same manner, and not all motor carriers may operate with your best financial interest in mind. If you get sucked into “just signing up somewhere” and forget to read the fine print, you may be setting yourself up for failure.

When negotiating your mileage rate and reviewing your lease with a motor carrier, there are a few things to keep in mind to better manage your exposure to financial threats and ensure your overall profitability.

What expenses are happening to you? Do you use an escrow?

It is not uncommon for a motor carrier to share some or even all of its cargo and liability insurance deductibles with you, the owner operator. They can do this in one of two ways. They may transfer responsibility for deductibles directly to you through your lease, or they may hold money from your settlement in an escrow account. This means that, in addition to the standard $1,000 deductible you already have on your physical damage policy, you could also be liable for up to $2,500 each, or more, on your motor carrier’s liability and cargo policies. They can also deposit money above and beyond deductible amounts for a variety of other purposes, including taxes, permits, or even fuel advances.

You can minimize the risk of incurring insurance-related expenses by using deductible buyback coverage. Deductible buyback allows you to combine all the deductibles you are responsible for and reduce them to one smaller amount, typically $500. Otherwise, pay attention to the use of escrow accounts and be sure to monitor how much they have withheld. If and when you terminate your lease, you will likely have to ask for that money back or risk losing it entirely.

What insurance can they really require you to carry and what should you bring?

The simple answer here is that they can require you to carry whatever coverage their risk managers deem appropriate. While the state you live in may not specifically require you to have certain coverages, the motor carrier may make those requirements a provision of signing a lease. You are an independent contractor picking out enter into a mutual agreement with the motor carrier. By signing the lease, you are saying that you understand and choose to agree to its requirements, whatever they may be. The most common insurance they will require will be some form of personal injury protection.

However, any insurance coverage they require of you is most likely intended to reduce their exposure to the risk of you passing expenses on to them. Since these expenses would initially be yours, it is in your best interest to have the coverage.

The most common and inexpensive form of personal injury protection is called a Worker’s Compensation or Occ Acc. Occ Acc is similar to Workers’ Compensation in that it covers you or your driver for medical expenses resulting from related injuries. with work. A typical Occ Acc plan will also include some amount of disability coverage. The main difference between Occ Acc and Work Comp is that an Occ Acc policy has a specific default limit of coverage ($500K, $1M, etc.). Work Comp limits are determined by individual state statutes.

What kind of liability coverage are you required to carry on yourself?

When you are leased from a motor carrier and operate your truck “in the business of trucking,” you are covered by your auto liability coverage. Also known as primary liability, this coverage insures you and the motor carrier for property damage and bodily injury that you cause to a third party and for which you are responsible. Since your truck is a commercial vehicle designed for the business of hauling cargo, primary liability covers you most of the time. However, since you own the truck, there will be times when you can use it for things other than “trucking business.” Because of this, it is important to have a secondary form of liability coverage.

Usually referred to as “bobtail” coverage, there are actually several different forms of secondary liability coverage that can be used. Your motor carrier may require a specific form, so it is important to understand the difference.

Non-Trucking Liability, NTL – Covers you when you’re “not in the business of trucking.” You don’t specify if you are pulling a trailer or a bobtail.

Bobtail Liability: Covers you when you are bobtail. It does not specify whether or not you are in the trucking business.

No-Load Liability – Covers you when you are not loaded. It doesn’t specify if you’re bobtail or deadhead or if you’re “in the trucking business” or not.

Please note that these are all liability coverages. This is only coverage for you to pay others for bodily injury and property damage that you may have caused. This coverage will never pay you for damage to your own equipment. Damage to your equipment is covered by physical damage coverage. Most motor carriers don’t have requirements on their physical damage coverage, but it’s still a good business decision to have it.

Understanding these different forms of coverage is extremely important for an Owner Operator when entering into a lease. Before you sign your name on the dotted line, ask yourself the questions presented in this article and consider which of the different forms of insurance might apply to you. Investing in the right types of coverage early on can help you minimize the risk of financial catastrophic events in the future. As is evident in today’s business economy, it is better to be financially proactive and prepared than to wait for disaster to strike.

Digital Marketing

How to combine your sales and marketing efforts, and why you should

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A traditional sales campaign typically involves a sales force following up on new leads from website inquiries, calls for more information, lists of purchased leads, and referrals. Your sales force (or maybe it’s you) makes calls to new leads, completes the “dog and pony show,” and then continues to follow up to convert that lead into a sale. Usually, this effort is easily measurable. Either you see results or you don’t. The process is in black and white.

In marketing, measurable objectives can seem a bit more gray. But they don’t have to be. Every time you implement a new marketing strategy, you need to affirm that it is truly measurable. Otherwise, how else will you know if your time and money were well spent? Ultimately, the key here is to combine your sales and marketing efforts for maximum ROI. When you put these two together, measuring the bottom line actually becomes a lot easier.

Measuring marketing efforts can be a scary thought. Just as sales people have quotas, your marketing team needs a measure of accountability, because every dollar you spend building awareness (and ultimately sales) for your business should generate a return on that investment. Sometimes marketers are labeled as an expense because they are known to spend, spend, spend. In truth, your marketers are responsible for generating the leads that are delivered to the sellers.

There are ways to change this misconception. The first step is to create sales and marketing programs and initiatives that complement each other. Let’s take a look at some ways to do this and how you can make this work for you:

1. Brand Awareness – Marketers are continually developing a brand or identity for a business and while this may not result in direct sales, these ongoing efforts are critical to producing long-term sales. Strong, consistent brand messaging creates an image that matters most to your customers, so when it comes time to buy, they think of you, not your competitor. If you were to ignore your brand and not create a strong identity, your sales would suffer in the long run.

2. Measure brand activity: While it’s important to create and maintain a strong brand identity, in today’s economic climate, that’s simply not enough. You must create a way to effectively measure the impact of your brand. With the advent of online marketing and advertising, we can now more easily measure this type of brand. Now you can add call tracking or click tracking to your online ad campaigns and assess how impactful your efforts are and which are not. Don’t assume your brand is being recognized. Use it in ways that can be measured and calculated with ROI.

3. Marketing is the Lead Generation Arm of Sales – As mentioned above, the sales force typically follows up on leads, regardless of how they are generated. But how are they generated? Some can be purchased while others can result from referrals. Still, a good chunk of it typically comes from your advertising, public relations, direct mail, and website activity that goes into a company’s marketing mix. One way to measure these efforts is to create tracking codes, distinct links, or custom URLs (PURLs) for each marketing piece to quantify how many leads a particular campaign can generate. Add language to a direct mail piece like “Mention this postcard to receive a free widget.” Or create a promo code which is when a customer requests more information from your inquiry form on your website. These tactics will allow you to really determine where your leads are coming from.

Marketing and sales are not separate and distinct functions. They must work in sync to be effective and powerful. You may need to be a little more creative in how you measure ROI, but it’s just as easy to measure your marketing efforts as it is to be accountable for your sales tactics. If you continue to view sales and marketing as a package rather than individual entities, your overall efforts will also become easier to measure.

Relationship

Mardi Gras Celebration – Carnival Season Parties

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Many people may think that the entire New Orleans carnival season is one long Mardi Gras celebration, but it is not. “Mardi Gras” is really just a one-day event and it takes place on the aptly named date, “Fat Tuesday.” This is actually the last of the holidays for people of the Catholic faith before “Ash Wednesday” is issued in the darkest and most penitent period of Lent. As if to remind everyone of the celebration, purple, gold, and green are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras.

Once known as Shrove Tuesday, this February event is a unique New Orleans party time that involves wild and raucous fun. If you want to kick back, let your hair down, and let it all hang out, then you should hurry up and join the revelers in the French Quarter. The January 6th date of Twelfth Night really ushers in the exciting festivities and Fat Tuesday is the climax with parades, floats and incredible views. If you’re one of the spectators during this time, it won’t be hard to see why some say the Mardi Gras celebration has roots in some ancient Roman orgies.

Millions of tourists and partygoers flock to the city of New Orleans in January and February to take part in some of the activities. For nearly 300 years, the residents of this popular southern landmark have shown they know how to create a celebration that will wow the masses. Masquerade balls, grand parades and street dances are just some of the traditions that have thrived in the land of Etouffee, Beignets and Gumbo. An interesting fact is that face masks were actually banned for many years in the early 19th century because people’s behavior had become so risky and wild.

Today, visitors can go to New Orleans in February and on the most famous Tuesday of the American year, anything and everything can be seen on the streets of the city. The parades are a colorful, loud, and enthusiastic display involving costumed celebrants, scantily clad dancers, wild-eyed clowns, balloons, and dozens of spectacular floats. If you want a good seat, you will have to claim your place at dawn with a sleeping bag and a thermos of coffee. Flashing and mischievous skin exposure is an integral part of the things you’ll witness on Mardi Gras day.

There are always some brilliant street performers, musicians and prominent marching bands stomping their feet in the parades. The day begins with music, lots and lots of jazz and blues played all over the city. The streets literally come alive as these enthusiastic and talented musicians strut their stuff for all to see and hear.

Then tens of thousands of costumed revelers and hundreds of floats will move through the city. People riding the floats throw beads and plastic doubloons and people consider it a coup to score these trinkets. If you’re in the crowd, keep in mind that your status for the day is based on how much loot you can get. Bourbon street is the place to be and you can drink and eat all you want and don’t miss the drag queen beauty pageants. These delicious divas are ready to compete and will be wearing some of the most raunchy creations you’ve ever dreamed of.

The streets are full of events for Mardi Gras visitors to participate in and many of these are organized by clubs or “Krewes”. A core group of approximately 5 dozen Krewes plan and organize the parades and costume balls for the event. The oldest of these clubs is known as the Krewe of Comus and has been around since 1857. The Krewe of Rex was started in 1872 and they were responsible for creating a grand parade and naming a Mardi Gras King. The reason for these actions was that Alexis Romanoff, the Russian Grand Duke, was visiting for that year’s Mardi Gras celebration.

Even though Katrina permanently changed the city of New Orleans, the Krewes have kept the Mardi Gras Celebration alive and as uniquely exuberant as ever.