Writing a Good Character Reference Letter For a Landlord
January 25, 2012 | 
Author Writing a good character reference letter should not be a difficult task, although the mere suggestion of having to write one seems to strike fear into the heart of many. You may be asked to write one for someone if they are in the process of finding a new apartment to rent and the landlord requires one.
In the movies, landlords are sometimes portrayed as evil, greedy people with black hats and curly mustaches. This is not the case at all these days, as landlords must have the best interests of their tenants at heart in order to remain in business and out of the government’s watchful eye.
Landlords have a financial interest in their property and seeing to it that their apartments or homes remain fully occupied and the tenants are happy to live there. In order to do so, landlords try to screen their potential tenants in order to keep out the bad or troublesome renters. Rental applications ask a lot of questions that are constructed in order to gather enough information in order to decide if you, the potential renter, will be a good renter or a bad renter. In other words, the landlord is trying to reduce the risk of losing income by renting to the good renters more often than bad renters. In some cases, the landlord may request a character reference letter in order to further reduce the risk by gathering the independent opinion of a third party.
Character reference letters are usually written in support of an employment application or an apartment rental agreement, or lease. In any case, employer or landlord, the letter is intended to attest to the veracity of the person for whom the letter is written. In short, this means that the letter backs up the information provided on the applicant’s application form.
A good character reference letter is written around those areas that the landlord will consider important in making a decision about the applicant’s character. As a friend, you probably know that he or she always pays the rent on time, always cleans up after themselves, never disturbs the neighbors, and hasn’t ever had the utilities cut off for non-payment. It should be easy to write a number of short paragraphs about you friend’s social history to support their application. Be truthful and be honest when writing the letter. Never lie for a friend, no matter what! It will make your friend look bad and reflect directly back on you if your friend doesn’t live up to the rosy picture you have painted of them.
If you need some ideas of what you should write about it should be a simple matter to pick up a copy of the rental application. Look it over, picking out three or four areas that you know the most about and feel the most comfortable writing about. Begin with a short introductory paragraph describing how you know the person and for how long you have known them. Then delve into your knowledge about your friends past and hopefully good behaviors as it relates to the three or four areas you’ve selected. End your letter casually and with an invitation, or permission to contact you for further information if needed. Don’t forget to include your contact information.
With these guidelines in hand, you should be able to write a good character reference letter for a landlord or an employer. You may want to write a few drafts before keyboarding the final letter, which will be sure to help your friend obtain that much sought after apartment or job. When writing, always remember that the key to success when writing a good character reference letter is honesty.
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2011 Economic Forecast – Part 2: The United States (US)
2010 is finally history. The economic recovery, which officially began in 2009, was scarcely evident as the US economy muddled through 2010. It seemed that for every piece of good news, like the strong end to the 2010 Christmas shopping season, was countered by news of a setback, such as unemployment rates that unexpectedly returned to nearly 10% during the same period.
The government’s stimulus efforts have run their course. The TARP program is officially over and tax credits for new home buyers have all expired. The economy now has to perform on its own without all that artificial stimulation.
The fed has reduced interest rates to historic lows to internally stimulate the economy. If interest rates were the cause of The Great Recession this action should have revved up the economy and put us back on track. With federal reserve interest rates at 0% the economy should be white-hot. However, high interest rates are not the problem, so lowering them did not spark an economic rebound. Here’s why with my forecast for 2011:
Unemployment Will Probably Stay Stuck Near 10%
The dirty little secret behind this statistic is that the 10% figure represents only those who currently have no earned income. Those who are working one or more part-time jobs because they can’t find a full-time work, are underemployed in their field, or who are laboring out-of-bounds of their education or training are considered by the government to be employed. When this expanded population is taken into account, the actual unemployment/underemployment statistic is most likely double the official figure.
Unfortunately, there are now multiple barriers to lowering our now chronically high unemployment level. Some of the most important are:
The huge oversupply of foreclosed and unsold homes – The reasoning here is straightforward: there is no need for new construction in a saturated market, which means no construction jobs. Jobs in support industries that supply new home construction goods and services will obviously also be affected. More on this topic below.
Continued restraint in consumer spending – more on this topic below.
Major (and many smaller) corporations continue to outsource overseas everything from manufacturing to admin support – much is made of sending low skill or semi-skilled manufacturing jobs overseas, while the US supposedly maintains its edge through high tech startups at home. The government likes to point to numerous high tech startup companies as proof this strategy is working.
Some entrepreneurs do successfully start corporations that may eventually employ 50 white collar workers. However, the product they create is outsourced to manufacturing overseas in a factory that employs perhaps 5000 workers to produce it. Granted, it may cost less per unit to manufacture there, but those 5000 low skilled or semi-skilled workers employed there are exactly the type of person most likely to be unemployed in the US.
So, manufacturing, the great economic engine that for over 100 years was the promise of the high school graduate being able to enter the middle class, is essentially gone, which in great measure explains the growing class rift in our nation.
Note that when manufacturing is sent overseas, the outsourcing company essentially has to teach the foreign corporation how to create the new product, which is new knowledge that a foreign power can use to its own benefit. China is the best example of this. We have successfully trained and paid the Chinese (and others) to beat us at our own game, as evidenced by China’s growing economic might and a political presence that now must be reckoned with.
Hiring temporary workers, rather than in-house employees – temporary or contract workers are far cheaper to hire than in-house employees who qualify for benefits like health insurance and the retirement program. The company owes no loyalty to temps or contractors, and they can be hired and fired at will.
Corporations no longer hire employees with “potential” or experience in parallel or complementary industries – major corporations have ceased to think long-term in many areas, shifting their focus nearly exclusively to near term actions that produce short-term results. Examples of this myopic view range from focusing on the next quarter’s stock earnings per share to viewing employees as a short-term commodity rather than long-term assets.
Viewing employees as a commodity results in corporate behavior of hiring what’s needed for the moment and discharging them when the immediate need disappears, which in turn results in a goal of only searching for and hiring employees “who can make an immediate contribution to the bottom line.”
The exponential increase in education, credential, and experience criteria for candidate employees over and above actual position requirements – new hire employees are now expected to “hit the ground running” and be able to “make an immediate contribution to the bottom line.” Like a new electronic gadget, a new employee should be able to “work right out of the box.”
This new expectation was unheard of only a few years ago during the era when employees were a valuable asset to be invested in over the long term. Then, new hires weren’t expected to be able to make meaningful contributions until they had been with a corporation long enough to learned the ropes.
Now, most hiring authorities don’t even make the effort to understand what skill set is actually required to perform the job they’re hiring for. So, advanced degrees, myriad commercial certificates, and recent experience in everything are specified in the hope that the overkill will result in a person eventually hired that can do the job.
These excessive requirements are then passed to the human resources (HR) department, which dutifully uses them as an inflexible tool to screen the applicant database. The popularity of online employment applications has exacerbated this problem, where the HR person can enter “MBA” as a search term and never see the many capable, well qualified people who are discarded because they don’t have this degree.
As an example, you may not need an engineer with an MBA to be the head of a maintenance department. The better candidate may well be a military veteran non-commissioned officer (NCO) who successfully ran a repair depot. Hiring the former NCO would bring superb talent and a broad background into the organization, could probably be hired at a substantial savings for the company, and may stay with the company longer than the highly credentialed engineer who is intent on furthering his career climbing the corporate ladder.
Further, most large corporations have returned to profitability during the Great Recession through extreme cost cutting, mostly through layoffs in their labor force. Employees who survived the purges were told to take on the extra responsibilities of their former colleagues, so technically the same amount of work is being performed by fewer people (which is responsible for the great gains in national productivity figures compiled by the government and widely reported in the media). This approach obviously places all the necessary skill set eggs into fewer baskets, which creates entirely predictable problems when the new multi-taskers eventually leave and corporations try to replace them with another single person who can do the newly defined mega-job, rather than spreading skills (and risk) over several employees.
The well documented bias against hiring the unemployed – On the surface this bias may seem counterintuitive, after all, someone who’s unemployed is readily available and could probably start Monday, right?
However, the corporate thought process generally follows this logic path; “most corporations layoff their least productive workers during a downsizing, therefore if you’re unemployed you were among the least desirable or productive workers or you wouldn’t have been laid off. It follows then that there must be something wrong with you that we don’t know about, otherwise you would be employed” regardless of your skill set, recent experience, or personal references.
It’s unfortunate that this twisted and nonsensical logic that is frequently imposed on situational “outsiders”, from marital status to any of society’s other membership groupings, has now found its way into corporate hiring mentality.
I recommend Louis Uchitelle’s book, The Disposable American, for more on this topic. (I have no financial interest in this recommendation.)
The unemployment bottom line – The unemployment/underemployment rate will little change in 2011, with those fitting the categories above most affected.
Real Estate Foreclosures Will Continue at a Record Pace and Housing Prices Will Remain Depressed in Most Areas of the Country
The government statistics here are shocking, with estimates that nearly half (HALF!) of all homeowners with mortgages have homes that currently appraise for less than the mortgage value; they’re “upside down”. Further, nearly 20% of all mortgages nationwide were in some stage of foreclosure at the end of 2010, with rates much higher in the hardest hit states of Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, and California.
The efforts of the banking industry to work through this massive backlog lead to the “robo-signing” fiasco, where foreclosure paperwork was being routinely approved under oath en mass without verifying what was being attested to in the court documents. Faced with active investigations by attorneys-general in all 50 states, banks temporarily suspended foreclosure proceedings during the 4th quarter of 2010 to straighten out the mess they created, which the news media widely (and inaccurately) reported as a sign the economy is improving. However, the backlog must be worked through to get the bad debt off the banks’ books, so foreclosures will resume at perhaps even a greater pace when the paperwork is straightened out, probably by the second quarter of 2011.
The huge inventory of foreclosed and otherwise unsold homes will keep housing prices depressed. As long as there are so many unsold homes on the market (with more to arrive when the banks resume foreclosure processing), the oversupply will keep prices down and may drive them ever lower in 2011. Even after the foreclosure backlog is reduced, many new home sale listings will appear on the market when prices start to rise from the concealed backlog of those who want or need to sell, but didn’t list when prices were low, which will depress prices again. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took until 2015 to work through this immediate and hidden backlog.
The real estate bottom line – in most markets, residential real estate values will remain depressed or will decline further in the high impact states. Now is the time to buy if you have income security, the necessary available cash, an astronomical credit rating to qualify for a mortgage, and can find a bank willing to lend.
Energy Prices Should be Stable
Recent articles in authoritative publications have reported that on-shore crude oil storage is full to capacity and that mothballed tankers functioning simply as floating storage tanks are anchored off the coasts of Great Britain and Iran. A recent inventory showed that 50+ tankers were anchored off of the coast of England alone.
Most oil producing countries derive the majority of their national income from crude oil sales, so their incentive is to keep pumping, regardless of market price, in order to maintain their revenue stream, which will keep supplies abundant. So, the world is awash in crude oil, with inventory stores in excess of demand, putting downward pressure on gasoline prices. Overall, gas prices should remain relatively stable during the first half of the year, absent an unplanned disruption like a major refinery fire or a hurricane that destroys oil platforms. That’s good news for every household and corporate budget in our petroleum-based economy.
The wild card is China, again. Prior to the recession, China became a net importer of crude oil and was starting to compete on the world market for the limited supply of crude available (remember $150 per barrel spot market crude?). If other world economies improve and start consuming more oil, then everyone will return to competing for limited energy supplies on the world market. And China will most certainly win any contest here, because their trade surplus has given them an unlimited supply of dollars to buy oil with.
The energy bottom line – energy prices will most likely slowly increase throughout the year as the fragile recovery continues and the economies of the world pick up steam.
An alternative scenario is that energy prices remain stable when China’s real estate bubble collapses (see 2011 Economic Forecast – Part 1: The World View from a US Perspective for elaboration on this possibility), causing a large loss of personal wealth for the average Chinese citizen, dramatically driving down internal consumption, and leading to China’s own internal economic recession.
Crude prices will not decline because OPEC will adjust production to maintain oil in the $90-$100 price range.
Consumer Spending Will Remain Flat
People out of work spend only what they have to on the barest necessities. People who are afraid they will be next out of work, cut back on spending in order to save for what might come to pass, and also focus on buying only the practical, needed, and necessary. People who are secure in their jobs, but don’t want to be seen conspicuously consuming during hard times, will curtail their luxury purchases. Need I say more?
Further, it’s underreported that the historically low interest rates have meant a sharp drop in savings interest income for retirees. Retirees dependent on interest income have had to sharply reduce their spending in order to avoid further encroachment on their principal. Typically, the budget cuts include things like the lawn service contract, the beauty shop, dry cleaning, and eating out, all of which impacts local businesses.
The modest economic improvement widely reported during the last half of 2010 is probably the result of businesses simply restocking depleted inventories to low levels, which is good news but not great news. However, the buying surge that turned the 2010 Christmas shopping season into a last minute success means that retailers will start 2011 on better financial footing because they won’t have to start the year having to liquidate seasonal inventory (and profits) at 50%-70% off to generate cash flow.
Additional reasons that I think consumer spending will continue to be restrained in 2011 include the increased personal savings rate (an eventual benefit, but lowers consumer spending in the short term), a focus on reducing credit card debt, unplanned new car payments in the household budget resulting from the federal Cash for Clunkers program, and credit that’s either not available at any price or only at unfavorable interest rates and terms when it is.
The consumer spending bottom line – consumer spending on non-essential purchases will continue to be restrained in 2011. When consumers do make purchases, they will focus on the needed, necessary, and practical, and avoid luxury items even if they can afford them. Family vacations will be to local or regional destinations, rather than the exotic venues.
The Credit-Starved Economy
It’s widely reported that large corporations are currently hoarding large amounts of cash. This stockpile gives them the ability to hire, expand production, and grow organically if they wanted to, but they are refusing to do so in light of what I’ve shared above. Even a White House meeting with the president in 2010 wasn’t enough to persuade them to resume hiring if they can meet market demand with staff on hand.
However, large corporations continue to have aspirations to grow and, rather than slowly growing organically, the method they’re often choosing is rapid growth through acquiring their competition. When companies combine, the result may possibly be good for the new, larger corporation (the marriages generally have a 50-50 chance of commercial success), but the result always has two negative economic impacts:
The cash and loans required to buy the competitor removes large amounts of capital from the market that would otherwise be available for mortgages and loans to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), and
Mergers always result in layoffs as the new corporation works to eliminate duplicate functions to help pay for the merger. After all, you don’t need two payroll departments, two HR departments, two training departments, etc.
So, large corporate mergers have a break even chance of internal benefit, but nearly always have a negative impact on the economy.
Credit will most likely continue to be tight for SMBs in 2011. Banks say they have money to lend in this area, but the reality is the qualifying bar is set so high that very few will be able to meet it. It’s noteworthy that this economic barrier persists despite the availability of government Small Business Administration loan guarantees and the president repeatedly summoning banking CEO’s to the White House to urge them to begin lending again.
Finally, a common source of loan collateral for SMBs is no longer available in most cases. In areas hard hit by the collapse of the real estate market, the business owner’s home equity line of credit has been completely erased if the property value is now less that the outstanding mortgage balance. Even if there is some equity technically available, few business owners have the stratospheric credit scores necessary to qualify for the loans.
If longer term loans remain unavailable, SMB’s will turn to the only recourse they have left, which is financing their need for operating cash with personal credit card debt. Unfortunately, this option is fraught with danger because lending institutions issuing credit cards are rapidly changing card terms, raising interest rates to usurious levels, requiring most new cards to have variable interest rates (a practice which helped get us into this mess in the first place), and lowering credit limits in response to the new federal laws enacted in February 2010. These moves effectively sidestep the legislation intended to curb these abuses.
At a time when banks can borrow at 0% from the fed, it’s not uncommon for the credit cards they issue to charge 15% or more on outstanding balances. Further, the new laws do not apply to corporate credit cards, exposing the company to even greater financial risk if the owner is forced to finance via this route.
The credit bottom line – expect little or no improvement in credit availability in 2011.
The Impending Commercial Real Estate Tsunami
Commercial real estate values and investment income will probably take a drubbing as vacant store fronts drive down rents renegotiated in 2011. Failing businesses have created a glut of vacant commercial space in many areas and vacant commercial space doesn’t generate income. Surviving business owners will have several alternative locations to choose from and will use the oversupply as leverage to negotiate lower lease rates for the space they do occupy for as far into the future as possible.
And devalued properties of all types will have an adverse effect on local tax digests, forcing local governments to either raise property tax rates or trim operating and school budgets. Which of these choices do you think your local government will make?
Deficit Spending and the Growing Threat of the National Debt
Fiscally, the United States is in a mess and is rapidly approaching the financial meltdown so many European countries are currently experiencing.
The annual budget deficit – the federal government currently spends $3 for every $2 of revenue it receives and the annual spending gap is now over a trillion dollars (a TRILLION dollars) a year. Proposals to close this gap through either increased tax revenue, such as eliminating the homeowners mortgage deduction, or by cutting spending, such as cutting back on Medicare entitlements, meet with howls of constituent protests and go nowhere in a hurry. Note that Medicare alone accounts for 12% of all federal spending and that figure is certain to increase as baby boomers begin to retire in large numbers from the workforce.
The federal government currently spends $1,000,000,000 more every 8 hours than it brings in. It’s ridiculously obvious that this can’t continue for long, yet collectively Congress keeps kicking the can down the road to tomorrow (figuratively speaking) instead of dealing with the issue.
The US government borrows money to support this deficit spending through the sale of US treasury bonds. During World War II the debt was largely financed internally with American citizens buying “war bonds” at rallies that featured real-life war heroes on display.
Today we sell our bonds to foreign powers finance the deficit. Who’s buying them? The largest single buyer, by far, is China, followed by Japan, Germany, and the Arab OPEC nations. So, we are effectively (and quietly) being held hostage to those who buy large amounts of our bonds, because if they don’t buy them, then we can’t operate the federal government. It follows, then, that the nations buying our bonds use this leverage to exercise considerable influence in our behavior behind the scenes. We are no longer a totally independent nation.
Larry Burkett’s book, The Illuminati, is a fictional work about a foreign country that brings down the United States using exactly this leverage. For those who say that can’t happen, the book makes an interesting read of a plausible scenario. (I have no financial interest in this recommendation.)
The national debt – The accumulated national debt has reached an unimaginable size. The previous administration added more to the national debt than all previous presidents combined, including Ronald Reagan’s, and the current administration is on track to exceed this sorry milestone in just its first 4 years in office. We continue to add to this debt, which must be paid back at some point, almost without thought. For example, the president’s much heralded tax deal forged at the end of 2010 added $900 billion dollars to the national debt in extended income tax cuts, additional jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, and a temporary cut in social security taxes without corresponding cuts in social security spending, at the stroke of a pen.
Predictions are, depending on interest rates, for interest payments alone to equal all non-defense spending of the federal budget by perhaps 2015.
There are only 4 ways out of this mess and they will become increasingly painful the longer we, as a nation, avoid changing our spendthrift ways:
Massively cut spending – this will be very difficult, since the federal budget would have to be immediately cut by 1/3 to be able to simply stop borrowing. It would have to be cut even further to begin paying back principal on the debt.
This step will further impact the national unemployment rate as large numbers of government employees are laid off in the downsizing, as we have seen happen in the European Union bailouts. Most popular government programs would have to be axed or pushed off on the states to fund, such as Medicare, which currently consumes 12% of the annual federal budget alone.
Enacting huge tax increases – this move will generate howls of protest because no one wants to pay more of their hard-earned money for fewer services. As an example, how easy do you think it would be to eliminate the cherished homeowner’s mortgage interest deduction?
Defaulting on the debit payments – this is an admission of bankruptcy, pure and simple. If we take this route the government’s access to credit on the world market would immediately dry up. After all, if we stop paying on our current bond obligations, how many more bonds do you think we could sell to foreign governments the next time we needed to borrow money?
Printing dollar bills – this is the route to hyperinflation, because as the money supply increases the value of each dollar falls. The most often cited example of the folly of taking this route is the Republic of Germany following World War I, as it struggled to meet the surrender terms imposed by the Allies and make payments to the victorious nations for the cost of the war. Germany was forced to print money to meet its financial obligations, sparking the hyperinflation recorded in the pictures of German citizens in the 1920′s hauling wheelbarrows of money to the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread.
The national debt bottom line – At the present rate of deficit spending, interest payments on the national debt will overwhelm the national budget by 2015. At that point we will be left with 4 stark choices to deal with the mess we’ve created: massively cut federal spending, enact huge tax increases, default on the debit, print money, or do some combination of these choices. The outlook is stark.
The US National Forecast Bottom Line
What does all this mean? Well, in the near term a realistic forecast is to be cautiously optimistic that the fragile recovery will continue, absent any further shocks to our financial system. However, the economy will be dragging a ball-and-chain along with it in the form of high unemployment, depressed commercial and residential real estate markets, the lack of available credit, the corporate preference to acquire the competition rather than hire new employees, and the looming national debt crisis.
If the scenarios above make sense to you then my suggestion is for small and medium-sized businesses, like professional practices that depend on elective procedures and service industry businesses, to be prepared for clients and patients to continue to defer discretionary spending until at least the second half of 2011. If you’re a retailer, you should keep inventories lean for the first half of the year.
And my personal recommendation is for everyone to reduce their personal debt to as close to zero as possible by 2015.
Will this all come to pass? It’s hard to tell because we haven’t been here before, but I’ve shared my best guess. Do you think I nailed it or do you have a different opinion? I look forward to your comments.
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Rental Grants to Help You Pay Rent
When people face financial hardship, everything becomes a problem. Rental grants help people who are having trouble paying their rent in order to keep them from being evicted. There are also rental grants that will pay to help you with moving expenses to move into a new housing unit. Best of all, grants for rent are not loans. These funds are provided to those who need financial aid and they never have to be repaid.
These programs are often provided by the department of housing and other local government agencies. Rental grants may also be provided by private foundations that help individuals and families who are facing financial difficulty. Depending on the specific grant program that you apply for, there are different qualification and eligibility requirements.
To find out if you can qualify to receive government rental grants, search for the grants that you want to apply for and are likely to qualify for. When you see the list of available grants, review the application process and eligibility requirements carefully. If there are more than one program that you feel you qualify for, submit your application to as many as you feel fit.
As you search the grant database for your rental grants, you may find many additional grants that you could use for your personal use. For instance, you can find grants to help you pay off your debt, grants to pay your tuition, and grants to help you start a small business. With hundreds of government and private foundation grants, there are plenty of ways to obtain free money that you never have to pay back.
Marriage Records – How Can I Find Out If Someone Got Married?
How do I find out if someone is married?
Are you thinking about someone that you haven’t seen in a long time? If you are then you might be wondering what’s been happening to them. Where is he or she now? What have they been doing? did they ever get married?
If you used to get on well with this person then you might be wondering if you have a chance of getting together with them for a romantic encounter or even something more permanent. If this is the case then you should do a little homework on them before you make your moves. You could save yourself a lot of time, energy and embarrassment by taking just a little time to check them out. I’m going to show you how you can easily find out whether they are married or not later in this article.
How do I find a person that I haven’t seen in a long time?
If you’ve lost touch with the person you are dreaming about then your first problem is “how do you find someone that you haven’t heard from in a long time?” This might be simple enough if you know where they live and they haven’t moved. You might even know their telephone number and finding them is as easy as just dialing the number. You might also have some friends in common that you can ask. They could have all the information you need.
If you are still having difficulty finding your lost friend then you can look them up online by using a public records database like the one in the articles mentioned below.
Find out if they are married before you make first contact
Even if you have your lost friend’s contact details you might want to find out something about them before you pick up the phone. If you are thinking of asking them out for a drink or something then you definitely must find out if he got married while you weren’t looking first. If you know what their situation is then you’ll know exactly what to say when they answer the phone and you won’t feel silly if you find yourself talking to their spouse instead.
How to find out if someone got married when you meet again by chance
Not all reunions are planned. Sometimes it amazes me how small the world that you and I live in actually is. It wouldn’t be the first time that long separated friends bump into each other in the street, fall in love and live happily ever after so it could easily happen to you and if it does then how can you find out if he’s married without giving away your innermost feelings?
Look for a wedding band on their finger
This isn’t a sure fire test because not everyone wears their wedding band all of the time. Especially if they have a tendency to stray from the nest when they aren’t with their spouse. If they are wearing one then you can safely say that they are either married or that they are wearing one to frighten off anyone who might get any amorous ideas. Either way you should take it as a sign that they are not available.
If they aren’t wearing a wedding band then that’s a good sign but look closely at their finger. Can you see a light ring around their finger where the band has blocked out the sunlight? If you can then they might be playing around so be careful.
How can I find out if someone got married using online public records
Whatever the situation looks like it’s always a good idea to find out as much as you can about someone before you get too involved with them, romantically or otherwise. It’s so easy to do this today that you can’t afford not to do an online background check on them. Using public records databases you can find out not only if they are married but also details about any criminal records, arrest warrants, addresses and a whole lot more.
Until recently checking someone out in this way would have been a painstaking exercise that you might have had to employ a private detective for but that’s no longer the case. There are web sites that specialize in bringing together publicly available records from all over the place held in thousands of different databases and making them available to you to use in a convenient and confidential way. Don’t hesitate, find out if your friend is married now.
Brand Positioning – Brand Image
That cross-trainer you’re wearing — one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who’s got you branded. That coffee travel mug you’re carrying — ah, you’re a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion “C” on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi’s rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with the maker’s symbol crafted into the end …
You’re branded, branded, branded, branded.
It’s time for me — and you — to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that’s true for anyone who’s interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of work.
Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.
It’s that simple — and that hard. And that inescapable.
Behemoth companies may take turns buying each other or acquiring every hot startup that catches their eye — mergers in 1996 set records. Hollywood may be interested in only blockbusters and book publishers may want to put out only guaranteed best-sellers. But don’t be fooled by all the frenzy at the humongous end of the size spectrum.
The real action is at the other end: the main chance is becoming a free agent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season you can imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you’ll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm’s (or laptop’s) length, you’ll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team’s success — you’ll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season’s free-agency market.
The good news — and it is largely good news — is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.
Who understands this fundamental principle? The big companies do. They’ve come a long way in a short time: it was just over four years ago, April 2, 1993 to be precise, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 40 cents a pack. That was on a Friday. On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.
Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services — from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants — are figuring out how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz.
Who else understands it? Every single Website sponsor. In fact, the Web makes the case for branding more directly than any packaged good or consumer product ever could. Here’s what the Web says: Anyone can have a Website. And today, because anyone can … anyone does! So how do you know which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sites are worth going to more than once? The answer: branding. The sites you go back to are the sites you trust. They’re the sites where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time — again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you’ll receive.
The same holds true for that other killer app of the Net — email. When everybody has email and anybody can send you email, how do you decide whose messages you’re going to read and respond to first — and whose you’re going to send to the trash unread? The answer: personal branding. The name of the email sender is every bit as important a brand — is a brand — as the name of the Web site you visit. It’s a promise of the value you’ll receive for the time you spend reading the message.
Nobody understands branding better than professional services firms. Look at McKinsey for a model of the new rules of branding at the company and personal level. Almost every professional services firm works with the same business model. They have almost no hard assets — my guess is that most probably go so far as to rent or lease every tangible item they possibly can to keep from having to own anything. They have lots of soft assets — more conventionally known as people, preferably smart, motivated, talented people. And they have huge revenues — and astounding profits.
They also have a very clear culture of work and life. You’re hired, you report to work, you join a team — and you immediately start figuring out how to deliver value to the customer. Along the way, you learn stuff, develop your skills, hone your abilities, move from project to project. And if you’re really smart, you figure out how to distinguish yourself from all the other very smart people walking around with $1,500 suits, high-powered laptops, and well-polished resumes. Along the way, if you’re really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself — you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.
What makes You different?
Start right now: as of this moment you’re going to think of yourself differently! You’re not an “employee” of General Motors, you’re not a “staffer” at General Mills, you’re not a “worker” at General Electric or a “human resource” at General Dynamics (ooops, it’s gone!). Forget the Generals! You don’t “belong to” any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn’t to any particular “function.” You’re not defined by your job title and you’re not confined by your job description.
Starting today you are a brand.
You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Give yourself the traditional 15-words-or-less contest challenge. Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it. Several times.
If your answer wouldn’t light up the eyes of a prospective client or command a vote of confidence from a satisfied past client, or — worst of all — if it doesn’t grab you, then you’ve got a big problem. It’s time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.
Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors — or your colleagues. What have you done lately — this week — to make yourself stand out? What would your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal trait?
Go back to the comparison between brand You and brand X — the approach the corporate biggies take to creating a brand. The standard model they use is feature-benefit: every feature they offer in their product or service yields an identifiable and distinguishable benefit for their customer or client. A dominant feature of Nordstrom department stores is the personalized service it lavishes on each and every customer. The customer benefit: a feeling of being accorded individualized attention — along with all of the choice of a large department store.
So what is the “feature-benefit model” that the brand called You offers? Do you deliver your work on time, every time? Your internal or external customer gets dependable, reliable service that meets its strategic needs. Do you anticipate and solve problems before they become crises? Your client saves money and headaches just by having you on the team. Do you always complete your projects within the allotted budget? I can’t name a single client of a professional services firm who doesn’t go ballistic at cost overruns.
Your next step is to cast aside all the usual descriptors that employees and workers depend on to locate themselves in the company structure. Forget your job title. Ask yourself: What do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value? Forget your job description. Ask yourself: What do I do that I am most proud of? Most of all, forget about the standard rungs of progression you’ve climbed in your career up to now. Burn that damnable “ladder” and ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about? If you’re going to be a brand, you’ve got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, that you’re proud of, and most important, that you can shamelessly take credit for.
When you’ve done that, sit down and ask yourself one more question to define your brand: What do I want to be famous for? That’s right — famous for!
What’s the pitch for You?
So it’s a cliché: don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. it’s also a principle that every corporate brand understands implicitly, from Omaha Steaks’s through-the-mail sales program to Wendy’s “we’re just regular folks” ad campaign. No matter how beefy your set of skills, no matter how tasty you’ve made that feature-benefit proposition, you still have to market the bejesus out of your brand — to customers, colleagues, and your virtual network of associates.
For most branding campaigns, the first step is visibility. If you’re General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler, that usually means a full flight of TV and print ads designed to get billions of “impressions” of your brand in front of the consuming public. If you’re brand You, you’ve got the same need for visibility — but no budget to buy it.
So how do you market brand You?
There’s literally no limit to the ways you can go about enhancing your profile. Try moonlighting! Sign up for an extra project inside your organization, just to introduce yourself to new colleagues and showcase your skills — or work on new ones. Or, if you can carve out the time, take on a freelance project that gets you in touch with a totally novel group of people. If you can get them singing your praises, they’ll help spread the word about what a remarkable contributor you are.
If those ideas don’t appeal, try teaching a class at a community college, in an adult education program, or in your own company. You get credit for being an expert, you increase your standing as a professional, and you increase the likelihood that people will come back to you with more requests and more opportunities to stand out from the crowd.
If you’re a better writer than you are a teacher, try contributing a column or an opinion piece to your local newspaper. And when I say local, I mean local. You don’t have to make the op-ed page of the New York Times to make the grade. Community newspapers, professional newsletters, even inhouse company publications have white space they need to fill. Once you get started, you’ve got a track record — and clips that you can use to snatch more chances.
And if you’re a better talker than you are teacher or writer, try to get yourself on a panel discussion at a conference or sign up to make a presentation at a workshop. Visibility has a funny way of multiplying; the hardest part is getting started. But a couple of good panel presentations can earn you a chance to give a “little” solo speech — and from there it’s just a few jumps to a major address at your industry’s annual convention.
The second important thing to remember about your personal visibility campaign is: it all matters. When you’re promoting brand You, everything you do — and everything you choose not to do — communicates the value and character of the brand. Everything from the way you handle phone conversations to the email messages you send to the way you conduct business in a meeting is part of the larger message you’re sending about your brand.
Partly it’s a matter of substance: what you have to say and how well you get it said. But it’s also a matter of style. On the Net, do your communications demonstrate a command of the technology? In meetings, do you keep your contributions short and to the point? It even gets down to the level of your brand You business card: Have you designed a cool-looking logo for your own card? Are you demonstrating an appreciation for design that shows you understand that packaging counts — a lot — in a crowded world?
The key to any personal branding campaign is “word-of-mouth marketing.” Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you’ve got; what they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So the big trick to building your brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues — consciously.
What’s the real power of You?
If you want to grow your brand, you’ve got to come to terms with power — your own. The key lesson: power is not a dirty word!
In fact, power for the most part is a badly misunderstood term and a badly misused capability. I’m talking about a different kind of power than we usually refer to. It’s not ladder power, as in who’s best at climbing over the adjacent bods. It’s not who’s-got-the-biggest-office-by-six-square-inches power or who’s-got-the-fanciest-title power.
It’s influence power.
It’s being known for making the most significant contribution in your particular area. It’s reputational power. If you were a scholar, you’d measure it by the number of times your publications get cited by other people. If you were a consultant, you’d measure it by the number of CEOs who’ve got your business card in their Rolodexes. (And better yet, the number who know your beeper number by heart.)
Getting and using power — intelligently, responsibly, and yes, powerfully — are essential skills for growing your brand. One of the things that attracts us to certain brands is the power they project. As a consumer, you want to associate with brands whose powerful presence creates a halo effect that rubs off on you.
It’s the same in the workplace. There are power trips that are worth taking — and that you can take without appearing to be a self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing megalomaniacal jerk. You can do it in small, slow, and subtle ways. Is your team having a hard time organizing productive meetings? Volunteer to write the agenda for the next meeting. You’re contributing to the team, and you get to decide what’s on and off the agenda. When it’s time to write a post-project report, does everyone on your team head for the door? Beg for the chance to write the report — because the hand that holds the pen (or taps the keyboard) gets to write or at least shape the organization’s history.
Most important, remember that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, act like a credible leader. When you’re thinking like brand You, you don’t need org-chart authority to be a leader. The fact is you are a leader. You’re leading You!
One key to growing your power is to recognize the simple fact that we now live in a project world. Almost all work today is organized into bite-sized packets called projects. A project-based world is ideal for growing your brand: projects exist around deliverables, they create measurables, and they leave you with braggables. If you’re not spending at least 70% of your time working on projects, creating projects, or organizing your (apparently mundane) tasks into projects, you are sadly living in the past. Today you have to think, breathe, act, and work in projects.
Project World makes it easier for you to assess — and advertise — the strength of brand You. Once again, think like the giants do. Imagine yourself a brand manager at Procter & Gamble: When you look at your brand’s assets, what can you add to boost your power and felt presence? Would you be better off with a simple line extension — taking on a project that adds incrementally to your existing base of skills and accomplishments? Or would you be better off with a whole new product line? Is it time to move overseas for a couple of years, venturing outside your comfort zone (even taking a lateral move — damn the ladders), tackling something new and completely different?
Whatever you decide, you should look at your brand’s power as an exercise in new-look résumé; management — an exercise that you start by doing away once and for all with the word “résumé.” You don’t have an old-fashioned résumé anymore! You’ve got a marketing brochure for brand You. Instead of a static list of titles held and positions occupied, your marketing brochure brings to life the skills you’ve mastered, the projects you’ve delivered, the braggables you can take credit for. And like any good marketing brochure, yours needs constant updating to reflect the growth — breadth and depth — of brand You.
What’s loyalty to You?
Everyone is saying that loyalty is gone; loyalty is dead; loyalty is over. I think that’s a bunch of crap.
I think loyalty is much more important than it ever was in the past. A 40-year career with the same company once may have been called loyalty; from here it looks a lot like a work life with very few options, very few opportunities, and very little individual power. That’s what we used to call indentured servitude.
Today loyalty is the only thing that matters. But it isn’t blind loyalty to the company. It’s loyalty to your colleagues, loyalty to your team, loyalty to your project, loyalty to your customers, and loyalty to yourself. I see it as a much deeper sense of loyalty than mindless loyalty to the Company Z logo.
I know this may sound like selfishness. But being CEO of Me Inc. requires you to act selfishly — to grow yourself, to promote yourself, to get the market to reward yourself. Of course, the other side of the selfish coin is that any company you work for ought to applaud every single one of the efforts you make to develop yourself. After all, everything you do to grow Me Inc. is gravy for them: the projects you lead, the networks you develop, the customers you delight, the braggables you create generate credit for the firm. As long as you’re learning, growing, building relationships, and delivering great results, it’s good for you and it’s great for the company.
That win-win logic holds for as long as you happen to be at that particular company. Which is precisely where the age of free agency comes into play. If you’re treating your résumé as if it’s a marketing brochure, you’ve learned the first lesson of free agency. The second lesson is one that today’s professional athletes have all learned: you’ve got to check with the market on a regular basis to have a reliable read on your brand’s value. You don’t have to be looking for a job to go on a job interview. For that matter, you don’t even have to go on an actual job interview to get useful, important feedback.
The real question is: How is brand You doing? Put together your own “user’s group” — the personal brand You equivalent of a software review group. Ask for — insist on — honest, helpful feedback on your performance, your growth, your value. It’s the only way to know what you would be worth on the open market. It’s the only way to make sure that, when you declare your free agency, you’ll be in a strong bargaining position. It’s not disloyalty to “them”; it’s responsible brand management for brand You — which also generates credit for them.
It’s this simple: You are a brand. You are in charge of your brand. There is no single path to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: Start today. Or else.
How to Get Approved For an Apartment Even With a Criminal Record
One of the most frustrating episodes ones can encounter is a denial of housing. Apartment complexes, which in reality are run by real estate management firms, use a number of factors to determine who should rent and who should not. One of the most common factors that they use is criminal background check. A criminal history can be one of the greatest huddles one can ever come across in the process of renting an apartment.
The reason apartment communities request a criminal background check is first of all for the safety of the overall community. There is a general consensus that people with violent pasts are bound to fall back into their previous destructive habits. The concept of history repeats itself seems to be a prevailing belief in many places when it comes to criminal history and nowhere more so than in apartment leasing offices.
Another reason why apartment leasing offices conduct a criminal background check is so as to create the appearance of safety in the community and in so doing have the justification to charge more for rent. If a neighborhood or apartment housing community has a high level of crime, then tenants will not want to renew their leases and this means that there will be more housing units which are vacant and which the management has to fill (or risk being censored by the owner). The more housing units are vacant in an apartment community the more it hurts the management bottom line because this drives down the rent.
When conducting criminal background checks, apartments normally concentrate on felony convictions. Misdemeanor crimes which are only punishable by fines are generally not a concern. If you have a misdemeanor, you should not be concerned but if it is a felony you may get a denial.
There are two main ways to get an apartment approval if you have a criminal record. The first one is to check the nature of your offense and see whether you received what is called a deferred adjudication. This is a probation granted to first time offenders and is also known as community supervision. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor, and got probation, you can go to the county clerk’s office and request for what is called a court deposition. This is a print-out that shows the offense, the court that heard the case, and the judgment that was rendered and the fact that you have deferred adjudication. The printout also states that you have successfully completed the community service without any other incidences and that you should not be discriminated against when it comes to services. You can take a copy of this document to an apartment manager and in most cases they will approve you.
Another way to get an apartment is to get an expungement. This is the sealing of your criminal records and can be done depending on whether you’re eligible. There is an excellent ebook out in the market regarding how to get an apartment even with an existing criminal record and bad credit and you can get it at [http://www.simplecreditsecrets.net]
Top 3 Ways to Purchase Commercial Property With None of You Own Money!
Commercial real estate investment is an industry of abundance. There is literally an unlimited amount of money available to people who want to borrow it. So much, in fact, that you can literally purchase millions of dollars worth of commercial property without using one dollar of your own money!
Unless you already have millions of dollars at your personal disposal to invest, or are fortunate enough to have come from a family of wealth, borrowing money is the only way to become a commercial real estate investor. It is a great way to purchase commercial property, even if you have your own millions already, because you don’t have to worry about losing your personal money. In fact, that is how many multi-millionaire commercial real estate investors make their money- by not using their own! If you don’t use it, then you never lose it.
One of the reasons you can borrow money to purchase property is because of something called leverage. You simply borrow money against the property, as it is the property that actually holds the value. This will play a major role in our discussion of purchasing property without using any of your own money.
The first way to purchase property with none of your own money is subordination. Many people consider this way of purchasing property as creative financing. In this situation, the current owner actually takes out a second mortgage on the property to cover the difference of what the purchaser (you, the investor) can get loaned from a bank or private lender. If you are lucky enough to have an owner who will sell the property with no money down, and he or she subordinates a second mortgage for the difference you owe, then you just purchased a property with none of your own money!
When using this tool, it is a good idea to have the owner only subordinate for a short amount of time, like one to two years, just until you can take the money generated from the commercial property and pay off the second mortgage, leaving the owner free of the property. At this point, payment for the property can take place because you will have generated cash through the commercial property. The owner will actually wait to get paid his money for the property! It happens all the time, and everyone comes out happy in the end. You purchase your money generating property with none of your own money, and the owner gets paid for the property. This situation may seem backwards at first, but it works rather well, if you find an owner who is very motivated to sell, and he or she understands this way of investing.
You must always be sure that the property can support the debt, as you do not want the owner getting into financial trouble with the second mortgage. Some owners are weary of this type of investing, as some purchasers do not do as they say, and problems occur. You want to be an investor of integrity and have a reputation of making things happen in the way in which you and the seller agreed.
Another way to purchase property with none of your own money is through the owner releasing some acreage that is free and clear which you, in turn, use to borrow enough money to cover a down payment on the entire piece. This strategy works especially well with raw land. You are basically using a piece of the property to purchase the entire property. Owners may not even be aware of this option, so be sure to mention it or address it in a letter of intent, especially when dealing with many acres of land!
A third way to purchase commercial property without using your own money is using partners. There are experienced investors, builders and developers who will find the financing for you, and basically get the deal ready to go, if you are willing to do the work. The agreements can greatly differ, but the partner(s) will basically finance the deal and take a piece of the return that you create through, either turning a distressed property around, or overseeing the development or building of a specific type of property and making it profitable. Partners can offer great experience and insight so that you can learn more about a specific type of property or the actual industry itself.
When it comes to commercial real estate, there are so many options; don’t ever limit yourself! Be creative and find resources. There is a wealth of information and money available to anyone who is willing to take some time and make some contacts. This industry is not one of limitations, but one of abundance.
Apartment Building Classifications
Lender Ratings of Residential Investment Properties
Lenders have developed general classifications of apartment buildings so that they can communicate amongst themselves and other members of the industry with some level of uniformity. The classifications are Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D.
Grade 1. Class A…..Newer, Institutional
Grade 2. Class B…..Older, Institutional
Grade 3. Class C….. Older, Declining Area
Grade 4. Class D……Older, Declining Area, Poor Condition
Class A Apartments – Institutional buyers like new, larger apartments in prime locations because of low deferred maintenance. These properties are typically occupied by white collar workers and have amenities such as garages, in-unit washer/dryers, pools, spas, exercise gyms, the latest technology, etc. They are typically between 1-10 years old. Typically they are in the path of progress and as of this writing (July 2008) can be bought at cap rates of 7%. They will likely have less cash flow than properties with higher cap rates but will have greater appreciation potential.
Class B Apartments – Class B buildings are in good areas with many of the same amenities as Class A properties, but Class B buildings are 10-20 years old and occupied by both white and blue collar workers. Class B properties are often owned by investment groups, such as limited partnerships and limited liability companies. As of this writing (July 2008) they can typically be bought at cap rates of 8% – 9%. These properties will have decent cash flow and decent appreciation potential.
Class C Apartments – These apartments are older properties built within the last 21-30 years in working class areas typically occupied by blue collar workers and even some Section 8 tenants(please see my article on Section 8). The properties may be in declining areas but not necessarily dangerous areas. The units in Class C buildings are smaller than those in Class A and B buildings and the projects have fewer amenities. The occupancy rates are typically higher than Class A 0r B because they are more affordable. Individuals usually own Class C properties, which as of this writing (July 2008) can be bought at cap rates of 10%. These properties will have decent cash flow but little opportunity for appreciation.
Class D Apartments – These buildings are older, in declining and even dangerous areas and as a result may have high vacancy rates, deferred maintenance, functional obsolescence and demand a high level of hands-on management from their individual owners. As of this writing, they can typically be purchased for cap rates of 12% but may generate less income than other properties despite their higher cap rates because of higher maintenance and management demands.
Rules of Thumb:
1. Class A & Class B properties are purchased for appreciation potential.
2. Class B & Class C properties are purchased for cash flow
3. Unless you are an experienced investor, don’t buy Class D properties.
The goal is to buy a particular class of property in the same area class. In other words, buy a Class B property in a class B area. Alternatively, buy a lower class property in a higher class area. In other words, buy a Class C property in a class A area or one in the path of progress. The reasoning is so that you can possibly change the Class B property bought at higher cap rates (lower in price) into a Class A property which can be sold for lower cap rates (higher prices). This “infill opportunity” is typically only possible if the area is better than the property. For a better understanding of cap rates, please read my numerous other articles which give detailed information on the subject.
Pros and Cons of Traditional Office Leasing against Renting a Business Center
Choosing an office location for your business can be confusing. If you are planning to rent or lease an office, there are some advantages and disadvantages to consider. The time and money you’re willing to invest in office setup and operations determines whether you will lease an office traditionally or rent a Business Center. Below is useful information about both options to help you make an informed decision.
Differences between Traditional Leasing and Renting a Business Center
Traditional office leasing means you’re renting an office from a landlord but you must cover the expenses of setting up your office with furniture, equipment and office decor. You’re only paying for the office space. A lease is a contract between you and the property owner stating that you will rent the office for a certain length of time. Many lease agreements are renewable every one or two years, and there is often a penalty for breaking a lease agreement prematurely.
Renting a Business Center differs with traditional office leasing in that you’re actually paying for a full office service – not only renting space. a Business Center is a fully-Business Center where equipment, phones, computers, furniture and other important accessories are already setup for your use. You only need to move in to start your operations. Some executive suite Business Centers provide staffing options. You’ll have your own personal receptionist to greet your visitors.
Advantages of Traditional Office Leasing
Traditional leasing offers several advantages, one being the ability to choose your own furnishings, office decor and office equipment. You can start from scratch and design your office exactly the way you want it.
There is a wider variety of locations to choose from with traditional office leasing. Executive suites are not as abundant as regular office space because it’s such a specialized service. If you want your office to be located in a specific area of town, a Business Center might not be available, however, there could be several empty offices available for lease in that location.
Another advantage of leasing is there are many leasing options when searching for an office. For example, if you are planning to purchase an office once your business has been established, you might be able to participate in a lease-to-own agreement. You’ll rent the property for a set amount of time and then have the option to purchase the property at the end of the leasing term. You are able to test the location and office before making a buying commitment.
Disadvantages of Traditional Office Leasing
Traditional office leasing does have its downside. You’ll be solely responsible for setting up your office and keeping it running smoothly. You’ll need to purchase office equipment, furniture and accessories. Another disadvantage is the hassle of setting up phone and Internet connections, faxes, and printers. You must hire your own office staff also. These tasks can drain your money, resources, and energy in a hurry.
Advantages of Renting a Business Center
Business Centers come fully equipped to handle all your office tasks. Some services even provide staff you can use to answer phones, handle mail or email, etc. The office is designed for your convenience. If you need to open your office quickly, you won’t have to spend time decorating and furnishing your office.
Another advantage of renting a Business Center is you can locate your office in a prestigious business setting without the high costs of buying or renting a fancy office building.
Business Center service contracts are usually flexible to meet your needs. You can choose when and how long you’ll be using your office. The unique services are customized to fit your business schedule and style.
Disadvantages of Renting a Business Center
A disadvantage of renting a Business Center is your limited input in the design and operations of the office. There is often a limited amount of space although you can rent cubicle office setups with some companies. If you have many employees and need much space and flexibility, a traditional leasing option might be best.
Before choosing a business location, consider all options. Your business needs will determine if traditional office leasing or renting a Business Center is the best route.
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FASB Proposed Lease Accounting Changes – Impacts on Commercial Real Estate
Introduction:
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on August, 17, 2010 released their “exposure draft” requiring companies to record nearly all leases on their balance sheets as a “right to use” asset, and a corresponding “future lease payment – liability”. What does this mean to your business in layman terms? This proposal in essence does away with operating leases; all leases (unless immaterial) would be capitalized using the present value of the minimum lease payments. Therefore, businesses who in the past had off-balance sheet lease obligations, must now record these obligations on their balance sheet.
A key point to consider with regards to the proposed lease accounting changes is that, in all likelihood, existing operating leases, signed prior to the implementation of the new rules, will require reclassification as capital leases that must be accounted for on the balance sheet. This means that real estate professionals must immediately consider the effect that existing and planned leases will have on financial statements once the proposed rules are implemented. Since operating lease obligations can represent a larger liability than all balance sheet assets combined, lease reclassification can significantly alter the businesses balance sheet.
The impact of recording these lease obligations on the balance sheet can have multiple impacts, such as: businesses needing to alert their lenders as they will now be non-compliant with their loan covenants, negotiating new loan covenants with the lenders due to the restated financial statements, ratios used to evaluate a businesses potential of credit will be adversely impacted and the restatement of a lessee’s financial statement once the change takes effect may result in a lower equity balance, and changes to various accounting ratios
The conceptual basis for lease accounting would change from determining when “substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership” have been transferred, to recognizing “right to use” as an asset and apportioning assets (and obligations) between the lessee and the lessor.
As part of FASB’s announcement, the Board stated that in their view “the current accounting in this area does not clearly portray the resources and obligations arising from lease transactions.” This suggests that the final result will likely require more leasing activity to be reflected on the balance sheet than is currently the case. In other words, many, perhaps virtually all, leases now considered operating are likely to be considered capital under the new standards. Thus, many companies with large operating lease portfolios are likely to see a material change on their corporate financial statements.
Part of the purpose for this is to coordinate lease accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which sets accounting standards for Europe and many other countries. The IASB and FASB currently have substantial differences in their treatment of leases; particularly notable is that the “bright line” tests of FAS 13 (whether the lease term is 75% or more of the economic life, and whether the present value of the rents is 90% or more of the fair value) are not used by the IASB, which prefers a “facts and circumstances” approach that entails more judgment calls. Both, however, have the concept of capital (or finance) and operating leases, however the dividing line is drawn between such leases.
The FASB will accept public comments on this proposed change through December 15, 2010. If FASB makes a final decision in 2011 regarding this proposed change to lease accounting, the new rules will go into effect in 2013.
Additionally, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission reported in a report mandated under Sarbanes-Oxley, that the amount of operating leases which are kept off the balance sheet is estimated at $1.25 trillion that would be transferred to corporate balance sheets if this proposed accounting change is adopted.
Commercial Real Estate:
The impact on the Commercial Real Estate market would be substantial and will have a significant impact on commercial tenants and landlords. David Nebiker, Managing Partner of ProTenant (a commercial real estate firm that focuses on assisting Denver and regional companies to strategize, develop, and implement long-term, comprehensive facility solutions) added “this proposed change not only effects the tenants and landlords, but brokers as it increases the complexity of lease agreements and provides a strong impetus for tenants to execute shorter term leases”.
The shorter term leases create financing issues for property owners as lenders and investors prefer longer term leases to secure their investment. Therefore, landlords should secure financing for purchase or refinance prior to the implementation of this regulation, as financing will be considerably more difficult the future.
This accounting change will increase the administrative burden on companies and the leasing premium for single tenant buildings will effectively be eliminated. John McAslan an Associate at ProTenant added “the impact of this proposed change will have a significant impact on leasing behavior. Lessors of single tenant buildings will ask themselves why not just own the building, if I have to record it on my financial statements anyway?”
Under the proposed rules, tenants would have to capitalize the present value of virtually all “likely” lease obligations on the corporate balance sheets. FASB views leasing essentially as a form of financing in which the landlord is letting a tenant use a capital asset, in exchange for a lease payment that includes the principal and interest, similar to a mortgage.
David Nebiker said “the regulators have missed the point of why most businesses lease and that is for flexibility as their workforce expands and contracts, as location needs change, and businesses would rather invest their cash in producing revenue growth, rather than owning real estate.”
The proposed accounting changes will also impact landlords, especially business that are publically traded or have public debt with audited financial statements. Mall owners and trusts will required to perform analysis for each tenant located in their buildings or malls, analyzing the terms of occupancy and contingent lease rates.
Proactive landlords, tenants and brokers need to familiarize themselves with the proposed standards that could take effect in 2013 and begin to negotiate leases accordingly.
Conclusion:
The end result of this proposed lease accounting change is a greater compliance burden for the lessee as all leases will have a deferred tax component, will be carried on the balance sheet, will require periodic reassessment and may require more detailed financial statement disclosure.
Therefore, lessors need to know how to structure and sell transactions that will be desirable to lessees in the future. Many lessees will realize that the new rules take away the off balance sheet benefits FASB 13 afforded them in the past, and will determine leasing to be a less beneficial option. They may also see the new standards as being more cumbersome and complicated to account for and disclose. Finally, it will become a challenge for every lessor and commercial real estate broker to find a new approach for marketing commercial real estate leases that make them more attractive than owning.
However, this proposed accounting change to FAS 13 could potentially stimulate a lack luster commercial real estate market in 2011 and 2012 as businesses decided to purchase property rather than deal with the administrative issues of leasing in 2013 and beyond.
In conclusion, it is recommended that landlords and tenants begin preparing for this change by reviewing their leases with their commercial real estate broker and discussing the financial ramifications with their CFO, outside accountant and tax accountant to avoid potential financial surprises if/when the accounting changes are adopted.
Both David Nebiker and John McAslan of ProTenant indicated their entire corporate team are continually educating themselves and advising their clients about these potential changes on a pro-active basis.
Addendum – Definition of Capital and Operating Leases:
The basic concept of lease accounting is that some leases are merely rentals, whereas others are effectively purchases. As an example, if a company rents office space for a year, the space is worth nearly as much at the end of the year as when the lease started; the company is simply using it for a short period of time, and this is an example of an operating lease.
However, if a company leases a computer for five years, and at the end of the lease the computer is nearly worthless. The lessor (the company who receives the lease payments) anticipates this, and charges the lessee (the company who uses the asset) a lease payment that will recover all of the lease‘s costs, including a profit. This transaction is called a capital lease, however it is essentially a purchase with a loan, as such an asset and liability must be recorded on the lessee’s financial statements. Essentially, the capital lease payments are considered repayments of a loan; depreciation and interest expense, rather than lease expense, are then recorded on the income statement.
Operating leases do not normally affect a company’s balance sheet. There is, however, one exception. If a lease has scheduled changes in the lease payment (for instance, a planned increase for inflation, or a lease holiday for the first six months), the rent expense is to be recognized on an equal basis over the life of the lease. The difference between the lease expense recognized and the lease actually paid is considered a deferred liability (for the lessee, if the leases are increasing) or asset (if decreasing).
Whether capital or operating, the future minimum lease commitments must also be disclosed as a footnote in the financial statements. The lease commitment must be broken out by year for the first five years, and then all remaining rents are combined.
A lease is capital if any one of the following four tests is met:
1) The lease conveys ownership to the lessee at the end of the lease term;
2) The lessee has an option to purchase the asset at a bargain price at the end of the lease term
3) The term of the lease is 75% or more of the economic life of the asset.
4) The present value of the rents, using the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate, is 90% or more of the fair market value of the asset.
Each of these criteria, and their components, are described in more detail in FAS 13 (codified as section L10 of the FASB Current Text or ASC 840 of the Codification).
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