Save Energy And Money With An Electric Blanket

By Birney Summers

Saving money using an electric blanket is easy I just turn the thermostat down a couple more degrees and save by letting the furnace get some sleep too. Using a little energy right where we�ll be all night and avoiding using energy in the rest of the house will result in a net savings.

Yes, there is another factor that I need to mention. When we use an electric blanket, we make sure that it is well insulated. What you say, how do you insulate an electric blanket? That is easy, by hiding it under a quilt.

If the electric blanket has no insulation above it, at least half the heat you pay for goes upward into the room. What a waste. If you really want to stay warm and save money, turn the thermostat down extra low and add an extra blanket in the bed sandwich. But the extra blanket and quilt on top of the electric blanket to keep all the heat in the bed. Add a dog or two and you can turn the blanket off after the preheat job is done and stay warm all night.

You didn�t think you could keep the dogs off the bed after turning the thermostat down all the way did you?

If you do not like cold floors in the morning set your digital thermostat to bring the heat back up an hour before the alarm goes off. Using the digital thermostat to preheat the house is like using the electric blanket to preheat the bed. You get luxury comfort and save money too.

You can save money on your energy bills at home at work by visiting the ENERGY BOOMER blog at http://energyboomer.com

I am a Baby Boom Vintage Energy Engineer with a mission to help folks save money on their energy bills. I am building on my work experience, or rather trying to put it to work for my readers. Trying to save the planet from global climate change or delaying the economic collapse that using peak oil is expected to cause are good motives. But, saving some cash right now is better. I just want to help folks save a buck, both at home and at work. If it helps promote energy independence, I can support that too. When we each shave a little off our energy bills, it is good for the environment and good for our economy. It is nice to have good side effects while keeping cash in your pocket. I graduated from Michigan State University with a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1971 and have had a long career saving energy in a variety of industries.

Why You Must Obey Movie Copyright Laws In The Digital Age

By Richard Cunningham

Many people have pursued the hobby of downloading movies and songs on the Internet and sharing them with their friends and family online. However, this is direct violation of U.S. copyright laws. Not surprisingly, the biggest violators of the movie copyright laws are students. The movie industry is sending out copyright infringement claims to college universities around the country. One reason that college students may be the hardest hit is that they are not aware of how serious a crime copyright infringement is.

Many college students who have lawsuits brought against them are shocked, to say the least. They question why they were not warned about the perils of downloading movies and songs online and passing them along to friends. However, with the rise of claims, no one can claim ignorance for much longer. Word is being spread near and far that if you engage in illegal downloading and/or sharing, then you can be brought to court. College students are learning the hard way that it is against the law and in violation of copyright laws to share or download copyrighted material. Many colleges and universities now state in their handbooks that it is against the law to illegally download movies, music and other forms of media using school computers.

In addition to illegal downloading and sharing movies, the files take up space on the computer systems and use a considerable amount of bandwidth. While most universities and colleges will not look at the content an individual has -- they can isolate and identify the individuals who are hogging up bandwidth by using illegal file sharing.

The movie and music industries have stepped in and are demanding restitution for illegally downloaded movies, music and other forms of copyrighted media. They have detection agencies that have the technology to identify and trace copyright infringements straight to their source. Once the computer is located they can notify the university or the college that they are in violation. The university will be told that they have a copyright infringement claim against them. Based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, once the computer is isolated, then Internet access is terminated to that computer and court proceedings can begin.

Does this sound far fetched? Well, it is not. You should know that a few years ago Recording Industry Association of America sued four students. These students attended Princeton, Michigan Technical University and Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. One student had an estimated liability of $150 billion. When you consider that you can be charged $750 per song that you illegally download, the total can add up fast! The good thing is the lawsuits against the college students were settled for amounts less than $20,000. That is not pocket change for college students -- or anyone for that matter!

Movies and music are meant to be enjoyed. However, illegally downloading movies and music is not much different than walking into a video store and sticking DVDs and CDs in your pocket. Be careful. You do not want to be caught violating any movie copyright laws.

Richard Cunningham is a freelance journalist who covers copyright law for www.ResearchCopyright.com. Download his free e-book, "Copyright Basics" at ResearchCopyright.com.

Michigan Non-Compete Basics

By Enrico Schaefer

We live in a highly competitive world where highly paid executives and business persons gain access to corporate trade information and knowledge, customer lists and other proprietary information. Unlike prior times, these executives and other employees are highly mobile, moving between companies and jobs, even between competitors. Michigan courts and the Michigan legislature ave recently tried to deal with the realities of our 21rst century marketplace in dealing with the enforceability of non-compete agreements.

In Michigan, the validity of non-compete agreements is governed by section 4a of the Michigan Antitrust Reform Act, a statute passed by the Legislature in 1987, as well as the many cases interpreting that statute. Together, the statute and the case law set forth the parameters defining those agreements that are enforceable and those that are not. The statute seeks to strike a compromise between the protection of an employer’s competitive business interests and an employee’s right to earn a living. As such, courts interpreting non-compete agreements focus their analysis in four areas:

• The agreement must protect a company’s reasonable competitive business interest. Among the factors in determining whether the agreement protects a reasonable competitive business interest are the employee’s position in the company, compensation paid to that employee and the level and amount of specific competitive information acquired during employment, which may include such areas as trade secrets or special training conferred on the employee.
• The agreement must be reasonable as to the length of time the employee is prohibited from working in the line of business. Again, each case is 'fact sepcific' and numerous factors are analyzed in determine what is a reasonable length fort non-compete contract.
• The agreement must be reasonable as to the geographic area the employer seeks to prevent the employee from working in. While the employee’s immediate area of employment would most likely be upheld as a reasonable territorial restriction, wider restrictions require a greater showing that the agreement seeks to protect the employer’s reasonable competitive business interest.
• The agreement’s restrictions on the type of employment or line of business must be reasonable. Courts will look less favorably on deliberately vague, over-reaching or “blanket” agreements.

Enforcement of Non-Compete Contracts Michigan courts have enforced and will enforce well-drafted agreements on a case-by-case basis, with remedies that include the issuing of restraining orders or injunctions and the awarding of monetary damages. It is important to note that even if one condition of a non-compete agreement is deemed unenforceable, the remainder of the agreement may be valid and enforceable. Businesses of all types, especially those with multi-state operations, must understand that the rules for non-compete agreements vary from state to state. What’s enforceable in Michigan may not be in one of our neighbor states. Moreover, employers should not delay in acting on known breaches of a non-compete agreement. The longer an employer delays between the discovery of unlawful competition and pursuit of a legal remedy, the weaker becomes the employer’s request for injunctive relief.

Like any contract, non-compete agreements define the expectations of each party and are subject to negotiations, depending upon the bargaining strength of the parties. Employers should have legal counsel help draft these agreements to ensure that they meet the employer’s expectations and are enforceable. Employees, on the other hand, should review such agreements carefully to ensure that they understand the restrictions on future employment should they ever leave the company.

Also, be sure to remind those leaving your company of their legal obligations during any exit interview. In this way, employers will strike a favorable, yet serious business tone, while best ensuring that any non-compete agreement can be enforced, should the need arise. I threat letter for any alleged violation is usually the first step to ensure the parties abide by non-compete terms and avoid litigation.

Enrico Schaefer is the founding attorney of Traverse Legal, PLC, a law firm specializing in non-compete, trade secret, confidentiality matters and also in minority shareholder rights litigation. To find out more about non-compete contracts and trade secret law, please visit Trade Secret Law Blog or Traverse Legal'sMichigan Non-Compete Enforecement Blog. For information concerning minority shareholder rights visit Shareholder Rights & Oppression Blog.

Detroit Windsor Border Crossing Study

By Sam Knapp

A study was prepared by Michael H. Belzer, Ph.D., President, Sound Science and and one of the world's most respected economic forecasting firms. This detailed and highly technical economic analysis probes the risk of having only one major border crossing point in the Detroit-Windsor region. This is a region that is economically integrated - particularly in the critical area of automotive production - and yet the region finds itself at a stalemate on the issue of how to add the physical capacity to keep the goods moving and to keep our regional economy growing.

The Detroit-Windsor region has carved a strategic economic niche by growing with and around the vital auto industry. In the next two decades hundreds of dollars added to the overall cost of production for vehicles and components produced in this region will diminish the region�s competitive advantage. These added costs will have substantial effects on the region�s ability to sustain or grow the automotive industry, which is so crucial to the region. Everyone now understands competitive advantage, and that global auto producers must weigh overall production costs very carefully when plants must be closed or new plants must be built. Ensuring adequate border crossing capacity and building the Jobs Tunnel must be our region�s response to this competitive advantage.

By building new border-crossing capacity with the Jobs Tunnel, the future economic costs can be offset or even reversed. First and foremost, the Jobs Tunnel is a unique public-private partnership, which brings US$419 million in new - and largely private - capital to improve border system capacity. With a planned construction time of five years for the Jobs Tunnel, positive impacts will be produced on both sides of the border. In southeast Michigan, the Jobs Tunnel will produce maximum employment of 547 full-time jobs during the peak year of construction and total construction expenditures of US$156.5 million (CN$218.4) would be pumped quickly into the southeast Michigan economy. Total output would average US$47.96 million (CN$66.95 million) annually, while the annual increase in value-added would average US$24.16 million (CN$33.73 million). Similarly, on the Ontario side, maximum employment of 893 full-time jobs would be created during the peak construction period. Total output would average US$80.43 million (CN$112.28 million) annually, while the annual average value-added would be US$40.51 (CN$56.55 million) per year.

The benefits of building the Jobs Tunnel are substantial and striking. The operation of the Jobs Tunnel will add US$10.14 million annually (CN$14.15 million), including labor and goods and services purchased and it will require 190 full-time positions for tunnel operations and Canadian Customs.

Perhaps most critical to those who live and work in the southeast Michigan and southwest
Ontario, the Jobs Tunnel will help this region retain automotive manufacturing jobs. The
capacity provided by the Jobs Tunnel could prevent the additional loss of nearly US$30 billion in transportation equipment industry output. This could save the region between 9,000 and 12,000 good jobs.

The Jobs Tunnel makes such good economic sense that the choice is clear. The Detroit River Tunnel Partnership is a partnership between two major private enterprises, Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Borealis Transportation Infrastructure Trust (BTIT). The Detroit River Tunnel Partnership is committed to the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of modern, safe and efficient rail tunnels that improve North American trade flows through the Windsor-Detroit corridor.

CPR is North America�s first transcontinental railway, and is the only transcontinental carrier with direct service to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. BTIT is owned by the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), one of Canada�s largest pension funds serving more than 300,000 active and retired local government employees, and a leading Canadian investor in infrastructure projects.

The Find more information and resources on The Jobs Tunnel at http://www.thejobstunnel.com

Detroit River Tunnel Partnership (DRTP) is poised to build a new, high-capacity rail tunnel under the Detroit River to provide improved freight service between the United States and Canada. The DRTP is an equal partnership between Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Borealis Infrastructure Trust.

Find more information and resources on The Jobs Tunnel at http://www.thejobstunnel.com

Tips For Handling Early Signs of a Foreclosure

By Jeanette Pollock

A foreclosure can be a devastating experience for any homeowner. Foreclosure not only means the homeowner may lose their home, but also brings with it credit damage. When a homeowner starts struggling to make mortgage payments it is an early sign that a foreclosure may be in the future. Homeowners should learn to recognize and handle these early signs of a foreclosure so they can avoid the whole damaging process.

When a foreclosure begins it starts a legal process that is hard to get out of without some financial or credit damage. Fortunately there are early signs that a homeowner may be in danger of a foreclosure. The following list explains some early signs of a foreclosure:

- Problems paying bills on time.

- Behind on basic bills, like mortgage and utilities.

- Using credit to make purchases that should be made with cash.

- Using savings to pay bills.

Once a homeowner sees any of these signs they should immediate begin to handle the problem. If not taken care of these small problems could very well lead to major problems, like foreclosure.

Handling financial problems is becoming more and more important. With credit easily and readily available some people are falling into the credit trap. The credit trap is where a person starts using credit cards as if they were cash and burying themselves in debt. The following tips can help a homeowner who is experiencing early signs of financial trouble.

- Make a budget and stick to it. Writing up all expenses and allotting money to pay bills is the best way to ensure spending is kept under control. Sticking to the budget is the key, though. It is very easy to stray from the budget. That is why it is important to also set up savings as part of a budget for emergency expenses that are not planned for in the budget.

- Track spending. Tracking spending is a great way for a person to figure out spending problems. Tracking spending involves writing down every penny spent. This can help a person to see if they are overspending on certain things.

- Use credit cards only if they can be paid back when due. Credit cards are best used if the person can pay back the amount spent in full each month. The fees and charges associated with credit cards can eat away at a budget and provide an unstable financial future. Credit card spending should be limited to emergencies or large purchases when cash is not immediately available. Many people end up in financial trouble due to abuse of credit cards.

- Talk with lenders to try to renegotiate payment plans. Most creditors understand that situations arise that make it hard for a person to pay their bills. Creditors are not the enemy and will most often do everything possible to help a person that is willing to try and solve a problem before it becomes a crisis.

These tips not only can help clear up financial trouble, but also help a homeowner to avoid foreclosure.

Foreclosure is bad for everyone involved. Banks do not like having to take a house back and will work with a homeowner to help them get financial back on track. For someone who is experiencing early warning signs that a foreclosure may be in the future, trying to fix the problems is the best way to avoid a foreclosure.

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of insideforeclosure.com. Visit Jeanette's site to learn more about tips for handling early signs of a foreclosure.

Becoming a Commercial Mortgage Broker

By Jeff Rauth

There are a few main skill sets that are needed in order to become a commercial mortgage broker.

1. You need a strong lender network.
2. Some type of reliable deal flow i.e. marketing program and
3. You have to be able to prescreen deals. Becoming a commercial mortgage broker is no joke and will require a few years of hard work to get established. There's a lot of people out there saying how easy it "really is". The sources touting this, are usually lenders with rates 200 to 300 basis points higher than market and are looking for newbie's to sell their rates to unknowing borrowers.

Strong Lender Network

Having strong relationships with your lenders is key. Although this would seem common sense many people in the business do not practice this, to their determent. You need quick, thorough decisions. Having your files on top of their pile is ideal. If the bank representative doesn't respect you, they'll think you'll will waste their time on deals that have a very low chance of closing or that will end up with a broker that does.

If you're still learning the business and they know it, they'll most likely appreciate a little loyalty from you as they hold your hand and teach you the finer details of the business.

Marketing

Marketing is fundamental. You need to compete on a lot of transactions in order to find fundable deals and ones in which you can have some control over. Obviously there are many marketing methods out there. The traditional method is developing relationships with the local developers, commercial real estate brokers, CPA's, attorneys, bank representatives, etc. This is probably still the best way, though it takes a lot of time and is the hardest method as you may work on a relationship for some time before the referral source even has a chance to "throw you a bone".

Newer methods include mailers, email campaigns, ads in newspapers, etc. Regardless of which route you go you need some type of program to keep that phone ringing.

Screening Deals

The amount of time and effort that goes into most deals is significant. Knowing how to examine and analyze a loan request is critical. You can easily waste 100's of hours on loans that have no chance, 0% chance of closing. It may sound dramatic but it is true. Probably 50% of the loans we screen are not fundable - period.

The reason? Its normally some type of combination of loan to value being too high, credit to low and here's the big one that all of us trip over, the borrower not being able to document enough income on their tax returns. Showing income for most entrepreneurs to the IRS is often like a spy reviling its secrets in an interrogation - they just don't want to do it. And there is definitely an "art" side of putting together tax returns. CPA's have some freedom on how they report income and will often put together tax returns in completely different ways.

Or many brokers drop the wrong deal, simply because the net business profit is negative on the tax returns. Many of these loan are fundable but the broker just doesn't know how to get really "deep" into the tax returns and find the income that is there and is often being sheltered by depreciation, depletion, amortization, or having items reported twice that can be added back to increase the income that can be just for underwriting to service the debt.

Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. He specializes in Commercial Real Estate Loans between $100,000 - $5,000,000. Offers unique loan programs such as Commercial Second Mortgages, Commercial 30 Year Fixed, 90% non SBA financing, Commercial Equity Loans. 248 885-8797. In addition they have opened up a commercial broker STORE, offering legal contracts, training books, spreadsheets, etc.commercial loan officer training or how to read tax returns

Land Contract Buyout - Note Buyers Can Offer Immediate Cash For Your Land Contract Note

By Jamie Sherman

Sometimes after a homeowner sells his home, he or she will look for a land contract buyout in the future. Circumstances change and a seller who created a land contract real estate note will often not want to deal with it any longer.

There are many reasons why someone would legitimately want to sell their land contract note.

Some of the more common ones include: not wanting to deal with the paperwork hassles anymore; not wanting to live with the risk of the payor defaulting on the note; needing a lump sum of cash now to fund something, whether it be a business venture, medical emergency, putting a child through college, and so on.

If you have sold property on a land contract and now want a land contract buyout of your note, you'll be pleased to know that there are professional note buyers who will make you an offer if they deem your note potentially profitable.

A land contract is sometimes also referred to as "contract for deed."

Land contracts give the buyer ownership of the property because the buyer receives equitable title. Like a mortgage, payments on a land contract are made in installments, not all at once.

If you are interested in a land contract buyout, therefore, you will in essence be selling the income stream you are deriving from the note.

Certain states are land contract friendly and others aren't. One of the most land contract friendly states is Michigan, where a significant portion of houses sold are via land contract.

How much you can get for your land contract note will depend on numerous factors, and a general answer cannot be given. It will depend on your individual note if you want a land contract buyout. Speaking with a knowledgeable, competent note buyer is the only way to find out how much cash you can receive for your note.

Keep in mind, however, that your entire note need not be sold. You could sell it off wholly, or you could sell a portion of the income stream to raise cash now and retain the rest of the note for future income. In short, there is a great deal of flexibility.

However, because inflation always erodes the purchasing power of the dollar, a note buyer is going to need to buy your note at a discount to make it worth their while. Also, a land contract buyout means that the note buyer will be assuming the risk of the payor of the note defaulting. Because the note buyer takes over that risk, a discount is required for a purchase of your note.

The only question is how much of a discount will be needed to make a sale possible for you.

A professional note buyer should be willing to discuss your note with you over the telephone for a free, no obligation consultation. If anyone attempts to charge you just to discuss the possibility of a land contract buyout for your note, then that is someone you should not do business with.

Jamie has been working in the finance industry for many years and is a contributing editor to http://www.selling-your-note.com. Learn more about a land contract buyout and receive a free, no obligation quote from a professional note buyer on our website.