Adding Asset Value by Sound Property Management

Today's tough economic times requires owners of income producing real estate to focus on sound property management practices to ensure that their investment remains income producing. With the continuing tightening of business credit, to increasing costs of conducting business for the user of commercial real estate space, owners must insure that their investment is continuing to operate on a profitable basis month-to-month and returning the desired annual return for the owner.

It is critical that owners understand property management best practices to achieve financial and investment asset returns year after year. The best way to insure success is to implement a comprehensive property management program. Most owners hire experienced property management firms to manage all aspects of managing their assets if they do not have the experience nor the time and knowledge to do so. It is imperative to fully understand various legal, administrative, landlord-tenant relations/laws, building code and a host of other aspects of owning investment real estate for success, not to mention to keep the owner out of potential legal trouble.

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This article is meant to provide a summary of some of the most important elements of a comprehensive property management program that not only provides benefits for ownership, but also benefits users (tenants) as well. The following represents some key elements of such a program:

1. Proper tenant screening: credit checks, review of financial statements, review bank accounts (past 60-90 days), names of current and previous suppliers for reference checks, business plan (if start-up), existing client/customer base.

2. Understand tenant's business structure: sole proprietor, LLC, S-corp, C-corp.

3. Fit their space requirement and line of business to your property: understand how tenant's business (industry, hours of operation, etc.) fits with you property type and current tenant mix if not standard office property, retail, etc., will the tenant request/require expansion space in the near future, for high profile tenants, what kind of tenant build-out will be required and cost.

4. Operating costs: what, if any, property operating costs can be passed through to tenants, energy efficiency/rebate programs from local utility companies, monitoring energy usage, property tax assessments, proper insurance.

5. Lease negotiations: an experienced management firm is invaluable here with the many issues and requirements that make-up a well drafted and comprehensive agreement.

6. Routine vs. emergency maintenance issues: preventative maintenance program, contractor relationships, in-house personnel.

7. Marketing/Leasing: market knowledge, broker, user contacts, advertising/promotion programs.

8. Tenant retention: existing tenant/property management reporting system, lease renewal program, property enhancement program.

9. Landlord-tenant requirements: compliance with federal, state and local laws.

10. Fire/life safety and building codes: compliance with national, state and local laws and ordinances.

The foregoing represents some important considerations for managing any investment property. A properly implemented and maintained property management program is a critical component for ownership success for any type of investment real estate. Especially in these tough economic times, it is smart to full appreciate how a professionally managed property can add value to your investment as well as add value to you tenants and will go along way toward tenant retention, which under any circumstance will result in profitable real estate returns.

Adding Asset Value by Sound Property Management

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When purchasing life insurance through Mass Mutual life insurance, be prepared to have many options thrown at you. The insurance policies that they have out right now include two basic packages that consumers deal with. The mutual life insurance offers term and permanent insurances. The mutual life insurance selection for term deals with only a selected period of time and generally is a lot cheaper. The people who benefit from this package are usually the elderly or those who have a terminal illness and are only given a certain amount of time to live. The permanent life insurance sold through the Mass Mutual life insurance looks at the whole entire lifetime of the individual.

They dealing with the permanent insurance offers five different selections. You can choose from variable universal life, whole life, universal life, and survivorship life. The Mass Mutual insurance of variable universal life is a program is easily changeable. It is a policy that combines the death benefit along with dishing out net premiums and the value of the account into two separate accounts. Those accounts are the Separate and the Guaranteed Principal accounts. The Mass Mutual insurance of whole life guarantees that premiums will not change during the person's lifetime. It also states there is a death benefit protection along with the ability for the cash value to increase. For the universal insurance you are able to change the policy premiums throughout the course of your lifetime depending on your financial needs at the time. Sometimes people come into hardships and are not able to make their premium payments. When that happens they can alternate their policy for the time being. Then there is the survivorship insurance. The survivorship insurance is designed for couples. Two lives may be covered under this policy, but the beneficiary can only inherit the money once both of the lives that are being covered have passed away. The policy is also cheaper for the two individuals instead of purchasing a life insurance policy for each person separately.

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Insurance is definitely one of those items you want to take your time researching. Some companies scam individuals. Those who are easy targets for scammers are usually those getting ready to retire or are already retired. Scammers also target the elderly and those who own small business. I suggest searching the internet for consumer reviews and comments from those who have experience in purchasing life insurance policies. Mass Mutual is definitely one of the top companies that I have researched. They sponsor organizations in the community. By sponsoring these organizations and donating their time and money they are also advertising their brand increasing awareness. They are stationed in Springfield, MA. If you have any questions pertaining to insurance in general or even questions dealing with the Mass Mutual company, turn to the internet for all of your answers. I promise you will find them.

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Women and Daughters Taking Control of the Family Business

It's as if the owners of family businesses recently woke up, and discovered the fact that women can run a business as well as a man! In the past, only the male children would have been considered for a transfer of ownership (succession) of the family firm. Now, women are increasingly taking control.

There has been an almost five-fold increase in the number of women leaders in family business since 1997, and almost a third of surveyed firms indicate they may choose a female successor. (Mass Mutual 2007 American Family Business Survey). This is seen as an excellent way to increase the dismal family succession statistics. According to the Family Firm Institute (FFI), only 30% of family firms have a successful inter-generational transfer from the first generation (entrepreneur/founder) to the second generation. Approximately 12% transfer to the third generation, and only about 3-4% survive to the fourth generation of family ownership. Most founders want the business to stay in the family, and as times have changed, families and businesses have also changed.

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Junior may not be interested in the family company for a variety of reasons; spoiled by success, better opportunities elsewhere, boredom, or he may be looking for his own challenges, but Sally grew up in the business as a little girl. She knows the ins and outs of the business. Sally has a university education, and a few years of business experience. This scenario is playing out all over the world as daughters and mothers are increasingly taking over the reigns of family owned businesses.

A few scholarly studies have been conducted concerning women owned family firms, and have shown a better financial return than male owned family businesses. However, their growth is slower, and they are more financially conservative than their male counterparts. Women have been shown to borrow from the bank less than men. Part of the reason is believed to be discrimination, and part can be explained by the reduced risk preference of women.

When considering the dynamics of varieties of roles within families, it is often easier for a daughter to succeed her father, than for the son. Most often, father and son have a conflictual relationship where the son is trying to show his father he can be like him and run the company. The father is concerned with being "put out to pasture" and being made irrelevant. Research has shown that opposite gender successions are easier to manage, such as a daughter succeeding her father, or son succeeding his mother.

Women are entering the family firm in record numbers, they are performing well, and they are winning the respect of their customers, their suppliers, their employees, and most of all, their fathers.

Women and Daughters Taking Control of the Family Business

Current Tips and Trends in Family Owned Businesses

With numbers between 1.2 and 1.3 million in the United States and steadily rising it seems that the modern family owned businesses are no longer fitly described by the old "Mom and Pop" colloquialism.

In her 2006 book, "Couplepreneurs: Prosperity Through Partnership," business coach and entrepreneur Jean R. Charles writes that "the fastest-growing family owned businesses today are new businesses started by couples who jointly share ownership, commitment, and responsibility." "Couplepreneurs" or "copreneurs" are quickly becoming buzz words in the family owned business world, referring to partnerships between spouses. Blurring the lines between work and play, the boom of the business couple is re-inventing the workplace, requiring today's power duo to be both business and relationship savvy at the same time. Follow along for the latest on how couplepreneurs are shaping family owned business trends as well as practical tips for maintaining a successful partnership, both at work and at home.

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Trend: The spouse is the family owned businesses most trusted adviser

Although in 2002 the business accountant ranked at the top of the list, according to the 2007 American Family Business Survey conducted by MassMutual and the Family Firm Institute, the typical family business owner designates his or her spouse as most trusted advisor, above family members like parents or siblings as well as other important partners like the lawyer, banker or non-related colleague. Perhaps the rise of the family owned businesses explain the shift in survey results.

Family Owned Businesses Tip: Place an extra emphasis on clear communication

Dr. Alice Bledig, and her husband Albert Bledig, M.D. grew their family medical practice together from the ground up, often juggling multiple roles and responsibilities in the absence of a fuller staff. Without hesitation, Alice points to Albert as her most trusted advisor. And their secret to 47 years of successful couplepreneurship? "I think communication is very important and I think trust is very important. I trust him and he trusts me to the best thing for our practice." The 2010 MassMutual study, FamilyPreneurship: What Every Entrepreneur Wants to Know About Being in Business With a Family Member, confirms the importance of communication in the family-owned business world: "According to our research, communication is the most common factor cited as being necessary for maintaining good relationships with family - both inside and outside of work."

Alice explained that, in the beginning, the couple learned a lot of lessons through trial and error. "We'd discuss things, we really did, we spent time talking about it and giving what we thought was best. We tried something and if it didn't work, we tried something else." Today, their practice of 47 years and their marriage of 52 years are both still thriving. "We trust, we communicate, we value each other and I think since we work together there is an element of love that comes into that."

Family Owned Businesses Tip: Women-owned businesses continue to increase

Kathy Marshack, psychologist and author of "Entrepreneurial Couples: Making It Work at Work and at Home," points out that female-owned businesses skyrocketed 42.3% between 1997 and 2006 and keep growing. She considers this leap at least partially responsible for the surge in couplepreneurship, explaining that in years past, the wives of male executives were often hired as assistants, not partners. Now, women are taking the initiative, starting their own family-owned businesses, and inviting their husbands on board: all with spectacular results. In 2003, MassMutual and the Center for Women's Leadership at Babson College produced the Women In Family-Owned Business report, determining that female-led family owned businesses were more productive and successful than male-owned firms.

Family Owned Businesses Tip: Toss old-fashioned gender roles out the window

For years, culture and tradition have exacerbated the unequal sharing of responsibility in family owned businesses, meaning that wives of male executives are often unpaid stakeholders: informally assuming leadership positions with no pay and little credit. Yet, as the Women in Family Owned Business report demonstrates, gender inequality within the family-owned business world can cost a business not only its productivity but the loyalty and satisfaction of its employees, as well. Female-owned firms exhibit higher rates of productivity and lower rates of family member attrition than male-owned firms; a savvy businessperson would interpret these facts to promote the equal sharing of responsibilities and the increased valuation of female contributions to the family owned business.

Furthermore, shared responsibility does more than benefit a business' bottom line; when both spouses feel equally valued, respected, and compensated for their contributions to the family's financial success, it improves household harmony. Alice recalls the early stress of being a wife, mother, and business partner at the same time: "At first Al expected me to work down there, then come home and prepare the evening meal and take care of the kids, get them bathed and fed, so my job continued I feel like more than his did." When they hired a caregiver to lighten Alice's work at home, the dynamic quickly shifted. "I felt like more of an equal." She explains. This is crucial because irreconcilable conflict (which can often be caused by one partner feeling taken advantage of or devalued) may threaten the business altogether. Research shows that divorce is the quickest way to dissolve a family owned businesses; most partnerships simply cannot survive separation.

Trend: The family owned businesses are more customizable than ever

As Generation Y enters the workplace in full force, small business trends are progressively evolving to reflect the young blood, which, according to BusinessWeek, is "re-writing the rules" for family-owned businesses. Today's budding entrepreneurs were raised in the age of customizable products and services, making them less likely to subscribe to the rigid one size fits all business models of their predecessors and more likely to create practices and strategies unique to their specific needs and goals. Forget 9-5; the Gen Y executive may not follow the same schedule two days in a row, as long as he or she still gets the job done.

Family Owned Businesses Tip: Design a couple-friendly business model

Couplepreneurs of all generations can take advantage of how customizable the family-owned business has become to achieve a better work-family balance. Communication technology characteristically embraced by Gen Y like smart phones, web conferencing, and social networking allows couples to work at home or on the road, meaning more time together and with the kids, as well as the opportunity to vacation together or even to cultivate a permanent lifestyle of work and travel. This flexibility can eliminate the stresses that typically overwhelm a family like commuting, child care, and time off. And research shows that it pays to be happy; a higher quality of life does not simply strengthen a marriage, it increases a family owned businesses' productivity and, therefore, its long-term sustainability.

Whoever said work and love do not mix must be biting their tongue. There's no doubt about it, the "couplepreneurial" spirit is taking the family owned businesses world by storm and changing the rules. Who knows? Before long, shrewd executives looking to scope out competition may be skimming newspaper wedding pages without consulting the business section at all!

Current Tips and Trends in Family Owned Businesses

Will the Economy Recover?

Of Course it Will. And When it Does, You Could Be in a Position to Take Advantage.

Exit strategies are often developed at the point where business owners and investors feel it is the right time to part with the company that they are involved with.

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But by then, it's often too late to build a successful exit strategy. Or at least one that totally maximizes your potential return from the business.

See, an exit strategy should be built well in advance of the point that you feel you need to leave your business, largely because, if you don't have a carefully constructed exit strategy, you probably won't ever get to a point where you can part with your business for maximum return.

You need your exit strategy to guide you, clearly, towards a particular point where you can make a calculated exit from your company.

Planning an exit strategy in advance will also allow you to maintain objectivity and a clear mind, whereas planning it at a later stage will undoubtedly be rushed and may potentially involve clouded judgment.

Planning your exit strategy in advance gives you a clear vantage point for the future.

And right now, the future can only get better for business and the economy.

That means many business owners will be looking to exit their companies within the next few years when things pick back up to the extent that they think they can earn a tidy personal sum for floating, selling, franchising, or implementing succession on their business.

But those who fail to plan their exit strategies in advance will experience a significantly less rewarding outcome than those that plan carefully, far in advance.

In fact, the statistics are rather worrying.

A study underwritten by MassMutual found that 67% of men and women investors/business owners had no plan of exit in writing. That's over two thirds of the entire population of business owners and investors.

These people will be getting significantly less value from their business when they come to the point of exit, than the other 33% of business owners and investors.

Don't follow the majority.

Will the Economy Recover?

Whole life insurance Tips - advice for young adults

Young professionals who have no relatives can still be a political life, and with a disposable income. With a little 'tighten their belts now, many adults, life insurance for young people now believe that will do good rather than evil.

Insurance techniques are complicated, in general, people need the advice, if not a comprehensive discussion of reporting. These are provided through channels such as agents representing the insurance companies. Theirusually are licensed by the state education, their prospects in terms of policies they sell to companies. This is a step to be taken by countries to buy themselves against any possibility of fraud or ignorance among the people, life insurance. In light of these facts should caution the young and old, taking some advice before engaging in any activity related to the life cover.

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Younger individuals, need some advice. It is because theprevailing thinking is that it is not necessary for their age. In fact, you may have an exaggerated idea at the time for them. This is because no one is likely to die before the age of 30 think. Most see the need for insurance after a few years ago, when the probability of death is more subtle.

A good understanding of insurance for young adults to tell them, that the effect of saving money every month for a policy to stop some devastating consequences on the family.Life insurance is not only in the event of death, may also loans or debts, like student loans. Although the highest award in a whole life insurance, there are better performances of it kept as insurance against the risks. You can borrow money against the policy and also earned dividends may be withdrawn, as you approach middle age. You can see some investments are released, but the payments will not be necessary for the insured, but it will be removed only after deathBenefits. What's more, the earlier that a life annuity, the more chances you start to cheaper costs.

A period of insurance is on the other hand, much cheaper and offer options to renew at the end of the term. For each term, however, the premiums can only ever higher. At the end there is an insurance policy suitable for each individual. Therefore, a term life insurance or life advice for young adults in particular should be sought.

Whole life insurance Tips - advice for young adults

Whole Life Insurance Tips Save Tons

If you want to get the best deal for your money, you understand how you can decide the type of insurance to be purchased. Inform yourself so you can maximize the return on investment. Read this life insurance tips to help you ask the right questions before you can claim your money.

First, educate yourself. To learn more about the different types of insurance and the vocabulary of all combined. Understand the difference between term life insurance, universalLife and life insurance.

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Next, determine how much life insurance you need. You can do it through the esteem of your family depending on your income or insurance with a computer. Need a calculator gives you a good estimate of the amount of insurance coverage.

Consider the quality of insurance provides you with the premium package. In general, insurance companies offer more financial reviews that have been in business for many years a betterProspect of new investment companies with poor performance reviews. A number of financial services, including the Standard and Poor, provide assessments of reviews for the company best known life insurance.

Be aware that smokers rarely get the best insurance rates. If you are serious about reducing the cost of the premium is to determine how long that smoke-free before being required to report. Some companies charge a minimum of 12 or 13Months, but others must be smoke-free for at least two years before the application.

If your job is dangerous, dangerous, or outdoor activities such as bungee jumping or skydiving, to reconsider the continuation of these activities. To achieve these risky recreational activities will increase insurance premiums. In addition, some insurance companies demand higher premiums for military personnel, so consider purchasing your insurance company before recruitment.

Young people usuallysignificantly lower premium quotes to do the elderly. If you are interested in buying life insurance, do it while you are still young enough to lock in lower premiums. Most companies offer a guarantee against rising interest rates for the length of time to maintain the insurance.

After reading these tips life insurance, review your investment strategy carefully. If this is the best option for you, shop around and get quotessome known agencies. Then find out what are the factors to reduce the premium, and use this knowledge to optimize your investment.

Whole Life Insurance Tips Save Tons