How a Public Relations Firm Can Help You Advance as a Realtor

Posted by on March 4, 2020 in Real Estate

nancy behrman communications

As a realtor, you understand how competitive the marketplace can be and how important it is to find a way to make your company’s presence known to the public. One problem many realtors encounter is finding a way to manage their business while also keeping the public engaged with their company. That’s when using a public relations firm can prove to be an invaluable tool.

Today’s real estate marketplace has evolved drastically from the days of taking out an ad in the Yellow Pages and having a billboard or two around town. With everyone looking down at their smartphones these days, who even notices a billboard? What’s the solution, then? How can you possibly establish yourself as a real estate presence when it’s so difficult to be heard above the noise out there?

You hire yourself a public relations firm.

Burt’s Bees

One stunning example of what a good PR firm can accomplish is seen with Burt’s Bees. Burt’s Bees hired Nancy Behrman Communications to handle their PR needs and soon saw an incredible growth explosion. Burt’s Bees was then sold to an investment group and was later sold to Clorox for over $900 million. Burt’s Bees went from being a little-known niche product supplier to one of the most well-known brands on the market today.

Evolution of Real Estate Public Relations

Forbes reported on the evolution of real estate PR and revealed that social media and a constant online presence is one of the most important areas for any real estate company. Having a PR firm handling that end of the business frees up realtors to do what they do best – buy and sell real estate.

Social Media and Public Relations

While many realtors might simply decide to tackle the social media end of things on their own, it’s important to remember that a poorly-designed public relations campaign can have an incredible negative impact. A New York Times article dealing with the tightrope many social media managers need to navigate emphasized how an embarrassing public relations blunder by a corporation can have far-reaching effects.

Branding

When it comes to dealing with realtors, clients want to feel they are in competent and professional hands. One of the ways a client decides on which realtor to use is by going with “name recognition,” which is an important element of branding. Once upon a time, branding simply meant people were remembering a company’s name when they watched a commercial. When public relations came along and started to study the best way for a company to reach the general population, branding became part of an overall experience, rather than simply a trademarked logo.

Realtors can use a public relations firm to help them find the best opportunities for branding available. A realtor in a highly competitive marketplace might use a public relations firm to establish their company as the most competent and accessible, while a realtor in a smaller marketplace might find a PR campaign emphasizing trustworthiness and value to work to their advantage.

Connections

If a realtor uses a company like Nancy Behrman Communications, one of the first things the PR firm will do is create a connection between the realtor and the public. By using tools such as social media, blogs, newsletters, and even podcasts, potential clients will get a real feel for what the realtor is all about. Once that connection is established, the realtor is in an optimal position to engage in business with the potential client, according to Entrepreneur.

While a realtor might wonder if the agency can afford to work with a public relations firm in order to increase business, the success of real estate agencies that work with PR firms speaks for itself

7 Smart Things to Do With the Money You Make From Airbnb

Posted by on February 19, 2020 in News

Jason Vanclef

Airbnb is one of the most popular platforms for side hustlers hoping to generate wealth with their spare rooms. Whether you’re renting out a room in your home or subletting your entire apartment, Airbnb is one of the best places to generate a little money on the side. If you want to make the most of your Airbnb venture, make sure you make your hard-earned money work for you. Jason Vanclef shares the best ideas on how to invest the money you make renting with Airbnb:

1. The Stock Market

One of the best ways to transform your Airbnb earnings is to invest in the stock market. Buying stock gives you partial ownership of whichever company you’re buying into. As the company profits, you’ll receive a portion of their earnings by way of dividends based on your shares of stock.

As the company gains value over time, so will the price of your new shares. Thus, whatever percentage of your Airbnb earnings that you invested into the stock will transform into a highly profitable share you can then sell for a profit.

2. Mutual Funds

Though you can spend your Airbnb income on shares, it also pays to invest in mutual funds. By investing in mutual funds, you’ll purchase multiple stocks in a single purchase. However, the stocks in a mutual fund are managed and chosen by mutual fund managers.

If you’re thinking about investing in mutual funds, be sure to research the details about additional fees. Oftentimes, mutual fund managers will charge a fee to invest.

3. Investment Bonds

In addition to investing in stocks, you can choose to grow your money by purchasing investment bonds. By purchasing a bond, you essentially agree to loan your money to the government or a company. This loan collects interest over time that will eventually be paid to you at the end of the bond’s lifecycle. Bonds are often viewed as safer investments than stock, though the returns are much lower.

4. Savings Accounts

One of the easiest ways to grow your Airbnb earnings is with a savings account. Instead of letting your money collect dust in a checking account, putting your AirBnb money into a savings account will earn you interest over time. However, the returns on a savings account are rather low. Experts like Jason Vanclef recommend letting your earnings collect interest while you decide what other investments to buy into in the future.

5. Physical Commodities

Physical commodities refer to investments like silver or gold. This conventional method of investing is intended to safeguard against difficult economic times or other emergencies. If you want to invest in physical commodities, consider purchasing a few pieces of silver or gold now that you can sell later for quick cash.

6. Real Estate

Many Airbnb hosts invest the money they earn” from renting out their homes into other real estate ventures. Whether you fix or flip homes or you purchase a multi-family building, real estate is another lucrative way to use your Airbnb earnings to make more money. Many Airbnb hosts even invest in new properties that they can then rent out on the platform.

7. Consult a Financial Advisor

It’s clear that there are a variety of ways to build wealth using your money from Airbnb as a starting point. Make sure you’re choosing the right investment opportunities by relying on a professional’s advice. A financial advisor will be able to suggest investment options that are the most advantageous for you and your money.

Start building wealth with the help of Airbnb. Let this guide inspire you to learn more about investment opportunities.

Do I Need a Lawyer to Close on My Home?

Posted by on January 16, 2020 in Law

DIY or do it yourself projects have become highly popular. The ability to do things yourself gives you a sense of fulfilment and most importantly, saves you money. This niche has become so popular that there is an entire network dedicated to giving consumers the ability to empower themselves with information on how to renovate a home or replace a roof. After all, where else can you go to see an entire home renovation project completed within an hour? The wealth of information that is readily available to us via the internet is another source of information on how we can do things for ourselves and save money. Despite our ability to research and gather information, there are some things we don’t need to do on our own. No matter the savings, some things are worth paying for. Hiring an attorney for a real estate transaction is a great example of this point. A licensed attorney can navigate you through the legal aspect of buying and selling a home. Below are a few reasons why hiring an attorney is not a bad idea.

Proper title review.


In the state of Missouri there is no requirement by law to have an attorney during a real estate transaction. While an internet search can give you general information on how to review a title, there may be details of this process that are not covered in your search. This is where having a licensed and experienced attorney can be handy. Something as simple as parties being listed incorrectly on the deed can impede the title. This impediment to the title can cause problems down the road if you decide to sell the property to another buyer. An attorney can also ensure that both the buyer and the seller have fulfilled their obligation of the purchase agreement. These are the details that an internet search cannot provide.

Closing a transaction that has a mortgage.


Again, in some states, real estate attorneys are not required for real estate transactions. When a mortgage is involved, it is highly recommended that you have an attorney to review the mortgage documents. Considering there is a significant amount of documentation in this process, a buyer could become inundated with the details. An experienced attorney can help navigate the closing process by easily explaining the mortgage documents to the buyer and ensure that all interests are properly represented in the transaction.

Transactions outside of the mortgage process.


If you have a home that you want to rent, having an attorney review the lease agreement would help you avoid any possible legal challenges. Rental agreements must comply with the real estate laws that pertain to each state. If you are not experienced in putting together these rental agreements, it is highly recommended that you seek the advice of an attorney. There are different forms of rental agreements you can implement. A standard rental agreement is used when your tenants lease the property from you and pay their rent every month. Other forms of leasing could include a lease purchase where the tenants live in the home, they rent the home from you and at some point in the future they agree to purchase the home at a set price. Regardless of the terms, it is imperative that all parties are properly represented in the lease agreement. In addition to the local laws, other issues to consider are laws that pertain to asbestos and other environmental contaminants, pest control, rental collection, late fees and other issues that are contained within the agreement. These are just a few of the items you need to consider when drafting your lease documents.

With almost 20 years of experience, Attorney Douglas Healy has the experience needed to navigate you through the legal process of buying a home. Doing it yourself can certainly save you money. However, when it comes to the legalities of purchasing or leasing a home, hiring an attorney could help to save you money in the long run. Healy’s background in real estate law can help you avoid the pitfalls that many buyers and sellers experience during these transactions. Unexpected issues such as title issues can be a hindrance to buying a home. An attorney is better able to clearly define the seller’s ability to pass title to a buyer and can help define a financial institution’s ability to place their lien against the property. If you have questions about your real estate transaction, give Douglas Healy a call today. Him and his team are standing by waiting to assist you

Rusty Tweed Explores the Impact of Sustainability on the Real Estate Industry

Posted by on January 9, 2020 in Real Estate

Rusty Tweed Sustainable Homes Rusty Tweed Explores the Impact of Sustainability on the Real Estate Industry

The Challenges of Current Real Estate

Sustainability will become even more important as time goes by. The simple reason is there simply isn’t enough of each resource for everyone. As the world population continues to grow, we will need more and more innovation to meet the ever-evolving needs of the growing population. This is especially true in the real estate industry.

Rusty Tweed has invested a good deal of time and effort to help champion the cause of sustainability. The major challenge is the fact that people are moving to the city in droves, which puts a high demand on public infrastructure and the ability to live comfortably. The real estate market is one of the most burdened parts of the economy when it comes to adapting to sustainable standards. There are a lot of things to consider to meet the ever-growing need for sustainable housing.

The main reason why it is so difficult to meet that growing need is the technology we currently have for making houses. We just don’t have what is needed to build a strong and stable house with little to no input. As automation gain steam, it will need to take root in the real estate industry in order to reach more sustainable standards. The way we build houses is too slow which means the prices are greater than they should be, and the energy requirements are also out of control.

How Sustainability Will Help the Situation

Rusty Tweed is one of the many successful businessmen and women who are leading the charge toward an emphasis on sustainability through solar. The addition of solar power and wind power is crucial to lowering emissions and making the housing industry more sustainable.

There are several developments that could potentially contribute to this goal. For example, there are now solar panel roof tiles that act the same way as normal tiles. You put them on your home, and they generate electricity for about a decade. They are able to power your home in the daytime and even return energy back to the grid if the homeowner manages to overproduce. They don’t take up any extra space which means you never have to worry about making space of them on your roof. The best part is they pay for themselves and eventually become a profit-generating entity on your home. This type of technology is what is needed to help move to a more sustainable future.

On top of solar panel tiles, you also have microturbines that can be installed on your roof. While they may not be as powerful as normal 1 MW wind turbines, they generate enough power to run some appliances in your home and put energy on the grid. If we all install these power-generating turbines on our home, it will make the task of generating electricity much less burdensome for the environment. This will contribute to how sustainable we can live since we won’t run out of wind or solar. These two technologies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to making sure we live a sustainable future.

Another advancement aiming to make things more sustainable is the addition of electronics and IoT devices to the mix. In extreme environments like Phoenix and Florida, we are seeing people burn hundreds of kilowatts of power just to keep their homes cool. This is extremely wasteful as people are outside the home most of the time working. You don’t need to have your air-conditioning system running even when you aren’t at home. IoT powered thermostats can fix this issue by allowing the home to turn off heating/cooling while no one is home and return the house to a comfortable temperature only when it will be in use.

Where Does Technology Fit In?

Technology will be the biggest driver of sustainability in the future. Technology will change the way we live and power our homes. It will also change the way homes are built with the addition of machines and technologies to make things available quicker. The biggest thing that will change is automation. The way we build houses will need to be transformed by robots building the houses for us. For example, 3D printing technology is being trialed as a way to make houses. You set up a 3D printer after making the foundation and it can print a house for you in only a day. This type of machine enables building homes on a scale never seen before. When you build with a 3D printer, you also use fewer materials and you are able to spend more time on other aspects of homebuilding. You are also able to make homes in parallel which could not be done before without needing increased manpower.

On top of 3D printing, what will be driving the era of sustainable living will be electronic sensors built into the home. When it comes to electronic sensors, you can control almost everything. Almost everything in the home can be automated, but heating and cooling will be the things most essential. They are the biggest users of energy in a home. Having smart electronic controls connected to your heating and cooling system will make them a lot more efficient. You also make them even more efficient if you connect them to solar and wind power generated at the site the home itself. These types of technologies will bring about efficiency that has not been seen before. It will also contribute to the sustainable future of the real estate industry. This is something the industry needs to do in order to survive.

What Changes Need to Happen in Real Estate

Sustainable living is essential to the survival of the real estate industry in the long term, which means the ability for people to get housing at affordable prices. There will always be a need for homes, but the supply may not meet the demand without sustainable means of generating electricity. Generating electricity is fundamentally the main issue that must be overcome in the future. Every home needs to have integrated solar roof tiles that can power at least a part of the energy requirements of the home. This is the fundamental change that needs to happen.

In the future, every building will need to have some way of generating power. For skyscrapers, the glass will need to be able to generate power from the sun. For normal buildings, a large solar panel array will need to be mounted, and for the home we will need to have the roof tiles or even a few solar panels on top.

The next step will be building the home quickly and efficiently. This will need to happen through automation and robotics. There are many robotics companies working on robots that can help people build houses more quickly. They can get materials that are needed and eventually, they will be able to do some of the work that humans are now doing. With these types of technologies, the future is bright for the industry.

However, it will need to be done quickly since the prices for homes are always on the rise. This will mean a lot of people won’t be able to own their own home and will have to rent. For the future to be as sustainable as we need, these technologies will have to be applied on a massive scale in order to bring down the prices of homes so everyone can at least afford one for themselves. We will also need better energy storage solutions for excess power generated by a home. The battery of the future will need to be more robust while also storing more power per kilogram. Current lithium-ion battery technology will need to be simplified and the price will have to go down.

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How Much Do You Need to Invest in Real Estate?

Posted by on January 8, 2020 in Real Estate

Real Estate has never failed to be an excellent long term investment for most people. True there are real estate mistakes and recently it is harder to find over the top profits from real estate. However, there are still excellent opportunities out there. People always need a place to live. Now and until we go extinct. So if you have never invested in real estate, you might ask how much do I need to invest in real estate. The following are some answer to this loaded question.

How little is to little in real estate

If you are looking for a real estate investment for a small amount of money, then you will have to go in with other people for the investment. Good real estate is not cheap, so a $10,000 investment with other investors may be the way to go. It may be better to invest this way if you can invest in a better property that will yield everyone a nice profit when the property is sold. You always want to make sure you know who you are investing with so you don’t invest and never see your money again. You also have to think about whether they are going to need more money from you even after the initial investment. Real estate always has maintained throughout the years. Some people say you can invest as low as $5000 when sharing, this is possible if the opportunity is right. The dollar amount is not as important as making sure that other points of the transaction are reasonable.

What is the right amount of money to invest in real estate?

There is a long term investment amount and a short term investment amount that is the right amount for you. You have to assess your risk and how much you can afford. You have to have the right investment that will not drain your money but keep it steady and eventually make your investment grow. Are you getting a mortgage? Are you going to pay for the real estate investment outright? These are the questions you have to ask to help you know the amount you need to invest if say you are investing on your own. There is no need to invest more money than you have to. Anywhere from $10,000 to $60,000 is a good amount of money to invest. The investment is only good if the track record of the area is good and there is no foreseeable decline in the value of the investment.

Where to Invest in Real Estate?

It is good to look locally for investments, to begin with. Knowing the area where you invest is a bonus. Investing in a far place that may be up and coming may be a possibility. This is a higher risk, but potentially a larger profit margin down the line. Don’t ever invest in any place blindly. It is important to learn from others about investing to help. People like Rex Burgdorfer on Rex Burgdorfer Apple Podcast or Rex Burgdorfer Medium can help shed light on investing. By listening to people like Rex Burgdorfer Medium or the Rex Burgdorfer Apple Podcast you begin to gain knowledge about investing that will help you when you make your final investment decisions. Always beware of the taxes, insurance, and upkeep. Property taxes in say Florida are rather low whereas in Texas property taxes are high, but house prices are low. Insurance is pretty high in both places due to hurricanes and flooding Everything is a number, so do the math for the potential investment you are looking into.

When it comes to real estate investing, do your research. Don’t jump into anything. You can survey an area quickly and get to know all the details about a place you want to invest in. Take the time to understand any real estate investment you want, so you feel solid and happy that your investment will appreciate to an amount you are proud of

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Can a Bathroom Remodel Increase Your Home’s Value?

Posted by on December 13, 2019 in Real Estate

Homeowners constantly juggle the balance between improving their properties and estimating a return on the investment. An upgrade that seems important to the owners may not be too exciting among potential buyers. Consider a bathroom remodel as a pathway toward an increased home value. Understanding this investment can give you an edge during the selling process.

A Top-Two Area to Upgrade

HGTV reports that the kitchen and bathroom are the two areas that should be considered when you want to remodel and recoup the costs in the home’s value. These areas are the busiest spaces in the home, and they can also come with expensive construction costs.

Buyers see a remodeled bathroom and translate that fact into high value for their dollar. They might bid higher on a New Orleans home with a newly installed Kohler LuxStone shower, for instance. You may not have put a lot of money into the remodel, but it appears to be a high-ticket item.

Focus on the Bathing Area

Your Baton Rouge home might have a huge tub in the master bathroom. Upgrading it to a whirlpool bath doesn’t exactly add value in this day and age, however.

The majority of people don’t have time for a bath. Reserve a tub for the other rooms where you need this fixture for bathing young children. The master bath would benefit from a walk-in shower with an attractive door. This design choice is perfect for adults of any age.

Take a Look Down

Remember that the flooring must be changed too. As a potential buyer walks in, the floor is a focal point. Because most bathrooms are relatively small, you might splurge a bit on more expensive tiles in this space. They give the floor a luxurious appearance that drives home sales. The cost total for the floor is minimal in comparison to the interest you’ll attract with this remodel. Let the professionals install the floor for a perfected look.

Save With No Plumbing Changes

Increase the home’s value without too much out of pocket by avoiding any major plumbing changes. Most remodeling costs reside in the labor, states the Washington Post. Don’t move the Kohler LuxStone shower to the opposite side of the room. Install it in the same location as the old fixture. Contractors simply need to connect the plumbing instead of rerouting it.

Dealing with plumbing changes doesn’t add value to the home. They aren’t visible to potential buyers. Concentrate on showers, sinks and toilets for visual appeal.

Swap Out the Toilet

An item that’s often overlooked in the bathroom is the toilet. It’s not a permanent fixture in your Baton Rouge or New Orleans home. In fact, it normally has a lifespan of about 15 years, according to Angie’s List. They aren’t too expensive either. Swapping out this item gives the bathroom a brand-new look without an expensive price tag.

The new toilet comes with a wax seal that protects the floor from any leaks. You’ll also enjoy the new flushing components in the tank. There’s great value in a toilet that doesn’t run or waste a lot of water.

Try to finish the bathroom remodel well before you sell the property. Enjoy the work that went into space. You’ll feel satisfied afterward as buyers send in their bids with excitement in their eyes.

White Mountain Partners Landscaping Discusses How to Design Landscaping to Handle Stormwater Runoff

Posted by on November 22, 2019 in Tips

Sadly, we live in a time in which the squeaky wheel may get their needs met, but no-one else will. What if there is an empty lot above your home where the county’s poor engineering has the storm runoff funneled right in the middle? No problem today.

Later the lot is built out. The other neighbor above sees that the runoff is going to be funneled their way. They go and complain to the county and get the water re-routed above your house. You find out one night, in the midst of a big rainstorm, coming home to your newly graveled driveway washing down to the road.

White Mountain Partners Landscaping, a quality landscaping contractor, has some solutions for land owners facing stormwater runoff.

Be the Squeaky Wheel –

There is so much going on in our busy lives but be that squeaky wheel and pro-actively avoid the situation in the first place. If it is too late, complain and raise a ruckus until the county forces the offending landowner to pay to improve what is now coming your way.

Hire a Quality Landscaping Service –

There are some very important issues to address with a stormwater runoff problem. The design needs to withstand the worst rainfall possible because you don’t want your home or driveway ruined over and over. Also, you need to get a top-notch landscaping contractor that can best engineer the solution to work year after year with little maintenance on your part. Years later, you don’t want to be out in heavy rain in your slickers with a shovel, trying to save your driveway all over again.

Elements of Good Storm Runoff Design –

Soil Berm –

According to Bankrate, a soil berm is one solution for some yards that will channel the rainwater away from your property. A top-notch landscaper will plant the berm with easy-care plants that are visually appealing, so the berm does not wash away.

The Rain Channels Must Last –

Another solution is a French drain that catches and channels the rain water. Where the rain is channeled down your driveway, you don’t want a big trench. If you live in snow country, either your car or the snow blower will get sucked into that trench eventually. You want a small depression of a channel that has a French drain in the bottom.

A French drain utilizes a buried pipe that has holes to accept the runoff and landscape cloth over the pipe to keep debris from clogging it. Some of the runoff will go down the slight depression and some of the runoff will go into the French drain and out to the street, where the county can deal with it. French drains are designed to last. Trenches just get deeper.

The Hillside –

If you own some or a portion of the hillside, you will have other considerations. Popular Mechanics suggests another solution to stormwater runoff is a dry well. A dry well is an excellent solution for locations where the water reaches a strong head at the top of the hillside. It is basically a well that is surrounded by rocks and channels as much of the water as possible down into the soil itself.

For the rest of the runoff on the hillside, you want a lot of heavy rocks that also look ornamental. The rocks on the hillside will move the storm water down to where you choose, not your neighbor. Heavy rocks will prevent the hillside from wearing away.

The one bit of maintenance you will want to do in the fall with your rocky stream is to clear the leaves from between the rocks on the hillside. You don’t want the water to find another path.

Call us at White Mountain Partners Landscaping for all of your stormwater runoff issues. We will design a stormwater solution that will last and will be either low maintenance or maintenance free

Derby Advisors Shares How to Get a Mortgage When You Have a Massive Amount of Credit Card Debt

Posted by on October 2, 2019 in Tips

Millions of Americans are currently being weighed down by a considerable amount of credit card debt. This debt makes it difficult for people to pay their bills and move ahead economically. Many people also believe that it will prevent them from being able to own a home and fulfill the American dream. But these individuals are mistaken. While credit card debt does hamper the ability of Americans to buy their own home, it does not make such a venture impossible. Individuals simply have to make different choices and work harder than their fellow citizens who do not have the same amounts of debt.

Have a plan

The best way for an individual to get a mortgage with a massive amount of debt is to have a reasonable, convincing plan to get a hold of that debt. They can craft such a plan with a company like Derby Advisors. They can then show their plan to a mortgage company and prove that they will be able to implement their plan. In the long run, mortgage companies and banks do not care what debts a person may have. All they care about is the ability of that person to pay off their mortgage loan. A reasonable plan will help convince the company issuing the mortgage that a person will be able to pay off their loan in a timely manner.

Always make payments

Anyone looking to get a mortgage with credit card debt must also make sure that they make all of their payments on time. It is true that having a considerable amount of debt lowers an individual’s credit score. But according to Derby Advisors, the worst thing that a person can do to their credit score is to miss a payment at any time. Missing a payment shows credit bureaus that an individual cannot be trusted to meet their obligations. A person who misses multiple payments with a considerable amount of debt is almost completely barred from securing a mortgage until they get their debts under control.

Find new revenue sources

Finally, new revenue sources are essential to securing a mortgage with debt. New revenue will decrease the percentage of an individual’s assets/income that is debt. With a new source of revenue or income, an individual will be able to more easily pay off their debt and look attractive to a mortgage issuing company. As a result, they will be in a better position to secure a significant mortgage. A person can do this by considering investments or part-time jobs outside of their normal working hours. Such jobs will reduce a person’s debt burden while also making them a significantly more attractive credit risk.

Conclusion

Credit card debt can hold a person back and can put back their life plans for years. But they do not make a mortgage impossible. An individual may have to go through more work and effort to secure a mortgage with a massive amount of credit card debt. But as long as they are able to convince a mortgage company that they can meet their obligations, they should be able to secure such a loan

Is My Roof Too Shaded For Solar Panels

Posted by on August 8, 2019 in News

Many people here in Tampa, Florida are considering solar panels for energy generation. It just makes sense that, in a sunny climate where winter temperatures are often around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, one might be able to get quite a bit of energy generation from solar panels. Consulting a roofing company Tampa and other sources, we found that the answer to solar panel feasibility by the site has changed over the last several years since the technology behind solar panels continues to improve.

Traditional Solar Panels

Most of the solar panels in production today don’t do well in shade. Conversely, solar panels do much better with cloudy conditions than they did in the past. It is quite amazing the amount of energy one can produce on a cloudy day from the current crop of solar panels. At the least, Clean Technica states that solar panels produce 10 to 25 percent of the panel’s rating on a cloudy day. This author has solar panels for RVing that produce far more than 25 percent of the panel rating on cloudy days.

Greentumble is reporting that new solar panels made with solar cells called “super black” will make the differential between your solar energy harvest on sunny days versus cloudy days almost non-existent. Those new panels will be out in the next few years.

Sadly, shading is a very different animal. Up until recently, most solar panels suffered from shading by drastic reductions in energy output. The reason is in how many solar panels are wired together. If just a few portions of a panel are shaded, most panels will no longer output much of any energy. It is similar to the Christmas light phenomena, where one light out in the string renders the entire string of lights useless.

New Technology Helps Solve Shading Energy Loss

Bypass Diodes: Since many people have trees, gables, chimneys and other houses that may cover their solar panels in shade at times, the solar industry has responded with a new type of panel designed to maintain a higher level of output if a portion of the panel is in shade. These new panels use bypass diodes between the solar cells in order to bypass the cells that are in shading, allowing the energy from the cells that are in the sun to still output from the panel. This new technology also eliminates the problem that Renew Magazine reported on in which some of the older styles of panels actually degrade over time from repeatedly having to deal with partial shading. Older style panels in partial shade tend to overwork the solar cells that are in the sun.

Micro-Inverters: Another new technology in the newer crop of solar panels that helps glean more energy in partial shading conditions is a micro-inverter. This is a device that is installed in each solar panel and allows each panel to be its own energy producer, irrespective of other panels that might be in partial or complete shade. The idea with both of these two technologies is to get the full output of the solar cells that are in sun out through the panels without straining the system.

Examine Your Roof

Irrespective of new technology, if you have a roof that is in shade most of the year, you will need to either find another spot for the panels – like in your yard, on your garage or over the carport. These new anti-shading technologies rely upon times during the day when the panels are at least in partial sun. You will need to determine how much sun your roof is receiving and what times of the day and times of the year that you have sun versus shade in order to know if solar is cost-effective for your situation.

For many homeowners, it is not feasible to examine your roof for shade or sun every two hours throughout the year. Instead, your roofing company Tampa or solar panel retailer will likely provide you analysis of sun versus shading at your site. You can also consult the shading analysis tools found on the PV Resources website.

If you have partial shading on your roof, don’t despair. New technology is making solar panels work much more efficiently in partial shading. A site analysis is the only proper means of determining your solar panel placement options

Craig Nassi Shares What to Consider Before Buying or Selling Real Estate

Posted by on June 27, 2019 in Real Estate

Craig Nassi on Buying and Selling Real Estate

There are many issues that you need to consider before deciding that you want to buy or sell real estate. While it can be an effective way to make money both now and in the future, there are many potential headaches that you could have to deal with as well. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of buying and selling real estate either as a side hustle or as a full-time job.

Make Money in Many Different Ways

One of the advantages of being in real estate is that you can make money in a variety of different ways. For instance, rental properties can generate two sources of income at the same time. Each month, you get a rent check from a tenant, and that serves as a sort of dividend for owning the home. At the same time, you can benefit from the fact that the home will likely appreciate in value each year. If you choose to sell the home, you can potentially stand to make tens of thousands of dollars.

Not All Deals Pan Out 

One of the headaches of buying or selling real estate is that not all deals come to fruition like you thought they would. In some cases, a bidding war may push the price of a home beyond what you were willing to spend. Sudden changes in market conditions or a sudden change of heart from a buyer or tenant could result in a home not selling or remaining vacant. 

You Can Keep Properties in Your Family Forever

If you are looking for a way to solidify your family’s financial future, you can pass down homes, condos or other properties to your children or grandchildren. To make it easier to manage your holdings, a property management company can collect rent checks, screen tenants and take care of maintenance. 

This may make it more likely that future generations will want to keep these properties in the family. For added legal protection, consider putting your real estate holdings inside of a limited liability corporation (LLC). Real estate experts like Craig Nassi may be able to further explain the benefits of doing so.

You’re Responsible for What Happens to a Property

One of the downsides of owning a home or apartment complex is that you are responsible for everything that happens there. This is true whether you manage it directly or have a property management company do so for you. Therefore, you may want to have general liability or landlord insurance to cover the amount of any judgments entered against you or your holding company. As a landlord, it is your right to evict tenants who damage property or otherwise cause harm that you have to pay for. 

You Can Get Tax Breaks for Upgrading Rental Properties

Whether you own an apartment complex or just a couple of duplexes, you can reduce the cost of maintaining a rental property through state or federal tax breaks. It may be worthwhile to consult your attorney or tax adviser to determine if you qualify for a particular write-off or credit. You can also talk to people such as Craig Nassi to learn more about the general tax benefits of owning a rental property. 

Buying or selling real estate can be worth doing if you are willing to put in the time to learn how it is done. It is critical that you develop relationships with real estate agents and others who can help facilitate quality deals. It may also be a good idea to take classes or get a mentor who can help you learn what it takes to be successful in real estate. 

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