Insurance claims on construction projects used to be so simple. A claim was made and the adjuster would visit the job to ascertain the damage. A brief report would be developed and, depending on the validity of the claim, a check would be issued to the claimant.

How times have changed. Now, most often, the claimant hires an attorney, who in turn consults with a small army of forensic experts, who perform destructive testing to prepare reports that show the building owner would be best served if he were to tear the building down and rebuild it from scratch.

Or, conversely, the defense experts will state that there’s nothing at all wrong with the building. Does the truth lie somewhere between the two, or is the case weighted heavily on one side rather than the other? The combined skills of the experts and the attorneys will determine the comparative strengths of the case over the next two years or so.

Now is the time for the prudent defect law firm to take appropriate action to properly protect the client’s purse strings against outrageous claims, or, on the other side, a refusal to pay just claims or building claims. Far too often, the insurance carrier on defense, in an effort to keep costs down, inflicts on its chosen counsel inefficient or unqualified low-costs experts. After reading a copy of both sides’ experts’ report, these carriers often concede to the claimant and settle in order to avoid a lengthy and costly trial. If they’d listened to counsel, a more reasonable settlement could have been achieved.

The following simple strategies will help attorneys make the most of their construction cases - whether representing the plaintiff or the defense - through effective management of experts and claims processes.

Check out the expert’s references with a particular emphasis on learning whether the expert has experience in similar cases. Expert witness firms usually advertise in trade papers, but most of their cases are generally obtained through referrals from satisfied lawyers and insurance companies. Still, references must be carefully checked.

When choosing expert witnesses, ask to see some of the reports they have prepared for previous cases. As a witness with many years’ experience, I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve been asked to show this most important aspect of my work.

Many experts can discuss a case intelligently, but the expert’s ability to write a cohesive report in collaboration with other experts and counsel - a report especially designed to describe selected elements of the client’s case at issue - can be critical to the outcome of the case.

When both sides have a chance to see certain cards that heretofore had been lying face down - the expert’s report - the chances of a settlement are more realistic.

Get the experts on the case as early as possible. If an insured client’s property has to be demolished because of substantial property damage, such as after an earthquake, the experts should be brought in early to watch the demolition.

To a construction expert, there’s nothing quite so illuminating as to be able to watch the “unpeeling of the onion” - that is, the building is being demolished. After it’s completely torn down, there’s nothing more to see or to learn. However, during demolition, all construction elements are revealed as the building is “unbuilt”, with its many component attachments uncovered and exposed. Knowledge is paramount, but it’s how that knowledge is handled by capable experts and counsel - and not necessarily the information it self - that affects the outcome of the case.

Ensure that the carrier provides a workable budget sufficient to fund thorough case preparation and forensic investigation. Recently, on a multi million-dollar case, one side was given a budget sufficient to fund only two days of destructive testing, instead of the 10 days needed for a complete analysis.

Also, instead of having the six different specialty experts the task required, only two were permitted. As a result, the work was incompletely performed.

When deposed by plaintiff’s counsel in this case, the defense experts were unable to answer certain important questions because of the lack of a thorough forensic investigation. Subsequently, the judge granted permission to go back and perform additional testing. This time the insurance company permitted a more complete job of investigation, and with the additional information gathered, the experts were able to amend their report. A fiscal tragedy was narrowly avoided.

Make sure that the experts selected understand their assignments and know which side they are representing. This sounds too simple, many experts actually make the case for the other side without giving proper consideration to their own client’s issues. While an expert must never lie, of course, it is not his job to make the other side’s case.

Make sure that the experts are given the opportunity to investigate the issues appropriately. One recent case involved a framer who was being sued for failing to install certain rough hardware items and for supplying improperly sized lumber. The framer’s construction expert was given the opportunity to examine his books and records. From this investigation, the expert was able to find the delivery slips and purchase orders that fully described all the purchases delivered to the job-site in question.

In reviewing the lumber and rough hardware list against the framer’s building plans, the expert was able to determine that sufficient appropriate materials were delivered to the job site in order to build the project satisfactorily as per plans. Later, through destructive testing, the expert was able to confirm the actual “as-built” conditions, which closely approximated the approved plans.

When representing the defense, coordinate destructive testing with other defendants. In some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars are needlessly spent on duplicating testing done by other subcontractors. If destructive testing procedures are coordinated among all the subcontractors on a case, it is possible to share the expenses pro rata with other defendants.

When destructive testing is being performed, make sure the general contractor doing the testing has more than enough labor on the job. It is far less expensive to hire extra workers from the general contractor at $30 to $50 an hour and have them standing by than to have a half-dozen experts, each averaging close to $200 per hour, standing around waiting for the laborers to open up walls.

When representing the plaintiff, make sure to permit the defense to make random tests, within reasonable limits, of course. Most important, let the defense watch when intrusive testing is performed. A recent defense case was greatly helped by the fact that the plaintiff performed all its tests in secret, without bothering to invite the defense. When this happens, the task is much easier for the defense, which really only has to counter punch. Plaintiffs’ experts should study the plans and specifications carefully in order to avoid the charge of going on a fishing expedition during destructive testing.

Pay bills promptly. Many experts complain that they are involved in a number of cases in which companies have delayed payment of due bills for as much as six months. When consideration is given to the many out-of-pocket costs such as payroll, hotel accommodations, airline tickets and dozen of other, seemingly insignificant expenses, payment delays can cause severe hardship for the recipients.

Don’t give up the ship. Construction defect cases are a lot like poker. On a recent case, my cost estimate to fix certain construction damage was $250,000, while the plaintiff’s was almost $15 million. Our insurance carrier offered $3 million during the trial, which was rejected out of hand. The jury came back and awarded the plaintiff $290,000 - and we, the defense experts, are now suing the plaintiff for our costs and expenses. On the other hand, when the plaintiff has a well prepared, well documented case showing substantial construction deficiencies, the defense is best advised to “muscle” it through.

Co-ordinating these management factors is sometimes like keeping 10 balls in the air at the same time - and that is when a lawyer finally knows if he’s delegated authority to the right expert. When you have a strong case and believable experts, don’t be bulldozed by the opposition.

The author is a Construction Defects Expert. Visit his site at: http://constructiondefectsexpert.com

[tags]insurance claims,construction experts,construction defect,property damage,construction damage,defect[/tags]

Without the possibility of litigation, there would be no necessity for insurance companies to insure the many diverse types of risks that have recently escalated in the construction industry.

As a builder and developer operating from the late 1950’s through the early 1980’s, I was always well protected by appropriate insurance policies that gave me maximum protection. Since I’d never had a claim against my insurance company, I always wondered why I was spending so many thousands of dollars every year to protect myself against claims that never occurred.

I am positive that if I was still in the development business, I would be inundated with claims just like everyone else who chooses to build in today’s litigious society. Times have changed. Yes, it is indeed a different world we live in where many of our traditional values have changed direction 180 degrees. Are we a part of it? Of course we are. What do we do about it? Well, in order to survive, we must also change with the times.

By that, I don’t mean to join up with those who have abrogated what heretofore we’ve held as “traditional values” - but rather to change our style so as to be better able to defend our “old fashioned” traditional values.

Insurance claims used to be so simple. A claim was made and the adjuster would visit the job to ascertain the damage. A brief report would be developed and depending on the validity of the claim, a check would be issued to the claimant. How times have changed. Now the claimant hires an attorney who in turn consults with a small army of forensic experts who perform destructive testing to prepare reports that show that the building owner would be best served if he were to tear the building down and rebuild it from “scratch”.

The cost to perform this repair transformation is normally about double what the claimant paid for the property, when the property was purchased just a few years ago at the top of the market. Interestingly enough, seldom does the owner of this building - that is so unsafe that it needs to be torn down - say a word about this life-threatening danger to his tenants or fellow condominium owners.

Now is the time for the prudent insurance carrier to take appropriate action to properly protect its own “purse strings” against, what are sometimes, outrageous claims. Far too often the carrier concedes to the claimant in order to avoid a lengthy and costly trial, when, if the case had been handled properly from the start, a more reasonable insurance settlement could have been more cost effectively achieved.

10 Principles

With this in mind I have developed the following strategies which consist of 10 simple principles which are designed to help insurance carriers minimize their risk exposure through more effective management of their claims processes.

1. Don’t use in-house counsel for the larger cases. Such counsel seldom have either the required skills to successfully manage the complex development litigation or the necessary construction knowledge needed for construction defects cases where there are sometimes scores of minor sub-contractor defendants involved in the case - many with their own insurance carriers. Incidentally, it is sometimes found that a minor player in the construction conundrum is, in fact, responsible for a major part of the damages assessment.

2. Make sure that your chosen counsel has had successful experience in similar litigation scenarios. As an example, I recently had a multi-million dollar construction case referred to me by a lawyer who had absolutely no construction litigation experience at all. I had to spend about 50 hours attempting to bring him up to speed before the insurance company changed its mind and gave the case to an experienced construction issues attorney. Successful litigation experience is no guarantee of future success. There is, however, a marked pattern of successfully concluded cases among this legal fraternity.

3. Ask to see previous reports prepared by the expert on other cases. In all the years I’ve been in this business, I can count on the fingers of one hand those few times that I’ve been asked to show this most important aspect of my work. Many experts can discuss a case intelligently, but the experts ability to write a cohesive report in collaboration with other experts and counsel - a report especially designed to effectively describe various selected elements of the clients case at issue - can often be critical to the outcome of the case.

When both sides have a chance to see certain cards that heretofore had been lying face down (the report), the chances of a settlement - or at least realistic expectations - are more readily present.

4. Get your experts on the case as early as possible. If an insured client’s property has to be demolished because of substantial damage, (such as occurred during the Northridge, California earthquake) get your experts in early rather than later to watch the demolition.

There’s nothing quite so illuminating to a construction expert as to be able to watch the un-peeling of the onion, as it were. After it’s all torn down, there’s nothing to see or to learn from. However, during demolition, all things are revealed as the building is “un-built” and its many components and their attachment to each other are uncovered and exposed. Don’t be afraid of what might be revealed. Knowledge is paramount, but it’s how that knowledge is handled by capable experts and counsel that affects the outcome of the case - and not necessarily the information itself.

5. Ensure that selected counsel have a workable budget sufficient to fund thorough case preparation and forensic investigation. On a recent multi-million dollar case, we were given a budget sufficient to fund only two days of destructive testing, instead of the five days needed for a complete analysis. Also, instead of having the six different specialty experts the task required, we were permitted only two. As a result naturally, our work was incompletely performed.

When deposed by plaintiff’s counsel, I was unable to answer certain important questions due to our lack of a thorough forensic investigation. Subsequently we were fortunate enough to be granted permission by the hearing judge to go in and perform additional testing. This time we were permitted by our our employing insurance company to perform a more complete job of investigation and with the additional information we’d gathered, we were able to amend our report. Fortunately a fiscal tragedy was narrowly avoided.

6. Make sure that the selected experts understand their assignment and which side they are representing. Sounds too simple, but I’ve seen lots of experts make the case for the other side without giving proper consideration to their own client’s issues. An expert must never lie, of course, but it is not his job to make a case for the other side.

By all means check out the expert’s references with particular emphasis to other previous experience on similar cases. Expert witness firms usually advertise in trade papers, but most of their cases are generally obtained through referral from satisfied lawyers and insurance companies. Still, references must be carefully checked.

7. Make sure that selected experts are given the opportunity to appropriately investigate the issues. Recently when representing a framer who was being sued for not installing certain rough hardware items and for supplying improperly sized lumber, I was given the opportunity to examine his books and records. From this investigation, I was able to find the delivery slips and purchase invoices that fully described all the purchases delivered to the job-site in question.

Made Comparisons

In reviewing the lumber and rough hardware list against the framer’s set of the building plans, I was able to determine that sufficient appropriate materials were delivered to the job site (in supplier’s trucks) in order to satisfactorily build the project as per plans. Later, through destructive testing, we were able to confirm the actual “as built” conditions which closely approximated the approved plans.

8. Co-ordinate destructive testing with other defendants. I have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars needlessly expended duplicating testing done by other sub-contractors, sometimes several times over. By coordinating the destructive testing procedures with all the subcontractors on a case, it is possible to share the expenses pro rata with many other defendants.

When destructive testing is being performed, make very sure that the testing general contractor has an over sufficiency of labor on the job. It is far less expensive to hire extra labor from the general contractor at $30 to $50 an hour and to have them standing by, than to have a half dozen experts averaging close to $200 each per hour standing around waiting for labor to open up walls.

9. Pay bills promptly. I have been involved in a number of cases where insurance companies have delayed payment to experts and law firms of past due bills for as much as six months. When consideration is given to the many thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses such as payroll, hotel accommodations, airline tickets and dozens of more insignificant expenses, these payment delays can cause severe hardship to the recipients

The bottom line is if you expect to get exemplary service, you must pay promptly-otherwise, the service you get may be the service that your tardy payment deserves.

10. Don’t give up the ship. Construction defects cases are a lot like poker. On a recent case, my cost estimate to fix certain construction defects was $250,000, while the plaintiffs was almost $15 million. Our insurance carrier offered $3 million during the trial, which was rejected out of hand. The jury came back and awarded the plaintiff $290,000 and we’re now suing the plaintiff for our costs and expenses. When you have a strong case, competent counsel and believable experts, don’t be bulldozed by the opposition - “Play the hand out.”

Coordinating these 10 management factors is sometimes like keeping 10 balls in the air at the same time and that is when an insurance executive finally knows if he’s delegated authority to the right team.

The author is a Construction Defects Expert. Visit his site at: http://constructiondefectsexpert.com

[tags]construction defects,construction industry,development litigation,insurance claims,insurance[/tags]

Due Diligence is one subject that the vast majority of Internet Marketing ‘gurus’ avoid like the plague.

Because if they were 100% straight-up with you from the get-go and told you in no uncertain detail exactly just how hard, time-consuming and resource-consuming owning and operating your own truly successful ebiz really is they might loose the sale.

They somehow got it figured that you’ll end up opting out and they’ll end up losing the almighty buck they stood to make on your complete and utter ignorance. The faster and easier they promise you tons of money and leads; the far more cynical I become.

I was bought up on hard work build your wealth slowly it is not what you make, but what you do with what you make. Get rich quick it most always a scheme.

Good, solid long-lasting businesses actually do require a great deal of time, effort and giving of yourself. You need a solid support system surrounded by like minded people who never quit. these are the very the types of associations that really can make you fabulously wealthy… seemingly overnight.

As a matter of fact, if it is anything short of a methodically built-up System- over a reasonable period of time [6 months to a year]…then I can all but guarantee you that you are setting yourself up for some serious grief.

Sure…the rare exception to the rule- such as that deftly-crafted and patiently-researched Joint Venture Proposal you hit BIG with in just a few short weeks or even days…because you done paid your Due Diligence!

Every one wants to be happy and comfortable with a minimal amount of work, but few find hard work and the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. In all labor there is profit.

An entirely different approach: Tell your people the *whole* truth- and nothing but.

Don’t sell them pipe dreams, fluff and just plain crap; in the hope of making a sale. In fact, don’t sell them anything. Give ‘Till It Hurts [for being such a blatantly promiscuous sneezer…it happens to be one of Robert G. Allen’s truly superb Principles].

And when you actually do attempt to ’sell’ your reader something:

Do it in a way that they are both absolutely eager and confident in your recommending them such a kick@$$ deal, offer, etc. Treat your Reader [most literally] as if they were your best friend, and develop a relationship accordingly. And this is just one of many ways Due Diligence comes into play.

One very sad mistake made over and over again -particular to Internet Marketing proselytes and neophytes- is promotion of a cookie-cutter biz op that they are absolutely not the delighted end user of.

If you’re just starting out [or strongly considering doing so] - Do not fall into this fatal trap….

In other words, before you go wishing failure, stress and duress upon yourself get some business snap (wisdom). Off line business owners in touch with the real world success know overnight success comes after many long nights of hard work.

Compliments of the infamous School of Hard Knocks:

Dan Higby is the author of eBiz Snap a free newsletter for online marketers of all experience levels. “I am the end consumer of whatever I seriously consider promoting, and put to the hardest-core Satisfaction Tests that I can possibly devise.” Subscribe Today! eBiz Snap News Letter.

[tags]due diligence,make money online, affiliate marketing, start an online business, online wisdom[/tags]

Construction, unless factory pre-fabricated, is a custom event. In other words, standard construction is seldom standard; in fact, 10 houses built side-by-side utilizing the same set of plans all will turn out slightly different from each other. That’s because most construction elements are fabricated by hand at the job site by many different craftsmen, who often interpret plans differently from each other. Indeed, the same craftsman will have a hard time duplicating that same plan next door one week later. But even if he performs his portion of the work identically, the odds against another tradesman performing his portion exactly in duplication are enormous.

So eventually we arrive at a completed building, but one different from any other structure in the world. Were the plans and specifications followed? Probably. But exactly? Never. One must consider that most construction is performed by the low bidder, who can only make a profit by the speedy completion of a contract with few delays for corrections. In fact, it is safe to say that the larger the job, the more likely it is that it will be awarded to the lowest bidder.

With 30 to 40 different sub-cons tractors at work on a typical construction job, many of whom either can’t or won’t follow the plans exactly, each sub tends to place the burden of blame for any construction problems that arise, with other sub-contractors. When they don’t, the attorneys will. To aid in this, the astute attorney often will bring in a construction expert to help document the dispute - thus providing a jump start on a potentially successful settlement.

Many construction attorneys achieve their best resolution, however, by employing the construction expert who can understand the issues well enough to take the opposing counsel’s expert’s reports and poke the appropriate holes in them. This, of course, provides in a way, a double foundation for the defense’s arguments: One, the foundation of the refutable plaintiff expert’s reports, and two, the case arguendo, of the defense experts, built upon the corpse of the plaintiffs’ arguments.

During construction, disputes between the crafts, the constractor and the owner often place additional pressures on critical construction schedules, which can exacerbate both tempers and costs as well as tending to impair construction quality. Is it any wonder then that often construction elements fail to perform in the way they were intended? There are also many cases of architectural plans that are prepared with errors both as to design as well as engineering. Most of these plans carry an admonition to the bidding contractor or sub-contractor to the effect that each contractor shall obtain all necessary permits and pass all building department inspections, but that still doesn’t let the architect off the hook.

It is not to be expected for contractors to know every aspect of the Unified Building Code. Therefore, when a construction element is incorrectly drawn or specified, most contractors will build it that way. They in turn rely on their bid proposal and contract, which generally reads, “As per plans and specifications.” Thus do the construction documents become a blue-print for litigation and documents that the skillful counsel can often use to their advantage with telling effect.

Neverless the unfortunate owner is often caught in the middle as he too often relies upon the building department to protect his ignorance. Unfortunately, the building inspectors have a very crowded docket, sometimes each having as many as 150 construction projects to keep tabs on and on which to perform inspections. These overworked people often miss important construction deficiencies such as nailing schedules, required slope to drain, waterproofing elements and installed steel hardware, such as lag bolts and hold-downs. They don’t have sufficient time to act as job superintendents, simply because they can’t stand there and watch the work in progress. Of course if they did, there would probably be far less grounds for litigation and most experts’ time would be spent working on slip-and-fall cases.

Because of the many overlapping subtrades on any construction job, when th destructive testing is performed, it is imperative that the opposition’s construction expert be on site to observe how the findings were made and documented. It is often much easier to punch holes in the opposition’s report when your expert was at the site watching the report being developed.

Since the January earthquake I have crawled through the wreckage of scores of badly damaged and destroyed structures in an effort to determine the root cause of the structures’ failure. With more than 40 years in this business, working at first with the tools, then as a construction superintendent, then as a general contractor, later as a developer and now as a construction expert witness and consultant, I was surprised to find as I crawled my way through the construction debris, just how little I could actually see.

It is therefore of vital importance that attorneys representing such cases have their construction experts on site during the uncovering of important construction connections (to unpeel the onion, as it were) when demolishing or retrofiting the damaged structure. A five-penny sinker nail is not much different from a four-penny cooler nail when installed, until you pull it, since the holding power of the two are miles apart from an engineering point of view.

From a strictly legal point of view, a construction site is so often an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. To solve the conundrum and unwrap the enigma, a cursory look is just not enough.

Michael Solender is a Construction Defects Expert. Visit his site at: http://constructiondefectsexpert.com

[tags]construction expert,construction attorneys,construction projects,building code,construction[/tags]

The foreclosure process is just that. It is a process. The duration of this process varies from property to property and is contingent on an assortment of other factors. Investors interested in acquiring homes and properties that are being foreclosed upon should investigate as to what the entire process entails and the present status of the property is before moving forward on a potential deal. The mandatory laws, rules, and regulations that exist within each state also have to be identified and taken in consideration before moving forward.

The first hint that a home or property might be headed down the path of foreclosure is a missed payment. Sure, people are busy and a payment may be overlooked once in a while, but for the most part, a missed mortgage payment is often the first sign of borrower distress. To ensure that there are no inconsistencies in the payment schedule, a payment should always be made prior to the date on which it is due. A borrower should take every precaution to make sure that a late payment is avoided. How a lender will react to an initial late payment can vary. Most banks and lenders are understanding and are willing to work with the borrower to resolve any problematic situations. It is when the late payments start to be the expected pattern that they may become less willing to lenient.

Even if a payment is made on the actual day it is due, technically, if it is received by the end of the day, it is considered late. This may not be the standard that all banks and lenders adhere to, but it is common practice. However, especially in economic times such the ones we are in currently, most lenders have become accustomed and may even expect to receive a late payment here and there from their clients. The reality is that they generally do not mind if a payment is a couple of days late as long as the payment is made and their money is received. Most banks and lenders allow a grace period which is defined at their discretion (usually between 3-10 days) where they are willing to accept a late payment without applying any late fees and/or additional charges.

If a payment is missed and has still not been paid after the fifteenth day from which it was due lenders or landlords usually take some type of action to retrieve the payment due. Although this action taken may not involve legal proceedings, a phone call may be made or a letter may be sent requesting that the renter and/or borrower pay what is owed. At this time, it is probable that the lender will insist on an additional late fee charge to be applied to the payment amount.

A payment that still has not been received after about forty five days signifies a definite problem. At this point the borrower has not only missed one payment but is well on his/her way to missing yet another one. Homeowners in this situation are at serious risk of breaching the initial contract. A letter demanding either payment options or other specific instructions regarding moving or eviction is usually sent via certified mail. At this point, the lender or bank has take legal precautions and the official foreclosure of the home or property is just around the corner.

Around day ninety, which is roughly about three months, a lender directs the case to the foreclosure department it is associated with and the foreclosure process is legally put into effect. Lawyers and attorneys are now a part of the proceedings. The foreclosed home or property in question is published and is formally on the market, anxiously awaiting to be next great deal to an investor.

Jeff Adams is a full time investor who has done over 350 deals and is a leading expert in the buying and selling of real estate. For more information visit http://www.FreeForeclosureCourse.com or sign up for a free seven day e-course at http://www.RealEstateWebProfits.com.

[tags]real estate investing, buying and selling homes and property[/tags]

Towards the end of the year people are often starting to plan and make changes to their bookkeeping businesses. Very often I get asked a lot of questions from our members and other freelance bookkeepers about how to go about presenting their services to prospective clients. Most of us are accountants by trade, not sales people. But when we are trying to sell our services and get our prospective clients to buy from us, we have to think like salespeople. Listening to these prospective clients and really hearing what it is that they need is the key step to bringing in new clients.

Step 1 - You need to prepare for your meeting
- In the initial phone call start building rapport and building value by listening to what they need.
- Think about the questions you will be initially asking that pertain to their particular business.
- Make sure you will be meeting with the key decision makers.

Step 2 - Meeting the prospect
- Develop a trust between you and the prospect. It will set the stage for getting the right answers to your questions.
- Get the conversation going by smiling and being friendly.
- Always remember that a prospect cannot evaluate your skill set - they can only evaluate you as a person. Act accordingly.

Step 3 - What is your Company Story
- Explain who you are and what it is you do to build creditability.
- Explain what your objectives are with the potential client.
- Talk about how you are different from other firms and why they should go with your firm instead of the alternatives.

Step 4 - Ask the tough questions
- Find out what they know, what they don’t know and how they are doing things. Find out what they need. Be the detective.
- Remember - There is a reason they made the appointment with you. If they didn’t need some kind of help, you wouldn’t be there.
- Do not focus on the sale but listen for the areas of pain in the business.
- Never assume anything.

Step 5 - Qualify the Client
- Determine whether or not they can afford your services.
- Confirm that they really need your help.
- Decide if this is a client you even want to have.

Step 6 - Closing the sale
- Re-iterate your discoveries. You have found the areas that are important to the prospect. You have explained how your services can help service their needs and you have differentiated your services from the competition.
- Ask them if they have any questions.
- Price the package or service you are offering.
- Have you asked 3 times if they have any questions?
- Answer their objections.

With these six steps you are on your way to becoming a pro at sales. Just be sure to practice, practice, practice. As long as you stick to these guidelines and put in the time fine tuning your personal sales technique, you should have no problems closing sales and growing your business to where you want it to be.

Laurie O’neil, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Advisor, is the founder of Innovative Financial Services, LLC a national bookkeeping firm located in Hartford, CT who offers advice to other freelance bookkeepers and business owners. For more information go to http://www.infinancialservices.com

[tags]bookkeep, bookkeeping, accounting, QuickBooks, sales, sale, sell[/tags]

Time and time again, I run into so many freelance bookkeepers who do not invest in an insurance policy. I have to stress to you how important it is to make this investment.

Most of us start our business because of the passion we have for what we do. Unfortunately, owning a business also comes with a lot of accountability and responsibility. Although we strive to service our clients to the best of our capabilities, a client’s perception of our quality of service may be entirely different. If for any reason they wind up thinking you did them wrong, it can open you up to a can of worms if you are not protected.

For instance, did you know that if you take a client to court for non-payment of a bill, let’s say over the small claims threshold of $5,000 so it ends up in civil court, the client can counter sue you if they feel there are errors in your work? Did you know that depending upon the errors and omissions insurance you purchased, the policy will cover your legal fees?

Better yet, did you know that your general liability insurance can protect you against employee dishonesty and forgery? Your regular policy covers a small portion of this, but you can always have an additional policy added with higher thresholds included. I discovered this little tidbit of information when I was researching whether or not I needed to be bonded. At the time we had run into an issue with a local payroll company who failed to make the tax payments for their clients and all the clients were held liable for their tax payments. Turns out the bond did not cover the client at all.

Here are insurances you should have:

1. General Liability policy: Protects the assets of the business. It can protect you for property replacement, theft, medical expenses, employment practices, employee dishonesty, forgery, personal property, papers and records.

2. Professional Liability Policy: Covers you against errors, omissions and negligence. It protects your company from claims if your client holds you responsible for errors or failure to complete the work performed as promised in your contract.

3. Worker’s Compensation: Covers any injuries that may happen to an employee while they are working, whether it be off premise, in the car or even a work related illness.

Invest in yourself and protect yourself from the unexpected. Take my word for it - you do not want to learn THESE lessons the hard way.

Laurie O’neil, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Advisor, is the founder of Innovative Financial Services, LLC a national bookkeeping firm located in Hartford, CT who offers advice to other freelance bookkeepers and business owners. For more information go to http://www.infinancialservices.com

[tags]bookkeep, bookkeeping, accounting, QuickBooks, insurance[/tags]

With today’s technological push, finding great ways to utilize some of the new technology out there can be time consuming and very painful. One thing you will learn about me is that I am a great proponent of pushing time to the end of its limits. Time is the very essence of our business. One of my biggest challenges was figuring out how to maximize my time.

One of the services I offer is physically going on-site to a client’s location, but sometimes going on-site isn’t always feasible or cost-effective. After looking at some of the remote access software currently available, here are my top 3 choices.

One of my favorites is a site called LogMeIn. This site has software which allows me to remote into my client’s desktop. LogMeIn acts in a real-time fashion, has printing capabilities, and is very easy to set-up. You can use LogMeIn for any training capabilities you may have with your clients. You can even switch the control of the mouse back and forth between you and your client. One especially nice feature is that it can be installed on a wide variety of operating system platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, etc. The initial download is free, there is a 30 day trial available, and they also have a “free” plan though the limitations may be too restrictive.

Another similar software is WebEx. This software works in a similar fashion as LogMeIn, but setting up the printing can be a bit cumbersome at times. Unlike LogMeIn, I have also found that WebEx can be sluggish at times. However, WebEx is constantly making improvements to their product and sending out new releases so I would definitely consider them as an option.

One last piece of software that I’ll mention is GoToMyPC. I have found that GoToMyPC is extremely efficient and user friendly, offers similar features as LogMeIn and WebEx, but the monthly cost seems to run a little higher than others.

I would highly recommend testing each one of the services out for their offered free trial period. Set up a remote connection to another computer in the office and test it from both aspects. Answer questions like, “Is it fast enough, or will it simply take too long to maneuver and enter transactions?”, “Will my client be able to install the software on their computer without the help of a tech?”, “How often do I plan on using the service and what service levels will best suit my needs?”. Once you have these questions answered, your choice should be clear.

No matter what your preference is, each package can help you achieve great results in order to get the work done for the client remotely.

Laurie O’neil, an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Advisor, is the founder of Innovative Financial Services, LLC a national bookkeeping firm located in Hartford, CT who offers advice to other freelance bookkeepers and business owners. For more information go to http://www.infinancialservices.com

[tags]bookkeep, bookkeeping, accounting, QuickBooks, remote, access, software, review[/tags]

Who else wants to learn how to make $100,000 in their first year online, legally, ethically and without any previous experience? And best of all, witout fear or doubt.

That’s what this article will be about. You can make $100,000 on the internet in a year, and it’s easy. Just follow the steps that is required and you’ll easily start to see amazing results.

When you believe you can create your own $100,000 business you’ll quickly start to see more and more money, faster and faster results, with less effort… Simply because you believe. So here are the steps you need to take in order to start getting that money coming in to your accounts on a regular basis.

There are a few ways to do it. Sell something for $10,000 to 10 people. Sell something for $1,000 to 100 people. Sell something for $500 to 200 people. You can also sell something for $10 to 10,000 people. It’s up to you what you want to do, but if you don’t belive you can provide $1,000 of value to 100 people you will never be able to sell 100 copies of that product or service, right? Right…

So before you start you will need to find a niche where people will pay that kind of money, or more, for a product or service. The best niche, I personally know for this is the “internet marketing” or “real estate” niches. Hundreds of products are sold for thousands of dollars each and every day in these niches. That’ll be your fastest road to $100,000 this year.

Then you will also need to figure out how you want to deliver this to the customer, or if there are people out there who already have these types of products and allow you to sell them for a cut of the sale. This is called affiliate marketing and can be the fastest, most lucrative way to start earning a substancial amount of money from the internet.

Imagine getting 50% on a $1,000 product, and selling 1 or 2 of those per day. That’s $1,000 a day you make. And some of these products are out there, selling like wildfire at 10-20% of visitors coming to the websites, because of such amazing marketing.

That is really mind boggling, I know, but it’s also the truth. That’s how people are getting insanely rich from the internet. They are selling items, or even information on the internet to people who want or need it. It’s a real science and it can be broken down into step-by-step instructions, which is why thousands upon thousands of people have been successful in this business, using these strategies to make themselves free of money worries.

Click HERE to grab a SECRET interview with an internet marketing LEGEND, who makes MILLIONS of dollars using these prinicples! And also recieve $885 in FREE gifts!

[tags]start an internet business, start an online business, get started with internet marketing[/tags]

In regards to the process of foreclosure on a home or property, some states incorporate a judicial process whereas others take a non-judicial route. Prior to committing to a particular foreclosure, it is important to know which process the state in which the property of interest is in incorporates. This will give you information on what type of process you will be dealing with and what contracts will be needed in making the deal. For example the state of California requires a trust deed contract and the foreclosure process is a Power of Sale, whereas in the state of New York, investors need are required to utilize a mortgage contract as this state employs a judicial process.

The judicial process only works in lien theory states. The process is put into effect when a lender files a complaint in regards to a foreclosure property. The lender officially declares its plans to take legal action against the borrower. Of course, evidence of loan default and late payment on the loan must be admitted for the case. A Lis Pendens, which is an official document that is a matter of public record, is served to the borrower. This document serves as a summons by the court and the state that a lawsuit has been filed against the borrower.

The judicial process, as its title indicates, involves the services of a judge and any issues are resolved within a courtroom. The case is presented before a judge, with or without the presence of a jury. The outcome of the case is contingent on the final decision of the judge. If a borrower cannot provide sufficient evidence in support of his/her case, the judge generally rules in the favor of the lender. The lender then takes possession of the home or property. The public at large is notified of the for sale status of the foreclosure. It is at this time that the piece of real estate ether goes to public auction and is sold to the highest bidder or it is sold to another investor privately.

States that incorporate a non-judicial foreclosure process are in a sense being precautionary because specifications foreseeing possible problems that may occur are included. This process works in theory states so liens are not necessary. The non-judicial foreclosure process does not involve the approval of the court system. Instead, a trust deed agreement is established that pre-authorizes the sale of the property in question if the borrower defaults on the loan.

The next step requires that the lender sends a notice of default to the trustee notifying of the default on the loan by the borrower. It is at this time the foreclosure process begins. In addition, the trustee also is inclined to prepare a notice of default which is filed with the county courthouse. The filing makes the foreclosed property a matter of public record. An estimated time period for sale of the property is established and if it is not sold during this time frame, a notice of sale is recorded with the county courthouse. As with the judicial process, the foreclosure is then either sold to the highest bidder at public auction or to another investor.

It is always a good idea to research laws, rules and regulations, and pre-existing conditions and terms regarding a piece of real estate. Being prepared and knowledgeable of any and all limitations in regards to the property and the state within which it is located, and also what you can expect to encounter can make the whole foreclosure process less complicated and sealing the deal will be a much smoother process.

Jeff Adams is a full time investor who has done over 350 deals and is a leading expert in the buying and selling of real estate. For more information visit http://www.FreeForeclosureCourse.com or sign up for a free seven day e-course at http://www.RealEstateWebProfits.com.

[tags]investing in real estate, buying and selling houses, state laws, judicial and non-judicial states[/tags]