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I've known a lot of people who have lost money when they sold their homes. In fact, I'm one of those people, and it's happened to me more than once.

There are a number of factors can cause a financial loss when you sell your house, including the need to sell at the wrong time due to divorce or an impending foreclosure, or a downturn in the local real estate market. However, it's also common to lose money simply by making too many expensive changes to the house before putting it on the market. This is how I lost money on real estate, before I wised up.

My most resounding failure in the fix it and flip it market was a house I bought in Spokane, Washington. Knowing what I know now, I would have restricted myself to replacing the carpets and the kitchen and bathroom fixtures, painting inside and out, and buying new appliances. I probably would have replaced the old-style windows, too, to make the place look nicer and appeal to the energy-conscious buyer. These fixes could have been done easily within the two years I needed to live there to avoid capital gains taxes.

Since I didn't know what I know now, I made major renovations, which included moving the bathroom. I did most of the work myself, but the materials alone cost more than I could get back when the house was sold. With the exception of repairs done to the house to make it eligible for an FHA loan and watering the grass, I doubt that any of my major projects really helped me sell the house or increased its value.

If a house is actually sound, with no structural damage or insect problems, the biggest reason it will sell for less than its worth is usually cosmetic. This was certainly true of the house I bought in Spokane. Dirty carpeting, and a wall in the living room covered with mirror tiles, kept most buyers from going any further into the house. I could see past the cosmetic problems and see the home's full potential - but my imagination went a bit too far.

The floor plan was odd, and slightly inconvenient, but leaving the bathroom where it was would have been far more rational, financially. Why didn't I do that? Because my emotions and my nesting instincts took over, pushing aside all thought of future gain or loss.

Let's face it - most people don't buy their own homes with the intention of making a profit, although they certainly hope the house will be a good investment. In fact, the emotional stress caused by the process of buying a house and moving into it can be enough to completely erase any thought of moving again a few years later. However, I know several families who have made a very good living by buying underpriced homes, living in them and fixing them up, and then selling them when the IRS will allow them to do so without paying extra taxes. Clearly, these folks don't make any changes to these houses without carefully considering the bottom line.

After my Spokane adventure, I decided to learn from my mistakes, and find out how to stop losing money on houses. I read books by authors who are experienced in fixing and flipping houses - and then read them again. When I saw that most remodeling projects almost never recoup their costs when the house is sold, I was a little shocked, because I had been guilty of almost every mistake on the list at one time or another. I know many people who have also made the same mistakes, even when they started those remodeling projects with the intention of increasing the value of their homes.

When I bought my next house, I kept that list very firmly in mind. For instance, my kitchen was badly in need of a major overhaul, (or so I believed), and it was far too small. I pored over the latest home decorating magazines, and ideas came flooding into my head. I thought about knocking out some walls, and I even tried to imagine adding on to the house to make the kitchen bigger. New cabinets would be needed, and new appliances...

In the end I painted the kitchen cabinets and replaced the sink with a new one I purchased at Ikea. I covered the chipped orange Formica counters with printed cotton fabric, and coated it with many layers of water-based Verathane that was intended to protect wood floors. The complete "remodel" cost less than $400, as opposed to the thousands of dollars that I would have spent if I followed through on my idle dreams of a "perfect" kitchen. Since the house sold at a very good price within two weeks of listing it, my buyer obviously didn't mind that the kitchen didn't meet my idea of perfect. Because I kept my costs down, I made a handy profit on the sale.

Would I have been able to sell the house for more money if the kitchen had been remodeled and expanded? Perhaps, but not enough to cover the cost of the remodel. Although the National Association of Realtors lists a kitchen remodel as one of the projects that will increase a house the most, they still advise that you should expect to get back only 80% of the costs. If your new kitchen is far fancier, bigger, and more expensive than any other kitchen in the neighborhood, the returns will be even less. A full kitchen remodel can cost thousands of dollars, so the 20% you don't get back can be a big chunk of change.

Does this mean that you shouldn't make changes to your home that would make you happy? Not at all, especially if you intend to live there for many years. But it does pay to sit down with your spouse or partner before you start making your remodeling plans, determine exactly how long you'll be staying in the home, and then think about the full financial implications of the remodeling project. Even if you don't think of yourself as a professional house flipper, it might pay to slow down a bit and find ways to improve the home without spending money you'll never see again. As a bonus, your family might be able to avoid the stress and disruption of all that remodeling mess.

Jonni Good is the author of a new report that shows how she used these fix it and flip it ideas - and how the profit allowed her to buy her next house with cash. Visit - http://www.BuyAHouseWithCash.com

Once other animals such as cattle, sheep and goats became domesticated, man became aware of the dogs herding ability. Tactics used by hunting wolves, witnessed by humans, such as driving and separating one animal from the flock, were further exploited and bred into these dogs. As in other dogs, the animals possessing the best inherent herding abilities were further developed to assist human shepherds in their daily duties.

As you know, German Shepherds fall into the Herding Category of dog breeds- the breed was derived in the late 1800s from several different types of herding stock.

As the breed gained popularity, it also gained new jobs and duties as varied as can be possibly imagined- from work in the wars, search-and-rescue, tracking, police work, protection, to guide dog, companion dog and more. Still, some animals(GSDs) are used today actively as herding dogs.

Exactly what is involved in the process of herding? First, a willingness to work and to cooperate with others. In the wild wolves or wild dogs work as a unit when hunting prey and each animal may have a particular job to fulfill in order to bring down the intended victim. Some may be following the prey while others attempt to head it off.

Still, another may be the pack leader who in essence coordinates the events of the hunt. Herding dogs now work essentially with a human as pack leader in attempting to control herds of livestock.

Herding dogs may have natural abilities and fall in one of two basic categories- either that of gatherer or driver. Drivers generally move the stock away from the handler while still grouped, while gatherers tend to head off stock, keep them grouped and move them toward the handler. Generally speaking, gatherers are more versatile than drivers and it is much easier to cross train a gatherer to drive than it is to cross train a driver to gather.

Overall, principles of herding are based on the dogs natural instincts though other training methods abound. First dogs must obey the handler and follow commands.

This, along with mutual trust and respect, are the most important aspects of the working relationship between the dog(s) and the handler. After being introduced to stock, the animals are taught to position themselves in relation to the handler and stock based on their job and the direction in which the herd is to be moved. It is the handlers job to give the dog guidance in working the stock.

Later in training directional commands are learned by the animal in training. Most commands are in the form of verbal cues or whistles although visual commands may sometimes be involved as well. Possible commands may include easy or steady (move slowly), stop, down, or flanking commands such as move counterclockwise or clockwise around the herd. Once the dog masters the basic gathering commands it is taught to drive the herd and as it learns each lesson, it is taught other more difficult commands.

Qualities a good herding dog must possess are obedience, trainability, adaptiveness, good health, responsiveness and, most importantly, being able to use its own judgment. Standing up to uncooperative stock or being gentle with cooperative stock are other qualities of utmost importance in an actual working herding dog.

Article written and reprinted with permission of: http://www.pedigreedpups.com/
Purebred Dogs, Puppies and Dog Breeders - "Your New Best Friend"

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

Debbie Ray, owner of http://www.pedigreedpups.com and http://www.total-german-shepherd.com, is a lifelong animal lover and dog enthusiast. Interested in more dog information? Training and health tips? Thinking about getting a purebred dog? Interested in the German Shepherd Dog in particular? Need to promote your dog related website and get additional in bound links? Check out pedigreedpups.com , total-german-shepherd.com or http://www.pedigreeddogs.com (purebred dog breed directory) for more information.

You need a simple, doable, repeatable and workable system that is all set up and in place and that offers to show others how to make money on the Internet and which makes money itself. The simpler, more doable, repeatable and workable, the better. This a very key point of attraction to those looking to make money on the Internet. Therefore, you have to promote THIS as what you have to offer.

You see, people are not likely to respond to your offer to join your downline to make a six-figure income or some such offer even though that's what everyone wants. Those offers can be found almost everywhere and yours is likely to be received with the typical of attitude of Oh, Ive heard that one before, and it's likely to be rejected or put on the back burner (which usually means never) as can happen so ofteneven if it's SO LOGICAL to accept your offer because it is TRUE they can make so much money. If only they would just do it. It gets to be so you can't believe how stupid and/or blind some people can be sometimes.

Ok, if the people you contact seem to be acting like social pack creatures who are looking for some leader to follow who is not you, how do you get their attention so you can point the way? Well, believe it or not, PEOPLE WOULD RATHER LEARN HOW TO DO SOMETHING THAN ACTUALLY DO IT.

So, the answer is not offering a six-figure income, but offering a solution as to HOW to make money with a very simple, doable, repeatable and workable system that is all set up and in place (that is also very inexpensive but has tremendous potential returnsbut never putting that up front as the sales pitch) AND also pass this advice along to others AND tell them to tell others to do the same, etc., THEN you will create a downline that will create more downline, AND SO ON.

So, where do you find a very simple, doable, repeatable and workable system that is all set up and in place that offers to show others how to make money on the Internet and which makes money itself? You can use these two: http://freedom.ws/timottavi/show_dvd and http://delta.ProWeatlthSuccess.com Go ahead and look at them and you will see that they are very simple, doable, repeatable, workable, very inexpensive and offer tremendous potential income streams for the rest of your life. (And you can probably even bequeath them to your survivors!) When you sign up with these links, you will get your own personalized links.

And how are you going to pass along this advice to create a downline that will create more downline, AND SO ON? Well, right now I am giving you permission to use this article, just as it is, from top to bottom including these words you are reading right now: Put your links in place of mine and put your name and email ID in place of mine at the bottom, save a copy and send it out or use it however you want to create your own downline. This article will be used again and again by those you send it to for sending out to others with THEIR links and names on it which will create more downline, AND SO ON.

This is now all in place for you to make money on the Internet. Go ahead, you have the lead for others to follow.

Tim Ottavi
timottavi@optonline.net

I, Tim Ottavi, officially give you, the reader of the above article, permission to use it as you wish and as your own to pass it on.

In Africa it seems to be all misery and nothing but problems, in the past few months we have had the attempted assassination of the Somali President, the invasion of Northern Somali towns by Ethiopian troops, continuing ethnic problems is Darfur (Sudan) and more than 20 people have been killed in political clashes in the DR Congo capital, Kinshasa, in the latest round of elections.

To top this off, Madonna has been to Africa to adopt a child called David, throwing Malawi into the worlds media. A group of Malawian charities sought a court injunction to try and block the pop star Madonnas bid to adopt a baby boy. A group of Malawian charities said that pop star Madonnas bid to adopt a boy was illegal and sought a court injunction halting the adoption.

The charity obviously didnt have the power (money, fame?) that Madonna has and the adopted baby arrived in UK recently to start his new and privileged life. They have secured a temporary 18-month custody order from the Malawi courts and hope to adopt him formally. How is adopting individual children from overseas going to help with the bigger problem of rampant child poverty in Malawi? Does it matter? Is this not a case of child trafficking?

Westminster Council, which covers the area where Madonna lives in the UK has stated that they regularly received applications from residents wishing to adopt from overseas. I dont understand - Why is this the case when there are hundreds of child in the UK that need adopting and a home just as much as baby David. Would baby David not be better off in his own extended family and community? Louise Richards, from War on Want, added: Madonnas step to adopt the baby is a well-meaning, but misguided act. In the capital Lilongwe, it was claimed that the courts had improperly waived Malawian laws to allow Madonna and Ritchie custody because of their celebrity status. Two months ago the pop superstar announced she was to donate three million dollars (1.6m) to the country through the Raising Malawi charity. May that have had something to do with it I ask?

What ever next from this great continent?

Well. In Rwanda they are starting to use the countrys first litter bins in the capital Kigali. They have appeared in the centre of the city.

Ivory Coast did exceptionally well in the 2006 Soccer World Cup and there is an increasing number of African players in the UK Premier League and throughout Europe.

Increasing oil prices are leading to a boom in certain countries such as Nigeria which is using some of the funds for education and other social programmes (I wont mention recent reports that Nigerian leaders stole 380 billion dollars of oil money in the past 40 years).

Many more African countries are now opening up to attract tourists as the weather is nearly always good and the Safaris and White Water Rafting has to be experienced to believed!

Bono and Live Aid highlighted the problems and the beauty of Africa, while showcasing African talent at a concert in the UK which was echoed around the World.

African debt is decreasing in those countries that has good governments

Once you add African music, dance, food, crafts and culture you have one amazing continent!!!

Davinos Greeno - I work with the Organic directory http://www.guidemegreen.com This growing green products directory lists 100s of Organic and Fairtrade food and drinks companies, jobs at http://www.jobs.guidemegreen.com and Campaigning Videos http://www.videos.guidemegreen.com

Picture the scene. I'm driving sedately in my family car across the desolate moors of Derbyshire, in particular the High Peak area of North West England, the far side of Macclesfield. It's a long, fairly straight road, but there are some vicious bends in it, and if you take them too fast you can end up in the ditch, your car a write-off. Maybe that's why some sections of the road have a 50 miles per hour speed limit. It's known as a dangerous place to drive, and also fairly renowned for having more than its fair share of motorbike traffic. (It seems the 'Easy Riders' like the twists and turns and enjoy the risk. They're asked not to: there are posters at intervals along the road warning them to slow down. They regularly ignore the injunctions. So motor bike riders regularly crash, especially in wet weather.)

This day I'm talking about is fortunately dry. I'm keeping up a good speed, but well within the limit. I don't want to dawdle, because I know that it can annoy those people following. Sure enough, that day, there is a car a few metres behind me, pressing hard, trying to get past. He seems in a bit of a hurry, so, as I want to be helpful, I go as fast as I can (or, strictly speaking, as fast as we are both allowed). He doesn't care about that, he just wants to get ahead. Not surprisingly, he seizes the first chance he can get. As we come down round a bend, he swings out and hammers past me, his engine racing. He didn't judge it very well. The road ahead seemed clear for a while, but a car comes round the bend ahead of us, and my overtaker has to pull in abruptly in order to avoid a collision.

Firstly, he took a chance, an unnecessary risk, simply in order to get ahead. It doesn't help his journey. A mile further on is a junction and I caught him up there. Slightly further on are traffic lights, and he was forced to stop there too. So, simply because he didn't like his position on the road behind me he put all our lives at risk. If he had crashed his car, it might have caused me to come off the road too, plus the people in the car coming towards us. The slightest misjudgement could have been fatal. Being in pole position didn't speed up his journey because it's such a winding road that he couldn't build up enough speed to really get ahead of me. That was a mistake.

Still, let's be fair. He had a car that looked impressive. It was more modern than mine, and made all the right noises. Surely he was entitled to race it? Not if his bad driving put our lives at risk. Second, not if he broke the law, i.e. the speed limits, which were clearly marked and surely there for all our sakes. Anyway, let's think about that. Do we know it was his car? It might have belonged to his employer. Would his boss have encouraged him to hammer his vehicle, knowing it would shorten the serviceable life of the car? What if more likely the car belonged to the bank? Yes, we don't like to think about it, but it's a fact that when we 'buy' things on credit then they don't actually belong to us, not until they're paid off. 'His' car might be yet another consumer possession that the man was able to use, but hadn't quite paid for yet and therefore didn't actually own.

Fourthly, why was he in such a hurry anyway? Now, his employer might be involved at this stage. Maybe he had given the man orders about being at such-and-such a place, to meet a certain person at such a time. Me, I was ambling along because it was early afternoon. I had fulfilled my appointments for the day and was heading home. (The joys of self-employment!) So, our 'boy racer', in his brand new car, isn't a person to be envied all that much, if his time is not his own, and he is 'racing' to perform business that won't actually make him rich and is someone else's priority.

What a disappointment! I may be guessing, but I think that young man in his shiny car was pretty full of himself. He was gunning the engine and assuming that other drivers were envying him, his flash motor and his fast-paced lifestyle. He would be horrified to hear that observers were, in reality, feeling sorry for him, the stresses placed upon him and the way he was wasting his time and energy. Sound familiar? How many of us want to be admired? There's an obvious way to get that. Just go out and do something worthwhile. It might be difficult, of course. But don't expect that you can take the easy way out and simply show off your glossy possessions for the populace in order to earn their admiration automatically. Their pity, maybe, but driving fast cars recklessly, as part of a non-stop, busy lifestyle, is simply a sign of bad time-keeping. Nothing to admire there.

Mike Scantlebury is an Internet Author, with books, stories and self-help material to his credit. He currently lives in Manchester, England, home to a famous soccer team called Manchester United and many fine singers like Morrisey and Graham Nash. Check out further details at his Information site. Try http://www.mikescantlebury.info