Archive for category Investing

Check Applicant Work History – Lying Is a Sign of the Need for Greed

Posted by William Franks in Real Estate on June 29th, 2009

I’ve found it a must to check applicant work history when reviewing my top candidates for an open position within the company. The bottom line is that the need for greed amongst some applicants is so high that inevitably they’ll fabricate entire sections of resumes in order to try to dupe you into hiring them. They figure (and rightly so honestly) that they don’t have to know everything about the job they’re going for – they just need to know more than you.

So don’t let them know more than you!

When I’m filling a maintenance position I do not go down to the department and study every wrench in the toolbox. I’m not a mechanic and I’m not all that big on grease. On the other hand what I DO know is that if someone was hired to do a mechanic’s job at a manufacturing plant his job title probably would not include the title “Janitor” or “Custodial Engineer”. So I check applicant work history. Many times just the threat of such a background check will make (bad or suspect) applicants simply evaporate.

Some try me anyway but I always catch them. I figure my job is to give the department manager a selection of candidates to choose from that meet the minimum qualifications he or she provided. If that slate of candidates doesn’t fill the position I drop down a rung and see who is left. I NEVER send the fraudulent resumes to the hiring manager. Those get returned with a copy of the results of my check applicant work history search and a canned (but polite) rejection letter. In truth they really don’t deserve it but I’m still representing my company when I write to applicants, so I play nice.

This is especially true in the case of doing executive background checks. I still dislike the liars, but sometimes these same frauds end up in executive positions elsewhere – and believe me once in a position of power those folks willing to lie to get a job can be equally ruthless in keeping it. So I make sure to play nice, even when they don’t.

Read more about checking applicant work history and employment background checks in general:
Executive Background Checks and the Employment History Background Check – Do It, Do It, Do It!
Pre-Employment Criminal Background Check Companies – They’ll Save Your Bacon

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Landlords Who Tenant Screen Always Come Out Ahead

Posted by Andreas Schultz in Real Estate on June 28th, 2009

Why it’s a big secret that landlords who tenant screen are more successful with their properties than landlords who don’t is beyond me.  A quick but thorough review and verification of facts provided on rental applications makes everyone (both landlords and tenants) rest easier at night.  It’s always been my experience that people who wish to live peacefully with their neighbors are usually willing to give up a small amount of their privacy to do so – and don’t mind if I tenant screen – so long as they know everyone else goes through the same process.

I usually present my background check consent form prior to giving out any applications.  If the prospect hands me back a completed and signed consent form, they get to fill out a renter application form.  If they don’t fill out the consent form, no rental application, no exceptions.  There is nothing more disruptive to your peaceful investment property than trying to evict a stubborn, deadbeat tenant – so don’t let them in the door in the first place.  Get the signed consent form, tenant screen them with your renter credit check service, and if they’re no good – don’t rent to them…. even if the bank is screaming at you for money.  Believe me – it’s easier to find a new applicant than to evict a non-payer AND find a new applicant. 

When times are hard and units are empty you have to hold your nerve and keep advertising until a good tenant comes along.  How do you know when you’ve got a decent applicant?  Simple.  Clean credit history (but at least some history), good prior landlord relations (if any), and verified source of stable employment.  Remember… you’re not just checking out the renter at this point.  If he works for a seasonal employer – like construction – you need to ask what he or she does during the off season.

Have some faith, and do your homework.  Tenant screen.  Investigate people who turn in renter applications.  Do not let your guard down, and keep your rates low.  You’ll attract good, stable tenants and keep them a long time.  That… is the secret to running a successful investment property.

Read More on the Tenant Screening Process:
Renter Credit Check – Sample Search Documents from Landlord Tenant Credit Checks
Using A Credit Report Background Check Service – How to Keep It Cheap But Legal
The Tenant Credit and Background Check – What to Ask Your Applicants

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Forex Binary Options Broker | Cheap to Start and Commission Free

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options, Investing on June 19th, 2009

Forex Binary Options Zero Commission Broker

I had trouble finding a forex binary options broker online, but now I can trade binary options on most of the major forex cross rates I want, whether it’s Dollar/Euro, or Yen/Dollar, or Dollar/Pound. I am very pleased with the informative articles at the trading binary options blog as well. (See a comparison of the leading retail binary options broker platforms)

Trade Binary Options on Any of the Following Forex Cross Rates

Here are the currently trading forex binary options at my broker:

Yen/Pound US Dollar/Canadian Dollar
Yen/US Dollar Euro/US Dollar
Yen/Euro US Dollar/Pound
Australian Dollar/US Dollar US Dollar/Swiss Franc

Any of the above forex option cross rates can be currently traded commission free. US Traders take note that at present StockPair is the only broker able to offer forex binary options to US traders – read more in an online Stockpair review.

Other Binary Options Trading – Stocks, Indices, and Foreign Stocks

Other securities on which binary options are presently trading include securities and indices such as:

BMW Nasdaq Index
DAX Index Microsoft
Volkswagon General Electric
Siemens Google

These stocks plus several other well known, highly liquid securities are trading on the binary options exchange every day. Nearly all the binary options have both an hourly expiry binary option or an end of day expiry binary option.

Binary Options Trading is Cheap!

It’s cheap and easy to open a binary options trading account. Brokers charge no commissions on trades and it only takes a hundred bucks to open an account. Last I looked they were even offering a bonus of $100 on a $500 initial deposit. How cool is that when they give you a hundred bucks just for trading with them?

Find a Forex Binary Option Broker Today

Other Information Available About Binary Options Brokers:

Forex Binary Options: Trade Options with Just $100
Binary Options Trading Tutorial
Free Options Trading for Beginners

Leading Binary Options Broker Reviews and Ratings:
AnyOption Review
Optionbit Review
optionFair Review
GlobalOption Review

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Why Not Use Currency Option Trading to Make Extra Money?

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options on June 14th, 2009

Currency option trading can be a great way to make extra money if you have some concept of how money flows throughout the world.  With a few well placed trades on a daily basis a good trader can net easily between $300 and $1000 a day because certain types of currency option trading turns over hourly… meaning a good trader can turn his capital over very rapidly on a daily basis.

I’ve had a lot of great success trading the US Dollar / Euro cross rate, but don’t let that limit where you trade.  Oh, and the million dollars of collateral you used to need to open a currency options trading account?  You can leave that at home because you can open a currency option trading acount with all of $100.00

I hope your investment returns are awesome this year, lord knows we need a serious bounce back after last year’s collapse.  Check out all the info you can on currency option trading because it’s becoming a great market for the educated little guy.

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Binary Options Trading System | Hedge and Double Strategy

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options on June 11th, 2009

I recently saw a binary options trading system that really mitigates a lot of the risk associated with this type of high flying trade, while preserving your capital in the meantime.  Hence it was appropriately named the Hedge and Double Options Trading System.

Day trading options is extremely exciting and lucrative, but it can also be very risky, as many have found out the hard way.  The most awesome thing about day trading binary options is that small capital players like me can have access to both sides of the trade, both put and call, putting intelligent but under-funded traders like me on a level playing field with better capitalized traders.  I’d made a few bucks trading standard options but I’d always had to be on the buy side of the action – calls only.  I didn’t even have enough capital to buy covered puts!  Needless to say it’s hard for a trained trader to make money in investing without all the weapons at his disposal.  Not anymore.

At least on the most liquid stocks and the most traded currencies I now have the ability to use options trading systems such as the Hedge and Double binary options trading system to work on a level playing field – which allows me to use my experience and training properly. Take a few minutes out of your day to learn how to use these incredibly powerful securities to your advantage. In our trading course you will learn several ways how to hedge with options.

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Option Trading Tutorial – Binary Option Trading

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options on June 11th, 2009

So I ran into an option trading tutorial online the other day and thought I’d share it with you here.  This covers a relatively new field called binary option trading.  It’s a cheap way for smaller capital investors to make some big gains in a short period of time.  If you know what is stock options trading already, then this binary options trading primer comparing the similarities and differences between binary options trading and  standard options trading will get you up to speed quickly. 

Having said that, it is a great time in America to be getting into this market.  Because of the de-leveraging all the banks had to go through in the last several months, trillions of dollars of equities and currency options trading positions had to be unwound, particularly in the highly liquid stocks  in the binary option trading area.  Right now new brokers are aggressively going after new business. 

I suppose I should talk a little more about the option trading tutorial.  It goes into what sort of stocks are covered (virtually all are household names, plus the major US dollar/forex options trading of exchange rates), it talks about what sorts of positions you can take (basically call and put), and it also has an interesting options hedging strategy as well on one of the related links.

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Binary Options Trading – Exciting New Opportunity for Small Investors

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options on June 11th, 2009

Binary options trading is a relatively little known field in the world of investing however it affords individual investors short on capital the ability to get in on the action in the lucrative world of option trading.  It’s really quite cheap to get in on the action – all it takes is $100 to open an account.  Trades are made on the most highly liquid securities as well as the major US Dollar / forex option trading exhange rates.

That’s another issue altogether, currency option trading I mean.  That field used to require millions of dollars in collateral just to enter the game, now everyone is playing.  I’ve only been doing binary options trading for a short while now but it is totally exciting to be playing on the same field as the big names in currency options trading like George Soros and others.  These are very exciting times.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my binary options trading broker is offering a special $100 bonus for signing up for an account and depositing just $500.  See more details here.

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Tenant Credit and Background Checks Pay Huge Dividends

Posted by Andreas Schultz in Real Estate on May 15th, 2009

If you’re not doing tenant credit and background checks but are in the investment real estate or property management business, why aren’t you?  The most important thing you can do to protect your investment is to properly and thoroughly screen potential tenants before you ever hand over the keys.

Doing a cursory background check to verify the basic information obtained on your application will go a long way toward sorting out who the real candidates are.  Once you have it narrowed down to one or two potential new tenants, then do a full FCRA compliant credit check to be absolutely certain the person you’re renting to is credit worthy.  A rental credit background check is your best defense against bad credit tenants.

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Making a Killing Trading Options on Financial System Weakness

Posted by Options Trading in Day Trading Options on May 1st, 2009

This has to have been one of the most lucrative periods in history for individual options traders to make money day trading.  With the way banks and institutions have had their hands tied for several quarters since the Lehman Brothers collapse, those who did continue to have access to credit have been fortunate indeed.   If you don’t know much about options or don’t want to manage a portfolio you can still use something like an option advising service to do it for you (read more about automated options trading).  If you have excess capital to day-trade, there probably is no better time in history than now due to the ‘house’ – the banks – has it’s hands tied and is unable to enter the market freely to take on risk.

It remains to be seen whether the Dow will ever dip below 7,000 again (don’t hold your breath) but there have been NUMEROUS good option picks to trade on the dips.  I’m not sure how much longer banks will be un-winding their leveraged positions and sorting out the credit-default swap mess but every time they are forced to dump shares on the market to ‘raise capital’ that is the moment to strike again into the options market for calls (see a basic call option example).

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Automated Options Trading the Wall Street Rally Makes Big Bucks

Posted by web publicity with onefineham in Day Trading Options on April 9th, 2009

I shouldn’t have to say it, but the present recovery on Wall Street is really amping up the returns on my portfolio.  Because I use an automated options trading program I make my picks long in advance, wait for the market to move and the trades automatically excute while I eat caviar (well, ok, it’s tuna but what the heck).  My trades are programmed in such a way that I’m forced to buy low and sell high.  I don’t necessarily always buy at the bottom (though I must say I’ve done quite well), and I don’t always sell at the top either.  On the other hand the disciplined approach that is born of automation takes the worst part of emotion out of the equation.  In other words…

When I hit a buy price, the automated options trading program buys the specific number of contracts.

When I hit a sell price, the automatic options trading program sells the specified number of contracts.

At the end of the day (or week, or month, or quarter, or however long it takes) I consistently have more than when I started.  Stock prices became so battered in Q1 09 I can’t imagine there will be too many people who bought in during Q1 who will ultimately end up in the red.

If you want to read a bit more about automated options trading my buddy Martin Sage has written a couple of pieces on it.

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