Starting A Home Based Business -If you are looking at ways to create additional income, then you are not alone as many people are in the same situation. Many people are checking out the opportunity of starting a home based business for themselves. A home based business can allow you to make a secondary income or to set aside money for a major purchase. If you want to start a home based business and have it become your primary business then there are a number of things that you need to think about before you get started.You need to have a concrete idea of what kind of home based business you want. Are you able to provide a service? I am sure that you have some skillset that someone else needs. There may be a way to start a home business using those skills. Then again, you may want to start a business that you have an interest but you will have a bit of a learning curve. That is fine if you are willing to learn and do the work that is necessary to get up to speed. Whatever you do decide to do, remember you need to have passion in order to make it successful.Your budget for your home based business will determine how quickly you can proceed to profitability. Business enterprises always involve some kind of investment, although you can start a home based business with very little upfront monies. You must remember to put in the time and effort because the more of both that you put in the quicker you will get into profit.A business plan is a great thing to have and is like having a map. It shows you what needs attention and it gives you goals to attain. We all know that things are constantly changing and that is more of a reason to have a business plan because you can then stay focused on the core concepts. So, while you may think you do not need a business plan do not be tempted to forgo this important piece of a home based business. To do so could be the difference between success and failure.The next important part of your home based business is making sure you keep your business on a time schedule. When you are working on your business try not to be distracted with other things unless there is an emergency. It is best if you can have a separate room for business, not only to be able to conduct business but it will have tax advantages.As you can see if you do the proper pre-planning then you have a greater chance at succeeding in your home based business. You will also have to learn the ins and outs of advertising. Without it, no one will know that you are on the Internet. But, that is another conversation. As long as you take each step carefully, you should be able to start a home based business that will pull in a respectable monthly income – and perhaps even allow for you to stop your dayjob finally!
Starting a Home Based Business – Choosing The Right Online Business
Home based businesses provide assistance for you to seek an alternate route to earn a residual income from the comfort of your home. With the inception and expansion of the internet, it has become very easy to transact business from your home using a PC connected to the internet. I am very sure that at some point in your life you must have done a look up on Google to get the best home based business idea available. While it is a very good move to find out ways to make money online it is also important for you to do your due diligence before investing your time and money in any home based business. Thousands of people have fallen prey to unsuspecting scammers on the internet in a bid to make money online; it’s very easy to build a website these days so anyone can design a catchy website just to get your interest and to rip you off your money.Before you supply your credit card numbers to any website, it is pertinent to find out in details what the supposed home based business is all about. There are certain ways you can get information about any make money online from home business. I will be discussing them below:1. Do a Google Lookup: Google can give you just about any piece of information you need just at the click of a button. If for example you find business xyz that claims to be a legitimate home based business, you can do a Google lookup by typing “xyz scam,” Google will automatically bring out any scam report about this online home business. Anyone who has been a victim of the scam would definitely want to share his bad experience with the business.2. Visit Home Based Business Forums: Home based business forums provide a great way for you to interact with forum members to find out the best ways to make money online. You can get all the information you need by connecting with knowledgeable and well experience people in the field of information marketing, website flipping, affiliate marketing etc. depending on the type of forum. You will be amazed at the responses you get when you type in a question.3. Send A Mail To Their Support: It is also useful to send an email to the support of the home based business you intend investing your money and your time into; genuine businesses always take less time to respond depends on the volume of mails they are receiving and most of them have a chat support that can answer your questions almost immediately. Others organize online conferences where you can ask questions and get instant clarifications.4. Start Little: Don’t be tempted to throw in all your cash at any online business; you should have a reserve just in case. Start little and as time goes on you can add more funds to it. I am just suggesting this to you; speaking from experience.I have been burnt and ripped off a couple of times while trying to make money on the internet, I have done several work at home businesses that did not pay off at the end; turned out to be a waste of my time and resource. One honest advice I can give you about a work from home business is to find a legitimate home based business, work with it and stick to it. At the moment, I am promoting one business and making a good chunk of money out of it. It is a very simple and realistic program run by a renowned internet business expert Frederick Mann. I hope to make more money from this business; it’s a definitely sustainable business and anyone who wants to make money online should leverage on it; it’s a simple and understandable process with life supports in the form of online conference calls, you can ask the experts questions and get immediate response.I wish you the best.
Property Managers Owe Fiduciary Duties to Their Clients at Minimum
“Fiduciary” is basically defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as a term derived from Roman law which means, as a noun, a person or legal entity, holding the character of a trustee, with respect to the trust and confidence involved as scrupulous good-faith and candor towards another’s affairs. A fiduciary also has duties which are described as involving good-faith, trust, special confidence, and candor toward another’s interests. Typical fiduciary duties are imposed on and include such relationships as executor, administrator, trustee, real estate agents, attorneys, and, of course, property managers. A person or company who manages money or property, i.e., the manager, for other people must exercise a standard of care in that the interests of the money or property owners are placed above and beyond those of the property manager. In some states, like California for example, a property manager is statutorily defined as an individual or entity which has the same duties as a trustee, i.e., a fiduciary.
The way I always explain it to clients, using my hands to demonstrate, is that my interests end at the top of my head (one hand at the crown of my head), but the client’s interest rise above and beyond my head and take precedent over my own (holding both of my hands above my head in a clasped position). Most people understand the gesture and comprehend that as a property manager and a lawyer my interests are much lower than those of the clients in our relationship.
Common Fiduciary Duties Owed by Property Managers
Since a property manager is a fiduciary they must act with the highest good-faith and fair dealing with respect to the owner’s asset, disclose all material information that may affect the owners decision-making with respect to that asset, and can’t in any way, shape or form act adversely to the owner’s interests. This may sound easy, but there are situations that arise that tempt even the best property managers to sometimes not act in their client’s best interests to suit their own self-interested convenience. Unfortunate as that may sound it happens regularly.
The following is a short list of some common sense duties, rights, and wrongs when a fiduciary relationship exists between a manager and an owner.
A manager should have a written agreement with their clients and may even be legally entitled to profit from services for which they provide to the owner, however, a manager may not secretly profit from this relationship. For example, a manager may charge an eight percent markup on materials and services provided by vendors to the owner’s property. This is legal and acceptable provided that the agreement between the parties is in concert with the markup. If this markup was not in the agreement then the law requires a property manager to disgorge or relinquish any and all secret profits derived from the relationship. There are so many possible examples of this, but a common one is a manager making a percentage profit on work and services provided to their clients but not disclosed; like a new roof, bathroom remodel, repairs to interior walls, etc.
A property manager is required to disclose any and all rental offers received along with documentation of those offers such that the property owner is well informed about all potential tenants. It is easy for a manager to fail to provide names of potential tenants that don’t necessarily qualify or are poor credit risks as this would involve more work for the manager.
A property manager is statutorily required to act for the sole benefit of the asset owner in matters that evolve from the relationship, whether or not those matters are seemingly insignificant or they are significantly material.
Information about a tenant whom falls behind on their rent must be immediately communicated to the asset owner. If your management company is using a software system that allows an “Owner Portal” then this information is readily available to see and anytime one has access to the internet.
If a manager receives information that a tenant has caused damage to a property the owner should be notified as soon as feasibly possible. It is easy for the manager to not disclose this information for fear of confronting the disgruntled owner or just not wanting to deal with the conflict associated with that situation.
Trust Account Duties
A trust account which holds deposits and rent monies for the benefit of the asset owner is a common ground for fiduciary duty breaches. The law precludes a manager from commingling of the client trust funds with broker or manager owned funds.
Additionally, it is a breach of fiduciary duty to make mortgage payments on broker owned properties from a trust account even if the broker quickly reimburses the account for the payments. The statutory prohibition against conducting personal business from trust accounts is strictly enforced.
Surprisingly another common example of commingling of funds occurs when the property management fee is not timely withdrawn from the trust account. Sometimes a delay of twenty-five (25) days could be considered commingling.
Trust funds must also be deposited with expediency. Some states require that deposits must be deposited by no later than the next business day.
Commingling of Trust Funds is a Serious Offense
Commingling of trust and broker funds is such a serious offense it can be grounds for revocation or suspension of a broker’s license in most states. Thus, this sole issue must be of paramount importance to a manager and property management company.
Conclusion
Managers owe fiduciary duties to their clients – this is the minimum standard owed. There are many ways to breach these duties which form the basis for the relationship between the manager and the client. It is important to hire a property manager who understands and abides by the statutory framework, understands fully what a fiduciary duty entails, and can both clearly communicate those duties and at the same time live up to them. It is important for owners to make sure they hire property managers who abide by these minimum standards.