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Buyer’s remorse, in real estate, occurs when your buyer tells you he has changed his mind and no longer wants to purchase your home. Often, the buyer will simply stop returning your calls and refuse to speak to you. Even worse, he may act as if all is well, string you along for weeks, and finally just not show up for the closing.

Usually this issue occurs when the buyer realizes he can not afford your property. Or after signing a contract with you, he may also have continued shopping and found another property he prefers.

Frequent excuses for not closing usually include a job transfer that fell through, unexpected spousal separation, illness of a family member, didn’t like the neighbors when he spoke to them, and a myriad of other things that have gone wrong since he signed your sales contract. Even if his excuse is true, you now face the dilemma of having to resell your home and incur the additional expenses of carrying the property for several months or longer. Even if you are able to rapidly resell your home again, you will have been delayed by at least thirty days and have the loss of carrying your home longer.

Here are some ways to protect yourself from your closing being cancelled:

1.) You should have your mortgage broker pre-qualify the prospective buyer to be certain they can actually afford to buy your home and if they have enough money for closing. The closing cost issue can be overcome by increasing the selling price and giving back the same amount as a seller concession at the closing.

2.) You should make certain that the buyer gets a Good Faith Estimate. Too often, the buyer’s mortgage broker has the buyer sign a blank Good Faith Estimate. The buyer may get a huge surprise, often the day before or the day of closing, when he finds out how much he has to bring to the closing. You have an option, in this case, of reducing your sales price to accommodate the buyer or, even better, you can take back a small second mortgage at the closing to defer a portion of his closing costs.

3.) The best way to guard against these surprises is to be inquisitive about the buyer’s funding status initially and insert a clause in your sales contract that allows you to get information from the buyer’s mortgage broker regarding the Good Faith Estimate and the status of the loan. You have a lot at stake when you sell your home and this is not too much to ask.

4.) Make certain that your sales contract has a non-refundable escrow deposit clause that encompasses any reason including the buyer’s inability to get financing. Most real estate contracts have a provision for the buyer to get a full refund of their deposit if they are unable to get financing. The second most important part of this sales contract clause should include that any extension of the closing will cost the buyer a given rate per day and for a maximum of fifteen days.

A frequent reason for a cancelled closing is a dramatic change in the buyer’s FICO score. Usually this results from large purchases of furniture or an automobile just prior to closing. Inform the buyer of this possible issue by explaining to him that the lender will re-pull his credit report the day of closing and stop the closing if the buyer’s debt ratio has changed too much. Ways to overcome this problem are credit re-scoring by the lender and quick fixes for your credit report, such as increasing the limits on your existing credit cards to adjust your debt ratios.

Many people now use their patio as the center of their home entertaining. But for some homes, the patio is still simply a concrete pad in the back yard. If you want to start using your patio for barbecues, outdoor dining or just as somewhere to sit and relax, then maybe the time has come to do something about the drab, old, and perhaps cracked concrete slab. Why not give it a makeover, and improve the value of your home at the same time?

There are a number of ways you can remodel or transform a concrete pad. Some factors you need to consider include your budget, the condition of the existing concrete, and how much disruption you’re willing to tolerate. If the concrete is in excellent condition, for example, then you may want to simply stain the surface, or perhaps give it a textured coating. These options are quickly and easily performed by a specialized contractor.

Perhaps the concrete is basically sound, but has a few hairline cracks. In that case you can lay porcelain or stone tiles over the top, to give an elegant finish to your patio. It’s a good idea to use tiles with a textured finish, to reduce the risk of slipping when the tiles are wet. You can use other materials such as sandstone, limestone, granite or slate, as long as they are properly sealed. If you often have freezing conditions over winter, then ensure the tiles don’t absorb high levels of water, or they might crack. Be aware, too, that existing cracks in the concrete may expand and cause the tiles on top to crack as well.

If you’re looking for a simple solution, then perhaps modular wood deck tiles would work well. These can cope with a certain amount of cracking in the underlying concrete, without being affected. They’re easy to install by just clicking them into place. Once laid, they stay firmly in place and don’t need any special surface preparation, adhesives or other fixings. They have a plastic base to allow water to pass easily underneath, and to keep the wood away from the sub-surface. You can tile your whole patio area in only an hour or two.

Recently, a ceramic version of the interlocking tile design has been developed, so you have even more options for cheering up your patio. You can intermingle the ceramic tiles with wooden ones, to create interesting designs. For example, you might like to have ceramic tiles underneath your table and chairs, with a wood surround. Add a few plants in pots, and your boring old concrete patio will be totally transformed.

In the wake of the latest Budget announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, there is growing confusion about which cars will be clobbered for more tax according to one of the UK’s leading car insurers.

Swinton Car Insurance is concerned that the latest wave of car tax rises outlined by Gordon Brown is leaving drivers unsure about which category their car fits into and whether their vehicle is one of the heaviest polluters.

The Manchester-based insurance company believes that the vast majority of drivers of family saloon type vehicles are unsure where their car fits on the pollution scale and how much it is costing them.

But, more alarmingly, an increasing number of drivers are getting worried that they may unwittingly be falling into Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) banding brackets which are becoming demonised for being so-called gas guzzlers.

Jon Kirk of Swinton Insurance said that it is all very well the Chancellor raising car tax for the heaviest polluting vehicles and lowering it for the most environmentally friendly cars, but the simple truth is very few people actually know which of the seven A-G bandings their cars fall into.

“It came as no surprise that the Chancellor put up car tax on the heaviest polluting vehicles in the latest Budget,” said Jon. “And most people know that 4×4s are the worst polluters on UK roads, but that’s not the whole story.”

As he points out, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed that the worst polluting band only accounted for 7.5 per cent of all new cars sold in 2006.

At the other end of the scale the number of cars which fall into the first two bands only accounts for 4.7 per cent of cars.

“This means that nearly 90% of cars on UK roads fall into just four of the seven bands,” said Jon. “So you can see where the concern is arising as there seems to be a huge mid-ground where owners of typical family cars can’t be sure where on the scale they are in terms of carbon emissions.”

Swinton Insurance points to a list of examples of cars in the different bands to try to help clear up some of the confusion.

Band A (cars which emit less than 100g/km) includes the Honda Insight petrol electric hybrid and the Smart diesel.

Band B (cars which emit between 101-120g/km) includes the Toyota Prius 1.5 litre petrol-electric hybrid, Smart car 0.7 litre petrol, Citroen C2 1.4 litre diesel and the Ford Fiesta 1.4 diesel.

Band C (cars which emit between 121-150g/km) includes Fiat Panda 1.2 petrol, Ford Ka 1.3 petrol, VW Golf 1.9 TDI diesel, Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi diesel hatchback and the Jaguar X-type 2.0 diesel saloon.

Band D (cars which emit between 151-165g/km) includes the VW Passat estate 1.9 TDI diesel, MINI One hatchback 1.6 petrol, Ford Fiesta 1.6i petrol and the Peugeot 307 1.4 petrol.

Band E (cars which emit between 166-185g/km) includes the Ford Mondeo saloon 1.8i petrol, Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 petrol saloon, Rover 75 1.8 petrol and the Toyota Avensis 1.8 petrol saloon/hatchback.

Band F (cars which emit between 186-225g/km) includes the Land Rover Freelander 2.0 diesel, Toyota RAV4 2.0 litre petrol, Audi A4 1.6 petrol, BMW 5 series estate 3.0 diesel and the Mazda MX5 2.0 petrol.

Band G (cars which emit more than 225g/km) includes the Jaguar X-type 2.0 petrol saloon auto, Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe 3.6 litre petrol, Renault Espace 2 litre petrol Range Rover 4.4 V8 petrol auto and the BMW X5 4.8 litre petrol.

Simply by making these examples known, Swinton Insurance hopes to put drivers at ease because they have a better framework to work from when trying to establish how much more they are going to have to pay each year in car tax.

“The biggest problem is that most motorist have little idea how much the increases announced by Gordon Brown are actually going to cost them until they receive their car tax renewal notices,” said Jon.

“And given the Chancellor’s timescales, some people won’t feel the full effect of his announcement for another 12 to 18 months.”

While there are losers who will have to pay more car tax because of the Chancellor’s announcement, there are also winners. Drivers of cars in Band B will see their road tax bills cut by £15 to £35.

But this will only be short-lived because the Chancellor also said VED will rise by £5 for each of the next three years. Drivers of petrol cars also face an extra hike because Gordon Brown said he will be aligning the differing rates between petrol and diesel cars to the higher diesel rate.

Around the globe there are stories popping up about Apophis, the asteroid that is going to come very close to a collision with earth in the year 2029. Amateurs and scientists do agree that currently there is not a great threat that it will hit the earth it will pass very close in relation to space distances. If it does come within 20,000 miles of earth it could do damage to satellites located in the Clarks Belt. These satellites are used for military, government, commercial, entertainment, weather, and communication purposes. The possibility to damage to them from Apophis is to far into the future to predict.

Though currently researchers feel the chances are 1 in 45,000 that it could collide with earth, the real concern is how earths gravitational influence on this pass could possibly make it collide with earth seven years later in 2036.

People are already wondering if this could be the asteroid or planet mentioned in the book of Revelation called Wormwood. According to the description of Wormwood (referred to by some as Planet-X) in the Bible it does not appear to be an asteroid such as Apophis. It points more towards it being the composition of a star like a large ball of fire.

The year 2029 destruction with the asteroid Apophis does not fit into the timeline based upon how the Bible describes the sequence of events in the end times. It talks that the occurrence of Wormwood will take place right before the middle of the 70th week in a Sabbath year cycle. A Sabbath year cycle only takes place once every seven years. Based upon the original Sabbath year, Wormwood will not affect earth or severely hurt the human civilization in the year 2029.

From what the Bible says, Wormwood will cause havoc long before 2029. It appears that the Great Tribulation, the Rapture, and the Second Advent and Millennium will all take place before this time. This opinion is open to debate by many Christians and other religious groups throughout the world.

CNN published an article December, 29, 2006 in the Science and Space area that gives a lot of information about Apophis. The media is bringing more “end of the world” possibilities to our attention with its large outreach through television, radio, and the Internet. It is now becoming an understood possibility to people in all walks of life that an asteroid like Apophis, could change life as we know it on earth or even destroy it. This much attention has been leading to studies and research on how mankind could actually change the orbital path of an asteroid in the event of a possible collision with earth.

Thanks to the Internet, people can share information about their questions and findings with one another so as to get public and governmental support in facing some facts about the future of mankind.

In today’s world, the internet is one of the most popular tools that you can use to buy goods and services. It is considered as one of the most useful tools that people make use of. The internet have proved to be a very good venue that you can use for communication and with this, you can now purchase goods and services from the companies you can find in the internet today.

It is also a great tool to start your own online business and make transactions. With the fast and cheap communication that the internet provides, you would definitely want to get connected in the internet to make money or make life easier for you.

However, with all the advantages of the internet, there are also disadvantages. Because financial dealings are made in the internet on a daily basis, it is also considered that millions or even trillions of dollars are being exchanged in the internet everyday. This spawned a new group of criminals that would do anything to steal money from you by just using the internet.

These cyber criminals develop programs or software that invades your personal computer through the internet, will start gathering information inside your computer that may include your financial and personal information and send it automatically to the person who developed the software.

The thought of letting a stranger look at your personal and financial information without you knowing about it can definitely make you cringe in fear. With this information, the cyber criminals will be able to steal money from you by committing a very serious crime called identity theft or identity fraud.

They will also use your personal and financial information to pretend to be you and commit cons that may get you into trouble with the law without even knowing about it.

It is a fact that many people have been victimized by identity theft which has resulted in losing a lot of money or facing criminal cases they didn’t even commit. This is why it is very important for you to secure yourself from these crimes not just in the real world, but also in the cyber world or in the internet.

You can stop these crimes from happening to you by simply installing the best kind of internet security software available. Internet security softwares are a group of programs that can combat modern day threats in the internet, such as computer viruses, spyware, adware, and hackers. It is a program that will help you protect your computer from being invaded by the malicious software circulating the internet today and gain access to your files that may contain your personal and financial information.

Today, it is considered a necessity to have this kind of software in your computer in order to better protect you and your family from cyber criminals who are looking for a way to steal money from you.

Good internet security software should include:

• Antivirus – This particular program should be included in your internet security software to protect you against viruses that are circulating the internet today. It should also have automatic update features in order to better protect you from the new viruses that keep on popping out in the internet.

• Anti spyware/adware – Spyware and adware are very dangerous programs that can give the developer access to your files in your computer that may contain financial and personal information. This is why this feature should be included in the internet security software and should also be updateable.

• Firewall – This particular program will prevent viruses and hackers from entering your computer.

• Parental control – This program should be included in your internet security software especially if you have kids in order to control their internet activities and prevent them from visiting websites that may contain violence or pornography.

These are the main things that you should look for in an internet security software. With all these features, you will be able to protect yourself and your family from being a victim of serious crimes going around the internet today.

Being away from your home is always an unpleasant feeling especially when you’re on vacation, principally if you don’t know what’s happening inside your home. You will have thoughts of getting robbed, and getting your home invaded by strangers.

With this kind of thought, you will most probably have an unpleasant vacation. Having a vacation means that you should relax and take it easy. It is a fact that you can’t bring everything inside your home. So, the best way to protect all your things is by locking your home whenever you leave. However, because of the lock picking skills that some people may have, locking your home is not really enough.

Home alarm systems are very expensive. So, one good idea for securing your home and record every second on what’s happening inside your home is through an internet security camera. These are cameras that can be accessed through the internet. With this kind of technology, you can remotely access your home computer installed with the internet security camera and instantly get live images of your home.

The camera also has remote control features that you can use in order to get a full view on what’s going on in every part of your home.

The internet security camera can send live images directly over IP network and enables authorized users to remotely or locally access the camera. It will allow you to access the camera by typing in your user name and password.

Since the internet security camera can be controlled, you can make it tilt, pan, zoom and take a look at any part of the house as long as it is in the range of the camera.

Some cameras are wirelessly connected to your computer which allows it to be placed anywhere in you house as long as it is in its signal range.

With access to the camera, you can record the images being transmitted with your remote computer. You will be able to store and record the images. So, in case something happens in your house, such as someone breaking and entering, you can record it and show it to the police. Because of this ability, the police can catch the criminal easier.

Some cameras can even record sound and can be in color or in black and white image. Click and white images is cheaper and offers better quality.

So, if you want peace of mind when leaving your home, you can consider installing an internet security camera. With this kind of camera, you can access your home wherever you are in the world. The internet can be a powerful tool that you can use for security purposes.

With this kind of security, you can be sure that you will know everything that is happening inside you home. The thought of leaving your home will never be unpleasant again. With the internet security camera, you will bring your home with you wherever you go.

So, if you want to secure your home, purchase an internet security camera. You will also need a high speed internet connection in order for you to access your internet security camera, and a compatible operating system. With this kind of technology, you will get your home secured from robberies. Locks is a thing of the past, secure your home with an internet security camera.

Many successful eBay sellers have two things in common:

1. The way they got started on their individual paths to success, and

2. The number of additional sales they COULD have made if they had just learned a little more about one other subject…internet marketing.

eBAY SELLERS ARE MADE NOT BORN

Almost everybody selling things for a living, or at least for a recognizable income, on eBay started the same way…by intentional accident. Usually, they have become intrigued by the phenomenon, looked around their house and found a few things to test the waters with, and after that, they were hooked! That’s the birth. After that comes evolution.

Once they run out of things to sell, but have been struck by the business opportunity lurking on eBay, they have to find other sources of eBay merchandise. This problem is solved in various ingenious ways. Some link up with a wholesale drop ship operation, some find merchandise elsewhere, such as at auctions and estate sales, while some create their own products.

Having gotten a product source, they still had to learn…learn…learn. In general, becoming a success at selling on eBay is comprised of varying amounts of research, study, trial-and-error, failure, success…and luck.

WHAT eBAY SELLERS DON’T KNOW

Many eBay sellers arrive at this particular internet business niche independently of a previous internet marketing experience. As a result, while successful in their own area of expertise, eBay, they often miss cues and opportunities that an experienced internet marketer would pick up on or take advantage of. They lack knowledge of ways that they could expand the auction success by applying some standard internet marketing techniques.

BEYOND EVOLUTION

eBay has now been such a successful internet phenomenon for long enough that the evolutionary path of eBay selling has produced experts. In true entrepreneurial spirit, some of these experts are now sharing their hard-won knowledge by publishing courses on the subject. As in many things, there are good courses, there are not-so-good courses, and there are plain awful ones. Their prices range anywhere from a few dollars to a great many dollars, and the process is still new and fluid enough that few, if any, can truly claim to be major players.

ONE BENEFIT MOST eBAY SELLING COURSES OFFER

Many people do not take the plunge simply because of an uncertainty and fear of failure due to ignorance. If they have visited the eBay site, they have often be over-whelmed by all the links, warnings, and terms specific to eBay. It seems as if they have wandered into a meeting of a secret organization and lack the password and handshake, and they feel that anything they do will be greeted with derision, if not complete animosity.

One thing that almost any course about selling on eBay can do is familiarize you to some extent with the experience. That will erase some of the fear and uncertainty. A GOOD course on selling on eBay can cut your evolutionary time considerably because the author will have already been there and can guide you past some of the pitfalls and help you mutate more quickly than you could grow through simple evolution. The lag time between first eBay auction and the point where you consider yourself to at least be skilled at the process, if not yet wealthy from it, can be cut considerably.

We all know Santa’s story by now. He was originally a bishop back in the day, and after he died he became known as Saint Nicholas, or Saint Nick for short. And even way back then, before Christmas became a major holiday, the anniversary of his death was a day to celebrate by giving out gifts. But most of us don’t know that Saint Nick actually had a bad rap for a while, and that is actually how he got all of the other names we know him by today.

During the time of great change in the Christian Church known as the Protestant Reformation, which occurred in the 1500s, the famous Martin Luther declared that all good Christians should stop celebrating saints. For the devout followers of Luther, that meant also stopping the celebration of Saint Nick, no matter how fun the gift giving had become.

But of course, not all Christians stopped celebrating Saint Nick, not even all of the Protestants. Instead of stopping the celebration, they crafted a plan to enjoy the Saint Nick holiday in secret. This is when Saint Nick became known in England as “Father Christmas”. In Germany, people referred to Santa as “Christmas Man”, and the Dutch created the name “Sinterklass.”

About this time, a large majority of Dutch settlers moved to New Amsterdam in America—what would later become New York—and brought their celebration of Sinterklass with him. Americans caught on to the idea, and tried to pronounce his name right. But instead, what came out was “Santa Claus.”

However, Santa Claus did not hit the big time until the author of “Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving, got wind of Santa Claus and promoted him the American press. This happened in the early 1800s, when Washington Irving wrote a story called the “A History of New York,” in which he went into great detail about a man called “Sinterklass.” This Saint Nick was fat and short, wore a funny costume, and would travel around on the Eve of Saint Nicolas on a horse.

The idea of jolly gift-giving man caught on in the American press. Another writer, the poet Clement Clark Moore, wrote a poem called “A Visit from St. Nicolas,” which is better known as, “The Night Before Christmas.” It was Moore who made Saint Nick a jolly old elf who flies around the night in a magical sleigh powered by eight flying reindeer. We all know the names of those reindeer, right? Well, Moore also included them in his poem.

Americans would get their best images of Santa Claus in the magazines of the late 1800s, when the cartoonist Thomas Nast put out his own visions of Saint Nick in Harper’s Weekly. For Nast, Santa was a bigger man with a big fat belly, who wore a red suit lined with fur and a big leather belt. Nast also started drawing images of Santa’s workshop in the North Pole, and Santa using a list to keep track of his kids who were naughty and nice.

Of course, these are all the images of Santa that we use today in the newspapers, in cartoons, and on TV. Or should we say, perhaps, images of Sinterklass?

One of the cruel realities of owning a business is that there are many costs associated with being in business for yourself. Owning and operating an eBay business is no different. In fact at times it may seem like everyone else is making money from your hard work. It will seem like there is no way for you to be able to amake money on eBay.

What are some of the costs associated with an eBay business? There are the costs for rent and utilities. However these are minimized if you operate a home based business. There are the costs associated with purchasing products for resale on eBay. Often the costs associated with purchasing the resale products and shipping them to your location will be greater than 50% of the sales price you receive. As the costs add up new sellers probably begin to ask themselves if it is even possible to amake money on eBay.

But the costs and expenses just keep on coming! Next there are the eBay listing and sales fees. The listing fees are incurred whether your items sell or not. There are payroll costs if you employ any full time or part time help in your business. There are taxes if you are making a profit. Finally after everything and everyone else is paid there is your chance to amake money on eBay from the sales profit.

Once all of the costs and expenses associated with operating a business are recognized the next step is to begin to minimize those costs. Eliminate costs whenever it is possible. Make cost reduction a part of your normal business routine. To amake money on eBay requires a continued focus on eliminating costs and expenses. It requires careful management and a conscious effort to maximize sales while minimizing costs.

Many parents focus on the physical and cognitive aspects of their child’s development. Unfortunately, parents juggling hundreds of responsibilities often overlook emotional and social development. These are vitally important to a child’s growth.

“To ensure well-rounded growth, parents should encourage all four facets of development. This will enable them to create play opportunities and environments where their children can thrive,” said Leslie Minkus, president of KidsDadsMoms.com.

Cognitive Development Traditionally, this area is one of the two primary focuses of childhood development. This is not hard to understand, as the benefits of healthy cognitive development reach into so many aspects of adult life. This area of development includes creativity, discovery, symbolic thought, problem-solving skills, and reasoning. Cognitive development also involves the ability to focus and control behavior. Language skills fall into this category as well.

Cognitive development can manifest in several ways: * Learning from Experience and Exposure * Improvement in Educational or Academic Process * Inquisitiveness/Observation Skills * Growing Base of Knowledge

Emotional Development While emotional development can be difficult to measure, it provides the foundation for mental health and well-being. This includes feelings of happiness, feelings of power over the environment, emotional awareness, emotional strength and stability. Emotional development also includes spontaneity, humor, feeling about self and sensitivity to others.

Emotional development can be observed in several areas: * Self Esteem/Confidence/Self Motivation * Positive Attitude * Temperament Control * Independence

Social Development As children learn to play in larger and larger groups, they begin to learn about appropriate behaviors within certain contexts. Learning to interact with peers and authority figures is critical to successful development as well as enabling children to function well in society.

Social development leads to growth in different areas, both in and out of the home: * Developing Interaction with Peers & Other People * Expanding Interactive Environment * Family Unity, Awareness and Bonding * Communication/Language Enhanced

Physical Development Physical development is by far the easiest area of development to measure and track. It includes many aspects of health and well-being. Hand-eye coordination, sensory development, control of physical actions, motor skills, dietary habits, and hygiene all figure into healthy physical development.

You will notice physical development by various behaviors: * Improved Hand/Eye Coordination * Controlled Physical Actions * Large and Small Motor Skills * Dietary and Physical Habits

Cognitive, emotional, physical, social form the crucial aspects of children’s development. Armed with this knowledge, parents can focus their efforts on balanced growth for their child. Since all four facets of development are heavily influenced by a child’s play experiences, structuring playtime for learning plays a vital role in successful development.

Parents, grandparents, teachers and friends interested in mapping a child’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills can begin their Skills Profile at http://www.KidsDadsMoms.com by clicking “Start Now” and become a member.