Fortunately, no matter what your occupation, everyone has the opportunity to gain positive recognition in the workplace. The following is a list of the top ten things that you can do in order to stand out in your workplace.
1.Do more than what is expected. It is so easy to say ?It's not my job? when you're given a task that you don't normally perform; however, by going above and beyond your everyday duties, you are demonstrating initiative and drive.
2.Be a team player. Don't become an annoyance by refusing to work well with others. Consider tightening up your social skills and volunteering for committees in order to gain shine in your boss's eyes.
3.Use work time effectively and responsibly. It's very tempting to surf the Internet or gab on the phone with a friend while sitting at your desk, but don't do it! You are wasting company money and time, and you risk being caught and labeled a slacker.
4.Dress the part. There's an old saying about if you want something, ?you've got to dress the part? and that is definitely true in the workplace. Make sure your appearance says ?professional? and not ?loaf? in order to be regarded as a serious employee.
5.Don't use profanity or off-color language. Using foul language or denigrating remarks can paint you as being a rude and offensive employee. A definite no-no.
6.Don't participate in office politics or gossip. If you are engaging in gossip and other similar behavior, most likely others will come to regard you as petty and untrustworthy in the workplace.
7.Be dependable. You should always strive to meet deadlines and keep the promises you make so that others will view you as a reliable employee.
8.Participate in meetings. Voicing your opinion and ideas says that you've got confidence and convictions.
9.Smile. Even when it's the last thing you feel like doing, still smile -- and others will smile with you.
10.Seek opportunities to learn new skills and maintain old ones. Don't make the mistake of becoming a dinosaur; keep yourself marketable by remaining current in your profession.
As you can see, standing out from the crowd and achieving positive recognition is easy for anyone with the desire to do so!
As a mortgage broker that works exclusively with real estate investors, I have encountered just about every crazy and botched financing scenario that you can imagine. Over the course of the years, I have kept a list of the crazy things that investors do (it's quite long) and today I'll share the top 10 with you. Don't make these mistakes!
1. Quitting the Day Job Too Soon Repeat after me: Equity does not pay the bills. I see it happen all the time. An investor gets a few rentals and decides to quit the day job to pursue investing full time. Big mistake. Don't quit the job until you have 12 months living expenses saved up and/or monthly cash flow equal to what you were making at your day job.
2. Being Broke and GreedyMy mentor used to say, You can't be broke AND greedy." In REI investor world it means that if you have no money to put into a deal you better be prepared to pay high rates or give up some equity to a partner.
3. Underestimating Holding Costs If you're a flipper, in most areas today, your properties are taking a lot longer to move. Factor in ALL of your holding costs to the budget - loan payments, utilities, etc - so you don't lose all your profit.
4. Not Properly Setting Up Your Entity If you list your occupation as real estate investor on a mortgage loan application, you are in for a tough road ahead with the underwriter. You may as well say you are a drug dealer. Same goes for naming your LLC. Try not to reference anything having to do with flipping or foreclosure help or anything like that. Stick to an easy name to deal with like Acme, LLC.
5. Paying Cash for a Property Paying cash for a property is fine as long as you don't need the money back anytime soon. If you do, then you're trying to get an unseasoned cash out refinance and if you're lucky enough to find a lender to do the loan, you will pay through the nose for it.
6. Buying a Rental That Won't Cash Flow WHY would you do that? Remember, equity does not pay the bills. This is the main reason why investors go broke.
7. Deeding The Property to an LLC Before It Is In Permanent Financing Let's say you buy a property with private money and take title in your LLC. When you go to refinance it, the lender will either require you to deed it out of your LLC before closing or they will deny the loan outright. Risk mitigators are telling lenders that the loans that have the highest rate of default are usually in names of LLC's so many lenders won't touch them if they've EVER been titled in your LLC. Just take title in your name, get your financing set and THEN put it into your LLC for asset protection, etc.
8. Using Hard Money That Doesn't Include Repairs This is just dumb. Just use a 100% conventional loan at half the rate and 1/4 the fees and have the seller pay closing costs since you're funding the repairs out of pocket anyway.
9. Listing for Sale While In Short Term Financing I have guys come to me all the time to try to refinance their short term hard money loan because the flip has not sold. Um... no. Why? Well, you have a vacant, unseasoned, rental property that has been listed on the MLS within the last 6 months. Even if we can get a lender to do the refinance you will have a prepay penalty that will make you cry.
10. Not Having Adequate Cash Reserves You should not own a property and have no money in the bank or available credit on a line of credit. Something will come up and then you will be forced to make a bad decision.
Both Cathy Warschaw & Susan Lassiter-lyons are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Cathy Warschaw has sinced written about articles on various topics from Kids and Teens, Soccer and Internet Marketing. Written by Cathy Warschaw, Director of the Warschaw Learning Institute. Offering cds, eBooks and online training for the dental and medical field. Register for our newsletter www.WarschawLearningInstitute.com ? 2005. Cathy Warschaw's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.
Susan Lassiter-lyons has sinced written about articles on various topics from Property Investment, Mortgage and Finances. Susan Lassiter-Lyons, owner of Lassiter Mortgage Group, specializes in residential and commercial financing for real estate investors. Visit