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Why You Don’t Need a Property Managing Agent for Your Block of Flats

If you are a member or even a director of one of the many freehold or leasehold property management companies which are responsible for the maintenance and repair of blocks of flats or apartments what do you think?

Does your company really need the in depth property management advice offered by the professional property managing agent? Or is such a move just another waste of service charge funds?

Increasingly many directors and company members are shifting towards the employment of specialist property managing agent professionals to share responsibility and to advise and guide their property management company through the maze of legislation surrounding the residential sector.

However many others are resolutely sticking to their guns and continuing to manage their companies and their property estates in house.

So what is all this legislation and what else do the directors and decision makers who are ultimately responsible for the management function need to know?

Current legislation in England and Wales is largely defined under well established landlord and tenant law as subsequently revised by the more recent Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002.

In summary, any terms included in any residential lease cannot be upheld where they do not comply with current statutory legislation. As a result, parts of the lease may not be enforceable and may be deemed illegal. This means that property management company members and directors must be compliant with the requirements of statute, however well they might have read and understand the property lease.

Property block management therefore involves knowledge and expertise in how statute will vary the terms of how the lease is interpreted.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order brought in to effect significant changes. The new fire safety rules came into force on 1 October 2006 and affect all non-domestic premises in England and Wales.

If you are responsible for non domestic premises then you need to act by undertaking or arranging a fire risk assessment. This is an organised appraisal of work activities and the workplace which now includes by definition the common areas of your residential premises. It is therefore an essential part of your block management duties.

The risk assessment should identify potential fire hazards, for residents, employees and visitors who might be in danger in the event of fire. You should evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether the existing fire precautions are adequate, or whether more needs to be done.

If you do not employ the services of property management agents this means that your management company members and directors must be compliant with The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

The Data Protection Act controls how personal information you hold is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Everyone, including you, who is responsible for using data has to follow strict rules called ‘data protection principles’. In summary you must make sure the information you hold is:

used fairly and lawfully
used for limited, specifically stated purposes
used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive
accurate
kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
handled according to people’s data protection rights
kept safe and secure
not transferred outside the UK without adequate protection

There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, however the above information should be sufficient to make you aware of the need to comply.

If you do not employ a property management services agent this means that your property management company members and directors must be familiar with and compliant with The Data Protection Act and the ‘data protection principles’.

The above examples are merely a few of the many areas of estate property management affected by ever growing legislation and red tape.

Other important matters which are affected include the treatment of service charges, tenants’ rights, legal landlord notices required, increased powers conferred on the LVT or leasehold valuation tribunal, consultation procedures for Qualifying Works under Section 20 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act, and enfranchisement and new right to manage principles giving the leaseholders in qualifying properties the right to take over the management of their properties.

If you are familiar with the majority of the above property block management legislation and have the time available then you are probably well informed and very capable of managing your estate or block of flats.

If however you have found that this article has provided you with new information then you might want to think about taking professional advice about how you manage your company and your estate to ensure you are not at risk.

Whilst directors and officers liability insurance cover is available to help protect you in the event of negligence it is doubtful how far this will cover those who could be thought to have willfully ignored statutory legislation. It is particularly important to realise that any serious breach of health and safety legislation is treated as a criminal offence for which a heavy fine or custodial sentence may result.

A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.

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Working From Home – How to Quickly Start a Home Based Business

Every year, millions of Americans consider working from home. Many are either stay at home moms, retired, or handicapped. Working from home permits many people, who would otherwise be jobless, to earn a living. Although the previously mentioned individuals most generally work from home, you don’t have to be among those people to work from home.Among the numerous reasons why working from home has increased in popularity is due to the small number of expenses. While you think about it, the price of going to work at a traditional job can easily add up. You might not give it any thought, but, in a sense, your gas, commute, food and drinks away from home, could each be counted as additional expenses. This is because if you were working from home, you would not need to pay them. That’s why a multitude of ordinary people are making the switch to an occupation that permits them to work from home.Among the most fascinating home based business opportunities are turnkey websites. Turnkey websites are among the best selling items on the Internet today. The only thing the buyer has to do is “turn the key” and they’re set up to do business. Turnkey websites are literally ready to go businesses. All of the complex computer programming is already done for you. The website pages are already stocked with products for you to sell, and you simply have to download the whole website to your computer. You will be able to be ready to run your online business on the same day, sometimes in an hour or less. Turnkey websites are made entirely for novices. An online turnkey business can save you time, and give you a professional looking website to market your products.Frequently, the products being dealt on a turnkey website will include master resale rights. These products might include eBooks, large collections of articles, or software packages. Many of the most beneficial offers include the resale rights for eBooks. This is because the popularity of eBooks has rapidly increased. As an alternative to checking out a book from the library or purchasing a brand-new book, more and more people are reading material that comes in the form of an eBook. Once you get Master Resale Rights of an eBooks or software packages, it means that you not only possess the right to sell them to your customers, but you also to give your buyers the right to sell them or just keep them for their own use.An online home based business is as easy as a turnkey website. A turnkey website that has products with master resale rights lets you to rely upon the expertise of professionals who are experts at website development. You don’t need the technical knowledge involved in setting up a website. Online marketing with your own turnkey website allows you to work from home with an online home based business. It’s the easiest home based business opportunity you’re going to find.

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