Home Business Online

A Home Business Online Can Bring You Financial Freedom

Having a home business online is the dream of many entrepreneurs, but knowing which business to choose or what products to sell can be a daunting task. Before spending money on a home business online, sit down and write the pros and cons of it all.

If you work a full-time job and plan on working your business on a part-time basis, decide how much time you can devote to your business and make a plan. Take into consideration your regular job and how tired you might be at the end of the day. Setting goals right from the beginning will set you way above the normal home business entrepreneur. By setting small goals to do everyday you won’t feel overwhelmed.

A Home Business Online Can Be Hard Work

Working from home can be fun, but it is still work. There is something so satisfying about being your own boss and creating something for yourself and your family that makes all the work worth it. As long as you have a plan, and work your plan you can make any home business online become a success.

Maybe you want to start your own business, but aren’t sure what would be the best business to have. There are many choices available to the business owner. You could sell affiliate products, get involved in a network marketing company, or offer a service that can be delivered online. The choices are many, so take time to investigate many of them.

Research Your Home Business Online Before Getting Started

Once you find a few businesses that interest you, research them completely, and try to get some reviews or feedback on them. If other people are doing well in this type of business that is a good sign. The more your products or service is in demand, the more prospects you are likely to have.

Working for yourself is the greatest feeling in the world, and if you need a raise, you just work a little harder. Follow your dreams and find a home business online that will bring good changes in your life for years to come.

Lower Your Property Tax Bill – A New Year’s Resolution You Can Keep

For many, the beginning of a new year signals a time to make some sort of change in their lives and become more like their ideal selves. For others, January signals the time to make a different kind of change, one that is much easier to make: trimming their property tax bill. The tax appeal process in New Jersey involves a number of steps and using an experienced property tax attorney to lead you through the process will make that New Year’s resolution much easier to keep.

Since tax appeal season in New Jersey is toward the beginning of the year, lowering your property taxes is a perfect New Year’s resolution. Toward the end of January of each year, every New Jersey property owner is supposed to receive their annual assessment. That’s the little green card that comes from the tax assessor’s office. Since all properties within a particular municipality in New Jersey are taxed at the same rate, it is the assessment which differentiates one property owner’s tax bill from another and is the real measure of whether a property is being taxed fairly or not. The period in which one can generally appeal an assessment in New Jersey is from the time the assessment is received until April 1 (May 1 if there was a reassessment or revaluation).

The first step to understanding whether you are being taxed too much is understanding how your property is being valued.

In New Jersey, your assessment is the value at which your property was appraised at the time of the last revaluation. Though the amount at which the municipality values your property changes from year to year, your assessment typically remains the same. Every year, each municipality in New Jersey is assigned an “equalization ratio,” which is intended to reflect the current value of the properties in a particular municipality in relation to their value in year of the valuation.

You can find your municipality’s equalization ration by calling your town’s tax assessor or the county tax board. It can also be found at the New Jersey Division of Taxation website. The “average ratio” is the percentage of “true value” that your assessment is deemed to be. In other words, divide your assessment by the equalization ratio to obtain the true valuation of your property. This is the number your assessor is actually using to compute your property tax, not your assessment.

For many people, the decision about whether they should appeal their assessment is an easy one once they realize the actual valuation of their property. For others, especially people who have owned a property for a long time and have not been thinking about buying or selling, the question of whether to appeal an assessment is less clear.

Here are several rules of thumb to consider in deciding whether to appeal your assessment:

  • As your assessment gets older and your equalization ratio gets lower, there is greater likelihood that your assessment has fallen out of line with your property’s actual value.
  • Conversely, when an equalization ration rises above 100% because property values have fallen (as they have in recent years), that means that on average, properties are overassessed in those municipalities. The property owner still bears the burden of proving that their particular property is overassessed but an average ratio of over 100% is a good indicator of overassessment.
  • When you live in a development or neighborhood where properties are very similar, and prices have dropped significantly, your individual property value has probably decreased and your assessment and equalization ratio may not have kept pace.
  • Whenever a property has unique characteristics that make it very different from those nearby, there is often a case to be made for reducing the assessment. For example, a very large old home in a neighborhood of smaller, newer homes will often be assessed as a larger home with the characteristics of the surrounding areas. In fact, such homes tend to be more difficult to sell and often warrant lower assessments.

The next step in the process for individuals is to decide whether they want to work with an attorney in this process. While corporations and other legal entities must be represented by an attorney under New Jersey law, an individual homeowner may represent him or herself. Nevertheless, there are very good reasons to consider retaining one:

  • Many lawyers work on a contingency basis so that there are no legal fees unless your taxes are reduced. There are certain fixed out-of-pocket expenses that the property owner pays but the lawyer receives a percentage of the tax savings if, and only if, the appeal is successful.
  • A lawyer working on a contingency basis should provide a free consultation and do his or her own independent research to determine whether an appeal is likely to succeed. If a lawyer does not return calls and take the time to tell you why they believe your assessment should be reduced, it is a signal to look elsewhere.
  • Most of all, there is the convenience of having an experienced professional handle your case. You do not have to worry about any of the rules which can be burdensome and, frankly arbitrary. (For example, property tax appeals can be dismissed if the petition is not printed on legal paper). You do not have to testify at a hearing, which is usually unfamiliar and uncomfortable for the homeowner.
  • Many people believe you will end up with a better result when you are represented by a lawyer. This extra savings year after year more than offsets the lawyer’s fee.

Take for example the case of Stephen and Rachel Pineles, who decided to appeal the assessment on their Essex County New Jersey home in 2010. “My town had not had a revaluation in over twenty years and my assessment was outrageously high in comparison with the actual value of my home,” said Stephen Pineles. “Hiring an attorney to handle the property tax appeal was definitely the right decision for me. I did not have to worry about anything. Initially, the tax assessor offered a reduction that was on the low side. In the end, my attorney negotiated a much better settlement and my property taxes were reduced by over $3700 or almost 30% of my tax bill.”

As with anything else, there is some amount of risk in appealing your assessment. In New Jersey, if your case is unsuccessful, you will not recover your out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, under New Jersey law, your assessor has the right to argue that your assessment is too low. This right is limited, however, to cases where your property is undervalued by a measure of 15%. If your property’s assessment divided by the equalization ratio is $100,000, the assessor can only argue that assessment should be increased if he or she can prove your property is really worth at least $115,000. If your attorney has done his research well and has determined that there is a good case for lowering your assessment, it is unlikely to happen.

As the new year begins, in addition to some of the more difficult goals and changes people contemplate, it may be worthwhile to consider trying to lower your tax bill. It could be one of the easiest and most profitable resolutions you make.

What’s Your Fashion Lifestyle?

We’ve all been accused at one point or another of being a fake, weirdo, loud or high maintenance; generally, a poser. Some of us learn to ignore these harsh words and embrace ourselves as we are, but others have given up and became slaves to every passing trend.

NO MORE HIDING! For too long we have been confined and shut down by our peers. Embrace the lifestyle that suits you, the one YOU want to live. Mix up a few, if you want, as long as you’re being yourself and not just what’s socially acceptable!

Take the power out of those words that used to hurt our feelings and promote style over fashion. What others called a fashion faux pas you can reveal to the world as your own unique style. Whether you identify with one of the six Lifestyles below or you’re a fusion of one or more depending on your mood.

Now choose Your Lifestyle and by all means don’t limit yourself!

Alternative – You aren’t on the edge you are the edge. If you like skinny, skinny jeans, thick shoes, ripped pieces, chains, zippers, skulls, chokers, loud hair colors and your eyelashes as dark as the shadows then rock on until your enemies are gone. Embrace the Alternative Lifestyle!

Bohemian – You are a free Spirit and like everything easy, breezy, unconventional, wild, and exotic, with effortless beauty. If this describes your wardrobe and life motto then you are loving the non-conformist Bohemian Lifestyle – Peace, Love and Fashion!

Classic – The Classic style is the foundation of all your fashion. If you like stylish A-Line skirts, the sexy little black dress and appreciate the elegant style of tailored clothes then your lifestyle is definitely C-L-A-S-S-I-C.

Glamour – You’re always ready for a photo op because you’re constantly dressed to impress. Your wardrobe is not complete without the finest accessories and a little sparkle (or maybe a lot) and if you refer to all your favorite designers by their first name then, no doubt, you are living the Glamorous Lifestyle.

Urban – You are catwalking the streets of the concrete jungle! You like to keep your style a little bit sporty showing the boys that you don’t have to be formal to be beautiful. Your style defines your own unique personality and street smarts with a touch of trendy fashion and hip-hop influence then you’re rocking the Urban Lifestyle.

Vintage – It’s like you walked straight out of a black and white film searching for those awesome fashion from days gone past – 50′s Rockabilly, 70′s Go-Go skirt, 60′s Beatniks – the Vintage Lifestyle is your niche and you wear it well!

Embrace your style and be free! But whatever you do… BE Ostentatious, BE Bold, BE a Limited Edition!

Vacation Home Furniture

Getting the right vacation furniture

In these days of the economic recession you might be well advised to buy some holiday lawn ornaments. This is because the recession has made us reconsider the amount of money that we spend on vacations. We are looking at ways to save and these sorts of cheap vacations are the way forward. You might have your own living space and therefore you will need to have some element of decoration in order to make it work. These are the things that you need to take into consideration when buying this item:

  1. Think of the items for the holiday that have a practical function as well. These items might be good to look at but you will get more use from them if they have another practical function. It is up to you to ensure that this is achieved in when you are making the purchasing decision. Too much concentration on the cosmetic elements is ultimately not a useful strategy. It might even turn out to be counterproductive when you consider all the factors that have gone into researching the product. If you can achieve the dual purpose of that product then you will be safe in the knowledge that you make the right choices when it mattered.
  2. Make sure that the great lawn products fit into the space that you have. Often people will over estimate the amount of space that they have. It might not even be a deliberate strategy but just an indication that they are proud of their home and what it represents. If you are shopping for significant items it is imperative that you take the time to measure the place in order to ensure that you are working on the correct figures. Any other choice is not worth it and you need to avoid it. The measurements will enable you to select the right items when you are in the store. You cannot really get accurate results by just looking. This is a dangerous myth that can make you waste money when you could have bought the right things.
  3. Make sure that the products for the lawn are secure. If you live in an area where there are likely to be thieves it will remain your responsibility to ensure that the items that you buy are properly secured. It is on this basis that you can look at the different elements that work with the security system. Of course this is a less significant issue for people that live in gated communities. If you live in an open space then this will be a priority.
  4. See whether you can get second hand property for homes. This will save you some money in the recession. These are not personal items so you can afford to go for the second hand market. If it works out you can spend the money on other priorities for your vacation. That is something that many families are doing these days instead of spending all the time.