Sellers Buyers and Earnest Money Deposits

Once an offer is made on a home, the counteroffer process can move very quickly. Before you start whipping numbers back and forth, the issue of earnest money deposits needs to be addressed.

Sellers, Buyers and Earnest Money Deposits

If you are selling a property, nothing gets your adrenaline up like receiving an offer from a potential buyer. All the hard work and inconvenience has paid off. All you have to do is get through the offer and counteroffer process. Of course, you are not going to accept the first offer. Instead, you get on your thinking cap and start strategizing on an effective counteroffer. While you are thinking, it is important to remember the earnest money deposit.

An earnest money deposit separates the men from the boys when it comes to evaluating potential buyers. In essence, this is where you see both how credible and serious the potential buyer is regarding your property. It is both a statement of their liquidity and their knowledge of the process.

An earnest money deposit is also known as a good faith deposit. The amount of the deposit is entirely negotiable, but typically is an amount of ten percent or less of the sales price of the property. The custom and practice in your area regarding the percentage is the key. It will differ from area to area in the country, so make sure you get a bead on what is expected. If the customary deposit amount is five percent and you demand ten percent, it could be a deal killer from the outset and the buyer could move on to another property.

Once you have agreed on a percentage, the buyer should deposit the earnest money deposit with a third party. The party can be the escrow agent, an attorney or even a bank in certain states. If the transaction goes smoothly, the deposit is credited as part of the down payment on the home when the transaction closes. Ah, but what if it does not go smoothly?

The earnest money deposit can be forfeited to the seller in certain situations. Ostensibly, the particular situations are governed by what the parties agree to in writing and state law. In general, the buyer will get their money back if the deal falls apart because of a seller issue such as massive termite problems that were not identified by the seller before the offer was made. In turn, the buyer can lose the deposit amount if they simply refuse to go forward with the transaction. In some real estate contracts, this process is known as liquidated damages automatically awarded to the seller given the fact you wasted time with the buyer and had your property off the market.

All and all, earnest money deposits should be looked at as back up protection, not a potential profit center. If a buyer is unwilling to make a deposit, reject the offer and move on.

Raynor James is with the site - FSBO America - FSBO homes for sale by owner.

Framed Chalkboards

There are several durable types of chalkboards around today. One very popular variety has a smooth porcelain on steel magnetic surface. A sturdy chalkboard like this comes with a manufacturer's warranty that covers the board for several years. A board made with porcelain and steel can work as a magnetic surface in addition to functioning as a chalkboard. These kinds of boards are generally framed in natural oak or satin anodized aluminum. They also come with a full-length chalk rail that can be used to keep chalks, erasers and other small accessories.

Another popular variety of chalkboards is made with specially treated hardboard and is given a durable, baked on enameled finish. To go with the classy surface these boards are framed in natural oak or anodized aluminum. The hard, durable surface of these boards offers a surface that aids clean writing and easy erasing. These boards are made available in both green and black.

Free standing reversible chalkboards are also a very popular design. Such boards have solidly built aluminum or oak frames. They are also equipped with heavy duty casters to aid movement.

Multi-task chalkboards are widely used in educational institutions. These kinds of boards need a special kind of framing to provide for the various planned tasks. Special attachments for holding books and stands for other accessories can be added to these framed boards as well.

Lap boards are a very popular instruction medium in schools. These boards are framed in a special way with rounded corners for comfort and safety. Combination boards are also quite popular in several places. The framing of combination boards is done in such a way that it fixes two or more types of surfaces within a wide frame, firmly.

Manufacturers offer the option of customized framed chalkboards to suit specific needs and measurements. Large institutions usually take this option to get framed chalkboards to suit varying needs in the institution.

Chalkboards provides detailed information on Chalkboards, Kitchen Chalkboards, Magnetic Chalkboards, Slate Chalkboards and more. Chalkboards is affiliated with School Backpacks.

Long Term Care Insurance and Suze Orman The Ongoing Controversy

Copyright 2006 Clay Cotton



Long term care insurance is an obvious ?must-have' for Americans with assets and families to protect and with discretionary income to afford the premiums. While Suze Orman publicly promotes this coverage as the foundation of your financial plan, we wonder if she ought to put even MORE emphasis on LTCi protection



People all-too-often assume that long term care is just for the elderly, and it's shocking to learn that over 40% of nursing home residents are currently under age 65. In fact, because of my advanced Multiple Sclerosis, I would be in a nursing home right now if I had LTCi coverage to pay for it, and if my beloved wife, Kimberly, would agree to let me out of her sight.



In any case, while Suze Orman is clearly America's most popular financial advisor, she is also America's most visible proponent of long term care insurance.



This is a good thing for all of us since, of every 20 folks who need long term care insurance, only 1 of us owns it - A sad state of affairs to be sure. And we had better learn more about it fast...



But now the question is this: Should Suze Orman be even more forceful in her insistence that long term care insurance be the bedrock upon which everybody's financial planning must be anchored?



And why all the fuss over long term care insurance, anyway?



Well, just ask Suze Orman: It's because she knows as well as I do why Americans have no other common sense choice than to embrace this family financial tool if they want a mature, secure retirement. I, myself, was stricken with Multiple Sclerosis at age 50 - WITHOUT long term care insurance. Now I can never get long term care insurance coverage because of this pre-existing condition. Rats!



Suze Orman is bringing America's baby boomers into awareness on retirement planning and the need for long term care insurance, and for this she should be commended, but is she saying enough? You be the judge.



Here are few words from Ms. Orman: Considering how hard people work for the majority of their lives with an eye towards retiring, it's surprising to find that many give little thought to actually funding (and protecting) their retirement.



In You've Earned It, Don't Lose It: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make When You Retire, Suze addresses this sad fact and goes beyond the usual financial primer to describe how to safeguard your financial future with smart long term care insurance.



No well-planned retirement should be without long term care insurance. It is the very cornerstone of retirement security. - Suze Orman







Long term care insurance activist, Clay Cotton, writes for http://www.PrepSmart.com - The Online Baby Boomers Decision Assistance Center where you get Long term care insurance advice, comparative rate quotes and personal guidance from home in your favorite pajamas and bunny slippers.

Common Backgammon Terminology

Ahh, the language of backgammon, it is enough to make anyone turn and run away. Are you new to the backgammon scene? Do you get that blank look in your eye when you hear the word Anchor? Are you completely confused when someone claims they got a joker? Do you just stand there wondering exactly what a pip count is? Well, you are not alone, backgammon terminology can be extremely confusing, and what is more there are tons of them.

In this article, we will have a look at some of the most common terms used in backgammon and what they mean. After reading this article, you will go to your next backgammon game and be able to fling around the terminology like you are an old pro. Let's get started shall we?

Anchor - Two or more chips occupying any point within the inner board of the opponent

Joker - A lucky roll, a great roll, one that has the ability to affect the game's outcome in a person's favor

Pip Count - This represent the points in which a player is required to take in order to being bearing off. In the beginning of a game, each player starts with 167 as their pip count. This stands for:

- Point 24 - 2 chips= 48 pips
- Point 13 - 5 chips = 65 pips
- Point 8 - 3 chips - 24 pips
- Point 6 - 5 chips - 30 pips

For a pip count of 167 each.

Point - In backgammon, there are twenty-four points. This is not the score by any means, instead, this is the triangles that represents the spaces. However, this can also be used in scoring, in terms of how many points or wins the game is worth. For example, if a person wins a single game, it is worth one point, ?gammon? wins 2 points or a double game, and Backgammon is worth 3 points or a triple game.

Single Game - A game won by bearing off all chips before the opponent, when the opponent is bearing off as well.

Gammon - A game won by bearing off all chips before the opponent, when the opponent has not begun bearing off.

Backgammon - The name of the game, as well as a win. This win occurs when a person bears off all chips before the opponent and the opponent has not begun to bear off, and the opponent has a blot on the bar.

Bear off - This is the act of removing backgammon chips off of the board.

Blot - A single backgammon chip susceptible to attacks by the opponent.

Hit - To attack the blot of an opponent, the blot is then placed on the center bar of the board.

Hit and Cover - You not only attack the blot of your opponent, but you also keep moving that same chip, in order to protect the blot you would have otherwise left vulnerable.

While there are many more terms in backgammon terminology, the above are a few of the most commonly used. Before you know it, you will be talking and playing like a backgammon professional.

About the Author:

Lee Dobbins writes for http://backgammon.games-webzone.com where you can learn more about playing the game and get great winning strategies for backgammon.

Missouri Mortgage What to Expect When Buying a Home in Missouri

Maybe you?re buying your first home in Missouri, or perhaps you?re relocating to Missouri from another state. Either way, it?s important that you educate yourself on Missouri home loans before shopping for a home and mortgage. This article explains what you?ll need to know before buying a home in Missouri:

The price of homes in Missouri varies widely between zip codes. For example, in Saint Peters, Missouri, the median price of a home in the summer of 2005 was $168,000; however, the median price of a home in Chesterfield, Missouri, was $225,000, and in Parkville, Missouri, it was $300,000. Overall, the median price of a home in Missouri is $89,900. Job growth rates in Missouri are about half that of the national average, and average interest rates in Missouri are above the national average.

Missouri is a non-community property state. Additionally, it is one of only 14 states that uses a ?Deed of Trust? as a mortgage. This means that a trustee holds the title of a house for a lender rather than the mortgage company itself.

Missouri?s Housing Assistance Programs offer mortgages with below-market interest rates and down payment assistance to veterans, and people with very low incomes or disabilities.

The Missouri Association of Community Action, Inc., offers a program to Missouri residents called the Missouri Building Assets Project (MBA). Participants in this program are given a savings account and attend money budgeting classes. They put money into a savings account every month with a savings goal in mind. Once they?ve reached their goal and attended a significant amount of budgeting classes, the MBA program leaders match their saved amount for use as a down payment on a home.

Jessica Elliott recommends that you visit Mortgage Lenders Plus.com for more information about Missouri Mortgage Rates and Loans.

Importance of Wearing the Right Bra

Do you know a good bra of the correct fit is essential to a woman's breast? Majority of women are still unaware that they are not wearing the right bra.

Women today should be aware that wearing the wrong bra size could cause all sorts of medical problems. Some of these symptoms includes backache, shoulder pain, neck ache, tender, aching bust, soreness under bust, grooves in shoulders, and bad posture.

Because you either have too much bust or not enough. 'We are never happy with our lot.' These are just a few of the very real problems that can be put right with a good bra. There are so many women out there buying their bras assuming that their size is the same or some guesses their bra size and without trying them on or seeking expert advise. The result is usually more discomfort. The most common complaints are

1. the back riding up,
2. straps slipping off the shoulders,
3. wrinkled cups,
4. unsightly bumps and ridges.

Better fitting bras not only feel comfortable but also help your clothes to look better. A well-fitted bra is similar to a pair of well-fitting shoes. Women should re-measured regularly especially during pregnancy, following childbirth, weight loss or weight gain - as the breast size can change dramatically.

The advantages of a correct fit bra includes no more soreness under the bust, pulling the back down, lifting the shoulder swaps and popping back in what has flowed out, making four boobs.

It takes an expert eye to find the size and style that will make the very best of each woman's figure. It also required in-depth knowledge of the wide variety of bras now available. Although manufacturers use what appears to be standard sizing on their labels, every bra is in fact slightly different. This means that a particular cup size in one style may not give you the right fit with another style or manufacturer.

Measuring your bra size and bra cup of exact fit is not difficult, however most women find it unnecessary and a nuisance. This is the major mistake as a good fitted bra brings about many benefits and eliminates unnecessary aliments. The following is some information for you while taking the measurement for yourself.

Your bra size consist of two figures; your back size and your cup. You will need to take two measurements using a tape measure.

Back Size : The measurement is taken around the body directly under the bust or your breasts (over your present bra).

Especially when buying a strapless bra, the bra has to fit slightly tighter but not too tight otherwise unsightly bulges would be formed. Use the following table to find your exact bra size.

Back Measurement (cms) Bra back size
63 - 67 30
68 - 72 32
73 - 77 34
78 - 82 36
83 - 87 38
88 - 92 40

Cup size: this is determined the difference between bra back size and the measurement around the fullest part of the bust.

Calculate the difference of the 2 measurements, rounding it off to the nearest inch. Use the value to find out its corresponding cup size in the table below.

Difference Cup size
1 A
2 B
3 C
4 D
5 E
6 F

After you have obtained both values, combine the two to get your exact fit size.

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French Agency Releases Ufo Files: Don't Start Serving The Crepes Just Yet!

CNES and Geipan placed over thirty years worth of UFO investigation materials online as of Thursday, March 22, 2007. CNES is the official French Space Agency and Geipan is an agency of the French National Police. Are the files a hot Smoking Gun, or just another order of cold French Fries?

CNES receives about fifty to one hundred UFO reports each year. The investigative process they use is convoluted and quite different from what most Americans would expect. Geipan apparently does most of the field work, prepares reports and passes everything on to CNES. Scientists and Engineers take a look at that data and prepare some sort of final report or appraisal of the matter in question.

Jacques Patenet, the aeronautical engineer who heads the office for the study of on-identified aerospatial phenomena has said that he data that we are releasing doesn't demonstrate the presence of extraterrestrial beings. But it doesn't demonstrate the impossibility of such presence either. The questions remain open.

On the day of the announcement and press conference, CNES security was tight. While calling the release ?a world first? and glowing over his nation?s openness about the UFO subject, Patenet failed to explain the need o screen out uninvited UFOlogists as an explanation for the added security. This hardly provides evidence for anyone to believe the agency?s files represent a fair and unbias look at the phenomenon. However, compared to the actions of their American counterpart, this is like allowing people to walk into French Intelligence Headquarters and browse through their files.

Every time American UFO Researchers ask their own space agency for any information about astronaut encounters or unusual phenomenon encountered by space probes, NASA clams up and sends out the debunkers en force. Although many Astronauts have been forthcoming and very honest about what they have seen in space, the space agency always slams the door on them. More than a few have been hit right between the eyes by NASA which claims that the Astronaut statements were the results of space sickness, fatigue or depression. But before we give the French too big a pat on the back, let?s look at what?s being released.

The CNES-Geipan reports only represent what people have reported to the French Government as UFO sightings and encounters. This is in no way, shape or form a release of information that allows us to examine all that the French know about the phenomenon. Although the investigations have obviously been handled in a more competent and professional manner, this is really little more than a French version of the U.S. Project Blue Book Report.

We have seen these types of releases before over the past several decades. In each case, the information came from individual government agencies, not the government itself. I recall when everyone got all excited about the release of the KFB files on UFOs. I was unimpressed. That?s because I received official Russian News Articles and private newsletters published in countries once controlled by the Soviets for years before that release. These were sent to me by serious researchers in those countries who appreciated receiving materials from me.

Thanks to the efforts of Russian language students who donated their time, most of what I received was quickly translated and contained a huge amount of information about the UFO phenomenon in Russia and Eastern Europe. Ironically, I could not find a single incident mentioned in those articles and newsletters that matched any in the KGB information releases. I felt then and now that the information I received from those individuals was as good or better than most of what was released by the KGB.

In 1989 I had the opportunity to meet Marina Lavrentrevna Vasliyevna Popovich at a press event in New York City. Marina was a pilot in the Soviet Air Force, holder of thirteen world aviation records and a former Test Cosmonaut. She spoke of personal UFO encounters and those she had heard about from other pilots. While the information was fascinating, it was not anywhere near the best that her government had to offer about UFOs and Extra-Terrestrial Life. UFO Researchers would be wise to view the CNES-Geipan information in the same manner.

Like America, France is known for having two faces. Their public face, and the one they use for behind the scenes political posturing. A good example of this recently came to light when it a secret communication between France and Israel was leaked to the press. While publicly condemning Israel?s advance into Lebanon not long ago, the French Government secretly encouraged them to invade Syria and institute a regime change. The USA plays the same games.

During the 1990s, President Clinton announced that the government had allowed secret radiation tests on American Citizens. All he admitted was that small amounts of irradiated materials were released into population centers or planted on soldiers during military exercises. No one believes that was all of it and everyone already knew about military exercises held during and very close to atomic bomb tests. Clinton certainly did not make mention of how the CIA implanted tiny devices into the heads of U.S. and Canadian psychiatric patients for over twenty years without permission. Nor did he discuss any of the other government mind control or remote viewing projects which have left large numbers of victims in their wake.

Information releases like the latest from CNES and Geipan can only be helpful in terms of research and data, but no one should give France, Russia or any other nation credit for what should have been done all along. It would be a mistake to offer nations like these kudos for releasing bits and pieces of UFO and other paranormal research data when so much still remains secret.

You can view the CNES-Geipan website at http://www.cnes-geipan.fr/

About the Author:

Author: Bill Knell Word Count: Approx 990 About Bill: Bill Knell is a veteran UFO and Paranormal Researcher, popular Speaker, Author and Consultant. Permission is granted to use this articles (per terms of use at http://www.ufoguy.com) at no charge with the inclusion of a link to or publication.