If you enjoy maintaining good health and staying fit and are passionate about helping others reach their fitness goals, taking up a franchise in the health and fitness business may be the best thing for you. Just think about it. If you have a piece of land or some empty space to spare and you’ve been thinking of the best way to monetize it, taking up the franchise of a health and fitness center can turn that vacant space into a profitable business.Being enthusiastic about health and fitness really helps. It will give you an edge over somebody else who doesn’t share your passion for such things but just wants to start a business in health and fitness. You will be able to understand the requirements of your customers better, you will be able to add a lot of value to it, your business will benefit from your knowledge and enthusiasm, and what is most important, you’ll love your new business.Don’t get caught up in just another franchise business only to realize later on that it was never meant for you (or you were never meant for it!) If you love working out, staying in shape and looking good, why go into a fast food chain franchise or the DVD rental business? Follow your heart and become a franchise of a business you are really passionate about. That way, you increase the chances of being successful manifold.There are many fitness chains that put up highly attractive franchise offers from time to time. Some would help you with virtually all aspects of becoming a successful franchise including helping with real estate site placement, granting exclusive territory rights, marketing through social media, designing the program(s), turnkey equipment packages and more! The only thing they require of you is a sincere passion about people and a commitment to continue to help others reach their health and fitness goals.
The cost of hiring a property management company to handle investment properties is significantly less than most property owners believe. Investment property owners who manage their own property with the idea that property management costs are too much might be mistaken as to the actual real costs. Additionally, a large percentage of property owners do not take advantage of all of the tax strategies available to them. For example, if a property owner manages their investment portfolio out of their home office there may be some business related items they are not expensing. Interest in all forms including mortgage interest, equity lines of credit interest, and any business loan interest are all expenses which are typically deductible. Losses like casualties, disasters, and thefts are expenses which properly accounted for are deductible. The most overlooked deduction is depreciation on investment properties, and for real estate professionals as defined by IRC 179, an investment property owner can supercharge their depreciation deductions. To maximize one’s return on investment each property owner should educate themselves about tax strategies, and thoroughly evaluate their entire tax planning roadmap with a tax attorney or competent certified public accountant.Combined Tax Bracket Percentage Determines the True Cost of an Expense in Your Investment Property BusinessFirst of all a property owner must fully understand this basic concept. If their annual income from all of their activities placed them into the combined, federal, state, and local tax bracket of 50%, then their ordinary and necessary business expenses are in actuality fifty cents ($.50) for every one dollar ($1.00) spent. It’s simple to think about it this way: If a one dollar ($1.00) is spent on advertising then that one dollar ($1.00) is legally expensed. If a person is in the 50% combined tax bracket then they have actually only spent fifty cents ($.50). This is because the one dollar ($1.00) they spent actually reduces their taxable income by one dollar, thus, reducing their tax liability by fifty cents ($.50). So each ordinary and necessary expense is truly only 50% of the actual cost.Now that you have your mind around that concept if a property manager is charging you $200/month to manage their single-family residence rental property the actual (end of year) cost to the owner is only $100/month because the property management fees are an ordinary and necessary business expense and fully deductible. Now consider that 50% reduction in your perceived cost and maybe property management doesn’t seem so expensive anymore. Add to that the impact on your time, energy, effort you spend managing that property. Add to that the gasoline expense necessary to drive by that property once or twice a month. Finally, add to that the comfort of knowing a professional property manager could in fact be taking care of your property and you wouldn’t have to have all of these expenses, time, energy and effort and maybe, just maybe, you would reconsider using a property manager going forward because you now realize that they really aren’t that expensive for the services they provide.Home Office Deductions are Tricky, but can be LegitimateIf a home office is used 100% for ordinary and necessary business reasons then there is no reason a person shouldn’t be taking advantage of expensing the home office square footage, the equipment, the materials, the supplies and any utilities paid to help operate the office. The problem lies when the home office is used for personal reasons because it is difficult to prove what percentage of the home office is actually an ordinary and necessary business expense. There are many Internal Revenue decisions on this vary issue, and each one shows the difficulty in achieving the correct balance between business and personal expense, and more importantly, being able to prove it in an audit. If you are considering running your property management business out of your home office be careful. Although there are a lot of legitimate expenses which are clearly available to you, there are several that are not.Interest Expense is Sometime OverlookedWhen you are evaluating your interest expenses do not forget to expense any interest from your home equity line of credit as this can be easily overlooked. Also, if you have a small business loan that interest is deductible as well.Disaster, Theft Losses are DeductibleIn the event that a loss occurred during your business cycle those expenses are deductible provided you had a good record of the items that were lost. There would almost always be an offset as well for any insurance reimbursements, but the point here is that losses must be fully evaluated while you are preparing your tax strategies.Depreciation and the Real Estate Professional Internal Revenue CodeWhen planned correctly the “non-cash” expense of depreciating one’s rental property can be the difference in paying taxes or realizing the benefit of a tax-loss. Most residential investment properties are depreciated over 27.5 year period. Commercial property is depreciated over 39 years. However, if a person were to be classified as a “Real Estate Professional” pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 179, then the benefits of owning investment property become much greater. Without going into great detail a real estate professional’s own personal property portfolio is treated differently than a typical investor. If this is enticing enough one should investigate the benefits of this little known exception in the IRC and real estate industry.Contact a Competent Tax Attorney or Certified Public Account to Review All of Your Current Tax Strategies and any Planning Going Forward with Your Investment PropertiesThe information contained in this article is by no means tax advice, but merely some ideas to contemplate the next time you consider your tax situation. Every person who owns a rental property business should consider tax planning and tax strategies with a competent professional specializing in tax. There are numerous legal ways to take full advantage of tax laws and your professional status within the property management context, however these decisions need to be considered carefully with a tax professional.
Have you ever wanted to work from home and earn money online? If so, then you are hardly alone. A lot of people would love to find a way to start a cheap online business, but few people ever actually follow through and see their dreams fulfilled. Why is that? Well, there are two reasons.
1. Most people assume that any online business is going to be extremely complicated and hard to set up and run. This is incorrect, in fact, it can actually be an easy to do job.
2. The other reason is that people are so intimidated and feel that an online business is too difficult to start so they never learn about the different types of businesses that they can start.
So, what are your options when it comes to finding a way to work from home and earn money online? Affiliate Marketing What is affiliate marketing? Well, affiliate marketing is probably the most exciting and potentially lucrative online business opportunity that is out there. Affiliate marketing offers a number of advantages that make it a favorite type of business for anyone that wants to work from home. First, it’s inexpensive to start, all you really need is to buy a domain name, pay for web hosting, then hire someone to design your website, or do it yourself if you feel capable.
How does affiliate marketing work? The simplest explanation is that you promote the products of another company, then when a sale is made you earn a commission. For example, if you happen to know a lot about camping then you could start a website about camping. You post too it frequently and ensure that the content you provide is both search engine optimized, and also interesting and provides value to visitors to your site. Your ultimate goal here is to set yourself up as an expert to the people that visit your site. You want them to trust you and to value your opinion. Over time you should be able to attract an audience, this is when the money should start coming in. How do you turn regular visitors to your website into income? You do it by using your position as an expert in your niche to influence their buying habits. You recommend products, provide links to a company that sells these products, then you collect your commission. Because the entire world is potential customers the earning potential you have when you work as an affiliate marketer is virtually limitless.
Want A Cheap Online Business That’s Easy And Fun To Run? If you are looking for an easy online business to start up they don’t get much easier than blogging. What is a blog? A blog is a personal website where you can express your opinions, write about various subjects, and do just about anything else you want. Blogging is great because, in addition to being easy to do, you can also get into it without spending a penny. Many big companies like Google are more than happy to give you a free blog, then you can get things started. If you are serious about blogging as a way to earn money online then you should probably spend the money and purchase your own domain name. This gives you total creative control, which is important when you are running an online business. The last thing you want is to start a blog, have it become massively successful, then having the site that gave you your free blog shut you down.
While writing posts about things that interest you is simple enough, you may be wondering how this can earn you money. It earns you money through advertising revenue. Much like a television show with a big audience, companies are willing to pay to use your platform to advertise their goods and services. If you have a successful blog you can actually make quite a bit of money through advertising revenue.
You Can Work From Home And Make Money With An Online Business. Many people that end up with extremely successful online businesses first start out treating it like a part time job. Then, over time, as their revenue increases, they begin to slowly transition until it becomes their full-time career. Will this happen to you? Maybe, maybe not, but you won’t know unless you try.
Whether you’re in the market for a major interior overhaul or you’re simply looking to give your home a quick and easy update, chances are you’ve spent some time online hunting for ideas and inspiration. That said, it can be pretty deflating to stumble upon a look you love only to discover the price to achieve it is well above your budget.
Fortunately, there are some killer home decorating blogs that show you how to refresh, revive, and fall in love with your home anew without breaking the bank. For a home that looks far more expensive than it costs to create, check out the following blogs for all of the interior inspiration and DIY tutorials you’ll ever need.
Welcome back to the week 5 update for the One Room Challenge. Check out the blog posts and updates for week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4 if you missed them. It’s crunch time now and I’ll be honest… I don’t know that this project will be completely wrapped up for the reveal date. The great thing is the reveal and hitting a deadline is not the only goal of reason for this challenge. Ultimately having a fully functional and hopefully beautiful bathroom is where we want to end up even it things are a bit delayed.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.
When we left off last time the countertops had been templated, the trim was freshly painted and the hardware had been ordered. The hardware took about 1 week to arrive. We chose the Menlo Park 4″ pull from Schlub in chrome because I think the pull has the perfect mix of square and some rounded elements that make it a great transitional hardware option. We went with all pulls for the drawers and doors since the knob option in that line weren’t our favorite.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The quartz countertops are now installed and things can be put back together. Rectangle, undercount sinks were also purchased through the fabricator. The Marble look quartz from Pental and it is gorgeous with the warm gray veins running throughout. For the edge went for a flat polish eased edge for a clean, simple look.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
Two days after the quartz countertops were installed the tile installer came back to finish up tiling the niches, installing the tile base and grout everything.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The electoral is being relocated for the new lights. There are some drywall and painting touch ups to do and plumbing fixtures to be hooked up. Plus adding all the finishing touches ???? All those little things like towel hooks, curtain rod, and accessories will bring this whole thing together.
It’s been too long since I’ve updated and even longer since this work has been started. This is me sharing remodel updates, mostly for myself (but also for my nagging family members). I’m sharing photos of the progress that has been made while also document the craziness that has gone on. This is just the beginning of the remodel.
Prior to moving in I had 3-4 weeks where my apartment lease overlapped with the possession of my townhome. This allowed me, with the amazing help of my family, to paint, tear-out carpet and somewhat put back together the upstairs portion of my place so that I could have a clean room to put a bed. At least one that wasn’t completely torn apart. One area that felt more livable that the rest. If you haven’t seen or don’t remember these are the before photos from when I took possession. To list it out here are the main things that I was tacking during those week prior to me moving in.
Phase 1 Remodel Projects
ripping out baseboard, carpet and tack strips upstairs and preparing for new hard surface flooring. (this flooring will go throughout minus the stairs and bathrooms/laundry)
installing flooring upstairs (one of my installers did this)
mostly gutting the master bathroom
installing a new tub and rough in plumbing for the master and powder bath
ordering and installing a rift white oak vanity for the master
Painting (and priming where needed) the ceilings and walls of the bedrooms. Caulking and painting the crown molding in the master
replacing and upgrading the baseboard heater in the master and patch the drywall
painting the hallway and down through the stairwell
adding skirt board to the stairs
installing new carpet and pad on the stairs (my carpet installer from work did this)
removing upper cabinets on the fridge side in the kitchen
partially demoing the wall diving the kitchen (prepare to move switches, outlets, heater and thermostat)
removing drywall on wall next to bar in dining area
painting the downstairs powder bath and removing vanity to prepare for a new floating vanity
Those were the main projects that took place and then I moved in the day after Thanksgiving. Getting rid of the original, nasty cat carpet and new flooring made a huge difference to the upstairs. Also neutralizing and lightening the paint made things feel so much more fresh. I still have no baseboards but I’ll get on that one day! For now here are some photos that I snapped along the way.
It’s been a while since been posting on here but I have some new updates and projects that I have been working on. Last summer into fall I was house hunting while knowing the lease on my apartment would be expiring end of the 2019. It felt a little crazy but was a fun process for me. After a bunch of searching I found and closed on a new home!
I was lucky enough to have a few weeks of overlap with my apartment (I ended up moving out 1 month early) so I was able to get started on projects and updates prior to moving in. I’ll share more about those in the coming weeks (there are still so many unfinished things!) but for now I think it’s best to start with some before photos. Also, follow along on Instagram where I post current project updates more often. The pictures show it in the state I bought it in. It’s a great first place to me and was functional as-is but as you might expect I’m here to make things my own by doing updates that I will enjoy while living here and that will also add value and functionality to the space down the line when I sell… or maybe even keep it as a rental. My dog, Nova, has been enjoying the space as well ???? There are a couple of things to miss about my Bothell apartment but I am very ready to have my own place and space.
In 2017 the guest bathroom was remodeled. You can see more photos and read about that here. Almost everything came out and all new things went back in. From emails and comments people have been asking for sources so I have rounded up what I could in this post to share paint colors, products and links that I could find for the bathroom.
Bathroom Sources and Details:
Wall color: BM Balboa Mist
Trim and door color: BM Chantilly Lace
Floor Tile: Pental Mark Chrome 12×24 matte
Shower tile: Jeffrey Court Weather Gray 4×12 gloss subway
Niche tile: Daltile clio mosaic
Bathtub: Maax Rubix tub
Cabinet: Spencer Cabinets – painted BM Cape May Cobblestone
Countertop: Pental Quartz Misterio polished 3cm
Cabinet hardware: Schaub Menlo Park Pull in chrome
Faucets: Hansgrohe Metris single handle in chrome
Shower trims: Kohler slide bar kit, wall mount supply and Hansgrohe tub spout in chrome
Mirrors: Homegoods
Towel Hooks: Delta Tolva robe hook in chrome