If you’ve previously suffered from financial problems, you may believe there’s little chance to become a homeowner. Prior to the current mortgage industry melt down, an individual who filed bankruptcy could qualify for a home loan in just over a year. But today’s lending climate has made it nearly impossible to qualify for a loan with poor credit.Lenders naturally prefer borrowers with high credit scores. If you have bad credit, don’t give up hope. If you’re willing to expend some effort and time into reestablishing good credit, the good news is you can qualify to buy the home you desire. Plan to set aside six months to two years to reestablish your credit history.If you can convince a potential lender your financial dilemma was due to reasons beyond your control (such as divorce, business failure, medical bills, unemployment) or provide evidence you’ve become financially responsible, you might convince the lender to give you a second chance. But you need to be aware trying to restore your credit requires long-term planning, preparation, and hard effort.On the other hand, if you haven’t filed a bankruptcy or suffered financial problems, but still have other issues affecting your credit such as self employment or a new job less than two years, expect to face an uphill battle trying to qualify for a home loan. Because the mortgage industry is constantly changing, you should speak to a knowledgeable mortgage broker or representative about your available options.Another alternative to traditional financing is to consider owner-will-carry (OWC) financing. If you have no established credit, minimal savings, and a low paying job, this strategy can help you get your foot into the real estate market. Try locating mature homeowners who are fed up with managing their rental properties, but still desired the monthly income a rental property brings. These homeowners make great participants for owner-will-carry financing.By disposing the property to another party, these landlords eliminate the headaches of troublesome tenants, clogged toilets, and malfunctioning air conditioners. They simultaneously earn interest on their seller financed loans which will bring them significantly higher returns than a bank savings account or certificate of deposit.The wonderful aspect about owner or seller financing is the flexibility of lending to anyone the seller desires to, so long as the terms are mutually agreeable. If you can’t qualify for a loan from a regular bank, check out the option of OWC financing as a first choice. Numerous real estate investors and homeowners utilize this alternative without worrying about the hassles of qualifying with a regular lender.
All Natural Skin Care – What Does it Mean and Why Should You Care?
As we get older our skin ages, and as we start to notice ageing skin our thoughts turn to skin care. Today I want to examine the problems with mainstream anti aging products, find out what all natural skin care is and why this is important for you to know.Anti aging products are supposed to be good for us. They are supposed to reverse the effects of skin ageing and to reduce the visible results, namely wrinkles, skin sagging, fine lines, age spots and more. Using skin care products is supposed to be a positive in our life.But unfortunately for many people this is not the case. The numbers of people who suffer from allergies, skin irritation and skin problems like eczema from the use of mainstream big brand skin care products is huge. I know this because it’s happened to a member of my family and because I spend my time researching this.And there is one simple reason for this, a reason that does not apply to all natural skin care products.The reason is this. Many of the antaging brands that you may take for granted and perhaps even use every day contain a range of chemical and petrochemical ingredients, many of which are known to cause cancer and many of which lead to skin problems as well as other health problems.I spend much of my time researching skin care products and looking at the health implications of many of the chemical ingredients which are used in them. For example just this morning I was reading the results of a study done on mice which has been published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology which concluded that the use of moisturizers containing sodium lauryl sulphate increase the risk of skin cancer in mice by 69 percent.This is just one of the hundreds or even thousands of studies which have shown that many of the chemical ingredients used in modern big brand name skin care products can have a range of health implications. Ingredients such as mineral oil, parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate, fragrances, petroleum products and more are all used in many if not most of the big brand anti aging products that you see on the shelves every day. And each of these has been shown in various studies to put consumers at risk of health and skin problems.There are a wide range of well-known natural ingredients which are firmly established to be very beneficial to the health of your skin and which are perfectly safe to use in anti aging products such as all natural anti aging products. These ingredients are known to be safe and in many cases have been eaten by generations of people without negative health implications.Of course these natural ingredients are all available to any company to use in it’s anti aging products. However with billions of dollars at stake in this industry competition is voracious, including competition on price. Whilst all of these natural ingredients found in so many good all natural skin care products are relatively expensive chemical ingredients such as mineral oil and sodium lauryl sulphate are extremely cheap. These companies use cheap ingredients so that they can market their products at a competitive price and include in the budget plenty of money for television advertising.However this situation offers an opportunity to new players in the market, and to some older players, to develop products which take advantage of the growing awareness of the problem of chemical ingredients in anti aging products. These niche companies produce excellent all natural anti aging products using ingredients which are known to be safe and which are highly effective, and usually more so than the chemical ingredients used in the big brands.All natural skin care products work very effectively, and if you choose wisely they are perfectly safe for you to use on your skin, regardless of skin type, and will not cause any skin irritation or allergies or any other health problems.Note that I said “if you choose wisely”. There are many anti aging products advertised as all natural skin care products which contain many of the chemical ingredients used in the big brand names. There is no government regulation determining what can or cannot be used in anti aging products and what can or cannot be said on the label, so cheating is rife.The best all natural skin care products offer you an opportunity for excellent skin care without risking your health or your skin. They are highly effective and they need to be, because the best ones come with a money back guarantee to ensure that all customers are able to try the products risk free to establish for themselves how well they work.So if you’re becoming concerned about the problems with mainstream anti aging skin care products and you can be confident in the knowledge that, if you choose wisely, you can find excellent all natural skin care products that really do produce optimum skin health without the chemical risks.Visit my website to find out more.
What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime
What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.
As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.
That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.
Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.
Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.
Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.
Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.
That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.
Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.
Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.
My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.
Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.
And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.
All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:
• Farm eggs
• Fresh vegetables
• Cow’s milk
• Freshly baked bread
• Coal for our open fires
Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.
Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.
Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.
Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.
My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.
The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.
Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.
Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.
People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.
In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.
Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.
• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.
• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.
• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.
On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.
Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.
We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.
Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.
My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.