Just the Words

Archive for the ‘Words’ Category

I have to ask because I am getting conflicting information.

The International Monetary Fund says that Irish house prices are overvalued by 30%, which is a frighteningly high figure. The governor of the Central bank disagrees, he says: “the recent falls have brought prices back to realistic levels.” The National Irish bank says in its quarterly report: “house prices have almost ‘bottomed out‘ and that sales activity will return to normal in the second half of the year.” But then when you look at the actions of mortgage lenders, you can see that they are thinking houses are currently over valued. So who should you believe?

I talked to a friend of mine – an estate agent, he says that when a property comes in it either goes out again so fast they barely have time to print the details – or it sits on the books for months. The properties that are selling like hot cakes are of two main types:

The most popular type is a property that can be significantly improved or extended, there are lots of property developers out there and they like these, as they can quickly do the improvements and re-sell the house. Which brings us to the second type of property that is selling quickly – houses that are in good shape ready to move into (such as those just improved by a developer) so I heartily recommend those books on how to make your home attractive to potential buyers.

I also asked about new builds, these seem to be making mortgage lenders very jumpy right now. My friend told me that the ultra luxury (as in million plus) and the just more than starter level (2 bed 2 bath), are selling even before show homes are finished.

Then there is location to consider. Some of the more expensive areas of the country (South County Dublin and Wicklow for example) have seen large price drops. However in Galway city prices have recently increased!

But what does this mean? Will house prices fall further? I am going to be frustratingly unhelpful and say – it depends on the property and on the area! The discussion above is just broad brush strokes. After all demand for housing is still rising. If you are a property investor then there are turbulent times ahead between house prices and mortgage lenders. But if you are looking for a home to live in for a while, now might be a good time to pick up a bargain. But be cautious, don’t plan on buying with the smallest deposit you can right now – and hope to re-mortgage in a few years. That is a risky tactic right now. Buy a home you want to live in.

And above all get a professional to help you with the mortgage, you will need every advantage you can get.

Fixing a bad credit score is becoming increasingly important today. Getting any type of credit is getting harder and interest rates are becoming increasingly punitive for those with bad credit. If that wasn’t enough prices are rising, seemingly every week, so it is becoming very difficult to live without a decent line of credit.
The Basics Of Your Credit Score
Everyone will calculate your credit score slightly differently, but the basics are the same – you need to pay attention to the following five factors:

• The history of your credit payments
• The amounts your owe on lines of credit
• How long you have had credit accounts
• How much new credit you have and have applied for
• Which types of credit you have

First Steps To Repairing Credit

The very first thing to do is get a copy of your credit report. With that information you will be able to tell where you stand. A significant proportion of credit reports contain errors. There may also be negative entries that you can get removed – and you want to make sure that all the positive things are being reported.
Choosing a Credit Repair Kit or a Credit Repair Company

Take a look at your credit report – are there positive things on it? How many negative things are on it that need removing? How many debts that you are still paying are on your report.

Essentially if your credit report looks fairly simple and you have the time and patience then you need to get a good kit. A good Credit Repair kit will educate you about credit scoring and credit repair and give you all the letters you need and guidance about when and how to use them.

If it looks as if you have more complicated problems, which could include debts still to be paid then you may be better off with a credit repair company. Reputable companies will offer you a free consultation to start with so that they can tell you how much they can help you. A good company can also negotiate on your behalf with creditors for reduced payments and lower interest rates.

So the choice is yours. If you are confident that you can deal with it yourself then get a good credit repair kit. If you have complex problems – or simply lack the time and patience then hire a company.

Sexy abs can be achieved in a lot less time than you may imagine. Most people assume that you need to spend hours in the gym to get sexy six pack abs, this is not true. Follow the tips and advice here about efficient exercise and healthy eating and you will have sexy 6 pack abs in no time.

There are two components to great abs, the first is to exercise efficiently:

• Resistance or weight training is where you should spend most of your time.
• Focus more on free weights rather than machines that do half the work for you.
• Use exercises that work multiple muscle groups for the best effect.
• Keep to short and intense workouts
• For the cardio portion of your work out do things like interval training.
• Work out every other day so that you can maximise recovery

The second component to sexy abs is to reduce the layer of fat carried over the abs, these healthy eating tips will help with fat loss.

• At every meal eat a small portion of lean protein.

• Try and make most of your food choices those that are low on the glycemic index.
• Plan your meals ahead of time and when shopping for the ingredients remember not to shop on a full stomach.
• Whilst gaining muscle follow a diet designed to lose 1-2 pounds per week, so that your total fat loss is in the region of 2-3 pounds per week.

These tips will help you to get sexy 6 pack abs quickly. In addition you will have more energy and fell better about yourself – making it easier to maintain a busy lifestyle.

A recent study conducted by a health insurance company found people who kept a regular and accurate food diary lost a higher percentage of weight.

The first step in using a food diary to help in weight loss is to keep a good diary. Use these columns:

• Time
• Food and / or drink
• Where and with who
• Feelings

When a food diary is first used the benefits will start right away. A food diary encourages a focus on food, simple knowledge that anything eaten will be written down will often mean that more thought is given before eating. Binges can be stopped before they start, and healthy choices are often made in the knowledge that it will all be written down. Thinking about food also stops those times when we almost unconsciously reach for a candy or a cookie.

Keeping a diary is also a regular affirmation that you are eating in a healthy way, every time a diary entry is made it motivates and reinforces the desire to lose weight through healthy eating.

As the food diary is used even more benefits appear. A health care provider or dietician can look at the diary and make recommendations, not just about specific weight loss issues but also about general health, what you are eating may be impacting your health in other ways.

A food diary can also be used to track your progress, you can see evidence of how much healthier your diet has become, it can also act as a motivator to see that you are eating better today than you were some time ago.

The food diary also helps to look at the reality of the food choices that you make, it is often said that the first step to correcting a problem is acknowledging that it exists in the first place. Looking at a food diary will show where the problem areas are and allow you to acknowledge them.

Analysis of the food diary will also provide valuable insights, and so give you new areas to improve and refine your weight loss efforts.

You can analyze the diary to check that you are getting the right proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrate. It is important to eat a balanced diet especially when dieting. You can also check for vitamin, mineral and other nutrient intake and start taking supplements if necessary or just adjust your meals.

One of the biggest benefits of keeping a food diary and analysing it is the ability to find your “bad choice” triggers. Once you know what causes you to overeat or reach for a mega chocolate bar then you can take action to either remove the trigger form your life or learn to deal with it in a way other than through food.

Persevere with keeping a food diary, in the beginning it may seem like a lot of trouble for little gain. But this is a proven strategy and the benefits build over time.

I have only just started this site – and I am still creating things to put on it, but I needed a safe way for people to get in touch with me.

So please ignore the mess while I get started and if you want to hire me – or contact me then please use the contact form – to the left.

Thanks