Real estate investing is a tempting proposition these days. With so many great deals out there, how do you know if you should invest in a property? Real estate evaluation can be tricky.

While it is true that you can make money by investing in real estate, it does take time, money and know-how to do it. Here are some property tips to keep in mind.

First of all determine what kind of property you want: commercial or residential. If it’s residential, will you use it as your primary residence, a secondary residence or a rental property? Also, as they say in the real-estate industry, the most important thing to consider is “location, location, location.” Where do you want your new property to be?

Finding property can be fun whether looking in Florida or real estate in Spain. A lot of the legwork you can do on the Internet. You can find property listings with pictures and all the information you may need. If you want to invest in more than one parcel, consider purchasing access to a multi-list service (MLS), but be advised that, depending on local regulations, you may need to be a licensed real-estate professional.

You can easily spend hours, days or weeks checking out the listings, but you should not buy a property without stepping away from the computer and going to look at individual sites. As you visit each one, be sure to notice the surrounding neighborhood. Are other properties in good repair? Do you see a lot of “For Sale” signs? If you are really interested in a particular area, take the time to visit briefly with some of the residents. Are there any major problems in the area? Read the local newspaper: does the area seem to be on the rise?

If there is a specific parcel you are interested in, talking to a neighbor may help you find out about problems. The neighbor could tell if the property ever becomes flooded or if he or she often sees repair trucks on the site.

Be sure to visit the parcel itself several times, at different times of day and in different weather. Go when it’s raining and you may find out about a leaky roof or basement. Going on a weekend night will tell you if the neighbors are noisy. Going in the winter will tell you if the furnace works properly.

Unless you are a real estate professional, be sure to hire an inspector before you buy a property. The inspector will list all the major and minor problems he or she finds. Of course, do some inspecting yourself as, unfortunately, not all inspectors are honest.

When you find flaws, do not consider them to be “deal killers”. Instead use them as bargaining chips to drive down the selling price. The owner may be willing to reduce the price if you offer to pick up the cost on some repairs.

When all is said and done, real-estate investing takes a bit of effort. However, if you do your research, both online and onsite, you can get a great return on your investment.

Technorati Tags: b, business;finance, f, finance, i, Real Estate, real;estate

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Resolved Question: citizenship english question translate to arabic ?
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INS Citizenship Test Questions
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers a test to all immigrants applying for citizenship. For years, these questions have been selected from among the following list of 100. How would you do? Many, you will find simple. Others are not so easy. In all cases, the answer USCIS wants to hear is given. (Study Materials and Guides)
NOTE: New Test Questions Coming Oct. 1, 2008
On Oct. 1, 2008 The USCIS will switch a new set of test questions. All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to take the redesigned test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after October , 2008 (but before October 1, 2009), there will be an option of taking the new test or the current one.
________________________________________
Current USCIS Test Questions
(Click on the question to see the answer.)
1. What are the colors of our flag?
2. How many stars are there in our flag?
3. What color are the stars on our flag?
4. What do the stars on the flag mean?
5. How many stripes are there in the flag?
6. What color are the stripes?
7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?
8. How many states are there in the Union?
9. What is the 4th of July?
10. What is the date of Independence Day?
11. Independence from whom?
12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
13. Who was the first President of the United States?
14. Who is the President of the United States today?
15. Who is the vice-president of the United States today?
16. Who elects the President of the United States?
17. Who becomes President of the United States if the President should die?
18. For how long do we elect the President?
19. What is the Constitution?
20. Can the Constitution be changed?
21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?
22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?
23. How many branches are there in our government?
24. What are the three branches of our government?
25. What is the legislative branch of our government?
26. Who makes the laws in the United States?
27. What is the Congress?
28. What are the duties of Congress?
29. Who elects the Congress?
30. How many senators are there in Congress?
31. Can you name the two senators from your state?
32. For how long do we elect each senator?
33. How many representatives are there in Congress?
34. For how long do we elect the representatives?
35. What is the executive branch of our government?
36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?
37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
38. What is the supreme court law of the United States?
39. What is the Bill of Rights?
40. What is the capital of your state?
41. Who is the current governor of your state?
42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die?
43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
44. Can you name thirteen original states?
45. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”?
46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?
47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?
48. How many terms can the President serve?
49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
50. Who is the head of your local government?
51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.
52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?
53. Who selects the Supreme Court justice?
54. How many Supreme Court justice are there?
55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
56. What is the head executive of a state government called?
57. What is the head executive of a city government called?
58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?
59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?
62. What is the national anthem of the United States?
63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
64. Where does freedom of speech come from?
65. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?
66. Who signs bills into law?
67. What is the highest court in the United States?
68. Who was the President during the Civil War?
69. What did the Emancipation Declaration do?
70. What special group advises the President?
71. Which President is called the “Father of our country”?
72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
75. What are the 13 original states of the U.S. called?
76. Name 3 rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
77. Who has the power to declare the war?
78. What kind of government does the United States have?
79. Which President freed the slaves?
80. In what year was the Constitution written?
81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
83. Where does Congress meet?
84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
86. Name one benefit of being citizen of the United States.
87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?
88. What is the United States Capitol?
89. What is the White House?
90. Where is the White House located?
91. What is the name of the President’s official home?
92. Name the right guaranteed by the first amendment.
93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
95. In what month do we vote for the President?
96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?
98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?
99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?
100. How many states are there in the United States today?
________________________________________
1. What are the colors of our flag?
Red, White, and Blue.
2. How many stars are there in our flag?
50
3. What color are the stars on our flag?
White.
4. What do the stars on the flag mean?
One for each state in the Union.
5. How many stripes are there in the flag?
13
6. What color are the stripes?
Red and White.
7. What do the stripes on the flag mean?
They represent the original 13 states.
8. How many states are there in the Union?
50
9. What is the 4th of July?
Independence Day.
10. What is the date of Independence Day?
July 4th
11. Independence from whom?
England
12. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
England
13. Who was the first President of the United States?
George Washington
14. Who is the President of the United States today?
Currently George W. Bush
15. Who is the vice-president of the United States today?
Currently Richard B. (”Dick”) Cheney
16. Who elects the President of the United States?
The electoral college
17. Who becomes President of the United States if the President should die?
Vice – President
18. For how long do we elect the President?
Four years
19. What is the Constitution?
The supreme law of the land
20. Can the Constitution be changed?
Yes
21. What do we call a change to the Constitution?
An Amendment
22. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?
27
23. How many branches are there in our government?
3
24. What are the three branches of our government?
Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary
25. What is the legislative branch of our government?
Congress
26. Who makes the laws in the United States?
Congress
27. What is the Congress?
The Senate and the House of Representatives
28. What are the duties of Congress?
To make laws
29. Who elects the Congress?
The people
30. How many senators are there in Congress?
100
31. Can you name the two senators from your state?
(insert local information)
32. For how long do we elect each senator?
6 years
33. How many representatives are there in Congress?
435
34. For how long do we elect the representatives?
2 years
35. What is the executive branch of our government?
The President, vice president, cabinet, and departments under the cabinet members
36. What is the judiciary branch of our government?
The Supreme Court
37. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
To interpret laws
38. What is the supreme court law of the United States?
The Constitution
39. What is the Bill of Rights?
The first 10 amendments of the Constitution
40. What is the capital of your state?
(insert local information)
41. Who is the current governor of your state?
(insert local information)
42. Who becomes President of the United States if the President and the vice-president should die?
Speaker of the House of Representative
43. Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
William Rehnquist (or whoever is next)
44. Can you name thirteen original states?
Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Maryland.
45. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.”?
Patrick Henry
46. Which countries were our enemies during World War II?
Germany, Italy, and Japan
47. What are the 49th and 50th states of the Union?
Hawaii and Alaska
48. How many terms can the President serve?
2
49. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
A civil rights leader
50. Who is the head of your local government?
(insert local information)
51. According to the Constitution, a person must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible to become President. Name one of these requirements.
Must be a natural born citizen of the United States; must be at least 35 years old by the time he/she will serve; must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
52. Why are there 100 Senators in the Senate?
Two (2) from each state
53. Who selects the Supreme Court justice?
Appointed by the President
54. How many Supreme Court justice are there?
Nine (9)
55. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
For religious freedom
56. What is the head executive of a state government called?
Governor
57. What is the head executive of a city government called?
Mayor
58. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by the Americans colonists?
Thanksgiving
59. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson
60. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
July 4, 1776
61. What is the basic belief of the Declaration of Independence?
That all men are created equal
62. What is the national anthem of the United States?
The Star-Spangled Banner
63. Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?
Francis Scott Key
64. Where does freedom of speech come from?
The Bill of Rights
65. What is a minimum voting age in the United States?
Eighteen (18)
66. Who signs bills into law?
The President
67. What is the highest court in the United States?
The Supreme Court
68. Who was the President during the Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln
69. What did the Emancipation Declaration do?
Freed many slaves
70. What special group advises the President?
The Cabinet
71. Which President is called the “Father of our country”?
George Washington
72. What Immigration and Naturalization Service form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?
Form N-400, Application to File Petition for Naturalization
73. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
The American-Indians (Native Americans)
74. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
The Mayflower
75. What are the 13 original states of the U.S. called?
Colonies
76. Name 3 rights of freedom guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
The right of freedom of speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and requesting change of government.
The right to bear arms (the right to have weapons or own a gun, though subject to certain regulations).
The government may not quarter, or house, soldiers in the people’s homes during peacetime without the people’s consent.
The government may not search or take a person’s property without a warrant.
A person may not be tried twice for the same crime and does not have to testify against him/herself.
A person charged with a crime still has some rights, such as the right to a trial and to have a lawyer.
The right to trial by jury in most cases.
Protects people against excessive or unreasonable fines or cruel and unusual punishment.
The people have rights other than those mentioned in the Constitution.
Any power not given to the federal government by the Constitution is a power of either the state or the people.
77. Who has the power to declare the war?
The Congress
78. What kind of government does the United States have?
Democracy
79. Which President freed the slaves?
Abraham Lincoln
80. In what year was the Constitution written?
1787
81. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
The Bill of Rights
82. Name one purpose of the United Nations?
For countries to discuss and try to resolve world problems, to provide economic aid to many countries.
83. Where does Congress meet?
In the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
84. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Everyone (citizens and non-citizens) living in U.S.
85. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
The Preamble
86. Name one benefit of being citizen of the United States.
Obtain federal government jobs, travel with U.S. passport, petition for close relatives to come to the U.S. to live.
87. What is the most important right granted to U.S. citizens?
The right to vote
88. What is the United States Capitol?
The place where Congress meets
89. What is the White House?
The President’s official home
90. Where is the White House located?
Washington, D.C. (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.)
91. What is the name of the President’s official home?
The White House
92. Name the right guaranteed by the first amendment.
Freedom of: speech, press, religion, peaceable assembly, and requesting change of the government.
93. Who is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
The President
94. Which President was the first Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
George Washington
95. In what month do we vote for the President?
November
96. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
January
97. How many times may a Senator be re-elected?
There is no limit
98. How many times may a Congressman be re-elected?
There is no limit
99. What are the 2 major political parties in the U.S. today?
Democratic and Republican
100. How many states are there in the United States today?
Fifty (50)

New Naturalization Test Questions
Beginning on Oct. 1, 2008, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will replace the set of questions currently used as part of the citizenship test with the questions listed here. All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to take the new test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after October , 2008 (but before October 1, 2009), there will be an option of taking the new test or the current one.
New Test Questions and Answers
Some questions have more than one correct answer. In those cases, all acceptable answers are shown. All answers are shown exactly as worded by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
A. Principles of American Democracy
1. What is the supreme law of the land?
A: The Constitution
2. What does the Constitution do?
A: sets up the government
A: defines the government
A: protects basic rights of Americans
3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
A: We the People
4. What is an amendment?
A: a change (to the Constitution)
A: an addition (to the Constitution)
5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
A: The Bill of Rights
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
A: speech
A: religion
A: assembly
A: press
A: petition the government
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
A: twenty-seven (27)
8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
A: announced our independence (from Great Britain)
A: declared our independence (from Great Britain)
A: said that the United States is free (from Great Britain)
9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
A: life
A: liberty
A: pursuit of happiness
10. What is freedom of religion?
A: You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.
11. What is the economic system in the United States?*
A: capitalist economy
A: market economy
12. What is the “rule of law”?
A: Everyone must follow the law.
A: Leaders must obey the law.
A: Government must obey the law.
A: No one is above the law.
B. System of Government
13. Name one branch or part of the government.*
A: Congress
A: legislative
A: President
A: executive
A: the courts
A: judicial
14. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?
A: checks and balances
A: separation of powers
15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
A: the President
16. Who makes federal laws?
A: Congress
A: Senate and House (of Representatives)
A: (U.S. or national) legislature
17. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?*
A: the Senate and House (of Representatives)
18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
A: one hundred (100)
19. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
A: six (6)
20. Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?*
A: Answers will vary. [For District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories, the answer is that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]
* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
A: four hundred thirty-five (435)
22. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
A: two (2)
23. Name your U.S. Representative.
A: Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or resident Commissioners may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]
24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
A: all people of the state
25. Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
A: (because of) the state’s population
A: (because) they have more people
A: (because) some states have more people
26. We elect a President for how many years?
A: four (4)
27. In what month do we vote for President?*
A: November
28. What is the name of the President of the United States now?*
A: George W. Bush
A: George Bush
A: Bush
29. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
A: Richard Cheney
A: Dick Cheney
A: Cheney
30. If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
A: the Vice President
31. If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
A: the Speaker of the House
32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
A: the President
33. Who signs bills to become laws?
A: the President
34. Who vetoes bills?
A: the President
35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
A: advises the President
36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
A: Secretary of Agriculture
A: Secretary of Commerce
A: Secretary of Defense
A: Secretary of Education
A: Secretary of Energy
A: Secretary of Health and Human Services
A: Secretary of Homeland Security
A: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
A: Secretary of Interior
A: Secretary of State
A: Secretary of Transportation
A: Secretary of Treasury
A: Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs
A: Secretary of Labor
A: Attorney General
37. does the judicial branch do?
A: reviews laws
A: explains laws
A: resolves disputes (disagreements)
A: decides if a law goes against the Constitution
38. What is the highest court in the United States?
A: the Supreme Court
39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
A: nine (9)
40. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
A: John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)
* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
41. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
A: to print money
A: to declare war
A: to create an army
A: to make treaties
42. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
A: provide schooling and education
A: provide protection (police)
A: provide safety (fire departments)
A: give a driver’s license
A: approve zoning and land use
43. Who is the Governor of your state?
A: Answers will vary. [Residents of the District of Columbia and U.S. territories without a Governor should say "we don't have a Governor."]
44. What is the capital of your state?*
A: Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]
45. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*
A: Democratic and Republican
46. What is the political party of the President now?
A: Republican (Party)
47. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?
A: (Nancy) Pelosi
C: Rights and Responsibilities
48. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
A: Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
A: You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
A: Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
A: A male citizen of any race (can vote).
49. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
A: serve on a jury
A: vote
50. What are two rights only for United States citizens?
A: apply for a federal job
A: vote
A: run for office
A: carry a U.S. passport
51. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
A: freedom of expression
A: freedom of speech
A: freedom of assembly
A: freedom to petition the government
A: freedom of worship
A: the right to bear arms
52. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
A: the United States
A: the flag
53. What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
A: give up loyalty to other countries
A: defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
A: obey the laws of the United States
A: serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
A: serve (do important work for) the nation (if needed)
A: be loyal to the United States
54. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
A: eighteen (18) and older
55. What are two ways that Americans can participate in their democracy?
A: vote
A: join a political party
A: help with a campaign
A: join a civic group
A: join a community group
A: give an elected official your opinion on an issue
A: call Senators and Representatives
A: publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
A: run for office
A: write to a newspaper
56. When is the last day you can send in federal income tax forms?*
A: April 15
57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
A: at age eighteen (18)
A: between eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26)
AMERICAN HISTORY
A: Colonial Period and Independence
58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
A: freedom
A: political liberty
A: religious freedom
A: economic opportunity
A: practice their religion
A: escape persecution
59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
A: Native Americans
A: American Indians
60. What group of people was taken to America and sold as slaves?
A: Africans
A: people from Africa
* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
A: because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
A: because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
A: because they didn’t have self-government
62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
A: (Thomas) Jefferson
63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
A: July 4, 1776
64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
A: New Hampshire
A: Massachusetts
A: Rhode Island
A: Connecticut
A: New York
A: New Jersey
A: Pennsylvania
A: Delaware
A: Maryland
A: Virginia
A: North Carolina
A: South Carolina
A: Georgia
65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
A: The Constitution was written.
A: The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.
66. When was the Constitution written?
A: 1787
67. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
A: (James) Madison
A: (Alexander) Hamilton
A: (John) Jay
A: Publius
68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
A: U.S. diplomat
A: oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
A: first Postmaster General of the United States
A: writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
A: started the first free libraries
69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
A: (George) Washington
70. Who was the first President?*
A: (George) Washington
B: 1800s
71. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
A: the Louisiana Territory
A: Louisiana
72. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
A: War of 1812
A: Mexican-American War
A: Civil War
A: Spanish-American War
73. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
A: the Civil War
A: the War between the States
74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
A: slavery
A: economic reasons
A: states’ rights
75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?*
A: freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
A: saved (or preserved) the Union
A: led the United States during the Civil War
76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
A: freed the slaves
A: freed slaves in the Confederacy
A: freed slaves in the Confederate states
A: freed slaves in most Southern states
77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
A: fought for women’s rights
A: fought for civil rights
C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information
78. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.*
A: World War I
A: World War II
A: Korean War
A: Vietnam War
A: (Persian) Gulf War
79. Who was President during World War I?
A: (Woodrow) Wilson
80. Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
A: (Franklin) Roosevelt
* If you are 65 years old or older and have been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the questions that have been marked with an asterisk.
81. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
A: Japan, Germany and Italy
82. Before he was President, Eisenhower was a general. What war was he in?
A: World War II
83. During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?
A: Communism
84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
A: civil rights (movement)
85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?*
A: fought for civil rights
A: worked for equality for all Americans
86. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States?
A: Terrorists attacked the United States.
87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
[Adjudicators will be supplied with a complete list.]
A: Cherokee
A: Navajo
A: Sioux
A: Chippewa
A: Choctaw
A: Pueblo
A: Apache
A: Iroquois
A: Creek
A: Blackfeet
A: Seminole
A: Cheyenne
A: Arawak
A: Shawnee
A: Mohegan
A: Huron
A: Oneida
A: Lakota
A: Crow
A: Teton
A: Hopi
A: Inuit
INTEGRATED CIVICS
A: Geography
88. Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
A: Missouri (River)
A: Mississippi (River)
89. What ocean is on the West Coast of the United States?
A: Pacific (Ocean)
90. What ocean is on the East Coast of the United States?
A: Atlantic (Ocean)
91. Name one U.S. territory.
A: Puerto Rico
A: U.S. Virgin Islands
A: American Samoa
A: Northern Mariana Islands
A: Guam
92. Name one state that borders Canada.
A: Maine
A: New Hampshire
A: Vermont
A: New York
A: Pennsylvania
A: Ohio
A: Michigan
A: Minnesota
A: North Dakota
A: Montana
A: Idaho
A: Washington
A: Alaska
93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
A: California
A: Arizona
A: New Mexico
A: Texas
94. What is the capital of the United States?*
A: Washington, D.C.
95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?*
A: New York (Harbor)
A: Liberty Island
[Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]
B. Symbols
96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
A: because there were 13 original colonies
A: because the stripes represent the original colonies
97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?*
A: because there is one star for each state
A: because each star represents a state
A: because there are 50 states
98. What is the name of the national anthem?
A: The Star-Spangled Banner
C: Holidays
99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?*
A: July 4
100. Name two national U.S. holidays.
A: New Year’s Day
A: Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
A: Presidents’ Day
A: Memorial Day
A: Independence Day
A: Labor Day
A: Columbus Day
A: Veterans Day
A: Thanksgiving
A: Christmas

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Resolved Question: so christians, you like to know how wonderful your religion is? why do you still devote yourself to this evil?
Ancient Pagans

* As soon as Christianity was legal (315), more and more pagan temples were destroyed by Christian mob. Pagan priests were killed.
* Between 315 and 6th century thousands of pagan believers were slain.
* Examples of destroyed Temples: the Sanctuary of Aesculap in Aegaea, the Temple of Aphrodite in Golgatha, Aphaka in Lebanon, the Heliopolis.
* Christian priests such as Mark of Arethusa or Cyrill of Heliopolis were famous as “temple destroyer.” [DA468]
* Pagan services became punishable by death in 356. [DA468]
* Christian Emperor Theodosius (408-450) even had children executed, because they had been playing with remains of pagan statues. [DA469]
According to Christian chroniclers he “followed meticulously all Christian teachings…”
* In 6th century pagans were declared void of all rights.
* In the early fourth century the philosopher Sopatros was executed on demand of Christian authorities. [DA466]
* The world famous female philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria was torn to pieces with glass fragments by a hysterical Christian mob led by a Christian minister named Peter, in a church, in 415.
[DO19-25]

Mission

* Emperor Karl (Charlemagne) in 782 had 4500 Saxons, unwilling to convert to Christianity, beheaded. [DO30]
* Peasants of Steding (Germany) unwilling to pay suffocating church taxes: between 5,000 and 11,000 men, women and children slain 5/27/1234 near Altenesch/Germany. [WW223]
* Battle of Belgrad 1456: 80,000 Turks slaughtered. [DO235]
* 15th century Poland: 1019 churches and 17987 villages plundered by Knights of the Order. Victims unknown. [DO30]
* 16th and 17th century Ireland. English troops “pacified and civilized” Ireland, where only Gaelic “wild Irish”, “unreasonable beasts lived without any knowledge of God or good manners, in common of their goods, cattle, women, children and every other thing.” One of the more successful soldiers, a certain Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, ordered that “the heddes of all those (of what sort soever thei were) which were killed in the daie, should be cutte off from their bodies… and should bee laied on the ground by eche side of the waie”, which effort to civilize the Irish indeed caused “greate terrour to the people when thei sawe the heddes of their dedde fathers, brothers, children, kinsfolke, and freinds on the grounde”.
Tens of thousands of Gaelic Irish fell victim to the carnage. [SH99, 225]

Crusades (1095-1291)

* First Crusade: 1095 on command of pope Urban II. [WW11-41]
* Semlin/Hungary 6/24/96 thousands slain. Wieselburg/Hungary 6/12/96 thousands. [WW23]
* 9/9/96-9/26/96 Nikaia, Xerigordon (then turkish), thousands respectively. [WW25-27]
* Until Jan 1098 a total of 40 capital cities and 200 castles conquered (number of slain unknown) [WW30]
* after 6/3/98 Antiochia (then turkish) conquered, between 10,000 and 60,000 slain. 6/28/98 100,000 Turks (incl. women & children) killed. [WW32-35]
Here the Christians “did no other harm to the women found in [the enemy's] tents – save that they ran their lances through their bellies,” according to Christian chronicler Fulcher of Chartres. [EC60]
* Marra (Maraat an-numan) 12/11/98 thousands killed. Because of the subsequent famine “the already stinking corpses of the enemies were eaten by the Christians” said chronicler Albert Aquensis. [WW36]
* Jerusalem conquered 7/15/1099 more than 60,000 victims (jewish, muslim, men, women, children). [WW37-40]
(In the words of one witness: “there [in front of Solomon's temple] was such a carnage that our people were wading ankle-deep in the blood of our foes”, and after that “happily and crying for joy our people marched to our Saviour’s tomb, to honour it and to pay off our debt of gratitude”)
* The Archbishop of Tyre, eye-witness, wrote: “It was impossible to look upon the vast numbers of the slain without horror; everywhere lay fragments of human bodies, and the very ground was covered with the blood of the slain. It was not alone the spectacle of headless bodies and mutilated limbs strewn in all directions that roused the horror of all who looked upon them. Still more dreadful was it to gaze upon the victors themselves, dripping with blood from head to foot, an ominous sight which brought terror to all who met them. It is reported that within the Temple enclosure alone about ten thousand infidels perished.” [TG79]
* Christian chronicler Eckehard of Aura noted that “even the following summer in all of palestine the air was polluted by the stench of decomposition”. One million victims of the first crusade alone. [WW41]
* Battle of Askalon, 8/12/1099. 200,000 heathens slaughtered “in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ”. [WW45]
* Fourth crusade: 4/12/1204 Constantinople sacked, number of victims unknown, numerous thousands, many of them Christian. [WW141-148]
* Rest of Crusades in less detail: until the fall of Akkon 1291 probably 20 million victims (in the Holy land and Arab/Turkish areas alone). [WW224]

Note: All figures according to contemporary (Christian) chroniclers.

Heretics

* Already in 385 C.E. the first Christians, the Spanish Priscillianus and six followers, were beheaded for heresy in Trier/Germany [DO26]
* Manichaean heresy: a crypto-Christian sect decent enough to practice birth control (and thus not as irresponsible as faithful Catholics) was exterminated in huge campaigns all over the Roman empire between 372 C.E. and 444 C.E. Numerous thousands of victims. [NC]
* Albigensians: the first Crusade intended to slay other Christians. [DO29]
The Albigensians (cathars = Christians allegedly that have all rarely sucked) viewed themselves as good Christians, but would not accept roman Catholic rule, and taxes, and prohibition of birth control. [NC]
Begin of violence: on command of pope Innocent III (greatest single pre-nazi mass murderer) in 1209. Bezirs (today France) 7/22/1209 destroyed, all the inhabitants were slaughtered. Victims (including Catholics refusing to turn over their heretic neighbours and friends) 20,000-70,000. [WW179-181]
* Carcassonne 8/15/1209, thousands slain. Other cities followed. [WW181]
* subsequent 20 years of war until nearly all Cathars (probably half the population of the Languedoc, today southern France) were exterminated. [WW183]
* After the war ended (1229) the Inquisition was founded 1232 to search and destroy surviving/hiding heretics. Last Cathars burned at the stake 1324. [WW183]
* Estimated one million victims (cathar heresy alone), [WW183]
* Other heresies: Waldensians, Paulikians, Runcarians, Josephites, and many others. Most of these sects exterminated, (I believe some Waldensians live today, yet they had to endure 600 years of persecution) I estimate at least hundred thousand victims (including the Spanish inquisition but excluding victims in the New World).
* Spanish Inquisitor Torquemada alone allegedly responsible for 10,220 burnings. [DO28]
* John Huss, a critic of papal infallibility and indulgences, was burned at the stake in 1415. [LI475-522]
* University professor B.Hubmaier burned at the stake 1538 in Vienna. [DO59]
* Giordano Bruno, Dominican monk, after having been incarcerated for seven years, was burned at the stake for heresy on the Campo dei Fiori (Rome) on 2/17/1600.

Witches

* from the beginning of Christianity to 1484 probably more than several thousand.
* in the era of witch hunting (1484-1750) according to modern scholars several hundred thousand (about 80% female) burned at the stake or hanged. [WV]
* incomplete list of documented cases:
The Burning of Witches – A Chronicle of the Burning Times

Religious Wars

* 15th century: Crusades against Hussites, thousands slain. [DO30]
* 1538 pope Paul III declared Crusade against apostate England and all English as slaves of Church (fortunately had not power to go into action). [DO31]
* 1568 Spanish Inquisition Tribunal ordered extermination of 3 million rebels in (then Spanish) Netherlands. Thousands were actually slain. [DO31]
* 1572 In France about 20,000 Huguenots were killed on command of pope Pius V. Until 17th century 200,000 flee. [DO31]
* 17th century: Catholics slay Gaspard de Coligny, a Protestant leader. After murdering him, the Catholic mob mutilated his body, “cutting off his head, his hands, and his genitals… and then dumped him into the river [...but] then, deciding that it was not worthy of being food for the fish, they hauled it out again [... and] dragged what was left … to the gallows of Montfaulcon, ‘to be meat and carrion for maggots and crows’.” [SH191]
* 17th century: Catholics sack the city of Magdeburg/Germany: roughly 30,000 Protestants were slain. “In a single church fifty women were found beheaded,” reported poet Friedrich Schiller, “and infants still sucking the breasts of their lifeless mothers.” [SH191]
* 17th century 30 years’ war (Catholic vs. Protestant): at least 40% of population decimated, mostly in Germany. [DO31-32]

Jews

* Already in the 4th and 5th centuries synagogues were burned by Christians. Number of Jews slain unknown.
* In the middle of the fourth century the first synagogue was destroyed on command of bishop Innocentius of Dertona in Northern Italy. The first synagogue known to have been burned down was near the river Euphrat, on command of the bishop of Kallinikon in the year 388. [DA450]
* 17. Council of Toledo 694: Jews were enslaved, their property confiscated, and their children forcibly baptized. [DA454]
* The Bishop of Limoges (France) in 1010 had the cities’ Jews, who would not convert to Christianity, expelled or killed. [DA453]
* First Crusade: Thousands of Jews slaughtered 1096, maybe 12.000 total. Places: Worms 5/18/1096, Mainz 5/27/1096 (1100 persons), Cologne, Neuss, Altenahr, Wevelinghoven, Xanten, Moers, Dortmund, Kerpen, Trier, Metz, Regensburg, Prag and others (All locations Germany except Metz/France, Prag/Czech) [EJ]
* Second Crusade: 1147. Several hundred Jews were slain in Ham, Sully, Carentan, and Rameru (all locations in France). [WW57]
* Third Crusade: English Jewish communities sacked 1189/90. [DO40]
* Fulda/Germany 1235: 34 Jewish men and women slain. [DO41]
* 1257, 1267: Jewish communities of London, Canterbury, Northampton, Lincoln, Cambridge, and others exterminated. [DO41]
* 1290 in Bohemian (Poland) allegedly 10,000 Jews killed. [DO41]
* 1337 Starting in Deggendorf/Germany a Jew-killing craze reaches 51 towns in Bavaria, Austria, Poland. [DO41]
* 1348 All Jews of Basel/Switzerland and Strasbourg/France (two thousand) burned. [DO41]
* 1349 In more than 350 towns in Germany all Jews murdered, mostly burned alive (in this one year more Jews were killed than Christians in 200 years of ancient Roman persecution of Christians). [DO42]
* 1389 In Prag 3,000 Jews were slaughtered. [DO42]
* 1391 Seville’s Jews killed (Archbishop Martinez leading). 4,000 were slain, 25,000 sold as slaves. [DA454] Their identification was made easy by the brightly colored “badges of shame” that all jews above the age of ten had been forced to wear.
* 1492: In the year Columbus set sail to conquer a New World, more than 150,000 Jews were expelled from Spain, many died on their way: 6/30/1492. [MM470-476]
* 1648 Chmielnitzki massacres: In Poland about 200,000 Jews were slain. [DO43]

(I feel sick …) this goes on and on, century after century, right into the kilns of Auschwitz.

Native Peoples

* Beginning with Columbus (a former slave trader and would-be Holy Crusader) the conquest of the New World began, as usual understood as a means to propagate Christianity.
* Within hours of landfall on the first inhabited island he encountered in the Caribbean, Columbus seized and carried off six native people who, he said, “ought to be good servants … [and] would easily be made Christians, because it seemed to me that they belonged to no religion.” [SH200]
While Columbus described the Indians as “idolators” and “slaves, as many as [the Crown] shall order,” his pal Michele de Cuneo, Italian nobleman, referred to the natives as “beasts” because “they eat when they are hungry,” and made love “openly whenever they feel like it.” [SH204-205]
* On every island he set foot on, Columbus planted a cross, “making the declarations that are required” – the requerimiento – to claim the ownership for his Catholic patrons in Spain. And “nobody objected.” If the Indians refused or delayed their acceptance (or understanding), the requerimiento continued:

I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter in your country and shall make war against you … and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church … and shall do you all mischief that we can, as to vassals who do not obey and refuse to receive their lord and resist and contradict him.” [SH66]

* Likewise in the words of John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony: “justifieinge the undertakeres of the intended Plantation in New England … to carry the Gospell into those parts of the world, … and to raise a Bulworke against the kingdome of the Ante-Christ.” [SH235]
* In average two thirds of the native population were killed by colonist-imported smallpox before violence began. This was a great sign of “the marvelous goodness and providence of God” to the Christians of course, e.g. the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote in 1634, as “for the natives, they are near all dead of the smallpox, so as the Lord hath cleared our title to what we possess.” [SH109,238]
* On Hispaniola alone, on Columbus visits, the native population (Arawak), a rather harmless and happy people living on an island of abundant natural resources, a literal paradise, soon mourned 50,000 dead. [SH204]
* The surviving Indians fell victim to rape, murder, enslavement and spanish raids.
* As one of the culprits wrote: “So many Indians died that they could not be counted, all through the land the Indians lay dead everywhere. The stench was very great and pestiferous.” [SH69]
* The indian chief Hatuey fled with his people but was captured and burned alive. As “they were tying him to the stake a Franciscan friar urged him to take Jesus to his heart so that his soul might go to heaven, rather than descend into hell. Hatuey replied that if heaven was where the Christians went, he would rather go to hell.” [SH70]
* What happened to his people was described by an eyewitness:
“The Spaniards found pleasure in inventing all kinds of odd cruelties … They built a long gibbet, long enough for the toes to touch the ground to prevent strangling, and hanged thirteen [natives] at a time in honor of Christ Our Saviour and the twelve Apostles… then, straw was wrapped around their torn bodies and they were burned alive.” [SH72]
Or, on another occasion:
“The Spaniards cut off the arm of one, the leg or hip of another, and from some their heads at one stroke, like butchers cutting up beef and mutton for market. Six hundred, including the cacique, were thus slain like brute beasts…Vasco [de Balboa] ordered forty of them to be torn to pieces by dogs.” [SH83]
* The “island’s population of about eight million people at the time of Columbus’s arrival in 1492 already had declined by a third to a half before the year 1496 was out.” Eventually all the island’s natives were exterminated, so the Spaniards were “forced” to import slaves from other caribbean islands, who soon suffered the same fate. Thus “the Caribbean’s millions of native people [were] thereby effectively liquidated in barely a quarter of a century”. [SH72-73] “In less than the normal lifetime of a single human being, an entire culture of millions of people, thousands of years resident in their homeland, had been exterminated.” [SH75]
* “And then the Spanish turned their attention to the mainland of Mexico and Central America. The slaughter had barely begun. The exquisite city of Tenochtitln [Mexico city] was next.” [SH75]
* Cortez, Pizarro, De Soto and hundreds of other spanish conquistadors likewise sacked southern and mesoamerican civilizations in the name of Christ (De Soto also sacked Florida).
* “When the 16th century ended, some 200,000 Spaniards had moved to the Americas. By that time probably more than 60,000,000 natives were dead.” [SH95]

Of course no different were the founders of what today is the US of Amerikkka.

* Although none of the settlers would have survived winter without native help, they soon set out to expel and exterminate the Indians. Warfare among (north American) Indians was rather harmless, in comparison to European standards, and was meant to avenge insults rather than conquer land. In the words of some of the pilgrim fathers: “Their Warres are farre less bloudy…”, so that there usually was “no great slawter of nether side”. Indeed, “they might fight seven yeares and not kill seven men.” What is more, the Indians usually spared women and children. [SH111]
* In the spring of 1612 some English colonists found life among the (generally friendly and generous) natives attractive enough to leave Jamestown – “being idell … did runne away unto the Indyans,” – to live among them (that probably solved a sex problem).
“Governor Thomas Dale had them hunted down and executed: ‘Some he apointed (sic) to be hanged Some burned Some to be broken upon wheles, others to be staked and some shott to deathe’.” [SH105] Of course these elegant measures were restricted for fellow englishmen: “This was the treatment for those who wished to act like Indians. For those who had no choice in the matter, because they were the native people of Virginia” methods were different: “when an Indian was accused by an Englishman of stealing a cup and failing to return it, the English response was to attack the natives in force, burning the entire community” down. [SH105]
* On the territory that is now Massachusetts the founding fathers of the colonies were committing genocide, in what has become known as the “Peqout War”. The killers were New England Puritan Christians, refugees from persecution in their own home country England.
* When however, a dead colonist was found, apparently killed by Narragansett Indians, the Puritan colonists wanted revenge. Despite the Indian chief’s pledge they attacked.
Somehow they seem to have lost the idea of what they were after, because when they were greeted by Pequot Indians (long-time foes of the Narragansetts) the troops nevertheless made war on the Pequots and burned their villages.
The puritan commander-in-charge John Mason after one massacre wrote: “And indeed such a dreadful Terror did the Almighty let fall upon their Spirits, that they would fly from us and run into the very Flames, where many of them perished … God was above them, who laughed his Enemies and the Enemies of his People to Scorn, making them as a fiery Oven … Thus did the Lord judge among the Heathen, filling the Place with dead Bodies”: men, women, children. [SH113-114]
* So “the Lord was pleased to smite our Enemies in the hinder Parts, and to give us their land for an inheritance”. [SH111].
* Because of his readers’ assumed knowledge of Deuteronomy, there was no need for Mason to quote the words that immediately follow:
“Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth. But thou shalt utterly destroy them…” (Deut 20)
* Mason’s comrade Underhill recalled how “great and doleful was the bloody sight to the view of the young soldiers” yet reassured his readers that “sometimes the Scripture declareth women and children must perish with their parents”. [SH114]
* Other Indians were killed in successful plots of poisoning. The colonists even had dogs especially trained to kill Indians and to devour children from their mothers breasts, in the colonists’ own words: “blood Hounds to draw after them, and Mastives to seaze them.” (This was inspired by spanish methods of the time)
In this way they continued until the extermination of the Pequots was near. [SH107-119]
* The surviving handful of Indians “were parceled out to live in servitude. John Endicott and his pastor wrote to the governor asking for ‘a share’ of the captives, specifically ‘a young woman or girle and a boy if you thinke good’.” [SH115]
* Other tribes were to follow the same path.
* Comment the Christian exterminators: “God’s Will, which will at last give us cause to say: How Great is His Goodness! and How Great is his Beauty!”
“Thus doth the Lord Jesus make them to bow before him, and to lick the Dust!” [TA]
* Like today, lying was OK to Christians then. “Peace treaties were signed with every intention to violate them: when the Indians ‘grow secure uppon (sic) the treatie’, advised the Council of State in Virginia, ‘we shall have the better Advantage both to surprise them, & cutt downe theire Corne’.” [SH106]
* In 1624 sixty heavily armed Englishmen cut down 800 defenseless Indian men, women and children. [SH107]
* In a single massacre in “King Philip’s War” of 1675 and 1676 some “600 Indians were destroyed. A delighted Cotton Mather, revered pastor of the Second Church in Boston, later referred to the slaughter as a ‘barbeque’.” [SH115]
* To summarize: Before the arrival of the English, the western Abenaki people in New Hampshire and Vermont had numbered 12,000. Less than half a century later about 250 remained alive – a destruction rate of 98%. The Pocumtuck people had numbered more than 18,000, fifty years later they were down to 920 – 95% destroyed. The Quiripi-Unquachog people had numbered about 30,000, fifty years later they were down to 1500 – 95% destroyed. The Massachusetts people had numbered at least 44,000, fifty years later barely 6000 were alive – 81% destroyed. [SH118] These are only a few examples of the multitude of tribes living before Christian colonists set their foot on the New World. All this was before the smallpox epidemics of 1677 and 1678 had occurred. And the carnage was not over then.
* All the above was only the beginning of the European colonization, it was before the frontier age actually had begun.
* A total of maybe more than 150 million Indians (of both Americas) were destroyed in the period of 1500 to 1900, as an average two thirds by smallpox and other epidemics, that leaves some 50 million killed directly by violence, bad treatment and slavery.
* In many countries, such as Brazil, and Guatemala, this continues even today.

More Glorious events in US history

* Reverend Solomon Stoddard, one of New England’s most esteemed religious leaders, in “1703 formally proposed to the Massachusetts Governor that the colonists be given the financial wherewithal to purchase and train large packs of dogs ‘to hunt Indians as they do bears’.” [SH241]
* Massacre of Sand Creek, Colorado 11/29/1864. Colonel John Chivington, a former Methodist minister and still elder in the church (”I long to be wading in gore”) had a Cheyenne village of about 600, mostly women and children, gunned down despite the chiefs’ waving with a white flag: 400-500 killed.
From an eye-witness account: “There were some thirty or forty squaws collected in a hole for protection; they sent out a little girl about six years old with a white flag on a stick; she had not proceeded but a few steps when she was shot and killed. All the squaws in that hole were afterwards killed …” [SH131]
More gory details.
* By the 1860s, “in Hawai’i the Reverend Rufus Anderson surveyed the carnage that by then had reduced those islands’ native population by 90 percent or more, and he declined to see it as tragedy; the expected total die-off of the Hawaiian population was only natural, this missionary said, somewhat equivalent to ‘the amputation of diseased members of the body’.” [SH244]

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Resolved Question: history! summarizing each article…..pleazzzzzz!?
Article 1: His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors relinquishes all claims to the government, property, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof.
Article 4: It is agreed that creditors on either side shall meet with no lawful inpediment to the recovery of the full value in sterling money of all bona fide debts heretofore contracted.
Article 8: The navigation of the river Mississippi, from its source to the ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citizens of the United States.

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When the Vendor (aka the seller) of a property is willing to provide some (or all) of the mortgage financing on a property, it is referred to as a Vendor Take Back (VTB). As a real estate investor, I ask for a VTB on most of the deals that I am involved with. As there are significant benefits to both parties involved in the deal, it doesn’t hurt to ask the vendor if he/she would be willing to carry the mortgage – even if it’s only a smaller 2nd mortgage. Believe me- asking that one simple question could result in an additional $5,000 – $10,000 in financing for you!

Using other people’s money is a smart way to use leverage and enable you to buy additional properties- just be careful not to over-extend yourself. The extra money could be put toward renovating or refurbishing, or spent on ads to rent out your new unit.

There are other potential benefits from obtaining a VTB (for you, the purchaser):

– Normally, there is no pre-payment penalty if you pay off the mortgage early (as with bank financing);

– Vendors rarely ask for all of the documentation that banks require so it makes it quicker and easier to finance your property; and

– The mortgage, and it’s value, will not show up on your credit score as is now becoming more common with the big banks and credit unions.

For the seller (vendor), the benefits of a VTB include:

– A way to make a distressed property or a difficult deal more attractive to a buyer (investor) by offering property financing;

– The vendor may make considerably more money on the property by charging a higher than market value interest rate and collecting it back over time;

– Monthly cashflow from the property keeps coming in, even after it’s been sold;

– Currently, a vendor with a VTB can obtain a 5% interest rate or higher (depending on the structure of the deal) return on their equity in the property versus putting that money in the bank and getting maybe a 2% or 3% savings interest rate;

– As the mortgage is secured against the property, the worst thing that can happen to the vendor is that they will have to foreclose on the purchaser and will get their property back (if it’s a first mortgage, that is).

In most cases, your real estate lawyer will create the VTB documentation. But, ensure that your lawyer also thoroughly reviews the Purchase and Sale Agreement and the mortgage documents and it’s conditions. Also, speak with the vendor to determine if the term can be extended when it comes due.

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Hanging Man & the Hammer: It is considered a hanging man if it appears at the top of the uptrend! You are looking at a hammer if you see this pattern at the bottom of a downtrend. The hammer or the hanging man is identified by the small candle that appears at the very top of the pattern and there is usually a pretty long wick at the bottom.

You wouldnt trade on it if the opening price on the next trading day is higher than the hammers close if a hammer appears in a downtrend. Similarly, you wouldnt trade on it unless it is confirmed the next day with an opening price lower than the previous close, if you think you have a hanging man appearing in an uptrend.

Double stick patterns depend on two days. The first day is called the set up day. The second day is called the signal day. If you put in the time and effort to monitor them, these patterns can be very powerful and profitable. Compared to single stick patterns, double stick patterns are difficult to come by and rarely appear.

Engulfing Pattern: Engulfing candlestick pattern can be bullish or bearish! The name comes from the fact that the signal day engulfs the pattern day. Both the wick and the body of the second day completely cover the same ground as the first day. The first double candlestick pattern is the bullish engulfing pattern. The setup day candle should be bearish. The signal day candle should be bullish bigger than the last day bearish candle. Likewise the bearish engulfing pattern signals the end of an uptrend.

Harami: A Harami is a two day candlestick pattern with the candle of the setup day longer than the candle of the signal day. Harami pattern can also be bullish or bearish. The first day is very bearish and occurring in a downtrend in case of a bullish Harami. However, on the second day bulls take over. This signals reversals of a downtrend that culminated in a downtrend. Likewise, a bearish Harami signals end of an uptrend.

Harami Cross: Harami Cross is a special variant of the Harami. It involves a Doji pattern and should always be considered an indicator of the potential reversal. A Harami Cross can also be bullish or bearish. Bullish Harami Cross appears during a downtrend. Its setup date is a black long candle. Its signal day is a Doji. Similarly, a bearish Harami is considered to indicate end of an uptrend.

Inverted Hammer: A bullish inverted hammer pattern occurs in a downtrend. The first day is a bearish candle. The signal day is an inverted hammer. The inverted hammer is a fairly rare pattern. Inverted hammer can be bullish or bearish.

Bullish Doji Star: The bullish doji star is very similar to a bullish inverted hammer. It occurs in a downtrend and signals that the bulls have had enough. A bullish doji pattern is a two day pattern with the doji appearing on the signal day during a downtrend.

Meeting Line: This pattern is another signal that a trend reversal is about to take place. In case of a bullish meeting line, the setup day is a long black candle and the signal day is a long white candle.

Piercing Line: A piercing line two day candlestick pattern can be bullish or bearish! The bullish piercing line consists of a long black candle on the setup day. It is followed by a long white candle on the signal day. The open of the signal day should be lower than the low of the setup day. Likewise, in case of a bearish piercing line, a white candle is followed by a black candle and this pattern must appear in an uptrend.

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There is simply nothing more important than the home, remember, it’s where the heart is. What people consider a home is something a lot more than just where they live and how it looks, it’s a certain state of mind that brings a person peace of mind. Whether it’s a trailer or a mansion, there is always that feel that brings a person inner solace in the fact that they are where they belong, even in the case of corporate housing, where it may be something temporary.

What is Corporate Housing, and why is it better?

Corporate housing is a term used to describe where a company would rent furnished apartments or homes to a patron, an alternative to being in an extended stay hotel room. That particular alternative is something that is clearly better, as hotel rooms; do not give off a feeling of home. The hotel room can be something that is one of the nicest in the world, but it can never beat the feeling that you are where you should be.

The hotel is something isn’t something that is designed to be really lived in, as everything can be quite drab and feel as if it is just a box. In corporate housing, it brings the feeling of home when you’re not exactly home. Corporate housing floor plans generally dwarf those of extended stays, as well.

How does it work?

Corporate housing is something quite simple, actually. By contacting an agency prior to a business trip or something of the sort, a person would then get floor plans of where they may have them available. After talking about a few things such as duration of the stay and how the payment will be handled. The issue of payment in corporate housing is usually handled on a month to month basis, similar to an apartment. The bill can be sent to the employer, the person staying, or the insurance company.

Many corporate housing companies are pretty streamlined, and are even willing to turn off the utilities in the room if the person does not get around to it. They work similar to a hotel in this way, yet they are generally not as invasive as a hotel can be at times. Many corporate housing solutions do not generally have the housekeepers that enter the room to clean, as most of this is done between occupants. In the case of corporate housing, the company is usually willing to do a lot of the work for the person, as the person on the business trip would rather be concerned with the business aspect.

Corporate housing is something that is quite wonderful, especially considering the alternative of a extended stay. Touting bigger floor plans and a more personalized feel, it makes it something of a no-brainer. The operation is something that isn’t particularly too much different than that of a hotel, operating in big cities and providing the services that a person would need to have a successful business trip.

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When on the lookout for a real estate agent to assist you with the sell of your home, you have perchance heard that it is best to select someone that is a realtor. You should realize that there is a difference between a realtor and a real estate agent or broker. A realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors while a real estate agent or broker is not. But, what exactly is the National Association of Realtors and why should you be concerned about whether or not your agent or broker is a member?

Reducing Risks with the National Association of Realtors

Established in the year 1908 as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges, the National Association of Realtors was built on the idea of regulating real estate agents and ensuring clients receive the best service possible.

The professional must complete certain educational requirements that are above and beyond those required to become a real estate salesperson, in order to become a member of the National Association of Realtors.

In addition, a code of ethics and Standards of Practice that have been established by the National Association of Realtors must be followed by the members. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, by following the code of ethics and the Standards of Practice, you can be certain your interests are protected.

Becoming a Member of the National Association of Realtors

Many people do not realize that there are actually different types of real estate professionals that can become members of the National Association of Realtors. Some of these professionals include:

Appraisers Commercial real estate brokers Counselors Immovable property managers Real estate salespeople Residential real estate brokers

Each of these professionals is heavily involved in the real estate transaction process, though their roles do very slightly. Real estate sales people are not as responsible or as educated as responsible as a real estate broker. Still, both can assist you in the house buying process. Similarly, a commercial real estate broker specializes in assisting in transactions having to do with commercial or industrial properties while residential real estate brokers assist with transactions having to do with residential homes.

With a history that is almost 100 year old, the National Association of Realtors is well established and greatly respected in the industry. When you decide to work with a Realtor that belongs to the association, you are taking the first step toward enjoying a successful house buying or selling experience.

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Technical analysis is very important for you to learn. It is the study of past prices to predict future price action. There are a number of technical indicators that are used in finding the best points for entry and exit for each trade. A number of advanced technical indicators have been developed over the years by different experts. They are used by the currency traders to confirm a particular market pattern. You need to master these technical indicators if you want to become a successful trader. Two or more technical indicators are used in conjunction to confirm whether the markets are trending, ranging etc.

Each technical indicator plays a unique role in the overall technical analysis process. You should understand how to use these technical indicators to confirm trending or non trending conditions. Spotting interday or intraday turning points caused by large moves, retracements, continuances or reversals is very important for traders. Time periods and the technical indicators are useful tools for the traders that help in achieving that end.

You should understand how each technical indicator shows direction, entry, exit or weaknesses or strength of price action in trending or non trending market conditions. Each technical indicator performs differently in both trending and non trending markets. You should understand and memorize these differences to make the best use of these tools in your trading.

Lets discuss some of the important technical indicators that are popular among the forex traders. Directional Movement Indicator (DMI) combines Average Directional Index (ADX) and the Directional Index (DI). The Average Directional Index measures the strength of a prevailing trend. ADX isolates those periods where the market is not trending. ADX rises when the trend is strong. It falls when the prior confirmed trend or direction is weakening. It measures the trending quality of the market.

Directional Index (DI) is positive DI+ and negative DI-. DI+ and DI- show direction. When DI+ rises above DI-, an upward direction is confirmed. When DI- rises above DI+, a downward direction is confirmed. A strong move in the markets is confirmed when ADX is rising and both DI+ and DI- are apart.

The Stochastic Indicator identifies swings, tops and bottoms. The Stochastic Indicator is often referred to as the overbought or oversold indicator. It measures the relationship between the closing price of a currency pair and its high or low during a specific number of days or weeks.

As the price of the currency pair rises, the closing price tends to be closer and closer to the extreme highs of the currency pair. Similarly as the prices fall, the closing price tends to fall on average closer and closer to the extreme lows. The Stochastic Indicator does a wonderful job in finding the reversal tendencies in prices.

The Stochastic Indicator is considered to be a highly accurate method of picking the tops and bottoms. This indicator tries to find a correlation between the moving closing price of the currency pair and its reversal tendencies. It is a very useful tool that can be used as a timing aid. It tells you when to take action in a currency pair particularly when it is used in conjunction with other technical indicators. It is very popular among the traders.

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Texas Home Foreclosures will help you get your dream house. The numbers have been at an increase, giving you various options to choose from. However the biggest question will remain the same, as where to chose them from or where will you find them. The options are vast, with their own pros and corns.

Everyone is talking about buying these properties to make profit, build equity and so on. However, it is important for you to know as where to find Texas Home Foreclosures properties:

Call the lender: You have an option of getting in touch with the local lender or real estate agent in the area you want to buy the property in. these agents always carry a fresh list of these properties as they earn their living from it. The advantage of dealing with them is that they would be able to inform you about everything about the area as well as the locality. They can be termed as localities, who know everyone and everything. They can be your best guide.

Ask the sheriff: You can go to the sheriff’s office and ask for the list. They would help you with the updated version of the list; you might get some more information about the properties listed under Texas Home Foreclosures when to take the list for here.

Check on the local state website: This is also a good way of getting information while you are sitting at home. You can check for information on the website that is designed by the government for the same purpose. They will have information in accordance to the area and state you look for. They are state specific. Some people find this method to be the best as it gives you specific information.

Online search: Internet has brought the entire world together. You can search for information sitting at the comfort of your home. If you don’t have anything specific in mind then this is the best place to start from. You can look for the houses that are to be foreclosed all. Once you decide about the place and area that you want, you can narrow down your search as per the same.

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In every eleven minutes people are getting accounted with Real Estate Social Marketing. Real Estate Social Marketing has become a new sensation in promoting your home globally. This trend is bringing up people of all ages and of different walks of life. This interest bringing people to communicate for private and professional network channel. Social marketing has caliber the growth of real estate industry.

Social marketing has become the most simple and easiest way to get in touch with peoples all around the globe. This smart tool has joined up with real estate and now assisting peoples to find their dream homes. This technology has brought remarkable changes and lots of benefits those are outstanding. This unique online marketing method is a way to assist the real estate business for property buying and selling.

Real Estate Social Marketing is an outstanding notion to hype business scope. This powerful tactic is effective for a long-term procedure. In this present economic crisis, social marketing is leading its way and doing best in this condition. I mean simply spreading excellent news in the worst scenario. This technique will provide your website an unique link for international business exposure.

Presently, online marketing like social marketing is playing a vital role to promote your business, products and services instantly. With Real Estate Social Marketing you can start up with a blog, wikis and other virtual world techniques. Walk to any cyber caf? or ask anyone about social marketing and all of them will say -we are already in it?. Look how effectively it is influencing people globally. Social marketing is now the know word and making people crazy about it. It has been found that above 110 million visitors are using social networking sites to promote something or the other and also for other personal means.

The most crucial thing about social networking is its services those are absolutely free and easy to promote something. That’s the sole reason for which these types of services are broadening and putting a mark or everyone’s mind. Utilize of social marketing is the best for real estate business. People will sense proximity regarding your real estate business when you communicate online during your online business promotion. All those old tricks of offline business promotion have become valueless after the evolution of Real Estate Social Marketing. This is the perfect alternative to promote your deals in the safest ways.

Due to the vastness of social marketing, many industries are getting real marketing importance. That’s the whole reason for the inclination of real estate sector towards social marketing. This enticing method has brought real estate professionals to try social marketing in full force. Well, before starting real estate social marketing you need to know the intricate side of this online trend. If you know some basic rules concerned to real estate social marketing then the job for you will get easy. This technique will provide you real money, traffic and high ranking in search engines. People those are looking for home to buy or sell can visit your social networking site and can stay in touch with you. So, now it’s your turn to spread your wings to fly in the Real Estate Social marketing method and get huge benefits.

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Outdoor candle lanterns are very popular with homeowners and landscape designers. Because they are relatively cheap and they are easy to install, it is not hard to see why. You may want to go out and buy some right now, but you may have some questions about where to find them, what they are made of and maybe even where you might want to put them.

Candle lanterns can be found at pretty much any local hardware or home improvement store. The problem with looking for them there is that these stores can only buy and display so much inventory at one time. With this in mind your best chance to snag the right candle lanterns for your backyard are via the internet.

The main part of the candle lantern is the lantern holder itself. The lantern holder supports the candle. These lanterns holders are usually made of metal so it renders the lantern fireproof. The exceptions to this rule are those lanterns made from non-metal material such as paper, wood and nylon.

These lanterns have a wide diversity in design. The designs can run the gamut from a Moroccan style lantern to an Asian inpired design.

The rustic lantern is a fantastic way to mimic one of the travelers in the Old West who went across the continent in covered wagons. These types of metal lanterns can be hung as well as placed on a flat surface.

Pagoda lanterns are the perfect choice if you are planning an asian party or an asian design for your backyard. The pagoda lanterns are typically multisided with cutout panels that allow the light to shine through.

Moroccan lanterns also can help if you are looking for an Arabic or middle eastern theme. The lanterns are typically six sided and have colored glass that is not see through. The color of the glass can then be changed out for different colored themes.

Whatever style you choose is entirely up to you and your preferences. With so many styles and designs to choose from, what are you waiting for?

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