Depending on where you live, you may be facing certain restrictions on the type of business you run from your home. Historically, zoning laws were quite strict, often refusing to allow any business to be conducted in residential neighborhoods. Now, with over one-half of all US businesses being run from home, local governments are easing the rules. Home-based businesses are good for the economy, and the latest changes in the law are reflecting that fact. Of course, as with most things, the government can be slow to catch up and it is important that you check into your local zoning regulations before you launch your venture.The most common zoning laws for residential areas regulate four broad areas:Business ActivitiesMost cities limit the type of businesses allowed in residential communities. These rules are generally logical — you can’t do anything dangerous or unsanitary in a neighborhood with families.Physical changes / VisibilityGenerally, there are pretty clear restrictions on making any exterior changes to your property for your business. You typically cannot post signage or paint “Open For Business” across the side of your house. You can’t set up displays of your products in your yard. Some areas even disallow commercial vehicles to be visible from the street, though many jurisdictions overlook a single vehicle with signage. However, you are likely to have a problem if you park a fleet of vehicles in your neighborhood every night.External EffectsExternal effects are anything your business might do to cause discomfort to your neighbors, such as excessive noise or odors, bright lights, or the use of hazardous materials.TrafficMost zoning regulations do restrict the number of customers or clients (or visitors) to businesses in residential areas. Many also prohibit employees from working out of your house as well. At the very least, most areas limit the number of employees you are allowed to have working from your home. In those areas, there are typically also rules about employee parking — you need to keep them off of the street or may need to provide extra parking to be approved.Most cities and towns enact a single set of zoning laws to cover the entire jurisdiction. Be sure to check into the laws in your area before you start your business. If you need a permit for a home-business, get one before you launch. If any part of your business will violate the established regulations, don’t be overly discouraged, as getting a variance (a ruling allowing your business to violate certain parts of the regulations) is usually an option. As long as the variance you need will not negatively impact the neighborhood, you have a good chance of being approved.In addition to governmental restrictions, any home-based business in a neighborhood with a Home Owner’s Association (HOA) is likely to run into an even stricter set of rules. Your HOA should have their regulations available to you. Read them carefully as you plan your business, as some HOAs are extremely restrictive and sticklers for following their standards. Again, you can usually request a variance from your HOA management, but these variances are often more difficult to get than those from the government! Be sure you are aware of the risk you take in failing to comply with the HOA rules, should you opt to do so. Some include heavy financial punitive damages for violating the letter of the regulations, others simply send out a stern letter once in a while. In general, you are better served to play along with the HOA rules as well as the government’s zoning laws.

On a sunny afternoon in Florida, an energetic crowd gathers on the lawn of a high end luxury estate. A loud and eager banter between an auctioneer, a group of bidders and bidder assistants fills the air. For several minutes the auctioneer asks for the next highest bid and the bidders respond. Suddenly the bidders grow silent. The high bidder holds his breath in anticipation of winning the auction. The auctioneer calls for one more bid. In a loud clear voice which rolls over the audience he says, “Fair warning, last chance” the auctioneer pauses, “SOLD!” And in less than 10 minutes another multimillion dollar estate has changed owners.

Successful real estate auctions like the one above are happening all over North America and the Caribbean. Recently real estate auctions have been on the rise, the increase in popularity is partly driven by growing inventories and fading buyer confidence. Properties that were selling in weeks using traditional methods are now languishing on the market unable to attract buyers even as seller’s lower prices. Many say the real estate boom is over but savvy buyers and sellers are profiting from real estate auctions.

Real Estate Auctions Work in Up or Down Markets.

Regardless of trends or market cycles, real estate auctions provide an open and transparent process for buyers and sellers. Properly conducted real estate auctions attract ready and willing buyers and motivate them to act now.

The auction method removes the “wait and see” attitude which serves to further depress real estate values. Buyers are always concerned about overpaying. Buyers gain confidence with their purchases at real estate auctions because they can see what others are willing to pay.

When market demand is high and inventories low, real estate auctions can deliver selling prices well above what a willing seller would have accepted in a negotiated private treaty sale. In good selling climates many property owners using traditional real estate methods; negotiating with one buyer at a time, leave thousands of dollars of equity on the table. During up markets real estate auctions are the best way to establish top market price.

Evaluating Your Real Estate for Auction

Not every property or seller for that matter makes a good candidate for auction. First of all sellers must be ready to sell now and for the current market value. Also a real estate auction will not fix problems caused by a downturn in market value of your property, if you owe more than a willing buyer will pay, be prepared to come to closing with your check book.

Properties that do well in real estate auctions have a high uniqueness factor. Ask your self, “What makes my property different from most others?” Maybe you own a resort property or high end luxury home, commercial properties and land do very well at auction. Real estate auctions thrive on uniqueness. If your property is like everyone else’s, the best thing you can do is offer the most competitive price.

Most importantly sellers must be reasonable about setting a minimum bid. A seller must look at the lowest, most current comps and price below that to generate the interest and urgency necessary for a successful real estate auction. Once the auction begins and qualified bidders start competing against one another you can watch the selling price increase.

Locate a Qualified Real Estate Auctioneer

Start by checking with the National Auctioneers Association, the best real estate auctioneers belong to this organization. These real estate auctioneers are well trained and adhere to a standard of practice and a code of ethics. Many attend the annual International Auctioneers Conference where the latest techniques and innovations in the real estate auction industry are presented.

Find out if the company you are interviewing is a full time real estate auction firm. Many real estate agents are getting auction licenses yet have no experience with the auction method of marketing. Conducting a successful real estate auction is nothing like (private treaty) traditional real estate sales. Go with a real estate auction pro.

You’re probably better of with an auction house that specializes in real estate auctions. There are many qualified auctioneers who have generations of experience selling personal property; furniture, dishes, lawn equipment and the occasional rare painting. Selling real estate at auction is a complex matter that should only be attempted by full time experienced real estate auction professionals.

Commissions and fees may vary, sellers must pay all marketing expenses up front and buyers typically pay 10% of the sales price to the auctioneer of which a share goes to participating real estate agents.

Types of Real Estate Auctions

Auctions are effective because they create a seller’s market. Professionally conducted real estate auctions create urgency, a reason to buy today and competition for the property. Terms and conditions of sale are established ahead of the auction. Real estate auctions will follow one of these three approaches:

Absolute Auction

The property is sold to the highest bidder regardless of price- using this process often returns the highest sale price.

Minimum Bid Auction

Seller agrees to sell at or above a published minimum bid price – this method is useful for internet auctions.

Seller Confirmation or Reserve Auction

With a reserve auction, the seller “reserves” the right to accept or decline any bids usually within 48 hours of the auction. Reserve auctions are used when there is a lien on the property from a lender or a court ordered sale with a minimum selling price.

You need to have a consistent stream of home based business leads, if your going to build a home business on the internet. If not, you will struggle. Fact is, if you don’t have a constant flow whether off or online your business will die. It is important to have quality leads coming in, this means you have people who are interested in your business to talk to about becoming a distributor or a customer daily. I am totally against buying leads, reason being, leads bought from a lead company are not qualified and you will just be wasting time and hard earn money trying to sort though all the tire kickers to get even one that is qualified to become a distributor for your home based business.The best way to go about getting home based business leads is to generate them yourself, and most techniques and strategies out there today are completely free. Paid strategies will get you faster results, this is the direction you want to go if you have the budget and not much time to do free lead generation strategies, which can be very time consuming but well worth it.In order for you to generate home based business leads, you must have the right tools in place to do so, a system with a capture page and opt-in form to collect the visitors to your website contact information, offering them some kind of free valuable information in return for their contact info. Free training, free report anything they would gladly make the exchange for.An auto-responder with a series of follow up messages sending out valuable information to them daily or occasionally so you can keep in contact and build a relationship and trust with them. Having your own database of targeted prospects for your home business is one of the most critical elements, you can grow your list to an unlimited amount of targeted home based business leads. You do this through using various marketing strategies to drive traffic to your capture page with your unique offer.Once a lead has opt in to your form on your capture page, they are placed inside a streamlined sales funnel where your system sorts out the tire kickers from the serious business builders, so you only have to deal with people who are ready to learn and know what it takes to build a thriving home based business.You can generate thousands of home based business leads because the internet provides just that leverage, which may take you years to learn how to do, but I know what these guru’s are doing to get these results. I have a complete attraction marketing system fully loaded with all the step by step training and easy to follow blueprint waiting for you to gain access, so you can stop struggling to generate leads and build a successful business online.