Friday, November 11, 2005
Cutting Edge Real Estate, Is the Bubble Ready To Burst?
Cutting Edge Real Estate, Is the Bubble Ready To Burst?
by: Tim Phelan
Of course, this is the big question in real estate now. . . Will the so-called real estate bubble burst like the dot-com bubble did a few years back? There are some good arguments on both sides of the issue. Whatever happens in the next few years, it will affect millions of Americans, and therefore also millions of people worldwide. If the bubble does “burst” as some say, it is all but certain we could, or more like would, go into a recession. A deep one. Right now the real estate business has been a prime reason that the economy has been decent the last few years. It has been one of the few consistently bright areas of our economy.
First of all, to compare the real estate industry with the dot-com industry is unreasonable. It’s comparing apples with oranges. The real estate industry has been and will always be a central part of the US economy. It will never disappear and there will always be a need and demand for it. Investing in real estate makes sense for the long term. On the other hand, the dot-com bubble was not based on anything more than speculation. Many businesses were trading on the stock market for unreal amounts of money and never made a dime in profit and ultimately never would.
So for me, some of this thinking is this: “Well, the stock market had the dot-com boom and then it collapsed, so now we have this real estate boom so surely it will collapse also.” I just don’t go along with that comparison. Again, these are totally different industries and markets. Heck, if we can pay $20,000, $50,000 and even up to and over $100,000 on automobiles, then spending $300,000, $1,000,000 and more on homes seems very reasonable. Property will always be there as long as the mortgage is paid and the taxes are paid, too. That brings us to a good argument for believing the real estate market will slow down and possibly have a downturn.
The reason there is a good argument for the belief that the real estate industry will have a major downturn is because some people, perhaps a good amount of people, won’t be able to keep up with their mortgage payments if they start losing their jobs and the economy slows down. The rise in gas prices could have a major effect on the economy and if these homeowners start defaulting on their mortgages then this could turn the industry around.
Many home owners and speculative real estate investors are using what some would call risky home mortgages, the interest-only and no-income verification loans. These allow more people to buy more homes and are part of the reason the real estate industry has enjoyed such a boom the last several years. Creative financing started decades ago and has kept increasing more and more different ways for the home buyer and speculator to get what they want. This is a good thing overall in my opinion. However I can see the dangers of this trend also. I don’t feel a burst is inevitable but it is certainly very possible. Perhaps more likely, unless a major event such as another war or terrorist attack, is a slow down and evening off of the growth of the real estate industry.
There are those on the side of the inevitable downturn philosophy, who are preparing for the worst. Just as some people can make money on the stock market even when it goes down, there are those who are preparing for a possible – inevitable in their minds – downturn in the real estate market.
Here is one such way to capitalize on a real estate bubble burst or at least a downturn: pre- foreclosure deals. There are some investment clubs that are based solely on waiting for this to happen and then buying into this market. People will be foreclosing in record numbers if this downturn comes. Perhaps it is more accurate to say when, because as history shows there are always downturns in the market; and with all the creative financing, no interest loans and no income verification loans the probability of a downturn is likely. However, this is different than a “burst.”
Here is a book that specializes in taking advantage of this situation. People will make millions in this market trend just, as I said, like some make millions when the stock market goes down.
click here
So here is what can happen:
1. The market will keep going the way it has the last few years, which is up, up and up. Quickly is some areas. Not likely.
2. The market will slow down and level off soon. Very possible.
3. The market will have a slight downturn and many will lose their homes and many will benefit from this. Very possible.
4. The market will “burst” the “bubble” and there will be a major catastrophe in the industry. Possible, but not as likely as 2 and 3.
Whatever happens, there will be some who are ready for it.
About The Author
Tim Phelan makes his living now online and has been involved in real estate as an investment for several years.
His blog: http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
More real estate: http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
SEO IS EASY
by: Tim Phelan
Of course, this is the big question in real estate now. . . Will the so-called real estate bubble burst like the dot-com bubble did a few years back? There are some good arguments on both sides of the issue. Whatever happens in the next few years, it will affect millions of Americans, and therefore also millions of people worldwide. If the bubble does “burst” as some say, it is all but certain we could, or more like would, go into a recession. A deep one. Right now the real estate business has been a prime reason that the economy has been decent the last few years. It has been one of the few consistently bright areas of our economy.
First of all, to compare the real estate industry with the dot-com industry is unreasonable. It’s comparing apples with oranges. The real estate industry has been and will always be a central part of the US economy. It will never disappear and there will always be a need and demand for it. Investing in real estate makes sense for the long term. On the other hand, the dot-com bubble was not based on anything more than speculation. Many businesses were trading on the stock market for unreal amounts of money and never made a dime in profit and ultimately never would.
So for me, some of this thinking is this: “Well, the stock market had the dot-com boom and then it collapsed, so now we have this real estate boom so surely it will collapse also.” I just don’t go along with that comparison. Again, these are totally different industries and markets. Heck, if we can pay $20,000, $50,000 and even up to and over $100,000 on automobiles, then spending $300,000, $1,000,000 and more on homes seems very reasonable. Property will always be there as long as the mortgage is paid and the taxes are paid, too. That brings us to a good argument for believing the real estate market will slow down and possibly have a downturn.
The reason there is a good argument for the belief that the real estate industry will have a major downturn is because some people, perhaps a good amount of people, won’t be able to keep up with their mortgage payments if they start losing their jobs and the economy slows down. The rise in gas prices could have a major effect on the economy and if these homeowners start defaulting on their mortgages then this could turn the industry around.
Many home owners and speculative real estate investors are using what some would call risky home mortgages, the interest-only and no-income verification loans. These allow more people to buy more homes and are part of the reason the real estate industry has enjoyed such a boom the last several years. Creative financing started decades ago and has kept increasing more and more different ways for the home buyer and speculator to get what they want. This is a good thing overall in my opinion. However I can see the dangers of this trend also. I don’t feel a burst is inevitable but it is certainly very possible. Perhaps more likely, unless a major event such as another war or terrorist attack, is a slow down and evening off of the growth of the real estate industry.
There are those on the side of the inevitable downturn philosophy, who are preparing for the worst. Just as some people can make money on the stock market even when it goes down, there are those who are preparing for a possible – inevitable in their minds – downturn in the real estate market.
Here is one such way to capitalize on a real estate bubble burst or at least a downturn: pre- foreclosure deals. There are some investment clubs that are based solely on waiting for this to happen and then buying into this market. People will be foreclosing in record numbers if this downturn comes. Perhaps it is more accurate to say when, because as history shows there are always downturns in the market; and with all the creative financing, no interest loans and no income verification loans the probability of a downturn is likely. However, this is different than a “burst.”
Here is a book that specializes in taking advantage of this situation. People will make millions in this market trend just, as I said, like some make millions when the stock market goes down.
click here
So here is what can happen:
1. The market will keep going the way it has the last few years, which is up, up and up. Quickly is some areas. Not likely.
2. The market will slow down and level off soon. Very possible.
3. The market will have a slight downturn and many will lose their homes and many will benefit from this. Very possible.
4. The market will “burst” the “bubble” and there will be a major catastrophe in the industry. Possible, but not as likely as 2 and 3.
Whatever happens, there will be some who are ready for it.
About The Author
Tim Phelan makes his living now online and has been involved in real estate as an investment for several years.
His blog: http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
More real estate: http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
SEO IS EASY
Sunday, August 14, 2005
My third article: The Biweekly Mortgage
The Biweekly Mortgage
Copyright 2005
By Tim Phelan
The biweekly mortgage has been around for years but with the recent media attention to the real estate industry in general and the mortgage industry in particular, the biweekly has been getting thousands of home owners to use this simple, yet powerful, way to speed up the principal payment process. Why is this so popular? How does it work? How can I do this?
Here is why this is so popular to hundreds of thousands homeowners. It is an easy and effective way to increase the equity in a home. It can also shorten the life of the mortgage substantially. It does this with just about the same mortgage payment that one usually makes per month so it is affordable to anyone who owns a home. The biggest obstacle is just doing it.
Biweekly means that the homeowner will make a payment every two months instead of once per month. Basically what you do is take your monthly payment, cut it in half and then make that payment every two weeks. So how does this save money? Well, by paying every two weeks you will actually end up paying more off the principal every year because:
1. There are 52 weeks in a year.
2. That means you make 26 payments a year.
3. With the monthly payments you would make the equivalent of 24 payments a year.
4. The 2 payments extra would go towards your principal.
5. This accelerates the payment of the loan and each month the principal gets paid by an ever increasing rate.
The great thing about this is that each month is only a few days over 28 days ( 4 weeks) the biweekly mortgage payments are not a hardship on any home owners. The most extra days in a month are 3 and some months have 0 or just 1 extra day.
So why wouldn’t everyone just do this? I think much of it has to do with either they don’t know about it or they think “ I can just pay extra off my principal anytime I want. Why pay biweekly?” But the problem is that a large percentage of people don’t ever make any extra payments to their principal. They think about it but don’t do it. There is always other more important things to use the money for, even though the actual money they need every month to make a big difference is quite low.
Discipline is a key factor here. If someone has enough discipline it really isn’t necessary to use a biweekly mortgage plan. This doesn’t mean that people who don’t use a biweekly aren’t disciplined. Only those who want to pay down their mortgage principal but never seem to be able. So, in a way the biweekly is just a formula to help homeowners, who are usually very busy with other parts of there life, become more disciplined and make them pay off the mortgage principal more quickly. With today’s prices, a homeowner can save over $50,000 and cut 5 years off the life of the mortgage!
For a totally free biweekly mortgage manager visit this link:
http://www.mortgage-manager.info/?afid=fd298720-759f-4fbc-a105-969c0177b8a0
___________________________________________________________________
Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self employed for the last 12 years.
Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests. Visit this site for some info on two of these interests:
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
email nalehpmit@yahoo.com
Blog http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
Copyright 2005
By Tim Phelan
The biweekly mortgage has been around for years but with the recent media attention to the real estate industry in general and the mortgage industry in particular, the biweekly has been getting thousands of home owners to use this simple, yet powerful, way to speed up the principal payment process. Why is this so popular? How does it work? How can I do this?
Here is why this is so popular to hundreds of thousands homeowners. It is an easy and effective way to increase the equity in a home. It can also shorten the life of the mortgage substantially. It does this with just about the same mortgage payment that one usually makes per month so it is affordable to anyone who owns a home. The biggest obstacle is just doing it.
Biweekly means that the homeowner will make a payment every two months instead of once per month. Basically what you do is take your monthly payment, cut it in half and then make that payment every two weeks. So how does this save money? Well, by paying every two weeks you will actually end up paying more off the principal every year because:
1. There are 52 weeks in a year.
2. That means you make 26 payments a year.
3. With the monthly payments you would make the equivalent of 24 payments a year.
4. The 2 payments extra would go towards your principal.
5. This accelerates the payment of the loan and each month the principal gets paid by an ever increasing rate.
The great thing about this is that each month is only a few days over 28 days ( 4 weeks) the biweekly mortgage payments are not a hardship on any home owners. The most extra days in a month are 3 and some months have 0 or just 1 extra day.
So why wouldn’t everyone just do this? I think much of it has to do with either they don’t know about it or they think “ I can just pay extra off my principal anytime I want. Why pay biweekly?” But the problem is that a large percentage of people don’t ever make any extra payments to their principal. They think about it but don’t do it. There is always other more important things to use the money for, even though the actual money they need every month to make a big difference is quite low.
Discipline is a key factor here. If someone has enough discipline it really isn’t necessary to use a biweekly mortgage plan. This doesn’t mean that people who don’t use a biweekly aren’t disciplined. Only those who want to pay down their mortgage principal but never seem to be able. So, in a way the biweekly is just a formula to help homeowners, who are usually very busy with other parts of there life, become more disciplined and make them pay off the mortgage principal more quickly. With today’s prices, a homeowner can save over $50,000 and cut 5 years off the life of the mortgage!
For a totally free biweekly mortgage manager visit this link:
http://www.mortgage-manager.info/?afid=fd298720-759f-4fbc-a105-969c0177b8a0
___________________________________________________________________
Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self employed for the last 12 years.
Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests. Visit this site for some info on two of these interests:
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
email nalehpmit@yahoo.com
Blog http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Cutting Edge Real Estate. Is There Anything New? Part 1
Cutting Edge Real EstateIs There Anything New? Part 1
By Tim Phelan
The world of real estate has pretty much stayed the same for decades. It’s no different today than it was 50 years ago. The basic principles will never change. Is this true? Only part of it? Well, lets look at what is different in the real estate world. Also, lets see what is the same.
Because of the unbelievable appreciation of land in recent years the real estate industry has grabbed the attention of Americans and also the world ( investment opportunities are worldwide) like it hasn’t done for a long time. There were certainly periods in the USA’s history where people were absolutely overtaken with the idea of making money from and possessing real estate. Take the decades in the 1800s as an example when people risked their lives to go west. The risks were amazing but the idea of a better life and of having their own land made it worthwhile. This is certainly a situation that could be described as being one that hasn’t changed much because people are still looking at real estate investments, land development, land deals, building homes, acquiring land, and just looking for a better life. That will never change I believe even if some day, hundreds of years from now it means buying land on space cities and maybe even the moon. Heck, I don’t think the idea of buying condos in space is really that far away actually. It will happen. ( Ok! This example can be described as a BIG difference.)
Then again citing the 1800s people can also say things are dramatically different now than they were 175 years ago. The price for one. Remember the Louisiana Purchase? I think the US bought about ½ the states for the price of a pickup truck now days. Or in a more recent example, how about our purchase of Alaska from Russia? Another good speculative real estate deal for the US. Sorry to all the Russian and French readers out there. One thing the US has always seemed to be pretty good at is acquiring land at a good price. We haven’t done that in a while though and I won’t get into the reasons why not, as that would make this article an e-book for sure. Oh yes, the Manhattan deal was a good one for the USA also. We won’t go into the political discussions of what happened to the Native Americans here either.
So what is really new now? How about creative financing? This has been a big change in the last twenty years or so. It’s all about getting more people able to buy homes. This helps the whole real estate industry as a whole. Not just the lower income levels who are able to buy the more expensive homes now days, but also the rich people as a kind of reverse “trickle down” theory. I will name this my trickle up theory.
The original trickle down theory, which I was never a big believer in by the way, was about cutting taxes for the rich and making things easier for them in a business sense and then the money will trickle down to the middle and lower classes because the rich will be spending more money, thus creating more jobs and more wealth for the lower classes. This doesn’t really work as well as some think in my opinion because the wealthy many times just keep their money in investments which don’t trickle down as much. They trickle down but a portfolio of millions or billions doesn’t really create as many jobs as would be created if all that money was in the hands of middle class workers where it would be put right back into the economy. But when lower income people can buy homes it certainly helps upper class investors because this creates more demand and with less supply the prices go up for everyone.
Something else that is new and getting more and more common is interest only mortgages. This also allows more people to get into the home buying market. Some believe the interest only mortgages will be a bad thing that will help burst the current so called housing bubble or real estate bubble. That is yet to be seen, but what is clear is that these creative financing solutions are helping thousands buy their homes. The interest only loans are also helping the real estate investors quite a bit, especially those who are looking to buy, repair and sell. Or those who are looking to buy a piece of land, build on it and flip it ( sell it ). These people like the no interest loans because they don’t really care about paying down the principal.
The wrap around mortgage is a mortgage that isn’t new. It has been around for a while but after losing popularity in the 70s it may be making a come back. Check out this link that describes it in more detail and has an e-book that goes into greater detail about the “wraparound mortgage” ; The Secrets of the Little Known Wraparound Mortgages.
http://www.automateyourwebsite.com/app/af=268818&u=http://www.cashflowinstitute.com/wrap.htm
Here’s another very popular newer type of loan, the non-income verification loans, also known as NIV loans and stated income loans. This has also been a part of the creative financing process of finding ways to get more people into loans. Actually it just shows that banks and mortgage companies have lowered the qualifications and standards to buy a home. That is a good thing as far as I am concerned. The rich may be getting richer but at least the poor have a better chance of owning a home. The middle class also. Statistics show that the home owners percentage is at an all time high in most areas. This has a lot to do with these ideas such as the “stated income” or ‘niv loans’.
Here is an article about the ‘NIV loan;
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com/nivloans.htm
The real estate industry is the best industry in the world I believe but first make sure you look at as much information as you can find before investing. Well, to a certain extent anyways. Don’t wait too long. At some point you need to take action whether it is buying your first home, second home, investment home or a development. Don’t be one of those who says “ I wish I had bought a house way back when.” __________________________________________________________________ Tim Phelan http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.comhttp://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
By Tim Phelan
The world of real estate has pretty much stayed the same for decades. It’s no different today than it was 50 years ago. The basic principles will never change. Is this true? Only part of it? Well, lets look at what is different in the real estate world. Also, lets see what is the same.
Because of the unbelievable appreciation of land in recent years the real estate industry has grabbed the attention of Americans and also the world ( investment opportunities are worldwide) like it hasn’t done for a long time. There were certainly periods in the USA’s history where people were absolutely overtaken with the idea of making money from and possessing real estate. Take the decades in the 1800s as an example when people risked their lives to go west. The risks were amazing but the idea of a better life and of having their own land made it worthwhile. This is certainly a situation that could be described as being one that hasn’t changed much because people are still looking at real estate investments, land development, land deals, building homes, acquiring land, and just looking for a better life. That will never change I believe even if some day, hundreds of years from now it means buying land on space cities and maybe even the moon. Heck, I don’t think the idea of buying condos in space is really that far away actually. It will happen. ( Ok! This example can be described as a BIG difference.)
Then again citing the 1800s people can also say things are dramatically different now than they were 175 years ago. The price for one. Remember the Louisiana Purchase? I think the US bought about ½ the states for the price of a pickup truck now days. Or in a more recent example, how about our purchase of Alaska from Russia? Another good speculative real estate deal for the US. Sorry to all the Russian and French readers out there. One thing the US has always seemed to be pretty good at is acquiring land at a good price. We haven’t done that in a while though and I won’t get into the reasons why not, as that would make this article an e-book for sure. Oh yes, the Manhattan deal was a good one for the USA also. We won’t go into the political discussions of what happened to the Native Americans here either.
So what is really new now? How about creative financing? This has been a big change in the last twenty years or so. It’s all about getting more people able to buy homes. This helps the whole real estate industry as a whole. Not just the lower income levels who are able to buy the more expensive homes now days, but also the rich people as a kind of reverse “trickle down” theory. I will name this my trickle up theory.
The original trickle down theory, which I was never a big believer in by the way, was about cutting taxes for the rich and making things easier for them in a business sense and then the money will trickle down to the middle and lower classes because the rich will be spending more money, thus creating more jobs and more wealth for the lower classes. This doesn’t really work as well as some think in my opinion because the wealthy many times just keep their money in investments which don’t trickle down as much. They trickle down but a portfolio of millions or billions doesn’t really create as many jobs as would be created if all that money was in the hands of middle class workers where it would be put right back into the economy. But when lower income people can buy homes it certainly helps upper class investors because this creates more demand and with less supply the prices go up for everyone.
Something else that is new and getting more and more common is interest only mortgages. This also allows more people to get into the home buying market. Some believe the interest only mortgages will be a bad thing that will help burst the current so called housing bubble or real estate bubble. That is yet to be seen, but what is clear is that these creative financing solutions are helping thousands buy their homes. The interest only loans are also helping the real estate investors quite a bit, especially those who are looking to buy, repair and sell. Or those who are looking to buy a piece of land, build on it and flip it ( sell it ). These people like the no interest loans because they don’t really care about paying down the principal.
The wrap around mortgage is a mortgage that isn’t new. It has been around for a while but after losing popularity in the 70s it may be making a come back. Check out this link that describes it in more detail and has an e-book that goes into greater detail about the “wraparound mortgage” ; The Secrets of the Little Known Wraparound Mortgages.
http://www.automateyourwebsite.com/app/af=268818&u=http://www.cashflowinstitute.com/wrap.htm
Here’s another very popular newer type of loan, the non-income verification loans, also known as NIV loans and stated income loans. This has also been a part of the creative financing process of finding ways to get more people into loans. Actually it just shows that banks and mortgage companies have lowered the qualifications and standards to buy a home. That is a good thing as far as I am concerned. The rich may be getting richer but at least the poor have a better chance of owning a home. The middle class also. Statistics show that the home owners percentage is at an all time high in most areas. This has a lot to do with these ideas such as the “stated income” or ‘niv loans’.
Here is an article about the ‘NIV loan;
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com/nivloans.htm
The real estate industry is the best industry in the world I believe but first make sure you look at as much information as you can find before investing. Well, to a certain extent anyways. Don’t wait too long. At some point you need to take action whether it is buying your first home, second home, investment home or a development. Don’t be one of those who says “ I wish I had bought a house way back when.” __________________________________________________________________ Tim Phelan http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.comhttp://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
Is It Time For Solar Energy To Get Hot?
By Tim Phelan
Solar energy has been around for quite a while and most people don’t think about it much except for the ones who are already into renewable sources of energy. Environmentalists have always loved the idea of solar energy but what has kept it from going more mainstream, being more widely used and looked upon as something someone wants to spend money to install on their property? There have been improvements in the technology of solar energy, but has there been enough? Isn’t the war on terror and the desire to be independent of foreign energy sources enough to persuade people to use solar energy? At what point will solar energy become the great and never ending source of energy many of envisioned many years ago?
Well, I, for one, think that the time has just about come for solar energy to really take off because of one reason: it will be economically the right and smart thing to do.
Last year I was driving to Las Vegas from San Jose and when I was just about three quarters of the way to my destination I passed a sign that said something about a “solar farm.” I glanced over and saw row upon row of solar panels sitting in the middle of the dessert. This is about the only farm that could survive in the dessert I thought to myself. Then I thought “ Wow. Why can’t I do that?” In a smaller fashion of course because of my limited resources. But I thought why not rent some land and buy some of these panels and start my own little farm? It made sense and actually it still makes sense to me.
I went home later and looked into the solar energy industry. I wanted to see if this was possible now and I thought if these people put all those panels out in the dessert and sold the energy to others why can’t a small businessman?
Well, what I found out is that it isn’t quite possible to do just yet. Why? Because the cost of the panels, property, labor etc.. wasn’t low enough to make a profit for what you can sell the energy for. The solar farm was more than likely subsidized by the government. So I looked into the possibility of using them on homes. This thought has been around for decades and you do see the panels on more homes than you used to so I was wondering if this was possible now. I found out that it just takes too long for the average consumer to get their investment back to consider putting solar panels on their homes.
The average time for a homeowner to get the money back on their investment is anywhere from 12 years to 20 years. For this industry to take off that figure I believe will have to go down to around 5 to 7. Not that far really. It could actually go below that.
Three things have to happen for the solar energy promise to become a reality and for homeowners and entrepreneurs to decide in large numbers to use solar panels to create electricity:
1. The price of the panels will have to decrease.
2. The panels will have to improve and produce more energy.
3. The cost of energy will have to increase.
Actually just one of these factors can happen to a great degree and the other two stay constant and the point will be reached where the solar energy industry will explode. But more than likely, all three will come closer together and at some point people will decide to start buying the panels in record numbers and we will see this way of creating energy from a clean and renewable source be common place.
Here is why I think the time is very near for this explosion to happen.
1. There is a bill in the state legislature in California now that will spend $billions on rebates for solar energy. The governor wants to show that he is in the front of this movement and wants to be aggressive. Some don’t like the way the bill is written, but there is a good chance it will pass. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar27jun27,1,3932108.story?coll=la-headlines-business
2. The panels are becoming more and more efficient at producing more energy.
3. The price may go down dramatically if contracts with China to produce the panels are put into place. Normally I don’t like our jobs going oversees to people who only get fractions of what the US worker makes but in this instance it will also create many jobs here to install the panels, sell them, warehouse them etc... Plus this is something the country needs I feel. Clean, renewable energy that makes us less reliable on foreign oil and gases.
Also, some companies are producing these new generation flexible solar energy panels that come in sheets and can be rolled up and then out onto surfaces. These may bring the cost way down and make the instalation much more easy and cost efficiant. Here is an article about this new product:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/11/BUG7IDL1AF1.DTL
At what point will these three variables merge?
I predict in the next two to three years this industry will take off like so many of us were hoping it would many years ago.
If you want to know how to install a solar electric panel system to your house here is a inexpensive e-book that shows you how.
http://tcservices.hatcreek.hop.clickbank.net
People can act now, and many already are by buying and installing these solar panels. With the war on terror looking like it could last decades many look upon this investment as not only a clean green solution and a smart investment on increasing the value of their home, but as almost a patriotic gesture in a way to free us from the dependence on middle eastern oil and natural gas. Here is a link to a terrific site where you can get these panels at wholesale prices. This site has all sorts of renewable energy sources.
http://altenergystore.com/AIDLink.html?BID=2539&AID=23675 _________________________________________________________________
Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self employed for the last 12 years.Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests.Visit this site for some info on two of these interests:
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
Tim's blog: http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
By Tim Phelan
Solar energy has been around for quite a while and most people don’t think about it much except for the ones who are already into renewable sources of energy. Environmentalists have always loved the idea of solar energy but what has kept it from going more mainstream, being more widely used and looked upon as something someone wants to spend money to install on their property? There have been improvements in the technology of solar energy, but has there been enough? Isn’t the war on terror and the desire to be independent of foreign energy sources enough to persuade people to use solar energy? At what point will solar energy become the great and never ending source of energy many of envisioned many years ago?
Well, I, for one, think that the time has just about come for solar energy to really take off because of one reason: it will be economically the right and smart thing to do.
Last year I was driving to Las Vegas from San Jose and when I was just about three quarters of the way to my destination I passed a sign that said something about a “solar farm.” I glanced over and saw row upon row of solar panels sitting in the middle of the dessert. This is about the only farm that could survive in the dessert I thought to myself. Then I thought “ Wow. Why can’t I do that?” In a smaller fashion of course because of my limited resources. But I thought why not rent some land and buy some of these panels and start my own little farm? It made sense and actually it still makes sense to me.
I went home later and looked into the solar energy industry. I wanted to see if this was possible now and I thought if these people put all those panels out in the dessert and sold the energy to others why can’t a small businessman?
Well, what I found out is that it isn’t quite possible to do just yet. Why? Because the cost of the panels, property, labor etc.. wasn’t low enough to make a profit for what you can sell the energy for. The solar farm was more than likely subsidized by the government. So I looked into the possibility of using them on homes. This thought has been around for decades and you do see the panels on more homes than you used to so I was wondering if this was possible now. I found out that it just takes too long for the average consumer to get their investment back to consider putting solar panels on their homes.
The average time for a homeowner to get the money back on their investment is anywhere from 12 years to 20 years. For this industry to take off that figure I believe will have to go down to around 5 to 7. Not that far really. It could actually go below that.
Three things have to happen for the solar energy promise to become a reality and for homeowners and entrepreneurs to decide in large numbers to use solar panels to create electricity:
1. The price of the panels will have to decrease.
2. The panels will have to improve and produce more energy.
3. The cost of energy will have to increase.
Actually just one of these factors can happen to a great degree and the other two stay constant and the point will be reached where the solar energy industry will explode. But more than likely, all three will come closer together and at some point people will decide to start buying the panels in record numbers and we will see this way of creating energy from a clean and renewable source be common place.
Here is why I think the time is very near for this explosion to happen.
1. There is a bill in the state legislature in California now that will spend $billions on rebates for solar energy. The governor wants to show that he is in the front of this movement and wants to be aggressive. Some don’t like the way the bill is written, but there is a good chance it will pass. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-solar27jun27,1,3932108.story?coll=la-headlines-business
2. The panels are becoming more and more efficient at producing more energy.
3. The price may go down dramatically if contracts with China to produce the panels are put into place. Normally I don’t like our jobs going oversees to people who only get fractions of what the US worker makes but in this instance it will also create many jobs here to install the panels, sell them, warehouse them etc... Plus this is something the country needs I feel. Clean, renewable energy that makes us less reliable on foreign oil and gases.
Also, some companies are producing these new generation flexible solar energy panels that come in sheets and can be rolled up and then out onto surfaces. These may bring the cost way down and make the instalation much more easy and cost efficiant. Here is an article about this new product:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/11/BUG7IDL1AF1.DTL
At what point will these three variables merge?
I predict in the next two to three years this industry will take off like so many of us were hoping it would many years ago.
If you want to know how to install a solar electric panel system to your house here is a inexpensive e-book that shows you how.
http://tcservices.hatcreek.hop.clickbank.net
People can act now, and many already are by buying and installing these solar panels. With the war on terror looking like it could last decades many look upon this investment as not only a clean green solution and a smart investment on increasing the value of their home, but as almost a patriotic gesture in a way to free us from the dependence on middle eastern oil and natural gas. Here is a link to a terrific site where you can get these panels at wholesale prices. This site has all sorts of renewable energy sources.
http://altenergystore.com/AIDLink.html?BID=2539&AID=23675 _________________________________________________________________
Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self employed for the last 12 years.Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests.Visit this site for some info on two of these interests:
http://www.cutting-edge-real-estate.com
Tim's blog: http://timphelansblog.blogspot.com/
Articles Blog
This blog is titled Articles by Tim Phelan but will have many other articles I pick by others. These will be ones that I personally like, not just stuff for content to get traffic.