Saturday, February 20, 2010

Bubbles blown by the boom always burst…but you could be safe.

Real Estate investment is highly capital intensive and comes with low liquidity. The risks are large and hence possible returns too are high.In a positively charged market, investors follow the herd.

New constructions start in small pockets, in certain cities. It spreads slowly, establishing definite positive trend, in key city markets. Once a critical mass of base new investment is built across cities, news investors flock in, attracted by the positive vibes spreading fast across news channels, chat groups and social media networks.

The result is the all too well known “boom” in housing and commercial real estate. Investors lap up the most illiquid asset class, as if there is no tomorrow for meeting their craving for high cash liquidity. The boom turns economics on the head. People stack up tonnes of brick and concrete, dreaming to pass these on, as and when they wish and stuff their lockers with mounds of dollar bills.

The craving for “more” makes people blind to the impending doom. The overwhelming positive chatter shuts out the cold winds. Only the very smart who notice the chill and let it churn inside their heart, would be able to reign-in greed and dispose of the newly acquired assets. As the bubbles blown by the boom burst, they would be the only ones around, with stuff in bank.

The overwhelming majority of investors who refused to analyze news as it came and stuck on, would drift into negative cash flow zone, forcing them to sell at a loss.

After having had the opportunity to experience the boom followed by the meltdown which shook the world and drove it close to dangerous recession, its for investors to be cautious. The key to making money is to read extensively and shed the longing to hang on, as soon as the breeze brings hints of chill.

Get daily dose of high energy Real Estate Market News, prepare to invest and teach yourself to get off the board, at the right time.

http://www.exclusivereal.com

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Friday, February 19, 2010

Consumer Complaint Portals – How Do they Work?

One of the important benefits of Internet has been to bring consumers together and let them share their experiences. There are a number of websites which allow consumers to post their complaints and suggestions. Generally, the websites have Form to post complaints which are instantly published for everyone around to view and take note of.

Complaint Portals enable consumers and users of services and products to post their common complaints regarding airline, bank, business, companies and Government and non Government organizations. Users can track your car complaints, mobile phone complaints, bank complaints, credit card complaints etc at these websites. Complaint Portals act as forums to share complaints and get them redressed.

Few websites like Consumer Complaints India forwards complaints to companies and seek resolution. The Companies are prompted to record their responses on the web site and the same is mailed back to the complainant.
There are website which allow consumers to form groups so that they can file class action suits. There are others which put attorneys and complainants together for proceeding with legal action.

Most of the countries have consumer protection law in place. However, companies take a lax attitude towards consumers. They know that consumers can not run to courts every now and then and hence take advantage of the situation.
Maximum number of complaints are against credit card companies and banks. This is followed by travel and vacation operators who might offer the moon while securing customers but offer less than satisfactory service.

Another growing area of complaint is the woes of consumers who get trapped by scamsters online. The online scams including email traps offering lottery wins and transfer of money from abroad keep finding new victims. Phishing mails are dangerous since they prompt users to part with vital bank and credit card information. Download scamsters force users to down load spyware programs camouflaged as useful tools.

The Complaint Portals like http://www.complaints-india.com help to quickly spread news about new scams .