MONETIZING A WEBSITE WITH GOOGLE ADSENSE

If you happen to notice several ads appear on your screen while browsing through this website of mine – Breaking the Habit, or perhaps if you come across reading any articles from multiple sources as you observe that there are plenty of ads popping up on your screen as well while you are trying to look for specific information on the Google search engine, believe it or not, that is precisely how Google AdSense works with its chosen publishers including myself.

Unfortunately, far too many website owners or blog publishers out there have been rejected countless times by Google AdSense to be among its networking partners simply because they do not adhere to the policy content guidelines set in the first place. Needless to say, one thing that I realize in order to be easily approved by Google AdSense, a person needs to read very carefully and completely understand over those criteria set forth prior to submitting "become a publisher" application.

First of all, there is no way we can deny the fact that Google AdSense is still perceived as the most popular tool to generate income online in today’s digital era. Using Google AdSense to monetize your website or application traffic with its interactive unit ads is one of the simplest and the most effective monetization methods; yet, relatively challenging I would say to be eligibly qualified to become among its publishers.

With its vast network of advertisers, one thing you should know that Google AdSense strictly ensures a steady flow of targeted ads displayed on its networking partners’ websites – usually the ones that often possess great quality with their content which allow them to monetize every page view effectively.

Therefore, if your website is still under construction and lacking quality with its content, it is best for you to fix them and make any necessary improvements before sending your application to become one of its publishers.

Second of all, focusing on developing original and engaging content which resonates with your audience will not only drive more traffic, but also will cause them to stay longer on your website which can increase the likelihood of ad clicks triggered once you have been officially approved as a partner. And, to be able to effectively monetize or earn money with Google AdSense, it is crucial to blend quality content on every page with smart SEO practices (in case if you have no idea what SEO is all about, kindly refer to my articles which I have already posted under the category of digital marketing).

Bottom line, you need to keep in mind as well that aside from adhering to its policy content guidelines, make sure that your ads should be integrated in a way that they are visible and capture attentions, but not the other way round which are intrusive or distracting at the expense of user experience.

Finally, when talking about how Google AdSense technically works, it is when publishers have been approved and they start displaying ads on their website pages. Google AdSense, broadly speaking, is an ad network that connects its publishers with its advertisers.

When the publishers begin to display ads on their web pages, and there happens to be a random visitor who has viewed or clicked on one of those ads shown, the publishers in this stage will get paid from a specific portion of the advertiser’s bid for the ads that are being viewed or clicked.

Overall, Google AdSense in many circumstances tends to perform well on smaller websites because of their quality content which provides a more straightforward information that a user is looking for compared to the larger ones.

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FOUR TYPES OF BUSINESS FIRMS

Broadly speaking, the term business in general refers to an entity that operates for commercial, industrial, or professional reasons. If judging from the organizational context, a business entity is basically an establishment intended to carry out commercial activities by producing goods or services and meet the people’ needs. As we know, most of the organizations have their own standard such as social structure, purpose goals, utilization of resources, rules and regulations, and so on.

Although the fundamental purpose of a business organization revolves around facilitating efficient operations, optimizing resource utilizations, managing risks, and ultimately driving profitability and growth, however, determining the legal structure of the business is an important factor to consider since business owners may need to secure permits and licenses and follow registration requirements to begin their legal operations.

1. SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP

This is the traditional and popular form of business organization and has the least complex type of business due to the minimal government regulation. A sole proprietorship is a business owned and run by one person. It is usually very small with a few numbers of employees.

Although they do not account for much sales revenue in the economy, however, they are the most common type of firm in the world. Due to the fact that the entity is incorporated between the owner and the business, still, the sole business owner is not free from liabilities associated with the business. After all, a local grocery store is the most common example of sole proprietorship where the scale of its business is relatively small.

2. PARTNERSHIPS

A partnership is identical to a sole proprietorship, except it has more than one owner. If two or more persons agree to do business together, a partnership is formed. Doing business as a partnership is a common-law right since there is no specific statute is needed to form a partnership.

Each individual in a partnership business partners is liable for the firm’s debt owing to the fact that they share equally in the distributions of income and they have equal rights to manage the partnership. Regardless of whether the business is making profits or losses, it is usually advisable to have a written partnership agreement which will set forth the following details:

- Names and addresses of the partners.

- Relative rights to management and profits of each partner.

- The nature of the partnership business.

- Length or duration of the partnership.

- Requirements for admission and withdrawal of partners.

- Provisions concerning the dissolution of the partnership and any other provisions where the partners wish to govern their relationship as well as the entire operations of the business.

3. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES (LLC)

A limited liability company (LLC) is a limited partnership without a general partner. It is neither a partnership nor a corporation, but a "hybrid" entity with some of the characteristics of each. In this type of business, the LLC may be solely owned or it may have several owners. The owners are called members like limited partners or shareholders, but they are not liable for the company's debts based upon their status as owners. Because the members have the right to manage the company's business and affairs, they may also elect to have the LLC to be run by one or more managers if they do not want to run it themselves.

4. CORPORATIONS

This is the most complex form of business structures because they are established under the laws of each state and also are subjected to all the corporate income tax. Besides, all the profits issued to shareholders as dividends are taxed as per the individual tax rates on their private annual tax returns. The distinguishing feature of a corporation is that it is a legally defined and artificially being separated from its owners.

Because a corporation is a legal entity separate and distinct from its owners, it is solely responsible for its own obligations. That being said, the owners of a corporation or its employees, customers, etc. are not liable for any obligations the corporation enters into. Similarly, the corporation is not liable for any personal obligations of its owners, employees, customers, and so forth.

Perhaps, one of the unique features of a corporation is that there is no limitation on who can own its stock. That is, an owner of a corporation, do not need to have any special expertise or qualification. As the feature allows free trade in the shares of the corporation and provides one of the most important advantages of organizing a firm as a corporation rather than being a sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC, the ability to raise substantial amounts of capital is greater because those who own the ownership shares can sell them to outside investors.

Bottom line, corporation is also the most expensive to form and is subjected to double taxation where the business pays a tax on its income when earned, and its shareholders pay a tax on the income when it is distributed to them in the form of dividends, or the distributions upon the corporation's liquidation when bankrupted.

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TYPES OF ESTATES IN REAL PROPERTY

By definition, an estate in real property is an interest in the property sufficient to give the owner of the estate the right to possession of the property. It is imperative to understand the difference between the right of possession and the right of use. The owner of an estate in land, firstly, has the right of possession of the land in addition to the right to use it. Secondly, an easement owner on the other side has the use of the land but not the right to possess it and therefore, the easement is a non-possessory interest in land.

Basically, the Latin translation for the word estate is defined as "status" which indicates the relationship of the estate owner with reference to rights in the property. This establishes the degree, quantity, nature, and extent of interest a person has in real property. Estates in land, in addition to this, are divided into two groups: estates of freehold and estates of less than freehold (also called leasehold estates and non-freehold estates).

The two estates can exist simultaneously in land where the owner (lessor) of a property has a freehold estate. Hence, if let say the owner leases the property, the tenant (lessee) has a leasehold estate.

A. ESTATES OF INHERITANCE

Freehold is defined as an interest in land of at least a lifetime and therefore generally is identified with the concept of title or ownership. Freehold estates may be fee simple estates or life estates. Although fee simple estates are practically inheritable, however, most of the life estates are not.

I. Fee Simple Estates

The fee simple estates provide the greatest form of ownership available in real property. The typical ownership in fee simple absolute gives certain legal rights which are usually described as a bundle of rights. The owner in fee simple absolute, in this case, may convey a life estate to another; may pledge the property as security for a mortgage debt; may convey a leasehold estate to another; may grant an easement in the land to another; and may give a license to conduct some activity on the property to another.

For example, if the owner conveyed a lease or an easement to another, the owner’s remaining rights would be a fee simple subject to the lease or easement. The fee simple ownership should not be confused with the quality of title. Ownership in fee means that the grantee owns it forever, not that it is free of title defects. And of course, an owner cannot expect to live forever and therefore the ownership consists of two periods of time, which are from the receipt of title until the owner dies and the period of time after the owner dies. In any case, the owner has the rights of ownership and use during his lifetime and then the ownership shall convey to his heirs (either by will or by the law).

II. Fee Simple Subject To a Condition Subsequent

The fee simple subject to a condition subsequent can continue for an infinite period, as in the case with the fee simple absolute. The fee simple subject to a condition subsequent also can be defeated and therefore is a defeasible (revocable) title. The fee simple subject to a condition subsequent is created by the grantor (the one conveying title) who restricts the future use of the property in some way.

For example, a grantor may convey property with the condition that it can never be used as a landfill. As long as the property is never used for this purpose, the title will continue indefinitely in the name of the initial grantee or any subsequent grantee. Any use of the property for a landfill will violate the covenant (the agreement) in the deed and the original grantor or her heirs may reenter the property and take possession or go to court and sue to regain possession. By doing so, the titleholder’s estate is terminated.

Another example of fee simple subject to a condition subsequent is that a grantor may want to convey a title in the case of the landfill where the owner may be protecting the property he owns that is close to the landfill. This is similar to the case of the college where the grantor may be highly committed to education, but may not want to give up ownership of the property for any other reasons.

Perhaps, you may notice that in the case of a fee simple determinable, the estate in the grantee automatically terminates in the event where the designated use of the property is not continued or a prohibited use is undertaken. This is contrasted with the fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, in which the termination is not automatic.

B. ESTATES NOT OF INHERITANCE

Estates not of inheritance are good only for the life of the tenant (freehold) and do not pass on to his heirs, but rather are disposed of by some other method. In addition to being created by an intentional conveyance, life estates also can be created by operation of law. When life estates are created by act of the parties, they are called conventional life estates whereas when they are created by operation of law, they are referred to as marital life estates.

I. Conventional Life Estates (Estate for Tenant’s Own Life)

A life estate is a non-inheritable freehold estate which is created only for the life of the named life tenant (one who holds a life estate). And, questioning what will happen to the estate at the death of the life tenant, well, if nothing else is specified in the conveyance of the life estate, it will revert to the grantor or to his heirs at the death of the life tenant. In this case, the grantor or his heirs would have a reversionary interest and alternatively, the conveyance of the life estate could specify that the estate pass on to someone other than the grantor or his heirs.

II. Marital Life Estates

A marital life estate is created in North Carolina (United States) by the intestate succession statutes governing the distribution of property of one who dies intestate that is the one who dies without leaving a valid will. This statute allows the surviving spouse to choose a life estate in one-third of the real property owned in severalty (sole ownership) by the deceased spouse at any time during the marriage under certain conditions.

If let say that the surviving spouse is entitled to any property of the deceased spouse through a will or intestate succession statutes and the surviving spouse has not joined in the transfer of such property by signing the deed, the surviving spouse must forfeit any interest in the deceased spouse’s property resulting from a will or an inheritance to claim her marital estate. Because of this, only few surviving spouses elect the marital life estate option since it is seldom advantageous for them to do so.

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SEO TECHNIQUES: ON-PAGE Vs. OFF-PAGE

In general, Search Engine Optimization or popularly known by its acronym "SEO" has been around for nearly as long as the internet exists. Since the early periods, many organizations have utilized it to reach new audiences, drive traffic to their websites, spread knowledge, and escalate growth. Over the years since the existence of internet, SEO has become a sophisticated and technical practice informed by web user behavior. With that being said, today’s incarnation of content digitalization employs both on-page and off-page techniques to ensure high-quality websites to make it to the top of search engine result pages.

 

ON-PAGE SEO

The On-page SEO, technically speaking, is the practice of optimizing content on website pages so that they rank at the top of Google and can be easily searched by users. As it focuses more on how to create valuable content so that it looks SEO-friendly, it uses content and technical elements to improve the overall quality of a page. Simply put, the more On-page SEO optimization you do, the more traffic you will drive to your website and the more relevant that traffic will be.

Next, when discussing further about its implementations, there are quite a number of technical aspects of a webpage that can be optimized with On-page SEO to increase your site ranking such as:

- Title tags.

- Headings.

- URL structure.

- Alt text for images.

- Site speed.

- Internal links.

- Meta descriptions.

- Responsiveness.

All those technical aspects must be maximized properly. For example, the meta description you write must comply with applicable SEO rules for which there must be keywords placed and cannot be too long. This has to be performed so that users can find your website instantly on the Google search engine. Not only that, other technical facets such as URL title, title tag, etc. must also be optimized effectively. By placing internal links that are embedded in one piece of your content which will lead to other content on one website, this in turn will slowly increase your website's visibility in search ranking.

Furthermore, relevant and optimized headings are essential when it comes to the implementation of On-Page SEO. Headings are basically the titles you give to your content, and these should be in H1 format for the best results. As they should focus on relevant and descriptive words while you can optimize them with relevant keywords, do not stuff them. Hence, in order for you to break up your content, you can also use subheadings (H2 through H6) by following the same best practices, yet, try not to repeat keywords or phrases throughout your post.

Meanwhile, one of the most critical elements of On-Page SEO is none other than your content because this is what brings traffic to your website. As mentioned, today’s web users are looking for relevant, interesting, engaging, and informative content that can fill their need or offer them a solution. In other words, people must consume the content you have created as authentic as possible, which can come in a number of popular types, such as:

1. Blogs.

2. Videos.

3. Info graphics.

4. Podcasts.

5. EBooks

6. Case studies

7. Reviews

8. Instructional articles

9. And many more.

Above all, the content you create is something that others must be able to link to it which in this case; you should avoid creating content that requires a login, copyrighted material, and certain slide shows.

OFF-PAGE SEO

Aside from the technical elements which are the On-Page optimization, the Off-Page SEO concentrates more on the external factors. It is basically a series of activities carried out to optimize your website from the outside. The so-called Off-Page SEO, on the other hand, refers to the way of promoting your website by executing the practice of link building, backlinks, and so on. Just as the keyword stuffing used to be an acceptable practice, filling your webpages with irrelevant backlinks however will get you penalized rather than being promoted.

Although search engines take into consideration the number of your backlinks as well as the number of your referring domains, still, the quality of your content is far more important than quantity. Therefore, a single quality backlink from an authoritative site is worth more than 10 or even 100 of low-quality links.

Last but not least, writing content that mentions influencers in your field or perform some blogging activities to promote yourself as an expert in your realm is another example of the Off-Page SEO. Although building quality backlinks are the backbone of the Off-Page SEO strategy, there are other techniques you can use to increase site authority and encourage more links, such as:

1. Adding your business website to local listings and internet directories including things like Google My Business, Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other local listings.

2. Getting involved or participating in discussions on sites like Quora while answering questions from others and this will render you an opportunity to introduce them your website.

3. Submitting content to various sharing sites including images, audios, and video sharing sites like Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, Soundcloud, Dailymotion, YouTube, and so on.

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LEARNING HOW TO READ A COMPANY’S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Before you decide whether or not if you should invest in stock market, here are a few questions that would help you make a better decision and push you to think very carefully.

- How much cash does the company already have?

- How much revenue has the company made since it was started?

- How much revenue does the company expect to make in the future?

- Does the company have any debts?

Then, once you have done asking yourself with the above questions, the next step for you to start is by looking at the company’s financial statements. Learning how to read Financial Statements is similar to learning a new language. If you want to order a better dish in a Spanish restaurant, you will probably need to speak Spanish to read the course of menu. This is similar with a company’s business.

If you want to find a good stock to invest in, you will need to learn how to speak the language of finance and read their financial statements. Just like learning any new languages other than your mother tongue. It is difficult at first, yet, the more you practice the more fluent you will become.

Broadly speaking, all companies need to keep track of their finance which means that they are keeping track of all the money coming in and going out, as well as other transactions that do not necessarily involve the exchange of money. At the end of each month, quarterly (three months), and year, a company will prepare financial statements which literally are the summary of all its financial transactions in that given period.

In the case of a company that is publicly traded where its shares are sold on a stock market, for instance, it is required that the company prepare and file quarterly and annual financial statements so that the government and the public can see how the company is doing.

Actually, there are a lot of parties who will be keen to have a look at the financial statements of a company. First, the company’s management and board of directors will use the financial statements to track performance. The financial statements typically show how the company has done in the past and will help management to make better decisions about the future. Second, Lenders or the so-called creditors such as banks that have provided loans to the company may also want to see its financial statements.

Some loans may have certain requirements, such as the company’s debt-to-equity ratio "cannot be more than either 0.3 or 0.4" in order to receive that loan, or the lender may just want to see how much cash the company has in order to estimate how likely it is the company will be able to pay back the loan and interest in a timely manner.

Here’s a quick illustration of a company’s debt-to-equity ratio, and how to calculate it is by "dividing a company's total liabilities with its shareholders’ equity".

On the other hand, investors are very interested in seeing the financial statements. They are making decisions about whether to buy or sell stock in the company and thus they need to know how the company is doing to help inform their decisions. When it comes to a company’s financial statements, there are three types that you need to learn how to read them before you decide to invest or buy its shares.

Firstly, it is a balance sheet. The balance sheet basically shows a snapshot of the company’s assets (its resources that it expects to create value in the future), liabilities (the loans and other obligations due to others), and owners’ equity (also known as shareholders’ equity or stockholders’ equity – the stake that the owners or investors like yourself have in the business).

Secondly, it is an income statement. The income statement practically demonstrates how much revenue the company generated over the year, how much it cost to sell its main products, how much it cost to pay its employees over the year, and how much it owed in interest and taxes for the year. On a very basic level, if the company makes more revenue than it spends in costs, it is a profitable business. However, if the company’s costs are greater than its revenues, then it is not a profitable business.

Thirdly, it is a statement of cash flows. The statement of cash flows technically illustrates how much cash came into the business and how much cash went out of the business. It is important to note here that when we use the term cash in the financial world, we mean not only the currency bills like you normally think of such as dollars or euros, but also checks, electronic transfers, as well as the balance in the bank account.

In fact, most businesses will do a lot of their transactions through electronic means (e.g. mobile banking, wire transfers, etc.); yet, they are still considered as the amount of cash which flows in and flows out.

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THREE MAIN PURPOSES OF INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE

It is not uncommon to notice that the vast majority of people would rather invest their retirement savings in some combination of stocks and bonds, typically through some kind of mutual funds. Despite the fact that this renders them a great opportunity to diversify their sources of earnings or the so-called investment portfolios, they are often shocked to discover the value of their investment has tumbled whenever there is an unprecedented change in the market conditions. Investing in real estate is no different, yet, the value of property acquired normally increases every single year, particularly against the ever growing populations where the land becomes scarce.

 

1. TO PRESERVE CAPITAL

Obviously, the ultimate reason for investing in real estate is the preservation and the possible enhancement of the money invested. A real estate owner may build up additional money through reduction of mortgage debt. Generally, real estate owners have enjoyed rising property values over the years. Consequently, the equity or the value of money invested is preserved and increased by appreciation. This is precisely the reason behind why real estate investments are described as the investment which hedges against inflation. Although the problems associated with tenants are legendary, prevalent and endless, however, they often improve the properties that they occupy to enhance their living environment. As a result, the betterment of the property they make tend to increase the property’s value and is often left behind by the time when they move.

2. TO EARN PROFITABILITY

Fundamentally speaking, all investors in real estate have one ultimate purpose to put their money in for the sake of gaining profitability. By definition, an investment of any kind is a commitment of funds with the intention of preserving a "capital/equity/money" and earning a profit. From the viewpoint of real estate investors, these profits assume two forms. First, the income stream derived from the tenants’ rents should generate one kind of profit. Second, the gross amount of rent should be adequate to pay for all of the fixed and variable operating expenses of the property with sufficient remaining to show a return on the investment. After all, before committing to make any investment of real estate property, an investor should analyze thoroughly the returns of investment from opportunities rather than simply acquiring the assets.

 

3. TO ENJOY TAX RELIEF

Unlike any other form of investments, the income stemmed from the rental real estate can be sheltered enormously to diminish the income tax liability and thus enhancing the bottom-line return. Often, after all income from a rental property is accumulated for the year, the expenses incurred to grow this income will possibly be deducted. As these expenses include all operating costs such as management fees, utility expenses, repairs, maintenance, advertising, bookkeeping and so forth, the interest paid on existing real estate loans is usually deductible as a consequence of the amount of depreciation. Hence, the gross income derived from rentals is effectively reduced to a net amount that is then subjected to the imposition of income taxes at the taxpayer’s pocket.

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THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL AND LEGAL FACTORS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE

As the governing body that have long intervened in international trade through a variety of mechanisms, some of the reasons why governments need to intervene in international trade are simply due to a combination of political, economic, social, and cultural reasons. Politically, a country’s government may seek to protect jobs or specific industries. And perhaps, some industries may be considered essential for national security purposes, such as defense, telecommunications, and infrastructure. A simple example would be a government may be concerned about who owns the ports within its country.

When it comes to addressing national security purposes, some governments may not want advanced technological information to be sold to unfriendly foreign interests which can impact both the import and exports of a country as a whole. As governments may influence trade to reward a country for political support on global matters, they on the other hand are also motivated by economic factors to intervene in the international trade. With that being said, they may want to protect young industries or to preserve access to local consumer markets for domestic firms.

Furthermore, governments have several key policy areas that can be used to create rules and regulations to control and manage international trade. Many governments continue to intervene in this particular area is owing to the fact that there has been a major shift towards free trade among nations. Because of this, those rules and regulations imposed are as follows:

 

1. TARIFFS

- Tariffs are taxes imposed on the imported products. There are two kinds of tariffs exist, one is specific tariffs which are levied as a fixed charge, and the other one is ad valorem tariffs which are calculated as a percentage of the value. Many governments, unfortunately, still charge ad valorem tariffs as a way to regulate imports and raise revenues for their coffers (money box/treasury).

 

2. SUBSIDIES

- A subsidy is a form of government payment to a producer. The basic types of subsidies include tax breaks or low-interest loans for which both of them are very common. Subsidies, in addition, can also be cash grants and government-equity participation, which are less common because they require a direct use of government resources.

 

3. IMPORT QUOTAS AND VOLUNTARY EXPORT RESTRAINTS (VER)

- Import quotas and voluntary export restraints (VER) are two strategies to limit the amount of imports into a country. The importing government directs import quotas while VER are imposed at the discretion of the exporting nation in conjunction with the importing one.

4. CURRENCY CONTROLS AND ANTI-DUMPING RULES

- Governments may limit the convertibility of one currency (usually its own) into others in attempts to limit the imports. While some governments will manage the exchange rate at a high level to create an import disincentive, they in contrast establish rules and regulations against any form of dumping practices, which is none other than when a company sells its product below market price often in order to win market share and weaken its competitors.

 

5. LOCAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS AND FREE-TRADE ZONE

- Many countries continue to require that a certain percentage of a product or an item be manufactured or assembled locally. Some countries, in fact, specify that a local firm must be used as the domestic partner to conduct business. In conjunction with free-trade zone policy, many countries designate certain geographic areas in attempts to promote trade with other countries where they are free from tariffs, taxes, have less procedures or restrictions, and so forth.

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THE OBJECTIVE AND THE SCOPE OF REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

In general, the primary purpose of any investment is none other than to produce income or profit, or balancing the profit the investor desires against the risk. Real estate offers the opportunity to make a profit in three different ways: appreciation, positive cash flow, and tax benefit.

As we know, real estate investors come in many varieties ranging from the individual who buys one rundown property and fixes it up for resale or rental to the other individuals, or corporations who acquire large commercial complexes such as shopping centers and factories. While appreciation, positive cash flow, and tax benefit are some of the ways to generate profitability on the real estate investments, such leverages allow more money to be made on less investment.

For example, suppose an investor buys a $100,000 property with an initial investment of $10,000 for down payment and closing costs. The property appreciates $3,000 the first year has a positive before-tax cash flow of $50 a month, and produces a tax savings of $400 for the year. This $4,000 is only 4% of $100,000 which is not a very good return on an investment. However, if it is 40% of $10,000 then it is an excellent return on an investment.

Moreover, real estate like any other investment also involves risks. The real estate’s market value can decline, deteriorate, or even the area surrounding the property can change; adversely affecting the property value. Perhaps, rent or income may not meet expectations. Neither plants nor military installations nearby can be opened. Environmental problems may adversely affect the property so if any of these things occurs, the effect may be compounded by the real estate’s lack of liquidity (the investor most likely cannot sell the property instantly for its full value).

Next, when it comes to discussing the scope of the real estate business, it is extensive and is a complex type of industry. Normally, when people think of the real estate business, they think only of residential brokerage. Well, this is just one of several specializations within the real estate business where in fact, there are multiple specializations rooted within the field of brokerage including farm and land brokerage, residential property brokerage, also commercial and investment property brokerage.

In addition to brokerage, other specializations in real estate include property management, appraising, financing, construction, property development, real estate education, and government service. Although real estate transactions can be traced to early written records from biblical times, however, those transactions were between the seller and buyer directly without the participation of a real estate broker.

Bottom line, the business of real estate brokerage is a product of the twentieth century whereby in the early 1900s for example, many states began enacting licensing law legislation and today all states in the nation require real estate brokers or salespeople to be licensed.

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THE NATURE OF REAL ESTATE MARKET

When it comes to the characteristics of real property investments, each parcel of real estate is unique and thus requires an individual investment analysis relevant to its specific geographic attributes. However, all real property has certain prevalent characteristics that affect its market value, which include:

1. Fixity. The property is fixed in location and as a result, its values are affected by any political and economic activities which occur in the immediate vicinity (surrounding area).

2. Longevity. The property is considered to be a long-term investment because of the durability of improvements and the permanence of the land. Consequently, this enables investors to estimate with some degree of reliability and the present value of a future stream of income from the property.

3. Permanence. It is the attribute that forms the basis of long-term mortgage-debt amortization. The investment occurred in this stage involves a relatively large amount of money which requires complex financial arrangements. These complexities, in turn, entail the expertise of lawyers, accountants, brokers, property managers, consultants, and other specialists.

4. Risk. The investment of real estate property is a relatively high-risk venture that reflects the uncertainty of somewhat unpredictable market. Unlike the stocks and bonds, there is no readily identifiable or organized national market for real estate.

5. Market segmentation. The fractured aspect of its unorganized and unregulated market is further exacerbated by the lack of standardization of the product aside from the fact that many of the market’s participants react intuitively and giving little attention to formal feasibility of marketing studies. Although the real estate investment market is divided into sub-markets such as retail, warehouse, residential and others, however, the investor who seeks for qualified help and takes advantage of protective measures can often mitigate some of the risks inflicted.

On the other hand, many government activities also possess either direct or indirect influences on the property values. At the federal or regional level, for example, income tax laws are often perplexing and frustrating. As a result, the power of government’s regulation and control of money effectively dictates the extent of real estate activity through manipulation of the supply as well as the cost of mortgage money.

Meanwhile, local political attitudes regarding zoning and growth restrictions have further contributed to the rise of real estate prices which create a monopolistic position for the property owners. Fueling the real estate property values with such political attitudes is the anti growth philosophy of citizens in some areas where property taxes and other public costs are rising at an alarming rate to serve an ever-increasing population. Therefore, the utterance to the saying "Not in my backyard!" has often become the slogan in some of those troubled cities which are heavily impacted by political attitudes.

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