Rehabbing a House

Written by Jim O'Keefe


It is easy to be intimidated byrepparttar size of a rehab project, particularly if you’ve never tackled one before. This chapter breaks downrepparttar 104517 steps involved in completing a renovation from start to finish and removes some ofrepparttar 104518 mystery, and hopefully some ofrepparttar 104519 fear, surrounding a renovation. I hope you find it a useful tool when eyeing your next fixer upper.

Step One - Meet With Contractor and Define Job

When starting a rehab,repparttar 104520 very first thing that I do is walk through and evaluaterepparttar 104521 project myself. Then I set up a meeting with my contractor to get his input and finalize my strategy including how to handle certain repairs and whether or not we’re going to make any changes torepparttar 104522 basic layout ofrepparttar 104523 property. Now that I work exclusively with one general contractor, my life is much easier since I only have to meet one person. He contacts everyone else and then relaysrepparttar 104524 results of his conversations with them to me. As a result of my experience, I’m becoming fairly adept at determiningrepparttar 104525 best way to dorepparttar 104526 work. Therefore, my contractor usually winds up completingrepparttar 104527 projects inrepparttar 104528 way that I envision. However, he does offer advice and I’m always open to suggestions as to better or cheaper ways to getrepparttar 104529 job done.

Step Two - Define Job and Buy Materials

Once we meet and determinerepparttar 104530 work we are going to do, my contractor and I put together a draw schedule. This is usually required byrepparttar 104531 lender and listsrepparttar 104532 order in which we intend to completerepparttar 104533 work required. I like to shift things around to keeprepparttar 104534 cash flow coming fromrepparttar 104535 lender. My contractor likes to do things in an order that makes his life easier. We usually settle on something in between.

Step Three - Phase One: Demolition

Through experience, I have finally learned to do my entire “demo” first. I used to get into my homes and startrepparttar 104536 jobs immediately. However, this meant we were constantly working around trash, having to haul trash away, etc. Now, I just get a dumpster or two atrepparttar 104537 very beginning of a job, bring in a crew, and begin to rip everything out. We clean out allrepparttar 104538 trash and tear outrepparttar 104539 kitchen, bath(s), drop ceilings, paneling, flooring, and anything else that might get in our way of completingrepparttar 104540 job properly and efficiently.

Step Four - Phase Two: Roof, Windows and Siding

The rest ofrepparttar 104541 job typically begins onrepparttar 104542 exterior ofrepparttar 104543 home. We start withrepparttar 104544 roof in order to ensure thatrepparttar 104545 inside ofrepparttar 104546 house stays dry, and usually, I’ll haverepparttar 104547 windows and siding done atrepparttar 104548 same time. One reason I like completingrepparttar 104549 entire exterior rather quickly is that it starts to attract attention fromrepparttar 104550 neighbors and people who drive by.

Step Five - Phase Three: Plumbing and HVAC

The next two items on my list arerepparttar 104551 plumbing andrepparttar 104552 heating and air conditioning system. Inrepparttar 104553 past, I had contractors who didn’t dorepparttar 104554 plumbing right away and it only led to disaster. After they hung, finished and painted all ofrepparttar 104555 sheet rock inrepparttar 104556 home, they turned onrepparttar 104557 water only to find that there were pipes burst inrepparttar 104558 walls. Today, I ALWAYS make my contractor check outrepparttar 104559 plumbing first, includingrepparttar 104560 sewer lines. It is important to have a working heating system inrepparttar 104561 home upfront so that much ofrepparttar 104562 interior work, particularlyrepparttar 104563 finishing and painting ofrepparttar 104564 sheet rock, can be done. Whilerepparttar 104565 plumber is working, I’ll have an HVAC crew installing a new heating system which consists of a new gas furnace and central air conditioning. I haven’t always replaced functional HVAC systems and even today, ifrepparttar 104566 current system is fairly new, I will avoid it. Primarily, though, I always install completely new systems. Finally, ifrepparttar 104567 electrical system needs to be updated in any way, I usually do this whilerepparttar 104568 HVAC system is being installed. In many instances, if I am installing central air conditioning in a home that didn’t have it previously,repparttar 104569 electrical system will need to be updated to accommodaterepparttar 104570 central air. Other than this, which isn’t always necessary, I rarely have to do any electrical work in my homes.

The Benefits of EQ Coaching for Mid-Level Executives and Professionals

Written by Susan Dunn, MA, Emotional Intelligence & Professional Development Coach


The majority of CEOs, executives and professionals are left-brained -- analytical, linear, and focused. They are good with numbers, and in communication tend to listen torepparttar actual word spoken, word-by-word, missingrepparttar 104516 nuances,repparttar 104517 expressions,repparttar 104518 tone of voice, i.e.,repparttar 104519 “other” 90% of verbal communication. Many have come up throughrepparttar 104520 ranks with heavy backgrounds in business, finance and accounting and have had little time for liberal arts training or exposure. Professionals, in addition, have strong academic backgrounds, often having dedicated 16-24 years to their formal educations and post-graduate training. Inrepparttar 104521 Western World,repparttar 104522 left-brained orientation, degrees and credentials matter. But they are no longer enough.

The Need for Emotional Intelligence What happens, for instance, whenrepparttar 104523 brilliant CEO is alienating colleagues and driving away good employees? What happens whenrepparttar 104524 well-educated mid-level executive is good withrepparttar 104525 bottom line, but low in leadership? What happens whenrepparttar 104526 high IQ Regional Sales Director’s temper getsrepparttar 104527 best of him and he makes poor judgment calls? And what aboutrepparttar 104528 heavily-credentialed professional who can't translate his hard-acquired and valuable knowledge to others because of his pedantic or abrasive communication style?

What happens is not good. What they need is to develop a set of competencies we call Emotional Intelligence, and it can be a hard sell.

Once you have someone actually in coaching for emotional intelligence, it sells itself. The individual (and their employer) see immediate positive results in every area of his or her life, and they don't go backward. Once you’ve learned creativity or resilience, you can’t forget it. Momentum builds on successes. But getting there requires some hard data, in most cases, and some hard-hitting examples.

So here I will provide you with one. Who can argue with Warren Buffet,repparttar 104529 second-richest man inrepparttar 104530 world? What Maderepparttar 104531 Dynamic Duo So Rich? Could it have been Emotional Intelligence? And what Dynamic Duo? William Gates, III,repparttar 104532 world’s richest man, and Warren Buffet,repparttar 104533 world’s second richest man, according to Forbes.

Clearly there’s plenty of brain power in these two gentleman, but that wasn’t all, nor was it academic education. Mr. Gates, after all, is a college dropout.

Actually he went on record in a speech atrepparttar 104534 University of Indiana about this matter.

“I want to clarify one thing,” he said, “which is that I’m actually not a college dropout. I'm on leave from Harvard, and I could go back any time I want to and finish that French class that I didn't do, and they might even give me a degree.”

That having been said, smarts are good, but everyone atrepparttar 104535 executive and professional level has smarts. How are you going to stand out? How can you help your employees succeed, and getrepparttar 104536 edge so your business can profit? We all sense there’s more to success than intelligence, and Warren Buffet has given us some insight because he often talks about how he got where he is – a self-made billionaire. Like many successful people, he’s quick to say it wasn’t because of IQ alone, or even primarily.

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