Author Archive: Ruth Collins

Small Business – Doing Business with HUD

This Outreach session will provide guidance on how to do business with HUD, best ways for marketing your business to HUD, and the type of services and products HUD buys.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

For more information on small business grant and home ownership programs visit TopGovernmentGrants.com.

SCORE Services to Small Business – An Introduction

In an excerpt from a 2010 interview the SCORE CEO discusses its counseling and workshops offerings to small businesses.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and Community Foundation programs from around the world.

Taking Out A Home Mortgage? Read These Tips First!

Are you afraid you can’t afford a mortgage? Are you unfamiliar with home mortgages? Whatever the reason you found this article, everyone can use these tips to increase their understanding of home mortgages.

Prepare for a new home mortgage well in advance. Get your financial business in order. This means you should save a bit of money while getting debts under control. If these things are something you wait on, you might not get approved for your home.

If you find that your home’s value has sunk below the amount you still have left on the mortgage, and have unsuccessfully tried to refinance in the past, give it another try. New programs (HARP) are in place to help homeowners out in this exact situation, no matter how imbalanced their mortgage and home value seems to be. Talk to your lender since they are now more open to a HARP refinance. If your lender won’t help you, move on to one who will.

When you are waiting to close on your mortgage, don’t decide you want to take a shopping trip. Lenders recheck your credit in the days prior to finalizing your mortgage, and could change their mind if too much activity is noticed. Any furniture buying, as well as any other expensive item or project, needs to wait until your mortgage contract is signed and a done deal.

You will more than likely have to cover a down payment on your mortgage. Some banks used to allow no down payments, but now they typically require it. You should find out exactly how much you’ll need.

If you are denied for a mortgage, do not lose hope. Instead, talk with another potential lender and apply if it looks decent. Each lender is quite different on the criteria for loan approval. This is the reason why you should shop around to many different lenders to better your chances of getting a more favorable loan term.

Consider investing in the services of a professional when you’re about to take out a mortgage. There is much information to learn before you get a home mortgage, and the consultant can guide you to getting the best deal. They can make sure the terms you are getting are fair, and the company you are looking at is dependable.

If home loans are something that interest you, this piece included lots of tips to help illuminate the process. Everyone can get the home they want, with the proper mortgage. Remember these tips as use them wisely as you search for your dream home.

How The Government Can Help Your Small Business

The Small Business Administration is largely responsible for providing indirect financial assistance to entrepreneurs and small business establishments. In most cases, the primary role of the SBA is to provide several financial assistance program to small business that have been specially designed to meet essential financing needs.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on nonprofit information, educational grants and Civic Engagement programs from around the world.

Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

The Historically Underutilized Business Zones Empowerment Contracting Program provides federal contracting assistance to eligible small businesses located in underutilized business zones to improve their employment opportunities, investments, and their area’s economic development.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

For more information on small business grant and home ownership programs visit TopGovernmentGrants.com.

Tips For Growing Plants The Organic Way

If you use these principles of organic gardening, you will produce notably positive effects for your plants and your planet. It shows that you care about taking care of your plants and that you want them to grow up healthy. This is a great thing. Like any other skills you may have, these are able to be improved. The following tips are given to help you with this.

A good way to ensure that your seeds sprout effectively is to start them in smaller pots and then transplant them once they reach the seedling stage. Your plants will be more likely to survive if you do this. This method also reduces the waiting time between plantings. Once the fully matured plants are removed, the seedlings can be planted.

Choose perennials that slugs are not attracted to. Snails and slugs can do irreparable damage to your garden in a single night. These garden vermin prefer plants with tender, herbaceous stems and leaves, particularly seedlings and young plants. Some perennials, however, leave a bad taste in slugs’ mouths or are difficult to chew through because their leaves aren’t tender. Examples of these slug-proof plant varieties include achillea, euphorbia, and helleborus, to name a few.

Plants need CO2 grow well. In general, higher amounts of CO2 are related to better plant growth. The best way to get a lot of it is through a greenhouse. For the best growing conditions you should keep the CO2 levels high.

Don’t cut your grass down by the soil when you run the mower. If you leave some of the grass when you mow, the roots grow further into the ground, which makes the grass less prone to drying and other hazards. When grass is cut too low the roots will not grow as deep, and your lawn may suffer from brown patches.

If your garden includes vegetables, make sure you plant them in a location whether they are exposed to sunlight for a minimum of six hours each day. Most vegetables require this amount of sun in order to grow properly and at a quicker pace. Some flowers need the same thing.

Organic Horticulture

You possess the products, tools and skills to use these tips to better your garden. That is all well and good, however, you must put them to use. As with most things, organic horticulture requires that you never stop learning to improve your craft. Take the tips from above to boost your knowledge arsenal about organic horticulture. Try new things, and keep looking for more resources as you progress with your garden.

Introduction to the Small Business Administration

If you’re looking for a way to help your business grow, now would be a good time to understand how the government can help you with your small business needs.

This post is aligned with a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

For more information on small business grant and home ownership programs visit TopGovernmentGrants.com.

Local Assistance from the Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration has many local offices and resource partners that counsel, mentor and train small business owners and entrepreneurs.

These nearby offices and online assistance can help your business start up, succeed and grow. This short video provides a good introduction to services near you.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

Find additional information and resources on small business grants and loans, home buyer programs and Community Foundation programs from around the world.

Small Business Administration HUBZone Program

The Historically Underutilized Business Zones Empowerment Contracting Program provides federal contracting assistance to eligible small businesses located in underutilized business zones to improve their employment opportunities, investments, and their area’s economic development.

This post is part of a network of sites interested with the intersection of small business, the philanthropic sector and government in creating healthy and sustainable communities.

For more information on small business grant and home ownership programs visit TopGovernmentGrants.com.

Top Tips For A Thriving Organic Garden

A lot of individuals think that gardening is a challenging task that involves back-breaking labor and years of academic, horticultural studying; this is not true. All it takes is a little knowledge for you to have a green thumb of your own. The tips in this article will provide you with all the gardening information needed to become a master at gardening.

Don’t mow your grass too short. If you let your grass grow, the roots will go deeper and make your lawn more resistant to dryness. When you cut the grass too short, the roots are often not deep enough, which causes your lawn to have dry patches of brown, discolored grass.

Balance your alkaline soil with the acid found in used coffee grounds. This is an easy and inexpensive solution to increase the acid content back into the soil. The plants will be healthier, leading to more delicious home-grown veggies.

Mint Leaves

Mint leaves are wonderful, but don’t you despise how quickly they can take over a garden due to rapid growth? You can control the growth of the mint leaves by growing them in a large container rather than in your garden. You can even plant the container in the ground. That way, the roots won’t be able to escape the container, and the plant won’t overrun your garden.

Make sure you read instructions on products and tools before using them. If you fail to follow the directions, you expose yourself to safety hazards or a risk of experiencing adverse reactions. Protect yourself and follow all instructions.

Good tools for the gardener include a wheelbarrow and a kneeling stool. Working in the garden means you’ll be down on the ground a lot. This can cause knee pain, so if you have a stool, you’ll have an easier time. Also, gardening can involve a lot of heavy lifting and moving items, therefore a robust wheelbarrow can make that aspect much easier.

As mentioned earlier, horticulture isn’t difficult if you have the required knowledge. These suggestions have given you a solid foundation in how to design and maintain a fabulous garden.