All Baby Boomers are at that point in their lives where aging parents and relatives need some extra help.  The cost are real and need consideration.

Recently, my mother-in-law fell of a stair and broke an ankle.  My wife has spent the past two weeks down in Chicago helping her out.  Just before New Years my daughter got sick and has been in the hospital.  Suddenly, it was just me shouldering the care giver duties in Milwaukee.  Last year I had two elderly aunts that needed attention.  No whining here, just saying your obligations can jump up on you quickly when family members have health problems. 

Small businesses notoriously are tight on personnel.  Family health care issues extend to more than insurance and co-pay.  You need to think through the obligations you have and their time stipulations before you go off to make a financial commitment.

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I’ve been around long enough to hear just about everything, and I’m often surprised by the stuff that small business people believe about starting and running a small business. Much of this stuff is negative and causes people to believe that they can’t start or run their businesses effectively. So, I’ve decided to take on some of these myths. Over the next few weeks or so, I’ll present some small business myths and the facts to disprove them.

My husband is a big fan of those “myth buster” guys on the Discovery Channel who go after cherished myths on such subject as dinosaurs, global warming, and how to survive if you’re lost in the jungle, which I guess is kind of what this series is about.

Myth 1: You need great credit to get a small business loan.

Myth Buster: You certainly don’t need a stellar credit rating to get a small business loan. Just as you don’t need great credit to get a loan for anything. A small business startup loan really is a personal loan, since there is tiny or no actual collateral, either in the form of physical assets (like equipment) or business cash flow. So the bank is lending primarily on your personal characteristics, including your credit rating. If you don’t have great credit, it doesn’t mean you will be certain to get the loan, and if you have bad credit, it doesn’t mean you’ll certainly be turned down.

But, having good credit certainly helps get you that business loan. It helps because the higher your credit rating, the lower the interest rate on your startup loan. If your credit rating is low enough, it might possibly be denied credit by major banks and credit unions. You can still find money for your small business startup from other lending institutions, at higher interest rates, or you might need to go to other more creative financing sources.

When you go to the bank to ask for a small business startup loan, the first thing the bank do is pull your credit score, to see what kind of financial track record you have. Don’t let the bank do this; instead, present them with your credit report that you have already thoughtfully brought with you, including FICO score.  This keeps you from having lots of hits on your credit rating.  You can get a free credit score before you go to the bank by going to Annual Credit Report. Pay the additional money to get your FICO score. If your credit is bad, work hard to mend your credit rating. Check the dispute resolution process of one of the credit reporting bureaus to learn how to do this.

So the myth that you have to have great credit to get a small business startup loan is busted.  If you’ve poor credit, you can still find funding; you’ll just have to work harder and pay more in interest to get it.

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Cheap surgeries can have massive cost
MSNBC - GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Gabriela Sanchez always felt self-conscious about her small breasts, and at age 40 she decided to do Arias said Huerta distributed business cards reading in English “Cosmetic and Aesthetic Surgeon.” Huerta, she said, would

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BusinessWeek - Small business owners state they are skittish about Colorado’s economic climate and have asked lawmakers to tread lightly before trying to make major changes to health care and tax policies in the upcoming session. Tony Gagliardi, state director of the

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MSNBC - NEW YORK - Nearly every accountant has a story about a small business client who showed up on April 10 or thereabouts, anticipating to begin work on a company or personal income tax return. Or, worse, a client who showed up with a shoebox full of

Irwin Financial Corporation Announces Preliminary Fourth Quarter
Forbes - COLUMBUS, Ind., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Irwin Financial Corporation (NYSE: IFC), a bank holding company focusing on small business and consumer mortgage lending, today announced that it expects to report a loss from operations for the fourth

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PRWeb - California Business Brokers and Small Business Owners Sold 34 Businesses for Sale in San Bernardino County, California Last Week! Sales of San Bernardino County Businesses During this Time Period by City Include: Apple Valley: 1, Big Bear Lake: 2

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Filed under: Estates

One of the most one-of-a-kind inns in Provincetown, Massachusetts (a town known for, among other things, really eclectic bed and breakfasts) is on the market. Land’s End Inn occupies a coveted spot on Commercial Street on Gulf Hill. The inn has views of the harbor and was originally built in 1904 as a private residence. It has 17 guest bedrooms and 18 bathrooms. Each of the rooms has its own very special theme such as the library room, the English garden room and the Moroccan tower room. Tthe whole place is touched with a charming eccentricity.. The home also has three different kitchens.There is also a manager’s apartment and the listing includes an adjacent lot at 20A Commercial St. of approximately 8060 square feet. More pictures can be seen at the inn’s website. It is listed at $5,250,000.

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Filed under: Estates

I spend a lot of time looking at San Francisco real estate, but sometimes I forget to check out Oakland. This seven-bedroom modern home is full of great lines and huge windows. The home’s light-filled kitchen has all the expected names: Poggenpohl cabinets, Miele and Gaggeneau appliances. There are limestone floors and 18 zone radiant heat. The home is 9,000 square feet and it has a five bridge view. The home also has a home theater and a fitness room. A spiral staircase links three floors. There’s also a separate two-bedroom apartment with two baths and a kitchen. The only thing missing is a lavish pool.

Maybe what’s most extraordinary about the house is that, according to Lydia over at the Women Building Wealth blog, the owners purchased it in 2001 for $750,000. it is now listed at $6,388,000. I wonder how much money the owners put into this home.

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Filed under: Estates

You know a listing is posh when it has aerial shots. Today’s estate is located in Governor’s Land, a private residential community located at the confluence of the James and Chickahominy Rivers seven miles from Colonial Williamsburg. The community is designed for low population density with 60% o f the 1,482 total acreage preserved.This new home is surrounded by 10 acres of lawns, woodland paths and is on the banks of the James River. It even comes with its own private island. The home is a 19,000 square foot residence but with just five bedrooms there is room for a whole lot of other add-on rooms like a library, home theater room, or elevator. The home is a modern version of a grand Southern home, complete with a sweeping staircase entrance. Of course older homes don’t have an indoor pool and spa area, an open kitchen or a bathroom in green stone and dark wood that resembles a library. This home is listed at $10.5 million.

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Filed under: Estates

This Sedona, Arizona home isn’t just full of art, it has art in the entrance. The “Dance of Life” bronze leads the way to a stone staircase flanked by six stacked-stone towers. On the other side of the entry is a glass wall that shows off the views and the pool. The home is shaped like a crescent moon and has plenty of windows to showcase the views. There are five bedroom sites, a great room, dining room, gourmet kitchen, office and theater room and a separate two-bedroom caretaker’s apartment and detached gym. The property also includes two horse stalls. The home was done in luxury materials including white Thassos marble flooring (quarried and shipped in tile form from Greece) and Travertine flooring (from Italy) throughout as well as stained glass windows and sconces. The home is wired for sound with a full CD/DVD central audio system with individually controlled loudspeakers in all main areas there’s also a home theater with a CD, DVD, VCR system in the media room and three additional TVs including a plasma screen in the living room. The home also includes all statues and sculptures that are displayed outside which includes several resin and bronze artworks. it is listed at $10 million.

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Last Sunday’s estate took us to Spain and the home of artist Joan Miro, this week we are looking at the Paris home of another type of artist, fashion designer Kenzo Takada. Takada, who built the fashion line Kenzo and sold it to LVMH in 1993, lives in a striking home located on the Right Bank between the Place de la Bastille and the Place des Vosges. The approximately 14,000-square-foot home is very East-meets-West with much of the design informed by traditional Japanese design with modern touches.

The International Herald Tribune recently ran a piece on the home which states that Kenzo built the home between 1987 and 1993 with the help of an architect friend. The four-level home has five bedroom suites including Kenzo’s master bedroom suite which has two dressing rooms. The main home has a contemporary living room with an indoor lap pool, library, a professional kitchen used for huge parties, a gym, sauna, hammam and two Jacuzzis. The home includes a mezzanine studio where Kenzo worked on his designs and also painted. The home has oak floors, an elevator and six fireplaces. There are also three staff apartments and parking spaces. The outdoor spaces here are delightful with several different levels of gardens. There is a tranquil garden with a fish pond and a cherry tree. There’s also a Japanese-style pavilion that is furnished with traditional tatami mats and has one room dedicated to the tea ceremony.

This home is more like a private universe than a home built for one man with very precise tastes. I hate to use the word zen here but that is what comes to mind when looking at this astonishing home. Kenzo decided to put the home on the market because it is now too large for him and he wants to find a more modest pied-

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Berg Properties Huge Time Listings:
–via In Touch Weekly, ‘Dancing with the Stars’ co-host Samantha Harris and her husband, Michael Hess have paid $1,600,000 to buy a in Los Angeles west of the Century City area.
–Slash has finally sold his five-bedroom “lawsuit house” in the Hollywood Hills, possibly to San Diego Padres relief pitcher Randy Wolf.
–An update of the real estate moves of Hilary Swank, she paid $5.8 million earlier this year for a place in Pacific Palisades and told W Magazine that she left New York because of the high real estate prices (Swank and ex-hubby Chad Lowe sold their Manhattan townhouse for $7,050,000 million in January) but likely her romance with her former agent John Campisi, who is L.A.-based also had something to do with it. Nevertheless, New York magazine has spotted Swank browsing for a loft and reported that she was looking at a a two-bedroom unit in the Better Ink development in Manhattan.
–’One Tree Hill’ actors Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush have sold their house in Wilmington, N.C. for $730,000.
–Justin Long, who is perhaps most famous for the “I’m a Mac” ads, has paid about $1,400,000 for amid-century modern home in the Hollywood Hills.
–Nicole Richie has sold her condominium unit in the Empire West building in West Hollywood for $2,250,000.

From the Real Estalker:
–via Newsday, Patricia Kennedy Lawford’s estate has sold her Southampton home for $9.8 million.
–via Luxury Real Estate, Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife Nicole Murphy has sold their Sacramento area home for the highest price the Sacramento area has ever seen, $6.1 million.Most of the furnishings, including at least 20 Televisions and a sleek, black, $200,000 Schimmel Pegasus grand piano were included in the deal.
–The Real Estalker Mama has nabbed some interior shots of the Golden Beach, Florida home that Ricky Martin has put on the market for $22.5 million.
–The Mama takes a look at Peter Guber’s Kauai Tara Plantation. This home has sat on the market for $46.5 million for nearly 3 years, we covered it way back in February 2005.
–Amanda Peet and her screenwriter husband David Benioff have sold their Angelo View Drive home high above Holmby Hills and have purchased the former James Cagney estate above Sunset Boulevard on N. Wetherly Drive.
–50 Cent has reduced the price of his Connecticut home to $12 million from $18.5 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
–Nicolas Cage has pulled his Bel-Air mansion, which was listed at $35 million, off the market.
– St. Louis Rams owner Georgia Frontiere sold her Bel-Air home for close to $30 million.
–Madonna’s former home in Beverly Hills, which was redone by Diane Keaton, just closed at nearly $17 million.
–Comedy writer Bill Richmond has bought a town home overlooking the lake in Calabasas Park for close to its asking price of $1.3 million.
–Gregory Joujon-Roche, a celebrity personal trainer, has listed his Malibu condo for $2.695 million. The listing is here, the home is freshly redecorated and gorgeous.
–Peter Shin, supervising director of the Television show “Family Guy,” has bought a contemporary-style house for $1.3-plus million in the Hollywood Hills.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Private Properties:
–Fashion designer Kenzo has put his Paris home on the market for 12 million euros. it is our estate of the day later today.

From the NY Times Big Deal:
–The buyer of Ricky Martin’s former apartment in the Time Warner Center have signed a contract to flip it for around $17.9 million. Martin bought it in 2004 for $6.8 million and sold it in September 2006 for $9.75 million.
–Fewer than a third of the 201 coveted apartments in Robert A. M. Stern’s complex 15 Central Park West near the foot of Central Park, at West 61st Street, have now closed. But of those, five apartments were put back on the market almost instantly and more listings are likely.

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Filed under: Estates

This home in the seaside village of Watch Hill, Rhode Island seems to have been pressed into service as some sort of hotel or corporate retreat. The Chateau Ste. Michelle Estate is on a 4.82 acre parcel of land. The home was built in 1930 and then renovated in 1992. It has 14 bedrooms total with 15 full baths and another five half baths and there’s an industrial kitchen large enough to feed all those people. The home also includes a pool table room, bar room and conference room. Outside there are tennis courts and an in-ground pool as well as incredible views of the Atlantic. It looks enjoy it would take a bit of effort to turn this back into a family home. This estate is listed at $10.9 million.

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