Commercial real estate investment is like any other investment. You have an end goal – making more money than you spent. The processes, and setting your objectives, offer a great deal of latitude in how to turn your initial investing dollars into a solid profit potential. The essence of this is asking the right questions before you acquire the property, not only about the property and seller, but also about your objectives with it.

The risky way to make money on commercial real estate is to “flip” the property – to invest in one, do renovations, or bring in new long-term tenants, and then sell it for more than you paid for it. This requires a decent understanding of your local commercial real estate market, market timing dynamics, and a lot of research. In many cases, it’s best to start lining up the buyer before you line up the property to sell. Other times, it’s simply a matter of having a piece of property at the right place and right time when an investor comes through, or when a city is expanding.

The more conventional approach to commercial real estate investment is a “buy and hold” strategy. You buy the property, invest in improvements, and bring in tenants who bring a good revenue stream with them. A general rule of thumb is that the revenue stream should be at least 20% greater than the monthly costs of maintaining the property, including labor, periodic fixes for damages, expenses incurred in moving tenants in and out, plus any finance charges on your money and depreciation and wear and tear. (A good accountant can help you figure this out; it is entirely possible to run a property cash positive and lose money long term if you don’t understand this.)

Once your basic ownership strategy is in place, the next questions are about the property itself, and its neighborhood. First and foremost – are you buying a property that’s in a growth area? Is your local demographic young and adding jobs, or older? These both influence the decisions for buying commercial real estate properties.

What’s the property worth today? Don’t just take the listing price; take an average the selling prices of the six most similar properties in the six months to a year, weighing them for different neighborhoods and demographic areas. Combine this with the demographic questions above, and you’ll have a decent baseline for whether or not to do a buy-and-hold or a buy-and-flip strategy.

Before committing to the property, look into the repairs that need to be done. If you haven’t done property renovations before, take the time to run some preliminary back of the envelope quotes for time and money. Sinking a lot of money into repairing a property can make sense if it lands you an anchor store or two, in an area where the municipality is growing.

In a related vein, don’t forget to ask why the seller is unloading the property. In some cases, this will be obvious; a death in the family has resulted in the commercial property needing to be liquidated for the heirs. In other cases, it may have more to deal with tax issues and regulatory burdens.

Both the “fixer upper” question and the seller’s motivation question tie into the acquisition calculation: What can the property be acquired for? Does the property have accumulated equity that you have to handle, or existing tenants that are either elevating or deflating its asking price? All of these are factors to consider when looking at acquiring a property.

Finally, look at cash flow. When all other details are factored in, current cash flow and future cash flow are the keys to making a buy-and-hold strategy work, and it’s worth it to pay more for a property now with greater cash flow potential later, particularly if you’re planning on using your commercial real estate income stream as your retirement income, or seed money for other projects.

You do not want to expect too much, especially since those last four dates with four different girls did not go so well. Who are we kidding? They were unmitigated disasters. One ended in a pretty nasty argument after a minor misunderstanding. The other two were filled with so much awkward silences that you started to think that you were in a library that was holding church services. And of course you cannot really count the last since after making all the arrangements she did not bother to show up. When you tried to call the phone was disconnected. Even the operator had a bad feeling about that one.

But it looks like all systems are go. In fact there she is now. Now you do not have any control over what she may say or do, so the person to really keep in eye on is you. Part one and two are taken care of, i.e., you have arrived promptly and groomed yourself to the hilt. Now comes game time.

1. Where’s the gift?

That is a nice way to get the date started on the right foot. In your many online chats with her you should have a sense about what kind of things she likes. Unless you have the bucks stay away from anything extravagant. Remember you just met. Yes you want to impress her but being overly generous might cause her to think you are trying to buy a date not woo her with your natural personality and charm. With most women little things given from the heart mean a lot.

2. Gee she looks swell

The old fashioned compliments can work wonders. Let her know you appreciate her efforts by complimenting her clothes or hairstyle. Be sincere. Not only is it proper but also because women seem to have built in detectors that let them know when we are being phony. No need to go overboard with it. A genuine smile periodically throughout the evening without saying a word will make the point quite nicely.

3. Talk to me

This has been the make or break point in many dates. Failing to come prepared with good conversation will find you right back at the computer looking for another potential date. Keep in mind some of the things you both talked about in your online chat. Add to your conversation arsenal by staying informed on various current events.

The key to this is to listen as much as you talk. Ask questions and get her opinion. Avoid conversation hogging or slapping down her attempts to contribute to the discussions. Nothing spells jerk like going on a date and falling in love with the sound of your own voice.

4. The Gentleman

Every woman wants to be treated like a lady especially on a date, so mind your manners. Open the car and/or restaurant door for her. Pay for the evening out on the town. If she wants to go dutch, be the gentleman and accept. Some women particularly on a first date do not want to be obligated in any way. That is understandable so do not force the issue. Also as a gentleman focus on her and not whatever woman comes into your line of vision. Remember they did not agree to go out with you; she did so let her know that right now she is the central woman in your life. Again you have no control over the other person so concentrate on what you can do. Bring a gift and compliments without over doing it. Come prepared with good conversation and be a gentleman. Is she the right one? That is going to be pretty hard to tell after one date but utilizing these tips will almost guarantee a second one and a chance to connect more deeply.

Distressed Europeans flocked towards America, driven by the native pursuit of the American Dream. In the years of conflict, those who had some funds sewed diamonds into the lining of their clothes so that they could use it during uncertain times. During those times, the national currencies were very erratic and fluctuated a lot. High quality diamonds and gems always exchanged for ready cash in case of emergencies in the international market.

Today also, rare gems and diamonds remain the object of de valeur for terror stricken people, fleeing tyranny, or those who fear taxes. Gems and diamonds command top dollar, especially since the gem resources have exhausted. Even so, a layman would always suggest buying gemstones as a mode of investment. Jewelry investment does not produce income like mutual funds or real estate. Gemstones and diamonds rates tend to fluctuate whereas high quality diamonds and gemstones may not make money at all, but they do not lose value.

A private jewelry collection has an advantage over mutual fund investment that sometimes does not yield any curves or interest on the rate of return etc. Jewelry may not offer any of these advantages immediately, but it retains beauty, romance and the money’s worth. A pair of beautiful diamond studs adds glow to a woman’s face than a set of convertible debentures.

Value of diamonds and gemstones are easier to measure than the jewelry designs since most of the precious stones have lab certificates that verify the quality. If you buy jewelry for its design rather than the gem value, then it could be an impulsive investment. Women love jewelry and they have a passion for beauty so they buy jewelry to enhance their looks and display style.

The mysterious beauty of gemstones and diamonds makes any woman look enchanting and the exquisite color and lights inspires us to believe that they have supernatural origins and the magical mystery surrounds the wearer. Jewelry studded with gemstones or diamonds compliments fashionable clothing and adds sparkles and shine to the person who adorns it.

Gemstones were always thought to possess mystical powers and have the ability to enhance beauty. According to the legends, people invested and bought gemstones for some purpose, like emeralds were bought to bring good luck and yellow stones solved the jaundice problem and men wore ruby to project command, lordship, nobility and vengeance, while a woman wore the ruby to indicate pride, haughtiness and obstinacy. Blue sapphire denotes man’s wisdom, high thoughts, but a woman’s jealousy, transitory hope and ambition with a childish delight.

Industry experts agree that jewelry serves as a sustainable investment, hence before investing, buyers should always ask for a laboratory report that verifies the natural state.

Fairy tales of enchanted princesses and the legendary Arabian Nights do not merely mention the ruby for nothing. It is mentioned for a purpose, as ruby is intimately connected with love and romance. Solomon rightly exclaimed that “a virtuous woman was more valuable than rubies”, and that “the price of wisdom is above rubies”. In addition, its value and scarcity have not decreased since their time.

Accessorizing is everything today in the fashion world and jewelers combine traditional techniques with today’s fashion to create stunning and gorgeous pieces, from the hot setters to the soothing kinds with more classic chic styles. Nowadays, jewelry is designed to appeal to the modern woman while retaining her romantic nature. Gemstone studded jewelry captures the essence of a woman who loves to combine art and fashion to look outstanding and dazzling!