Millionaire Next Door Advice on Buying A Home

Some advice from the book: Never purchase a home that is 2x your total annual realized income. WTF?

That can't possibly work in California or New York or many other high-priced real-estate area in the U.S for that matter. For instance, let's just suppose your combined family income is $100,000 annually. This means, per Millionaire Next Door's advice, you should not consider purchasing a home with a price tag larger than $250,000 ($200,000 mortgage with a $50,000 down-payment).

Excuse me, but there are no houses anywhere in the state of California that could fit a family of 4 or 5 with a price tag of $250,000. If you are talking about the vicinity of the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles County (or even central California -- Bakersfield, Modesto, etc.) you will be hard pressed to find a house over 1,000 square feet for $250,000.

The smallest houses in the San Francisco Bay Area (900 square feet or less) are in the area of $450,000! If we go by the recommendation of the Millioniaire Next Door, an individual would need an income of at least $280,000 a year to afford a "fixer" in the Bay Area.

Don't believe me? Take at look at what $275,000 will get you.
(Please note I used a ZipRealty Advance search - indicating ALL 9 counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, 3 bedroom 2 bath house (a family of 5 or 6 can squeeze into such a house), $280,000 maximum asking price.) The result:


A major Fixer - 3/2, 1,000 square feet for $180,000,
in Fairfield (2 hours from San Francisco)


A duet that needs work - 3/2, 1,154 sq ft. for $274,900
in Antioch (commutable to San Francisco)
I'm sure it's a nice home, but the picture just looks like you're buying a garage.


Fixer-upper, no garage (Sold as is) -
3/2, 1,577 sq. ft. for $260,500 - in Fairfield


Manufactured home in major crime area of Oakland
3/2, 924 sq. ft. for $269,900 - in East Oakland


Partially redone, needs only finish electrical and plumbing!
3/2 1,121 sq. ft. $249,900 - in San Pablo (25 minutes to San Francisco)


I doubt people making $100,000 a year would really go for these type of properties. So, the question is, what do you do with Millionaire Next Door Advice, when you live in areas like the San Francisco Bay Area?

Do you hold out for 5 or 6 years and hope that real estate prices fall back to fundamentals that will allow you to follow said advice?

Do you rent until you can raise your income up to the required $280,000 that will allow you to purchase a median priced house?

Do you change the formula to 3x, 4x or even 5x's the realized income because you live in a "special area"?

Do you give up your income and roots and move to a place that will allow you to work within those advised parameters?

What is the smart way to handle this situation?

Should you pay to get a list of telecommuting jobs?

In my humble opinion, I feel that there are enough resources out there that can lead you to good telecommuting jobs free of charge -- you just have to spend some time with them and research and dig and find.

"But wait," you say, "many people are juggling family, house and whatever else and want to just apply to a job and not take hours and hours and hours looking for jobs that they can apply to."

Okay, okay there are websites that charge you a small fee to look at their list of telecommuting jobs they've compiled. If you have the money to pay that fee to make your life easier -- great! Here are a couple job listing services that have been around awhile and that I feel are on the up-and -up. (Just to let you know, I'm not getting any kick-backs from these two companies).

Telecommute-Jobs: Has been around since 1999, by the people who created PrgJobs.com, registered with the BBB and offer a generous refund if you are not satisfied. $39 for 3 months of the listing.

Telecommuting Jobs: I remember these guys when they offered their list for free. They have been a good resource for telecommuters for over 11 years now. I've heard nothing but good things about them. They list there jobs to the public, but to get the contact information t apply for the jobs requires a $15.00 fee for the password. Not a bad deal for a reputable service.

I hope this helps all those busy people out there who haven't the time to search themselves and are willing to pay for the service. Let me know if there are other reputable places that should be listed in this post. Thanks!

Tele-Jobs: Allstate

All State, the good hands people, offer those who want to work with them the possibility to work from home. Click here to go to their job search page.

Put in Keywords box: "from laptop", "from home", and "at home."

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

http://www.allstate.com/careers/job-search.aspx

Government employees can telecommute

SITE REVIEW: Interagency Telework Site



If you are working for the government or applying for a job with the Uncle Sam, you should know that they are trying to push teleworking (telecommuting) and are providing this option to some of their employees.

Frankly, I think they need to push this option a little bit harder because:

According to "The Status of Telework in the Federal Government (January 2002)" - OPM report to Congress listed 74,487 Federal teleworkers, which is 4.2% of the workforce.

Only 4.2%? Please, that is nothing. They really need to step up their game on this.

This website is to help you figure out who (which agency) is open to telecommuting and how to present a plan to your government manager to allow you to work from home. But the true treasure in this website is the "Training Course" called Telecourse 101 for Employees. This courses takes you step by step through the process to help you assess if telecommuting is viable and a good match for your job and how to set up a great presentation to convince your boss to allow you to telecommute.

I believe that though they created the course for government employees, it would benefit anyone who has a currently job and wishes to convert it to a telecommuting job. But what is most helpful is the Telework 101 for Managers. It will give you insights on what questions and concerns the manager will have about your request. Gives you ideas of how to work with your manager to make sure this is a win-win situation for the company, the manager and you. This course is a must read.

Tele-Jobs: Clairty Consultants

Clarity Consultants are different from many other companies because they often ask for resumes even if you do not see current job listings that fit your qualifications. It's true. They say on their website:

Clarity Consultants offers exciting and challenging corporate management consultant jobs and project management jobs in all sectors including education, finance, business, and software. Additional opportunities are also available. Please note that because Clarity Consultants supports many large, public companies, some of our searches are confidential and those opportunities are not publicly advertised. If you are an experienced Learning and Development professional, please contact us. We receive new consulting opportunities daily — one of them could be for you!

For those who wish to see what type of jobs this company has, go to their Job Listing Page and click on "Click here to see current advertised opportunities."

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tele-Jobs: ArtLogic

Art & Logic Inc., boasts custom software development since 1991. They say on website: Our geographically distributed business allows us to hire the best developers throughout North America—without requiring them to relocate. We’re always looking for exceptional developers to add to our community.

If you have software programming experience, you should submit an application to them.

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tele-Jobs: American Airlines Home-based Reservations Representatives

American Airlines has reservation positions that are home-based as long as you reside 50 miles from these locations: Cary, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas; Tucson, Arizona;

Their website states: "Candidates will be required to provide, at their own expense: a separate, dedicated area within the home in which to work; a high-speed Internet connection such as DSL, broadband cable or fiber optic; and, a dedicated telephone line which is free of all calling features. These requirements will be verified and approved during a home site visit prior to commencing training."

Fill out the online application for this job.

These positions are SEASONAL and they fill out fast.  If you can't find a position open, check back often they will have some within 30 days of your first-look-see.  They recently announced 3 positions open that quickly filled in a matter of a couple of weeks.

UPDATE:  For a list of several transportation companies that allow telecommuting and home-based work.  Check out my blog post: Telejobs: Airlines and Cruises.


Microsoft LifeChat LX-4000 Headset 7YF-00001 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Like this article? Then you will probably like these articles too:

• Tele-jobs at American Express
• Tele-jobs at TigerFish Transcription
• Tele-jobs at Doctors on Demand
• List of over 30+ Companies Offering Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tele-Jobs: SpectraMedi

SpectraMedi provides transcription services since 1999. They have offices in New York and India. They are always seeking well-qualified transcribers. They have other jobs besides transcription that would allow working-from home.

Click here to apply to their open positions.

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tele-Jobs: American Express [Updated]

e-based job
American Express' Job Search Page is wonderful, I love this site, because they make looking for telecommuting positions so very easy.

And even more importantly, they have the AXcess@Home Program within the company!  It allows employees of "key" positions to work from home as long as they have the following requirements:

• Dedicated work space must be within own residence and that follows the ergonomic and safety guidelines for performing travel counselor duties
• Axcess@Home Agent is responsible for supplying their own furniture; desk with lockable drawer or separate lockable file cabinet, chair, document shredder, smoke detector in proximity of work area, and fire extinguisher
• Axcess@Home Agent must complete Flexible Work Arrangement Application and Agreement
• Axcess@Home Agent must complete and meet the requirements of the Work Environment and Safety Assessment
•  High speed internet capability with at least 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds: DSL or Cable (no wireless or satellite ISP’s are permitted)
•  Dedicated and separate analog landline phone for training and production calls (no VOIP – voice over internet protocol)

In the Search for Keyword box typing these keywords will get your great results (a list of jobs you can do from home): "virtual" "home agents" "flexible work".

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

Tele-Jobs: HSBC

HSBC . . . Okay, these guys were a bit sneaky with their telecommuting jobs. It took me awhile to find how to draw out the telecommuting jobs from their job search page.

So here's the key: you must go to the CITY menu and scroll down to the T's. Click on "Telecommute", keep everything else on default or "all" and it gives you the list of telecommuting jobs for that company. Good luck!

Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. HSBC's international network comprises over 10,000 offices in 82 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa.

HSBC Website

You May Wish to Read About:

Other companies that offer Telecommuting Jobs

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, home-based job

Tele-Jobs: CIGNA

A major supplier of health, disability and life insurance/benefits to employers for their employees.

CIGNA Job Search Page

You can find jobs from this job search site but typing into the "By Keyword" box the words: Remotely or "Work at Home."

Also look for jobs that have: Multiple Location under the Location Column.

************************************************************************

Please remember, dear job hunter, if your qualifications and experience do not fit the position, do us all a favor and refrain from applying. Employers do not want to be bombarded with resumes of people who can not do the job.

Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, home-based job

Looking for a Telecommuting Job?

My goodness, finding telecommuting jobs is so much easier today than it was only 5 years ago -- when I used to religiously compile a work-at-home job listing. It used to take me weeks going through on-line newspaper classified listings, and company job posting sites looking at every one of the job descriptions in hopes I would see phrases like: work-at-home, home-based, possibility of telecommuting . . .

Today, the telecommuting job hunter has is really easy. I mean you guys I have a load of sites that lists good, scam-free jobs. Among those reliable sources is the ever present -- Craiglist!


Craigslist.org

I think everyone has heard of Craigslist.org. If you haven't, let me walk you through. Select the nearest metro area to you. Under the "Jobs" column are job categories, select one or select "jobs" to get all jobs. Click the "Telecommute" button under the "Search For" box. The list provided are those that have "telecommuting" in it's job description.

Now, here's the tip. There are telecommuting jobs on Craigslist that are not listed under "telecommuting." To find them, you should put in the "Search for" box: "Work at Home" or "Work from Home."


Indeed.com

Also look into Indeed.com . . . is a job search engine. Actually, they describe themselves as:

Indeed is a search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search. In one simple search, Indeed gives job seekers free access to millions of employment opportunities from thousands of websites. Indeed.com includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages.

In the WHAT box, place the keywords: telecommuting, work-at-home, work-from-home, etc.

Just these two resources can help you find good telecommuting jobs. But, don't worry, I'm going to be listing even more great resources that will help you find a work-at-home job.
Stay tuned.


Telecommuting Jobs, Work at home jobs, telework, hom

For the savvy tele-job searcher

SITE REVIEW: TelCoa - The Telework Coalition



Want to know what managers, executives, companies, government agencies, local government agencies are into telecommuting? Then get a membership in this organization. For $25.00 individual membership you are a part of a lobbying organization that is pushing for telecommuting.

The cool thing about being a member in this organization is you get the inside track on the people are are really gong-ho about telecommuting and you can then apply to openings under these people and be assured that your job will have the option to "telecommute." Pretty slick huh? I know, I scare myself sometimes.

Though very crude in its website aesthetics, this website has a lot of information, and if you are "job search savvy" . . . there are many leads to companies that are "into" telecommuting.

Successfully applying to telecommuting jobs

Okay, lets be blunt here. There are rules to successfully applying for and gaining a work-at-home job. Listen closely, and follow it to the letter or you will spoil it for everyone (including yourself).

The fundamentals of getting a virtual job

1. Don't send your resume to companies that have no openings.
It's a waste of time and your resume ends up in the garbage (or deleted if submitted electronically).

2. Don't ask a company for the generic "telecommuting" or "work at home" job.
There is no such job title. There are jobs that allow you to telecommute. Basically, these are regular, everyday jobs in which the employer has kindly offered a flexible work schedule -- telecommuting. It should be treated much like health and dental and eye benefits that the employer may or may not offer.

3. Don't beg employers for a job.
Don't tell them that you need to work at home because you are a mother of eight. That you need to work now because you may lose your home. This is not going to endear you to an employer, in fact, it may do the opposite of what you intend (to get the job) because the employer really doesn't want to deal with personal or familial problems. They just want the job done. In simple terms, no one wants desperate, they want "qualified." And talking about qualified . . .

4. If you can't do the job, don't apply.
If you are not qualified for the job (have the skills, experience or knowledge to fill the job -- please, please, please -- for all our sakes) don't apply. Employers want the job done, they do not want to "train" someone to do the job. Do you know how hard it is to train someone at a distance? It's pretty hard, believe me.

5. Professionalism means putting the employer first.
Make sure your resume and cover letter focuses on what you can do for the employer, not what the employer can do for YOU. It's not about YOU. It's about what type of value you can give the employer for the exchange of a salary.

6. Telecommuting is like health insurance.
The fact that the job allows you to work from home is a footnote. It should be discussed after the employer offers you the job. Your focus is to get to the point where the employer wants you to fill that job. Focus on that first.


Why are you listing the obvious?

I know . . . I know. There are many of you that are complaining because this is rudimentary information to you. But believe me I get dozens, if not hundreds, of e-mails from people begging for a work-at-home job and asking why employers are not answering their requests. And each and every time, I find out that they are doing one (if not several) of the "Do Not's" I've just listed. One guy I know, after listing an ad for a part-time clerical position, got 4,000 responses of which many were not even qualified! So, I thought I would save everyone some time and effort and make sure we were all on the same page here. That said . . .


This is what you do:

1. Conduct your telecommuting job search as you would any other job search. If you don't know how to conduct a proper job search, Google this topic and follow all the good advice out there.

2. Get your resume together and know what type of position you want to fill. This is very important because it saves time and increases your chance of success. Applying to any and everything that has "telecommuting" or "work at home" on it will get you no where fast. You will just quickly become known as the new "cyber-pest."

3. Find job openings that you can fill. (Don't worry, I plan to help you with that.)

4. Read the job descriptions and qualifications carefully and address your cover letter to the requirements and needs of the employer. Nothing impresses an employer more than an applicant that can address, point-by-point, how their experience and skill meet each requirement that employer outlined in the job description.

5. Send your application per the instructions of the employer. If the employer wants it faxed. Fax the resume. If they only accept e-mails, send the e-mail. Follow the directions to the "T." Many employers watch carefully to see if applicants can follow directions and use it as a screening process.

6. Don't bother the employer with phone calls and e-mails, move on to the next job.

7. Have a goal to send out a certain amount of resumes each week to better your odds. Yes, Virgina this is a numbers game. Send out enough well-focused arrows and you will soon hit your mark.

8. Research the company and find out if they offer their employees flexible-work-plans and schedules. If they do offer the possibility to work at home, then look at non-telecommuting jobs they have listed. If you fit their qualifications -- apply. There is a chance that after they offer you the position, you can negotiate your way into making it a work-at-home opportunity.

Picture by Veoflexible schedule, work from home, work at home, home-based, virtual, alternative work, telecommute, telecommuting, remote worker, telework

Like this article? Then you will probably like these articles too:

• Seven Rules that Weed Out Work-at-Home Scams
• You Are Your Own Wise Man
• Don’t Blame the Scammers
• A List of Companies That Offer Telecommuting?
• Negotiate Your Way into a Telecommuting Job
• The Impatient Telecommuter
• Think Like the Employer

The Complete Job-Search Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Get t (Google Affiliate Ad)