Is anyone with a background in home, auto, or marine maintenance interested in writing for website?

In early 2007 I will be launching a website in the US devoted to products and services related to home auto and marine industries. The primary area of interest will be focused on the protection of property as well as how to prevent damage to ones property. I am looking for professionals who would be willing to contribute solutions for this website and in return would receive credit on the website for their contribution. This website will be nationally launched and will have a projected 5,000 visits a day. If you have a background in Construction, Plumbing, Contracting, Building, Mechanics, Boat or Auto Maintenance, or just an enthusiast in any of these areas or related areas then please contact me to hear more details.
To clear up an misconceptions, this would be writing a short article every now and then on a subject that interests you, by no means would this be very time consuming!
Hi Luke_J,
I have tried to email you a few times but I keep receiving a message that says your email has not been confirmed. Please contact me so I can pass on more information to you!

Sounds like fun, and a good chance to give back to the "community". Count me in. I am a hvac guy that has built/remodeled houses, had an automotive garage and I enjoy hunting/fishing and motorcycling.

hillbillynamespossum@yahoo.com

What kind of sander would be best for at home auto body work?

There are air sanders, electric sanders, orbital, and probably more that i am not aware of. i was wondering which would be the best. im not looking to spend lots i just need to do a bit of body work on my car so i will be sanding body filler and paint and things like that.

You should have a random orbital sander,air or electric, since the random action does not tend to leave obvious marks in the bodywork that will show up after painting.
Having done bodywork and paint on my car for the first time ever a few years ago, I learned a ton and didn't even scratch the surface of good bodywork-so to speak. What I did learn is that power tools are mainly for rough work such as stripping paint and knocking down the hard coating after body filler dries. The rest of the work is done by hand if you want it to look good.
A sanding block and a long board with 80 grit go a long way and wear you out. I used a 5 or 6 inch adhesive backed 40 grit sanding disc on my power drill to strip off all the paint to bare metal. An electric buffer/polisher is about the only other power tool I would use besides the ones mentioned,and with tools, you get what you pay for.

How long until my auto/home loan positive payment history improves my credit score?

I am 25. My oldest credit line is 7 years old. I have always made my payments, but I used to max out my credit cards which kept my credit score around 640. Approximately 9 months ago I purchased my first home, 2 months after I bought a car. Then in March I paid off the balances on all my credit cards. I have never been late on my home/auto loans, but I am wondering when I will see an increase in my credit score.

That depends on how long it takes for the credit card companies to actually report your payments back to the credit bureau.

They are incredibly fast when it comes to reporting a revolving balance and slower than molasses when reporting payment in full.

Give it about 60 days and then check your score again....

I want to start my own auto home & life insurance agency with no experience. Where should I start?

Info on where I get information on how to start an agency and get an understanding of the business? Specific offices or offering are acceptable.

You're going to hate this answer, but it's the truth.

Start by getting a job with an agency, as receptionist or CSR. Honestly, with NO experience, you have NO idea how the whole insurance/agency system works, or even if you're going to like it. If you work for someone else for a couple years, you'll learn the ins and outs, make valuable contacts, and have someone paying YOU to learn how to solve problems.

If you don't want that, you can always contact State Farm, Farmers, or Allstate, and see if they'll sign you on as a captive agent. Then you have to self study, pass the tests, and go out and sell - you don't get paid, unless you sell - it's straight commission work, and the "mentoring" isn't nearly so strong as it is if you're working for someone else. Plus, there are more up front costs, such as YOUR liabiltiy and E&O insurance, office supplies, etc, so you'll need some cash to start up. And if you hate it, you're out the cash. If you're starting your own office, you need to work 60-80 hour weeks at first, just to scrape by. If you're good, and work yourself that hard, you *might* make $40,000 the first year. Just enough to keep afloat.

95% of agents wash out the first year. If you either can't sell, or don't want to put in those kind of hours, you're going to wash out. Business doesn't come to you, and getting leads is HARD.

That's why I recommend working for someone else for a while.

Can you take out loans like home/auto/etc, and use them for something else/personal?

What if you take out loans, that you don't really need for those certain things later on, and decide to use them for personal?

Is that alright?

Well generally when you buy a home they don't give you the money. They give it to the person selling the home.

However, if you own a car and it doesn't have a loan on it and you want to get say like 2k. You can go to the bank and ask for a loan against your car.

Home equity lines also don't require you to spend them on anything in particular. If you get the loan saying that you are going to repair your house and then take the money and go the China for a year....as long as you are making the payments the bank doesn't really care.

Helo,anyone can tell me how much power consumption of the motor used in home auto gate .thank you? Helo,anyone can tell me how much power consumption of the motor used in home auto gate .thank you?

Power=Watts
Watts=Volts x Amperes
Having said that, Look on the name plate and find the voltage used and the amperage. That will give you the watts. Gate motors usually don't cost much to operate because they do not run for long.

Any Creative Marketing ideas for Auto/home insurance in California?

I've been trying lots of new ideas for marketing my insurance business. I do flyers, internet advertising and more. What made you chose your insurance agent? What sorts of things are important to you, (other than price)? What sort of promotions would you be interested in seeing?

Since I am no longer in the Personal Sales line of insurance I am willing to give up what was successful for me. I am lunch and learn seminars to different business on insurance. In order to gain x-dates and further interest from potential clients I held a raffle at the lunch and learn with cards asking for their current home/auto carrier and x-dates. I got more bang for my buck. I would go into a business (realestate agency/mtg broker) and ask them if I could give a free insurance seminar on a topic I thought they would find interesting. A biggy right now is Identity Theft. I would take no longer than 45 min while they were eating lunch and give my seminar then after stay for questions. It is amazing how many leads you can get in a one time seminar. The real estate agents not only gave me their business but referred clients to me. Good luck and really just have fun with it. If you are in insurance sales you are more than likely a people person so enjoy. If you like golf like I did sponsoring a hole in a golf tournaments is also allot of fun and money well worth the spend.

What is the number of policies a good agent will sell in a month auto home life business? What is the number of policies a good agent will sell in a month auto home life business?

If you don't average three a week, you won't stay in business.