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4 mistakes every real estate investor makes which you can avoid

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The real estate industry is very lucrative only if it is done properly. It is possible to become rich in the market but it won’t be easy. Most real estate investors make certain mistakes that result in losses. Avoiding the following mistakes can help you make money in the real estate industry.

1. Overpaying

One of the biggest mistakes most first-time real estate investors do, is paying too much on a property. The essence of any investment is buying at a low price and selling at a higher price. Therefore, you will only make money in the real estate industry if you get a property at a good price. However, if you buy a property at a higher price, your investment on return will be significantly affected because the property will appreciate very little. In some cases, you might even make a loss

2. Lack of a good understanding of the market

This is another major mistake most real estate investors make. Understanding the market means more than just knowing the neighbourhood. You have to understand the underlying demand of the particular market you intend to invest in.

For instance, if you like investing in the off plan property in Dubai, you will not be successful if you don’t understand the market. If you want to resell, who are the potential buyers?  You should understand what the potential buyers are looking for.

The off-plan market is one of the latest trends in the Dubai real estate industry. Some of the top developers are getting involved in the off-plan market. For example, there are several Meraas off plan projects in Dubai such as Sur la Mer townhouses. If you are interested in completed projects, there is a rich selection of apartments for sale in Palm Jumeirah where you can invest and expect a high ROI.

3. Failure to do Due diligence

Before you put your money on any property, you must be willing to go an extra mile to perform due diligence. The failure to research on the property, the neighbourhood and the market in general is an intolerable error that may cause loses. However, it is a mistake most real estate investors make and they end up stuck with a property that is a money loser.

4. Lack of strategy

Having a transactional view of the real estate is another mistake some investors make. Like any other type of investment, you need to create a plan and stick by it. If you don’t have a viable investment plan, you might make a mistake of buying the wrong property just because you were offered a good deal.

City View or Sea View: Which is better?

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While some people prefer to live within the city, others like to live by the seaside. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages and the choice will depend on several factors. For instance, city lifestyle is more active and fast-paced. On the other hand, the seaside is less populated with a variety of water activities.

Advantages of living in the city

  • Opportunities

Most cities are vibrant and offer a wealth of opportunities for the residents. Even though the job market is competitive, there is a wide variety of opportunities. This one of the main reasons why most people prefer to migrate to cities.

  • Convenience

The convenience of city life is another reason most people prefer to live in cities. Almost everything can be accessed via public transport, a short drive or even walking. All the basic amenities and facilities such as banks, grocery stores, hospitals, etc. are located within reach. One such example is the Downtown Dubai area. There are a lot of apartments for sale in Downtown Dubai that are located in walking distance to public transportation and basic amenities.

  • Efficient transportation

One of the most significant benefits of living in the city is an efficient transportation system.  Train, buses and taxis are some of the efficient and cost effective methods of getting around the city. Also, most cities are bike friendly and therefore residents can cycle to their destinations easily.

Disadvantages of living in the city

  • Cost of living

Even though people living in the city can easily access most of the facilities they need, the cost of living is higher. Rent and other utilities tend to be high in cities than in other regions.

Advantages of living by the seaside

  • Ample recreational activities

Water activities are great for your physical and mental health. Those that live by the seaside, such as in the Emaar Dubai Creek Harbour neighbourhood or the Meraas Bluewaters Residences, enjoy easy access to activities like sunbathing, surfing, swimming, sailing, kayaking and more.

  • Soothing sea breezes

Apart from relaxation, research has shown that sea air can reduce symptoms of asthma. The sea air contains iodine; salt and other minerals that promote respiratory health improve allergies and skin problems and stimulate the immune system.

Disadvantages of living by the seaside

  • Costly insurance

Seaside property owners can expect the additional expense of specialty insurance to cover risks such as floods.

  • Salt damage

If you plan to live by the seaside, you should expect to see some damages on the exterior of your property due to exposure to sea salt.

Passenger Counting Systems Advantages

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A fully-fledged passenger counting system is a great addition to the management of any mass transit operation. It provides tons of valuable data which is useful to stakeholders such as the passengers, managers, planners, operators, and even concerned third parties like insurers in some cases. The data from these systems can help to improve customer service, plan operations more smoothly thus improving efficiency, enhance security and safety, and to help in accurate revenue capturing or projection.

Features of passenger counting systems

High accuracy levels – These systems employ independent traffic statistics algorithms, which allows them to have high accuracy rates of approximately 92%. They can precisely differentiate customer flow regardless of the color of the clothes, having caps, backpacks, and so on.

Two-way passenger flow counting – Every device in the system has the capacity to automatically capture the passengers getting on to the vehicle and those alighting. As such, it can support 2-channel video input and 2-channel output. Additionally, it can automatically summarize the gathered information.

Real-time reporting – The terminal equipment in the system and cloud server work simultaneously to avail real-time data enabling accurate reporting of a person’s entry and exit.

Sending alerts – The system’s highly accurate data can be set up so that it sends notifications to operators in the event of overload and so on.

Advantages and uses of passenger counting systems

Fleet management, transit agencies operators, passengers, and other parties will get numerous benefits from the passenger counting systems. It is therefore a worthy investment to have on the vehicles, and the best thing is that it is easy to install and readily available from service providers such as Eyeride.

Here are some of the benefits of the system:

Reduced costs or better budget savings

The systems improve operational efficiency and customer service allowing for optimal use of resources. Due to the ability to analyze data up to the individual passenger, the system can identify the routes and even stops that are not well-utilized or those that may not be of any meaningful business. With that information, the planners can do better routing and optimize each vehicle and route. The conductors can also be eliminated in the passenger vehicles.

Timely response to incidents

The automatic passenger information system enables quick and instantaneous response to incidents such as accidents and others and that could make a significant difference between losing lives and saving them. The systems with their cameras and other linked gadgets and sub-systems help fleet managers or transit agencies to act swiftly in case of threats such as hijacking, accidents, and other emergency incidents.

Help to address customer complaints

The information from the automated passenger counting systems enable fleet management and other concerned parties to sort out customer complaints. The data from the system makes it possible to differentiate valid complaints and baseless accusations due to customer errors. Thus, real problems are addressed satisfactorily and in time, enhancing the customer service and reliability of transport service providers.

Revenue projection

With automatic passenger counting systems, it is possible to estimate the number of passengers who will use the bus and how much revenue that bus should generate over a given period. Human errors are also eliminated, for example by conductors in counting and so on.

Efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of the passenger counting system is overall fleet management efficiency, which factors schedules, route plans, traffic trends, and other crucial things that affect the transit quality.

Conclusion

Passenger counting systems have many benefits to the transit operators, passengers, and others. It enables enhanced efficiency, reduces costs, enables quick response to emergencies, and enhances customer service and the handling of customer complaints. It also facilitates revenue projection.

Living Costs In The Most Popular Canadian Cities

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Curious about how prices differ in Toronto vs. Vancouver? Or Ottawa vs Montreal? This fun infographic shows the prices of various basic living expenses in 5 of the most popular cities in Canada. Whether you’re looking to move to the land of Maple Syrup or just vacation there, you’ll need to have at least a couple of these costs covered before you start looking for cool things to do or fun attractions to check out.

Does Email Marketing Still Work?

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Source: Unsplash

Email marketing used to be among the most popular internet marketing strategies. Email addresses collected by companies are a gold mine because they can send information using these emails. They can provide updates, send newsletters and continue engaging with their previous and target customers.

Nowadays, it seems like email marketing is not the first option for many business owners anymore. They have moved on to other campaign strategies online that are more effective in targeting a lot of people. Besides, the rise of social media allowed business owners to talk to their audience in a single post directly.

If you are a business owner, should you still rely on email marketing? Is it still a strategy worth pushing?

The benefits of email marketing 

If you wish to continue this strategy, it might still work because you are reaching out to people through their email. For professionals and young adults, their emails are useful to carry out their daily communications. It is possible that they will read any update you send through this method.

Another benefit is that you can reach a lot of people at once by typing several emails. If you do not want to do things that way, it is also possible to personalise your message and send it to individual emails.

The downside of email marketing

Conversely, email marketing is also a strategy many people deem as outdated. It does not appeal to them anymore. If anything, they see all these updates as spam. Instead of believing in the company, they start to feel turned off.

Another downside is that people get updates through other means. Social media could quickly tell people what is going on through notifications. It might take time before they decide to open their email and get updates.

Try other strategies

Considering that email marketing does not work, you might want to try different marketing strategies that some people think are a thing of the past but are still relevant. Rollerbanners are among them. The good thing about this print media is that it allows you to reach local audiences and update them about your business. You can post information regarding exclusive deals and discounts offered by your company. If you intend to launch a new product and you are having a significant event, you can also inform everyone through these banners.

Banners might seem like a strategy used several years ago, but even significant brands still use them. It is a testament to how effective banner campaigns are. Therefore, if you decide to use one, you will not worry about the results. As long as you include the right message and you place the banners in the best locations, they will work well.

Email marketing is old and useless for many companies, but some old strategies could still be effective. You need to remain cautious in determining which campaign to use in the future. You also need to check the results and decide whether changes in the strategy are required before the next campaign is launched.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!