HELPFULFACTS.NET

By: Jim Pretin

Most people consider penny stocks to be a poor investment. I, on the other hand, think that investing in a penny stock before that company becomes profitable company is the best way to invest, because you can make a lot more money with penny stocks than would ever be possible with blue-chip stocks. I will now outline for you what you need to know about penny stocks and how to find the best one in which to invest.

Penny stocks are defined differently depending on who you talk to. Stockbrokers define them as any stock that trades below $5 per share. Regulatory agencies sometimes classify them as a stock with a price below $2. But, generally speaking, a penny stock is any low-priced security that trades on one of two exchanges; the Pink Sheets or the OTC Bulletin Board.

The Pink Sheets are an exchange where most startup companies first get listed. There are no listing requirements to be traded on this exchange. A company does not have to have any sales, nor does it have to reveal how many shares outstanding it has to qualify for the Pink Sheets.

The reason why a company tries to get listed on the Pink Sheets, even though their stock will not go up in price because they have no sales to speak of, is because it gives their company more substance and credibility; it is typically easier to attract additional capital, obtain financing, and execute contracts and agreements if a company is publicly traded, even if it is on the Pink Sheets.

Also, it is easier to get transferred from the Pink Sheets to one of the larger exchanges than it is to go from being a private company to hopping directly on to one of the major exchanges, such as the NASDAQ or NYSE. Companies listed on the Pink Sheets trade as ridiculously low as $0.00001 per share, all the way up to $500 per share and sometimes beyond. Foreign companies often have some of their shares sold in the United States by listing them on the Pink Sheets.

The OTC (Over-The-Counter) Bulletin Board is similar to the Pink Sheets. This exchange consists of relatively young companies either with no sales or a small amount of sales. Companies listed on it are sometimes fully reporting (meaning that they reveal how many shares they have outstanding and what their balance sheet looks like). Often, companies go from the Pink Sheets to the Bulletin Board once they are ready to become fully or semi-reporting.

Most publicly traded companies that are now listed on one of the major exchanges (NASADAQ, AMEX, NYSE), at one time or another, were penny stocks listed on the Pink Sheets or Bulletin Board. Rarely does a company go from being private directly to one of the 3 major exchanges. Google is a rare example of a company that was able to do that, because they were so successful so quickly. But, most companies have to pay their dues and edge their way up from the penny stock exchanges to the bigger ones.

So, investing in penny stocks can be an excellent investment because some of these young companies will one day be worth a fortune. The hard part is finding the right company to invest in, because for every successful startup company, there is also one that fails within the first year or two.

To find the right company, there are a few things you need to look for. Number one, you need to do some research and try to find out how many shares the company has in its float. The float is the number of shares that are currently being traded. Companies listed on the Pink Sheets usually do not officially report this number to the public, but with a little research, you can usually find out. It is usually contained in articles written about the company, or in TV or radio interviews with company officials that are sometimes archived on certain websites.

You can also look for the information on message boards or forums where stock traders chat with each other. Simply do a search on Google and read every article ever written about the company, and you will likely find out about their float. This is important because you do not want to invest in a company that already has something like 500 million shares in its float. Companies with this kind of share count are likely having problems moving forward, so they have issued more and more shares to raise money just to stay alive. You want to look for companies that have approximately 5 to 100 million shares in their float.

Other things that you should look for in a new company are barriers to entry, patents, and consumer demand. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself when analyzing the probability that a company will be successful:

1) Barriers to Entry: Are there are obstacles that will make it difficult for the company to sell its products or services?

2) Patents: Is the product that the company is going to sell patented? A patent will prevent other companies from producing the exact same product.

3) Consumer Demand: Will there be a demand for what the company is selling? Sometimes a company has a great new invention or an exciting technology, but if it is not something practical that consumers are going to want or need, then it does not matter how great it is.

Try to set aside some money for investing in penny stocks and start while you are still young. The earlier you get started, the more money you can make in the long run. Just make sure you do your homework before you invest and you should do extremely well.

By: Adam J. Heist

Not everyone is upset that home sales are dropping sharply in some markets. Sellers, realtors, and mortgage lenders are, but buyers certainly are not part of that group. Years of overheated housing markets have taken their toll as home prices have surged, locking thousands of buyers out of the market. If you are looking to purchase your first home, then a slow moving market can work to your advantage if you follow the tips outlined below.

Know Your Market: Now is not the time to rush in and buy a home. In years past, many buyers did just that and bidding wars broke out that pushed home prices up by the tens of thousands of dollars. Sellers won and buyers were saddled with more debt that they needed. Relax: with less people in the market to buy, you can sit back and truly explore the housing market to find a home at a price you can afford.

Get Approved: Do not rely on a prequalification from a realtor when searching for your home. A realtor prequalification do absolutely nothing. Instead, search for the best mortgage financing deal available and secure your financing at a competitive rate. Lock that rate in for 90 days and then go shopping for a home. Oh, take that approval letter with you when you shop and you’ll have plenty of leverage with the buyers.

Negotiate: The longer a home is on the market, the more likely an owner who must sell will be in the bargaining mood. No, you may not be able to get them to whack the price of their home. However, you could have them throw in window treatments, a refrigerator, or some other important appliance you would have had to shop for once you moved in. If the local market has turned particularly sour, ask for the owner to pay your closing costs too.

Seller Financing: If you have difficulty obtaining a mortgage, consider asking the seller to hold the mortgage for you. If not receptive to this option, ask if they would consider allowing you to rent/lease for one year with an option to buy later on. Determine the selling price one year down the road and ask them to set aside some of the rent money for your down payment.

Yes, buyers are in the driver’s seat the first time in more than a decade in some markets. Place the game right and you could walk away with a deal that simply cannot be beat.