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There is currently a genuine state of confusion regarding commercial loan rates. The confusion is not just restricted to borrowers, either. Brokers, lenders and professional investors are all struggling to get a handle on what is going on with commercial loan rates.

Borrowers are under the impression that we’re at historic lows. They hear about the feds lowering rates and also hear national banks quote ridiculously low rates. What these national banks aren’t advertising is that their decline rates are at historic highs. Is difficult to be able to track a statistics like this but my friends and associates that work at intuitions like Bank of America, CITI etc tell me that there decline rate are at 95% or so.

So what that means is that they are cherry picking to an incredible degree (can you blame them?). The low commercial loan rates that they are advertising are only relevant for 5% of the borrowers that apply. Think about that for a moment, for every 100 people that fill out those 6 page applications, provide their tax return, etc, 95 of them are getting declined. As a comparison the decline rates are normally more like 50%.

The confusion is not just restricted to borrowers but to professionals in the industry as well. The spreads or margin are varying from one lender to the next more than we have seen. People in the business are struggling to understand why. Normally if you were to get 10 quotes on the same deal the commercial loan rates would be within .25 -. 35% of each other. Perhaps a few would tweak the prepayments or term, etc but their rates would be close. Now we are seeing commercial loan rates on the same deal varying between 2% -3%…

Part of the problem is that some of the lenders and banks themselves are having their cost of capital increase. Some of their credit rating are being lowered, as their balance sheets are scrutinised. So despite the Feds lower their rates, the margins that the banks charge (in order to cover their costs, risk and make a profit) go up as their cost of capital go up. So as one bank is more financial healthy than the next its costs of capital varies.

So what’s the happy ending? We currently don’t have one. If you’re thinking of buying or refinancing a commercial property in the next few months we would suggest getting it done now as in maybe a while before things re-stabilize and commercial loan rates become more universal.

Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. He has a STORE for commercial loan brokers. Contracts, spreadsheets, books, etc. Products starting at $4.95! Check it out commercial mortgage broker store or commercial loan rates

When people see Google print ad, they usually take two seconds to evaluate it Google they decide whether they’re interested in learning more. This means you need to create a great hook to pull people in to your ad. The best way to hook people is with a great image.

High-impact images
A high-impact image makes people stop scanning and pay attention to your ad. It makes people curious to learn more. Images are better at hooking people than a well-written headline because images are easier to digest. People can read about 10 words in the same amount of time they can process an image. When people look at ads, 90% of them look at the image before they look at the words.

A common mistake is to use an eye-catching visual that has nothing to do with the product being sold. That just leads to confusion. People don’t like to feel confused because they feel like they are dumb if they don’t “get it” and can’t make the connection. Don’t make people think too hard to connect your image with your product and brand. Your image should reflect the main message as well as get people’s attention.

In an antismoking campaign aimed at pregnant women, a health center used a black-and-white photo of a baby with a smoking cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Not only was this an eye-catching visual, it also clearly contributed to the health center’s message: “Smoke when you’re pregnant and your baby smokes with you.”

Not only using interesting images, but interesting color schemes can gain people’s attention. Using different color printing techniques like a black-and-white image with only your product in color can create visual interest.

When you’re choosing an image, choose one that reinforces your message or adds a deeper level of understanding to the words of your message.

Beware of negative associations with your image
A spaghetti company once used an ad with a photo of a naked man lying in a bathtub of spaghetti that certainly caught people’s attention, but didn’t make anyone want to eat the spaghetti!

An ad for a computer company showed a computer next to a turtle to show that the computer would have a long life, just like turtles. Of course, most people took the ad to mean that computer would run as slow as a turtle – not good for business. How no one saw that connection, I don’t know.

These examples are perfect reasons why you should always test your ads with focus groups or at least ask colleagues for their opinions!

Don’t let your image take over your brand
It’s amazing how often a brand gets thrown to the wayside in favor of a creative image. Be sure that people know immediately after looking at the image that it’s for your company. An eye-catching ad won’t do you any good if no one knows it’s for your company! Put your logo in a prominent place on the ad or use your company’s name in the headline to ensure people know whose ad they’re looking at.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business.

In today’s economy, it is important to save money any way you can. The first thing that comes to mind when we think about the economy is the tremendous rise in gasoline. Oil companies have reported record breaking quarters. And who is paying for it? The average American commuter is. This has Americans scared of what lies ahead in the future. Europeans have already seen gas prices of $10 a gallon, and as long as oil prices continue to climb, We will soon see the same.

So how can we fight back? What will it take for gas prices to steady to a reasonable price again? Simple, Buy less gas! Yes, I know, the answer is easier said than done. Most Americans have already resorted to driving less, sacrificing family vacations, carpooling to work, and using public transportation. So how can you buy less gas even after you have resorted to the extreme?

There is a way you can save money on gas, drive as much as you want, and reduce carbon emissions. Did you know that you can convert your car to run on water? Well, not water entirely, but a water and gasoline hybrid! This is possible through the miracle of electrolysis. You can easily build a device with parts from the hardware store that will dramatically improve you gas mileage, without all the confusion of hydrogen fuel cell technology. And best of all, this can be done with any car or truck, gas or diesel!

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. But hydrogen fuel is very unstable, and sometimes dangerous to transport. But there is another option other than hydrogen fuel that is virtually a scientific breakthrough. It’s called HHO. And a man by the name of Ozzie Freedom has developed a device that uses the electricity out of your car or truck battery, to separate water into “HHO” (2 parts Hydrogen + 1 Oxygen). Not to mention, HHO GAS IS 3 TIMES MORE POTENT THAN GASOLINE!!! HHO is the fastest growing trend for boosting performance and MPG.

Find out how to run your car on water by visiting http://www.hydrogen-powered-car.info