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How Is Essay Affected By Introductions And Conclusions?

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Conclusions and introductions play an important role in academic writing, and they may require a lot of your attention as an author. A good introduction should recognize your subject, provide basic context, and highlight your special focus in the paper. It must also link with the benefit of your readers. 

A strong conclusion will give the essay a sense of completion while also putting your thoughts in a broader context. It will also, in certain cases, improve a different notion. Because no two articles are alike, no one equation will automatically generate an introduction and conclusion for you. However, the guidelines that you follow will aid you in creating a suitable start and end.

If you’re an essay writer, stay hooked to this article as in the next part, I will break down how to write best into and conclusion.

Advice Regarding Introductions

Some students won’t begin writing the essay until they have the perfect introduction.

Most papers’ introductions may be introduced in a paragraph that takes up 1/2 to 3/4 of the main page. Your intro may be longer than that, and it may take longer than one segment, but make sure you understand why. Be aware of the circumstances of spending too much time on the introduction. A chunk of that time may be better spent on planning and creating. 

The length and complexity of your essay should link with the dynamics of your topic. A two-page introduction may be required for a twenty-page paper but not a five-page one.

Right away, go to the heart of the situation. You should, most of the time, introduce your subject in the first few phrases. A common misstep is to begin too extensively or too far off-topic. 

Advice Regarding Conclusions

If your piece deals with a current topic, warn readers of the consequences of not dealing with it. Make a recommendation for a specific strategy.

Use a well-suited citation or well-qualified assessment to provide power to the end you’ve reached. Give a stunning measurement, fact, or visual picture to come home to a decisive location in your writing.

If your field encourages personal reflection, illustrate your last argument with a relevant anecdote from your own experience. Return to a narrative, model, or citation from your intro, but this time include additional information from the body of your work.

What impact does genre have on the introduction and conclusion?

A significant chunk of the advice in this article is about critical or exploratory scholarly essays. Be aware, however, that different classes have their unique assumptions about beginnings and ends. An introduction or end may not be required in a few academic classes. In most cases, a book reference that has been remarked on does not provide either option. 

A book survey could begin with a synopsis of the book and end with a broad assessment of it. An introduction is usually included in strategy instructions, although it can also end with a series of ideas. Examine your job carefully for any headers indicating what you should remember for your introduction or conclusion.

Final Words

If you’re an essay writer, it’s a good idea to consider your audience while writing an explanation.

To guide the reader through your work, make it clear where you’re starting, where you’re going (as the paper progresses), and where you’ve been (in the end).

It is beneficial to keep the reader informed about the progress of the argument. This may be accomplished by using simple articulations or questions that present, summarise, or connect the many components of your subject.

Mark Lyttleton: The Importance of Private Companies Being Well Financed

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Mark Lyttleton is a professional angel investor, business mentor and speaker, with extensive experience of establishing, growing and supporting both public and private companies.

This article will explore the importance of private companies having access to sufficient funding to enable founders to get the business up and running, scale, and weather any unexpected challenges.

Many business advisors recommend that companies maintain sufficient cash to keep running for at least 9-12 months without income, providing leeway if unexpected problems arise.

Private companies have several options to choose from in terms of securing investment, including:

  • Friends and Family: A popular option for early stage funding, many fledgling business leaders find that once they have exhausted their own personal financing options, their nearest and dearest are more than happy to pool resources to help them achieve their business goals. Typically amassed from relatives and friends in small increments between £5,000 and £10,000, repayment schemes are often flexible. Usually, when an entrepreneur secures funding from friends and family, the investors do not take on an active role in running the business.
  • Conventional Lenders: Provided that a business has a strong financial track record, acquiring a loan from a high street bank should not be a problem. However, for early stage companies, their lack of a proven financial track record could cause difficulties, with conventional lenders expecting to see detailed business plans, revenue sources and profit levels before approving the loan. While bank loans provide a smart source of funding for developed businesses, allowing extended repayment over time with fixed monthly payments, this route may not be fruitful for a private enterprise in the start-up phase of the business.
  • Crowdsourcing: Platforms like Kickstarter and GoFundMe are popular funding options for private ventures seeking an injection of cash. The key to success is communicating business concepts and ideas in a concise, exciting and engaging way that appeals just as much to a mass audience of strangers as it does to the founder’s own social network. There is often an early opportunity for investors to buy or experience the product or service that the company is offering.
  • Angel Investors: Angel investors are generally high-net-worth individuals who provide companies with financing in exchange for a stake in the business. In return for equity, angel investors can invest small or substantial sums of capital, with the intention of making material returns as the business grows and matures. In the UK there are often tax incentives associated with this type of investor, such as EIS and SEIS tax relief.
  • Government Grants: Governments offer a range of grants to incentivise businesses to act in ways that benefit society, such as taking on employees or developing new technology. For example, the UK Government recently unveiled its new £20 million GovTech Catalyst Fund, incentivising British tech companies to develop innovative technological solutions to support public sector bodies.
  • Venture Capitalists: Venture capitalists (or VCs) are high-net-worth individuals or companies that invest in a business venture. They typically invest in companies with a proven track record or revenue that shows potential for material growth over time. VCs require an exit strategy, making them an appropriate funding option for companies that plan to go public, or sell to another company at a later date.

In business and finance, liquidity risk leaves companies at the mercy of external forces beyond their control, effectively turning them somewhat lame. When a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic starts to unfold, these companies can no longer afford to operate in the same way, forcing them to adapt their business strategy by taking actions such as cutting costs, pivoting their business, or searching for new customers and revenue opportunities. Even for established, well-known companies, access to funding and capital can suddenly dry up when contagion spreads across financial markets. We saw this in 2020 at the start of COVID-19, when there was a huge amount of fundraising on a global basis as companies looked to secure the long-term health of their business in the face of the economic shutdown.

Compared with public companies, private companies have more options to choose from in terms of raising capital. Since options like crowdfunding and angel investing are very different propositions, it is crucial for business leadership to identify the right funding avenue, selecting the one that aligns most closely with their vision and future goals for the company.

In Times Of Crisis, Metal Rules – But Which One?

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When geopolitics start to get frayed, investors move towards stores of value. As reported by the Financial Times, this has resulted in a gigantic £8.67 billion of gold trades in Europe in March, as nervous investors seek to lower their risk via classic investment methods. The same trends were seen during COVID, when the economic impact of easing had an inflationary impact on metals investment. There are, however, nuances to be observed in precious metals investment. Making the right choice is important, and a little more complicated than simply going for gold.

Buying silver

Of the precious metals, silver holds a special significance in the British investor scene. Silver was once mined extensively and especially so in Wales, which has a cottage industry in Welsh silver jewellery. Indeed, it’s because of this that the Sky-reported sell off of Â£4.2 billion of British silver was met with anger. Yet, this sale also nods towards a lesson – silver is in a great place in the British economy, and is a reliable wealth reserve. Investors who buy silver will be purchasing a consistent store of value; the price has risen consistently since records began in 1970. With a relatively low buy-in price, you can buy bulk silver without needing to be subjected to part stock agreements or shared commodities.

Trusted gold

The pre-eminence of silver doesn’t mean that gold is a poor reserve of currency, however. Gold is still retained in large amounts by the banks, much of it retained in vaults under London’s streets, even if the government has long since conducted its sell-off. According to Which?, gold is being favoured by a new generation – millennials – who are flocking to purchase the precious metal. Given the general degree of insecurity being faced by the younger generations, its of little surprise that they would put assets into gold.

Intriguing palladium

Also consider strategic metals, such as palladium. According to Yahoo, the war in Ukraine has cast doubt over the accessibility of palladium stocks, due to the fact that Russia is one of the leading world producers of the metal. With sanctions in place, they are legally unable to shift their stocks. This means that palladium isn’t just a good store of value, but also a genuine investment opportunity. Palladium is a high-tech metal with multiple applications, and is important in the new green economy. Having a degree of control over its stores, and where new reserves will be found, is something of a pressing need and an advantage in any investor’s portfolio. In the long-term, it will retain it’s place as a store of value and continue to produce value for those holding it.

Precious metals are a common retreat for beleaguered investors, and there’s no time like that the current in which to invest. Whether a classic British stock like silver, or internationally recognised gold and palladium, there’s value to be had.

Are Frontier Markets an investment opportunity?

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Investment opportunities are plentiful these days but with more choice comes more risks. Frontier markets are sometimes overlooked by investors because of the perceived smaller rewards and potential added challenges. But while opting for simple investments in developed countries might seem like the best option, you shouldn’t ignore these smaller markets.

To fully understand why these investments can be so valuable, we need to look at what they are in more detail and compare them to other market categories. So, before we examine the benefits, let’s look at what they are.

What Are Frontier Markets? 

Frontier markets can seem unappealing at first glance. They typically display a number of challenges and risks that more established markets don’t and are essentially the lowest of the three market categories. Developed markets are the leading world powers like the USA and UK. While countries like China are labelled as emerging markets.

But countries in places like Africa and the Middle East are often categorised as frontier markets. A country’s wealth or social development isn’t the sole factor in its market categorisation either. The type of market is decided by things like the capital flow and the opportunities for foreign investments and ownership.

To break things down to the simplest terms, these markets are small scale. Now while the term “small scale” may seem unappealing to many investors, the combined value of all the current frontier markets is still estimated to be around 510 billion dollars.

So, being a frontier market investment manager presents an opportunity to capitalise on these often overlooked markets. However, like always, there are risks involved with investments and numerous factors to consider. But many people make the mistake of ignoring these markets outright because they don’t see them as appealing as their more developed counterparts.

But these frontier market investments can be valuable, and there are numerous reasons investors should consider them. They share some similarities to emerging markets but have their own unique benefits many potential investors don’t know about. Let’s take a look at some of them in more detail.

Reasons For Investing In Frontier Markets  

These markets do have some unique benefits that you won’t find with the more developed markets. So, let’s look at some reasons to why they could be considered for investment.

Global Events 

Global events can have a huge impact on investments, especially in emerging markets, but because these markets are smaller, even huge global events can have a negligible impact. This goes to show that opting for a smaller market can have some big benefits, especially when it comes to unpredictable events.

Expected Growth 

One of the best things that can happen for an investor is to see growth in their investment. One of the good things about these smaller markets is that many are expecting or even experiencing growth right now. Many economists have predicted that Africa will see huge growth in the next few years, making it a very appealing region to invest in.

More Investment Opportunities  

To say these markets are easier to invest in isn’t true. Quite the opposite. There are numerous factors involved with investing in these countries and a number of hoops to jump through to get capital into the market. Every country is different after all and many of these markets have significant challenges to overseas investment. So, while frontier markets aren’t strictly easier to invest in there are greater number of opportunities to invest in them today, then there was even 5 years ago.

Over the last few years there has been a noticeable increase in opportunities for investors including exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Some, EFTs even focus solely on these markets too.

Fewer Links To Other Markets 

Many emerging markets are heavily linked to developed markets. When these leading markets suffer issues, they often have a large knock-on effect on the smaller (by comparison) emerging markets. But because these smaller markets have fewer links to emerging (and developed) markets, they are able to avoid potential knockbacks.

So, that is a small snapshot of some of the unique attributes of investing in frontier markets. Now, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any potential risks. Investing always comes with risks, and these smaller market investments aren’t immune to this. In fact, many an investor would view them as potentially riskier.

However, they are often ignored by investors or simply viewed as not being as appealing. But they can offer some unique opportunities, which if approached with caution can be capitalised upon.

How To Invest In Frontier Markets 

So, have you been tempted to make some investments? Then you might be wondering how you do it, right? While it’s true that some frontier markets countries don’t have traditional stock exchanges, this isn’t always the case.

But the best way to make investments is with specialist help. A specialist investment manager can help you navigate the risks and make smart investments. These markets have some great benefits and are quite unique when compared to emerging and developed markets.

However, this is a double-edged sword in some respects because there are also unique risks to be aware of. Now, while risks aren’t anything new to investors these markets can be more volatile. Again, this will all depend on the country, but some possible risks include things like unpredictable governments and business compliance.

So, to properly capitalise on these opportunities and make smart investments, you should seek professional guidance and assistance with the help of a specialist investment manager – with the knowledge that your investment could go down and up. While you can make investments on your own, it’s always better to call on the aid of an experienced professional, especially when it comes to the more unusual and lesser-known markets.

Fintech Advancements That Will Radically Change the Future of Retail

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Technology is constantly evolving, as is society in general. The two of them together have a symbiotic relationship with finances, and therefore finance has to adapt with them. There has been a significant leap in tech advancements and societal advancements over the past few years, so we’re looking at the tech that has made the biggest impact on finance, including alternative payment methods, cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

They’ve already had an impact on society, but there is more they can do. If you’re interested in NFTs you can find out more about them here at Bybit Learn (https://learn.bybit.com/nft/). But for some basics on why NFTs, cryptocurrency and alternative payment methods are changing the retail landscape, read on.

Alternative payment methods

Alternative payment methods encompass just about any payment method that doesn’t take physical money or physical interaction from a credit or debit card. That means that e-wallets like PayPal, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and contactless payment methods all come under the umbrella term of alternative payment methods.

Alternative payment methods have really taken off in the past few years for a variety of societal reasons. The most obvious one is the rise of the contactless payment method due to the rise of the Coronavirus. As Covid forced everyone behind masks and into using hand sanitizer after every interaction, we suddenly saw quite a good reason to avoid the hand to hand passing of notes and coins. That, added to the convenience and again, hygiene matters, of not putting your card into a reader and pressing a bunch of buttons that had touched countless fingers, meant that overnight just about every physical retail space started offering, or even demanding, a contactless payment method.

The second thing that greatly influenced the rise of alternative payment methods, was the low-level hatred of online banking systems – or rather the alternative payment systems relative convenience. Online banking hasn’t been well received in America, possibly due to the fiddly and unfriendly nature of them. You would need to ask for banking details, enter the app through what feels like mountains of red tape, and make a transaction, which all felt like a lot of work when compared to e-wallets like PayPal and Venmo offering the opportunity to make a transaction with only a phone number, email address or username. A lot of up-and-coming influencers and small businesses started using Venmo, telling the world their username so that anyone could donate as they wished.

Whether or not you like the idea of a cashless society, thanks to alternative payment methods, we’re halfway there. The use of cash has gone down, as has the printing of receipts, saving trees in an age of eco-conscious consumers. Physical theft of money is going down with the use of physical money, and with the extra security on e-wallets and contactless cards, petty cybercrime has also gone down.

Cryptocurrency

Depending on who you speak to, cryptocurrency is either the way of the future, a controversial idea, or doomed to crash soon.

Or there are those that see merit with some work. Cryptocurrency, as yet, doesn’t have a lot of practical applications. You can’t go to the corner shop and buy a pint of milk with it, but you can buy a Tesla, a first class flight or a deposit for online gambling.

The iGaming industry has embraced the concept of cryptocurrency, gathering some pleased fans along the way. The players on these sites enjoy deposits instantly put through due to the lack of red tape around crypto transactions, and their winnings delivered in less than an hour on the other end.

If convenience is the name of the game for just about every fintech advancement, cryptocurrency has it in spades.

The technology that is the basis for cryptocurrency, the blockchain, is particularly interesting to even financiers outside the crypto community, due to its superior security. Transactions are instantly recorded in the blockchain, which means retailers will be able to settle disputes much easier with an automatic paper trail, and the end-to-end encryption means that no one else can get a hold of the money in transition.

NFTs

NFTs are getting a lot of buzz at the moment, but the selling of digital art monkeys for millions of dollars has overshadowed the real potential of NFTs.

An NFT, or a non-fungible token, is essentially a digital receipt. A means of validating that your thing is the original. Thus far it has only applied to digital art, music, etc. but the physical world can get great use out of NFTs too.

The collectibles industry, in particular, can greatly benefit from some means of identifying something as an original. Imagine the difference NFTs can make to baseball or Pokémon cards, Beanie Babies, comic books, vinyl records, coins, stamps, etc.

NFTs are simply a digital marker which can be applied to digital assets or physical asset, with the added benefit of not affecting the physical asset itself. If we were to compare it to previous workings of the art industry, Leonardo da Vinci’s name is painted in the corner of the Mona Lisa to determine that it was in fact him who painted it, and that it is an original. But we’re in a new world now, where signatures can be faked, and all the signature serves to do is leave a distraction, some might say even a scar on the most famous painting in the world.

7 Common Types of Google Penalties and How to Prevent Them

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We have seen over the years that SEO has evolved as one of the most used and effective methods to generate online traffic and outreach the target audience through the Google search engine.

Google has defined regulations that it updates continuously to provide users with the best search experience. These regulations have to be followed all the time. If one indulges in black hat SEO practices, Google throws penalties that negatively impact search rankings of specific pages, and sometimes entire websites could be removed from search results.

What exactly is Google Penalty?

This is the most common question and people often get puzzled by the word “penalty”. To simplify, a penalty is like a fine for not following specific rules and regulations, in this case by the search engine giant Google. 

Google updates its algorithms frequently and when it detects that a website violates the Webmaster Guidelines, it may impose a penalty by lowering the rankings of pages or the whole website.

Algorithmic VS Manual Google Penalties

Google has robust automated algorithms that identify violations based on the type of harmful activity performed by a website. Here, Google imposes penalties through this highly intellectual algorithm where no manual monitoring is required. 

Typical examples are thin content, improper page loading speed, or inconsistent links. 

When we talk about manual Google penalty, the scenario is different from algorithmic penalty. Google monitors all website activities under the surveillance of a team that manually checks for any violations and, if required, imposes a penalty to a particular website. They are reviewers who constantly look around for violations within a website regarding Google SEO factors. 

Keyword stuffing and user-generated spammy links are the most common instances where Google imposes a manual penalty.

Consequences of a Google penalty

Even if your website is penalized for one or two factors, its results are painful. This is because you have been striving every day to improve the site’s overall ranking, but there is a sudden drop due to violations and penalties. 

The effect is sometimes so profound that it takes months or even years to get back to that position where you had a stronghold for many years. And this ultimately affects your business revenue and even customers. 

Depending on the penalty issued, the severity of the drop ensues. 

Keyword level penalties will result in a drop in ranking for that particular keyword. Ranking will drop for a particular URL in case of a URL level penalty. If the penalty is domain-wide or site-wide, it will result in a drop in rankings for several URLs and keywords across your site. The highest and most extreme is delisting or de-indexing where your domain is removed from the Google index.

Top 7 reasons for Google penalties plus tips to avoid

Every business endeavors to rank on the first page of Google. While most of the businesses follow the lengthy process that requires a lot of patience, some do resort to shortcuts which tend to generally backfire.

If imposed a penalty by Google, it can give you anxiety, stress, and revenue loss because even after the penalty is lifted, your site may take a long time to recover its traffic and rankings. 

Prevention is better than cure. So let us try and understand the seven most common sins that lead to Google penalties and how to avoid them. 

  1. Thin content and doorway pages

If you are thinking of focusing on quantity over quality and creating content that has no value for your visitors, then think twice because this could get your website penalized and directly affect the current ranking. 

Doorway pages are just like landing pages but created to improve the ranking of a website using specific keywords with text-format content. They are intentionally created with multiple links to redirect users to various pages, but it puts your website on Google’s radar, so never practice it again.

Some of the tips to avoid thin content penalties are:

  • Never mass-produce low-quality (shallow) content
  • Indulge in proper keyword research
  • Instead of doorway pages, create pillar pages that thoroughly address the user’s questions
  1. Hidden text and links

Many times, you may unintentionally have hidden specific links under the background color or image, which Google interprets as suspicious links, so always cross-check all of the links to avoid penalty.

Also, if you try to hide a keyword keeping the font size as zero or camouflaging it with the background, you may get penalized no matter if you may have a genuine reason for it. 

Some tips to avoid are:

  • Never hide something intentionally
  • Go to the URL inspection tab of your search console, enter the affected pages and check for any hidden links or camouflaged text.
  1. User-generated spam

For blogs, forums, and discussion platforms, ensure that all of the comments, posts, and guest blogs are closely monitored and should not redirect to irrelevant or spammy websites that put your website under the radar. 

So, avoid this if you want to protect your website from getting penalized.

Google’s policy to only flag a particular section of your domain and not the whole website may be a respite for you. 

But one needs to take instant action or else there are chances that the whole website may be filled with malicious comments and as a result, Google might deindex your website from its listing to protect the privacy of its users. 

  1. Unnatural Backlink Profile

To quickly rank a website, spammers create artificial links that link your website to a bad neighborhood, which severely affects your website.

In this scenario, Penguin algorithm update came into effect to penalize sites having stuffed keywords into their content, irrelevant or low-quality links, and over-optimized anchor text on a webpage. 

When Google tags a website having unnatural links their rankings are severely dropped affecting the whole business operations. They then have to search for quick solutions by over-identifying all the unnatural links and removing them all at once. 

Tips to avoid:

  • Use white-hat link-building strategies
  • Do not build too many links in a short span
  • Perform regular backlink audits to disavow spam or irrelevant links
  1. Stuffing keywords

Assume you have a blog with 500 words and are looking to rank specific keywords using a blog. But if you stuff keywords to such an extent that the whole blog looks spammy and worthless, Google is smart enough to capture this activity and penalize your website. 

Tips to avoid this penalty are:

  • Just as you would explain something in person, incorporate keywords in your content naturally
  • Use natural keyword variations instead of focusing only on one keyword
  1. Hacked website 

If your website is hacked, there are rare chances that you may have control over it. And spammers create unwanted content intending to defame your website. Nothing is in your control here, but Google thinks that everything is done through planning, and hence you get penalized at lightning speed. 

Tips you can implement to avoid this situation are:

  • Use strong passwords and change regularly
  • Ensure quality hosting
  • Regularly backup your website
  • Use secure digital signatures for digital document sharing
  1. Misusing structured data markup

When you misinterpret Google guidelines and create incorrect structured data or even violate certain data types mentioned by Google, this ultimately leads to a considerable penalty. Be it intentional or innocent, Google is there to penalize for the wrong action. 

Follow these tips to avoid structured data penalties:

  • Use only structured data that makes sense for the mark-up content
  • Ensure that the mark-up content is visible to readers
  • Do not add fake reviews
  • Do not add any schema markup that relates to violence, illegal activities, or any prohibited content

Wrapping Up

Google algorithms are never the same. So, it is always better to keep track of their updates and based on the understanding, follow the process, albeit lengthy. 

It is best not to yield to the allure of following shortcuts and indulge in spammy activities for any reason, whether it is ranking, lead generation, or even outreaching a larger audience. 

Now you know the seven most common types of Google penalties and tips on how to avoid them. This will help you steer clear of making any mistakes and accelerate your business.

Key phrases you will hear when selling your house at auction

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Auctioning your home can sometimes be a good way to achieve a relatively swift sale whilst also creating the potential to make a decent profit, although the actual process of selling a flat or house at auction can be overwhelming if it’s something that you’ve never tried before.

One of the most daunting aspects of trying to sell a property through this approach can be the various insider phrases that you could expect to hear during the various stages of selling. That’s why it can be a help to homeowners if they take time to familiarise themselves with the key phrases that they are likely to read or hear when trying to sell their home at auction.

Many potential property buyers are looking to find bargains at auctions, particularly as demand for homes in the UK continues at a strong pace. If you decide that selling your home at auction is right for you, start by learning many of the important terms listed below.

Top phrases you might hear at a property auction and what they mean

Absolute auction: when a home is sold without a reserve price or conditions

Actual completion date: when a successful auction sale is deemed complete

Addendum: addition to the existing auction lot information

Auctioneer: the person hosting the auction

Bankers draft: cash-equivalent cheque used in auction transactions

Bid: an offer during an auction for buying a home

Bidding war: when two or more people compete to buy a home, raising its sale price

Blind buying: buying a home at an auction without ever viewing the property

Block viewings: a single viewing that anyone interested a home for sale can attend

Bridging finance: short-term financial loan used in property transactions

Buyers’ administration fee: a payment the property buyer must pay to the auctioneer

Buyers’ premium: another fee that the buyer must pay to the auctioneer

Catalogue: details the property and how to arrange a viewing

Certainty of sale: means a home sold at auction is a binding legally enforceable sale

Chaps: Clearing House Automated Payment System for same-day property payments

Clawback conditions: certain conditions that might apply to specific home auctions

Cleared funds: money that is available to immediately spend in a property transaction

Commercial lending: loans issued by business banks for buying homes at auction

Completion date: the final date on which an auctioned home sale must be finalised

Conveyancing: transferring the legal title of a home to another person

Covenant: an agreement in a home’s deeds relating to the property

Deposit: partial payment on a promise by a buyer to complete purchasing a home

Exchange of contracts: transfer of key documents that occurs when the auction ends

Fall of the gavel: when the gavel drops, the auction is considered over

Final bid: the last bid placed on a property up for sale at an auction

Guide price: a seller’s expected minimum price for selling their home

Hawking: when buyers attempt to buy homes that failed to sell at auction

Hooks: homes auctioneers think will be very popular and place prominently in catalogues

In the room: someone who physically attends and auction and places a bid

Increment: the difference in value from one bid on a home to another

Jump bid: a bid above whatever value the auctioneer asks as the increment

Legally binding: a winning bid is an agreement to buy your home that you can sue to enforce

Legal pack: contains all of the important legal documents about your home

Listing agreement: contract signed by the seller and auctioneer authorising the auction

Lot: the term for a single property up for sale at an auction

Modern auction: online listing auction that takes place continuously over many weeks

Mismatched properties: when an auctioneer sells a home not typical for their catalogue

Neighbourhood profile: range of details about the area where the home is located

Off the wall: allows the auctioneer to bid if bidding has started but is under the reserve price

Online auction: takes place virtually rather than in person at an auction house

Opening prices: the first price that the auctioneer asks for people to start bidding

Paddle system: buyers place a bid in person by raising a paddle given to them

Planning applications: tell the auctioneer if you have planning applications on your home

Pre-auction offers: these must be placed with auctioneers before the auction takes place

Pre-bid registration: the process of registering to attend a future auction

Previews: another term for the viewings of a property held before the auction takes place

Proxy bid: auctioneers can place bids on behalf of a buyer who can’t attend an auction

Reserve price: the lowest price a seller will accept for their home at auction

Reserve hooks: when auctioneers wait until late in the auction to sell the most popular homes

Reserve price: The lowest value at which a seller agrees their home can sell at auction

Risk to reward ratio: the seller’s gamble on how much profit, if any, they’ll make at auction

Rostrum: a raised podium from which an auctioneer might stand during the sales

Spotters: people alerting the auctioneer to bids that they might have missed

Starting price: the initial opening bid that auctioneer offers for a home

Stock: the properties for sale at an auction

Telephone bid: a bid that someone who can’t attend the auction in person places by phone

Traditional auction: takes place at one specific time until typical auction rules

Unsold lots: properties that don’t get any bids at an auction

Vacant properties: these are homes sold at auction in which nobody is living

Vendor: the person selling a house or flat at an auction

Withdrawn lots: properties dropped from an auction or that failed to meet their reserve price

You can also choose other approaches for selling your house or flat

After you’ve learned the above phrases and other information about selling a home at auction, you may have some questions for the team at Auction Link. And that doesn’t mean you will struggle to find a buyer for your property, it just means that you will have to consider whether to try selling it through an estate agent or using a quick home buyer.

An estate agent will do most of the hard work of selling your property, including hosting the viewings and marketing the listing. But they will charge commission for this work that will reduce you total net profit from selling your home. And it can sometimes take several months, or in worst case scenarios even more than a year, before you get any serious offers from buyers. This is far from ideal for anyone who needs to sell their home in weeks rather than months.

By contrast, fast home buyers are able to finalise the purchase of a home often within a few short weeks after a homeowner first contacts them about selling their house or flat. That’s because they work one-on-one with homeowners and don’t need to wait for mortgage approval before being able to fund the purchase. And the legitimate speedy home buying companies never charge homeowners fees to buy their properties, which lets the owner retain all of the profit from the final sale price.

What types of visa are there to live in Spain?

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Foreigners who want to settle in Spain for any reason have several alternatives for doing so.

If you hold a Visa, an EU Residence Certificate (temporary or permanent) or have obtained a favourable resolution after presenting the EX-20 application, you can apply for the TIE Card Spain. To request the TIE it is necessary to make an appointment online with the Oficina de Extranjeros.

These are some of the possibilities currently available.

Golden Visa

This is one of the most popular because its requirements are simple and it allows you to bring your whole family (as long as you can support them).

Get the Golden Visa in Spain is possible when you invest a large amount of money in real estate located in Spain (although it is also possible to apply for this visa if you invest in company shares or bonds).

The minimum investment amount for this procedure is 500,000 euros, and one of its main advantages is that it can be applied for directly from Spain.

Student visa

This is another of the most common visas. Many foreign students want to come to Spain to continue, complement or extend their studies.

Whether it is to study for a university degree, a master’s degree or a language course, students from all over the world decide to come to Spain because of the advantages that the country offers them.

A student visa is required in the following cases:

– If the studies will last less than 3 months, the tourist visa will be sufficient and it is not necessary to apply for a student visa.

– If the duration is between 3 and 6 months, then a short-stay study visa is required.

– If the course lasts between 6 and 12 months, a long-stay student visa (in this case the foreigner will also get a physical card or TIE).

In any case, if the academic year ends but the studies continue or if the foreigner will move on to higher education (e.g. from a Bachelor’s to a Master’s degree), an extension of stay for studies must be made.

Long-stay visas

These are known as type D visas, i.e. when a foreigner intends to live, work, study or do research in Spain for a period of more than 90 days.

In these cases, a long-stay visa must be applied for, except for foreigners who belong to the European Union, whose process will be much quicker and simpler.

Most applications will be made from the country of origin and, in addition to guaranteeing residency in Spain through the consulate, it will also be the prelude to obtaining a residency permit.

However, there are several types of long-term visas. These are the most common:

Non-Lucrative Visa

This is the perfect type of visa for those who cannot or do not want to make an economic investment in the country.

The Non-Lucrative Visa does not allow you to work in Spain and you need to prove that you have sufficient means to support yourself and your family (at least 27,000 euros per month) and have private medical insurance in Spain.

It is valid for 1 year, with the possibility of renewal for 2 years indefinitely if the initial requirements are met.

Work visas

On the other hand, if you want to work legally in Spain, foreigners must apply for a work visa. There are several types of visas for this purpose:

– When the foreigner finds a company or employer who wants to hire him/her (i.e. he/she will work for a company in Spain).

– Self-employed work permit, to carry out tasks as an independent or self-employed professional.

Visa for family reunification in general regime

It is very common for foreigners who are already legally in Spain to want to bring their family members with them.

Family reunification is possible when the applicant has been legally resident in Spain for at least one year and may bring immediate family members with him/her when they are economically dependent on him/her.

Immediate family members include children under the age of 18 and parents over the age of 65.

These are some of the most requested visas for foreigners in Spain.

Financial services industry insights revealed

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The past two years have been turbulent, and there has been a significant impact on businesses across every industry. A recent study from Feefo has examined customer feedback from the past two years across eight key sectors, including financial services. With the fallout from Brexit and the Covid pandemic, there has been a lot of change and uncertainty for both businesses and consumers.

The Feefo report analyses more than 5 million verified customer reviews and has provided some intriguing insights into the financial services industry. From the results, there are clear indications as to which brands are doing well, and how some in the financial industry are managing to outperform the competition.

Key sentiments in the financial services sector

By looking into customer reviews from the recent past, Feefo has been able to identify the key drivers of customer sentiment within the sector. The most critical area for customers in the industry is issue resolution, which drives 43% of customer sentiment. Just behind this is pricing, which interestingly shows that price is of vital importance to consumers in financial services compared with other sectors.

Customer service drives 10% of customer sentiment, whereas website, online processes, and good communication were further down the list. There is clear evidence that customers place a lot of value on price, but good service with issue resolution comes in at number one.

The key things that consumers liked from the service received recently included having questions answered, quick and easy processes, and being well looked after throughout the process. The study revealed that consumers were not happy with filling out complicated forms or issues with policy renewals.

Main considerations for financial services businesses

This study has revealed useful data about how customers feel about financial services brands – what is working well, and where companies can improve. Here are some key considerations for financial services brands to take away from this data.

  • Customer sentiments should be considered with a holistic approach. Good communication is seen as relatively unimportant as a standalone driver for sentiment. However, the reviews indicate that communication is a vital part of how consumers view rates and prices. For example, communicating with customers about the reasons for a price increase can mitigate the impact of a rise.
  • Loyalty is more important than ever before, particularly with so many comparison sites now available for financial services. Consumers now expect more from brands in return for choosing them over competitors. This could include impeccable customer service or a loyalty bonus for staying with them.
  • One significant issue for many customers is that many financial services brands are slow to deliver services but constantly sending marketing messages and renewal notices. Businesses could benefit from switching their focus from customer acquisition to customer retention, and recalibrating current key performance indicators to reflect this.

For more information and to read the full insights into the financial services industry and customer reviews, download the Feefo infographic.

In-Person Events Vs. Virtual Events: What are the Differences?

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Whether you are looking for a fun tradeshow to attend or you want to head to a business event as a professional, there are many you can choose from throughout the year. Some might be held in your hometown while others can be halfway across the country. Either way, you are going to be able to choose what events you want to attend.

But, another choice you have to make is whether you want to attend an in-person event or a virtual event. Let’s take a look at what the differences are between them so that you can choose the right one for your needs.

In-Person Events

First of all, there are in-person events that are held all over the world. They can be for almost any industry and help people to learn, network and share their business ideas. It can be fun to attend in-person events and this is something that has been missed during the pandemic.

For example, going to an in-person event can allow you to learn from industry experts. There can be talks and presentations you can watch, as well as the opportunity to speak to them afterwards. This allows you to improve your expertise and network, sharing your own ideas with professionals. In-person events can be held over several days, which gives you plenty of opportunities to achieve what you want to before going back to your everyday routine. Thankfully, companies like RX run in-person events across the United Kingdom that mean you can now achieve your goals.

Depending on where you are located, you may have to travel for in-person events. This is something that might be difficult if you have commitments. While you can look for events in your area, there are always going to be large-scale events held in other parts of the world. Unfortunately, you might have to miss out on them if they are only in-person events.

Virtual Events

Think about the world we live in today. Almost everybody has access to the internet and they have at least one mobile device or computer. People rely on technology every day for personal and professional use so it is not surprising that virtual events are becoming popular. Instead of having to attend in person, you can join in with the action from your home or office. This can be by watching content or it may be possible for video calls and interactive presentations.

Essentially, a virtual event means that people can enjoy this occasion from anywhere in the world. As long as they have an internet connection and device, they can listen to presentations and join in the action of an event or conference. This makes it easy to attend and involves no traveling. There are some people that like the atmosphere of an event and the opportunity to network. Indeed, this can be something that is missing from virtual events. But, you can still learn a lot and feel like you are able to participate even if you cannot attend.

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