Category: Home

There are times where some people will be prevented from working in a particular company because they could not leave the house. For example, a mom of two or more kids will really find it hard to manage the time of working while taking care of the needs of her children. This is the very reason why home sourcing or work-from-home schemes are becoming really popular. In fact, it was found out that in America alone, there is a continuously growing number of Americans, some 20 million right now, who do at least some of their work at home.

Were not just talking about telecommuters who work for companies that give them the flexibility to work from home (Brooks, 2005). Were also talking about a new, un-tethered workforce, made of contract workers, consultants, and freelancers. Thanks to cell phones and broadband, they have flexible schedules and their homes are also their offices.

But there are a number of advantages and disadvantages when one prefers to work from home. As for the pros or the advantages, the list includes (Bostick, 2004):

1. Travel to and from work is eliminated. This produces a domino effect because, with the need to commute to and from work, the person himself can save money for gas, car maintenance, and other utilities. It can also save him time and energy as he does not need to wake earlier to prepare himself (take a bath, change clothes, etc.)
2. No need to worry about dress codes. Most people who are now working from home have admitted that they normally work wearing their pajamas and they do not worry about what their boss or co-workers might think about their looks (as there is no one that can see him/her while working).
3. Flexible time and work pace. People who work from home are normally given deadlines and it doesnt matter when or how they do it, what is important is that they will be able to provide the needed output in the set schedule.
4. Better health. People who work from home need not worry about pollution and other work hazards and stress. In fact, most of them revealed that they become healthier when they started their home sourcing jobs. They have more control of their time and of themselves. They have lesser worries.

Indeed, it can be summarized that those who can work this way and can afford to work this way often lead pretty comfortable lives. But there are still some negative sides to working from home. For many others, health insurance is expensive, retirement benefits non-existent, which can make life precarious (Brooks, 2005). Other disadvantages include:

1. Lack of social interaction. When one works from home, he just normally work in front of his computer or through the phone. He will not have the chance to talk eye-to-eye with his colleagues. Working from home is almost synonymous with becoming isolated in ones house.
2. Presence of temptations and distractions. The house or home provides comfort. There are TVs, beds, radios, kids, and other family members which can be a form of distraction to work. One could not really focus when the TVs volume is too high. If the kids are asking for attention, it is just expected that the mom or the dad will be looking after them instead of finishing the work assigned.
3. Irregular paycheck. Working from home does not count the number of hours one has worked. The pay is normally dependent on the output given. Hence, there are days when a paycheck can be good and there are days when it can be utterly disappointing.

There are pros and cons to every decision made. If one decides to work from home instead of the normal office job, then one has to face the disadvantages and disadvantages it may bring. But the beauty of this work from home is that it provides an additional option to aspiring workers. Now they can choose to work inside the comforts of their house or inside an office building that hired them.

References

Bostick, Fran. March 2004. Several pros and cons to working from home. Birmingham Business Journal.

Brooks, Anthony. 2005 More Americans Choosing to Work from Home. National Public Radio, Inc.

For centuries, home gardens have been used in many urban homes for aesthetic value. According to Anderson (1998), many urban homes have home gardens that are strategically located within the compound to create the feeling of being close to nature. In most of the urban settings, it is rare to find forests in settlement areas. However, people value the green environment, and the beauty that comes with it. This can only be obtained from home gardens.

According to Lindenmayer and Burgman (2005), when developing the home gardens, people always do not have even the faintest of the ideas that such gardens would be of any significance to other animals staying within these homes. However, the truth is that some of the mammals within these homes find the gardens more valuable to them than they are to the people who plant them. While people may only enjoy shade and other aesthetic value from them, some mammals rely on these gardens for their survival. They get their food and shelter from these gardens. It is important to evaluate how individual mammals may find these gardens important for their normal life. Dogs are the most common pets in most of the Australian homes. According to Kaplan and Blume, (2011, p. 56), they are the first mammals to be kept by the human beings. Figure 2 below shows the level of importance of the small mammals to the home gardens.

Domesticated rabbits may also benefit a lot from these gardens because of a number of reasons. Sometimes they may be released out of their cages once in a while. The gardens offer the best alternative within the compounds where they can rest in the cool shades. While in the gardens, the rabbits may find some plants which they can eat to supplement what they are given by their keepers. Staying outside their cages in an open space may be dangerous to them, especially if there are dogs around the place. The gardens offer some form of security to them because they can easily hide from these dangerous predators. As mentioned before, it is not common to find goats in the Australian urban homes because of their size, and the amount of food they need to survive. In such cases, the home garden will offer goats the much needed food. The figure below shows a goat grazing in a garden

Although these are animals which are not desirable within the settings where people live, sometimes it may not be easy to eliminate them. The home gardens are always of great benefit to them. Rabbits also benefits from such gardens. Below figure shows a rabbit in a garden.

These gardens offer a perfect resting place for dogs as shown in the figure below.

Introduction

As human beings, our lives are mostly crowded by work and we are left with little time to spare for ourselves. Making the best use of the free time we get is therefore very important. Hobbies which are activities that we engage in for pleasure present the best way to use our free time. As a matter of fact, few people spend their free time pursuing hobbies despite the importance attributed to leisure activity. The reason for this is mostly lack of a suitable hobby.

With this in mind, I shall propose home brewing beer as a hobby of choice to you my friend. Through this paper, I shall demonstrate that home brewing beer is a fascinating and rewarding hobby that many people could enjoy over a lifetime. I hope that by the end of this, I shall have positively influenced you to take up this most engaging hobby.

Home Brewing Beer

Home brewing beer is the process of producing small amounts of beer through fermentation for personal use. This activity is mostly carried out by people as a hobby. Home brewing has a rich history spanning thousands of years and it far precedes the mass production of beer that we are currently used to. Before undertaking home brewing, one needs to have a firm grasp of the overall process of brewing.

The brewing process can be broken down into a number of major steps which are; malting, boiling and fermenting. After fermenting, one may proceed to filter and package the drink appropriately. While the procedure may vary, the basic steps are as follows. One crushes the malt into a hop bag and lets it steep into water. The grain infused water is then let to boil and after it has started boiling, the bag is removed and the malt extracted into the brew pot.

This procedure results the formation of the wort from the grains. If desired, one can use hops to flavor the beer. The next step involves the preparation of yeast and then mixing it with the wort in a fermenter. Fermentation is the scientific process which makes the brew alcoholic. It occurs as a result of the chemical changes that result from yeast converting sugar into alcohol. The fermentation process requires a large sealable plastic container to act as a fermenter.

However, the fermenter will require a fermentation lock to allow the carbon dioxide produced by the process to escape while keeping gas from getting into the beer. The fermentation process will try your patience since you will be required to wait for a varying number of days depending on your specific recipe.

There are a myriad of advantages that you can gain from taking up home brewing. To begin with, home brewing is that it involves various facets which ensure that it does not become boring. To begin with, one has to go to the home brew supply store to obtain the necessary ingredients. The basic ingredients that you will need are grains, yeast, flavoring of your choice and water.

The mere obtaining of the ingredients is a fascinating experience even as you see and smell all kinds of grains before deciding on your choice grain. One you begin home brewing, you will be constantly searching and learning so as to perfect your craft. This dynamic nature of brewing is what makes it most desirable as a hobby.

This hobby will also enable you to save a significant amount of money. Commercially available beer is expensive to purchase as a result of various taxes and the need of profits by the beer makers. By taking up home brewing, you will be able to save big costs since home made beer is significantly cheaper. In addition to this, home brewing will enable you to create a wide variety of beer flavors for yourself.

There is an endless possibility on what one can brew and in addition to the recipes available in home brew supply stores; one can come up with their own unique recipes. As such, home brewing has the makings of a good hobby since ideally; a good hobby should be involving and not monotonous so as to keep the person interested.

As a matter of fact, worthwhile hobbies demand an investment of interest and energy. The same applies to home brewing hobby and I should forewarn you that this hobby shall require you to make use of math and science and your problem solving skills. Your attention to details shall also be honed as you go through the various brewing stages.

You shall also be required to demonstrate good project management skills as you go through the detailed steps of beer making. These skills that you gain from home brewing will make you more productive even as you engage in work and other activities in your life.

Conclusion

As you can see, hobbies do not just happen and one has to plan and execute them. The home brewing beer hobby that I propose will be involving since the brewing process will involve time and effort on your part. I must admit that it will take some time before you perfect home brewing but I assure you that you shall find pleasure in every effort you invest to gain competence in this activity. The rewarding sense of satisfaction that you shall have when you pour and drink the beer you made by yourself will make every effort worthwhile.

The discussion of the advantages of homeschooling as an alternative to public schooling is rather controversial because there is a lot of evidence to support the opposite positions. I am inclined to state that homeschooling is the contemporary tendency that is popular with the public because it provides many possibilities for personal development where the accents are made on the development of the individuals abilities, skills, and talents without any pressure which is typical for group learning.

Moreover, the level of the development of information technologies can make the process of learning comfortable and oriented to the individuals needs. Having analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling, I can conclude that home schooling is necessary for personal development, and public schooling is important for the persons socialization. However, the individual can develop social skills without references to the school activities. That is why home schooling is more effective for a persons intellectual growth. This idea can demonstrate the effectiveness of home or individual schooling as an alternative to traditional public schooling.

Nevertheless, it is possible to discuss the question of homeschooling from the other perspective and with references to its adaptation to public schooling. It is often possible to find the middle ground while discussing controversial points. Homeschooling is important for personal growth because it provides the possibilities for developing abilities and talents with references to personal needs and demands. Individual learning is more effective to increase the persons level of knowledge, and the contemporary approaches to online learning help people avoid any difficulties in their schooling. However, learners need guidelines and regular consultations provided by their tutors.

Group work and communication are also important for a persons socialization. That is why I can correct the previous claim and state that home schooling is beneficial for individual learners when it is effectively connected with the elements of traditional public schooling. Students should receive the possibilities to see their group and tutors improve their knowledge and different skills. Thus, the previous claim requires its expansion with references to the new vision of the issue.

To prove the new claim according to which homeschooling can be effectively combined with the traditional approaches to teaching and learning used in public schooling, I need to discuss some ideas provided in the works by Rivero and Romanowski. It is unnecessary to use the additional sources for providing the shreds of evidence for the new claim because the mentioned authors pay much attention to the parents possibilities to choose the form of home schooling which is more appropriate for their children because of various similarities and differences with the public schooling methods.

I am inclined to conclude that the middle ground solution is more practical about resolving the opposition between home schooling and public schooling developed by educators and parents because the effective combination of these two systems can provide positive results. The accentuation of the strengths of homeschooling is possible with references to using some effective methods of public schooling. It is impossible to use only one variant of schooling at the current stage of the education systems development, but it is possible to support homeschooling as the modern approach which is effective while basing on the definite elements of public schooling.

Introduction

For many years, people have argued on the best system of teaching their children. The decision on whether to home school or take a child to a public school is vital to the future of the child. Public schooling is most common in United States, but this does not disregard homeschooling.

Homeschooling is considered best elsewhere hence the need to scrutinize its strengths. In that case, this paper compares homeschooling to public schooling with an emphasis on the positive development of the child.

In as much as the parent is determined to prepare the child for future challenges, home schooling exposes the child to greater social situations, appropriate behavior, positive religious decision, and curriculum flexibility.

Home school versus public school

Constantly, homeschooling has been differed with public schooling through a number of viewpoints or evidences. Poor social development is a stereotype that the public school system has attached to home schooling (Olsen, 2008).

It suggests that the child under home school system is socially confined, or lacks the amenities that enable his/ her social development. However, the home schooled child is exposed to an assorted array of social circumstances within the learning environment.

People who go for public schooling simply do not understand the home schooling plan hence do not understand that the child is exposed to greater social environment as compared to a student in a classroom.

The home schooled child has greater flexibility when accessing social issues than the public schooled child. These social issues reflect in the sense that the child is as much independent as the parent to choose on the social situations to associate with.

According to my point of view, the most prevalent different between the two systems of learning is that the parent solely manages homeschooling system while the public schooling system has to follow specific management guidelines defined by the government.

Basing our discussion on the fact that the parent is the ultimate decision maker, the child can experience a variety of social situations that the parent prefers. For instance, the child can get an opportunity to socialize with people of different ages and orientations unlike a classroom student who is restricted to follow a prearranged social orientation.

In addition, the homeschooled student can be allowed by the parent to decide on which friends to associate with depending on the marital inclinations.

In short, a student in a public school has to mingle with peers limited to situations accommodated by the laws of the particular state. For a student in a public school, it is unfortunate that he/she has to abide with the rules of standardization.

Maybe what critics of home schooling do not understand is that parents have the capacity to expose their students to the behaviors and situations they feel appropriate. The fact that public schools involve students from different backgrounds has diminished the importance of model behavior.

The norm is that of inappropriate behavior. In essence, every parent who is able to teach at home would like to act as the positive role model, offering the child the best help, instead of sending the child to a learning environment that exposes him to overall misbehavior.

Being able to monitor the childs development on daily basis, the parent can realize when the child is deviating from the expected social and behavioral tracks.

It will always be true that a child in the public school is likely to behave more unruly than a child in the homeschooling system of learning. The parent who is the closest person to the child is the best file to refine him/her as nature may suggest.

Another issue that strongly differentiates home schooling from public schooling is academic performance. The student in the public school is entitled to the curriculum set by the state (Wagner, 2008). On the other hand, the student under homeschooling is entitled to a curriculum designed by the parent.

Therefore, systematic learning where a student moves to the other level after complete digest is only allowed in homeschooling. The age of the child is not the sole determinant of the grade level as it is in public school system. The child under parent guidance is allowed to work at his or her own pace and move to other levels without interruption.

This designed program of study can also let students to work on a number of different grades simultaneously without necessarily waiting for slow movers to draw level.

Indeed, researches suggest that home schooled students are better prepared for colleges and work than public school students due to their exposure to different grade level challenges (Christensen & Levinson, 2003; Young, 2006). What the research suggests is that the student in home school can face challenges better than the student in a public school.

Religious inclination is also a strong difference that evidence supports between public schools and home schools. Unlike home schools, public schools do not permit religion. The conviction is that religion is as important as socialization or academic performance.

When public schools disallow religion in their system, many people feel that the students are short-charged in this part. Moral positivity that is paramount to the development of a child relates to religion, and it is an obligation to all stakeholders to ensure that the innocent child receives it. How can that be achieved if public schools disallow religion?

The answer is home schools. The parent can offer whichever satisfaction he or she feels best for the child. Indeed, parents with deep religious beliefs are very passionate persons if only given the chance through homeschooling. Through this passion, the child is entirely fed with his or her educational needs.

Since the parent is the final decision maker, home schools can be based entirely on religious circumstances if the father or mother so chooses. At the same time, it is this passion that will permit the guardian to teach their child to be the best. Therefore, home schooling allows the parent who understands the child better to be in charge.

Conclusion

Homeschooling is the best approach to prepare a child for future challenges. The approach offers the best environment to develop the child socially. It also enables the parent to act as the role model for the child, providing the basis for positive behavior.

A system that allows the parent to design the curriculum enables the child to integrate grade levels and learn more in a shorter period as compared to classroom environments.

Being in the stage of rapid development, the young student requires social, moral, behavioral, and academic support especially from the person who has the best capacity and knowledge to nurture that development. That means the parent understands the child better and is the best avenue for success.

References

Christensen, K. & Levinson, D. (2003). Encyclopedia of community: From the village to the virtual world. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Olsen, N. (2008). Understanding parental motivation to home school: a qualitative case study. New York, NY: ProQuest.

Wagner, T. (2008). Parental perspectives of homeschooling: a qualitative analysis of parenting attitudes regarding homeschooling as opposed to public schooling. New York, NY: ProQuest.

Young, T. L. (2006). Prioritized qualities, attributes, and skills of successful home educators: A Delphi study. New York, NY: ProQuest.

Home is where one always wants to return; there, I can feel calm and confident. I can invite my friends there and have a pleasant time with them. During the classroom discussions, there was a lot of disagreement among students about the term home because it was impossible to find a universal explanation for the concept. However, for me, home is a place of relaxation and comfort, a space filled with harmony. I cannot imagine that quarrels or conflicts occur in such a place because then the essence of the concept of home is lost. Indeed, especially when people live with families in the same space in real life, such situations cannot be avoided, but then it can be judged that such a place will no longer be considered a home in its true sense. A famous phrase, my home is my fortress, conveys how I define the term home. This saying means that, first of all, a home is a safe space where people feel free and secure.

When it is mentioned about a house, what is meant is its dimensions, location. Its former tenants are remembered, and its cost is discussed. There is no soulfulness in this concept; instead, this term describes objective reality, physical properties, and practical necessity. A house can become a home for a person, but this is not always the case. The lack of comfort inside the place or a hostile atmosphere makes it uncomfortable for people to be in such a place (Ortiz et al., 2017). Residence refers to traveling or short stops on the way somewhere. People do not associate this word with comfort or the feeling of being close to their loved ones. Therefore, according to their meaning, home and residence concepts are not synonymic.

The first houses were not built for centuries, but it is not easy to consider such structures as houses since they were logs or large bones of relic animals covered with skins. Temporary homes served people only as long as they did not move in search of food to another area. The Stone Age was marked by the construction of stone and wooden buildings, which sometimes could accommodate a whole family. The desire of people to live in large communities led to the appearance of the first multi-story buildings, but their disadvantage was that they did not protect people from the cold and wind.

The dwelling became permanent as the tribes moved from hunting to agriculture and cattle breeding. This process means that people no longer roamed after the herds of animals but began to tame them and graze them near the house. In ancient times, buildings were mobile and did not fully correspond to the modern understanding of a house. However, the development of agriculture made it necessary to change peoples way of life to a more static one. Since the Stone Age, people begin to care more about how their home is arranged, since now they were forced to stay within a specific area for years.

The need to streamline the planning and improvement of the growing areas of cities required centralized regulation of housing construction. Based on the norms and rules of urban planning of the previous time, a strict system of residential development requirements was developed. The houses were grouped by zones, by the number of stories and materials. Such differentiation was connected with the strengthening of class stratification. Accordingly, starting from the 18-19th century, the house for people became an indicator of status and wealth. The phenomenon when there is a significant differentiation of housing among the townspeople, depending on their belonging to a particular social group, also occurs in the modern world, in particular in China (Wang & Zhang, 2020). The aggravation of differences between the level of income of different groups of people influenced the difference in housing structures.

For modern people, such aspects of a house as its location, its history, and to what extent it is made with care for the ecological component become extremely important. Many are ditching huge and chic homes in favor of cozy but cleverly organized spaces. Houses are a manifestation of culture, and the latter differs from state to state (Koertch, 2018). Indeed, people with different cultural backgrounds have different perceptions of what a house is and what it should be. Such differences are explained by peoples values from other countries, their attitude to coziness and comfort. The recent coronavirus pandemic has also impacted the way people choose their homes (Tinson & Clair, 2020). In particular, for many, it became apparent the need to pay attention to how the place of their future or current residence affects their health and well-being.

The priority direction in implementing the housing policy is to form appropriate conditions that make it possible to increase housing affordability for citizens. Such a process directly affects the countrys demographic indicators and the growth of its population. Housing affordability is a complex, multifaceted indicator that reflects the progress of market reforms in the housing sector and their social orientation. Still, it is also associated with the general course of socio-economic processes in society. Speaking about housing affordability, it is necessary to consider the possibility of its purchase for subsequent residence. Simultaneously with the acquisition, it becomes necessary to maintain this housing, bearing the related costs, including tax deductions, various types of insurance, utility bills, and some others.

In international practice, housing affordability means the possibility of purchasing housing for low-income citizens. The main influence on housing affordability is exerted by the ratio of the cost of housing, the cost of the loan, and the households total income. In the modern world, particular importance is attached to the personal area. That is why every other family would prefer to own their private home without sharing the space with their neighbors. The increase in consumer demand due to the development of bank lending will create an affordable housing market, which became vital in recent years, given the population growth rate (Galster & Lee, 2020). The importance of providing everyone with decent living conditions is evident. A private house allows one to embody all ideas and create internal content of the house.

In the design of my home, the key aspects would be spaciousness, harmony, and safety. I am convinced that the interior of a house should meet the lifestyle of its owner as much as possible. In my opinion, my home must reflect my values, interests, and lifestyle. Therefore, firstly, I will pick a security system or install an alarm in advance. Secondly, it will be essential for me to make sure that the houses interior is made in the same style and there are no flashy details. There will not be a lot of furniture in my place to not occupy a lot of space.

References

Galster, G., & Lee, K. (2020). Housing affordability: A framing, synthesis of research and policy, and future directions. International Journal of Urban Sciences, 25(2), 1-52.

Koertch, M. (2018). Who built the first house? And what even is a house?FiveThirtyEight.

Ortiz, M., Kurvers, S., & Bluyssen, P. (2017). A review of comfort, health, and energy use: Understanding daily energy use and wellbeing for the development of a new approach to study comfort.Energy and Buildings, 152, 323-335.

Tinson, A., & Clair, A. (2020). Better housing is crucial for our health and the COVID-19 recovery. The Health Foundation.

Wang, F., & Zhang, C. (2020). Housing differentiation and subjective social status of Chinese urban homeowners: Evidence from CLDS.Housing Studies, 36(4), 1-25.

Introduction

The banking industry is one that has over time stigmatized as being boring and old. However, recent globalization deregulation trends have opened new business channels for industry players. Technological advancements have for instance spurred banking to newer levels with internet banking and ATM services topping the list. Product diversification remains a top priority for every bank as the scramble for clients takes place. Unlike the days when bank clients were a reserved few and competition was minimal, modern-day banking is faced with stiff competition. This calls for a wide range of products to satisfy the ever-changing client needs within the baking industry. Bank of America offers a diverse range of products. A home loan is one such product.

Product Profile

Home loan is a product developed in response to the emerging need for homeownership by the American population. This is a secured form of loan offered on basis of a house/property security whose funding is drawn from a bank loan. This loan is issued by the bank to the borrower in order to purchase a property/house with the bank retaining conditional ownership of the property until such time that the whole amount borrowed has been retrieved. In case of a default by the borrower, the money is retrieved by the bank through the sale of the property. The Bank of America offers a number of home loan options including purchase loans, refinancing, and home equities (Bank of America Corporation, 2011). The product is available both in regular bank purchases and on its online resource facility. The bank prides itself on a team of professionals who assist clients in choosing in making decisions with regard to home loans.

Current Stock Price and P/E

The price to earnings ratio (PE Ratio) is a measure commonly used to gauge the price of shares relative to the net annual income earned by the entity for every share. It reflects the prevailing investor demand for the companys shares. High PE ratios symbolize rising demand at the prospect of increased earnings in future dates. The Bank of America remains one of the outstanding marketing participants at the New York Stock Exchange with a share price of $14.18 with a 52 week low of $10.91 and a 52 week high of $19.86 (Bank of America Corporation, 2011). The current price earning ratio of the company is 12.3. A ten-year review of the same indicates a gradual decline in P/E ratio over the period (see figure below)

Company Profile

BAC is one of the largest financial institutions in the world. It serves a range of customers including individuals, small and middle-sized business entities, and large companies across the globe. It offers a whole range of banking services, investments options, asset financing, and management, as well as other products for the management of finance and risks. Its unmatched position in the US is evidenced by the large pool of over 59 consumers and small business entities it serves (Bank of America Corporation, 2011). The bank operates over 6100 retail banking offices and approximately 18700 ATM points (Bank of America Corporation, 2011). It also prides itself in whooping 29 million users of its online banking facilities. Its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in 2009 has seen emerge as one of the leading wealth management institutions globally in addition to being a global leader in corporate and investment banking. Its acquisition of The Bull further strengthened its retail brokerage network within its market niche. It trades across a wide asset ranging serving large corporations, government institutes, and individuals across the globe (Bank of America Corporation, 2011). It serves customers from across 40 countries and in addition to listing at the New York Stock Exchange; it is also a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Bank of America Corporation, 2011).

Industry Profile

It remains no secret that the banking industry is one of the most challenging across the globe. Many banks operate billions of dollars and run a number of subsidiaries across the globe. In America, there are two predominant types of banks. These include regional banks and mega banks. Regional banks are smaller and predominantly focus on specific geographical areas within the country. They mainly provide lending and depository services. Megabanks on the other hand maintain both local branches and international banking. They primarily focus on financial centers e.g. New York. Both categories of banks provide stiff competition for the industry players. The changing market conditions have no doubt affected the banking industry. The recent economic recession affecting American institutions did not spare the banking industry. The cash crunch left most clients short of cash. Homeownership was not either spared with fewer people seeking loans to secure own places.

Full flow of the product:

Home products offered by the bank f America undergo a chain of processes before finally reaching their end-user. The process starts with the sales agents who make first contact with the clients either faced to face or via online facilities and ends with the borrower obtaining the property targeted. The process can be best summarized by the diagram below:

Banks often invest plenty of resources in identify loopholes that could dent its products image or its operations and hence affect its net income. To evaluate the flow, a fishbone diagram and a cause and effect diagram are used. The cause and effect diagram assists the management identify any loopholes which may result from specific processes associated with home loan issuance.

Evaluation using Pareto Charts

Pareto charts are useful in analysis f the possible sources of errors within a process flow. It is based on the principle that a large percentage of problems are often caused by few problems. It helps in identification of the few problems which the organization should put much focus on. It does this through categorization and stratification of errors, delays and customer dissatisfaction among others.

The Pareto diagram attached below shows the effect of some problems which interfere with the sale of home loans.

Pareto Data

As visible from the chart, 80% of the problem results from the first four issues.

An improved flow process

To improve the process flow to the benefit of the bank, the errors considered to cause most problems within the flow processes are modified. Based on the analysis, the following process is developed

Recommendations

The changing technological landscape calls for the need to limit client and sales agent contact for purposes of gathering information. Availing such information on the website would limit the need by clients to talk directly to the sales agent over a loan. Additionally, it would guarantees that accurate information is availed to the clients for review and application. The bank should adopt increased use of technology in its sales and further avail qualified chat representative to answer further questions which may be raised by clients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it must be acknowledged that the Bank of America has put much effort in ensuring that it reaches out to its clients. It should additionally liaise with other international banks to ensure it serves its global clients regardless of race and place of residence. A good example to follow is perhaps Moneybookers Ltd which has been able to avail withdrawal services to clients from across the globe. This would ensure that as the American housing loan market gradually diminishes, it explores newer markets across the globe. Like any other organization, the need to take advantage of the online resources to exploit the global market is inevitable to its success.

Reference

Bank of America Corporation. (2011). BAC Information. Web.

Introduction

Inasmuch as the question of owning or renting home is concerned, many people are unable to decide whether to own a home or rent one. This is an important decision putting in mind that either of the options has its own advantages and disadvantages in relation to todays economy. Therefore, none of the options needs to be taken lightly. It is important for a person to evaluate keenly the benefits and the disadvantages for each and to make a decision, which best suit or rather accommodates his/her needs. In making the decision, one needs to consider various variables that exist at hand. Some of these factors, worth considering include the cost, the long-term implications and more so the economic position of the person and not sparing the general economic environment at that particular moment (Streitfeild 45). The decision of whether to rent a house or to own one is solely dependent on the individual. It is a decision that should be reached after carefully analyzing and evaluating oneself in terms of financial stability and the ability to meet the requirements needed for the option selected. Some of the factors worth considering before making a choice include the level of disposable income at hand, the living standards of an individual, and the amount of income one earns, the spending rate of a person. In addition, one should also consider other environmental factors like, &availability of loans, investment in housing opportunities, the rate of inflation, security of job, the rate of economic growth and the political stability of a country (Smith 34). All these factors call for thorough checking prior to making a concrete decision. However, considering these factors, renting passes for the best option in relation to owning a house. One can ask, Why is this so? The reasons behind the claims stand out well in the succeeding expositions.

Renting vs. Ownership

Without a keen research on which is better, between the two, people have rushed into owning rather than renting houses. As a fact, they are the very people who file cases in court claiming regarding their houses: reason being that they have failed to adhere to the laid down requirements. Renting a home is more preferable as compared to homeownership to many people. There are various reasons why many people would prefer to rent a house rather than owning their own home. Nevertheless, it is worth clarifying that the stated preference does not declare renting entirely safe. The bottom line is that all have their flaws and strengths, with renting stronger compared to owning a house and the claim. One of the advantages of renting a home is that, it is the only vital and viable way to those people, who earn low amount of income. Renting a house therefore will enable someone who earns low or average salary to have a shelter to go for after his daily activity. Therefore, when it comes to minimizing costs, renting is much more advantageous compared to owning a home, as the cost of owning ones own home is much higher and maybe beyond the reach of the majority. There is low move in costs when it comes to renting a house as opposed to owning a home. For instance, upon payment of rent and security costs alone is able to get access to a house immediately without having to undergo many logistics and procedures, which at many times may be discouraging and tedious, as evident in those who attempt to come up with their own homes. In addition, the fact that renting bears a fixed monthly payments expense, it allows the renter or of a house to prepare well by preparing and planning the amount due and therefore able to carry on with other activities without feeling the burden in terms of his/her expenditures. Renting also allows the renter to budget for his needs well and make better use of his resources within his scope and his available finances. In renting, it is more convenient in that one is able to select a location which he or she can easily access for instance one is able to make a decision of staying close to his place of work hence cutting some overhead costs he would have spent for example transportation expenses/commuting expenses. In addition, there is less cost when it comes to repairing and maintenance costs to the renters. This is because the house rented is under the management of the owners who is responsible for the costs of repairs and maintenance. This saves the costs of doing such work hence is accommodative and is economically viable or sustainable.

Renting also comes with other benefits like playing grounds, playing amenities like tennis court and pool which otherwise are not easily accessible when one owns a home or otherwise may have increased the cost of seeking for them at other places (Morrissey Para.3). Therefore, people would prefer renting to cut costs of such facilities, which they can easily cater for. Renting generally is less expensive than home ownership. The cost of owning a home is very high, as one need to spend at once. Such an amount may not be available to a person leaving home with the option of renting a house, which he is able to afford. Renting may also provide someone with some surplus amount to acquire some other wants and needs especially is the cost of renting is relatively low. Furthermore, in renting, other expenses related to renting like electricity bills, water bills sewer bills, and garbage collection bills may be included in the rent fee hence minimizing the costs. The renter is therefore relieved of such like payments. It is more convenient for renting a house since it is easier for one to move in another house when one hits a financial hardship. One is able to shift to more cheaper house when there is a financial crises for example financial crisis, increase in inflation rates and in case of bankruptcy of a person as much as other option of renting a house is more preferred in the times of economic upheavals. However, one cannot neglect the other side of renting in his/her pursuit for a choice to make between it and owning a house. Some disadvantages come with renting as opposed to home ownership. These includes there may be a tendency to face uncertain increases in rents which money may not have planned for. This may result in increased cost of living and increased rate of inflation. Therefore this unplanned changed may distort the budget hence leading to financial crisis. In addition, a person who opts to rent a house has a limited space for his /her money in the sense that you are required to pay the required rent due regardless of having other plans which you could spend your money in like investments and savings (Braxton Para. 6). Furthermore, there is a risk of eviction any time by the owner. This risk comes with many costs, which involves cost of transportation, looking for another house and many other costs, which may not be friendly to ones spending. Another disadvantage is that one may be restricted to engage in certain activities. More so, the rent that one pays is not going into productive investments for you and therefore is not the cutting cost per se as it seems to look. In addition, disadvantage of renting a house there is no tax benefits or any other financial returns on the rental payments. Home ownership on the other hand has its own strengths and weaknesses. However, as the paper unfolds, the weaknesses are too expensive to manage, paving way for renting as the only option as afore-suggested.

In home ownership, a person erects his/her own house or opts to purchase the housing unit as his or her own property. However, this take is only limited to people who have a large financial reserve. Highlighting its strengths, home ownership is an investment especially when the owner sells it at a slightly higher price compared to the cost, which it incurred, an increment otherwise called equity. In addition, home ownership also is a good avenue of financial planning and savings as it can assist an individual in planning for the benefits of owning a home later in life. However, could this be the case, then very few would manage to possess one considering the income of the majority and hence not a good option. Owning a home too has benefits in that it improves buyers credit rating and therefore acts as an alternative form of accessing credit in times of bankruptcy. In addition, there is benefits of income tax deduction for the mortgage interest and property taxes, potential of increase in value. The bottom line however is that the common person cannot afford his/hers and if he/she does, then durability will be short based on the affordable materials. Investing in home ownership is not easy for those people who have fewer funds in their reserves. Therefore someone with less or inadequate amount is not able to acquire or rather afford the cost of owning a home. The cost of maintain the home too is relatively high. As Presser Points out, the cost of owning a home is not easy to meet owing to the huge amount of money required to carry out the maintenance initiative (47). Money invested in the homes may not be readily available if the need arises since the asset is no liquid. It may therefore take some time before one realizes the money from the sale of the asset due to involvement of huge sums.

Conclusion

As discussed above, it is evident that renting a house is much preferred as opposed to owning a house especially when it comes to dealing with the economic struggles. The advantages, which accrue from renting a house, are more compared that of owning a house. In addition, renting a house has fewer disadvantages as compared to owning ones own home. As the advantages reveal, renting a house is much easier as the amount involved is not much compared to the money involved in owning a house. Factors associated with economic struggles like lack of employment opportunities and increase in the cost of living standards, because of inflation whereby more money chases few commodities, affect mostly house owners. For instance, in the case of lack of employment, people will have to opt to rent houses that are less expensive and therefore affordable. Although many wish to purchase or erect their own homes, it sounds rather pathetic since the state of economy does not at all allow them to meet the requirements. This therefore, is not the option for many people, who have small financial bases. Irrespective of some of the advantages which results from the ownership of a home like equity and income tax reduction of property, it may not be a viable option for many people especially during economic lapse since it could take time for the conversion of the assets into liquid form. Therefore, it is advisable for a person to choose an option that he/she will be able to meet well. However, it is important for someone to ensure that the option he/she decides on is manageable in relation to the current economic situation to avoid situations whereby a person is not able to meet the requirements like paying rent due and mortgagees in case owning a house. In summary, the decision to rent or own a house should be a personal decision, but as the paper reveals, renting passes for the best alternative compared to owning a house in the current economic state.

Works Cited

Braxton, Geoffrey. Economic Influence on Home Ownership. New York: Word Press, 2010.

Morrissey, Janet. Price-to-Rent Ratio: Where Houses Are the Best Buy. Time 2010. Web.

Presser, Caxton. The Cost of Owning a House in todays World. Britain: Longmans Publishing, 2010.

Smith, Michael. Homeownership. Issues & Controversies. Facts on File News Services 2011. Web.

Streitfeild, David. Housing Woes Bring a New Cry: Let the Market Fall. New York Times 2010. Web.

Introduction

Most people tend to finance their property ownership by securing credit from mortgage banks which are payable with interest. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) convened an emergency session in March 2020 to discuss the economic effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. It reduced the FED funds rate to its new target level of between 0 percent and 0.25 percent (Akram et al. 7). The rate of the FED funds is the metric measure for adjustable-rate and short-term lending. It is even smaller than the target level of between 1.5 and 2%.

Consequently, the value of loans has soared, with mortgages dropping to historic low levels (Akram et al. 9). It also means that inflation is lower than the FEDs 2% mark. It means that investors are gaining so little on their savings than they did before the downturn; hence, interest rates are still dropping (Agarwal et al. 5). As far as best interest loans are concerned, personal loans and credit cards offer high-interest rates yet do not need security. Home equity loans have low-interest rates; however, the debtors property acts as an advantage, whereas cash advances usually have excessively high-interest rates and service charges.

History of Home Loan Rates

Since the year 1971, mortgage interest for thirty-year-fixed-loans has reached record highs and lows owing to several influences. In that particular period when Freddie Mac began assessing creditors, interest rates ranged from 7.29 percent to 7.73 percent. The yearly average inflation rate started to increase in 1974 and proceeded to rise to a peak of 9.5% in 1981 (Akram et al. 14). Consequently, creditors raised rates to maintain pace with uncontrolled inflation, contributing to instability for borrowers. The trend continued to fall till the rate decreased to 3.31% in November 2012  the weakest in the context of borrowing costs (Akram et al. 15). Therefore, the cost of buying a home will depend on the interest rates at that particular period

Is Buying a Home a Good Investment?

In reality, owning a home is among the best long-term acquisitions that one can achieve. Despite significant declines such as the 2008 Housing Crisis, the value of residential property continues to increase. Real estate is mainly priced because of the land upon which the property is situated, while the physical building depreciates as time passes (Anastasia and Narsa 272). The area with the facilities around it  such as schools, amenities, roads, and the town in which the home is located  all contribute to the valuation of the house (Hei and Dastane 25). Consider a residence that is run-down and poorly maintained to the extent that it is unusable. The land beneath the home could still be worth a substantial sum of money more than the residence itself. A seller can choose to sell it as-is (with both the building intact) or use a little more money to demolish the house and sell the property separately for a higher price.

Concept of Principal Mortgage Interest and Other Home-Buying Related Issues

The monthly mortgage repayment is split into two parts: principal and interest. The sum borrowed from a creditor is referred to as the principal. The interest is money being paid by the borrower to the lender in exchange for a mortgage. The majority of creditors measure interest as an annual percentage rate (APR) that is paid annually. Though unusual, some mortgages accumulate interest by dividing the mortgage interest rate by 365 (Agarwal et al. 6). Thus, the common interest will be the same sum each day of the same month, and the deductible would be added to the overall interest for that month at the end of the following month. Therefore, before considering purchasing a home, one should first prepare their finances, including arranging savings and credit to obtain a suitable mortgage promptly. Finding the right house, securing funding, making a bid, having a background check, and closing the deal are all part of the process. If a landlord has moved in, they must preserve the property while continuing to save.

Works Cited

Agarwal, Sumit, et al. How does Working in a Finance Profession Affect Mortgage Delinquency? Journal of Banking & Finance, vol. 78, 2017, pp. 1-13.

Akram, Qaisar Farooq, et al. Identification of Interbank Loans and Interest Rates from Interbank Payments  A Reliability Assessment. Norges Bank, 2018, pp. 1-21.

Anastasia, Njo, and Made Narsa. Dual Process Difference in Families Regarding Home Buying Decision. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, vol. 10, no. 6, 2018, p. 272. AMH International Conferences and Seminars Organizing LLC.

Hei, Chong Pei, and Omkar Dastane. Buying a Dream Home  Considerations of Residential Property Consumers in Malaysia. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics and Management Studies, vol. 5, no. 9, 2017, pp. 19-35. Al Manhal FZ, LLC.

Introduction

Labor mobility refers to a situation where those who provide labor move from one place to another (Stephen 66). It may be inter-city or intra-city. Intra-city labor mobility refers to a situation where an employee moves from one job to another within the same city. Both employment opportunities are found within the same city. On the other hand, inter-city labor mobility refers to a situation where the employees move from one job to another but in a different city. The two job opportunities are located in different cities (Gerald and Joseph 210). Mobility is determined by various factors which may affect it directly or indirectly. The workers always move to a place where the working conditions will be favorable for them. They also have a tendency to move to a place where their needs are well taken care of by the employer. The movement may also be necessitated by other factors such as employment promotions which may prompt the need to move to new locations.

Factors affecting labor mobility

Home ownership also plays an important role in determination of labor mobility. The labor mobility of the people owning homes differs from that of people who rent houses. The home owners are perceived to be more settled and of age as opposed to those who rent houses. However, research has shown that as much as home ownership has an effect on labor mobility, this effect is not that enormous. There are other factors that play a major role in the determination of labor mobility. These factors surpass the effect of home ownership. The paradigm shift is as a result of the increase in the liquidity of the homes (Lynda 156). Although the homes are perceived as valuable assets, their liquidity means that they can be sold easily and therefore someone is able to sell his/her house, move to a new location and get another house easily.

Home ownership and labor mobility

The liquidity of the houses is important as it ensures that the ownership of a house does not act as a hindrance to the mobility of labor. Initially, it was perceived that the only people who enjoyed labor mobility were those who rented houses as opposed to those who owned them. This has changed over the years as measures have been put in place to ensure that the liquidation of the assets owned by an individual is made possible. The disposal of these assets is also hastened. This liquidity has enabled home owners to even accept to move to new working environments even if the wages are lower something that those who rent houses are seen to avoid. The home owners are seen to care more about their working conditions and under most circumstances the wages they are paid are secondary to these.

Other factors affecting labor mobility

The key factors that affect the mobility of labor are discussed below. The employment state of the person being offered the job plays an important role in determining his/her mobility. If the person is unemployed and is offered a new job opportunity, the chances are high that he/she will opt to move to the new place. If the person is employed, he/she may have to look at other factors before deciding if he will move to the new place. The price of the houses in the new area where the new opportunity is available also plays an important role in determining the mobility of labor. Before a person chooses to relocate, he/she will consider the cost of selling his/her house and that of buying a new one in the new area (Craig 250). The cost of selling should be higher than that of purchase to make the relocation viable. The wages being offered at the new place of work may also play an important role in the determination of labor mobility. This however is sometimes not a major factor to consider since sometimes one may also need to consider the working conditions in the new job place. The tendency will be to move to a place that offers more wages than your current employer (Jeff 516).

Intra-city and inter-city mobility

Intra-city labor mobility is a type of mobility that is less affected by home ownership. This is because movement is within the same city and therefore the prospect of selling the house may not be a problem in this case. The houses in the same city are also almost identical and the need to relocate may not be necessary. On the other hand, inter-city mobility is mostly affected by home ownership since one has to make a decision on whether to move to the new city and sell his current house or to stay in his/her current employment.

Conclusion

From the explanations and research, it is evident that home ownership plays a role in determining labor mobility. However, the impact it has on the mobility is minimal. Other factors have to be considered before a decision is made on whether to move or not to move and though house ownership is one of them, it is not dominant. The impact which home ownership had on labor mobility has been greatly reduced by the increase in the liquidity of the houses making them easy to dispose and acquire.

Works Cited

Venezia, Craig. Buying a Second Home. New York: Atlantic publishers, 2009. Print.

Meier, M Gerald and Joseph Stiglitz. Frontiers of Development Economics. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. Print.

Berner, Jeff. The Joy of Working from Home. California: Berrett-Koehler, 1994. Print.

Michaels, Lynda. The Official Guide to New Home Buying. Bloomington: Writers Club Press, 2001. Print.

Morgan, L Stephen. Mobility and Inequality. California: Stanford University Press, 2011. Print.