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Banks in general do not like to lend to gas stations and convenience stores. I will repeat. Banks in general do not like to lend to gas stations and convenience stores.You could go into great detail as to the reasons for this, but suffice it to say, ANY bank would rather lend money for an apartment building, office building, self storage facility and a host of other types of commercial asset classes. The chances of default are less and it is much easier to sell off some of these properties in case of foreclosure. Gas stations and convenience stores with fuel depreciate much faster than other types of properties.So how do you find out WHO is lending? You could go from bank to bank to bank until you might find one or you could go through a mortgage broker that hopefully knows who has an appetite for lending to gas stations.There are a couple of things you can do if you’re searching for a bank. If you are considering SBA financing, you can call the district SBA office for your State and make a Freedom Of Information Act Request (FOIA) and simply ask any parameter you like. You can ask which lenders have done SBA loans for gas stations and convenience stores in the past week, the past month, the past year, whatever your time frame is. You can ask the loan parameters also, meaning, you can find out which loans were done for 7 years, 10 years or 20-25 years. The reason for this is so you can ascertain which ones were real estate loans, which ones were business only loans or which ones were either working capital or inventory loans. If a loan is for 20-25 years, it WILL be real estate backed. If you find that a loan is for 10 years, that is most likely a business only loan where the loan and amortization is ten years maximum. If you see a loan that is for seven years, the borrower probably borrowed money for working capital or inventory.You can also find out if it is a 7(a) loan (most common) or a 504 (normally larger loans). You can find out the loan amount which might indicate to you which banks do larger real estate backed loans. Some banks lend to gas stations a LOT, but they are small loans, less than $150,000, which are frequently to do a small construction build-out, add equipment (like an ATM machine, walk in cooler, POS system, etc) but they frequently are not interested at all in doing larger loans. Some banks specialize in doing these “Express” loans for smaller amounts.If you do make a FOIA request, (visit http://www.sba.gov and find your State’s district office) you would want to request the bank name, the bank address, when they made the loan, what type of loan (7a or 504), loan term, loan amount, and the name of the business also, the city, State and address. If you live in a larger State, someone that did a loan three hundred miles away might not lend where you are. This is very true with smaller local banks. Sometimes you might find that a station is unbranded or independent and a bank has made a loan on that. That could be a clue that they are more aggressive than others. They will normally make this available to you after paying anywhere from $25 – $50 for the search and will normally email or mail the results to you in an ascii format that you can export into Excel or other database formats.Your other option is to find other stations that have sold recently and approach a title company to do a title/lien search. This way you can find out who has a mortgage or note on the property and any UCC liens that might have been filed and when it was done. If a bank or a different investor put a mortgage on a property a month ago in that area, it is possible they would do another one.Another obvious option is simply to walk in a gas station or convenience store and ask them who lent them money because you are buying a station (obviously don’t ask someone that would be a competitor).Your options of banks increase as you try SBA financing, as the US Government backs approximately 75% of the loan that the bank makes AND frequently the bank sells the note on the market for a premium AND makes money servicing the loan. It’s a win win for the bank and they minimize their risk.In general, a local bank will be your best deal in a loan, IF they will do the loan, but unfortunately, most do not. It is probably wise to find out what your local banker even knows about the petroleum business.

The importance of living a healthy lifestyle for maintaining general good health and preventing chronic diseases has been well established. A healthy lifestyle is quite simple to achieve – one does not need to do anything “crazy” to adopt a healthy lifestyle. I will say that a certain amount of independent thinking is required to separate truth from fiction in most modern health advice currently being delivered.The most important thing you can do is eat well. Avoid toxins in your food as much as possible and consume plenty of fresh fruit, veggies and whole grains; exercise moderately a few times per week; avoid smoking, including secondhand smoke; and avoid gaining too much weight (which should come naturally if you eat right and exercise). While it is not always possible to eat all Organic food – the EWG recommends 12 fruits and vegetables that should be organic because of their higher levels of pesticide residue. Avoiding environmental toxins as much as you can is an important part of achieving a healthy lifestyle.Our modern lifestyle is very convenient – but it can also be extremely unhealthy. Most of us eat too many processed foods and too few fruit and veggies; we rarely exercise; and when we develop chronic conditions such as diabetes, we rely on conventional medications to make us feel better – but these medications often have devastating side effects. Instead of accepting the importance of living a healthy lifestyle for us and for future generations, we continue with our bad habits – then take potent, toxic medication to treat our inevitable symptoms.Of course, not all aspects of living a healthy lifestyle are in our control. We are going to be exposed to certain environmental toxins whether we like it or not. But many of these factors are absolutely in our control. Whenever we can, we should be responsible and make the right choices.This is why it is so important to be sure you eat well as the key factor in achieving a healthy LIFESTYLE.I say “lifestyle” because what I know is that “eating well” can sometimes be something a person does with resentment because they feel “sacrifice” is required to adopt a healthy lifestyle.I remember when people who ate poor foods used to joke with me and say I was not really living because I chose not to eat pizza and drink beer – and I always replied “how much LIVING can you do when your body is recovering from what you put in it?Shifting from an Unhealthy to a Healthy LifestyleThe reason I discuss the healthy lifestyle tip of simply EATING WELL on my blog is because it has been so effective for my health.It was not always like this though. I remember when I was addicted to a chocolate bar each day and I always had headaches or an infection or illness of some kind.In addition to excessive sugar cravings (eating a chocolate bar each day) I also suffered from many unhealthy symptoms that were challenging to resolve through traditional medicine: Frequent headaches, Skin problems (ie. eczema, acne, hives, Bloating, Gas, Bad Breath, Weak or brittle hair and nails, Fatigue and lethargy, Excessive stress, Candida overgrowth, Yeast infections, Food or Environmental Allergies, Anxiety or depression, Diarrhea, Constipation, Memory loss, Mood swings, Frequent colds or infections, PMS or bad menstrual cramps, Bladder infection, Loss of sex drive…etcUghhh! No fun at all!Years later, I LOVE good food and I am rarely sick. Eating well is the perfect way to get in tune with your body and really get back to basics of what your body needs. It challenges you to give up the vices that you take for granted, break your addictive eating habits and start again from the beginning. Eating well is a healthy lifestyle choice that gives you clarity on what your body really needs, not craves and becomes the foundation for all other healthy lifestyle choices.An important thing to remember with eating well is to really examine your root philosophy for adapting more healthy foods into your lifestyle.This is SO IMPORTANT!If it’s simply to loose a few pounds – I personally feel that this is not enough of a motivator and you will set yourself up for “failure” however, if you choose to eat well to enjoy a better quality of life, to do things you have not done in years and to not get sick anymore, then this is a wonderful motivator that will likely last!So, getting really practical, eating well obviously involves making a few changes to the foods you prepare and enjoy.I always listen to my body when I eat. I do not calorie count, measure my fist, use ratio’s or anything that causes me to separate myself form the food I eat.The main reason I enjoy excellent health is because I am critical of what I eat – I choose to eat REAL food.Because of this, I do not need expensive supplements or challenging programs to maintain my weight.Delicious menus of real, whole foods allow me to enjoy the things so many diet plans warn against.This sounds simple enough, but what I have learned is that many people simply do not know what a healthy lifestyle consists of, especially when it comes to food!I try to keep things as simple as possible. I shop from the perimeter of the grocery store, eat mostly wild and free range chicken, very little meat and mostly raw organic fruits and vegetables, with beans and rice. It’s not practical to list everything I eat here, but feel free to visit my blog and download your FREE Healthy Grocery List while you are here!The Future Depends on our Health Living a healthy lifestyle, free as much as possible of toxins (in our environment and in our food) and of stress, is important to us – but it’s also important for future generations. Scientists are also now discovering the impact nutrition has on our DNA! Healthy trees bear healthy fruit. A continued lifestyle of sickness will have a lasting effect on future generations and on our planet.The results of years of living an unhealthy lifestyle are obvious. We are currently faced with a sharp increase in chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, with an obesity rate so high it’s considered an epidemic, and with growing rates of infertility. The number of children diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s syndrome or ADHD is alarmingly high.We should also remember that our children carefully watch us and emulate us. If they see us act responsibly now, they will likely adopt a similar approach of taking care of themselves and of the planet when they become adults.We must each ask ourselves if we are modeling the importance of a healthy lifestyle to our children. If we do not show them how to care for themselves, they will likely turn to the food corporations instead. How will they know the difference between real food, “food like” substances?I keep about 6 – 8 fantastic cookbooks on hand. From these books, I create simple meal plans that I rotate each month based on about 15 simple meal ideas.In addition to eating Delicious Food (that is real and healthy!) I suggest the following ways to help model a positive approach to food in our children:
Young children especially learn about the world through imitation. How do you feel each day as you prepare your family’s meals? Are you hurried, frustrated, and disconnected? We can show our children that eating healthy is important by the way we approach our meal times. If we are happy and engaged in making a meal, and then take pleasure in eating together we affirm that food is more than something to fill the hole but is a necessary part of a happy and healthy family life. In short, your children will imitate what they see so make sure you are placing a positive value around the activities involving healthy living.
Involve your children in meal preparation, even once or twice a week. By discussing how good certain foods taste and by letting them help you cook you will show that it’s important to take the time to prepare a healthy meal instead of throwing something in the microwave. You never know, you may inspire a future chef!
Make a plan to eat together as a family as often as possible. By each decision you make to eat together, you are casting a value judgment on the importance of healthy living and that it involves more than just eating a few more vegetables.We can and should make an effort to change our habits and accept the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. If society won’t make changes, then we as individuals need to make them. After all, if we leave our health to someone else guess what they have planned for you? Not much.I have absolute confidence that you can make the switch to living a healthy lifestyle and eliminating the nuisance symptoms that result from a body that is overloaded with toxins from our North American lifestyle. I was able to do this by following simple strategies, cooking from informative books that helped me switch my lifestyle over and enjoying life!In all this talk about living a healthy lifestyle – we cannot overlook simply choosing to ENJOY LIFE!Please visit my blog to view specific recommendations and download your FREE healthy grocery list!

Do not be frightened by home repairs. With a little investigation and confidence, most home repairs are less difficult than they seem.With all of the free information available on the Internet, in the library, local home improvement centers and friends even difficult home repairs can be accomplished without the need of hiring a professional.The problem is that many of these home repairs can seem unapproachable to an inexperienced homeowner.Most homeowners have no idea how the inside of a toilet tank works,how to shut the gas off to their water heater,how to relight a pilot light, how to install a thermostat for your heating & cooling system.But most people do have the ability to fix their toilet, change the thermocouple on their water heater, relight a pilot light, caulk around the tub, and replace a light switch.The first thing that is needed has to be the willingness to try. There is a great sense of accomplishment to be had when you take care of these things yourself without spending the money to call a service person.Here are few things that every homeowner needs know to help them do their own home repairs.
Where your Electrical Breaker (or Fuse) box is located.
Know which breaker (or fuse) turns off the power to which parts of your home.
Where the Main Gas Shut Off Valve is for the Natural Gas or Propane coming into your home.
Where the Gas Shut Off Valves are for all gas appliances.
Where the Main Water Shut Off Valve is for the home. (Most homes have a shut valve before and after the water meter.)
If you know how and where to turn the water, gas and power off do different areas of your home if something were to go wrong there should not be too much of a mess.If you take these basic precautions, you won’t have to feel bad about any attempt at maintaining or repairing anything in your home. After all, if you mess things up too much, you can still call a repair person to fix it for you.So, how do you go about learning how to do these things?Anymore my first stop is YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ for almost everything I want to know something about.If I do not find what I am looking for on YouTube or for a backup I usually ask a friend or neighbor.Your local hardware or home center usually has knowledgeable people who can direct you to the proper way to handle any task.Your local library and the internet have more information than you can process.In my experience sometimes the best thing to do is check a few reliable sources and then get started.For maintenance, look at your owner manuals. Almost everything in your home has a manual and if you do not have the manual, it usually can be found on the manufacturer web site.What you’ll find is that the more home maintenance and minor repairs that you do, the easier it will get. Things no longer seem threatening and you’re willing to try bigger and bigger things. Each thing you do on your own saves you the cost of hiring someone to do it and often the job will get done faster.I hope this helps.