The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association, or CT REIA, in association with Liping Wang, is announcing a real estate rehab meeting on Saturday, January 30th, 2010. This meeting will take place at 639 Third Ave in West Haven, CT, from 10:00am to 11:30am. This event is $10 for CT REIA Members, and $20 for non-members.

At this meeting, attendees will walk through a fully rehabbed property in West Haven, Connecticut. This project will show how you can make money in real estate on a part-time basis. CTREIA Member Liping Wang works full-time, manages rental properties, is a top-performing Realtor, and yet still had time to renovate this West Haven townhouse. She will share her tips on flipping houses, and answer any questions attendees may have.

A few topics Liping will discuss include: how she found the property, the costs involved with the renovation, before and after pictures of the property, what worked and what did not work, and how she is marketing the property. She will also be sharing her time-management skills that allows her to perform a real estate investing career on a part-time basis.

CT REIA is an organization that provides motivation, networking opportunities, and up-to-date education for people that want to buy their own home or investment property in today’s real estate economy. Each month, a nationally known real estate investment speaker is featured. Real estate professionals, investors, landlords, realtors, contractors, wholesalers, rehabbers, and the general public are invited to attend our monthly meetings for educational and networking opportunities. For more information, please call (860) 265-4414 or visit http://www.ctreia.com/events.php.

The Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association is announcing its 6th Annual New England Real Estate Investors Conference and Trade Show. This event will take place on November 21-22, from 9am-5pm on each day, at the Marriott Hotel in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.  This conference is the largest of its kind in the Northeast.  The two-day business education conference will help investors with their financial future, and will provide a chance to learn from dynamic speakers who are experienced in the real estate investing field.

The New England Real Estate Investors Conference and Tradeshow will provide real estate investing advice and networking opportunities to current and prospective investors. This event is designed to aid in the development of real estate investors, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, title Insurance agents, financial planners, frustrated stock market investors, attorney and CPA’s, landlords, property managers, contractors, lenders, or anyone else interested in buying a home and getting involved in real estate investing.

Topics which will we covered during this two day conference include: how to evaluate real estate deals, how to create passive income streams, how to buy apartments and multi-family houses, how to buy residential and commercial properties, how to sell your properties quickly with correct exposure, probate investing techniques, and much more. Although this conference is focused on real estate, skills useful to any business in today’s market will be taught: branding and funding your business, using Web 2.0 to build a client list, and marketing your business.

In addition to other conference events, there will be a roundtable session and expert panel discussion on Saturday evening. For full details about the event and our guest speakers, please visit www.ctreia.com.

Wedding insurance becoming more popular to ensure worry-free walk down the aisle

Wallingford, CT – April 21, 2009 – With the number of commercial bankruptcies on the rise, some brides and grooms are being burned by bankrupt vendors. Connecticut Better Business Bureau says wedding insurance is becoming a popular hedge against vendors who may close-up shop and leave couples in the lurch on their wedding day.

According to Travelers Insurance, more than 40 percent of all wedding insurance claims filed during the past two years involve unforeseen problems with vendors and venues, some of which went bankrupt.

The cost of a wedding is considerable, averaging $28,000.

Connecticut Better Business Bureau President, Paulette Scarpetti, says wedding insurance can help soon-to-be newlyweds from taking a major financial hit before they reach the altar.

“There are many product and service vendors involved in wedding planning, including venues, catering, bridal shops, and photographers, any one of which can suddenly close their doors before the exchange of vows.”

Aside from vendor no-shows, comprehensive wedding insurance can also cover a wide variety of other mishaps, including cancellation due to bad weather, health issues involving key participants, military deployment and non-delivery of goods, such as bridal gowns or a wedding cake, photographers and others under contract who do not deliver as promised.

To illustrate the potential for losses, BBB serving Charlotte, South Carolina received a flood of complaints from desperate brides about a bridal shop which had recently closed its doors after deceiving its customers. According to customer complaints, the shop continued to take money from customers but never paid its designers so the dresses never arrived. One jilted bride paid $10,000 for a gown and 13 bridesmaid dresses, but the shop closed-down and kept her money only two weeks before her wedding. The store continued to take orders for new dresses and passed-off floor samples as originals.

Connecticut BBB offers the following advice for those contemplating the purchase of wedding protection insurance:

Shop for the insurance before paying deposits on any wedding-related services.

Comparison shop for insurance policies and pay close attention to the fine print for any limits on claims, as well as the amount of the deductibles. According to the Insurance Information Institute, wedding coverage will typically cost between $125 and $400, depending on the amount of coverage.

Ask vendors if they have their own insurance coverage to protect you if there’s a problem. Payments made by credit card also offer couples the opportunity to contest charges by vendors who do not follow through on their commitments, or if there related problems.

Keep good records and all receipts in the event you have to file a claim with the insurance company.

Always research insurance companies, wedding goods and event service providers by checking Reliability Reports free of charge online at www.bbb.org.