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I Googled and searched forums for ages, and still didn’t have all the answers for completing the task that awaited me. I purchased a manufactured home recently, but almost didn’t, mainly because of those ugly seams they run up and down the walls of the home.

Still, I understood this to be part of the reason that manufactured homes are so cheap. It makes sense: If all you have to do is staple seams over gaps in the sheetrock, then your labor costs will be drastically lower. It is also highly probable that the walls will look like garbage (No offense to those who own trailers, but c’mon, the walls don’t nearly compare to a stick built home).

Regardless of the situation, you will be the beneficiary of my vast experience in actually doing the work, on some 3-7 odd rooms. I really wish that this method allowed pictures, but hey, nothing’s perfect.

First, you need to rip off the seams. I recommend a spackling knife for this endeavor. Insert the spackling knife into the joint, then use the handle as a pry bar, and pull it out towards you. This will loosen the hold that the nails have on the seam. Repeat until nearly half of the seam has been dislodged. After this, you should be able to pull the rest of it off. Pull the seam from bottom to top, and watch out for any nails still lodged in the seam. I recommend immediate disposal of the offending material.

Great. Now you should be looking at two sheets of trailer board. I would call it sheetrock, but it technically is nothing of the sort. It is less thick, and also has vinyl applied to the surface. The nail heads/staples will still be visible, so you will need to pound them down into the board, using a hammer. Run the spackling knife over the area, to make sure that the nails will not catch it, and keep it from doing its work.

Now, you should be staring at a gap roughly 1/8th – 1/4 of an inch in width. There are two options that you can take in addressing this gap:

1. You can go with the traditional method of laying down sheetrock mud, paper tape, and then another layer of mud, or…

2. You can get vinyl mesh tape, and use it to span the gap. Afterwards, you can spread vinyl spackling compound over the tape to finish the seam.

For the greatest simplicity, we will be using the vinyl tape method here. This stuff comes 300 feet to a roll at your local home improvement store, and will most likely be available in the paint aisle of your home improvement store. It will be yellow, and layed out in grid. It’s basically yellow tape with a large grid of squares in it. The folks at your home improvement store will know what to give you, should you not have an understanding of what I am talking about.

Once you have the tape, run it it from the top of the seam, all the way to the bottom, making sure there is around 50% of the tape on either side of the seam. Then, load up a spackling/putty knife with good amount of vinyl spackle. The next step will take a bit of practice. Using steady pressure, run the putty knife from the top, to the bottom of the seam. Make sure the spackle is thin enough that you can still see the yellow color of the tape, and thick enough to fill in the grids and the seams. It may take up to three passes of the knife to get it to this thickness. Just be patient.

If you have a deep gap, that is larger than 1/4 of an inch, fill the gap with spackle, then place vinyl tape over that, with another layer of spackle following. This is highly necessary to prevent bubbling of the spackle, and to keep a sinkhole from developing in the spackle.

Now, let the compound dry, according to the directions on the spackle bucket. Yes, you need a spackle *bucket*, not one of those wimpy 8 oz. containers. Otherwise, you will need to make runs to Home Depot more frequently than you expected.

When things are fully dry, start your sanding. I recommend starting with 120 grit sandpaper, and by all means, buy a sanding block. Do not us a power sander for this task, as it will take far too much off the spackle off, and fray the vinyl tape. I know this from experience. Try to make the a gradual transition, leaving just enough dried spackle to cover the gap. The spackle should be smooth to the touch, and not be so heavy that you can distinguish where the wall starts and the seam begins. It takes a little practice to get things right, so take your time.

A note about corners: If you attempt a confrontation of the corners where the boards meet, you will need 2 specialized tools. People who deal with sheetrock on a regular basis have an “inner” and “outer” corner tool, to help them deal with the problems that they provide. They’re basically right angles on a handle. If my experience is indicative of what yours will be, these tools will be located near the sheetrock and lumber, rather than the paint/spackle/mudding area. These tools will be more than worth the $8 USD you’ll spend to acquire them. Same rules apply for the corners as the straight seams.

After you get done, apply 2 coats or so of primer to the wall to seal things up. After the first coat dries, check for any place where you can see th grid pattern of the tape. Apply a thin coat of spackle in the tiny holes, let it dry for an hour or so, and then apply the second coat of primer. For what it is worth, I prefer Bullseye 1-2-3 to Kilz, as it seems to cover better. Bullseye is more expensive, but you can occasionally get by with a single coat. Kilz is far more watery, and applies white, rather than Bullseye, which applies grayish.

A word about wallpaper: Resist the urge to strip the wallpaper from your manufactured home. Your wallpaper and wallboard were put together in one piece. Should you attempt to strip the wallpaper off, you may well take half your wallboard off with it. No amount of spackle will save you at that point. Prime it, and leave it alone. It will take the paint perfectly, and you won’t have to pay a professional to come in and fix your horrible mistake.

Put on your favorite color of paint, and then dare your friends to say you live in a trailer. They’ll still say it, but you won’t care, as the improvement will be so drastic. I have spent less than $150 on supplies for the spackling of my entire house(excluding paint) and the difference is incredible.

As a closing thought, please hear my plea. Do not cheap out the paint. Buy Benjamin Moore. It’s pricey, but it covers extraordinarily well, and lasts a long time. I’ve talked to painters, read their comments on forums and discussion boards, and checked things out for myself. Don’t buy paint from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Get it direct from Ben Moore, and you will be happy for many years to come.

Now, get ready, it’s more work than you think, but also more rewarding. I wish you nothing but success, and if you fail…well, I’ll have to assume you didn’t read the directions well enough…;).

Good luck.

Have you noticed the explosion of Websites related to love, sex, matchmaking, relationships, etc.? They’re popping up all over the place. Why the sudden popularity you ask? Well, the reason for this “gold rush” towards Online Dating & Relationship Oriented Websites is really quite simple: people are making a lot of money with them!

So how can you claim your share of this exploding marketplace?

Well you could go off and start your own Online Dating service to compete with the likes of eHarmony and Match.com (if that’s your idea of fun) but that’s really not the best way for small business owners to make money in this, or any, new marketplace.

In reality, the easiest and surest way to make money in any gold rush is selling tools to the prospectors! I think you’ll see what I mean in a moment.

In the Beginning…

Consider, if you will, that whenever any new industry begins there are always hundreds of other businesses needed to support it and make it truly complete. For example, just think of all the businesses that are now connected with the automotive industry. Tire companies, glass companies, mechanics, insurance agencies, driving schools, etc..

Your very own Dating & Relationship oriented website could be one of the complementary businesses supporting the new Online Dating marketplace while generating thousands of dollars of profit in the process.

Complimentary businesses such as relationship advice sites, personal matchmaking services, astrological compatibility testing sites, personal appearance “make over” sites, background checking services, etc., etc., are all possible product or service “tools” needed by today’s “romance prospectors” searching for love on the Internet. I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with other product and service ideas too if you think about it.

So what other types of relationship oriented businesses are springing up based on the technologies and business models pioneered by the Online Dating sites?

New companies such as Friendster.com and Linkedin.com are two good examples of a new generation of non-dating, non-romantic, relationship building Websites springing up to connect people for business relationships or other social activities. Others will surely follow their lead into this adjacent market space and your online business could be one of them.

Setting Up Shop.

Okay, so now that you know the best way to make money online is to sell tools, the next big question you’ll need to answer is whether your new Website will be a general store carrying all types of tools or a specialty store providing some type of specific expert service or product. Let’s talk about the general merchandise store first.

The General Store

Imagine if you will an 1849’s old west general store loaded with canned goods, clothing, kerosene lamps, picks, shovels; everything the local prospectors needed. What would be today’s Online Dating equivalent to the general store? Well in our analogy it would be a Dating Directory Website. Here’s how they work.

Dating Directory Websites provide a service to their customers by collecting information about all the various Online Dating services in one centralized location. This allows their visitors to comparison shop among the various dating service companies while also making convenience purchases of advice eBooks, romantic gifts, sexy lingerie, etc., while they’re browsing the entire “general store.” Dating directories make their money from the affiliate sales commissions they are paid by the producers of the products they carry.

If you’re thinking of getting into the Online Dating & Relationship Marketplace, setting up your own Dating Directory general store is probably the easiest way to get started. All that’s required is the construction of a “store front” Website and then registration with multiple affiliate programs for the products that you want to sell.

Dating Directory startups are easy, low cost and can be built up over time with products you really enjoy selling. In addition, no product development expertise is required because you are essentially just the “shop keeper” selling someone else’s products.

However, before you decide to open up your own Online Dating & Relationship product general store, you may what to consider specializing in one particular area of the market where you can carve out a niche of your own. Let’s talk about this strategy for a moment.

The Specialty Shop

When it comes to the Online Dating & Relationship marketplace everyone’s an expert. Including you!

It’s true. Whether you’re young or old, single or married, gay or straight, everyone has their own special knowledge about Dating and Relationships that can provide you with the background and knowledge needed to write a newsletter or eBook of your own.

And while I’ll admit that writing an entire eBook and setting up your “specialty shop” Website is more work than running a general store Website, the potential rewards are much greater due to the uniqueness of your specialty product and the value you can deliver to your customers. So whatever you do, don’t underestimate the power of the knowledge you have to offer. Get started on that newsletter or EBook today!

Bottom Line…

If you’re thinking about starting your own online business, check out this fast growing marketplace. It could be right for you. And remember, if you want to make money without risking the large amounts of capital required to compete with the big guys, don’t try to start your own Online Dating “gold mine”, sell the dating & relationship “picks and shovels” instead. That’s where the little guys win.

At the Feldman Law Center, our loan modification attorney team keeps their eye on all mortgage loan modification news in order to properly inform and education every client we work with.  Our California loan modification company works hard to provide top notch advice as well as a skilled legal ability to get you the best loan modification agreement possible.

Recently, the federal government has been paying far more attention to the loan modification process than they have in the past.  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Housing Administration have rolled out plans over the last year to combat the rising foreclosure proceedings.  The FDIC loan modification program and the FHA loan modification program have received some heavy criticism from large financial institutions such as Moody’s Investor Services.  In a recent Moody’s report, the FDIC loan modification program may eventually reduce cumulative losses for mortgage loans involved in the subprime mortgage crisis.  The FDIC loan modification program is designed to help more people get quality loan modifications by creating a streamlined framework with key incentives, including:  a loss-sharing arrangement for existing investors; and a thousand dollar stipend for every successful loan modification.

Ultimately however, Moody’s feels that the participation in the FDIC loan modification program might be limited, which weakens the effectiveness of the program.  The FDIC loan modification program will have a lesser cumulative impact on the losses suffered by banks, lenders and homeowners.

A California loan modification can be had by utilizing the skills of a California loan modification attorney.  At the Feldman Law Center, our loan modification law firm can provide the kind of unique experience and highly sought after knowledge necessary to procure a loan modification.  Working with any lender or federal agency involves lots of red tape and bureaucratic road blocks; but with a skilled loan modification attorney, you could overcome those challenges.

Many people are interested in how a loan modification can help them change their financial situation and keep them in their house for the long haul.  Throughout California, foreclosure signs are popping up in neighborhoods all over the state, and even in some areas that never thought it would happen to them.  Even such neighborhoods as Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Walnut Creek are suffering from the subprime crisis, and everyone in the state is suffering as a result.  California unemployment has reached double digits, and it could get much worse.

A loan modification is an agreement between the debtor and the mortgage company to renegotiate the terms of the mortgage loan.  This is done so that the borrower can have an affordable, reasonable monthly payment, allowing them to keep making payments over the long haul.  A California home loan modification attorney can help the borrower negotiate with the lender, arrange the loan modification application and communicate with the bank or lender.  With a loan modification attorney at your side, you can get the best loan modification possible and keep yourself and your family in your home.