Hot Keys: What's a Mouse For?

A friend of mine recently interviewed with a boutique investment bank and a section of the interview included a 1 hour financial modeling exercise. How well prepared are you to build, format, and forecast the income statement of a public company? Do you know the keyboard shortcuts necessary to complete this task in under an hour?During my internship this summer, the full-time analysts explained...

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Foreclosures Open Up New Market

(NewsUSA) - To some, the current real estate market looks dismal. A weak labor market, rising mortgage rates and high energy prices have caused many American homeowners to lose their properties. To others, the real estate markets looks ripe for investment.Deer Park Development Corporation, a company with over 30 years of experience in the real estate market, has developed a new approach for investors hoping to purchase and resell foreclosed properties...

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Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Not because of the food, but because of what the holiday represents – a time to express selfless gratitude. In a year naturally filled with anxiety in the custom home building industry, I have personally witnessed many selfless acts performed to help those less fortunate. This past May, 4 local custom builders, John Wieland Homes, I’On Build, J.D Smith and Structures Building Company, their trade partners and suppliers all contributed time, money and sweaty labor to build 4 houses during a 1 week building blitz...

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How do the Financial Statements Flow Together?

Understanding how the three core financial statements interplay is fundamental to your success in investment banking interviews. Below is a brief description of the three statements and how they connect to one another. Following the explanation you will find a few sample interview questions.Income StatementNet income--the bottom line--flows from the Income Statement to Retained Earnings on the...

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The "Model" Home - The Way All Homes Were Intended to be Used

I'll never forget, after returning from his Builder 20 weekend in 2006, Steve announced to us that we were going to build a "green" model home. Though we weren't really sure of all the details, we were really excited as everything came together. Our main purpose was to have a place where we could meet our clients to work out the details for their own custom home. All of this was created in an effort to simplify the complex custom building process...

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Welcome to the Structures Family!

We are so excited to welcome Alan and Kathryn Murray into the Structures family! This week they purchased our model home located in I'On before it was even listed or officially on the market! What a great "challenge" of quickly moving our model home over to 32 Perseverance Street in I'On which is currently staged and on the market. Give us a call and let's schedule a visit if you're looking to buy, build a custom home or just looking arou...

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Is Your Home Making You Sick?

(NewsUSA) - Americans tend to view their homes as safe havens. What few people realize is that the air in their home can be more polluted than outdoor air, leading to health problems.According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, people spend almost 90 percent of their time indoors. Due to extended exposure, indoor pollution might cause more health problems than outdoor pollution.What causes indoor pollution? Common, synthetic materials,...

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Overcoming Toubled Times

This is a question someone left on an earlier post. We love seeing your questions and comments; we're happy to help answer any questions our readers have.From Anonymous:I would love to hear your thoughts on how to survive if looking for a finance job now... let's face it... if you are beginning the journey in i banking right now... there are a ton of more qualified people to take your spot. What...

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The Company You Keep

Our NAHB Builder 20 club recently held it's bi-annual meeting at Payne & Payne Builders in Cleveland, OH. Builder 20 is a group of approximately 20 professional custom home builders from non-competing markets. We meet twice a year in one of our member's cities, to share ideas and improve our businesses. We discuss business operations in depth, share financial information, systems and construction methods.I'm fortunate to have been accepted into...

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