The ProForm Elliptical Trainer By IconMove over, Richard Simmons! In the game of “All’s Fair in Love and Fitness,” there’s a new exercise giant in town. Icon Health and Fitness is the largest fitness retail company on the globe, and finding their products in neighborhood gyms from New York to Toyko is as easy as one, two, three, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have one right in the comfort of your own living room. Just check out some of their subsidiaries like Reebox, Nordic Track, and Welco. And then there is the ProFrom Elliptical Trainer by Icon, which has continued to bring Icon, a company grossing more than one billion dollars a year, the infamy created by the Nordic Track in spite of consistent ProForm Elliptical reviews of “average” and a host of well publicized problems.Variations of the ProForm Elliptical TrainerDesigned especially for the casual runner, there are four types of ProForm Elliptical Trainers, including the ProForm 880, the ProForm 1080S, the ProForm 1280,and the ProForm CrossOver. Icon’s elliptical trainers range in price from three hundred to one thousand dollars, and our marketed as a light duty machine. So, if you enjoy “Sweating to the Oldies” every morning between four and seven, this isn’t the elliptical trainer for you.What sets Icon’s ProForm Elliptical Trainer as the leader of the pack is the ability to create an cheap machine that looks like a million bucks, and you can bet dollars to doughnuts that you won’t find any plastic on these babies. After all, Icon is know for pulling out all the stops. The big “cha-ching” factor with the company’s elliptical trainer is their incorporation of the iFit technology. An interactive program that allows the consumer to take the reigns over their workout through the completion of multiple challenges and obstacle courses-sort of like the computer chip’s answer to a really pushy personal trainer. The ProForm Elliptical Trainer offers a cut and dry warranty of just ninety days for service, and an additional ninety days for parts, but there’s always the option of an extended warranty.ProForm Elliptical ReviewsConsumer Reports (CR) considers itself an authority on counting the usefulness of products for the home. The organization praised the ProForm Elliptical Trainer on being easy to use, giving the machine a “very good” rating in that category, but when it come to reliability and quality of components, the pride and joy of Icon came up a little short, as did the majority of other trainers and treadmills sporting the Icon logo. ProForm Elliptical reviews by Consumer Reports were marked overwhelmingly “average” With regard to the 1080S ProForm, CR cited an incident in which the machine arrived in their lab with a “defective resistance mechanism” that could not be reversed. The company complained of receiving a second test model with a the same problem. Consumer Reports’ ProForm Elliptical review also took note of faulty hand-grip heart-rate sensor offered as attachments with trainers.
Getting a commercial mortgage for a hotel property is very similar to getting a commercial mortgage for an owner occupied commercial property with a few subtle differences. The driving force for the majority of most hotel income is the RevPar or revenue per available room. RevPar is most commonly calculated by multiplying a hotels average daily room rate (ADR) by it occupancy rate and is a key indicator of performance. Rising RevPar is an indication that either occupancy is improving; the ADR is increasing, or a combination of the two.Although RevPar only evaluates the strength of room revenue, it is typically the most relevant indicator of performance. While many full service hotels generate revenue through other means such as restaurants, casinos, conferences, spas, or other amenities the majority of hotel properties are either limited service flagged properties or limited service unflagged properties. A limited service hotel is simply a hotel with out a restaurant. Because the operating costs of the restaurant component generally run higher than that of the hotel operations, it is common for the net operating income (NOI) as a percentage of total sales to be lower for a full service than a limited service hotel. For this reason the majority of commercial lenders prefer to finance limited service hotels.Flagged vs. Unflagged Properties:A flagged hotel property is simply a hotel that belongs to a national franchise. An example of a flagged property would be a Holiday Inn or a Best Western. For the guest, a flagged property provides the benefits of a uniform standard that is upheld by the franchisor. A guest could stay in a flagged property on the east coast and could expect the same flag on the west coast to have the same standard of cleanliness and amenities. The owner of the property gets the benefit of a nationwide reservation system and marketing. For this benefit the operator is expected to pay a franchise fee which can typically range anywhere from 5% to 10% of room revenue. Because of the advantages that a flagged property has, most commercial lenders prefer to finance them over an unflagged property. Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to get a commercial loan for an unflagged property, especially if the property isn’t in what is considered a destination resort area. A destination resort area would be an area like Miami, Myrtle Beach, or Orlando FL. An unflagged property in a destination resort is easier to obtain a commercial loan on than an unflagged property in other areas of the country.Exterior Corridor vs. Interior Corridor:An exterior corridor property is a hotel property where you can actually see the door to the rooms from the exterior of the property. These are sometimes referred to as a motel instead of a hotel. The term motel is actually derived from the term motor hotel where most travelers would park their vehicle directly in front of their room. While there are disagreements between what defines a motel and what defines a hotel, there is typically very little difference between the two outside of a lenders perception.Most exterior corridor properties are older and subsequently will not have the quality of furnishings and will have more deferred maintenance than an interior corridor property. An interior corridor property is going to be more energy efficient and would have a lower utility expense as a percentage of gross revenue.Financing Your Hotel Property:When trying to get a commercial loan for your hotel property there are a few distinct differences you can expect as opposed to financing other commercial properties. A hotel property is considered special purpose in nature which simply means that it is generally cost prohibitive to convert it to alternate use. An office building or retail space can accommodate numerous types of businesses whereas a hotel property can only accommodate a hotel. Because of this a commercial mortgage for a hotel is going to be considered riskier to the lender than a commercial mortgage for other general purpose property types. A lender will mediate this risk by taking a more conservative approach to underwriting a hotel property.The loan to value (LTV) for a hotel property will be lower than other general purpose property types. For a limited service, flagged property 65% LTV is typical and that number can go down depending upon the age of the property and whether its interior or exterior corridor. The LTV is simply a ratio calculated by dividing the loan amount by the value of the property. The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) for a hotel will also need to be higher than that of a general purpose property type. The DSCR is a ratio that determines the strength of the property or business income in relation to the proposed mortgage payment. A typical required DSCR for a hotel property by a commercial lender is 1.30 which simply means that for every $1.00 in proposed mortgage expense there should be $1.30 available to pay it. For other general purpose property types the DSCR is lower. A DSCR of 1.20 is common for general purpose property types and can go oven lower for a less risky property such as an apartment building.Because the acquisition of a hotel property under a conventional program requires a large capital injection, many borrowers prefer to purchase a hotel property by utilizing the SBA 504 program. This program enables the borrower to put in as little as 15% and still obtain a better interest rate than a traditional commercial mortgage for a hotel.
To make money online on your affiliate marketing program you should work with companies that offer a large selection of tools to help you build your business. Many companies have a number of different banners and text ads to pick from so that you can find ones that are more tailored to your website.Is it worth starting an affiliate website when it requires lots of time, money, patience and hard work? Consider affiliate marketing as your ticket to get away from your current pointless, low-paying job. A well designed, professionally operated and managed affiliate website can generate enough income to provide financial freedom to the owner.If you want to start making money online with your affiliate marketing program you should use a plug in that rotates your ads rather than having them always show up in the same place. Each time a reader comes to your page the plug in will show them a different ad and something new will catch their interest.Online money making through your affiliate marketing efforts, you should check out the homepage of the product, and make sure that it is well written and sales driven. Does it make you want to buy the product? If you are sending the page hits, you need to make sure that they are clicking through and making a purchase.Know the tracking processes that your affiliates use to track visitors from your website to theirs and on to successful sales. Make sure that these tracking procedures are robust and cover sales that get made off-line. Inadequate customer tracking can cost you money in commissions that your affiliates rightly owe you for the sales that you generate.Use the internet to check the history of an affiliate program prior to signing on with them. It is so important to know who you are working with so you do not find yourself frustrated and angry about not getting the money that they owe you for selling their products.Affiliate marketing need not be your website’s sole revenue stream. The same site that generates affiliate money can also use other advertisement strategies, like Google AdSense. In order to maximize effectiveness, though, it is best to keep some separation between your advertisers. Avoid working with two advertisers offering similar products to prevent them from cannibalizing potential customers off of each other.To keep your affiliate marketing business generating the most money for you you should keep verifying which ads are pulling for you and which do not. There are a number of tracking programs available to let you check the statistics of each ad individually and make comparisons between which ones work the best.Once you are making money online, you should think about asking for more money from the program that you joined. If you generate enough sales and use good marketing techniques, the program will do everything they can to keep you working for them and give you a raise.Stay focused on the content offered on your site. Do not compromise your content to better cater to the affiliate programs you are using because it will cause you to lose your readers. If you lose the readers, you lose the opportunity to start online money making off of the ads that you have on your site.You should always be aware of the payout structure of your affiliate product. It is fine to go with a product that generates only one payout, but products that offer recurring payments and even upsell offers, are the ones you should be going after with the most gusto. You’re in this game to make money.A great affiliate marketing tip is to put Google AdSense on your site. AdSense is an ad that is placed on your site, and when the ad is clicked on by a guest on your site, you will be paid by Google for that click. If you have a site that has a lot of visitors on a regular basis, it is easy to earn some extra money using AdSense.Don’t expect immediate results. While some products will immediately start bringing in sales, others take time. Your return readers will help to build your sales gradually and this in turn, brings you the money from the company you work for. This isn’t an instant turn around, but patience will help it pay off in the end.Pre-sell the offers that you want your readers to buy. Just adding a link to a product is not going to make you much money. Explain why you love the product and why you are someone they should listen to. Include the benefits that you have received from the products to make money online.
Whether you’re in the market for a major interior overhaul or you’re simply looking to give your home a quick and easy update, chances are you’ve spent some time online hunting for ideas and inspiration. That said, it can be pretty deflating to stumble upon a look you love only to discover the price to achieve it is well above your budget.
Fortunately, there are some killer home decorating blogs that show you how to refresh, revive, and fall in love with your home anew without breaking the bank. For a home that looks far more expensive than it costs to create, check out the following blogs for all of the interior inspiration and DIY tutorials you’ll ever need.
Welcome back to the week 5 update for the One Room Challenge. Check out the blog posts and updates for week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4 if you missed them. It’s crunch time now and I’ll be honest… I don’t know that this project will be completely wrapped up for the reveal date. The great thing is the reveal and hitting a deadline is not the only goal of reason for this challenge. Ultimately having a fully functional and hopefully beautiful bathroom is where we want to end up even it things are a bit delayed.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.
When we left off last time the countertops had been templated, the trim was freshly painted and the hardware had been ordered. The hardware took about 1 week to arrive. We chose the Menlo Park 4″ pull from Schlub in chrome because I think the pull has the perfect mix of square and some rounded elements that make it a great transitional hardware option. We went with all pulls for the drawers and doors since the knob option in that line weren’t our favorite.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The quartz countertops are now installed and things can be put back together. Rectangle, undercount sinks were also purchased through the fabricator. The Marble look quartz from Pental and it is gorgeous with the warm gray veins running throughout. For the edge went for a flat polish eased edge for a clean, simple look.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
Two days after the quartz countertops were installed the tile installer came back to finish up tiling the niches, installing the tile base and grout everything.
Guest Bathroom Reno: Quartz Countertops and Grout – One Room Challenge Week 5
The electoral is being relocated for the new lights. There are some drywall and painting touch ups to do and plumbing fixtures to be hooked up. Plus adding all the finishing touches ???? All those little things like towel hooks, curtain rod, and accessories will bring this whole thing together.
It’s been too long since I’ve updated and even longer since this work has been started. This is me sharing remodel updates, mostly for myself (but also for my nagging family members). I’m sharing photos of the progress that has been made while also document the craziness that has gone on. This is just the beginning of the remodel.
Prior to moving in I had 3-4 weeks where my apartment lease overlapped with the possession of my townhome. This allowed me, with the amazing help of my family, to paint, tear-out carpet and somewhat put back together the upstairs portion of my place so that I could have a clean room to put a bed. At least one that wasn’t completely torn apart. One area that felt more livable that the rest. If you haven’t seen or don’t remember these are the before photos from when I took possession. To list it out here are the main things that I was tacking during those week prior to me moving in.
Phase 1 Remodel Projects
ripping out baseboard, carpet and tack strips upstairs and preparing for new hard surface flooring. (this flooring will go throughout minus the stairs and bathrooms/laundry)
installing flooring upstairs (one of my installers did this)
mostly gutting the master bathroom
installing a new tub and rough in plumbing for the master and powder bath
ordering and installing a rift white oak vanity for the master
Painting (and priming where needed) the ceilings and walls of the bedrooms. Caulking and painting the crown molding in the master
replacing and upgrading the baseboard heater in the master and patch the drywall
painting the hallway and down through the stairwell
adding skirt board to the stairs
installing new carpet and pad on the stairs (my carpet installer from work did this)
removing upper cabinets on the fridge side in the kitchen
partially demoing the wall diving the kitchen (prepare to move switches, outlets, heater and thermostat)
removing drywall on wall next to bar in dining area
painting the downstairs powder bath and removing vanity to prepare for a new floating vanity
Those were the main projects that took place and then I moved in the day after Thanksgiving. Getting rid of the original, nasty cat carpet and new flooring made a huge difference to the upstairs. Also neutralizing and lightening the paint made things feel so much more fresh. I still have no baseboards but I’ll get on that one day! For now here are some photos that I snapped along the way.
It’s been a while since been posting on here but I have some new updates and projects that I have been working on. Last summer into fall I was house hunting while knowing the lease on my apartment would be expiring end of the 2019. It felt a little crazy but was a fun process for me. After a bunch of searching I found and closed on a new home!
I was lucky enough to have a few weeks of overlap with my apartment (I ended up moving out 1 month early) so I was able to get started on projects and updates prior to moving in. I’ll share more about those in the coming weeks (there are still so many unfinished things!) but for now I think it’s best to start with some before photos. Also, follow along on Instagram where I post current project updates more often. The pictures show it in the state I bought it in. It’s a great first place to me and was functional as-is but as you might expect I’m here to make things my own by doing updates that I will enjoy while living here and that will also add value and functionality to the space down the line when I sell… or maybe even keep it as a rental. My dog, Nova, has been enjoying the space as well ???? There are a couple of things to miss about my Bothell apartment but I am very ready to have my own place and space.
In 2017 the guest bathroom was remodeled. You can see more photos and read about that here. Almost everything came out and all new things went back in. From emails and comments people have been asking for sources so I have rounded up what I could in this post to share paint colors, products and links that I could find for the bathroom.
Bathroom Sources and Details:
Wall color: BM Balboa Mist
Trim and door color: BM Chantilly Lace
Floor Tile: Pental Mark Chrome 12×24 matte
Shower tile: Jeffrey Court Weather Gray 4×12 gloss subway
Niche tile: Daltile clio mosaic
Bathtub: Maax Rubix tub
Cabinet: Spencer Cabinets – painted BM Cape May Cobblestone
Countertop: Pental Quartz Misterio polished 3cm
Cabinet hardware: Schaub Menlo Park Pull in chrome
Faucets: Hansgrohe Metris single handle in chrome
Shower trims: Kohler slide bar kit, wall mount supply and Hansgrohe tub spout in chrome
Mirrors: Homegoods
Towel Hooks: Delta Tolva robe hook in chrome