CemeterySpot BlogHal Stevens (105)    Hal Stevens   CemeterySpot.com Cemetery Plots As A Practical Real Estate InvestmentPosted Sunday, March 16, 2008 (129 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 42 times. After my father and then mother died my sister and I used the plots my father had purchased for their burial. Within the last few years, since I no longer live in the New York City area, I decided to get rid of the two remaining plots. I would prefer to be buried with my wife when we die and will be buried somewhere other than my childhood area. But how would I dispose of these two remaining plots, and what was their value? I then began a very enlightening research project. This led me to conclude that his purchase accidentally turned out to be a very profitable alternative investment strategy. After discussing the situation with my sister I decided that it would be best to just gift her the two plots so that she and my brother-in-law could be buried there. While checking on the transfer process I decided, out of curiosity, to do some investigating. WOW! What an investment these had turned out to be. The value had increased substantially since their original purchase. Just like a lot purchased to build a home on, these plots had value. Amazingly my father had done his homework and approached this purchase as if he was buying property on which he would eventually erect a permanent structure. He apparently consulted the right real estate books and experts and just applied that same knowledge to buying cemetery plots. I'm not trying to suggest that an investment in well located cemetery plots is the next great global investment opportunity. I can tell you that like many other real estate investments there are many factors that must be considered: these can increase in value or decrease in value, in some areas they are in short supply, they are available in many price levels for each market, there is a continuous clientele for this property, location and type of restrictions and quality of structures and services is important, and there is a vibrant resale market. In fact, while doing my research I discovered that there are many online brokers who assist in the resale of cemetery plots. Some of the brokers allowed a simple listing service and others seemed to more actively market the plots themselves. Even with the growth of cremation, the development of memorial parks and gardens will change the cemetery concept and allow for increased value potential over time. In fact with certain religious groups prohibiting cremation, a well investigated purchase can potentially positive results. If you do your homework, and you can buy right, whether these are for personal use or for resale (where it is legal to do so) you just might find that over time your decision to purchase cemetery plots was a very wise investment. 
Permalink Comments (0) Cremation or Burial – Carbon Emissions and the EnvironmentPosted Saturday, March 15, 2008 (130 days 5 hours ago.) Viewed 136 times. There is no denying the evidence that cremation is becoming a popular alternative to burial. And, more funeral homes and cemeteries are joining the trend of "green burials" which don't use harmful chemicals in preparing the body. And many use biodegradable caskets. But which one of these is more environmentally friendly? The answer might surprise you. The trend toward more "green" funerals and burials is rooted in being more environmentally friendly, as well as, lowering costs. For example, each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately 827,060 gallons of embalming fluid which includes formaldehyde and other hazardous chemicals. Buried caskets contain 90,272 tons of steel, 2,700 tons of copper and bronze and 30-plus million board feet of hardwoods. Cremation and burial vaults contain 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete and 14,000 tons of steel. These statistics were complied from some very reliable sources which include: Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America , Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society. In addition, Casket manufacturers are listed on the EPA's top 50 hazardous waste generators list due to chemicals such as methyl and xylene used in the protective finish sprayed on the caskets exterior. On a segment of a Fresh Air interview on NPR, Mark Harris, author of "Grave Matters: Journey Through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial" told host Terry Gross that the amount of wood from coffins located in a ten-acre cemetery is enough to build 40 houses and that there is enough concrete to build swimming pools for all of them. On the surface cremation seems like a more friendly and convenient way to deal with the bodily remains of a loved one. But, let's consider the impact of this truly industrial process. Like most modem, natural-gas devices, the technology is becoming more efficient and clean burning; however the amount of non-renewable fossil fuel needed to cremate bodies in North America is equivalent to a car making 84 trips to the Moon and back each year. There is also a growing body of research that indicates cremation has a significant impact on the environment. Cremations lead to emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs, and other heavy metals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). The United Nations indicates that crematoria contribute 0.2% of the global emission of dioxins and furans. "Green burials" in a "green cemetery" seem to be a viable alternative to both traditional burials and to cremations. Centennial Park Cemetery in the South Australian state capital of Adelaide said it had studied the carbon impact of burials and cremations. The Centennial Park Cemetery carries out more than 900 burials and around 3,300 cremations a year. Cemetery chief executive Bryan Elliott said that every cremation created around 160 kg (353 pounds) of carbon dioxide, compared to 39 kg of carbon dioxide for each burial. But when the cost of maintaining grave sites, mostly covered by lawns at Centennial Park , is taken into account, cremations came out 10 percent greener than burials. "This is because we must look after the gravesite for a number of years by watering and mowing the surrounding lawn area and maintaining the concrete beam on which the headstone is placed," Elliott said. "Burial is a more labor and resource intensive process, consumes more fuels and produces larger quantities of waste than cremation" added Elliott. Ok, so both cremation and traditional burials have both been found to be environmentally unfriendly. So what's the best alternative? One thought is to use a nature preserve setting where funeral preparations and then burial is handled in a "green" way. The pollution impact is minimized and the beautiful forest-like setting is used to create a natural environment that is aesthetically beautiful and multi-functional. It can serve as both a cemetery and park to celebrate the environment and, celebrate life. So, which is really preferable? I am not suggesting cremation over burial, or vice versa; I am simply suggesting that whichever choice you make, make sure it is what the deceased wanted and that it is a most natural and beautiful celebration of that person's life.
Permalink Comments (0) Online Memorials – Selection Based on Website FeaturesPosted Wednesday, March 12, 2008 (133 days 23 hours ago.) Viewed 10 times. Just like everyone deserves a proper and fitting funeral and burial/cremation, your departed loved ones deserve a high quality online memorial. In these times when we have the ability to share our memories with family, friends, co-workers and others we need to make an online memorial part of the funeral and grieving process. So, just what should we look for in both a website that hosts memorials, and in the quality and features of the memorials themselves? In this article we will take a look at the things to look for when choosing a memorial website. When we do a search for memorial or online memorial we find a multitude of choices. Some are set up with a look and feel of a social networking website while some have the appearance of a more traditional website. The critical factor here is not to let your emotions over-ride the need to analyze the various features each website has to offer. And, to see what you may need sometime in the future whether you think you need it now or not. Establishing an online memorial should not be any more flippant of a decision than you would make in choosing a funeral home, burial vs. cremation, or cemetery. Let's face it, you want to make the right decision the first time. You don't want to have to continuously set up online memorials on a variety of websites. You want to pick the right one and enjoy continuously updating and visiting the online memorial and the memories it evokes. Regardless of which online memorial site and style you choose, the website should have certain basic features, look friendly and be easy to navigate with lots of intra-website page links. In that way, you don't get stuck on a particular page with limited ways to get to the features you want elsewhere on that website. Now, let's get into some of the specifics of what a good online memorial website should offer. Several ways to order/establish your memorial and a good system to find memorials. With more than one path to get to the order form you can feel comfortable that when it comes time to update and add to your memorial the developer of the website has made it easy for you. This is usually the case even if the order form and edit functions are separate. You also want to know that when people come looking for the memorial and can't remember the url, or the specific address of it, that they will have an easy time finding it by other methods provided by the website. Sample memorials readily visible from thumbnail, or other, links on the Home Page. You should be able to see samples of the online memorials that have already been established on the website. This will allow you to see the potential and the drawbacks of your online memorial on that website. You hopefully will see lots of positive features that you will keep in mind when planning your memorial. You also may see some warning signs that may cause you to beware of the look and feel of the memorials and help you decide that these don't meet your expectations. Resources with links to companies, organizations and associations that will be helpful to anyone who needs information about funerals, burials, cremation, etc. The website should act as a resource for you. It should provide various components toward a complete community system. The website should assist in meeting your needs for information about as many places to seek help or assistance related to the death care industry. It should be a mini topical search engine. Testimonials from current customers and viewers of the website. People should have the ability to leave feedback about the website. These comments can often give you a clue about the level of satisfaction with the website. There doesn't have to be a large amount of website testimonials there just needs to be some. A website without any user/viewer testimonials often shows that those who visited the website are uninvolved or apathetic. Helpful articles that allow for both professionals and "regular" folks to give advice, tell stories that you may relate to, and cover a variety of topics. The website should provide articles on a variety of death care and grief support related topics. The articles should provide numerous perspectives and not just the viewpoints of the website owner. Hopefully, articles are available from both professionals (Psychologists, counselors, doctors, religious figures etc.) and lay people. This mix is important because it is frequently the stories of someone who has gone through a particular situation that is the most helpful since it was written from the heart, as a grief release, and was written in simple, non-technical language. The articles should have a comment feature so the reader can give feedback. There should also be (when available) contact info of the authors so that readers of this community can contact them outside of the website. Provide a forum with suggested topics. The forum is an excellent way for members of the website community to ask for and seek advice. Similar to the articles area there is interaction for all to see and the ability to contact each other outside of the website. If you find a memorial website where there are suggested forum topics with little or no participation start the conversations yourself. And, invite those you know to participate. It may just be that the website, though excellent, is new; or, it may be that everyone is waiting for someone else to be first. Your posts and those of your invited friends will signal that it is ok for others to join in. Offer a community incentive of some sort. This could be anything from free hosting, to some other value added incentive like donating a portion of your fees to a worthwhile organization. From a personal standpoint some people like to be associated with others who have an affinity to a particular cause; others, would rather make the choice of where to donate their money on their own and find this dictatorial since they may prefer donations going to another preferred charity. This can happen even if they agree that the charity supported by the website is worthwhile. The company behind the website should be a member in good standing with one, or more, recognized and reputable organizations or associations in the death care industry. There are many excellent organizations that provide support and assistance to companies within the death care industry. They provide information, ideas, technical support, and so much more. The fact that the online memorial website, and its owner, is a member of one of those trade organizations or associations is a positive sign. This shows that the website owner cares about what is happening in this industry and wants to associate with positive influences for self-regulation and improvement. If the online memorial website charges for its hosting services there should be some type of unconditional money back guarantee for a predetermined length of time. Websites with a social networking concept usually give their services for free. Typically, in the arena of online memorials, they do not offer the features available in the better websites. On the free websites there tend to be a lot more participants who are younger (no credit card is necessary to use it) and many who are less dedicated to creating a high quality memorial site. This is not always the case but it is something that must be considered when viewing and selecting your memorial website. The online memorial websites that charge hosting or participation fees should give some type of grace period before charges begin, or, some type of money back guarantee. Remember, you are the customer and you must be satisfied or you should email or call the website contact and let them know of your problem or dissatisfaction. If they are helpful and have good customer service then they should be commended with your loyalty. The online memorial website should have some provision to assure its longevity. Let's face the facts of business, especially internet related business. Over the years many internet business have come and gone. Some looked great. Some had lots of apparent online participation. Some had huge venture capitalist dollars funding them. Yet, a great many, even those with big names, folded. The last thing you want is to pick a website that seems to meet all of your requirements and then find out that, like many businesses, it was undercapitalized or mismanaged, and can not afford to continue operating. You want your online memorial to last a long time. See if the website owner has made any provisions to assure that it will be around for a long time, just like you would expect a cemetery to be around for your lifetime. You don't want to be forced to move your loved ones virtual presence anymore than you would be forced to move their physical presence. Commercialism should be kept to a minimum. Advertising should be kept as separated from your memorial as possible. It is ok to offer some website related value added features for which there is a charge but they should be tastefully presented and properly placed. Just like you would not want to see billboards selling all types of products, in the cemetery, over the gravesite of your departed loved one, it is distasteful to find internet advertising that is unrelated to the memorial site, placed next to their precious photos and your memories. The website should list all of the features and what you get offered for your time and money. There should be specifics telling you how much text, photo, audio and video space your online memorial can have. And, there should be an explanation of the features that you can use to create your online memorial. Blog. The website should have a companion blog that will give you updated news and commentary about relevant issues concerning the website and various topics related to what is happening in the death care industry. It is important that you know these so that you will be aware of changes in the law and the latest trends (i.e., the increase in cremations, legal status of roadside memorials, "green" funerals, etc.). About Us, About Me, etc. The website should tell you something about why it was developed, about the owner, and about its mission. You should know that there is passion, dedication and caring behind the pages of the website. You should be able to relate to the owner; not as a businessperson, but as a fellow human with a story to tell. Maybe a story similar to yours or one that you sympathize or empathize with. Choosing the right online memorial website on which to upload text, photos, audio and video should be a well researched decision. It should be one that you feel good about and comfortable with. Armed with the information in this article you will have a better chance of finding the correct match for your online memorial needs. Hal Stevens is the developer and owner of CemeterySpot, Inc., http://www.cemeteryspot.com , a full featured and content rich online memorial website. Hal can be reached by email: hal@cemeteryspot.com or on his person cell phone: 405-210-4363.
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