Personal Finance Information & Articles

Real estate investing strategy: Make money with wholesaling

Jacklyn — 2006-04-23T17:40:49-05:00

Your exit strategy is an extremely important part of your real estate investing business. In fact, it is one of the most important parts.

Sometimes investors get excited because they learn how to buy properties, they find them and they get the money lined up to purchase them.

But after the purchase, the excitement dies, as they have no idea what to do with their newly owned properties.

You must know your exit strategy when you buy.
What do you plan to do with the property? Knowing this allows you to make all types of decisions, from how much to offer, to what kind of financing to use, and more. One strategy is to incorporate wholesaling into your real estate business plans.

What is an adjustable rate mortgage or ARM?

Jacklyn — 2006-04-23T17:36:21-05:00

An adjustable rate mortgage is a mortgage loan that is fixed for a set period of time and then adjusts based on the rates during the adjustment period. Some common adjustable rate mortgage loans terms are 1/1, 3/1, 5/1, 7/1, and 10/1. The first number in what appears to be a fraction is the amount of time the rate stays fixed. The second number is the amount of time between adjustments. For example a 5/1 Adjustable rate mortgage would stay fixed for 5 years and then adjust annually.

An adjustable rate mortgage generally offers a lower rate than a fixed rate loan initially; however, it could adjust to a higher rate than the initial fixed rate mortgage would have been. An Adjustable rate mortgage, also called an ARM, is very good for a person that knows specifically how long they will be living at a specific residence. In other words, a person who knows for a fact that they will be moving in four years would benefit from a 5/1 ARM because they would be moving out of that home and mortgage prior to the first adjustment period.

Oprah's "Debt Diet"

Jacklyn — 2006-04-14T17:54:53-05:00

Friday, February 17, 2006 marked the first of a multi-part series for The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Oprah challenged Americans to get out of debt. Oprah teamed up with three of the nations top financial experts to create a step-by-step action plan to show her viewers how to get out of debt. Oprah featured Jean Chatzky, Glinda Bridgforth, David Bach as her top financial experts.

Oprah compared Americas over-spending habits to our similar over-eating habits. She showed how compulsive spending is much like compulsive eating and how America doesn’t just have a high rate of obesity in our body, but obesity in our debt.

How much is my house worth?

Jacklyn — 2006-04-14T17:51:53-05:00

Are you wondering "how much is my house worth?" I have two answers for you. First, if you don't really need to move, it is worth whatever you say it is. If you think, "I wouldn't sell this house for less than $300,000," then it is worth that much to you. If you need to sell it, though, what it is worth to you is irrelevant.

Market value is the only relevant value once you are ready to sell. This is the value according to all the home buyers out there. They don't care what you spent renovating the house, or what you originally paid. Spend $50,000 adding a pool, and they may only pay $20,000 more for the home. Real estate is worth what the market says it is worth.

Forex Trading

Jacklyn — 2006-03-29T15:08:09-05:00

The forex has been the domain of government central banks, as well as commercial and investment banks. It has also been used for hedge funds by large international corporations. The rules were revised during the 1980s to allow smaller investors to participate using margin accounts. This has opened up an excellent opportunity small investors to reap high returns.

The foreign-exchange ("forex" or "FX") market is the place where currencies are traded. The forex market is the largest, most liquid market in the world with an average traded value that exceeds $1.8 trillion per day.

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, with currencies being traded worldwide among the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney - spanning most time zones. There is no central marketplace for currency exchange. Trade is conducted over-the-counter.

Who should have life insurance and what policy to choose?

Jacklyn — 2006-03-29T15:05:55-05:00

Life insurance doesn't benefit the person that dies; it benefits those who are the beneficiaries. There are many types and many reasons to buy life insurance but you need to consider the needs of your family and how long they will need protection.

Life Insurance For The Living
The best life insurance policy is one that pays the biggest benefit. If there are young children you should have a term life insurance policy and if both parents work, there should be disability insurance as well. And anyone with dependents or liabilities, should move to protect themselves at the lowest possible cost.

Australian debt consolidation

Jacklyn — 2006-03-18T11:31:52-05:00

Australian debt consolidation systems work very well both for businesses and individuals, but the right plan is often a bit difficult to find. A debt consolidation loan basically replaces a high interest loan and often gives you the option of combining all your different monthly payments into a single payment that is much easier to manage.

A debt consolidation loan is not a permanent solution to your debt problems and should never be seen as such. Debt consolidation loans are meant to enable you to replace high interest with lower interest payment so that you can set your financial life on track again and be able to pay off your debts. As the credit card interest debts are often in the 15% area in Australia, you will notice the benefits of paying off credit card debt with a consolidation loan that may go as low as 5% yearly interest. Many credit card owners that have two or three different cards find it difficult to manage payments as well, and the unified monthly debt consolidation loan takes care of much of these issues. The company which issues the debt consolidation loan will be willing to negotiate with you a monthly or weekly payment for the loan, which will allow for more payment flexibility. One of the most important merits of such a loan is that it diminishes the stress that appears when creditors are constantly calling about your debt and allows you to focus on improving your finances and paying off your debts.

Car loan checklist

Jacklyn — 2006-03-18T11:29:15-05:00

There are several key factors to consider when looking for the best car loan out there. For example, you will want to have a choice of car loans with competitive interest rates and features like loans for individuals that also include private sales.

Of course, a good car loan will also make it as easy as possible for you to get the loan. This means that the paperwork is reduced to the absolute minimum and you can apply quickly by phone or online. Of course, a very flexible car loan will also have mobile representatives that can come directly to your work place or even your home, if you do not have the time to apply at their headquarters. Also try to find car loans that have the pre-approved function – this is a great feature as it enables you to shop around for your desired vehicle as you are assured that the loan is ready to go at any time. Extended warranty and insurance should also be sought for privately bought cars, as this offers you more peace of mind.

Ten real estate investing tips

Jacklyn — 2006-03-08T23:11:10-05:00

Real estate investing tips tend to be a bit vague, like "invest in the right location," or "make sure the numbers work." Actually, tips like these are important principles to remember. However, since they have been well represented in other articles, I want to share a few more specific tips with you.

1. Listen to the market. The cabinet guy looked to me for a decision. I realized that I knew nothing at all about which cabinets people like, so I asked him which ones others were choosing, and he pointed to one that three quarters of his last forty customers had chosen. That's the one I want, I told him. Why argue with the market you are trying to sell to?

Types of annuity payments

Jacklyn — 2006-03-08T23:08:34-05:00

When an employee retires after several years of work, the employer offers monetary retirement benefits such as a cash balance plan or pension.

Let us consider Nancy, who has retired from work. She likes to invest her retirement package in something that can yield regular income. She invests her money in an insurance company by signing a mutual agreement between her and the company. According to the agreement, the insurance company makes periodic payments to her. That is, the insurance company ‘sells’ an annuity to Nancy. Webster’s Dictionary defines an annuity as `a sum of money payable yearly or at other regular intervals.’

Is debt consolidation loan the best choice?

Jacklyn — 2006-02-19T18:30:15-05:00

For people the lure of easy credit has taken them into the credit card debt. Between debt on regular credit cards, shopping store credit cards, home equity lines of credit, mortgages and car payments it's no wonder consumers are finding themselves financially and emotionally drained as they float in a sea of debt.

At a time like this with debt continuing to mount the decision to use a debt consolidation loan may seem like the smart thing to do - or is it? Certainly the top financial priority should be to pay off all outstanding debt. Unfortunately figuring out how to do this and which debt to pay off first can be difficult at best and even lead to more financially related stress.

Determain auto insurance coverage

Jacklyn — 2006-02-15T16:47:51-05:00

1: Other Party:
Auto Insurance Bodily Injury (BI) Liability and Property Damage (PD) coverage is Legally required in most states today. (BI & PD) Most people understand that they need BI and PD, but they have no idea how to determine how much coverage they need.

Try this simple question: What if your car was involved in an auto accident tonight where heaven forbid, someone else was injured or killed? Remember, everything you own is in the back seat of the car with you and is at risk in a lawsuit! So, what do you think their family would sue you for? $15,000? $25,000? $100,000 or even maybe a Million dollars! Where would you get the money to pay them?

Negotiate the cheapest auto loan

Jacklyn — 2006-02-15T16:41:09-05:00

Rather than luck, getting the best rate on your auto loan is a skill that can be learnt, where knowing how to negotiate is the crucial component to getting the best deal for yourself. The best way to dispel nerves while negotiating is by remembering that you are trying to save yourself money, and without these nerves, you will easily find the courage to drive down the rate they are offering you. The following suggestions will also help you as you go through your uto loan interest rate negotiations.

The right time for mortgage refinancing

Jacklyn — 2006-02-07T22:34:55-05:00

Mortgage refinancing can be the easiest way to improve a bad credit situation. Here’s why.

If interest rates have dropped by a percentage point or more since you got your first mortgage, refinancing could save you big bucks. And if you have enough equity so that your new mortgage is for less than 80% of your home’s value, you’ll be able to stop paying Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI), which will save you even more.

Mortgage refinancing could also result in lower monthly payments, depending on factors such as: if any ‘points’ are paid to lower the interest rate on the new mortgage; how much cash is taken out at the time of refinancing; the duration of the new mortgage and whether the new mortgage is a fixed-rate, adjustable-rate or variable-rate loan.“

Finding the right payday loan

Jacklyn — 2006-02-07T22:17:04-05:00

Look for a payday loan site that is professionally designed and managed, run by a real company that understands the business and markets it works in.

All payday loan companies that provide cash payday loans must have a state license. Certain states don’t allow payday loans, so they will not issue a license to any company in that state for that purpose. When looking at a particular payday loan lender you should feel free to e-mail them at their contact information and ask for information regarding their state lending license. For example, the lending institution for Personal Cash Advance is located in South Dakota. The company is officially licensed by the State of South Dakota. When they issue a payday loan contract with a client, it is deemed to take place in South Dakota, regardless of where the client or his/her bank resides. Therefore the payday loan contract is bound by the laws of South Dakota.