Personal Finance

Personal Finance — No Comments
10
Sep 10

Reverse mortgages: Using your home to help pay for retirement

Using the equity in your home to make your future secure for that time when retirement hits you can be a very wise way to go, and although there are several options available to older people, it is wise to take a realistic look at what the advertisements are offering you and what your alternatives really are. When you invest in a home, chances are that you have family around you, and that the home reflects the size of that family. As you get older, the need to heat so much space is costly and a pensioner with a large home can suffer financial hardship in the upkeep of their over-sized home.

What advertisements are offering pensioners is that companies will pay the full value of the home, and let the aged person live out their life in familiar surroundings, releasing the equity in their home, and having cash to spend. Sounds good, doesn’t it ? Looking behind the scenes of offers that seem so tempting, there are pros and cons, and the what the advertisements don’t tell you is equally important when making the decision to give ownership of your home to such a company.

PROS

The advantage of selling to an investment company is that the home owner does not have to go through the procedure of selling. Selling at any time of your life can be stressful, though it doesn’t have to be. Selling to a company, they do the homework, and so the stress factor is minimized.

You get cash up front and can spend the money in whatever manner you like, improving your retirement.

LET’S LOOK AT WHAT THE ADVERTS DON’T SAY

By releasing your home to companies that offer you the total equity of your home, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. For example, allowing a pensioner to continue living in their huge home won’t reduce the bills. It will give the pensioner more money to play with and what pensioners seem to do with that money is to improve the quality of their homes with heating, conservatories, insulation, and generally make that home more valuable. If you look at what the gullible pensioner is doing with the money they are given, most re-invest the money they are given in making home improvements to a home that no longer belongs to them, and thus are giving back the money to the new owner, i.e. The company who were kind enough to give them the money.

Values will be determined and usually the surveyor that values the home will not be one chosen by the home owner. These will be surveyors working for the company that wants to buy your home, and the market

Personal Finance — 1 Comment
10
Jul 10

7 tips on saving money

If you want a bit, or a lot of extra money, for holidays, new T.V or just a little extra money each week, considering exactly where our money goes is worth the time taken. There are many areas of life which can be a little easier on the pocket if we get into the habit of doing simple changes, it is often difficult in our hectic lives to change or even take time to reflect, try just one of these each week until they become habit, it should be a little easier.

1. Save energy in the home, this is not only good for your pocket it is also good for the environment, so you can feel good about it on two levels. Just being more observant around the home helps, do you really need that light on? Are appliances left on stand by? Turn off any unused electrical devices a item on standby can us three quarters as much as an appliance that is turned on. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you will use. Turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees, you will not notice the difference and it will save you pounds over a year. Investing in energy saving light bulbs will save money on energy and replacement light bulbs as they last longer. Draw curtains at night fall, this will keep your home much warmer and save on heating. Set your heating timer to turn of half a hour before you go to bed, there is a cooling down period so it will still be warm when you go to bed. Ensure your attic is adequately insulated, as well as doors and windows.

2. Shop around, check out the prices in a few different stores and on the internet before buying. The price differences are vast from one store to another, discount stores and catalogue surplus stores often have identical items at a fraction of the cost. Also consider different brands, often less well known brands are just as good as the better known ones.

3. Look out for sales, if you stock up on basics for your home and wardrobe in the sales you can acquire the items for half price, or less. Once you have the basics you can accessorise to change your look as required new belt scarf or shoes make all the difference.

Sofa looking tired? A new throw or cushions from the sales can instantly update it and keep it cleaner for longer.

One important point is, do not get carried away in the sales, consider if you are really going to use the item, it is not a bargain if it is not used.

4. It is a fact that up to 40% of all the food we purchase is wasted. That means up to 40% of the money we spend on food is wasted. So every $100

Personal Finance — No Comments
14
Jun 10

Tips for avoiding bad properties

BAD PROPERTIES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM

Whether you are searching for a property to live in yourself or to let out on the rental market, it is never an easy thing to define what actually makes a prospective purchase a bad one. Sometimes problems only present themselves after the purchase has been finalised however much you try to avoid a bad property beforehand. I once bought one house that had a crack in the bedroom wall you could have driven a bus through but this only came to light once the vendor had moved out – together with the cumbersome wardrobe that had cleverly concealed the serious structural defect from the prying eyes of the surveyor.

It’s always wise to check what similar properties are selling for in your chosen area regardless of condition. If the price difference between a house that needs refurbishment and one that is in a reasonable state of repair is not that big it might be wiser to go for the one that needs very little doing unless you are looking for a clean slate to etch your own personal stamp upon. Sometimes people vastly overspend on home improvements and find that the house has not in fact increased in value when compared to others in the same road. This is because it’s not easy to break the sealing price for a typical house in a particular area. So think very carefully before adding expensive extensions and conservatories and loft conversions which may be beneficial for your own use if you intend to remain there for a long time but will not have added a great deal to the value if you need to rapidly move on. When there is no similar property to compare your prospective purchase to, as is the case with houses of individual design, you will need to be very careful that the asking price is reasonable. A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and this is where serious errors of judgement can be made. If sentiment is allowed to rule it is quite possible to pay far too much for the privilege of owning a property that is not a carbon copy of the one next door.

A competent conveyancer will make certain that searches are in place to avoid buying a property on contaminated land or land that has a history of subsidence. Environmental searches are standard nowadays so that many problems associated with property purchase in the past have now been largely eradicated. You will be given the necessary advice to make an informed decision but ultimately it is your choice if you feel your prospective purchase has

Personal Finance — No Comments
15
Jan 10

Christmas shopping on a budget

Have a file or drawer in your house allocated. During the year, save all these money off coupons you get from newspapers or supermarkets. Come Christmas time, put them in envelopes and send them to friends and relatives. Imagine how delighted they’ll be to recieve a cornucopia of special offers: 20p of their next box of washing powder; 15p off their next purchase of toothpaste etc.

If you are worried this may not suffice in all cases, there are other ways to find “free” presents. Some examples follow:

1. Get them a cat or dog from a rescue centre. Tie it up in their garden on Christmas morning and then call them on the telephone and ask them to look out of the window. Thir faces will light up with delight.

2. Many businesses offer free quotes (e.g. for double-glazing; conservatories etc). Arrange a free no-obligation visit for your friends and family.

3. Many religions offer free stuff in the hope of converts. Arrange a free, Bible study visit for your friends.

4. Become an artist who specialises in making original artworks from “found” objects (driftwood, broken shopping trolleys etc). What better present than a specially-commissioned artwork for your friends.

Follow these tips and you’re sure to have a happy, cheap and stress-free Christmas.

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