Basic Financial Information Tips (Part 1)

Savings. Pay yourself first. Start now stashing 10% of your income in an “Emergency” savings. Don’t use it for anything but real emergencies. Keep a “For Sure” savings account for yearly expenses you know are coming and you can estimate (e.g. Christmas, insurance, taxes, etc.). Also have a “Buy Stuff” account. If you do, you’ll be able to avoid many financial disasters which will face you, and you can avoid borrowing money from high-rate lenders.

Borrowing. Don’t borrow money unless you are willing and able to pay it back. Failure to pay debts – on time – causes severe financial, emotional, and family problems. Experts recommend you don’t borrow for wants, only for needs, or for things that increase in value. Many lenders will loan you money you can’t afford to pay back, especially high-rate lenders.

Co-signing. Don’t co-sign on a loan unless you are willing and able to pay it back. Often, co-signers end up paying off loans they are unprepared for, and financial hardships follow. Numerous co-signors now have negative credit ratings because a primary borrower paid late. Many lenders do not notify the co-signor before reporting delinquencies or repossessions to the credit bureau.

Compare. Before you decide who to borrow from, compare! Find out who is offering the best deal at that time – look for the loan with the lowest rate (APR).

APR. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR). It is the standard rate, so we may compare the cost of borrowing. It is the cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate. When you borrow, always beat 13% APR (consider “13” to be unlucky when it comes to borrowing). Some have been illegally stating other rates such as weekly or monthly rates. Compare APR to APR. If you pay your bills on time, and you aren’t over-extended, you can nearly always find loans or financing arrangements at rates lower than 13%. Beware though, because beating 13% does not always mean you are getting a good deal. For instance: the difference in total interest paid on an 11% versus an 8% 30-year, $100,000 mortgage loan is $64,283 (assuming all payments are made as agreed).

Consolidation Loans. A consolidation loan can result in great savings to borrowers if the new interest rate is significantly lower, and if you don’t run-up debt similar to what was just consolidated. But beware, because consolidation loans usually result in substantially more money out of your pocket into the lenders’. For instance, mortgage loans usually involve closing costs. They increase the total debt. Many refinances involve reducing the monthly payment, but increasing the length of payback, which substantially increases the total interest paid. Borrowers, who refinance unsecured debt (e.g. credit cards) into a home mortgage, also increase their risk of losing their homes. Also, remember to keep all of your payments current until the old debt is paid off. Too many people have damaged credit ratings, and are in bad financial condition because they counted on money which didn’t come when they expected it. Expect delays when applying for loans, especially consolidation loans. Don’t spend money before you get it.

Desperation. Don’t get desperate for money. The more desperate you are, the less likely you are to get a good loan.

Auto insurance. Keep your auto insurance current. If you fail to keep your insurance up-to-date, you could end up making loan payments for years after your car has been totalled.

Establish good credit. To avoid bad credit, don’t borrow too much, and do pay your bills on time. Inexpensive ways to establish good credit: (1) Obtain a good credit card. When you charge things, pay off the balance each month – on time – and pay no interest. (2) Establish a revolving line of credit (an empty loan) as an overdraft protection against bounced checks, and don’t use it as a loan. (3) Get a loan to buy a car, or furniture, or etc.) and pay it off within a few months.

Late fees. To avoid late fees (which multiply the cost of borrowing), pay early, or at least on time.

Repossessions. To avoid repossessions and associated fees, pay early or on time, and keep your insurance current.

Extra principal ® less interest. To pay less interest on loans, pay more than the minimum required payment. Even small amounts of extra principal, can significantly reduce the total amount of interest you would otherwise pay over the life of the loan. Before doing this, however, make sure your lender accepts extra principal payments, and find out what particular procedure you need to follow to ensure your extra principal is properly applied.

Bi-weekly payments. If you get paid weekly, or every other week, paying bi-weekly is a very convenient (almost painless) way to reduce your loan term and interest. For instance, if you make ½ of your required monthly payment every 14 days (a bi-weekly period), you pay the equivalent of 13.052 payments in an average year. If you don’t get paid bi-weekly, or if your lender doesn’t like biweekly payments, you can pay the equivalent amount in monthly instalments. If you pay 1/12 of the sum of 13.05 payments each month, you will match the bi-weekly advantage (minor rounding differences).

Contrary to popular belief, the frequency of paying ½ payments bi-weekly doesn’t accomplish much, the real advantage is paying the extra principal (13.05 payments, or more, each year) which reduces the term and the interest paid. If you are considering signing up for a bi-weekly program, pay close attention to the cost. Some servicers have large set-up fees and transaction fees. Also consider the credibility of any company handling your money, some have diverted payments into their own pockets, leaving borrowers to make payments twice.

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Knowing When You Are Ready To Buy

All across Australia, there are millions of people looking to a buy home – either now or in the future. Over the last few years, lower interest rates have come along, making it more affordable than ever to buy a home. When most people stop and give it some thought – buying a home makes a lot more sense than renting a home or an apartment.

In order to buy a house, you’ll need to start saving your money and have enough for the closing costs and a down payment.  You should always best try to have 20% to put down as your down payment. If you aren’t able to put 20% down, you’ll need to buy some private mortgage insurance, which will cost you more in terms of your monthly payment.

In most cases, the closing costs will run you around 5% of the property price. Before you purchase the home, you should always get an estimate. An estimate won’t be the exact price, although it will be really close. You should always plan to save up a bit more money than you need, just to be on the safe side. It’s always best to have more than enough than not enough.

You’ll know your ready to buy a home when you know exactly how much you can afford, and you’re willing to stick with your plan. When you buy a home and get your monthly mortgage payment, it shouldn’t be any more than 25% of your total monthly income. Although there are lenders out there who will say that you can afford to pay more, you should never let them talk you into doing so – but stick to your budget instead.

Keep in mind that there is always more money involved with a home other than the mortgage payment. You also have to pay for utilities, homeowners insurance, property taxes, and maintenance. Owning and caring for a home requires a lot of responsibility. If you’ve never owned a home before, it can take a bit of time to get used to.

Before you fill out any applications, you should always look over your credit report and check for any errors. Although you may think you don’t, you can easily get an error on your credit report and not even realize it.  If you check your credit report early enough, you may leave yourself enough time to fix any problems and get your credit back on track. Rebuilding credit can take time though, sometimes even years. You should always plan ahead – and give yourself plenty of time to fix your credit.

 

Aussies Blame Migrants For Skyrocketing House Prices

Australians are starting to withdraw their support to migrants due to housing affordability and overcrowding concerns, a recent poll revealed.

ANU professor Nicholas Biddle said the most common reasons given by those who do not support further population growth were housing affordability, overcrowding of cities and the support for training Australians rather than importing skilled workers.

“Nearly nine out of 10 people nominated the cost of housing being too high as a reason for not increasing Australia’s population, while 84 per cent of people said that cities are too crowded and there is too much traffic,” Biddle said.

“Intergenerational wealth inequality is evident, and it’s understandable Australians just want a fair go. But immigration does not necessarily mean higher house prices – migrants contribute net economic benefits,” Allen told The New Daily.

Moreover, Allen thinks the timing of the survey, which was conducted around the time Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave a controversial speech calling for a permanent limit on immigration, might have affected the views of the respondents. “These ills aren’t the consequence of population, but rather politicians,” she said.

However, she added that while Australia is suffering from growing challenges, opportunities and benefits still abound for the country to thrive.

“Australia’s ageing demographic profile means the pressures on young people to shoulder the economic burden of future taxation dependency presents real risks to the nation’s future. The fact is, in Australia’s demand-driven migration scheme, migrants fill jobs locals won’t or can’t. Migrants don’t take from locals. They make net contributions to the economy,” she said.

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Being Straight With Debt Counsellors

‘Credit card debt’ is the worst of all nightmares. Credit card debt settlement is a wonderful stress relieving mechanisms. Once you are done with your credit card debt settlement, you are assured of a much better life.

You can approach credit card debt settlement in 2 ways. You can either go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself or you can take advice from a credit counselling company or a professional.

If you go for credit card debt settlement all by yourself, you will need to analyse the various options available to you e.g. checking on various balance transfer offers available in the market, checking the short term loan options with the banks etc etc. However, if you want to take credit card debt settlement advice from a professional, you should be able to trust the advisor fully. So you need to check the credentials of the credit card debt settlement advisor/company.

These credit card debt settlement companies/advisors will be able to help you in the best way if you tell them your current financial situation correctly. Your future plans are important too, as they might influence the decision on ‘What route for credit card debt settlement would work the best for you’.

Moreover, once you are done with your credit card debt settlement, you should also take measures to avoid falling into that pit again.

 

 

Checking Mortgage Rates Online

Homeowners who are planning to re-finance their home may find the Internet to be a very worthwhile resource. The Internet is useful because it can give the homeowner a wealth of information as well as the ability to compare different rates from different lenders at their convenience.

One of the most popular advantages to researching re-financing online is the ability to comparison shop at the homeowner’s convenience.  Homeowners can also take their time comparing the quotes they receive from these lenders online instead of feeling pressured to provide an immediate response.

Homeowners who are using the Internet to research re-financing options and obtain quotes should carefully consider their sources.  Homeowners who stick with well known lenders and established websites will not likely encounter problems but those who select a new lender may be surprised by the results of the re-financing attempt.

Homeowners should also take care not to be fooled by fancy web design. A website which looks very professional is not necessarily a website which is accurate and informative. Many skilled website designers can create websites which are both attractive and professional looking.

While shopping for re-financing options online is certainly easy and convenient, homeowners should consider completing the application process in person. Completing the re-financing process in can  prevent the homeowner from being surprised by any elements of the mortgage re-finance. This may include additional fees which are tacked on during the processing of the application, rates which are only available in certain situations or other elements of the re-financing agreement which could significantly impact the homeowner’s decision making process.

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A Basic Guide To Home Contents Insurance

Basically, home contents insurance is insurance protection against the replacement cost that you would otherwise have to pay to replace the contents of your home in the event of then being lost, damaged or stolen. As is the case with home buildings insurance, the main factors contributing to grounds under which you can make a claim against your home contents insurance include theft/burglary, damage due to floods, burst water pipes or boilers, etc.

There are, however, two very important factors that you need to keep in mind when insuring the contents of your home:

First, in the case of home contents insurance, it is rarely the case that your mortgage provider is going to insist that you have this type of insurance as part of your mortgage agreement;

Second, regardless of whether you own or rent the property you are currently living in, you should still be looking to insure the contents of your home – as these are your personal possessions.

Two further aspects of home contents insurance also need to be considered carefully when you are checking out the different kinds of policies on offer. In some, but not all, cases you can be insured for your home contents even when the items listed in your home contents insurance policy are not actually physically located on the home ‘property’. So, for example,

First, it is possible to claim when you are transporting items from one place to another and they are stolen.

Second, home contents insurance is insurance against the replacement cost of the item being insured.
It does not, nor is it intended to, insure you against the nostalgic value of the item damaged/lost. So, for example, if you insure a picture your deceased grandmother gave you, which would cost £20 to replace, it makes little difference that it was your deceased grandmother who gave it to you and that it cannot, therefore, be replaced.

Although home contents insurance is, in all but a few very rare circumstances, a completely voluntary scheme of insurance to subscribe to, if you are in any doubt as to the value of this insurance scheme, take a quick mental inventory of the contents on your home and their value and then get a few quotes off the internet and you’ll soon be seeing the value of having your home contents properly insured.

 

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Australia Clocks Fastest Value Decline In A Decade

2018 was an underwhelming year for the Australia housing market as values fell at the fastest rate since the global financial crisis in 2008.

The CoreLogic December home value index results showed that the downturn in Australian housing conditions accelerated through last year, recording a 4.8% decline. The drop was driven by the weakness in most capital cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne.   Sydney led the yearly drop in home values, recording an 8.9% decline. This was followed by the downtrend in Melbourne (7%), Perth (4.7%), and Darwin (1.5%). While Sydney and Melbourne recorded the weakest conditions, the peak-to-current declines were much less severe relative to Perth and Darwin, where values have been falling since mid-2014.

While other capital cities recorded improvement, conditions were not as strong in 2017. This shows that the housing slowdown goes beyond Sydney and Melbourne, according to Tim Lawless, CoreLogic head of research.urne. “Although Australia’s two largest cities are the primary drivers for the weaker national reading, most regions around the country have reacted to tighter credit conditions by recording weaker housing market results relative to 2017,” he said.

 

 

Melbourne To Take Sydney’s Place As Major Housing Market Drag

The deterioration of Sydney’s housing market will likely continue to affect Australia’s overall property scene this year, but according to some industry analysts, the city will not be much of a drag as it had been before. Instead, they predict that Melbourne will take Sydney’s place as the major housing market burden.

On the other hand, dwelling values in Sydney are expected to decline by 3.3%, but the rate of decline would not be similar across housing categories. Moody’s Analytics economist Katrina Ell told The Daily Telegraph that detached house prices are expected to record higher price declines, as they saw faster growth in recent years.

On the other hand, the unit market is expected to become a bright spot as it rebounds with modest growth this year.  Moody’s Analytics also anticipates that value in Perth will decline by as much as 2.8% this year. In contrast, dwelling values in Brisbane and Adelaide are calculated to grow by of 1.2% and 2.6%, respectively.

Overall, the housing market downturn is set to persist over the following months, which Ell said could have implications for the wider economy.

“Given that most of the household wealth is in the relatively illiquid asset of housing, there would be greater systematic implications if debt repayment difficulties suddenly become a broader concern. If unemployment were to rise, it would force many households to sell at once,” she said.

 

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REAL ESTATE NEWS

Fewer House Listings Recorded In December 2018

It was a muted end of the year for the residential property listings in Australia as the number of homes for sale went down by 9.2% to 328,203 due to the holiday season.

While this seasonal decline is expected, SQM Research said areas such as Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra recorded larger-than-expected drops in listings at 17.7%, 17.2%, and 15.5%, respectively. Of all the city capitals, Hobart clocked the lowest rate of decline at 5.8%.

“Listings in December had some large falls. However, let us keep in mind there was a surge in listings recorded in November and that December.  Traditionally records a large fall in properties for sale as this is a holiday period,” SQM Research Louis Christopher said.  Christopher projected that prices would continue falling in Sydney and Melbourne over the next months. However, he observed that asking prices in the two cities actually increased slightly during the previous month, up by 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.

The largest monthly boost came from Canberra, where house asking prices rose 2.5%. However, unit asking prices in the city declined by 1.1%.  Sydney recorded the highest increase in unit asking prices at 0.7% but the largest decline in house asking prices at 1.6% over the month.

 

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LOCAL NEWS

Why Some Say Turning The Debt Taps Back On Is Irresponsible

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg welcomed the New Year by urging banks to continue approving housing loans in a bid to drive the Australian economy — a thing that, according to some market watchers, is very irresponsible to say.

Speaking in regional Victoria last week, Frydenberg told banks to keep their books open and to approve more home loan applications. “You have a social and economic responsibility to ensure affordable and accessible and timely loans to the broader public. It’s in the banks’ interests, it’s in the economy’s interests, and it’s certainly in the public’s interests,” the treasurer said.

These sentiments followed the release of the CoreLogic December home value index, which showed a 2.3% quarterly decline, the worst since 2008.

After more than a year of mortgage lenders tightening their lending screws in compliance with regulations, housing credit has slowed significantly. In fact, official figures show that credit growth moderated to 4.9% in November last year, well below the 10-year average of 6.3%. North said that allowing banks to lend more would not do any good, as home prices relative to income are significantly higher than in most other countries around the world.

“We have more than a million households with a mortgage who are struggling to make mortgage repayments today. We don’t want to stoke that fire more,” he said.  He added that it is only appropriate for banks to keep their lending standards tight and focus on the capacity of the borrowers to make repayments in assessing applications.

“Our analysis shows that around 40% of loan applications are now being rejected, compared with 5% a year ago, because people don’t actually meet the lending criteria,” he said.