Archive for the ‘Debt’ Category
Sunday, August 31st, 2008 |
I have recently received a few e-mail comments from readers asking me to expand on my previous article Understanding Mortgages, this article will answer many of the questions that were posed to me in those e-mails.
Mortgage and Housing Markets
Today’s housing market in most of the United States is a virtual candy store for the homebuyer. The sheer selection of properties on the market in most cities allows today’s homebuyer a tremendous selection at prices we have not seen in many years. There is only one problem however – lenders are tightening the purse strings on mortgage financing!
With lenders becoming more and more risk-averse, obtaining a suitable mortgage these days can often be a daunting task. There are numerous types of mortgages to choose from, and because of some previous “shady” lending practices, you need to make sure that both your lender and your mortgage are on the up and up.
With that said, there are several different types and structures of mortgages with various options to consider before committing yourself to such a large obligation.
Once you have settled on a legitimate mortgage with acceptable terms and conditions, there is the issue of the interest rate. Which option you choose will depend on your circumstances, but visiting your lender armed with the knowledge of the basic differences in terms and conditions will give you the confidence to get the best deal.
Here’s a quick guide to some different types of mortgages:
Fixed Rates
With a fixed rate mortgage, you agree with the lender on a set period of time – usually between two and five years – during which the interest will not change. The benefit here is that you will not suffer an increase if rates go up. Similarly, you won’t benefit if rates go down, and the borrower will likely face stiff penalties in order to pay out the mortgage early. As intriguing as a low, fixed rate interest plan may seem, you must check how long you are required to remain with the lender before you can pay out the mortgage without penalty.
Variable Rates
The amount you pay for your mortgage alters in line with national interest rates. Normally, the interest reflects the changes in the base lending rate of the central bank; this is decided by the Federal Reserve whom control the monetary policy for the country. Every time the Fed raises the overnight rate, the lenders eventually follow suit because their cost of funds increases. And in order for the lender to make money there has to be a “spread” between its cost of funds (the rate the bank pays to borrow money) and what the back charges to lend that money to the consumer.
Capped Rates
The idea behind capped rates is to offer the best of both fixed and variable rates. A “cap” is set on the interest so that it will never rise above that level, but if national rates fall, your interest will go down accordingly. The benefit of these is that you know the maximum interest rate that you could end up paying. However, the capped rate is not generally very competitive.
Discounted Rates
Discounted rates will fluctuate in line with the lender’s variable rate, but are obviously cheaper to tempt customers in. After the discount term has ended, the rate will then revert to the normal variable rate.
Banks and companies offering mortgages are now required to supply customers with a key facts document that provides all relevant information relating to the loan, and clearly sets out the total cost of the loan, not just the interest.
What Else Can affect My Mortgage Rate?
Along with the various types of mortgages available, there are a few other things that can affect the rate of interest that you will be charged on your mortgage.
One of the major factors that will affect the rate of interest that a lender will charge for your mortgage is the risk that they perceive they are taking by lending money to you. The major tool that lenders use to judge risk is your credit score. A better credit score will result in a lower mortgage interest rate because you are determined to be a lower risk than someone who has a lower credit score.
Do Your due Diligence
Whichever mortgage you choose, make sure you thoroughly research every option and compare lenders. You are, after all, bound in to the agreement for a long-time, and it’s sensible to make sure you get it right first time as switching lenders can involve hefty penalties. Lenders may have significantly different terms and conditions for their mortgages.
Remember, that it doesn’t matter how low an introductory rate is if it will significantly increase in 6-months or 1-year. Be sure that you read the fine print and calculate the actual costs of the mortgage over the entire amortization period.
There are plenty of great homes out on the market right now and there are a ton of reputable lenders who will be happy to lend money for home purchases. The key is to be knowledgeable and well prepared when applying for a mortgage so that you ensure that you get the best mortgage for your situation.
Happy house hunting!
Posted in Debt | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 20th, 2008 |
Don’t Talk About Moving When Your Wife Is Pregnant
I’ve recently had a discussion with my 9-month pregnant wife about the idea of moving. Now, I should have known better than to approach that subject when my wife is in her “nesting” mode – needless to say she was not happy.
The reason that I brought up the subject is that we can literally choose to live wherever we like. There is nothing holding us back from moving anywhere that the respective laws allow. I began thinking about this subject as I have watched home values in my city double over the last two years.
My Thoughts
We have made a couple of really savvy real estate deals that have made us more money over the past two years than our respective salaries. This, along with minimizing our expenses has put us in a comfortable position with no consumer debt and an increasing net worth.
Because our only debt is our mortgage, I have been toying with the idea of selling our house and moving to a less expensive location whereby we can purchase a similar home and be completely debt free.
In my mind this makes a lot of sense, here’s why:
- We would not be enslaved at jobs that we may not enjoy because we need to make a mortgage payment.
- We could plow a lot of money into other investments at the age of 29, with a long time horizon to watch it compound.
- We could spend money on travel and experiences that produce life-long memories, which is more valuable to me than “stuff”.
- We could choose to take extended “vacations” from our jobs to spend with our new child and extended family.
Rationale
- We both have Master’s degrees and are highly employable in any location. Even in a remote location, we could easily make ends meet by telecommuting or freelancing.
- Our city is freakin’ cold in the winter – what is the advantage to that?
- We would be further from extended family, but with the added freedom of not having a mortgage, visiting would be less taxing on the pocketbook.
(To be honest, we see our extended family only slightly more than when we previously lived much further away)
- Real Estate values are bound to cool at least slightly as evidenced by the “trendy” markets in the United States and Canada. I’m not calling a top to the housing market in my city, but I’m not greedy either – freedom is very tempting.
Making a move to a slightly smaller city less than three hours rive from our current location, with good job prospects for the both of us could set us completely debt free under 30 years of age. Most importantly, it would do so while living the same lifestyle that we are accustomed to. This is something that I find very tempting. (The winter would be just as cold though)
Of course it was seriously bad timing on my part to bring this up due to the pending birth of our first child. However, it has been eating at me ever since we did our annual budget in January and I realized the possibility.
Complete freedom from debt is a huge goal of mine; but is this the right way to achieve it?
I’d love to hear your stories or thoughts on this matter. Feel free to share in the comments!
Posted in Debt | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 |
It appears that I shocked a few people when I wrote about my thoughts on maxing out your student loans to get every penny that you can. Of course, there are the same arguments about other kinds of debt as well. I have received my fair share of email regarding my advice on the use of debt.
Debt is a Tool.
It is that simple.
Loans, mortgages, credit cards etc. These are all tools that, if used correctly, can not only help you manage your cash flow but increase your wealth as well. Yes, debt can be terrible if you can’t control it, but it can also be your best friend if managed correctly.
I already talked to you about the power of using a mortgage as leverage to build wealth and why lenders are more eager to hand out money when it is backed by an asset such as real estate versus consumer debt – like a car loan!
Why is This Article Titled “Student Loan Strategies”?
Well, as mentioned in the previous article on student loans, the student loan is some of the easiest money (debt) that we can obtain as average individuals. It is even easier to obtain than a mortgage because you are not required to prove that you have an established income. The debt is backed by your future earnings – how’s that for pressure!
Anyway, as we get back to the moral of the story and we understand how we can leverage our student loan money so we might graduate without a negative net worth, there is a way to combine the above strategies in order to profit while getting your degree.
Kiss The Dorms Good Bye!
This strategy is directed toward the parents of children who are on their way to college. So, if you are a college student, or about to be one get your parents on the phone!
To the parents…
Your child will have to live somewhere and either you or they will have to foot the bill regardless of where they hang their hat, so why not profit from it?
The strategy is to purchase a house with as many bedrooms and bathrooms as possible in a location that is as close as possible to the university. Yes, you will be renting this house out – but your child will be managing the rental.
College rentals can be unique and very profitable in that it is possible in this situation to rent “by the room”. While most residential real estate rents by the unit or the house, the college market will allow increased returns by renting by the room.
An Example
A 4 bedroom home that would normally rent for say $1000/month as a unit can often be rented by the room in the college market for between $350 and $450/month per room. As you can see the potential for profit is much higher and the potential for your child graduating without a mountain of debt it also greater.
This strategy requires more management as you must collect rent from each person separately instead of collecting one check from the entire house. If you trust your child and they are responsible, this should not be a huge issue as they will be living there to manage the property.
This will also help your child to learn to better manage finances and learn business skills such as management, marketing and basic accounting.
The Benefits
Ideally, the monthly profits (cash flow) from the roommates can cover expenses, repairs, vacancies etc. or may be used to have your child live, essentially, for free!
However, the best part about this strategy is that over the course of the 4-5 years that your child is in college, you will be gaining equity in the home courtesy of your child’s college roommates. This equity can be crystallized by selling the home when the child graduates and using the equity to pay off the student loans for example.
If you have a steady income and a good credit score, buying a house for your child to live in while going to college is typically a sound strategy.
The Kicker
If you have more than one child that attends the same university, this strategy can have a compounding effect as the younger ones enter school and the rooms continue to be rented out, your equity grows and grows.
If you are fortunate enough to realize a substantial capital gain along with your home equity, you executed this strategy exactly as my good friend and his parents did when I attended college. I only wish my parents and I could have undertaken this strategy instead of paying off someone else’s house!
I hope you enjoyed this example and are able to benefit from it. I share this with you, not because I profited from it, but because I was a victim of it! If it helps your child start their professional life without the same $40,000 in student loan debt that I had, then it has been worth the time to write this article.
Stay tuned later this week when I will tell you a story about what I learned from falling victim to this strategy and how it catapulted my net worth right out of college!
Posted in Debt | 9 Comments »
Friday, February 22nd, 2008 |
I have received a handful of e-mails lately asking to hear my story about overcoming more than $40,000 in student loan debt to having no consumer debt and a net worth of more than $250,000 in just three years.
The title of this post is rather misleading because I do appreciate the wealth building power of leverage as I mentioned in my article detailing mortgages. Of course, mortgages are financial debt instruments that the vast majority of people require in order to purchase a home.
Why I Use Credit Cards
I also utilize one credit card on a monthly basis. I use a credit card for a few reasons:
1.) It helps me to track my expenses. I simply download my card statements to a financial program such as MS Money and divide my expenses in to categories. If I use my credit card for all of my purchases, it makes analyzing my budget a snap.
2.) It saves me money. Yes, using my credit card saves me money. When I use my debit card, my credit union charges me a fee per use (or more accurately a monthly fee that includes a number of debit transactions). When I use my credit card, the credit card company charges the business where I used my card instead of charging me personally.
Yes, you could argue that it still costs me money indirectly as the business would factor that charge into the price of the product – but please bear with my example.
3.) I receive rewards from the credit card company for using my card. My particular card offers me 2 points for every dollar I spend which, if used for travel, equates to approximately 1.75% cash back – not too bad!
I do advocate the use of credit cards for these purposes if, and ONLY if, you use them for managing monthly cash flow and not for accumulating debt. This means that you must pay off the entire balance each month – no exceptions.
To help you sort through the thousands of Credit Card offers to find one that suits your needs, I suggest using a service designed to match you up with a card that will benefit you and not take advantage of you.
My Stance On Auto Loans
Several folks have inquired about vehicle loans, asking if I own a vehicle and if so what types.
Vehicle loans are the biggest mistakes that I could ever think to make. Not only do vehicles depreciate, but they also require fuel, repairs, insurance and maintenance. There are no two ways about it – owning a vehicle is expensive.
That being said, my wife and I own two 2003 Hondas which we paid for with cash. We purchased a 2003 Honda Civic in the fall of 2005 and a 2003 Honda CRV in the fall of 2007. Yes, I do adamantly believe in purchasing high quality used vehicles that are fuel efficient and known for reliability.
Why Honda? It is simple really. I owned a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback in college and it had over 300,000 KMS on it and ran like a top. I simply filled the gas tank and changed the oil – I was hooked.
This has been a quick outline of my current stance on debt.
I also have no problem advising anyone to take out student loans to invest in themselves and their future. However, you must be careful not to “live too high on the hog” on borrowed money while in college.
Stay Tuned For The Rest of My Story
In a future post, I will tell you how I graduated from college with fewer student loans than most of my classmates and how I managed to pay off the balance within a year after attending my final class!
Posted in Debt | 8 Comments »
