Money Questions and Answers

Top 5 Tips for Buying Investment Property

Buying investment property is stressful. Buying investment property typically means taking your personal tastes out of the decision. But, paying close attention to details will make the home pleasing to future tenants. There are so many things to consider when buying an investment property, that it is a good idea to learn as much as you can beforehand from real estate investment experts like Than Merrill. However, here are some basic tips for buying investment property. Tips for Buying Investment Property Get Pre-Approved Unlike some personal home loans, investment property mortgages generally require at least a 20% down payment. Make sure the properties you intend to buy are something that you can afford. You should attempt to get pre-approved for a mortgage before … Read more

Affordable Homeownership: How To Get Help To Buy a Property

by Guest Contributor

Using a mortgage calculator There are more would-be first-time house buyers than ever before, who think that they will find it almost impossible to get on the housing ladder without a bit of help to get them started with affordable homeownership.

Many first-time buyers either have to make use of some funding from the bank of Mum and Dad if it is available, towards the deposit, or they turn to one of the homebuy schemes that have been set up to help people achieve their dream of owning their own home.

Home ownership schemes

There are currently four specific home ownership schemes that are being backed by the government for property purchase, with different schemes operating in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Here is a look at the schemes available and how you might be eligible to apply in order to assist you in buying your home in England, if can’t afford to do so without extra financial help.

Help to Buy With Affordable Homeownership

The Help to Buy program, or scheme, is probably the most accessible option in terms of eligibility, as the equity loans offered are available to not just first-time buyers but home movers as well.

The scheme is designed to help people buy newly built homes with a purchase price of up to £600,000 as long as it is intended to be your only property and you don’t sub-let it after purchase.

The government-backed equity loan is designed to bridge the affordability gap by offering you as much as 20% of the purchase price in the form of an equity loan, which is secured against the property. You will be expected to be able to put in a minimum of 5% deposit and then qualify for a mortgage of up to 75% to complete the purchase.

This scheme is understandably heavily subscribed when funds are made available, as you won’t be hit with any loan fees on the 20% portion from the government, not until the 6^th year of ownership. You will be expected to pay a 1.75% fee on the value of the loan as a fee in the sixth year and this will increase each year thereafter, in line with index-linked inflation plus 1%.

You will have to buy your home from an approved Help to Buy builder and the loan is repayable when you sell your home or after 25 years have elapsed, which is the normal mortgage term.

What Will Switching to Card Reading Do to Your Tips

by Jennifer Davies

Do you practice excessive tipping? If you’re the owner of a small business that employs people who work for tips, your choice of payment system is holding their livelihood in the palm of your hand. A lot of considerate bar owners, restaurant owners, and more will think twice before they institute any changes that could adversely affect the people who work for them. This is both kindness and practicality.

If you can’t get the people working for you a decent living wage then they’re going to leave, you’re going to have high turnover, and everything that you wanted or worked for is going to blow up in your face. That’s not where anyone wants to be.

So, when you’re looking to trade out the clunky old cash register for something with a bit of a modern flair, you have to consider what it’s going to mean for everyone who depends on you to put some food on the table and let them pay their rent. Well, the results on mobile point of sale systems, credit card reading apps, and more are in and the results are only good.

Tips Fall When People Have to Do Math

If you run a bar, then you know this very well; when people get drunk, tips get crazy. They’re either way too high or way too low, and typically, they’re on the low side. Even drunk people hate doing math and want to save money. That’s why it’s so harsh to get a flat ten dollar tip after serving up complex cocktails all night.

It’s terrible when a drunken person tries to do math and ends up leaving you an 8 percent tip instead of a 15 percent tip. When people have to put in a lot of effort, good tips simply don’t happen. This is the first building block to explain why digital tips are so good when compared to traditional cash or write-in tipping methods.

Present Percentages Send Tips Through the Roof

When businesses make the switch to accepting credit cards for the first time or they change their credit card practices to more easily add tips (say, from making the customer write it in themselves to letting them either select a preset amount like $1 per tap or calculating options for the percentage of their bill (typically 15 percent, 20 percent, and 25 percent)), they see a sudden boom in tips.

Peach State Problems: All About Car Accident Settlements Georgia-Style

by Guest Contributor

When you’re traveling through Georgia, be on the lookout for drivers. If you’re in a car accident here, you may be surprised to learn that car accidents are handled a little bit differently than in some states you might be used to driving through.

Georgia’s At-Fault Rules

Georgia has unique at-fault rules. At-fault drivers are liable for any personal injury or any property damage that is the result of a auto crash or accident. The insurer will first try to pay the claim out of the policy before assigning liability to the individual personally. In Georgia, an injured person can either file a claim with his or her insurer, file with the other drivers’ insurer directly, or file a personal injury lawsuit in civil court.

The Minimum Requirements In Georgia

In Georgia, all drivers must carry at least $25,000 in personal injury for the injury or death of another person. While this is the state minimum, this is usually insufficient if injury or death actually occurs. A $50,000 minimum limit for injury or death of more than one person is also required. Finally, all drivers must carry $25,000 in liability coverage for property damage.

These limits might seem low, and they are. Most accidents, unless they are very minor, can easily exceed these minimum dollar amounts. Any amount not covered by insurance will be covered by the individual, personally.

Time Limits

Generally speaking, you have two years after a car accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in Georgia. You have four years after a car accident for filing a lawsuit for property damage. But, you should always speak with an Atlanta car accident lawyer before you make any final decisions about whether or not you’re still able to file suit. Some circumstances may alter the way you file or your time limits.

Life Insurance Myths – The Truth About Getting the Best Coverage

by Guest Contributor

Some consumers avoid thinking about their family’s need for life insurance because it requires them to consider their own mortality, and unfortunately, that prevents them from educating themselves on the topic. There are certain life insurance myths that lead many to misunderstand its purpose, cost and availability. There is also a healthy amount of distrust regarding the insurance industry as a whole. This may be because, in exchange for your hard-earned cash (premiums), consumers simply get a promise. Insurance is not tangible – it is a financial instrument with an “if-then” statement. If something bad happens, then you get a payout. If nothing bad happens, then you got peace of mind and not much else. This “trust” issue isn’t helped … Read more

The Budget Traveler: Travel Tricks on the Internet

by Jennifer Davies

The following post was written by Jeffery Hernandez. Coming from a Humble Background, Jeffery completed his Master’s in Business Administration and now works as an Independent Financial Advisor. He loves playing chess, reading novels and spending time with his wife and kids. Follow him on Twitter @_JeffHernandez0

Getting out and hitting the open road is a common American fantasy, maybe the most common one there is. But how many of us are actually taking the time to get out there and experience the wonderful diversity of the world. The truth is probably fewer than we’d like to admit.

Of course traveling isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do. It requires some expendable income and a flexible work schedule that just isn’t attainable for a lot of people.

I’ve always wanted to do some more traveling myself, but paying for rent, groceries, and car payments always gets in the way. I couldn’t help but wonder, are we really unable to afford travel, or are we just not looking in the right places for ways to do it inexpensively?

I did a little investigating around the web and found some tools that make traveling accessible to the masses. Thankfully, the Internet provides prospective travelers a great source for new tools that can help to make traveling an affordable and feasible reality. Let’s take a look at what I found to make seeing the world a little bit easier on the wallet.

Sharing Economy Apps

As the tech industry continues to dominate economic headlines with an ever increasing number of smartphone apps to save the world, it can be hard to parse out the quality ones from the not-so-impressive (We’re looking at you, Yo).

However, startup companies like Uber, Lyft, and AirBnb are making traveling more affordable and accessible to a lower tier of the economic bracket. Although these rapidly growing companies are seeing their fair share of critics, they can save users a fortune when compared to the traditional stalwarts they seek to replace.

Take AirBnb for example, those looking for a cheap place to stay in a new city can temporarily rent out a regular person’s apartment, often for significant lower prices than those charged by hotels. While hostels are always an option for travelers on a budget, AirBnB gives its users the opportunity to rent an apartment without dealing with raucous bunkmates who want to party until the wee hours of the morning.