My Personal Finance Blog

The world is fond of witnessing achieving landmarks after landmarks; new inventions; exploring galaxy; boost in economy; modernity in science; advancement in Information Technology; Fashion and many more to name a few. Our way of living is rapidly changing with the passage of time. The overall effect of such is that we need more and more and to fulfill the need we lack resources.

Keeping in mind all the factors affecting the living standards of mankind, one is not capable of meeting all what is required for a better living. Ambitions seem hard to accomplish but one should not quit trying. To walk with the world in future everyone requires some sort of assistance in the form of financial aid. The needs of the people are different depending on what they require for what time. For example, a student may require financial help to pay off his tuition fee; a businessman may require capital to invest in his business; a person may require loan to build a house for him and for his family. The need of requiring financial assistance changes with the demands of the people and in order for meeting all the demands of mankind there has to be a way from which all could be achieved soundly and in a more effective way.

There are certain times when we require help but we simply cannot get it our own. At that times, requiring financial help from external sources looks the better idea. The need of financial aid could be for buying a house or a car, paying off your rent or medical bills; or pay for your education.

One of the most powerful helping-hand is the Government. In order for one to get the Government assistance he must be in desperate need and must qualify to be eligible for such grant.

Apart from the Government there are many organizations and almost all financial institutions who are the biggest providers of such like aids. For the past many years the financial institutions have built their reputation to provide assistance in many types to their clients/customers. These helps are of many kinds such as education funds, housing loans, business loans, car financing, mortgages etc. Financial institutions are one of the most reliable sources available to anyone in present times and in the future as well.

One should never think that “I need financial help” again if you proactive approach has been taken in finding best suitable assistance. Since the world is in your reach at internet, the best way to find such assistance is on the web. If one is in dire need of financial assistance where you think that coming out of this situation your own looks impossible start exploring the web to get online assistance programs. There are so many available platforms where you could just write “I need financial help” and the web would give you a list of thousands of such like financial aid providers.

The following are some great advantages to buying and owning a home instead of renting. For one it is largest and most important investment you will ever make. Here is a list of the top 4 reasons one should buy their own home.

1) Equity: As soon as you buy your house you have gained considerable equity. A 5% to 10% down payment has given you 100% ownership of that property. As time goes by payments are made your mortgage decrease, the property has appreciated and your equity continues to grow. Even if your home never appreciates which is very unlikely and stays the same you are continuously paying down your mortgage. If you rent, your payments are similar to what a mortgage payment would be, with really gaining only one main benefit and that is having a roof over your head. You are literally paying someone else’s mortgage and creating equity for someone else

2) Sense of Ownership: It’s a great feeling buying your own home. There is a great sense of ownership and accomplishment. It’s great feeling knowing you can paint the walls without consequence. Having the ability to hang pictures whenever and wherever you want. Also being able to remodel and renovate, knock out walls, add bathrooms and pretty much do whatever work or improvements you want with gaining all the benefits for improving your property.

3) Stability: Owning a home gives you great stability in a couple of ways. It’s a great feeling to know that if you lock in a mortgage rate for 5 even 10 years that your payments won’t change. As far as renting goes, depending on the municipality’s rules, a landlord generally can increase the rent whenever they want and to whatever rate they want.

4) Future: Owning your own home gives you some great advantages for your future. Aside from building equity in your home you are paying down your mortgage. The great thing about a mortgage over rent is that eventually you pay it off. Once you have paid off your mortgage no more monthly payments, this then dramatically increases your disposable income.

Don’t get me wrong renting serves a great purpose and for most of us it is where we start. However these are just some of the many reasons why buying your own home has many great advantages over renting. Gaining equity on a home that you can take pride in owning, which will greatly enhance your future while providing stability in the now, seems pretty good when your padding someone else’s pockets.

Buying a house in Scotland is slightly different from buying a house in other parts of the UK. It’s not particularly complicated, and buying north of the border can often be quicker, but for those relocating from England and Wales there are a number of points you need to bear in mind.

Agreement in principle

Before you begin house-hunting in Scotland you need to have an agreement in principle for your mortgage. An agreement in principle takes the form of confirmation from your lender that, subject to various conditions, they are prepared to give you a mortgage up to a certain amount. This amount will be based on your income in much the same way as it is in the rest of the UK. Without an agreement in principle in place, any offers you make on properties are unlikely to be taken very seriously.

Sealed bids

In England and Wales, houses are normally advertised at a given price and the vendor accepts that he may well have to settle for a price that is lower than the original asking price. Under the Scottish system, the vendor sets a price and invites offers in excess of this via a sealed bids system. Although this type of secret bidding is sometimes seen in the rest of the UK, it is normally only in cases where the property is particularly expensive or desirable.

Commitment

When you buy a house in Scotland, if your offer is accepted, you are immediately under an obligation to buy that property. This is why an agreement in principle is required before you go house-hunting. By contrast, in England and Wales, you can pull out of buying the property without penalty up until the time when contracts are exchanged.

The Scottish vendor is also committed to the deal as soon as he accepts the buyer’s offer. Hence the risk of gazumping (where the vendor later accepts a higher offer from someone else) is removed.

Solicitors

Because of the earlier commitment to buy, solicitors play a much greater role in the buying and selling of homes in Scotland. In many cases the solicitor will act as the selling agent for a property rather than an estate agent.

The actual house-hunting process in Scotland is much the same as anywhere else. But don’t forget, when you are looking at properties, that the advertised price is the minimum you will have to pay, and is not a starting point for bargaining downwards.

As a buyer, you will need to appoint a solicitor before, or as soon as, you see a property you want to make an offer on. Once you are ready to make an offer, your solicitor will contact the selling agent and ask them to “note interest”.

Finalising the mortgage

After this, you will need to finalise your mortgage application by going back to your lender and providing details of the specific property you are planning to buy. Once this is done, the lender’s valuation and your own survey can be carried out.

Arranging a survey

Although your own survey is not compulsory, it is strongly recommended that you have one done before making an offer.
Because you are legally committed to buy the property once you make your offer, it is important to know as much as you can about its condition. The results of the survey will help you as well when it comes to deciding how much to offer.

Of course, at this stage, there is no guarantee that your offer will be accepted, and so it is not uncommon to end up having to pay for surveys on more than one property. This is, unfortunately, one of the disadvantages of the Scottish system.
In England and Wales, where you can make your offer and then pull out before contracts are exchanged, buyers normally only have to pay for one survey.

Making an offer

After the seller’s solicitor has received notification of interest from two or more buyers, he will announce a closing date by which all of the offers must be received. Because a sealed bids system is used, no-one knows what anyone else has bid. Also, each buyer can only bid once, so it is important to think very carefully about what size offer to make and get it right first time.

Your solicitor will make the offer on your behalf and will also advise a “date of entry”. This is the date when you will be given the keys to your new home, and is the equivalent of the completion date used in England and Wales.

Once the closing date for offers comes, the vendor will accept the highest bid and from this point on both parties are committed. There are no deposits involved unless you are buying a new property, but if either the buyer or the seller pulls out from here on, they are liable for any losses the other party may have incurred.

Concluding the missives

After the offer is accepted, the buyer’s solicitor will “conclude the missives”. This is similar to exchanging contracts under the English system. Once all the details of the sale have been agreed via this procedure, you as the buyer are responsible for the structure of the building and need to make sure you have adequate buildings insurance in place.

Settlement

All the funds to buy the property, together with all the fees, need to be ready for forwarding to your solicitor about two weeks before the date of entry. These monies will be transferred to your solicitor the day before your date of entry, and you will then need to sign the title deed to the property.

Finally, the vendor’s solicitor will hand over the keys and the “disposition document” which legally transfers ownership of the property to you.

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Copyright 2004 David Miles. You are welcome to reproduce this article on your website, so long as it is published “as is”
(unedited) and with the author’s bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information included. In addition, all links to external websites must be left in place.

“What’ll happen to house prices?” Turn on the news or walk into a pub and there’s a good chance you’ll hear that question.

If you’re weighing up the benefits of buying and renting, the housing market’s stability might influence your decision, but the real question is: “What’ll happen to ME?”

Imagine you buy a house tomorrow. Of course it matters if its value goes up or down by 10%, but probably not as much as a major change in your own life, like losing your job, getting promoted or having a baby.

What are your prospects?

So start with a look at your finances. Let’s split them into three: work, home and commitments.

Work: Is your job secure? Any chance of a pay-rise / promotion? Are you expecting your income to go up, down or nowhere?

Home: Are you planning a family? If you already have kids, are they costing you more every year, or about to leave home? Marriage, divorce, inheritance, big expenses – changes in your home life can have a major impact on finances.

Commitments: Do you have any debts? Are you paying child support or supporting an elderly relative? If your children have left home, are they financially independent?

You can probably answer questions like these with a fair bit of certainty – and figuring out if (and when) you’re expecting things to change should help you make that all-important ‘buy / don’t buy’ decision.

What’s your monthly budget?

If money is the biggest factor, there’s no easy answer.

Some people buy because they feel they can’t afford to keep renting. If rents go up by 4% a year, today’s

For other people, buying a house is the primary goal why they work. Several of them want to invest for the sake of purchasing a house once they begin earning money. Home is always on top of everyone’s priority. This is quite obvious and wise because that is the place where you can have the ultimate relaxation you want. Everyday the prices are rapidly increasing, therefore buying real estate property is becoming more and more difficult and selling it is a lot easier. Investing in a real estate is the best form of investment. Buying a house is important for anybody. However, investing in acquiring the second house aside from your primary home is the best way to invest money if you have more than enough of what you need.

It is indeed an additional expense when you buy a second house. But you can get more advantages than disadvantages of owning one. If you have money you would certainly want to invest it to something it would double your income. But provided with the kind of fluctuation the market undergoes everyday, you might just end up doing the wrong thing. Choosing to invest in a house is much more advantageous, you might pay the personal property tax but at the end of it the property might just give you the lost money. Once you have it already, you can put it out on rent or keep it as vacation house for some quiet time when you want to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

There is a need for you to get a home loan for your second house. You can opt for a mortgage if you do not have enough resources to put in for the loan. Even if you declare your second house as an investment property you would still have to pay an additional interest of about 1-2%. But this is identified to a large extent by the lender or agent who is handling your transaction. When it comes to down payment, you can pay it through borrowing from the equity of your first house. This is again saving you up on your taxes.

You have to secure few things before you purchase a second house. These include transport, probability of renting the place, status of the property that you are buying and the area. When you decide to buy the second house, make a thorough research about when you want to buy the property and the investment plan. This is because the whole point of acquiring the second home is to be able to save money. Do not be too impulsive when you buy your second house, there is no urgency as to where you would stay for awhile. Take as much time as you want and choose the best house you want, which would be the second abode for you. This is where you can safely say that your second home can also be as sweet as the first one.