Boost your Pension with Property Investment

Property market (Photo credit: Alan Cleaver)

Twenty years ago, a carefully cultivated pension plan was your ticket to a comfortable retirement. Sadly things have now changed and with interest rates on savings accounts dismal and pensions performing at an all-time low, it is a good idea to look into alternative ways of generating some extra income if you want to enjoy your twilight years. So is property investment a good idea, or is becoming a buy to let landlord more trouble than it’s worth? 

The State Of The Rental Market

The UK rental market is currently booming. First time buyers are unable to gain a foothold on the property ladder and millions are being forced into rental accommodation as the recession continues to bite. As a result, demand for rental accommodation is far outstripping supply in many areas, which makes property investment a smart move for anyone with some cash to spare. 

How Easy Is It To Get A Mortgage?

Lenders have tightened up their lending criteria considerably since the property market crashed in a spectacular fashion a few years ago. Most now expect borrowers to have at least a 25% deposit, so unless you have the cash, you will struggle to obtain a buy to let mortgage. Lenders will also expect your anticipated rental income to be higher than interest on the loan. 

Will Buy To Let Properties Generate A Good Income?

The average savings account pays less than 1% these days, so even if you have tens of thousands stashed away, you will be lucky if you can generate much income from it. The alternative is to invest in some high-risk schemes, but if this is your retirement pot, you might not want to play Russian roulette with your savings. Buy to let yields are a much better bet in the current market - rental yields do vary, but on average you can expect to see a good 5-6% return on your investment, even taking into account expenses incurred. 

Things To Consider Before Investing In Buy To Let

Buy to let property investment is an excellent solution for a lot of people, but it is not all plain sailing, so before you jump in feet first, you need to think about a few things.

• Location – not all locations are equal. London and the south east generates a far higher rental income than some other parts of the UK, so do your homework before you invest in property in your area. 
• Choose your target market carefully – decide in advance what type of tenant you want to attract. Young professionals, students, families or social tenants: they all have different requirements. 
• Void periods – you will need to factor in periods of time when your property is empty. No tenant means zero income, so bear this in mind. 
• Self-manage or letting agent – managing rental properties requires a time commitment, which might not be convenient, but if you use a letting agent, the service comes at a price. 
• Legal responsibilities – landlords are subject to all kinds of legal requirements, so make sure you are aware of your legal responsibilities before you invest in a buy to let property and advertise for tenants. If you fall foul of the law, you could end up being prosecuted. 

Bio

John is approaching retirement, so he has been looking into ways of maximizing his pension income. He used the compensation he received from www.hardwickmissoldmortgages.co.uk and invested it in a small terrace property in his local area. Now he enjoys a steady income rental from a young professional couple.

Sales of Silver Coins Reaches an All Time High

Silver Coin (Photo credit: migraines2000)

Gold is very expensive and for most people, out of reach. But, you want to invest and secure your future. What will you do? Invest in ‘cheap gold proxy”. This is what Morgan Stanley calls silver, the sales of which has shot to an all time high. Recently, the 2 day meeting of the Federal Reserve decided that stimulus would be provided to improve silver prospects and bring them back to their former glory in 2008.

The currency market is constantly plagued by highs and lows and cannot be depended upon. People want to and should invest in something that would yield them good returns and not make them worry about it all the time. US Central bank has moved towards silver because of this very issue with the currency trading.

Silver is high in demand and has the support of loose financial policies. Industrial consumption has also increased leading to its high demand. In fact, since 2008, the price has doubled up and investments have reached a record high. Here are some things that would clear it up for you -

1. According to the CEO Blanchard Vault, Anthem Blanchard, sales have increased due to quantitative easing. People are worried about the ever increasing inflation that doesn’t seem to be getting better in the near future. Also, debasement of currency doesn’t help the public sentiments either. Blanchard Vault is an online retailer of gold and silver, and the company works out of Las Vegas and he expects the sales of silver to better as the time progresses.

2. The demand for silver was high but the lack of inventory to meet this demand led to suspension of silver sales in January. The stocks of Mint had been empty and the sales were twice the usual when this suspension was enforced. However, sales have resumed and the suspension is over. Mint data supports the soaring prospects of silver with these figures –

• In December 2012, the sales of silver managed 1.635 (ounces in millions) whereas if you take the figures of January 2013, it is 7.42 (ounces in millions). There have never been better sales of silver since 1986.

3. Like Silver, Gold sales have improved as well. If the current January 2013 figures are to be compared with December 2012’s, there has been a rise of almost 85%. The last time gold saw such a high was in July 2010 and since then, this has been the highest gold has come. All in all, the market seems to be partial to gold and silver at the moment and prudent investors would definitely make the most out of it.

4. Silver gained 1% to USD 31.50 an ounce in Comex, New York. There has been a rise of 4% of this metal. Central banks, Japan and U.S continue to predict an increased growth and promise that the stimulus would be raised to achieve the same.

There would never be a better time to run to your rare coin dealer and get some silver as an investment and a saving.

6 Effects of the HDFC Home Loan Cuts

Interest Rates (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has announced that it will cut down its basis points for home loans. This cut has drastically reduced the amount of money you have to pay per month over a period of twenty years. This move has been initiated by the government to help the market recover. This move has made money available in the hands of the people and has some favourable effects. Given below are six effects of these HDFC home loan cuts- 

Money Available In The Hands Of Buyers

The reduction in the basis point by the HDFC has brought down the rate of interest for home loans. This means that you have to pay almost seven or eight lakhs less in total than you would have previously paid on the same loan amount. With less money to repay, buyers are now keener to take home loan in India and buy houses. 

Increased Demand For Real Estate Investment

With the market looking favourable, and the real estate market is looking better, thanks to reduced rates. More people are showing interest in the investing in homes. Property prices are rising and people are trying to buy before the prices rise further and this has increased the demand. 

Increased Buying of Property

Property prices are rising with improvement in infrastructure and development of the outskirts of the cities. In such a scenario it becomes difficult to buy property in good areas of Mumbai, Delhi. These cities have sky high property rates, and therefore investors are looking for property in tier I and tier II cities. The demand for property in these places has gone up after the HDFC’s rate cuts. 

The Young Crowd Is Buying Property

The RBI’s rate cut has favored property investment by the young crowd. The young working class earns a good amount annually and with the slashed rates they can now afford a house of their own. The reduced rate and special offers for woman’s loans, many young women are also going ahead and buying their own property in some of the leading cities of the country. 

Property Prices Are Rising

The reduced rates of loans have increased the demand for property. This in turn has increased the property prices to go up. Prices had taken a hit with low demand, but now that the market is recovering and the investors are increasing their property prices. This has in turn increased the demand for property, so that buyers like you can buy property before the prices rise further. 

Foreign Investment

Reduced rates have brought in investments from international investors. They have realized that India has a strong stable real estate market with a good rate of interest. These foreign investors have taken up some high end projects. This will also attract more investors, both national and international in the future.

These are the six effects of HDFC’s home loan cuts. It is time to make full use of it and benefit from it.

How Does Managed Colocation Help Small Businesses Transition?

A typical server "rack", commonly seen in colocation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Almost every small business reaches a point where it needs to transition its IT needs from a small in-house solution to a larger, more efficient off-site location.  Going from keeping everything in-house to relinquishing complete control  is a difficult pill for many small businesses the swallow.  Recently, managed colocation has proven to be the ideal bridge for transitioning small businesses in a variety of different circumstances.

Managed Colocation Allows Businesses to Invest in Hardware without Requiring a Full Support Infrastructure

A common transition small businesses must make is moving from outsourcing everything (managed hosting) to taking more control over the IT infrastructure.  Instead of bringing everything in-house, managed colocation gives small businesses the opportunity to take control over hardware decisions without forcing them to invest in a full support infrastructure, including redundant facility and expertly trained IT staff.  From managed colocation, small businesses then have an opportunity to transition to unmanaged colocation in which they develop their own IT staff.

Businesses Can Transfer Hardware Out of the Office to Gain Access to Superior Resources and Protection

Another common point of transition for small businesses is realizing the amount of resources required to support their hardware exceeds the resources they currently have available.  The most common resource shortages include space, connectivity, and power.  Instead of building a completely new data center, it is easier and less expensive for small businesses to switch to managed colocation.  It allows them to leverage their current hardware, get access to a better facility, and minimize additional expenses.

Managed Colocation Allows Small Businesses to Allocate Their In-House IT Staff on Business-Centric Tasks Rather than Maintenance

At some point, every business must refocus their IT staff towards business centric tasks or hire a larger staff in order to accommodate the necessary day-to-day maintenance.  A simple way to refocus in-house staff is moving the servers and networking solutions to a co-location facility.  Managed colocation not only provides a facility, but also eliminates the need to hire additional staff for day-to-day maintenance.  This allows small businesses to maximize all of their personnel while simultaneously leveraging greater buying power and improved IT infrastructure.

Businesses Can Expand Their IT Footprint As-Needed

The biggest mistakes small businesses make in regards to their IT needs is overestimating their future growth.  Overestimating future IT needs forces small businesses to over invest in infrastructure and staff.  As a result, they have less capital to invest in more business centric, profitable endeavors.

Managed Colocation Allows Businesses to Continue Transitioning at Their Own Pace

The final reason managed colocation is an ideal solution for businesses currently transitioning their IT operations is because provides a logical stepping stone.  From managed colocation, businesses can choose to either take more control via unmanaged colocation or sell assets and step back to managed hosting.  As a result, managed colocation allows small businesses to transition in either direction seamlessly.

It is increasingly difficult for small businesses to accurately predict what their technological and IT needs will be in the mid to distant future.  As a result, choosing a managed colocation strategy which provides them with multiple options is a safe route which still provides scalability and flexibility.

Bankruptcy Helps You Start Over Again

debt (Photo credit: Alan Cleaver)

When you hear the word bankruptcy you usually think of failure. It's true that when you are going through it you feel like a failure and are embarrassed to have people learn about it. But bankruptcy is a legal and acceptable way to get you out of your financial problems. Bankruptcy is a complicated process and you need a bankruptcy attorney to guide you through it. 

When you got yourself in the financial mess, all you want was to make it go away and start over. With a bankruptcy, you can start over. You can wipe the slate clean and stop getting all those harassing calls from creditors. You won't have to deal with debt anymore. 

The elimination of your debt occurs when you file for bankruptcy. This includes major unsecured debts like credit card and medical bills. With these debts wiped from your credit report you can now start to rebuild your credit rating. Bankruptcy does effect your credit rating negatively for a while but over time your credit rating can be repaired to an acceptable level. 

Along with bankruptcy eliminating your credit and medical debt it also can prevent foreclosure and repossession. If you are behind on your house and car payments a San Diego bankruptcy attorney can prevent you from losing your home and car. 

Going through a bankruptcy is a stressful event but after you complete it you will have a better quality of life. You and your family will come out bankruptcy and live a less stressful life. Your debts will be gone and the worry of losing your home and car will also be gone. You will have peace again in your home.

Remember getting in over your head again can be relatively easy to do. You should attend credit counseling classes and learn all you can about debt and credit. Some people fall back into large debts because they haven't learned to change their spending behavior. 

The Latest on the PPI Scandal

The concept of PPI reclaim isn't really a new one, but it’s definitely picked up speed over recent months because of FSA involvement. Since the regulator instructed banks to contact known victims of mis-sold PPI, news of the scandal has traveled like wildfire. Between 4 and 12million letters are expected to be written[1] – some of which having already been sent – by the banks to individuals all over the UK. While consumers have known about the scandal for a while, the media coverage has heightened the importance of making a claim, with billions being put aside for this very purpose.

The Bank of England has been warned that the total redress could be looking more like £25bn once the bulk of the claiming is over[2] – that’s almost double what the banks have put aside so far. Last year, 19,000 people submitted claims[3] with a total of £1.9bn being paid in compensation[4]; this year it’s expected that these figures will skyrocket. With the help of claim management companies such as iSmart solutions UK, you can claim your rightful piece of the PPI pie, as well.

The importance of using a claim management company (CMC) to control your claim is emphasized by latest statistics showing the success rates, compared with claims chased by individuals themselves. Last year, 73% of PPI claims made by individuals were successful, but this figure rose to 82% if a CMC was used to do the legwork[5].

It’s also important to note that, if you think you have grounds for a claim, you act on it as soon as possible. With rumors of a Spring 2014 deadline for PPI claims, with some banks running low on funds sooner than that (in some cases, more like March 2013 due to huge underestimation of claims)[6], it is vital that you claim what is rightfully yours, today. Banks are continuing to add money to their money pot to try and get on top of the massive amount they have already set aside – some of this could be yours.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has employed 1000 new caseworkers to tackle the influx of PPI claims that they’re expecting over the next several months[7] – an astronomical amount of claims and calls are being made, with up to 11000 new complaints per week to the FOS by people who are unsatisfied with the response the banks have given to their claims[8].

One of the reasons why there’s such an issue is because of the sheer number of frivolous claims using the resources for nothing. Some claimants are trying their luck, on the off-chance that they

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[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17269048

[2] http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article3649587.ece

[3] http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business-news/business-news/2013/02/11/post-finance-grab-your-slice-of-the-ppi-pie-55578-32783450/

[4] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/millions-to-get-letters-inviting-complaints-over-ppi-7542535.html

[5] http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business-news/business-news/2013/02/11/post-finance-grab-your-slice-of-the-ppi-pie-55578-32783450/

[6] http://www.dailypost.co.uk/business-news/business-news/2013/02/11/post-finance-grab-your-slice-of-the-ppi-pie-55578-32783450/

[7] http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/business-news/ombudsman-takes-on-staff-to-deal-with-ppi-1-5307935

[8] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21334145