How to use "Owner Financing" for Real Estate investing

By Doc Schmyz

Owner financing often produces a winning situation for both the homeowner who is selling the property and for the buyer who is purchasing the property. Owner financing may be defined as the situation when a seller is willing to help finance a real estate transaction by creating a loan for the entire purchase if they own the home outright or by creating a loan for part of the purchase price when there is already an existing loan on the property.

There are numerous benefits when an owner financed transaction is used. For one, the transaction can proceed more quickly and easily than when conventional financing is used because there are fewer steps involved. For another, the seller is more apt to receive a higher sales price, and the seller will receive payments and interest over a long period of time. There are tax savings realized by selling under this installment plan. Additionally, the buyer will realize savings by avoiding loan fees and lender charges, and the negotiated interest rate will generally be lower than the available interest rates from a commercial lender. Also, for the 20% of prospective homebuyers who cannot qualify for a commercial mortgage loan, owner financing is a wonderful way for them to be able to own the home.

There are a few disadvantages to owner financing to consider. For one, if the buyer defaults on the loan the seller will have to initiate foreclosure proceedings. This can be costly. Of course, after the foreclosure the property can be sold again, an advantage for some owners and a disadvantage for other owners. Also, the interest income generated by the loan will be subject to taxes, which could be a disadvantage to a seller who is in a higher tax bracket. Additionally, the seller does not receive cash for their equity immediately, but rather will receive their equity in installment payments over time. This can be a problem if the seller needed funds to purchase another home.

TIPS: For the seller and the buyer to consider when negotiating an owner financed transaction. The seller should research the buyer's creditworthiness and ask numerous questions to become confident that the buyer can fulfill their obligation. The buyer should provide a written explanation of any problems that appear on their credit report, as well as give a list or personal references. The buyer should research the local housing market and get a home inspection done to identify any major problems. Also, a proof of payment provision should be included in the sales contract so the seller can verify that the new owner is making all insurance and property tax payments. Lastly, the seller should require the buyer to stay ahead on payments, even submitting post dated checks, so that the seller has confidence that foreclosure will not become necessary in the future.

Owner financing home sales can be a winning situation for both sellers and buyers. It is important however, that both parties do their due diligence in order to reduce possible risks. Owner financing is another tool that every real estate investor should have an understanding of. - 23222

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has invested all over the US and Mexico. He built a free free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

Currency Forex Market Trading - A Brief Guide For You

By Brian Lamonte

Currency Forex market trading is becoming one of the most active forms of trading in the world. Because of the massive increase in global trading, large corporations use this market to help protect their profits from being lost before their sales or their purchases are complete. The banking systems of most countries trade in currencies to help maintain stability in their commercial banks and financial institutions. Many governments that control their countrys natural resources and commerce use this market to maintain stability within their systems. Risk taking individuals are also a part of the currency markets.

One of the biggest advantages to trading in the foreign exchange market is the liquidity it provides. There is also buyers and sellers and large turnover. It has been said that liquidity can help make a market trade with more stability. During 2008 the daily activity was over 3 trillion dollars. The volume is growing by double digit percentages each year. Transactions are done OTC which means there is a lot of interaction in this market.

London houses the largest currency trading center. There is another center in New York. Hong Kong and Singapore have smaller centers. Trading takes place 24 hours a day every day during the week somewhere in the world. For the most part there is no trading on the weekends.

The prices that we pay for every product we buy on a day to day basis is affected by the fluctuations in the currency markets. If raw materials are imported to make products in a local factory, the of the price of the finished product will reflect the differences in exchange rates. When you visit another country the purchasing power of your currency will move up and down.

Risk takers who have a solid knowledge of how the currency market works may attempt to capitalize on its fluctuations. Currency Forex market trading can be profitable for a person you understands it. Currencies trade in pairs. Some of the most commonly traded pairs are the dollar and euro, the British pound and dollar, the dollar and Japanese yen and the dollar and the Swiss franc.

The base currency in the pair is named first. This currency will be bought or sold based on whether it is expected to go up or down. Charts should be used to plot the two currencies against each other. If we use the euro and dollar as an example, a move up means the euro is moving higher against the dollar. A move down means the value of the euro is declining against the dollar.

To participate in currency Forex market trading a speculator must open a trading account with a financial institution that supports individuals. They must sign papers for trading with leverage as most of the money they use will be loaned to them by the financial institution. They will have to deposit a small percentage of the funds they intent to use for trading. Profits can be huge and loses can be too. Leverage should be used cautiously.

Profits are difficult to come by in currency Forex market trading. A knowledge of market behavior is a must. It is not important if the base currency is moving up or moving down. The traders job is to predict how the paired currencies will move at a set time in the market. Obviously, you want to buy at the lowest prices and sell when prices on the base have moved up. Hopefully this is done with a higher priced quote. If the base is high it can be sold and later purchased to cover the position at a lower price. - 23222

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To REALLY find out about currency forex market trading then you HAVE to read up everything on currency forex market trading!

US Dollar (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

US Dollar is the most heavily traded currency in the global economy. It is important for the currency traders to have a good grasp of the general economic characteristics of the most commonly traded currencies.

Traders need to also know the difference between the expected and the actual data. Some currencies tend to track commodity prices while others may move in complete contrast.

News or data that is in line with the expectations has less of an impact on currency movements than unexpected news or data. The correlation between the currency markets and news is very important. Therefore short term traders need to closely monitor the expectation of the currency markets.

US GDP is approximately three times the size of Japan, five times the size of Germany and seven times the size of UK. United States is the worlds leading economy. The US economy is now a service oriented economy with almost 80% of GDP coming from real estate, transportation, finance, health care and business services.

United States has the worlds most liquid and deep equity and fixed income markets in the world. The manufacturing sector is still formidable and US Dollar is particularly sensitive to the development within the sector.

The import and export volume of US also dwarfs the countries. This maybe due to the sheer size of US as true import and export represent only 12% of the GDP. Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into the US is equal to almost 40% of the total net inflows for United States. Investors from all over the world purchase US assets due to their liquidity and safety.

US economy is facing the paradox of the twin deficits. One is the Budget Deficit and the other is the Current Account (CA) deficit. US is running a large CA deficit for more than a decade now.

US need to attract a few billion dollars of capital inflows daily in order to prevent the decline in the value of US Dollar. The large CA deficit makes the US Dollar highly sensitive to changes in the capital flows.

United States is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This means that United States is heavily committed to the free trade idea. A weaker US Dollar will help boost US exports whereas a stronger US Dollar makes the US exports expensive and US imports cheap. US trade is equal to roughly 20% of the world trade. United States is the trading partner of many countries across the globe.

Leading export markets for United States are: Canada, Mexico, Japan, EU and UK. Leading import sources for United States are: Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and EU. The growth and political stability in countries that are leading export markets for US are important. For example, should Canada growth slow; its demand for US exports will fall that will have a ripple effect on US growth. - 23222

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try Strignano's Forex Signals free. Discover a revolutionary Forex Robot Trading System!

Gold Stocks Are Leading Bull Market

By Michael Swanson

The price of the wonderful yellow metal that every one of us loves and wishes to collect; known as gold, is now at an all-time high. What's more, it seems that now is the right time buy gold stocks, because as a stock investor as you will stand to gain from escalation on the price of this commodity, which will prove to be beneficial for you in the long term.

To begin with, there are several forms in which a person can own gold, and while some forms are risky, others are safer. The liquidity of this yellow metal is also known to vary and this variance in prices will affect the price of gold as well as gold stocks.

Before you actually spend your money in purchasing gold stock you need to realize that this step implies that you are buying stock which belongs to various gold mining companies. This means you must also take into account that the gold mining company can fail at any time. If this happens then you stand to lose all the money you have invested.

Secondly, before becoming the owner of gold stock you must open a brokerage account which should be funded by making a deposit of your money. Many people prefer dealing with online brokers and this is a good way of investing in this commodity.

Each broker has their own commission rate which is charged per trade, these brokers offer different levels of customer service and will have different levels of knowledge about various gold stocks.

Taking into account the fact that companies like Seabridge have fifty million ounces of gold waiting to be mined, it means that with gold at eight hundred dollars an ounce, such companies have about forty billion dollars worth of gold waiting to be mined.

This means that you should not totally depend on BPIs or Bullish Percent Indexes which does however form the basis for much gold stock trading in the short term. - 23222

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British Pound Currency Profile (Part I)

By Ahmad Hassam

GBP/USD is the most liquid currency pair in the world and is highly popular with the currency traders. 90% of the global currency trading is pure speculation by the market players. Why is GBP so popular with the currency traders? What are the strength and weakness of GBP? Lets discuss the currency profile of GBP. Another name for the British Pound (GBP) is Pound Sterling. GBP is also known as the Cable. This name most probably struck in the early part of the twentieth century when most of the global trading used to be done through GBP via telex machines run on the cables. GBP used to be the international reserve currency of choice in those days. United Kingdom (UK) is the fourth largest economy in the world. UK has a service oriented economy with manufacturing representing a small part of GDP. Manufacturing is only equivalent to one fifth of GDP.

London is still the forex center of the world. London Stock Exchange is still the second most important stock exchange in the world after the New York Stock Exchange. The British capital market systems are one of the most developed in the world and as a result finance and banking has become a strong contributor to the GDP.

Although majority of UK GDP is from services, UK is the largest producer and exporter of natural gas to EU. The energy production industry accounts for 10% of GDP which is one of the highest shares of any industrialized nation.

Trade deficit is an important economic indicator for determining the strength or weakness of a currency. Overall, UK is a net importer of goods with a consistent trade deficit. Increases in energy prices such as oil will significantly benefit the large number of UK oil exporters. This is important for forex traders as energy prices are positively correlated with GBP.

The United States on an individual basis still remains UKs largest trading partner. However, the largest trading partner of UK is the EU with the trade between the two accounting for almost 50% of UK imports and exports activities.

The leading import sources for UK are Germany, France, United States, Belgium and the Netherlands. The leading exports markets for UK exporters are the United States, France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

UK had rejected adopting Euro as its currency in June 2003. However, the possibility of Euro adoption will still be in the backs of minds of pound traders for many years to come. Now, if UK decides to join EMU, it will have significant ramifications for its economy.

One of the primary arguments used against adopting the Euro is that UK has sound macroeconomic policies that have worked very well for the country. The most important of these ramifications is the adjustment of UK interest rate with the Eurozone interest rate in case UK decides to join EMU.

Right now Brits are not in favor of a Euro entry. There are many arguments in favor of Euro entry and many against.UK is a highly political country with government officials highly concerned about the voter approval ratings. The voter opinion can change overtime. However, the likelihood of EMU entry will decline if the voters do not support Euro entry.

Bank of England: The monetary policy of UK is under the control of The Bank of England (BOE). BOE is the UKs central bank. BOE is one of the oldest central banks in the world. The Monetary Policy Committee is the nine member committee that sets the monetary policy for UK. The committee was granted operational independence in 1997. It consists of a governor, two deputy governor, two executive directors of the central bank and four outside experts. - 23222

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try These 1500 Pips A Day Forex Signals From Heaven. Know Forex Rebellion!