Money Rant

By Dillon Norris

 International Money transfer is an essential part of your international move and/or business, which, if handled correctly can boost your bottom line or settling funds dramatically. Anybody looking to move overseas, send money to family or conduct business with an overseas company will need to purchase or transact in the destination currency. In order to complete any property acquisition ahead of your move or just simply transfer your existing assets over to your new country, the method you choose will make a big difference.

In today’s volatile currency markets, a small change in the currency rates, coupled with the high commission charged by most banks can make an enormous difference in the net currency amount received when converting your currency, you are placing what is possibly your life savings into someone else’s hands. Depending on the size of transaction, this could make a tangible difference of several thousand dollars; money you may prefer to put towards starting your new life! This can leave you exposed to the market fluctuations and could give you a handsome boost to your funds or put a big hole in your budget.

To start with you have several choices how you move your money:

1. Use your normal Bank and accept the charges and the fact that you may not be talking to an expert when you discuss the transfer.

2. Use a specialist international currency transfer company

3. Use a normal money transfer agent (again accept the charges)

4. Buy a huge amount of traveler’s cheques or take cash (not recommended)!!!

Lets discuss each one with a bit more detail:

Possibly the most important piece of advice I was given when emigrating was that the high street banks were not the best people to entrust with your money transfer overseas. How do you know that the bank teller has any idea what you are talking about (not being belittling but it probably isn’t an everyday service)? They charge commissions, transfer fees and then to cap it all off they give a reduced exchange rate.

Essentially, the high street money transfer agencies are similar to the banks. They may know more about the transactions but will hit you with commissions, charges and not the best rates.

Travellers cheques and cash speak for themselves - don’t do it! They are easily lost/stolen, some countries only allow a limited amount of cash to be carried into the country and in the case of travelers cheques, you may have to pay to buy them and then to cash them in. Just plain don’t do it!!!!

Last, but not least, it’s the international currency transfer companies. I had no idea that international currency transfer specialists even existed, never mind the exceptional services on offer.

Naturally, securing the very best rate of exchange becomes all important. There are several money transfer companies that offer an alternative to the banks - in fact “alternative” is too weak, they outclass the banks by a mile! When we first heard about the services on offer it really did seem to be too good to be true and we were very skeptical. We thoroughly researched the major high street banks in the UK and the rates they were offering (adding the fees and commissions!) and then compared to the service we were offered. Again, there had to be a catch.

The transfer company had no commissions, transfer fees and also gave a rate that was close to 3 cents to the pound better than the banks. All the funds would be transferred electronically to the bank account of our choice normally within 2 working days. We were even offered a choice of payment methods which included direct debits/debit cards/electronic wire transfers and the ability to “book” a rate in advance for a small deposit and then pay the balance prior to the contracted transfer date.

We had to find out how these people could offer such a service so quite bluntly asked. The answer was very simple. This was a dedicated, specialist company that dealt on the Forex markets in large volumes - this meant that there would be a low profit margin on each individual deal but the overall volume made it worth while. Because they are a specialist company, they could pass on the savings to their customers and the use of modern, electronic transfers ensured the costs were low with no need to pass them on to us! A true Win-Win situation.

The other added bonus is that these people are dedicated foreign exchange experts who research the markets and accurately forecast the trends and can advise action accordingly. If it makes sense to “book” a rate for settlement up to 2 years ahead then that will be recommended - you pay a deposit and commit to the deal and then they buy the currency at the agreed rate of the day. They hold the currency on your behalf and then at the agreed date you pay the balance and the money is transferred. This protects you against fluctuations and allows you to budget accurately.

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Are You Considering Refinancing? FHA Refinance or VA Refinance

By Mark Kreischer

 Determine Your Goals for Refinancing

The first step in any Refinancing process should be for the homeowner to determine his goals and why he is considering Refinancing. There are many different answers to this question and none of the answers are necessarily right or wrong. The most important thing is that the homeowner is making a decision which helps him achieve his financial goals. While there are no right or wrong answer to why Refinancing should be considered there are, however, certain reasons for Refinancing which are very common. These reasons include:

* Reducing monthly mortgage payments

* Consolidating existing debts

* Reducing the amount of interest paid over the course of the loan

* Repaying the loan quicker

* Gaining equity quicker

Although the reasons listed above are not the only reason homeowners might consider Refinancing, they are some of the most popular reasons. They are included in this article for the purpose of getting the reader thinking. The reader may find their mortgage Refinancing strategy fits into one of the above goals or they may have a completely different reason for wanting to re -finance. The reason for wanting to re-finance is not as important as determining this reason. This is because a homeowner, or even a financial advisor, will have a difficult time determining the best Refinancing option for a homeowner if he does not know the goals of the homeowner.

Consult with a Refinancing Expert

Once a homeowner has figured out why they want to re-finance, the homeowner should consider meeting with a Refinancing expert to determine the best refinancing strategy. This will likely be a strategy which is financially sound but is also still geared to meeting the needs of the homeowner.

Homeowners who feel as though they are particularly well versed in the subject of Refinancing might consider skipping the option of consulting with a Refinancing expert. However, this is not recommended because even the most educated homeowner may not be aware of the newest Refinancing options being offered by lenders.

While not understanding all the options may not seem like a big deal, it can have a significant impact. Homeowners may not even be aware of mistakes they are making but they may here of friends who re-financed under similar conditions and receive more favorable terms. Hearing these scenarios can be quite disheartening for some homeowners especially if they could have saved considerably more while Refinancing.

Consider Not Refinancing as a Viable Option

Homeowners who are considering Refinancing may realize the importance of evaluating a number of different Refinancing options to determine which option is best but these same homeowners may not realize they should also carefully consider not Refinancing as an option. This is often referred to as the do nothing option because it refers to the conditions which will exist if the homeowner does not make a change in their mortgage situation.

For each Refinancing option considered, the homeowner should determine the estimated monthly payment, amount of interest paid during the course of the loan, year in which the loan will be fully repaid and the amount of time the homeowner will have to remain in the home to recoup closing costs associated with Refinancing. Homeowners should also determine these values for the current mortgage. This can be very helpful for comparison purposes. Homeowners can compare these results and often the best option is quite clear from these numeric calculations. However, if the analysis does not yield a clear cut answer, the homeowner may have to evaluate secondary characteristics to make the best possible decision.

Fha Refinance & VA Refinance

The Ups and Downs of Refinancing

By Richie Lindsay

 Refinancing can be considered a means with which a person replaces his/her current loan with a new loan in order to save money. The loan can be of any type. It can be any consumer debt or a credit card debt or a mortgage.

Many people shelter to refinancing nowadays because it has many pros:

As it helps people to reduce interests, risk, and periodic payment obligations by either lowering the interest rate owed on the loan or extending the period of loan. Also everyone looks for refinancing in order to be able to achieve equity faster.

There are too many individuals who are “house rich and cash poor.” What value is it if your house is paid off in full, but you do not have any liquid cash to support? Keep in mind that your house will no doubt appreciate over the next few years. It will do so whether or not you have a large or a small mortgage. The more equity you have in your house will put more money in your pocket when you sell it, but while you are living in the house it is only “dead equity.”

In essence refinancing can be used to transform available equity in one’s house into ready cash, available for other purposes or expenses.

refinancing an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed-rate one, ensures a steady interest rate over time, by removing the risk that interest rate might increase terribly.

As no one is perfect, also there is not good thing without some risks and cons:

Lenders sometimes offer no-cost refinancing, charging you zero points for your mortgage loan. Generally, you will pay a higher interest rate than on an otherwise comparable mortgage with points, and you’ll still have to pay the other costs associated with the loan. there are also closing and transaction fees typically associated with refinancing a loan or mortgage. In some cases, these fees may outweigh any savings generated through refinancing the loan itself.

Some sub prime lenders charge excessively high fees, but you can screen these out by comparing mortgage rates.

All you need is to determine the goal behind seeking a refinancing, collecting information about several lenders options and then work on your refinancing.

Finally it became aparent that refinancing, as hasing lots of advantages it also has disadvantages and risks. You should pay great attention that some refinanced loans, while having lower initial payments, may result in larger total interest costs over the life of the loan, or expose the borrower to greater risks than the existing loan, depending on the type of loan used to refinance the existing debt.

So you have to be carefull and Calculate the up-front, ongoing, and potentially variable costs of refinancing while making a decision on whether or not to refinance and you have to Check your mortgage agreement to see whether it contains a prepayment penalty, and try to avoid prepayment penalties in any refinanced mortgages.

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