Home Equity – Don’t Spend it on Risky Investments

Written by Charles Essmeier


Continued from page 1
their equity, bought more property, borrowed against that equity, and repeated this process six, seven, ten or more times, attempting to build up an empire of rental property. It’s hard enough for most people to manage one mortgage, but some people who are caught up inrepparttar “equity frenzy” are now managing ten or more of them! Onrepparttar 150292 surface, it may appear that these intrepid individuals are simply taking advantage of an opportunity, turning several hundred thousand dollars worth of equity into millions of dollars worth of rental property. Onrepparttar 150293 other hand, these “investors” may be inviting disaster.

As more and more people buy real estate on speculation,repparttar 150294 equilibrium ofrepparttar 150295 real estate market is affected. The additional competition among buyers, fueled byrepparttar 150296 real estate speculators, is causing prices to go up even more. Eventually,repparttar 150297 market is going to peak. Buyers who need a home to actually live there can only pay so much for them beforerepparttar 150298 homes simply become unaffordable. And not every speculator can own ten rental properties, asrepparttar 150299 market can only support so many rental properties beforerepparttar 150300 market becomes saturated. Once that happens, prices will fall. And when they do, all of these buyers who purchased their homes using their own home’s equity will find themselves under a mountain of debt.

It’s nice to have some equity in your home. It’s also nice to be able to borrow against that equity for home improvements or debt consolidation. Using your equity as though it was cash you can freely spend is dangerous, as many speculators will soon learn.

©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a Website devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on mortgages and home equity loans.


Auto Loans: Don’t Dig a Money Pit in Your Garage

Written by Joel Walsh


Continued from page 1

How Much Car Debt Can You Afford?

1) Make a list of your average monthly non-car expenses, and subtract them from your earnings.

-___your monthly after-income-tax income

-___any other taxes

-___housing (including any fees and property taxes, and utilities)

-___food

-___health insurance or HMO

-___life insurance

-___debt payments

-___401 (k), IRA, or other long-term savings

-___short-term savings

-___telephone, cellular phone, cable, internet, etc.

-___entertainment and fun stuff (be honest!)

-___cost of yearly vacation(s) divided by 12

-___other expenses

= ____what you can spend on a car

2) Subtract your monthly car-related expenses fromrepparttar amount you have left over from your other expenses.

___What you can spend on a car (from above)

-___Amount you’re spending per month on gas (raise or lower this figure depending on whether you are getting a car with higher or lower gas mileage).

-___Monthly maintenance (remember: your new car won’t stay new long, so maintenance will be an issue).

-___Monthly insurance (remember that for a new car, your insurance premiums may go up).

-___Tax.

= ____ Maximum monthly loan payment.

Now plugrepparttar 150283 number above into a vehicle loan rate calculator to figure out big of a car loan, and how much interest you can afford.

Final Hidden Auto Loan Danger: Unnecessarily High Rates

If you simply takerepparttar 150284 first loanrepparttar 150285 dealer offers you, you are probably paying too much. Do some comparison shopping onrepparttar 150286 internet, and bring a list ofrepparttar 150287 best loans with you when you negotiate loan terms withrepparttar 150288 dealer.

Don’t letrepparttar 150289 dealer cheat you by shiftingrepparttar 150290 cost fromrepparttar 150291 car loan torepparttar 150292 car price torepparttar 150293 deal on your trade-in. Make sure you get a good deal overall.

Congratulations! You now are far better prepared to stay out of an auto loan money pit thanrepparttar 150294 vast majority of car buyers.



Joel Walsh is a regular contributor to Auto Loans :http://cars-auto-loans.com, where he writes about how you can get the best car loan




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