Home Equity – Is it Time to Cash Out and Move?Written by Charles Essmeier
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he or she could buy a comparable or even larger home, pay cash, and probably keep a healthy profit to invest. For most Americans, equity in their home is their single largest asset. Examining that equity to see if it can be used more wisely would be a sound move, particularly as real estate experts warn of a housing “bubble” that may soon reduce prices to more realistic levels. Should this “correction” in market take place, homeowner equity could be seriously reduced.
Obviously, selling a home and moving just to pocket equity is not something that suits everyone. While it may make sense from a financial standpoint, it will mean finding a new employer, finding a new home, finding new friends and moving children to new schools and friends. Anyone considering such a move would be well advised to carefully consider all of ramifications of simply picking up and moving. On other hand, opportunity to extract several hundred thousand dollars in cash from a home is a rare one, and investing it wisely could go a long way towards financing a better lifestyle or a more comfortable retirement. Homeowners should be aware that there might be capital gains taxes to be paid on sale of a home. Those considering selling their home to extract their equity would probably benefit from a consultation with a financial advisor.
©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 information and HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information on home equity loans.
| | Commercial Collections: Business Finance Booster ShotWritten by Steve Austin
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What I Should Have Done Looking back on my experience with deadbeat corporate client, my biggest mistake was doing it all myself, with writing letters and making phone calls. With an hourly rate of about $75, I ended up spending time equivalent of a large chunk of my $2000 fee. I should have gone to a collection agency. I just didn't know then that were collection agencies that would take on small business debts and run whole process for you for as little as $20 per debt. Of course, I also didn't know that going to a collection agency didn't necessarily mean "putting an account in collections." Many collection agencies are in fact refashioning themselves as "accounts receivable management" specialists; they'll even manage your invoicing from end-to-end if you want. The client may not even realizing that person on phone is from an outside agency and not your own personal assistant. When I think of all value of time I spent collecting that last $2,000, I could kick myself for not handing it over to a collection agency. But, I can always look forward to putting this knowledge into practice next time I have a client who's slow in paying.
Steve Austin is a regular contributor to Let No Debt Remain Outstanding (http://www.let-no-debt-remain-outstanding.com/), a website with articles on choosing a collection agency, along with recommended the best collection agencies.
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