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Archive for July, 2010

Saving Money On A Caribbean Holiday

Worried about the drop in your 401k and the uncertain economy however still considering a holiday but concerned about the cost? Well it is possible to have a holiday in the Caribbean and save money. This article will provide you some of the ways you can reduce your Caribbean vacation cost and still have a wonderful time.

Hotels
These are the times in which it pays to shop around. The economic slowdown in the United States and Europe is causing many hotels in the Caribbean to have empty rooms and so lower rates are available. By researching the various hotels and the packages they offer you can find hidden bargains.

Another way to reduce your hotel cost is to remember that hotels that are not directly on the beachfront but within walking distance of the beach usually cost less than hotels on the beach.

What type of hotel
Ask yourself the question how much time do I really spend in the hotel room and the hotel? If your answer is that you spend a lot of your vacation time out of the hotel room then do you really need to stay in a large hotel? On all the Caribbean islands there are small hotels that offer much lower rates than the large hotels.

Another vacation saver is to consider selfcatering hotels. Many selfcatering hotels provide all the conveniences of a regular hotel room with the added benefit of a decent sized kitchen or kitchenette. By being able to prepare some of your meals at least breakfast you can reduce your vacation food bill. When researching selfcatering hotels ask for photos of the kitchen area so that you can see if it will be adequate for your needs. Also find out if there are any supermarkets within walking distance of the hotel.

If you choose a selfcatering hotel when you visit the supermarket buy local brands rather than simply buying the brands that you use at home. You will generally find that local brands cost less.

Eating Out
One of the pleasures of a Caribbean vacation is dining as there are numerous restaurants on each island serving all types of cuisine. One way to save money during your Caribbean holiday is to eat where the locals eat. You will invariably find that the prices at these establishments are lower as these places cater for locals who do not have the purchasing power of tourists. Part of the benefit of a vacation is to experience the culture of the island and local cuisine is a great way to experience local culture. How to know where to eat; use the time tested method: if it is lunchtime and there are many people lining up then the food must be good and the price must be reasonable.

Alcohol
Almost every hotel in the Caribbean has a bar because relaxing with a drink is part of the holiday experience. Visiting the bar everyday however can eat into a holiday budget. One way to save money and still have your alcohol is to visit the supermarket. By purchasing your alcohol at the supermarket and having some of your drinks on your hotel balcony while watching the sunset you can save money. When buying alcohol in the Caribbean you will find that local and regional brands of beer cost significantly less than U.S. and European brands of beer so buy local. The same is true with the cost of rum when compared to other distilled spirits such as whiskey and vodka.

Getting Around
Most people on a Caribbean vacation want to do some sightseeing and visit the places of interest on each island. Renting a car is a great way to do your sightseeing. Many of the attractions on each island can be found once you are armed with a good road map. In addition having a car allows you to widen the circle of places where you can choose to have dinner. In deciding to rent a car however you should think of the amount of time the car is parked in the hotel parking lot while you are relaxing on the beach in front the hotel or taking an afternoon siesta. While the car is parked and you are not using the car you are still paying the rental for the car for that entire period.

One method of having the benefit of a car and still save some money is to plan your holiday in advance by researching the sights. The Internet has made researching sightseeing attractions much easier and one of the web sites where you can learn about the places to visit on different Caribbean islands is at the Island Adventures Page of the Caribbean Outdoor Life web site. Once you have completed your research you make a list then rent a car for only 2 or 3 days and do all the sightseeing on those days. In this way you save on the car rental. On the days that you have the car you can choose to visit restaurants that are not in walking distance of your hotel.

Another potential vacation saver can be found in the area of car rental insurance. Check if your home auto insurance or credit card will provide insurance on a rental vehicle while you are on vacation in the Caribbean thus saving you from purchasing insurance from the car rental company.

On the other days when you do not have a car you can use local transport for getting around. All hotels either have taxis at the hotel or arrangements with taxis who will quickly come to the hotel once they receive a call from the front desk. A much cheaper alternative however is to use the local bus service. The front desk staff can usually provide you with directions and advice on using the bus service.

Tours and Attractions
Every Caribbean island has retained much of its natural vegetation and so hiking to visit waterfalls and scenic points is one of the attractions of a Caribbean holiday. All islands have at least one local hiking club and/or Field Naturalist Club that will organise hikes for its members. All of these clubs will allow nonmembers to participate on their organised hikes. While these clubs will charge a fee for you to participate in their hike the fee will be much less than the fee charged by a tour guide. One point to remember however is that these hikes are organised for their local members and will therefore be on a weekend.

Many of the attractions on the various islands charge a fee for entrance. There are however many other attractions that you can visit for free particularly historic buildings especially churches the smaller forts and government buildings. The capital of each island is one location where you are certain to find historic buildings and monuments that are free places to visit.

So if you are thinking about a vacation consider the Caribbean with a little planning you can have a wonderful vacation at a significantly lower cost.

About the writer:  Brian Ramsey operates the web site Outdoors Trinidad providing information on the outdoor recreational activities in Trinidad and also operates the Caribbean Outdoor Life web site which gives information on the outdoor adventure activities in the Caribbean.

3 Classic No Down Payment Strategies

Everyone has heard a story or read about someone who bought a property without paying a single dime as a down payment. But how does this work?

There are several “classic” methods commonly used to purchase real estate with no money down. There are an infinite variety of situations in a real estate transaction that could lead to a deal with no down payment. But for the sake of reality I will focus on those that are most commonly seen in the current market.

1. Seller second The buyer obtains a new first mortgage for most but not all of the total purchase price. The seller finances the rest.

Purchase price: 100000

Buyers loan: 90000 90 LTV new first mortgage

Sellers finances 10000 in the form of a new second mortgage

The buyer has borrowed 100 of the purchase price. Thus you have100 financing and no down payment was paid by buyer.

This is not a difficult strategy to employ if the seller has enough equity is willing to hold a second and the first mortgage lender approves.

One thing that is not mentioned in most articles about this strategy is the requirement for lender approval. The lender who is making the 90 loan will have to agree to allow the seller to take back a second mortgage. In cases where the buyer has better credit this is usually OK with the lender. But if the buyer has a lower credit score the lender may not approve of this. If your credit score is on the lower side but you have good documented income you may still qualify.

Talk to your lender ahead of time and find out if creative financing options such as a seller second would be allowed. Make sure you have a lender who is used to working on investment property loans. Some mortgage companies only have programs for owner occupants. You need to go to a lender who specializes in loans for investors.

2. Another common way to obtain a no down payment loan is to utilize one of the many low or no down payment programs that exist. Many of these are intended for owner occupants but some are available for investors. Again it is important to talk to the right lender.

If you have an investment property that you want to sell consider taking back a second mortgage for 510. This is not a huge amount and it can help you sell your property faster.

When it comes to finding a seller who will help you create a no money down deal consider buying from an investor who is willing to be flexible. Some investors are willing to do creative financing simply because they understand that it helps them sell houses. It never hurts to make an offer that includes a seller second. You never know until you ask.

There are some points to remember when purchasing investment property with no money down. A key point is the comparison of monthly payments to expected rental income. When you are financing 100 of the purchase price your payments will be higher. If you have a second mortgage payment to add to a first mortgage your payment may be even higher. Be sure your rental income will cover the entire monthly payment.

3. More common among professional investors is buying wholesale properties using hard money to purchase and rehab.

When the rehab is completed you want to get a new mortgage that pays off the hard money loan. Since this is a refinance you can take cash out of the property. You may have to bring some money to closing on the hard money loan but you get it all back when you refinance so you end up with no money out of pocket. This becomes not only a “no down payment” deal but also a “cash back at closing” deal.

It works like this:

Purchase price 100000

Repairs 15000

Hard money loan 115000

Purchase and repair then get new loan to pay off hard money.

New loan is based on 90 of After Repair Value.

For our example the ARV is 150000

90 of 150000 is 135000.

New loan for 135000. Subtract hard money loan pay off of 115000 leaves 20000.

You keep the extra 20000 in cash tax free since it is a loan rent your house out and let the tenant pay the loan back.

Your gross profit is 20000 cash and 15000 equity. Total gross profit 35000. Not too bad for a couple months work.

Down payment by definition means specifically money that is used to “pay down” the total purchase price. This does not include money for closing costs points interest and other items such as insurance. But if you are buying wholesale properties fixing them and refinancing to pull cash out you should be able to pay all your expenses and have a nice profit at the end of the day. Just keep some of that cash in reserve for emergencies

If you do 3 houses per year and you only net 25000 total after paying all expenses on each of the 3 houses you are still netting 75000 cash and equity in about 6 to 8 months. Plus if you are renting these properties you are also creating additional streams of income through monthly cash flow as well as accumulating equity in each property.

This is a solid strategy to achieve a retirement nest egg and ongoing income for life in less than 10 years. If you look around at the real estate investors who are wealthy the vast majority own rental property be it residential or commercial.

They understand the concept of buying at a discount then holding their properties for years. They get to the point where their holdings are worth double or triple the price paid. This is free money that you can earn simply by buying and holding long term. No this is not as easy as it sounds but nothing worth doing is ever easy. If it were everyone would be wealthy.

There are wholesaling companies in every major city that specialize in selling fixer upper properties that fit with strategy number 3 in this article. Look for their signs on the side of the road their ads in the paper or ads in local thrifty nickel type shopping papers.

Most deals do require some out of pocket cash even if it is only temporary until you refinance.

True no down payment opportunities are pretty rare these days with interest rates at historic lows. If interest rates go back up and they will we will see more creative financing and more no down payment opportunities in the future.

About the writer:  This is an example of the kind of expert advice and training you will receive when you become a member of The Real Estate Arena. Members enjoy access to a suite of webbased training programs for beginning to advanced investors a virtual office with essential business marketing and networking tools along with weekly training all for a very low monthly membership. For more information go to The Real Estate Arena.

Internet Guide To Saving Money For Recessionistas

Over the last few years the Internet has exploded with opportunities for consumers to spend and save money. In these difficult economic times its important to take advantage of these money saving opportunities. Remember cheap is the new chic. Every savvy recessionista needs to keep a few tools at hand to find the best deals. Just remember in your zeal to take advantage of online sales make sure to keep a level head and only purchase what you need.

Coupon Sites

In this day and age you should never have to pay full price anything. There are coupons for beverages household good food personal care entertainment healthcare and pet care. Many websites like Coupons.com offer printable coupons for you to use in the store or some offer exclusive online deals. A good rule of thumb when youre searching for coupons is to go to a search engine and type in the name of the product with “coupons” or “promotional code” afterwards. The search engine will pull up all the results related to that keyword phrase. Before printing out the coupon or using it online check the date to make sure the discounts are still valid. Sometimes search engines cache old coupon pages and you might be too late to get that deal. Also if youre buying online make sure that the cost of shipping doesnt outweigh the savings you receive with the coupon.

Deal Forums

Search for hot deals on forums such as www.FatWallet.com. Fellow recessionistas search the web for the best deals and post them on the forum. You can find information on free stuff online auctions contests and sweepstakes coupons and hot deals. If youre too busy to monitor FastWallet.com it offers Topic Alerts. This feature will notify you via email whenever a post is made related to the item that youre looking for. All you have to do is go to the Topic Alerts section fill in your information and then deal alerts will be sent to you saving you time and money.

Shopping Search Engines

Coupon sites and deal forums are great if you know exactly what youre look for. But what if you dont? Recessionistas dont despair! You just need to visit a comparison shopping search engine. Google Yahoo and MSN all have shopping sections to their search engine. Just go to the shopping engine enter in the item youre looking for and the search engine will pull up results. Google Product Search shows pictures and product reviews next to the items to make selection easier. Once you find what youre looking for you can click on “Compare Prices” to find the best deal.

Daily Deal Sites

Some online websites like Amazon.com offers daily deals within their website. These sale items are usually discounted at extremely low prices offering recessionistas a great place to find quality products. There are even websites like Woot.com that only sell one item a day and if you dont buy it that day then you miss the sale. Of course the prices must be low to attract a large score of buyers. However both of these types of sites are dangerous on the budget because its encouraging impulse buying. You might visit the deal of the day site and think “Wow thats a great price. I dont need it but its a great price!” Then you end up buying something that you dont need and thats a bad idea. If youre going to take advantage of these types of sites make sure to look at the deals with a level head and dont buy anything that you dont needno matter how good the deal is.

Online Auctions

Online auction websites like eBay.com are garage sales on steroids! Recessionistas come together to buy and sell products from the convenience of their homes. All you have to do is enter what product youre looking for and the website will pull up the latest auctions. You tell the site how much you want to pay and if youre willing to pay the highest for the product you win. However be very careful when using online auction sites. Sometimes bidding will start low and then as it gets closer to the auctions closing time youll find yourself in a bidding war over the item you want. Make sure you understand how much youre willing to pay and dont allow your ego to talk you into paying too much for what you want. Also watch out for outrageous shipping and handling charges. Sometimes auctioneers will discount the price but make up for the discount by charging a higher than normal shipping and handling charge.

Online Classifieds

Remember the days when you would flip through the newspaper looking at the classifieds? Well with the advent of Craigslist and other online classified sites theres no need to pick up a newspaper. Modern recessionistas just look at online classifieds. Go to Craigslist. Select the city in which you live type in the item youre looking for and read over the classifieds. Buyer Beware: out of all the places to find great deals this one offers the least amount of anonymity. There isnt any buyers protection. Oftentimes you have to contact the person directly to pick up the item and complete the sale.

Lastly consider joining an online community like Twitter and following a few recessionistas that are tracking hot deals. These coupon clipping deal watching ladies tweet the latest sales from their Twitter accounts. Or if Twitter isnt for you consider collecting a few RSS feeds from the shopping savvy. Just go to Google Blog Search and type in “hot deals”. It will pull up the most recent blog posts and you can choose which ones to subscribe to. Good luck and happy deal hunting.

For more information on how to shop smart and save money read Shopping and Saving at Consolidated Credit’s website.

About the writer:  By Kathryn Katz Consolidated Credit Counseling Services

Consolidated Credit Counseling Services is a 15year old company that assists families throughout the United States in ending financial hardships through financial education credit counseling and debt consolidation. Consolidated Credit offers the FreedomQuest Debt Management Program to help consumers get out of debt.

Kathryn Katz has over 10 years web copywriting experience and a lifetime love of helping others. She was formally the Director of Financial Education at a nonprofit credit counseling agency. At an early age she learned the importance of volunteerism by joining the Girl Scouts and actively participating in her youth group. As an adult she has helped raised funds for Susan G. Komen Rescue Rehab Home Toys for Tots and Women in Distress.