Safeguarding properties with strong wills during COVID-19 era? Draining your savings. Spending all or most of their savings on the down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest first-time homebuyer mistakes, says Ed Conarchy, a mortgage planner and investment adviser at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Gurnee, Illinois. “Some people scrape all their money together to make the 20 percent down payment so they don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance, but they are picking the wrong poison because they are left with no savings at all,” Conarchy says. How this affects you: Homebuyers who put 20 percent or more down don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance when getting a conventional mortgage. That’s usually translated into substantial savings on the monthly mortgage payment. But it’s not worth the risk of living on the edge, Conarchy says. What to do instead: Aim to have three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund. Paying mortgage insurance isn’t ideal, but depleting your emergency or retirement savings to make a large down payment is riskier.
If you want to sell your home, you have to get rid of the clutter…period. Anything that you have not used in at least a year or more must go. Although this may not be easy, it is well worth the trouble even if you have to use a friend’s or relative’s garage or rent a space in a storage facility. Anything that is sitting on flat surfaces such as tables and countertops must go. Floors, closets, and cupboards should also be clean and clear because this translates into more space for potential buyers.
Most estate planning lawyers have had some increase in the numbers of clients wanting to create or update wills and they have worked out ways of meeting with clients in settings where social distancing can be observed, outside on patios or driveways, with masks, sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and separate pens. Most provinces have allowed remote signing of wills and powers of attorney in some form or other, but the consensus from a lot of professionals seems to be that remote signing procedures should be a last resort when it is completely impossible to meet in a live setting. When remote processes are used, they must be identified as to timing, since it is quite likely that once the emergency measures are lifted, at least some of the new techniques introduced during the emergency will be rolled back. Read extra information on wills during Coronavirus.
Video-witnessing should therefore be a last resort for those cases when there is no other option for getting a Will signed. The government have issued guidance on the steps to be followed. All parties need to be present at the same time by way of a two or three-way live video link. The witnesses must be able to see the will-maker signing the document, not just their head and shoulders. The Will/Codicil then needs to be taken or posted to the witnesses to add their signatures, again via further live video session(s) with clear sight of the witness signing.
Side Hustle to Make More Money: Are you happy with the amount of money you’re taking home each year? If you’re like most of us, a little bit of extra cash each month could go a long way. So, why not start a side hustle to supplement your income? Don’t worry. You don’t have to sacrifice all of your free time to start a successful side hustle. One of the big advantages of side hustling is that you can do it when you want and as much (or as little) as you want. The best advice I can give you is to start. Use any extra time you can find and make a little bit of progress every day. Soon you’ll be addicted to the side hustle lifestyle. So, how much money can you really make with a side hustle? Well, that’s the other awesome thing about side hustling, the income is virtually limitless. Since you’re not getting paid by the hour or a set salary, it’s really up to you to decide how much you want to earn. The more you feed your side hustle, the more it grows.
We have seen lenders ask for, and borrowers agree to, enhanced information covenants, including the delivery of updated compliance certificates following a payment default by a tenant where the borrower is a landlord of a multi-let property. Some lenders are exercising their rights under loan agreements to block distributions to investors, thereby minimizing any leakage from the structure. Others are allowing for the release of funds to investors once the loan has been stabilized following an equity cure. For our Middle Eastern sponsor client base, release of distributions to their investors has been a key factor in re-negotiating the terms of their existing loan agreements. Having said that the practicalities of the current market has meant that in many cases there is very little (if any) cash available for distributions, even in the cases of stablised loans. See more info at https://techbullion.com/wills-and-covid-19-safeguarding-your-assets-during-a-global-pandemic/.