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Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

Yet another major new cruise ship has taken up residence in New York City — this time, a Carnival Cruise Line vessel.

The 4,090-passenger Carnival Venezia, which joined the Carnival fleet in May, will kick off an 18-month series of sailings from the Big Apple late Thursday with a four-night voyage to Bermuda.

Carnival Venezia’s arrival in New York comes just two months after rival MSC Cruises began year-round sailings from the city for the first time; MSC is operating the sailings on one of its newest and biggest ships, the 4,448-passenger MSC Meraviglia.

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Cruise giants Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have also deployed some of their top ships to the market as the battle for cruisers in the New York area heats up. New York is one of the biggest U.S. cruise ports outside of Florida.

Related: New Norwegian Prima to sail from New York, Texas and Florida

Carnival Venezia is a new ship for Carnival, but a new ship with an asterisk. The 14-deck-high, 1,061-foot-long vessel was originally built for Italy-based Costa Cruises, a sister brand to Carnival. Previously called Costa Venezia, it sailed its maiden voyage for Costa in 2019.

Carnival Venezia is just one of several vessels that Carnival Corporation has transferred from its Costa brand to its Carnival brand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main Lido pool deck of Carnival Venezia. GENE SLOAN/THE POINTS GUY

Carnival Corporation is the parent company of both Costa and Carnival as well Princess Cruises, Holland America and five other cruise brands.

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Related: Why the coolest new bar in North America may be on a Carnival ship

The pandemic and its aftermath hurt the Costa brand much more than the Carnival brand. This was in part because the Costa brand had big operations in China, where cruising shut down during the pandemic for far longer than it did in North America.

Carnival cruising, Italian style

Because of its origins as a Costa vessel, Carnival Venezia is a bit of an outlier in the Carnival fleet, which now numbers 25 ships. As TPG saw during a sneak peek at the vessel in late May, it retains much of the Italian theme that was a hallmark of its time at Costa. The ship also still has its original, distinctive yellow-and-blue funnel that is a trademark of Costa vessels. (There’s no signature, red-white-and-blue Carnival “whale tail” funnel.)

That said, Carnival Venezia underwent a major overhaul at a Spanish dry dock earlier this year before joining the Carnival fleet that brought it many of Carnival’s signature shipboard venues, including a Carnival Waterworks waterplay area and a Fahrenheit 555 steakhouse.

Related: The 8 types of Carnival cruise ships, explained

Other venues now on the ship that will be familiar to Carnival fans include a Guy Fieri-inspired Guy’s Burger Joint, Pizzeria del Capitano pizza outlet, Bonsai Sushi eatery, Chef’s Table, Lido Marketplace, Seafood Shack, Piano Bar 88 and Heroes Tribute Lounge.

The ship also has a new crew made up of Carnival staffers.

In short, Carnival Venezia combines both Costa and Carnival design elements.

The Carnival WaterWorks water park on Carnival Venezia. GENE SLOAN/THE POINTS GUY

Because of that, Carnival originally planned to call the ship a “Costa by Carnival” product to differentiate it from the rest of the Carnival fleet. However, Carnival eventually switched to marketing Carnival Venezia as a vessel that offers “Carnival Fun Italian Style.”

Carnival Venezia was originally purpose-built to sail out of China with Chinese travelers, but with Italian theming that played up Costa’s Italian roots. Its theming is specifically tied to Venice, Italy (Venezia is what Italians call Venice).

Carnival’s new cruises from New York

Carnival Venezia was welcomed to New York on Wednesday at a celebratory event presided over by Jay Leno. Carnival has named the late night talk show host and comedian the “godfather” of the ship — the first time the brand has named a godfather for a vessel. The line noted that Carnival Venezia already had a godmother dating to its debut as a Costa vessel. It’s a longtime tradition that all cruise ships have godmothers.

Carnival Venezia will be based in New York through December 2024. It will then reposition to Port Canaveral, Florida, for sailings to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

At 135,225 tons, Carnival Venezia is the third-largest ship in the Carnival fleet (only the recently unveiled Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras are bigger). It’s a newer and larger ship than Carnival has based in New York in the past. Notably, it offers an unusually wide array of itineraries from New York City for a single ship, with 22 different routings that range from four to 15 nights.

Related: Every Carnival ship ranked from biggest to smallest

In addition to Bermuda, destinations for the sailings from New York include the Bahamas, the Caribbean, New England and Canada. The ship sails from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal on the Hudson River in the Midtown area.

As of this week, fares for Carnival Venezia cruises start at $429 for a four-night Canada and New England sailing from New York. The ship’s future sailings from Port Canaveral start at $309 for a four-night voyage to the Bahamas.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

Source: thepointsguy.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

When Robert submitted this, he advised, “File this under the ‘long and tedious but important’ category. It might need pictures of cats.” So, once again, J.D. has obliged with photos of one of his cats.

Want to have more money and pay less in taxes? It’s easy! Just call this number and send in your three easy payments of — no, wait. Actually, all you have to do is learn a little about asset location. No, not asset allocation — asset location: deciding which assets should go in which accounts. A recent surge of Roth assets, thanks to the increasing availability of the Roth 401(k) and the wave of conversions that occurred last year, makes this a particularly timely topic.

Wait! Don’t leave! Though a little tedious, this is an important subject.

To understand asset location, you need to remember that most investors have accounts that receive different tax treatment, such as the following:

A traditional tax-deferred account, like a traditional IRA or traditional 401(k): Contributions may be tax-deductible, and the investment growth and income isn’t taxed until money is withdrawn. Those withdrawals will be taxed as ordinary income — the highest tax rate most Americans pay. It ranges from 10% to 35%.
A Roth IRA or Roth 401(k): Contributions aren’t tax-deductible, but withdrawals are tax-free (as long as you follow the rules).
A taxable, non-retirement account: The taxation of an account that isn’t an IRA or employer-sponsored retirement account (e.g., a 401(k)) varies. Interest from bonds and CDs as well as short-term capital gains are taxed as ordinary income, but qualified stock dividends and long-term capital gains are taxed at lower rates, currently between 0% and 15%.

Studies have shown that making the right choices about which investments belong in which accounts can increase an investor’s after-tax wealth by 15% to 20% over a lifetime. So what are those “right choices”? They can be summed up by five basic rules.

Rule #1: Keep Taxable Bonds and Certificates of Deposit in Tax-Deferred Accounts

If you hold these investments outside of a traditional IRA or 401(k), the interest is fully taxable at ordinary income rates. You essentially hand over a good portion of the return each year to Uncle Sam and Sister State, leaving less to grow through the years.

Rule #2: Consider Keeping Bonds With Tax Advantages in Taxable Accounts

Some bonds have their own built-in tax advantages. Treasuries are exempt from state and local taxes, and municipal bonds can be exempt from all taxes — federal, state, and local. If you place muni bonds in a traditional IRA, however, you lose the tax advantages.

Unless you live in a state with high taxes, it likely still makes sense for you to hold your Treasuries in your tax-deferred account, especially if you’re years away from retirement. However, it rarely makes sense to buy municipal bonds in your tax-advantaged retirement accounts. The only exception is if you’re buying bonds that are trading below par value (the price at which they were originally issued) and you expect the price to rise, leading to a capital gain. While the interest from government-issued bonds might have tax benefits, a capital gain — for example, the $100 profit you made if you bought the bond at $850 and sold it later for $950 — is fully taxable if held outside of an IRA or 401(k).

Hold off the tax man by putting the right investments in the right accounts.

Rule #3: In Taxable Accounts, Favor Stocks With Little to No Dividends and Those You’ll Hold for Many Years

Let’s say two investors put $50,000 in the exact same stock and hold it for a decade. The stock doesn’t pay a dividend and earns an average of 8% annually. Investor A holds the stock in his traditional IRA, and Investor B holds it in her taxable brokerage account. A decade later, here’s the value of each account and the taxes each investor has paid through the years (at this point, they haven’t sold the stock yet):

Investor A holds the stock in a traditional IRA. The pre-tax value of the account is $107,946 and Investor A has paid no taxes on the gain — yet.
Investor B holds the stock in a taxable brokerage account. The pre-tax value of the account is $107,946, and Investor B has paid no taxes on the gain — yet.

Surprise! The values of the investments and the taxes paid (i.e., none) are exactly the same, even though Investor B held the stock in a “taxable” account. That’s because when you buy and hold stocks, especially ones that pay little to no dividends, you have built-in tax deferral.

But what happens when these investors sell their stocks to spend the proceeds in retirement? Assuming they’re both in the 25% tax bracket, Investor A will have to pay a 25% tax rate on everything he withdraws from the IRA, whereas Investor B will pay just a 15% long-term capital gains rate — and only on the profit. If they each liquidated the investment and withdrew the cash from the accounts:

Investor A would pay $26,987 in taxes and have $80,960 remaining.
Investor B would pay $8,692 in taxes and have $99,254 remaining.

As if more after-tax wealth weren’t enough, there are other benefits to holding equities in your taxable account:

If shares drop below what you paid for them, you can harvest the losses by selling the shares and using the capital loss to reduce taxes. Of course, you can do that with any type of investment, but stocks present more opportunities since they’re more volatile.
If you hold dividend-paying foreign stocks in your taxable account, you can claim the foreign tax credit for any taxes assessed by the country in which your stock is headquartered. However, you can’t claim the credit if you hold the stock in an IRA or 401(k).
Investments in a taxable account receive a stepped-up cost basis upon the owner’s death. Say a person buys stock for $10,000, and its value grows to $50,000. When he dies, this person bequeaths the stock to his daughter. Her new cost basis will be $50,000; she will not owe taxes on the $40,000 of capital appreciation.
A less fatal way to escape paying capital gains taxes is by donating appreciated stock held in a taxable account to a qualified charity. Bonus: The donation can also be deducted on your tax return.

While all these benefits sound good, the tax efficiency of holding equities in a taxable account relies on your buying and holding for years and keeping dividends to a minimum. What do you do for high-yielding stocks or those you trade more frequently? Read on!

Choosing the right accounts lets you keep more of your money.

Rule #4: For Your Roth, Choose High-Growth, Tax-Inefficient Investments

When it comes to deciding what to put in this tax-free account, keep two principles in mind:

Generally speaking, the assets in your Roth should be the last you withdraw in retirement. Studies indicate it’s best to first tap your taxable accounts, then your traditional tax-deferred accounts, and your Roth last.
Which account do you hope will be the biggest when you retire? The one with the best tax advantages, of course. That’s the Roth, since withdrawals are tax-free.

Given those two principles, the ideal investments for your Roth are those that have the greatest return potential, especially if they’re tax-inefficient. Historically, small-cap value stocks have posted the highest returns, and because of their generally higher turnover and higher dividends, the mutual funds that invest in that sector are among the most tax-inefficient — so these would be good candidates for a Roth. You could also use the account for any other active-trading strategies or real estate investment trusts, which pay a high yield but have dividends that aren’t eligible for the lower qualified-dividend tax rate.

Also note that Roth assets are the best kind for your heirs to inherit, since they’ll also enjoy tax-free growth. If leaving a legacy is important to you, then the Roth has an investment time horizon that extends beyond your lifetime; thus, it can theoretically hold riskier assets.

Rule #5: Retirement Changes Asset Location a Bit

Once you retire, if you plan to invest in high-yield stocks for the income, it makes sense to hold them outside of a tax-deferred account to take advantage of the lower tax rate on qualified dividends. It’s less important where you hold the bonds that produce interest you plan on spending, since that interest will be taxed as ordinary income no matter what (muni bonds excepted).

When you’re ready to retire, you may want to mix things up a bit.

Remember: It’s Not What You Make, It’s What You Keep

Smart asset location also means you’ll pay fewer taxes. The higher your taxable income, the less likely you are to qualify for certain tax breaks. Also, once you begin receiving Social Security, the more you earn, the more likely your benefits will be taxed, and the more likely you’ll pay higher Medicare premiums.

So while paying attention to your asset location won’t double your portfolio overnight, it will pay off for decades to come — perhaps even after you’ve headed off to the Antiques Roadshow beyond the pearly gates.

Asset Location at a Glance

Here’s a quick summary of which investments to keep in which accounts:

Roth accounts: Small-cap stocks; REITs; active-trading stock strategies; high-turnover and/or high-yielding funds, especially if they have above-average growth potential.
Traditional tax-deferred accounts: Corporate bonds; Treasuries (especially TIPS); high-yielding and slower-growth stocks; diversified commodities funds; investments listed in the Roth category above if your Roth accounts aren’t very big or you don’t have a Roth.
Taxable, non-tax-advantaged accounts: Low- or non-yielding stocks you plan to hold for several years (decades, even); low-turnover stock funds (e.g., many index funds and ETFs as well as “tax-managed” funds); municipal bonds; U.S. government savings bonds or I-bonds; maybe Treasuries if escaping state income taxes is important to you.

Note: This article uses current federal tax rates, which will continue through 2012. Tax law will certainly be different a few years from now, but I think it’s a good bet that some current principles — such as long-term capital gains rates will be lower than ordinary income rates, and that municipal bonds will have tax advantages — will continue.

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

In my article on Spotify last week, a couple of commenters took me to task for suggesting that subscribing to access for music could be better than buying your own permanent copies of the songs you love. A few thought that, as a personal-finance writer, I should be urging people to buy their stuff instead of throwing money away renting access to it.

That’s an interesting idea. I think it’s often the case that renting or subscribing for access to something is better than buying it outright. Buying stuff can be great, too. Ultimately, I don’t think the question is whether to rent or buy; it’s how to find the solution that gives you the best value for the thing you need to use. Sometimes, you’ll spend more money renting access to an item than you would just buying it outright. Other times, the reverse is true.

The Rise of the Transumers

Most products aren’t investments. They lose value the moment you take them home from the shop, and continue to depreciate the longer you own them and the more you use them. This is true of everything from cars to designer shoes. There are a few things that can appreciate in value: collector’s items, houses, jewelry. For most of our stuff, though, we can hope to recover some of what we spent on it by selling it when we no longer need it, but we’re kissing the bulk of our money good-bye when we make the purchase.

Given that, there are plenty of times when it makes more sense to rent. Anytime you’re buying something you have a limited use for, you might want to pause and consider renting instead. High-end designer handbags?Specialized power tools for a home improvement project? You can rent this stuff for a fraction of the cost that you’d spend buying it.

There’s a whole movement of people who call themselves “transumers”. These folks make an effort to own as little as possible, renting what they want or need and then swapping it for new rental items after a short time. They’re not crunchy hippie types: They’re young professionals renting cars and furniture — and even their clothes. They just want to always have the latest trends, so instead of buying their stuff they rent it and turn it in every few months for the hot new item.

In addition to big companies or niche websites that provide rental items to consumers, there are websites that specialize in connecting individuals who own stuff with other individuals who want to borrow it — for a fee. These are like a rental version of the swap sites I’ve written about before. Instead of trading your Stuff permanently for other Stuff you can rent it out. For example, you can rent your fall textbooks on Chegg.com. Some textbooks you may want as reference texts later on in life, but most of them you’ll never need to touch again. Maybe it makes sense to rent instead of buying them?

In some economic conditions and for certain types of investors, it even makes more economic sense to rent your primary residence rather than own it.

Rent or Buy?

How can you decide whether to rent or buy? The bottom line is minimizing the expense for having the Stuff you want.

Consider the cost. How much does the object cost to buy? How much is the rental fee? How long would you have to rent it before you’d have paid as much in rental fees as you would have to purchase it outright?
Consider how frequently you want to use an item. Is this something you’re going to use once, like a floor sander or a formal gown? Or something you want to have on hand at all times, like a hammer or your running shoes?
Consider how long you want to use the item. Do you want to have your residence for the next year or the next 20 years? Will you need that car for a weekend or a daily commute?
Consider its resale value. Does this object appreciate in value, hold a fairly steady value, or rapidly lose value?
Consider how much your use will impact the item. Some of our stuff we wear out. Some of it we leave little trace on. Are you buying a sofa that is going to be destroyed by your kids? Or a DVD that you’ll watch a few times and then re-sell good as new on eBay?

There’s no simple answer to the rent vs. buy question. For some people, it probably makes economic sense to rent furniture. They may want to change their furnishings frequently, and have a thing for high-end designer items that lose value quickly as they go out of style. Renting a couch for six months in those circumstances makes more sense than shelling out thousands of dollars for one. I, on the other hand, am happily using the couch that I received as a hand-me-down from my mom when I moved out. I expect to use until it breaks or my kids grow up, whichever comes first.

The key is to answer the questions above and figure out if it will cost you more to rent or buy the thing you want. It’s an equation you should probably be able to solve for anything you want to buy. The equation would look something like cost to buy — resale value vs total cost to rent. You’d also want to factor in maintenance costs on items you own.

What About Spotify?

To go back to the original example of music, it probably depends a lot on how you consume music. If you follow what’s hot, and tend to listen to a new artist or album for a few months and then move on to the next new thing, you’re probably better off with a subscription service. If you have a few favorite bands you want to hear over and over, you’re not spending money on new music every month. Subscribing to a music service might be a waste for you.

Aside from cost, there are psychological issues. The transumer movement has been around for awhile, but it doesn’t seem to have really caught in with most things. People seem to prefer owning stuff to renting it. For instance, I rarely rent anything. I own my home, my car, and all of the possessions I regularly use. I’m experimenting with subscription services like Netflix and Spotify for my media, but the truth is I don’t buy a lot of media anyway. I tend to use my library for books, and often get music and movies from the library too.

What about you? Do you see yourself becoming a transumer? In what situations have you found it makes more sense to rent than to buy? Or do you think that renting is always a waste?

Source: getrichslowly.org

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

The world as we know it has completely changed in just a matter of days. This has resulted in many of us learning a new skill set to effectively work from home or how to socially distance ourselves. As citizens of the United States, we are all in this together (just as Ashley Tisdale’s TikTok says!).

For the population of Americans who have been working from
home for years, please skip to part two of this post. For those of us who are
new to this concept, I wanted to share tips that I have gotten from some of my
favorite bloggers, as this is my first time working from home. Here are a few
of my favorite take-aways:

Working from home tips:

Keep your routine.

Yes, you are not going into your office
anymore, however, you should keep your routine of you 8-hour day. If you
normally begin your day in the office at 9am stick to that time and begin
working at 9am. This will help keep some normalcy in your routine that your
body is already accustomed to. Try to also wake up and go to bed at the same
time.

Dedicate a separate place for eating, working, and sleeping.

This may sound easier than you think.
However, think back to your high school or even college when you would relax in
your room, do homework in your room, eat in your room, etc. My bet is that you
were not very productive when doing homework, or maybe even had trouble
sleeping. This is why separating the areas is important. Also, you still
technically are “going to work” this way!

Get ready every day.

When I was younger, my mom always said “look
good, feel good, do good.” What she meant by this was that when you dress up
you feel better about yourself and in return you have a positive &
productive day. This is something that I live by. Try to take note of what
clothes make you feel the most productive and replicate that!

Dani Austin states “business on the top, party on the bottom”.

When you are working from home, team meetings
are done through video or audio. If you don’t want to completely get ready for
the day, just get ready “on the top” and keep your sweatpants or leggings on.

Plan your days.

Keeping yourself organized will help in the long run. Also, creating list of to-dos and crossing off the things that you have done will allow you to share your productivity easily with co-workers when asked. If you need a source to stay organized, Trello is a great place to start!

General everyday tips:

We have been hearing through multiple sources, “don’t go out
unless you need to”, but as social beings, this is easier said than done. Here
are a few tips that I have found to be helpful.

Stay or become active daily.

With gyms being closed and the weather getting nicer, use this time to look at the world as your gym. Get outside and breathe the fresh air. You can track your activity and donate to those less fortunate by downloading “Charity Miles” on your phone. This will allow you to track your daily activity and donate to a charity of your choice. “Fresh air will do you good.”

Support your local small businesses.

Yes, Starbucks may be your favorite coffee
and it sure is delicious, however, that mom and pop shop down the road from a
franchise is going to suffer a little more than larger corporations. Your mom
and pop coffee shop will appreciate you taking the time to support their
business.

Read a book.

Easier for those who love to read, however,
if you have always wanted to get into reading this is a perfect time. Start
small and set a daily goal for yourself.

Learn something new.

Listen to podcasts, sign up for Skill Share, or simply put time into something that you have always wanted to do or learn. Before you know it, you will be a pro.

Spring Cleaning.

You have been given the perfect opportunity
to use time to spring clean your home. Get rid of things that you no longer
need or want.

While this change is going to take time to get used to,
remember to reach out to friends and family that you cannot be around at the
moment. Only time will tell if the actions we are taking now are going to be
beneficial in the future. However, to keep us sane, I hope everyone found these
tips helpful. Stay positive and be kind to others, we will get through these
times.

Extras:

Think about the content you are consuming.
- Upbeat music. Playlist suggestion here!
- Watch your favorite feel good movies & TV shows.
Thank medical professionals.

They go to work every day to save lives. We
can all stay home to help them out.

Be kind to everyone.

Everyone had their lives turned upside down
in different ways. Seniors in high school and college, those that had to put
off large life events, it is different for everyone.

Stay healthy and safe everyone.

Carter Wessman

Carter Wessman is originally from the charming town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. When he isn’t busy writing about mortgage related topics, you can find him playing table tennis, or jamming on his bass guitar.

Source: totalmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

History:

Just
like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development executive order was created during the
Great Depression to help less fortunate families relocate. It wasn’t until the
fall of 1994 that the USDA Development Department was created to help
administer the USDA Home Loan Program for rural housing. Today, 97% of the
United States is eligible to qualify for a USDA loan based on the population
guidelines, which state that if an area has a population of 35,000 or less,
those residents are able to apply for a loan through the USDA.

Source: https://www.usdaloans.com/program/

What are
your options:

The USDA Home Loan Program offers two types of loans:

• USDA Direct Loan: This loan comes from the USDA with the ability to have longer than the typical 30-year terms, lower rates, and lower monthly payments. USDA Direct is catered towards those borrowers with lower income (between 50% and 80% of the median income for the area) looking for a property to be their primary residency.

• USDA Guaranteed Loan: This loan option is given by a lender and guaranteed by the USDA. This loan is strict with borrowers meeting the requirements. USDA Guaranteed is catered towards those borrowers with an average income (up to 115% of the median income for the area). There are less property restrictions with this loan.

Credit
score requirements:

In our last post,Let’s Talk Loan Options: FHA Loan, we discussed how mortgages are not a one size fits all financial investment, therefore it is important to shop around for the mortgage program that is right for you. We also discussed the importance of a credit score when looking at mortgage products. While you should always work to improve your credit score, the USDA does not have a minimum credit score requirement set by the department itself. However, lenders may set one of their own.

If a
lender sets a credit requirement for a USDA loan through their business, they
typically use 640 as a benchmark. However, just like the FHA loans, if you have
a lower credit score, it does not mean that lenders will turn you away. The
USDA uses a program for their underwriting process called GUS, or Guaranteed
Underwriting System. When a potential borrower has a 640 or above, they qualify
for automation approval. For those potential borrowers who fall below the
benchmark, they require a manual underwriting process rather than the
automation.

Down
payment requirements:

One of the main advantages of a USDA loan is the 0% minimum down payment that is required. This takes the burden off of borrowers to come up with a down payment for their future home. Now, you may be thinking that because there is no down payment that there must be additional fees somewhere throughout the loan. The good news is that USDA loans don’t have private mortgage insurance or PMI.

In
exchange, USDA loans have an upfront fee that is paid once (about 1% of the
loan) and an annual fee (about 0.35% of the loan). As an example: let’s say the
cost of your future home is $200,000 and you have chosen the USDA loan as your
best fit. Your upfront fee will be around $2,000 while your annual fee will be
around $700.

It is
important to note, when taking out a USDA loan on a property, the property that
the USDA loan is on needs to be your primary residence. If it is not, you will
not be able to qualify for this loan option.

Summary:

USDA loans are great for those who want more grass than pavement surrounding their permanent residency, and for borrowers who are worried about making a down payment, providing a less stressful mortgage process for those who decide to borrow!

Sources:

https://www.usdaloans.com/program/

https://www.usdaloans.com/articles/direct-vs-guaranteed/

Carter Wessman

Carter Wessman is originally from the charming town of Norfolk, Massachusetts. When he isn’t busy writing about mortgage related topics, you can find him playing table tennis, or jamming on his bass guitar.

Source: totalmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

Everyone knows that insurance companies are just looking for reasons to raise our rates, or drop us completely.

If you are unfortunate enough to have a genetic disorder, your ability to find a life insurance company that will sell you policy will drop exponentially or they will raise their rates accordingly. They want to get as much money out of us every month as they can.

If you are interested in buying a life insurance policy it is crucial that you appear to be in the best health possible.

There are many factors that go into determining a life insurance rate.

One of them is blood pressure.

Blood pressure is a strong indicator of later disease onset.

The further your blood pressure is out of the normal range, the harder it will become for you to obtain a reasonable policy. If your blood pressure is too high, the company is going to be worried about your health.

If you have a life insurance exam coming up, there are some strategies you can use to keep your blood pressure as low as possible.

First, Follow Directions

It is very important to follow all the directions that they give you before your testing day. One of these directions will be to fast for a predetermined period of time before your appointment.

It is crucial to follow this explicitly in order to achieve the best results. There are many different types of foods and beverages that we consume with chemicals that alter our blood pressure. Your doctor can give you a full list of foods to avoid that could raise your blood pressure.

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Avoid the Rush

It is also important to abstain from various sources of caffeine and energy drinks before a life insurance exam, because these can raise your blood pressure. It’s a good idea to try and avoid as much caffeine as possible on the day of your medical exam, don’t worry, you can have as much coffee as you want after.

Do your best not to smoke right before your test as this can temporarily spike your rating. Some studies even say that having a full bladder during your blood pressure test will skew the results, so make sure you go beforehand. Don’t hold it in.

The biggest obstacle to attaining your lower blood pressure life insurance test is that just being in a doctor’s office is enough of a stressor for most of us. There’s nothing more agitating and worrisome than spending time in a medical facility, especially if you know for sure that what happens there has the potential to affect your future health and cost you tons of money.

Stress has a huge impact on blood pressure, so it’s important to be as calm as possible and find ways to distract yourself from your true purpose. Simply moving around too much can also raise your blood pressure, so try to avoid nervous pacing! One surefire way to relax yourself is through deep breathing exercises and meditation. If you can regulate your exhalations, you will also slow down your heart rate, and thus your blood pressure rate.

There are studies that show that your blood pressure will be highest in the early afternoon, so if you can, schedule your appointment for morning or late afternoon. It also helps to request that the doctor take two readings and average them instead of just one. The first reading is bound to be higher just from the stress involved, and then you relax a bit once your body remembers that blood pressure cuffs aren’t actually invasive!

If you don’t need life insurance right away, it could be beneficial to take the time to work on lowering your blood pressure and saving yourself money every month. Your doctor will thank you, and so will your bank account.

One of the best ways that you can lower your blood pressure for good is to lose weight. Carrying excess weight forces your heart to work harder to get the blood through your body. Simply losing 10 pounds could have a significant impact on your waistline and your heart.

We know that you have a gym membership that you never use, but it’s time to change that. Regular cardio exercises like walking, jogging, biking, swimming, etc. help your heart grow stronger making it more efficient which then lowers your blood pressure. When you’re hitting that treadmill and dreading your run, just think about all the money it could save you.

The other big factor in lowering your blood pressure is your diet. Before you skip reading this part, hear us out. The food that you’re putting in your body can make a huge difference in your blood pressure levels.

It’s time to cut back on the sodium levels. This is one of the easiest changes to make, just about everything you buy at the store has a low sodium version. Additionally, avoiding a lot of red meat can also help lower your blood pressure. Instead of the fatty steaks, go for meals with chicken or fish in them. The leaner meats are much better for your blood pressure, and still delicious.

Blood Pressure and Life Insurance

Your blood pressure plays a huge role in how much you pay for you coverage. Ironically, the life insurance process could be stressful enough to raise your blood pressure. There is a lot you can do to lower your blood pressure, which can in turn save you money.

If you have high blood pressure, it’s important you find a company that understands your situation and will give you reasonable rates based on your situation.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

created a new rule, which took effect Monday. It changes mortgage fees based on a borrower’s credit score.

Here’s why you should care: If you are an American who has worked hard for good credit, you are likely to pay more on your home loan now than you would have before this revision.

By charging borrowers with good credit scores higher fees, those with non-stellar scores will pay less steep fees than they did previously. Think of it as mortgage socialism.

“It is absolutely intended to create a greater cross-subsidy,” Mark Calabria, a senior adviser at the Cato Institute and former FHFA director, told me. “So the kind of outrage you may be hearing in conservative circles about how this is penalizing people who have good credit to subsidize people with bad credit is 100% true.”

Hint: Biden and Democrats don’t think it’s parents

‘Equitable’ for whom?

Biden tried to do something similar with his $400 billion-plus student loan “forgiveness” plan by creating a situation that unfairly penalizes those who have paid the loans they took out – and the ones who never got loans in the first place – by making them pay for this leniency.

This housing rule change will have broad impact, as it affects most loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which are in turn backed by taxpayers. These loans comprise about 60% of the mortgage market.

Biden must compromise on debt ceiling:Otherwise, we’re all headed toward disaster

look at what happened in 2008 with the mortgage meltdown.

sent a letter last month to FHFA Director Sandra Thompson, a Biden nominee.

“This shortsighted and counterproductive policy demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the necessity of accurately tailoring housing finance products to credit risk and establishes a perverse incentive that punishes hardworking Americans for their fiscal prudence,” the letter said.

Joe Biden wants you to think GOP is the biggest ‘threat’ to Social Security. He’s wrong.

In addition, state treasurers and finance officials from 27 states sent a letter on Monday urging the Biden administration to backtrack from the policy.

“It is already clear that this new policy will be a disaster,” they wrote. “It amounts to a middle-class tax hike that will unfairly cost American families millions upon millions of dollars.”

Even a former federal housing official under President Barack Obama slammed the Biden rule, saying it’s “unprecedented” and “not the way” to encourage more home ownership.

The cost of the fee change won’t be huge for most borrowers, but one estimate pegs the extra costs for higher-credit borrowers at $3,200. That’s not an insignificant charge, especially one caused by bureaucratic meddling.

Besides, it’s the principle that counts. And Biden’s wrong on this one.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques

Source: usatoday.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

A new study that compared mortgage products from around the globe found that long-term fixed-rate loans aren’t necessarily the end-all, be-all solution to fix housing.

Per the study, entitled, “International Comparison of Mortgage Product Offerings”, 95 percent of new loans originated in the United States last year were long-term fixed mortgages, compared to just one percent in Spain, two percent in Korea, 10 percent in Canada, 19 percent in the Netherlands, and 22 percent in Japan.

Meanwhile, only five percent were adjustable-rate mortgages, while 92 percent in Australia and Korea were ARMs, along with 91 percent in Ireland, 47 percent in the UK, and 38 percent in Japan.

“By comparing the performance of mortgage products internationally, we see that many countries are experiencing lower default rates than the U.S., despite having a significant share of products such as adjustable rate mortgages and interest only loans,” said Dr. Michael Lea, who conducted the study.

“This indicates the problem with loan design in the U.S. during the crisis was one of a mismatch between borrowers and particular loan designs — not the existence of the loan features themselves. In addition, the lower default rates may reflect stricter enforcement of lender rights as all countries in the survey have recourse lending.”

Lea noted that the wide range of borrowers that exist in the mortgage market require an equally wide range of mortgage program offerings, and argued that a “robust mortgage market” requires a number of different instruments to meet the needs of both borrowers and mortgage lenders.

The survey comes in response to the “Dodd-Frank Bill,” which aims to prohibit prepayment penalties and yield spread premiums, while restricting balloon payments and interest-only periods.

According to the study, these “flexible payment designs” are common in other countries and not associated with higher rates of default.

But there obviously has to be a line, like no more option arms with zero down financing.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

It’s feeling a little like 2007 today. Back then, I was writing posts like this on a daily basis.

Capital One has announced that it is exiting the mortgage business, seemingly surprising given the current real estate climate that is red hot.

If you attempt to visit the Capital One Home Loans website, you’ll be greeted by a “Down For Maintenance” message.

It also says they’ll “be back online shortly,” for whatever that’s worth.

Mortgage Competition Too Fierce

In what was seen as a surprising move
Capital One exited the mortgage business entirely
Thanks to increased competition that dented profitability
1,000+ jobs will be lost as a result

Per Bloomberg, Capital One chose to exit the mortgage origination business entirely because increased competition meant it wasn’t a profitable venture.

They will also cease making home equity loans, and more importantly, 1,100 employees will lose their jobs.

Some 905 positions will be cut in Plano, Texas, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Melville, New York. An additional 200 jobs are being eliminated at an undisclosed call center in what is apparently an unrelated move.

Capital One president of financial services Sanjiv Yajnik told employees in an internal memo that the affected business lines “are in a structurally disadvantaged position, given the challenging rate environment and marketplace.”

And added that those “factors do not allow us to be both competitive and profitable for the foreseeable future.”

I’ll take that to mean that mortgage rates are now about three-quarters of a percentage point above their all-time lows, which is clearly hurting refinance numbers.

At the same time, new purchase originations are constrained due to limited available housing inventory and less home building.

While home equity lending is expected to experience a boom in coming years, it might not be enough to keep the business afloat.

So Many New Players in the Mortgage Space

Speaking of competition
There are tons of new non-bank mortgage lenders
Including a slew of fintech companies attempting to shake things up
It seems Capital One felt the mortgage business just wasn’t worth pursuing and it could be smart to get out early this time around…

There’s also the fact so many debutants have entered the mortgage space of late. We’ve got all the new fintech players including SoFi, Lenda, Clara, LendingHome, and Sindeo.

Then all the synergies between real estate agencies and mortgage lenders, like Motto Mortgage, Redfin Mortgage, Opendoor Mortgage, and most recently OfferPad Home Loans.

That’s making it increasingly difficult for banks to get a piece of the purchase market, even if that market segment is expected to strengthen.

It’s also not enough these days to merely offer mortgages alongside other financial products. Very few people are going to the bank and being cross-sold things like mortgages.

You’ve got to offer new and better ways to get a mortgage, like Quicken’s Rocket Mortgage. Or the push toward single source validation to speed up the loan process.

Implementing those new technologies and processes probably isn’t cheap, or easy, especially when you have other lines of business to worry about like credit cards and bank accounts.

The alternative is to beat everyone else on price, something large banks typically aren’t well positioned to do given their massive overhead.

If you can’t do either one, you may as well not bother. Even that million-mile promo didn’t seem to get the job done.

Capital One apparently still managed to become the 12th largest mortgage lender among other banks (not non-banks) with an estimated $20.6 billion in home loans as of June 30th. It sounds like a lot but really isn’t for a major financial institution.

Apparently it wasn’t enough to keep going in the mortgage space. The company did say it would continue to offer affordable housing loans and multifamily financing.

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

Apache is functioning normally

June 18, 2023 by Brett Tams

A recent survey shows that most Americans would rather invest in real estate than in the stock market. On today’s State of the Market podcast, we discuss why we prefer investing in housing over publicly traded companies. But we also talk about the challenges that come with owning rental property. Plus, we cover breaking stories in the real estate sphere, including news of forbearance requests dropping to their lowest levels since March 2020.

Listen to today’s show and learn:

Normalcy starts to return to New York [1:37]
Skyline Tower sales on fire – signs of a comeback in Long Island? [2:48]
Lean pickings with twice as many agents as listings in Boston [5:22]
New forbearance requests at lowest level since March 2020 [8:57]
Oakland pushes to bring multi-family housing into single-family neighborhoods [12:38]
Texas court opens eviction flood gates [18:43]
Survey shows that people prefer investing in real estate over stocks [24:38]
Offerpad makes moving easier for sellers with 60-day extended stay [30:06]

Kelly Skeval

Kelly moved to Ithaca in 2005 after attaining her degree in Veterinary Technology and continued her career in veterinary medicine at Cornell University until her first child was born. Kelly had an active interest in real estate long before her and her husband, a Trumansburg native, decided to purchase their first home. When they did, they turned it into an owner occupied duplex and were able to use that foundation to further expand their real estate portfolio to include 5 properties and 10 units.

In addition, Kelly and her husband owned a home energy auditing business. Being a BPI certified energy auditor she was able to assess homes and building envelopes then make recommendations to homeowners on how to make improvements that would save energy and make their homes more efficient.

It is Kelly’s knowledge in many aspects of real estate including but not limited to single family buying and selling, rental properties, new construction, property management, building envelopes and business ownership that make her an ideal person to help you in your real estate endeavors. Purchasing or selling a home is a big decision and Kelly prides herself on offering quality customer service along with knowledge and compassion.

In her spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and their two small children exploring the Fingerlakes region and all that it has to offer.

Related Links and Resources:

Thank You Rockstars!
It might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway: We really value listeners like you. We’re constantly working to improve the show, so why not leave us a review? If you love the content and can’t stand the thought of missing the nuggets our Rockstar guests share every week, please subscribe; it’ll get you instant access to our latest episodes and is the best way to support your favorite real estate podcast. Have questions? Suggestions? Want to say hi? Shoot me a message via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Email.
-Aaron Amuchastegui

Source: hibandigital.com

Hanover Mortgages

The Refined Mortgage Lending Company & Home Loan Lenders

first

Apache is functioning normally

The Rise of the Transumers

Rent or Buy?

What About Spotify?

Apache is functioning normally

Carter Wessman

Apache is functioning normally

First, Follow Directions

Avoid the Rush

Blood Pressure and Life Insurance

Apache is functioning normally

Apache is functioning normally

Mortgage Competition Too Fierce

So Many New Players in the Mortgage Space

Apache is functioning normally