Safeguarding properties with solid wills during COVID-19 period? Buying more house than you can afford. It’s easy to fall in love with homes that might stretch your budget, but overextending yourself is never a good idea. And with home prices still rising, this is easier said than done. How this affects you: Buying a home that exceeds your budget can put you at higher risk of losing your home if you fall on tough financial times. You’ll also have less wiggle room in your monthly budget for other bills and expenses. What to do instead: Focus on what monthly payment you can afford rather than fixating on the maximum loan amount you qualify for. Just because you can qualify for a $300,000 loan, that doesn’t mean you can afford the monthly payments that come with it. Factor in your other obligations that don’t show on a credit report when determining how much house you can afford.
There are endless benefits to remodeling your kitchen and any real estate agent will probably tell you that the kitchen plays a big role in making a sale. Although it may cost a few thousand dollars to replace or remodel your kitchen, it is proven that you will probably get 85% of your money back. If your kitchen looks dated or worn out, buyers may try to knock off $10,000 or more off your asking price when it would have only taken you a few thousand dollars to upgrade the kitchen. The fastest and cheapest way to make a kitchen upgrade is to include new cabinet hardware and add a fresh coat of neutral color paint. By making this upgrade, buyers will be able to envision their own style using a blank canvas.
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. Discover more info on Wills And COVID-19.
Advances in technology have been invaluable during the lockdown brought about by coronavirus but, until recently, making a Will could not be done digitally. The requirement for two independent witnesses to be physically present has caused difficulties with social distancing in place, particularly for those shielding or self-isolating. In recognition of this, the government are now introducing measures to relax the signing formalities for a limited period in England and Wales. These fall short of a fully digital process but new legislation will permit virtual witnessing of both Wills and Codicils via live video-link. This will be back-dated to 31 January 2020 and continue to apply until 31 January 2022 unless shortened or extended in line with other Covid-specific procedures.
Break Down Your Income & Expenses: Credit for this one goes to user GeekLimit on Reddit – one of my favorite personal finance tips! This is an odd little trick that can change the perspective you have about your money, and help you budget better. It’s all about breaking your income and expenses down into daily values, like this: You make $2,500/month = ~$83/day. You pay $800/month for rent = ~$27/day. You pay $200/month for car insurance = ~$7/day. Everything else (food, phone, gas, etc.) comes to $750/month = ~$25/day. That means you’re left with $24/day in spending money. Want to save $1,000 for a nice vacation? You’ll have to save about 42 days worth of your spending money. That means 42 days of not spending a dime. Want to buy a new $10,000 car? That’s about 416 days worth of your spending money. This will help you see how far purchases are going to set you back and affect your spending ability.
Real estate finance transactions have witnessed breaches, and potential breaches, of loan to value ratios (LTV) and/or interest cover ratios. Some lenders have been amenable to agreeing to LTV covenant holidays up to a period of one year (and the waiver of their rights to obtain property valuations at the borrowers’ cost for the corresponding holiday period). This has in particular been the case in the retail sector and in relation to loans that were performing pre-COVID 19. Other lenders have agreed to equity cures of financial covenant breaches, with some lenders acting in a spirit of co-operation and going as far as waiving any prepayment penalties resulting from an equity cure. We have also seen an increase in the use of cash trap and cash sweep provisions under existing facility agreements to preserve cash in the structure and ensure the servicing of debt. Read even more information at https://techbullion.com/wills-and-covid-19-safeguarding-your-assets-during-a-global-pandemic/.