It is most generally acknowledged that the person’s early years such as the twenties is the best time to start investing. After all, you have all of life ahead to invest money which is why so many books on investment – most actually – are geared towards the twenties. Fewer are towards the thirties, and even fewer towards the forties and retirement. This may be partly why trust deed investing is so appealing. In today’s low-return low-interest-rate environment, trust deed investing is one of the few investment options that can help you substantially increase the amount of your monthly income. And little expense is involved. (Although risk is another matter).What is trust deed investment?Trust deeds are like a private real estate loan. If you’re a real estate entrepreneur (for instance) who wants to snap a fast loan to rehab a piece of property in order to sell at a profit, trust deed investors may be your best choice. They’d give you the loan in a blink’s eye far faster than the bank where it takes drawn out negotiations and filing of hefty tomes until you get that loan. (If at all). The average amount of time is 60 days. Some entrepreneurs cannot wait that long. They need to snap that deal and that’s where the trust deed investor comes in handy. He forks over your required funds within that same week, sometimes that same day at 1/3rd of the paperwork and nil of the stress. The downside is that the borrower pays a much higher rate than he might for a mortgage, typically 8% to 12% (since the investor is taking more of a risk).How does it work?The process is such that the buyer works through a third-party loan originator who underwrites and facilitates the loan for one year. Schedules can be restructured, but generally the borrower makes interest-only payments each month and a balloon payment of the principal once the loan reaches its maturity.So let’s say you’re the investor and you fund 250,000 at 10% APR, you’ll either receive 12 interest payments of $2,083 each, totaling $25,000, and at the end of the year, get back your $250,000. Or, in the worst case scenario, you pocket the defaulting borrower’s land.Other things you’ll want to know…There’s no set minimum for investing in a single trust deed. They can be fractionalized – that is, divided into several portions – but loan originators generally prefer to deal with one investor per loan.Finding trust deeds to invest in can be difficult. Your best bet may be to find an experienced broker or advisor with a history of success. These have likely established relationships with originators and you can work through them. If you don’t want to hunt these deals down, you might invest in a trust deed fund run by a professional manager. These funds currently pay between 8% and 11% per year and have minimum investment amounts that start around $50,000.To acquire credibility, you may want to consider running for SEC licensing.Pluses of investing in trust deedsThe pluses are particularly topical now with the Fed hiking its interest rates and maybe hiking them still higher. Trust deed investments protect you from the shenanigans for rising rates because they’re held to maturity and have short durations. You can also use any sort of cash to invest. You automatically have the right to foreclose on any property when the borrower has defaulted on the loan. Trust deed investing can open the door to other investment opportunities. It also offers a return on investment that comes in at higher than average; expect a typical return of 9 to 14 percent. And, if managed well, this type of investing is secure. This is because it has a guaranteed yield.Minuses of investing in trust deedsThe obvious minus is the very likely possibility of your investment defaulting, namely the borrower not paying you back. This happens to approximately 85 % of private money lenders at some time in their lives, some more than others. Redfin, a residential real estate company that provides web-based real estate database and brokerage services, predicts that it is going to happen to many more this coming year when housing prices are going to lurch beyond restraintManaging risk…How can you prevent losing your money? Experts strongly advise lenders to research client’s credit history and trustworthiness. They also recommend that you research the value of the client’s property and the extraneous market environment to the point that you physically investigate the building yourself. If you’re not up to this, consider hiring an advisor with experience in this market. Before you invest, analyze a fund’s portfolio and the loan loss reserves. As with individual trust deeds, you may want to have a professional do this.In short…NerdWallet, one of the leading advisory websites on investments has this to say: If you exercise due caution, trust deed investments can be a great income generator at a time when investments that produce good returns are few and far between.You may want to consider it.
What Are The Greatest Changes In Shopping In Your Lifetime
What are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime? So asked my 9 year old grandson.
As I thought of the question the local Green Grocer came to mind. Because that is what the greatest change in shopping in my lifetime is.
That was the first place to start with the question of what are the greatest changes in shopping in your lifetime.
Our local green grocer was the most important change in shopping in my lifetime. Beside him was our butcher, a hairdresser and a chemist.
Looking back, we were well catered for as we had quite a few in our suburb. And yes, the greatest changes in shopping in my lifetime were with the small family owned businesses.
Entertainment While Shopping Has Changed
Buying butter was an entertainment in itself.
My sister and I often had to go to a favourite family grocer close by. We were always polite as we asked for a pound or two of butter and other small items.
Out came a big block of wet butter wrapped in grease-proof paper. Brought from the back of the shop, placed on a huge counter top and included two grooved pates.
That was a big change in our shopping in my lifetime… you don’t come across butter bashing nowadays.
Our old friendly Mr. Mahon with the moustache, would cut a square of butter. Lift it to another piece of greaseproof paper with his pates. On it went to the weighing scales, a bit sliced off or added here and there.
Our old grocer would then bash it with gusto, turning it over and over. Upside down and sideways it went, so that it had grooves from the pates, splashes going everywhere, including our faces.
My sister and I thought this was great fun and it always cracked us up. We loved it, as we loved Mahon’s, on the corner, our very favourite grocery shop.
Grocery Shopping
Further afield, we often had to go to another of my mother’s favourite, not so local, green grocer’s. Mr. McKessie, ( spelt phonetically) would take our list, gather the groceries and put them all in a big cardboard box.
And because we were good customers he always delivered them to our house free of charge. But he wasn’t nearly as much fun as old Mr. Mahon. Even so, he was a nice man.
All Things Fresh
So there were very many common services such as home deliveries like:
• Farm eggs
• Fresh vegetables
• Cow’s milk
• Freshly baked bread
• Coal for our open fires
Delivery Services
A man used to come to our house a couple of times a week with farm fresh eggs.
Another used to come every day with fresh vegetables, although my father loved growing his own.
Our milk, topped with beautiful cream, was delivered to our doorstep every single morning.
Unbelievably, come think of it now, our bread came to us in a huge van driven by our “bread-man” named Jerry who became a family friend.
My parents always invited Jerry and his wife to their parties, and there were many during the summer months. Kids and adults all thoroughly enjoyed these times. Alcohol was never included, my parents were teetotallers. Lemonade was a treat, with home made sandwiches and cakes.
The coal-man was another who delivered bags of coal for our open fires. I can still see his sooty face under his tweed cap but I can’t remember his name. We knew them all by name but most of them escape me now.
Mr. Higgins, a service man from the Hoover Company always came to our house to replace our old vacuum cleaner with an updated model.
Our insurance company even sent a man to collect the weekly premium.
People then only paid for their shopping with cash. This in itself has been a huge change in shopping in my lifetime.
In some department stores there was a system whereby the money from the cash registers was transported in a small cylinder on a moving wire track to the central office.
Some Of The Bigger Changes
Some of the bigger changes in shopping were the opening of supermarkets.
• Supermarkets replaced many individual smaller grocery shops. Cash and bank cheques have given way to credit and key cards.
• Internet shopping… the latest trend, but in many minds, doing more harm, to book shops.
• Not many written shopping lists, because mobile phones have taken over.
On a more optimistic note, I hear that book shops are popular again after a decline.
Personal Service Has Most Definitely Changed
So, no one really has to leave home, to purchase almost anything, technology makes it so easy to do online.
And we have a much bigger range of products now, to choose from, and credit cards have given us the greatest ease of payment.
We have longer shopping hours, and weekend shopping. But we have lost the personal service that we oldies had taken for granted and also appreciated.
Because of their frenetic lifestyles, I have heard people say they find shopping very stressful, that is grocery shopping. I’m sure it is when you have to dash home and cook dinner after a days work. I often think there has to be a better, less stressful way.
My mother had the best of both worlds, in the services she had at her disposal. With a full time job looking after 9 people, 7 children plus her and my dad, she was very lucky. Lucky too that she did not have 2 jobs.
Finding Business Loans Online – Financing As Close As Your Fingertips
The Internet is the best place for the consumer to find extensive availability of loans, make an informed decision and apply without leaving their home or office. In the past, a prospective business owner had to physically go to a financial institution in person to apply for loans. At the bank or lending institution, they were given a sheaf of papers to complete and often wasted valuable time waiting around bank approval. This process was boring, time inefficient and daunting. Enter the better way: loans online. Courtesy of the Internet, the business entrepreneur can sit at home and go through the entire loan application process online, at any time of day or night. The consumer is offered choices and given the ability to check and compare multiple loan offers.There are various options to financing a small business, which is the purpose of this article, to assist in researching and securing loans conveniently. Depending on the development stage of your small-business idea, you will have different financing requirements than other small businesses.Can you create and customize a loan to suit your needs? One of the answers can be found at a website representing a company called simply Business Finance. This site can help you determine what specific sources of financing are needed, and how the requirements are related to the state of your small business both financially and growth-wise. Business Finance does give a variety of descriptions on the different classes of financing available for small businesses. This enables the loan applicant to better categorize the sort of options for which to apply. Serving as an intermediary for roughly 400 lenders, this website also provides a tool to assist in determining the amount of money you might need to borrow. Lenders will vary as far as loan requirements, but this website offers a description of lending requirements. Not your only source, but one of the best, this website has been focused upon creating opportunities in this relatively new market.The second company that is also greatly beneficial in helping to shop and create financing packages is supported by America One Unsecured Loans. This company specializes in start-up and fast-track loans. A small business entrepreneur seeking money in the form of an unsecured loan can find this an indispensable source to assist with financing needs. At America One, they seem to understand just how frustrating it is to find financing and complete a loan in today’s economic environment. Their specialty product is a signature loan that can be used for any purpose, with no collateral required. Approval is based upon current credit standing.This online resource does offer a very fast turnaround time in regard to approval or denial so that if your need is time-sensitive, an answer is fairly immediate. The turnaround time as listed on the website is one to three days. Once approved, this America One Unsecured Loan can be in the form of unsecured debt, and collateral such as equity in a home may not be needed.Remember that when shopping for small-business loans online, make sure that the financing fits your business requirements and plans for future development.