Many people are unaware that they have the option of switching their loan to other investor; others are simply uninterested. They simply become firm with their first lender but they don’t know that it could bring higher interest rates. Because of increasing number of housing loans and amortization period, the interest can range from thousands to hundreds of thousands of money. Below are some considerations when reinvesting your home.
Current Interest Rate
If your latest interest rate is higher than other housing loan packages, consider reinvesting. Go back to your current bank or financial institution and ask them to reprice your loan package. Most likely, your lender will give you an offer, which is better than your current one. Make a comparison between this offer and with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put.
Lock-in and Clawback Periods
Lock-in period is when your lender give you a penalty if you want to fully repay your loan. Many housing loans have drawback period. This is when the lender will take back what they gave you when you get your housing loan. Lock-in period is different from clawback period. Thus, it is not advisable for you to reinvest due to these extra costs.
Loan Quantum
The higher the amount of your loan, the greater your savings for the same decrease in interest rates will be. However, fixed cost to reinvesting, which comprises mainly of legal fees, does not vary much with loan quantum. The difference between your current and reinvesting interest rates has to be larger for a relatively smaller loan as fixed cost takes into a more considerable part of your interest rate savings.
Identify Interest Rate Movements
Your analysis on how interest rates are moving can be a factor when considering whether you should reinvest. Try a floating rate package as an alternative to fixed rate package if the interest rates are decreasing. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are increasing, switching to fixed rates may be a good choice.
Own Financial Evaluation
Try to get a fixed rate package. Consider increasing your loan quantum. When your monthly income increased and you want to decrease interest payments, try to reduce your loan tenure.
The next is that affiliates make the error of filling their websites with banners that don’t provide enough info regarding the advertised product. The greatest method to battle this mistake is to provide decent written content hand-in-hand with those advertisements. It’s essential for customers to understand all the features of a product or service, and decent content will be able to help them understand that goal.
A third is that there are affiliates that commit the error of advertising just one product or service and as a consequence, customers aren’t given enough choices. There’s additionally the possibility of generating fewer sales as compared to having more choices for consumers to think on, so it is always best to give them a few alternatives than to provide them just one.
Therefore, they head to into this affiliate marketing armed with nothing but false ideas and fantastical notions of money on their minds, never understanding that they are going to commit errors which might ruin them.
All in all, affiliates that are doomed to fall in this business are those who do not exert enough effort to understand everything involved in the industry that they are in. Understanding their path step by careful step would ultimately be beneficial to them, as there is no other method to make it than to go slowly.
Misconceptions concerning affiliate marketing are appealing as well as attractive, although a number of people are inclined to believing that it’s a thing capable of providing them huge fortune quickly.
The second is the fact that marketing affiliates commit the error of filling their sites with banners that do not give adequate information about the product at hand. The best method to fight that mistake is to provide decent content hand-in-hand with those banners.
Expatriates in Singapore discover that it is very expensive to rent a hotel room when they plan to stay for a considerable amount of time in the city-state. One solution to this expensive predicament is acquiring a residential property in the city-state.
In Singapore, expats are not restricted by government authorities from acquiring their own residential properties.
Basically, the Residential Property Act of Singapore encourages Singapore citizens to buy residential properties in the country at reasonable rates. In addition, this act encourages expatriates who are recognized by the Singapore government to have made significant contributions to the economic prosperity of the city-state in their desire to acquire residential properties within Singapore.
Non-restricted residential properties can be acquired by expatriates even without prior approval from the Singapore government. The following are residential properties that belong to the non-restricted class:
- apartment flats within a structure that is not more than 6 floors in height – condo units in authorized condominium development sites included in the Planning Act – a lease contract on a restricted residential property; the term should not go beyond seven years
Expatriates who want to own all units in an apartment or condominium in an accredited development site have to have prior sanction from Singapore’s Minister for Law.
In the same vein, a foreign national who has no prior approval from Singapore’s Minister of Law cannot own residential properties that are classified as restricted.
The following are considered restricted residential properties by the Residential Property Act of Singapore:
- a vacant residential lot – town houses, separate or semi-detached homes, or terraced houses built on residential lands – lots not authorized for condominium development under the Planning Act
In applying for an official sanction to be able to acquire a restricted residential property, the foreign national must fill out a form and, along with the required supporting papers, send this to the Singapore Land Authority. The Singapore Land Authority is responsible for appraising and issuing approval for the merits of an expatriate whether he or she will be qualified to acquire a restricted residential property.
There are a number of car insurance companies in the market, each claiming to be the cheapest and the best. It is therefore important to do some ground research and work according to some basic guidelines before you buy car insurance.
You must first determine how much insurance you require. If you belong to a low risk group, then an insurance of smaller amount would be most appropriate for you. It might look like taking a bit of risk, but it is comparatively a less expensive option and the benefits from it would be sufficient for your requirements.
It is also crucial to estimate what kind of car insurance suits your budget. You would normally be able to get better insurance coverage with even lower budgets as a lot of firms provide attractive packages and discounts. But a company that has the best car insurance quote might not turn out to be the most advantageous if you ever meet with a car accident. Hence, you should carefully go through the documents of the insurance policy and acquaint yourself with the premium amounts and claim privileges.
The kind of service a car insurance firm provides mostly depends on the kind of staff it uses and how sensitive they are about the needs of the customers. You can consider yourself to be rightly taken care of if your agent is capable, knowledgeable and friendly.
You must make sure that you do a full and careful background check of the car insurance companies that interest you. By taking into account their performance in the market or depending on the data that you gather from different sources, you can have a fair idea about the company’s reliability and reputation. By reading opinions of people in different online forums and by doing some internet based research, you can judge the insurance organization even better.
It is crucial that you know what you will need to do if your car is involved in an accident, and your role as a claimant during such mishaps should be clarified by your insurance provider. In the end, you should strike a deal that fits well into your scheme of things.
Once you resolve to take up a housing loan, the next matter that tempests your head is selecting between fixed and floating rate of interest. It is easy to get dumbfounded at this point if you are not financially educated.
Usually, when the media splashes reports on banks raising home loan interest rates in and their impact on Monthly Installments, you deem it better to select fixed home loan rates. In fact, your banker may also suggest you to go for the same.
Now ideally as it should be, we assume that once you select fixed rate plan for yourself the rate of interest will continue unchanged for the entire period you have fixed the interest rate for irrespective of any subsequent increase in the same. But actually this is not necessarily the case.
Here we demystify the nature of fixed interest rate housing loan transaction for you so that you can make an informed decision over the subject.
* Check the small print of a loan. The bank has the right to give you 30 or 60-days notice that it intends to increase its rates.
* The bank’s first-year rates are binding on the bank only for that short period of 1 or 2 months. The 2nd-year home loan rates are not binding at all. Neither are the bank’s 3rd-year loan rates.
* Force Majeure Clause
So, while you read your home loan agreement papers, you can spot statement like this:
“Provided further that from time to time, the bank may in its sole discretion alter the rate of interest suitably and prospectively on account of change in the internal policies or if unforeseen or extraordinary changes in the money market conditions take place during the period of the agreement.”
This is called Force Majeure Clause that enables the bank to undertake appropriate changes in the interest rates on home loans they sanction to their borrowers.
So remember to look at refinancing every couple of years so that you do not pay too much. If you select a good housing loan company you can save a lot of money over the life of your housing loan and in most cases the consultation cost is free.
When it comes to housing loans, many individuals do not refinance. A large number are unaware they have the option of changing their loan to different financier; others are simply indifferent. They stick with their very first lender and the “reward” for such loyalty tends to be higher interest rates. Due to the magnitude of mortgages and the tenure that the mortgage is amortized over, the interest we are speaking about here can well stretch from 1000′s to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Take a look at the following elements to see whether it’s time for you to consider refinancing.
Current Mortgage Interest Rate
It is definitely a positive indication for you to explore refinancing when your current interest rate is higher than available home loan packages on the market. A first step to take is to go back to your existing banking company or financial institution and ask them to revise your package, otherwise known as repricing. If your lender comes back with an offer, it will normally be better than your existing one. You can then compare this offer with offers from other lenders to see whether you should switch or stay put.
Lock-in and Clawback Periods
When you take up a housing loan, there may be a lock-in period where your housing lender will charge you a penalisation fee, commonly a percentage of your outstanding loan value, if you were to fully repay your mortgage. Almost all loans also come with a clawback period where the lender will claim back “freebies”, such as legal subsidies, that they “gave” you when you take up your loan (Note: lock-in period is separate from clawback period). It may not be valuable for you to refinance due to such costs.
Loan Quantum
The larger your home loan amount, the greater your savings for the same reduction in interest rates. For instance, 1% on a loan of S$100,000 is much less than 1% on a loan of S$500,000. However, fixed cost to refinancing, which represents mainly of legal fees, do not vary much with loan quantum. The difference between your current and refinancing interest rates, therefore, has to be bigger for a comparatively smaller mortgage as fixed cost eats into a more fundamental part of your interest rate savings.
Perceived Interest Rate Movements
Your view on how interest rates is moving can be a factor when thinking whether you should refinance. If you are currently on a fixed rate package and believe interest rates are dropping, you may want to refinance to a floating rate package. Conversely, if you are on floating rates and believe interest rates are rocketing, converting to fixed rates may be a positive choice.
Individual Financial Appraisal
If there is a change in your financial state, you may want to vary your package details via refinancing. For example, you are beginning your own business and do not want volatility in other areas. Give some consideration to taking up a fixed rate package. Maybe you want cash to invest in another property. Consider increasing your loan quantum. Or your monthly income has increased and you want to minimise interest loan payments. Consider reducing your loan tenure.
If looking through this article is giving your a headache or you simply want to save yourself the trouble, contact us for a non-obligatory mortgage interview. Our professional consultants not only frees up your time but also do not charge any fees to help you get the best deal. Refinancing does not have to be a tedious procedure.
Charity ratings are something so inconsistent that highly rated charities might easily find themselves outdone in rating by unknown ones that materialize out of nowhere. Charity Water is a representative though new sample of this. The power of the online medium and ingenuity are helping brand new charities to drive their ratings sky high. A charity that may not have any rating one day might be considered as one of the top of the chart charities by the New York Times the next day and their rating would then go through the roof in no time.
As the public can be easily influenced by the charity ratings that the agents of mass media give, it is very easy for a completely new charity to grow very fast and be able to attract a wave of charitable donations to their side. For the same reason, when they become less popular with the media, their charity ratings also go down.
Charity rating directory listings
With scepticism running quite high with charity watchdogs pinpointing charity problems such as misconduct, having exceptionally high amounts of funds spent on admin or the misappropriation of funds, charity rating directory lists are flourishing. It’s so funny that philanthropic organizations that set out to give to others are now under the eye of charity watchdogs. Philanthropy is becoming a little complicated!
Organisations like Givespot.com and Guidestar.org list detailed charity ratings. Givespot.com has a detailed list called the GiveSpot 100 list, which shows its top 100 rated charities. Other organisations like charitynavigator.org have charity check systems as well as a charity Top Ten list so that look up a charity is easy. Guidestar.org is probably the biggest US charity directory offering an amazing array of charity information some free some at a cost. The Better Business Bureau in the USA, despite its name is also charity directory that lists both business and non-profit organisations.
With enough charity rating guides, there is no data shortage for anyone who wants to get information on the 100 top charities, but what constitutes real rating is something different. What in reality makes a charity superior has nothing much to do with its ratings. There are characteristics that make an organization, whether charity based or otherwise, stand out from the rest.
Charity Ratings and trust in the public
According to a YouGov poll of 2005, even well known charities like Save the Children and Oxfam did not enjoy a high amount of faith by the majority of the British population amounting to 56%. The public seemed to have faith only in about 15% of the charities even among those that had good charity ratings.
Charity Watchdog Scares are more common
Trust in charities has dropped a lot in recent times. Yet who can blame the public. Charity watchdogs tell unsettling stories of very highmanagement salaries, charities taking as much as 60% of donations for overheads with their being little left for the actually charitable giving.
Recent analyses reveal that just the cost of raising funds could amount to about’% in UK and 20% in Australia. The studies of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in USA put the amount to be about 30%. Administrative expenses are in addition to this and could be higher. Many charity givers find that this is the main problem, more so when charity giving grabs media attention as was the case in Singapore a couple of years ago. Such unwelcome focus becomes conducive to a decrease in charity giving which is quite unpleasant.
Charity ratings secret revealed
There is little difference between businesses and charities when it comes to attracting money. Their end use of the money is of course different, but their special secrets to attracting it in the first place are much the same.
To promote the charity rating and also to ensure better cash flow, there is a one and only formula – enticement.
When we look at something and consider buying it, investing in it or connecting with it, we make an instant decision based on how attractive it is to us. If the level of attraction is high, we are highly interested and take action quickly and of course if low, we take our time or decide no.
Charity Water was exceptionally successful in getting media backing and good charity rating because of their appealing idea. The scheme of charging a good price for a bottle of charity water, and using the profits thereof for getting clean water to areas where it was not available, was a fascinating idea that appealed to all.
The factors that make Charity Water quite fascinating and promote its rating are the following.
* They have the perfect name – Charity Water that makes people easily respond to the obvious passion of the founder to the idea, and his eagerness to share it with others.
* The message and objective are clear, straightforward and singular – sell water and give water – Buy One Give One
* They focused on the solution and not the problem. This is the number one mistake that loses charities rating points lowering their charity rating in people’s minds. No one wants to feel guilty and sad. They want to feel uplifted and happy. In this case happy to know they could make a difference in the lives of others by buying a simple bottle of water.
How to instantly reduce one’s Charity Ratings
The quickest and easiest way to lose attraction or attractiveness and thus your ratings is by focusing on the problem. No one wants to listen to anyone complaining how bad things are. Yet everyone will listen to someone who has high energy, enthusiasm, drive and determination to create something better.
To prove this, all we have to do is look at ourselves in the company of our kids and know how our response is positive when children make a request in an exuberant, polite and eager manner. The same request, if made in an irritating or maudlin way, might elicit a negative response.
The picture a charity projects would strongly affect its ratings. By projecting an arousing and motivating picture of itself it will be able to influence people well. Then people will be ready to give more in response.
Social Enterprises improve Charity Ratings and solve the problems in Getting Funds
Social Enterprise is a new business pattern that evolved a few years ago. This combines trading with a social purpose. This pattern is a result of the interest of some businessmen who have social objectives but does not find the type of functioning of charitable enterprises satisfactory enough.
Many social entrepreneurs would never survive in traditional business because their ethical and moral values would always be in conflict with many of the business decisions made. Social Enterprise is a perfect arena for these very inspiring and valuable individuals who choose to use the business vehicle to effect social and global change. One of the most famous Social Entrepreneurs of course is Muhammad Yunus who was the first businessperson ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006.
A new global social enterprise, Buy1GIVE1 commonly known as B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), partners businesses with worthy cause and charity organisations right around the world. Buy1GIVE1 cuts traditional fundraising and administrative costs down to nothing: promising to give 100% of all funds received. Similar to successful online entities like Kiva.org , recently endorsed by Bill Clinton; Buy1GIVE1 is an alternative to the traditional way of direct giving to charities. Many find them a more efficient way to make contributions while gaining significant value in return.
Entrepreneurs, who are forever on the lookout for avenues to give in return to the society in effectual ways and to donate to beneficial charitable causes, realise the exemplary worth and strong marketing principles of organisations like Buy1GIVE1. Each and every sale that is made makes a change – not merely philanthropically. It makes a change with its strong impact as well, for every sale that is made becomes a poignant story that is an eye-opener. Buy1Give1 is a far cry from the commercial enterprises that might donate a million dollars to charity, for it lets the customers fully relish the joy of giving. The transaction-based giving of Buy1Give1 is a lesson in perfection.
Enterprises like Buy1GIVE1 provide details of charity requirements, especially those which are really needy causes, and these always manage to attract lots of donations. Entrepreneurs understand very well the fundamentals of these equations and so are more likely to help such causes rather than worry about the charity rating. They know very well that people have an inherent tendency to respond to a more touching requirement, than simply to media rating.
Maple Muesli of Australia has allied itself with a charity called Midday Meals in India, in the city of Mumbai. As a result when a packet of muesli is bought, a needy kid is given food in Mumbai. Since a simple meal is available there at the cost of 30 US cents, Midday Meals daily manages to feed about 125,000 kids. The charity feeds these children in schools and it helps substantially in protecting children from begging and other harsh realities and abuse of street life.
Maple Muesli has helped to put Midday Meals on the map as a worthy and well-rated cause in Australia. Maple Muesli share their giving story with all their customers increasing the natural rating of this amazing organisation in Mumbai without Midday Meals doing anything other than feed children. Effective Giving – The Era for Plain Charity Donations is ending
A change is impending in the setting of the top 100 charities and would become visible in a few years as more novel and productive ways of charitable giving take shape. Nowadays only limited choices exist for making donations for charitable purposes. All the existing ones are not good enough to create enough difference.
Other choices in Charity Ratings
Methods of charity have changed over the years and newer ways are making their presence, some of which are rated below. Comparison Points of Charity.
We have compared and rated a few well-known and less well-known charities and Social Enterprises on areas that are important to their donors.
THE SALVATION ARMY
WAY TO GIVING: DIRECT GIVING
One of the Top 100 charities in the world – The Salvation Army is a charity that individuals and businesses often donate to directly.
OPENNESS – B – Not sufficiently open – Plenty of money is being collected – but the results are not always completely clear.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – C – Even a single donation to Salvation Army by a business might find mention in the press.
FUNDRAISING COSTS – B – Spends millions of dollars annually to raise funds.
DONOR’S CHOICE OF CHARITY – B – There are many charities and the contributors can decide to which one they would like to give directly.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE -C – Nothing specific in the activities that is likely to bring about a change.
PRODUCT (RED)
PATH TO GIVING : MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Product (RED) is a brand licensed to collaborate with companies, and collect money for their Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis in Africa
CANDOUR – B – Insufficient candour – Lots of money is donated – but result is not completely quantifiable.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A – Popular among business ventures as well as people as it is supported by charismatic personnel like Bono and Oprah Winfrey. Marketing results are however not fully traceable.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS – C – Spends huge sums of money on advertisements – giving that money directly to Africa would have been more practical.
DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – C – Enterprises that partner with them have limited options in where their money should go – all needs are in Africa.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – B – All partners of Products (RED) are huge ventures and the entire profit is spent on helping people of Africa.
THE BODY SHOP
PATH TO GIVING : BUSINESS TRADE & GIVING
The Body Shop engages in community trade helping Third World countries; and makes huge donations to charities from their profits.
TRANSPARENCY – B – Lack of transparency – sum of money is contributed for every purchase – but result is not fully measurable.
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A-tve – Customers are interested in community trade and it increases their interest to do business with the venture. Visibility is not entirely sufficient.
EXPENSES FOR RAISING FUNDS – A – Costs are kept low – Business design is good enough to attract large contributions and further community trade.
DONORS’ CHOICE POTENTIALS – A – Ventures that donate has the option to decide in what way their donations are to be used.
ABILITY FOR EFFECTING A CHANGE – B – The ability of the business to give back to the society is good – still few make the required additional effort to press on for change.
LIVE EARTH
PATH TO GIVING : EVENT FUNDRAISING
Live Earth was a series of worldwide concerts held on 7 July 2007 that initiated a three-year campaign to combat climate change.
TRANSPARENCY – F – According to Intelligent Giving, there were big questions about accountability as to where the proceeds of ticket sales went.
ADVANTAGE TO BUSINESS – B – The sponsors of the business benefitted by the good press coverage, though by being a single occurrence results were not properly assessable.
COSTS OF FUNDRAISING – C – Huge amounts were spent on advertising and according to some the whole event was a damp squib without any actual goals.
CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – C – Only three charities received funds.
PROMISE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE – C – Such events can be held just once or at the most once a year. The amount collected generally goes to better known charities.
Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1 )
ROUTE TO GIVING: SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
B1G1 is a brand licensed to any business – partnering them with any charity anywhere in the world. A truly global concept.
TRANSPARENCY – A – One for one giving ensures funds given are used for what they were intended. Customers know their giving translates into real change (e.g. numbers of trees planted, numbers of children fed).
BENEFIT FOR THE BUSINESS – A+tve – Superb marketing value as a result of:
* Measurable giving * Media attraction * Good stories * Word of mouth * Repeat customers
FUNDRAISING COSTS – A+tve – Zero costs – B1G1 can take care of a charity’s fundraising needs including a large percentage of admin as well. 100% of funds received go to the charity.
CONTRIBUTORS’CHOICE OF CHARITY – A – Business givers can choose their charity project or elect to give to a charity cause such as food or education, etc.
POTENTIAL FOR REAL GLOBAL CHANGE – A – Exponential. If more businesses partner charities globally, the potential for real change is massive.
You Might Think Giving away Money Would Be simple!”
Giving away money appears simple on the face of it – it just involves pulling out notes or writing a cheque or punching in a credit card. But reality is a bit different. George Sores, who has donated billions to charity, insists that effective giving is a very complicated business. Underdeveloped nations receive a lot of money in aid year after year but the changes effected do not seem to be proportionate.
People make changes by asking probing questions about the problems they find in front of them. The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Mohammed Yunus, by his introduction of the new category of banking known as Microfinance has made groundbreaking achievements in solving social problems and is leading the way in showing how social enterprise and consumption of goods can positively change the world. Other such ideas worth emulating are that of Buy1GIVE1 or ‘Trade – Not Aid’ of The Body Shop. The overwhelming importance of social enterprise has to be fully appreciated.
When queried as to how someone can effect a change in the world, Bill Gates pointed towards organisations like Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com) and Kiva.org which reward the giver richly. Kiva.org ensures that those who sponsor a business get regular updates via email from those businesses. Buy1GIVE1 also ensures this. With such communication, customers get a clear picture and come to know the stories behind the charities. For example, when they buy a laptop, someone who badly needs a computer might be getting it at some other corner of the world.
Other ways to improve your Charity Ratings
Adopt a questioning mind, hop onto a wired laptop, and with a few hours to spare look at some of the new and amazing giving systems that are being created. Most of these new systems are network based and driven from the Internet.
Today if you are not linked in with powerful global networks through the Internet you are missing out and no matter what your charity rating is today, tomorrow things will change – radically.
There are more and more examples these days of companies rising up from nothing and being sold three years later for over a billion dollars. This was unheard of ten years ago. Today this is becoming a regular occurrence. All these new Internet companies are doing one thing – tapping into global networks or creating global networks.
Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One)
Buy1GIVE1 is a comparatively new Social Enterprise established in’97 by a Japanese lady named Masami Sato. Today any business globally can be a member of Buy1GIVE1. The membership fee for smaller enterprises is as low as $1 for a day. Contributions can also be as low as one cent on a sale made. Buy1GIVE1 is spearheading the Buy One Give One transaction-based giving global movement. For any enterprise or charity requirement, working jointly with Buy1GIVE1 is very simple. It is perfectly structured and accommodating enough to adjust to the requirements of its partners. An organisation can connect its products or services with any charity endeavour (Buy1GIVE1′s or their own) and each time a sale is made, the sale has to be recorded and the input paid at the end of a specific period. The amount can be sent through Buy1GIVE1 or directly to the concerned charity.
You could be losing out a lot if you are not interested in forming an association with Buy1GIVE1and not persuading your business patrons to do so. Buy1GIVE1 is a unique and brilliant organisation whose impetus as well as global impact is huge.
The dawn of a new age in charity giving
Organizations that have been non-entities just a couple of months ago have now invaded internet with resounding user acceptance. Having an online presence on sites like MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, NING or TipJoy are becoming survival requirements. Likewise companies like The Present, Buy1GIVE1 and Kiva are organisations that one should build a relationship with. These are the avant garde institutions that help to create and sustain charity ratings. Now is the time to give new life to a perfect future.