Getting your house ready to sell- follow few tips to attract buyers

Preparing to sell your home? Know the basic tips, how you can make your home attractive and comfortable for buyers. The very first thing you need to do is disconnect emotions for your home. I know it's not easy to do, but you need to think your home as a property, real estate. Furnish your home in such a way as it's for everyone. It's anonymous. Remove all family photos and other collection that show your personality and ownership. This is because the buyer should get a view like a potential owner. They should not feel like invading your personal property.

Remove clutters from your home, especially from the kitchen. Empty the cabinet and drawers of your kitchen. You must have seen buyers usually open the cabinets and drawer and check if there is enough space. Try to have as much empty space as possible. Clutters in home gives a negative message to buyers. Get rid of junk if your drawer is full of that. Put the clothes and shoes in a box that you wear seldom. I mean to say the extra clothes and shoes that you wear rarely and can make without it some few days. Don't have too much furniture in hall or living room. Keep only those which is required for personal need. Also place the furniture in a proper manner so that it gives and illusion of space.

Do not spend money in remodeling. Rather you can pay for some repair work and improvement. Make sure everything in the house is working properly like water pressure, the hot and cold water nobs, flush, door bell, handles, switches, fan & lights...etc. Hire cleaning crew to clean your home at a regular interval. Paint the house so that it gets a new look. If your carpet appear old and worn, hire a carpet cleaner to clean it. Replace broken floor tiles, if any. Make sure the doors and windows open easily. Also check if any windowpanes is broken. If yes, then replace it.

Now check the exterior of your house. Have a look from outside, how your home is appearing to you. If it's look faded or tired, you may consider to paint it. The lawn should be well watered, freshly edged and it's free of dirty spots.

This should be enough for giving a new look to your home. If you think of a new idea or tip that can be attractive to buyers, just implement it. All we want is to get a good price for your home.

Pay off your mortgage? Look at more than just numbers

In financial planning, the first answer to most questions is, “It depends.” And as frustrating as it is for folks to hear, it’s the truest initial answer for most situations. It’s not the final answer—ultimately there is a "Yes" or "No" that makes sense for the individual. But when it comes to money questions, there's usually a lot more gray in the answers than black-and-white. And much of that gray is created by an individual's financial spirit, as well as situation.

Logic versus spirit
For example, you might come to me for advice and ask, “Should I pay off my mortgage?” Personally, I'd like to be able to spend money on something else other than a mortgage payment and have the security of a paid-off home. I’m willing to forego other things in the near-term, such as replacing an out-of-fashion suit for work or enjoying a night out with my wife, to pay additional principal on the mortgage balance each month.

But we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you. You go on to tell me that your mortgage has a fairly low interest rate of 6%. Wouldn’t it make sense, you ask, to pay the minimum amount of principal on the mortgage each month, and use any additional money to invest in the stock market, which over the long term has grown on average 10% per year?

At face value, your question is financial and logical: If you borrow money at 6% and invest it at 10%, aren’t you making 4%? On a deeper level, though, it’s spiritual: Should you pay off cheap debt when you can conceivably make more money over the long run by investing it?

Align your strategy and goals
Naturally, my initial answer would be, "It depends." But it doesn't depend on whether stocks will earn more than your 6% interest rate, which may be what you want me to focus on. It depends on why you're asking the question in the first place.

For example, you might want a wealthier lifestyle in retirement that requires you to save a substantial amount between now and then. In that case, directing extra money to the stock mutual funds in your 401(k) plan or IRA can make sense. Or being completely debt-free might be extremely important to you, in which case paying extra on the mortgage would be a good approach.

Stop thinking the right answer has to do with just numbers, where the stock market is going or not going. The right answer is the one that best aligns your strategy with your goals and values--essentially, your financial spirit. Get in the habit of answering questions that way, and you'll improve the odds of having financial success.

But really, just pay it off
In actuality, the answer to the money aspect of mortgage question is fairly black-and-white: Pay it off. Financially speaking, the amount you could gain from the excess return of investing in stocks doesn’t justify the high risk, when compared with the certainty of having a paid-off home.

If you’re making good progress on other financial goals, like retirement or college savings, and still have money left over, paying down your mortgage is a smart choice. The real question to ask yourself is, do you think it’s smart, given what you're trying to achieve?

Back with a new mission

I'm back. Did you miss me? Or maybe even more telling, did you even realize I was gone? (Don't answer that.)

It's been nearly a year since my last post, but I've used the time away well. In fact, by the grace of God, my life's gone through a big change. Instead of writing blog posts this past year, I used the time studying to get my Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, and to pass the very tough CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (tm) comprehensive exam. Today, I'm no longer writing about personal finance and investing; I'm working with individual clients and advising them as an official financial planner.

I've been three months on the job and I love it, which is saying something given the financial state of mind of people today. I started advising on October 7, less than a week before the Dow Jones plummeted 11% in a single day. If I can love this job after advising clients in what's been the worst financial meltdown in 80 years, I'm guessing it was a pretty good career choice.

A cool revelation
And this brief time in my new role has helped confirm something in my mind. Financial success comes down to this: You are how you manage your money.

Plenty of books, blogs, videos, etc. exist on how to build an investment portfolio, how to save, how to spend wisely, what vehicles to invest in to reach your financial goals. But I'm realizing more and more that you can know everything there is about stocks and bonds, savings accounts and 401(k)s, and still make poor decisions that leave you poorer.

When it comes to money, the most important thing to understand is you. How you act. How you think. What motivates you, what deflates you. Only by discerning the inner-workings of your own mind, and particularly your spirit, can you effectively create a sensible financial plan. You have to know what fits, what doesn’t, and then what that means in the financial vehicles and strategies you use to pursue your own goals.

It's really what I love about my job, getting to know people, helping them to know themselves, and then applying those findings to their investments . Much to my surprise (and thrill!), being a financial planner is as much about helping people understand themselves as it is about understanding correlation coefficients, betas, and other complex math formulas (which make me say yuck! as much as any non-financial person).

My new mission
And that's what I'm hoping to bring you here at The Coin Jar: Ways to help you think about who you are, how you relate to money, and how you can use those findings to achieve success. It'll be a journey we go on together, because I'm applying these ways in my own life today, as I've written about in the past, and will continue to do so.

So please forgive the lengthy absence. I hope we both find it ultimately rewarding.

How to avoid bankruptcy?

We may think that bankruptcy is the fastest and easy way to get out of debts, but actually it is not. It is the last option to be gone for after all other has failed.

After filing bankruptcy it will be difficult for you to get credit and financial help for a long time, as your credit rating will remain low for many years afterward. You may also face other long term tax problems. Above that it is possible that you lose some of your personal assets to pay back the creditors. You have to start again from the beginning to regain your credit, and it will take long period of time to regain the same.

Considering all these points, filing bankruptcy should be the extreme step after you try all other possibilities. Try all possible strategies before going to file a bankruptcy.

Here are some alternatives that can be tried:

Sell your assets: After filing bankruptcy, you could lose everything that can give a value. So its better to sell the things that you don't use. Move to a smaller house. Keep the necessary things and sell the rest. If you own a car, try to get a smaller and cheaper one and sell the present one.

Consolidate your debts: These won't release you from debt, but reorganize it to pay back in a convenient way. Bankruptcy give you a temporary relief, whereas debt consolidation offer a permanent solution of your debts.

Extend your working hours: Work for extra hours in your current job, if you can earn more from that, or try for a second or third job. Ask your partner or spouse to do the same.

Communicate with the creditors: Let the creditors know about your situation. They might consider to offer some relaxation in what your owe to them, rather than not getting anything from you as a bankrupt.

Please add your opinion and some more alternative that you think of.

Mortgage for first time buyer

Everyone dream of getting a own home, but lack of finance stop us doing so. This is when we can take help of mortgage to fulfill our dreams. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial engagement we ever make, so it's very important to get it right.

The first thing that you need to calculate before going for a mortgage is how much you can afford. Generally, a borrower need to put down a deposit of certain percentage to secure the loan, however, in some cases you can also get 100% mortgage. There are very few lenders who offer 100% mortgage. As a first time buyer it is advisable not to go for 100% mortgage, as the lender may charge a high interest for that.

There are many types of mortgage available in the market.

Fixed rate mortgages
Tracker mortgages
Variable mortgages
Offset mortgages
crapped rate mortgages

(For details about types of mortgages, please contact a mortgage lender or take help of mortgage related sites)

Other things about the mortgage that you should know are costs and expenses. Calculate the monthly mortgage payment by using mortgage calculator. There are also some other fees like mortgage fees, stamp duty, legal fees, land registry, survey fees.....etc. Check for these fees with an attorney and the mortgage lender. You might also need to have an insurance policy, like life insurance, Mortgage payment protection insurance or home insurance. It's up to the lender to ask for the insurance. As a first time buyer you may need to consider this.

Before you finalize a deal, check the interest rate with few mortgage lender, so that you can consider the best offer.

Calculate your monthly mortgage payment here:

Importance of credit score

It's very important to know your credit score and understand it completely, as it help you to get loans, mortgage and even a job. Credit report list personal information such as name, address, date of birth, social security number, number of family member, your employer..etc. Financial situations like bankruptcies, tax liens, foreclosure, late payment of your bill...etc, will also be listed in the report.

Your credit score list plenty of information about your financial actions. Your loan or credit account, and how your pay them, your current debts, type of debts...etc. All these information are listed in the report. The creditors, lending agencies and other companies will consider your credit score to determine if they can finance you without a risk. Any doubtful record create a negative impact and can affect you in many ways. It's not only in case of sanctioning a loan but also determine the rate of interest. Lower the score, higher will be the interest.

According to the data of Jean Chatzky ( the financial editor for NBC's The Today Show ), in May 2006, to qualify for the best rates on a mortgage loan, home buyer needed a credit score of 620 or higher. Just 2 year later in May 2008, you would have asked for a credit score of 750 to qualify for those same rates. So it's important to review your report once in a year, so that you are aware of your report and know what the creditors say about you and also can work on improving your score. Knowing your credit report will help you make important financial decisions.

Tips to improve and maintain a good credit score:

1. Collect credit report from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Review the report for any error or mistake.

2. Try to reduce the debt of those with high interest.

3. If not in full, try to make payment of minimum balance due of credit cards.

4. Pay all you bills on time. Late payment can do a serious damage to your report.

5. Avoid credit from Financial companies. It can negatively affect your score.

6. Don't apply for too many credit account.

Credit score determine your financial status, so one should always try to keep it as good as possible and avoid any such actions that can affect it and result a low score.