Wills in real estate in coronavirus period? Draining your savings. Spending all or most of their savings on the down payment and closing costs is one of the biggest first-time homebuyer mistakes, says Ed Conarchy, a mortgage planner and investment adviser at Cherry Creek Mortgage in Gurnee, Illinois. “Some people scrape all their money together to make the 20 percent down payment so they don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance, but they are picking the wrong poison because they are left with no savings at all,” Conarchy says. How this affects you: Homebuyers who put 20 percent or more down don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance when getting a conventional mortgage. That’s usually translated into substantial savings on the monthly mortgage payment. But it’s not worth the risk of living on the edge, Conarchy says. What to do instead: Aim to have three to six months of living expenses in an emergency fund. Paying mortgage insurance isn’t ideal, but depleting your emergency or retirement savings to make a large down payment is riskier.
Everyone is on social media sites these days and Facebook is a great way to network and connect with buyers. In addition to the marketing effort your Realtor will provide, you can also use the power of networking to get the word out to as many people as possible that your home is for sale. People also love watching videos. If you grab your phone or video camera, make a video as you walk through your home and your neighborhood. Tell why you love it and then post that video on FB and YouTube. By doing so, you will help a prospective buyer visualize a great life living there also.
When a state of emergency was declared in Ontario, and other provinces in March of this year, probably no one expected that four months later we would still be looking at working remotely and arranging client meetings by video means or in socially distanced settings. For some estate planning lawyers, the rush of clients looking to update wills or prepare them from scratch was almost overwhelming. For others who were wanting to “give back” by offering free or minimal cost services to front line health care workers, there was little interest from the workers themselves. Find additional info on Coronavirus.
However, the advice remains that wherever possible, Wills and Codicils should continue to be executed in the conventional way, ie with two independent witnesses present in person with the will-maker. It is acceptable for this to be done with the parties a short distance from each other, whether outside or in adjacent rooms, or through a window or open door of a house or vehicle. Wills and Codicils can be validly executed within existing law as long as all parties have a ‘clear line of sight’ of each other throughout the signing process.
Pay Yourself First: This personal finance tip is another common one that can have a huge impact on your finances. When you pay yourself first, you’re investing in your financial future; you’re investing in future you, and future you will thank present you for doing so. So, why not just pay yourself at the end of the month? That’s a lot easier, right? Well, the reason why paying yourself first works so well is that once that money is sent to a savings account, you’re a lot less likely to spend it. If you wait until the end of the month to pay yourself, you might not have any money left! Future you will be very sad with no money. Make future you happy by investing in yourself! PS. The best way to pay yourself first is to do it automatically. Set up an auto-deposit with WealthSimple and you’ll never have to think about saving money again – it will just happen.
We have seen lenders ask for, and borrowers agree to, enhanced information covenants, including the delivery of updated compliance certificates following a payment default by a tenant where the borrower is a landlord of a multi-let property. Some lenders are exercising their rights under loan agreements to block distributions to investors, thereby minimizing any leakage from the structure. Others are allowing for the release of funds to investors once the loan has been stabilized following an equity cure. For our Middle Eastern sponsor client base, release of distributions to their investors has been a key factor in re-negotiating the terms of their existing loan agreements. Having said that the practicalities of the current market has meant that in many cases there is very little (if any) cash available for distributions, even in the cases of stablised loans. Find additional info at https://techbullion.com/wills-and-covid-19-safeguarding-your-assets-during-a-global-pandemic/.