Loans and Lending: How to Get Financing for Your New Home

As the housing market gets tighter, traditional lenders may not have enough flexibility to offer you the money you need in the timeframe you need. Thankfully, there are many private borrowers and FHA alternatives that you can use to fund your house.

New or Existing?

Are you building new or buying an existing home? If you’re buying an existing home that needs some work, you may be able to get short-term lending for the initial purchase, make the repairs to bring the house up to what you need, and then qualify for a traditional mortgage. 

It’s important to be aware that the terms on short term lending can be a bit more expensive than a traditional mortgage. However, you can get the money much more quickly and those dollars will be easier to get approved than a traditional mortgage.

Get Pre-Approved

If you’re working with a realtor, get your documentation together so you can get preapproved for a mortgage with a mortgage broker and have a working idea of the dollars you can qualify for. 

Most of these pre-approvals are what is known as a “soft pull” or a loan approval that doesn’t impact your credit. While talking to the mortgage broker, be prepared to ask about first-time buyer options or down payment loans. There are programs available in some regions that allow you to

• Borrow enough to meet the down payment requirement
• Make payments for a set period of time, both the down payment loan and the mortgage
• Get the remainder of the down payment loan forgiven

Functionally, the down payment loan becomes a grant once you’ve been in the house for a particular number of months or years.

Credit Rating

For those that are planning to build, be very careful with your spending and payment habits once you’re preapproved. You want your credit rating to be as high as it was at the time of preapproval, and higher is even better. 

If you’re building, you may need to re-qualify for the loan in the event of construction delays.

It’s been a very uncertain couple of years and the housing market is very tight. If you find a neighborhood and a home that suits you well, you may have to make a couple of different applications to get fully funded for your region. Keep going so you have dollars in place when you’re ready to shop.

Common Causes of Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents are quite common on the roads today. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 4985 riders were killed on the road in 2018. Though driving a motorcycle can be fun, it can also be dangerous, and it is important to take enough precautions when riding one. 

Knowing the causes of motorcycle accidents will help you stay alert on the road and also know how best to avoid such accidents.

Here is a list of some of the common causes of motorcycle accidents on the roads today.

Speeding

This is one of the leading causes of accidents. Many motorcycles are fast, and the rider can easily speed if not careful. However, speeding affects your ability to see or react to other drivers' mistakes in time to help avoid a collision. 

Therefore, speeding can result in a head-on collision or other types of accidents. And the higher the speed, the more significant the impact of the crash and the more severe the effects.

Unsafe Lane Changes

There are rules on how to change lanes while riding your bike safely. Unsafe lane changes can risk collision with other road users. A driver needs to check the blind spots and practice safe driving.

Lane Splitting

In most states, it is illegal to drive between two lanes. While this can help you avoid traffic jams, it puts the driver very close to cars, and should there be any sudden movement from the vehicles, the rider will not have enough time to react and an accident will ensue.




Lane splitting is risky because the rider is in close proximity with the cars, and the reduced amount of space makes it very hard to maneuver. Vehicles also do not anticipate that motorcyclists will try to pass them in traffic and not pay attention.

Left Hand Turns

This accident can be fatal because of the impact. Left-hand-turn car accidents occur when a car fails to indicate when making a left-hand turn or when the motorcyclist attempts to overtake a vehicle that is waiting to make a left-hand turn from behind.

Left-hand turn accidents also occur when the rider is going straight through an intersection or when passing it. Though accidents between cars are more common, motorcycles are more vulnerable because they are smaller in size.

Unsafe Road Conditions

The presence of potholes, debris, crumbling pavements, and lack of the necessary safety signals can increase the chances of a cyclist losing control resulting in an accident.

Distractions and Driving While Intoxicated

Driving while under the influence of alcohol is also a common cause of motorcycle accidents. It can cause head-on collisions, rear endings, or hitting stationary objects and can be fatal.




Riders who cause accidents when intoxicated can face both criminal liability and civil cases.

Sudden Stops and Car Doors

There are accidents that occur when a car driver or passenger opens a door on a motorcycle rider's path. The driver can slam into the door, and this can result in serious injuries. 

Car door accidents are very common when lane splitting. Riders who follow vehicles too closely are at risk of rear-end accidents should the cars come to an abrupt stop.

Hire a Lawyer if You Have Been in a Motorcycle Accident

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you should hire a personal injury lawyer, like those at Albright, Stoddard, Warnick & Albright to help you with your settlement or defense. A lawyer will gather all the evidence necessary to defend you.

How to Start Investing: And What to Invest in

Investing money is a very reliable way to build wealth over a period of time. However, the whole process can seem very daunting if you’re just getting started. 

The good news is that many wealthy investors too started with a level of skepticism, but they somehow got to learn the right steps to take, implemented them, and became successful. Today, you’re going to learn the basic steps you need to take to start investing, and what to invest in, so keep reading!

Determine how much you want to invest

Many investment options today allow people to invest low or high amounts of cash. Therefore, it makes sense to begin by deciding how much you’re willing to invest before choosing your methods. Of course, the amount of money you want to invest should be informed by your investment goal.

If you are looking to secure your retirement, for instance, you should generally aim to invest between 10% and 15% of your yearly income for retirement. Ideally, regardless of your goal, you have to consider your time horizon and the amount of cash you need, and then sort of work backward to break the amount into weekly or monthly investments.

Know your options

The most important part of investing is understanding every instrument available and the level of risk it carries. Some of the most popular investment options you’ll want to consider include the following:

Stocks. These are shares of ownership in a company, and you buy them for a share price. When the company profits, you too profit.

Bonds. These are loans you give to a government entity or a company. Before the organization pays you back, you get interest.

Index funds. These are investment vehicles that track market indexes. You can use them to balance your investment portfolio.

Mutual funds. These are collections of investments that allow you to buy a diverse assortment in a single transaction instead of picking individual bonds and stocks.




As a beginner, you should look to invest in these instruments because they are profitable and generally safe.

Pick a strategy

The next thing you should do is pick an investment strategy based on your saving goals. For instance, if you’re planning on securing your retirement, and your goal is more like two decades away, you can invest most of your money in stocks. If you don’t like the process of picking specific stocks, you can go for mutual funds or index funds.

If your goal is short-term, and you need the cash within a shorter time-frame, such as five years, you can consider Bank certificates of deposit (CDs) and short-term bond funds. 

If you’re more comfortable waiting to see your money and investing long term, then a DST 1031 property investment may be a good idea.

Alternatively, you can skip this step by opening an investment account through a qualified Robo-advisor. They’ll help you build your investment portfolio and look after it.

Understand your risk tolerance

As you may already know, not all investments are successful. Every investment comes with a certain level of risk, although it’s usually correlated with returns. Before you invest, you need to find a balance between maximizing the returns and getting a comfortable risk level.

For instance, if you are willing to lean more towards forfeiting high returns to reduce risk as much as possible, you can go with bonds. 

They are very low risk, and they yield relatively low returns of around 2-3%. On the other hand, you can go with stocks to enjoy the annual returns of about 10% per year, but be ready to incur higher risk.

As you can imagine, there is a huge difference in risk within the broad categories of bonds and stocks. For instance, Treasury bonds are very low-risk investments, and they usually have low-interest rates. 

That means that the reward is low. Conversely, a high-yield bond comes with a higher risk of default. Although it’s important to keep risk at the back of your mind, you shouldn’t get over-concerned about it, according to Forbes.

The best way to approach this is using a Robo-advisor to create an investment plan that suits your financial goals and risk tolerance.

If you’ve just decided to start investing, congratulations! You’ve already completed the first step. What you need to do now is follow the next steps above to get started.

What Are You Doing With Your Money? 4 Ways to Make Your Idle Savings More Useful

It's never a bad idea to have a little bit of extra money in the bank. While having a savings account is always good, you should also remember that the money that you have in savings isn't money that you're putting to work. 

If you are interested in generating real wealth, you'll want to consider one of the following ways to make your idle savings more useful.

Put Money in a Retirement Fund

Perhaps the most common way to make your idle funds a little more active is to start putting money in a retirement fund. Whether you have a 401(k) through your job or you put money into an IRA on your own, this money has the chance to start growing much faster than any savings account's interest rates. 

These accounts are designed to grow slowly but surely and can do a fantastic job of helping to keep your money working.

Invest in Something That Makes Money

If you'd like to be a little more active, you can invest your money in places that can make money you can see now. For many, this means trying to climb the property ladder. Whether you flip houses or you just invest in rental properties, this is a largely passive way to gain income. 

If you'd like to go after something with more hands-on work but potentially greater rewards, you can also think about investing in businesses to make money.

Put Money in the Stock Market

Another good way to make money is to invest in stocks on your own. Whether this means finding a mutual fund you can trust or playing the markets every day, investing in the stock market is usually considered to be one of the most popular ways of making money. 

Though there is definitely risk involved here, you can reduce your risks by doing your research and investing carefully.

Look Into Wealth Management

If you're not sure what to do, consider working with a wealth management firm to help you to grow your wealth. These firms will guide you towards investment opportunities and help you figure out ways to keep more of your money over time. Such a partnership is usually one of the best ways to figure out what to do with significant sums.

Don't let your money languish in a savings account. Instead, try to make sure that you find ways to put your money to work. With the right investments, you can start turning your savings into a new way to make money.

Moving into a Retirement Community? 4 Ways to Prep for the Process

Finally living out the retirement dream is an incredibly exciting prospect. If you've already found a community that you love and are ready to call it quits on your business prospects, follow these steps to make sure you're completely ready to go.

Create a Calendar

Deciding to retire is a big decision, and many people find themselves stalling on the final move. Once you know that you're ready to retire, draft out a schedule of when you'll be stepping away from your current life. 

Start by marking the day when you'll quit your job and the day when you'll move into your new home. In between, make plans for actions like cleaning out your house, visiting your old friends, donating items to charity, and meeting with various professionals to help you settle your affairs. Then, share this calendar with any family members who want to help you with the process.

Sort Your Items

One of the difficult parts of retiring is deciding what items to keep from your old life. Some people choose to carry all of their belongings with them, while other people prefer to start fresh with nothing more than a box of mementos. 

No matter which camp you fall into, you'll want to seriously downsize your current possessions. Use boxes to separate items that you want to give to friends, donate to charity, or simply throw away. 

You should also use this time to sort through your paperwork; keep important documents, but get rid of old bills and other papers that have gone out of date.

Prepare Your Taxes

Finally selling the family home isn't as simple as listing it on the market. When you cash in your equity, you'll need to grapple with property taxes and local requirements. 

That's why your best option is to hire a real estate tax attorney who can help you handle the selling process as professionally as possible. 

The right attorney will make sure that you're paying the right amount of taxes, discuss any legal requirements that apply to your situation, and help you manage the transition period between moving into the retirement community and actually selling your home.

Gather Your Contacts

As you move from your working life into your retired one, remember to get contact information for everyone that you'll want to keep up with. 

Depending on your lifestyle, this may mean adding people on social media, saving their phone numbers, or even writing down their information in your address book. 

From business cards to scribbled notes, make a place to keep everyone's contact info until you have a chance to write it down. That way, you won't have to lose touch with any of the good friends that you've made.

Retiring can seem like an overwhelming process, but it's also completely rewarding. Take your time sorting through old mementos and calling people who you haven't seen in a while. As long as you make the date on your calendar, there's no reason to rush through one of the most significant events in your adult life.

Reasons to Learn Everything You Can About Retirement in Your 50s

If you’re currently in your 50s, you probably feel like you’re at the very peak of your professional career. You’ve gained experience, established your reputation, and learned how to best use your abilities to your advantage. 

In the midst of such an important stage of your working life, it’s easy to forget that the end of your career is only a decade or so away. Before you know it, you’ll be starting to seriously consider retirement. 

To prepare for this major change that’s right around the corner, you should start learning as much as you can about retirement while you’re still in your 50s. Here’s why this educational jumpstart is so important.

The Finances of Retirement Are Complicated

Ending your career and setting yourself for a life of leisure isn’t as easy as handing in the keys to the office. It takes a lot of work to understand the ins and outs of your retirement plan. 

You’ll also have to get a handle on how your taxes will be affected by your new status. Making smart decisions in your 50s will allow you to spend less of your money to the government. If you’re not sure where to begin, you could consider signing up for tax planning classes.

Planning Always Pays Off

Your financial situation will prove vital in determining the quality of your retirement. The people who have the sparest cash to play with are usually those who put serious thought into planning during their 50s. When you have a plan for retirement, you make it more likely you’ll enjoy the type of life you’re hoping for.

Retirement Could Come Sooner Than You Expect

You can never be sure that retirement is as far off as you think it is. Sometimes, an unexpected turn of events can make retirement suddenly become your best option. If you were to lose your job, see your earnings slash, or receive an offer for a generous severance package, you might decide to retire early.

It’s Best to Avoid Unwanted Surprises

If you retire on a whim without completing your due diligence, you could be surprised by high tax rates and inaccessible funds. You’re much better off doing the necessary research now so you’ll know exactly what you’re dealing with when retirement comes around.

Don’t ignore retirement just because it seems so far away. Proper planning in your 50s will allow you to truly enjoy your retirement years.