How to Get the Most Out of Buying Your First House

by PATRICIA HolmesHome Appliances

When you’re young, buying a house seems either daunting because of the sheer amount of money you need or like a hassle that will tie you down for the future. No more freedom to go anywhere you want, and hello responsibility. But here’s the thing about buying a home: it’s better than investing in gold. In fact it’s one of the best investments you can make.

You have a couple of options: buy a house, make some improvements, and flip it, or buy a house and settle in for the long term until property values really appreciate. In the future you could decide to stay there because you like it, or sell it and find a better place. Flipping the house right away is more of a gamble, but it can definitely pay off.

Flipping a House

Typically, when people want to flip a house they buy a “fixer-upper.” The house in need of repairs can only rise in value—unless the neighborhood is extremely crime-ridden and the other houses are low quality. Even then, improving the fixer-upper from the ground up can make a positive impact on the neighborhood, and value will go up because you’re investing money into it.

Here are some things to consider when you’re flipping a house for a profit:

  • To actually make good money, you’ll want to buy low in a market where values are rising
  • You need good credit to make this happen—pay off all debts and find out what it takes to raise your score if it’s low
  • You need cash for a down payment
  • If you qualify, you could take take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
  • The better the location, the better off you are when it comes to making a profit
  • As an investor, you’ll pay a higher interest rate on a loan
  • You’ll need to be educated on the real estate market, financing, negotiating with the seller, doing repairs and working with contractors, and which repairs really increase a home’s value

There’s a lot to flipping a house, but if it’s a game you want to play, there’s a ton of cash in the right market.

Once you’ve made your renovations, one big part of selling a house fast is staging. When you’re staging the home, you’re getting rid of all clutter. Locate furniture in such a way as to make it aesthetically pleasing—balance the amount of furniture in each room, float it out away from walls, and make sure each room only has one purpose. Optimize lighting by making sure no furniture is in front of windows. You can place mirrors in rooms strategically to increase natural lighting. When you’re arranging everything in rooms, find the most attractive focal point and arrange around it. Use art, rugs, pillows, and decor to make colors pop. Read some books on feng shui and see what you can do.

Flipping houses isn’t for everyone—in fact very few people can really do it successfully. Another option for making money from your first house is to rent it out.

Renting Out Your House

Being a landlord comes with its fair share of headaches, but it can become a way of generating passive income. Just like it sounds, this is income you earn without doing anything. Once you’ve paid off the mortgage and can afford to pay other people to do repairs, every cent you earn from rent is completely gratis.

Millennials make up a huge chunk of the rental demographic. There are definitely some things you should consider when renting to millennials:

  • Don’t discriminate based on age: If a millennial doesn’t make enough to afford the cost of living in your house, that’s good reason not to rent to them; but if you don’t rent to them because you’re young too, and you know how unreliable people your age are, that’s illegal
  • Make your subletting terms clear: Millennials may want to make some side cash through AirBnB or another vacation rental, make sure they clear it with you beforehand
  • Consider pets: You’ll be more competitive at attracting millennial tenants if you allow pets
  • Make sure everyone’s on the lease: They may want to move in roommates without you knowing
  • Prioritize green housing: Millennials prefer environmentally-friendly housing with things like solar power, ENERGY STAR appliances, and electric car charging stations
  • Prioritize safety: Up-to-date maintenance and renovations will ensure safety and attract good tenants

These considerations apply to all tenants, regardless of age. That said, if you make the place attractive to millennials, you’ll have a huge pool of tenants to choose from. You know from your own experience this is a generation of renters.

Like being a house-flipper, being a landlord isn’t for everyone. In the long term, you’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of turning your first house into your first home.

Living in Your First Home

Once again, this is daunting, but it doesn’t have to be if you take it one step at a time. Here are the big financial considerations for first-time homeowners:

  • Keep an eye on your budget: You’ve got mortgage payments to make, so don’t blow too much money right away on renovations, furniture and decor.
  • Make sure insurance is covered: You need more than homeowner’s insurance; maintain life insurance, disability insurance, and car insurance payments.
  • Make sure to get tax deductions and credits: There are tax breaks for first-timers; if you have to pay an accountant because of all the paperwork and limited time, do so—it’s worth it.
  • Maintain savings: You never know when an emergency will hit, so keep a savings pillow of at least a couple grand beneath you.
  • Keep records: Keep receipts of all purchases for your home, so you can maximize tax write-offs.

This last one is more important than it seems at first. If you have precise records on renovations and remodeling expenses, you’ll know exactly how much more the place is worth when it comes time to sell. With this baseline number and current property values, you’ll be able to determine a good asking price for the property.

As you continue on in your first home, make renovations you can afford and maintain the place to the utmost. There will come a time when property values are higher than they were when you made your purchase. That’s when you want to put your house on the market. There are absolutely no regrets if you put a positive effort into this. In the end, you’ll be ready to retire in a better place than you started.

How to get out of America and make good money

by PATRICIA HolmesBusiness

It’s true that an education from one of America’s universities is highly valuable. Our universities are among the best in the world, with students from all over the globe seeking admittance. But it’s also true that America’s job market is tough. It’s highly competitive and wages are relatively low, meaning grads with student loan debt often find themselves in a desperate situation, whittling away at their debt in a low-paying job.

Enter globalization. You don’t have to live in America to get a degree from one of our universities. And the job market in a foreign country may be just what you’re looking for. The option to expatriate is real, and so is online education.

Technology and globalization are two of the major trends in higher education today: around 70% of institutions offer online education, and, according to Maryville University, “Trend-setting colleges are actually expanding with physical locations overseas, in places like China and Qatar.”

For some students, the state of affairs may be such that getting an education from an American university abroad is an attractive proposition. If that’s you, there are some important things to consider.

The economies of foreign countries

Since you can access online education from virtually anywhere with internet service, one of your primary considerations will be the economies of the countries you’re considering. For one, a country with a thriving economy is more likely to have a good internet infrastructure. Two, a country with a solid economy will have more jobs to offer. Earning your degree online gives you a little more time to work and explore the local culture, because flexibility is one of the big perks of online education.

But the state of an economy is not your only consideration. In tandem with that, there’s the quality of the worklife.

According to Fast Company, if you want to work outside the US in a satisfying environment, consider the following:

  • Iceland has one of the highest employment levels at 79%, and has a great social environment, with 98% of the population reporting a supportive social network; that could be why it’s the third happiest country in the world
  • Switzerland’s employment level is also 79%, and workers between 15 and 24 have an unemployment rate lower than 8%, which is half of the global average; Switzerland is the second happiest country in the world
  • Norway’s employment level is 75%, and it’s the fourth happiest country in the world
  • Sweden ranks as the 10th happiest country, and 85% of Swedes say they have more positive experiences per day than negative ones, which is 5% above the global average

Places like Finland, Germany, and Canada also rank well when it comes to work and quality of life. But according to the Washington Post, when it comes to overall considerations for expatriation, Asian countries such as China, Singapore, and Thailand should also be in the mix. Germany and Switzerland also fare well in the overall considerations, as salaries for expats in German-speaking countries are unusually high.

There’s also the consideration of what type work you want to do. If you’re the entrepreneurial type, there’s no doubt America is one of the best countries for you. Looking to found a startup? Worldwide, Washington State University ranks Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Australia as the best places, besides the U.S., in which to do so.

Practical considerations

Expatriating isn’t easy, but there are several routes to take that will make working and studying abroad easier. And of course, you don’t have to completely expatriate and give up American citizenship. There are temporary options if you just want to find out what it’s like in a different country.

First, studying abroad. More and more students are taking the community college option, which is a bit less of a commitment than university. In fact, the number of students who chose community college options abroad shot up from less than 4,000 in 2001 to nearly 300,000 in 2015.

For short-term study abroad options, CIEE Study Abroad, IES Abroad January Term, and Go Overseas all offer programs.

For a semester abroad, the California community college system, community colleges in New York, and community colleges in Texas all have a wide variety of options. But consult whichever community college you’re considering about their programs, too.

Or you could volunteer abroad and do service learning. ISA Service Learning and Global Crossroads are organizations that can help you out in this respect.

And, of course, there are study abroad options in just about any university of your choice. But if you want to expatriate, that’s a different story.

In 2014, the cost to expatriate rose by 422%, from $450 to $2,350. The State Department chalked the incredibly steep rise up to the extra work they were having to do to process departures. To put that in context, 2012 and 2013 saw a 366% rise in the number of people who expatriated. If you want to get out of here, you’re not alone.

The process is relatively simple:

  • Go to a foreign country and find a U.S. Consulate or Embassy
  • Tell a consular or diplomatic officer you want to expatriate
  • Sign a form

That’s it. But here’s the catch. When you renounce, wherever you renounce your citizenship, you’ll have to hand over your passport and will be stateless, unless you already have citizenship in another country. This will make it hard to travel, meaning you’d most likely have to stay in that country. You’ll want to choose the country where you’d like to live first. Then, either look into obtaining a work visa, or study abroad there. Next, apply for dual citizenship. After that you’ll be in a secure place to expatriate.

Global ETP inflows hit new record during first three quarters of 2012

by PATRICIA HolmesUncategorized

Money flowed into exchange-traded products (ETPs) at a record rate during the first third quarters of 2012, according to data provided by independent research and consultancy firm ETFGI.

Net inflows
The net inflows into ETPs, which include exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities and exchange-traded notes, reached an all-time high of $188 during the nine-month period, according to ETF Daily News. The sum surpassed the previous record of $170 billion going into these vehicles during the first three quarters of 2011 by $18 billion.

Total assets
The total assets that these ETPs had under management rose to a new all-time high of $1.86 trillion during the period, compared to the record of $1.76 trillion that was set at the end of August 2012, the media outlet reports.

Data provided by the independent research and consultancy firm reveals that the total assets held by these ETPs worldwide have increased from $1.53 trillion since the beginning of 2012, which represents a 21.7 percent gain, according to the news source. These numbers come from 4,690 ETPs and 9,626 listings, which are offered by 204 providers and traded on 56 different exchanges.

Of the $1.86 trillion that is held in ETPs, U.S. investors account for 70.1 percent of this total, with Europe representing 18.8 percent and Asia Pacific taking up 3.9 percent. Once these areas have been accounted for, 7.2 percent remains.

Competition among providers
The market for ETPs remains staunchly competitive in the face of robust expansion, and the top three providers of these financial instruments repeatedly draw more than 60 percent of the market’s assets, net new assets and trading volumes, the media outlet reports.

“ETF competition is about getting the product mix and the ETF Eco System right and not just low costs.  We will see some movement in the relative size of the industry heavyweights and while benchmark, performance, trading, liquidity and product structure will continue to be key considerations, costs as we see from the US will be an increasingly important component,” stated Deborah Fuhr, managing partner at ETFGI.

The rising amount of funds flowing into ETPs comes after a 2006 survey predicted that over the next decade, the preferences of investors would change and they would mostly choose to put their assets into financial instruments providing passive investing strategies, according to The Financial Times.