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Avoiding Scams And Making Wise Real Estate Investments Before Retirement

8/29/2018

Your real estate investments and the choices you make regarding them will largely affect the quality of your retirement. In the past decade, we have seen countless retirees watch their retirement savings go down the drain due to poor real estate decisions, or real estate scams. Be sure to take time to educate yourself regarding these common scams.

Hacking

One of the biggest problems regarding real estate these days is hacking. Hackers have gained the ability to enter into complex computer networks and do things such as stealing your down payment. Fraud prevention expert Robert Siciliano says, “a hacker could fool you into thinking he's your agent and trick you into sending him money, which you'll never get back. It's so bad the FTC even sent an alert warning consumers that real estate agents email accounts are getting hacked.” Be sure to do your due diligence, and keep your guard up regarding hackers.

Bait and Switch Scam

If selling a home is part of your retirement plan, then beware of the classic “bait and switch” scam, which has plagued real estate for quite some time. This involves the prospective buyer placing an offer which is well above the market value. The seller of the home, in their excitement, signs off on the deal. However, the “buyer” has no true intentions of purchasing the home. After the contract is signed, the seller is locked into the deal for weeks or months, unable to speak with authentic buyers.

The scammer then tells the seller a story as to why the price no longer works for them. They proceed to make an offer far below market value. More often than not, the seller, under the pressure of time and ongoing costs, agrees to the lower offer. You can avoid this scam by confirming the buyer has adequate funds before they sign the contract. Also, refuse to grant extensions or reductions in price. If the scammer attempts to lower the price based on the condition of the home, remember to request an inspector to verify these claims.

Loan Modification Scams

Usually, a homeowner seeks for a loan modification in order to prevent foreclosure. If the homeowner gets behind on their mortgage payment, they are approached by someone who claims to be affiliated with a government organization which isn't true. This person offers to help for an upfront fee. No legitimate source of help will ask for an upfront fee or for financial information right away. These offers should be turned away. If you find yourself in this type of situation, contact your lender to work with them directly to prevent foreclosure.

Conclusion

When making decisions regarding real estate, especially if your retirement is concerned, it is important to deal with verified real estate professionals. Be open with them about your process and allow them to assist you. Many people, when they finally realized they are being scammed or led into a sour deal, are embarrassed and ashamed. In their embarrassment, they try to hide their mistakes. Doing such can cost you your retirement, so always be transparent with your real estate professionals.

For more advice for planning your retirement, check out our wonderful homepage!

References:
Real Estate Elevated | How Real Estate Investors Can Protect Themselves From Scams
Scam-Detector | 10 Real Estate Scams That You Need To Avoid Today
Bankrate | Avoiding mortgage modification scams

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5 Financial Products to Secure Before Retirement

8/28/2018

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Financial security is an important aspect for any individual out there who wants to have a good life, especially after retirement. There are several financial products that you can have to ensure that you have covered yourself after retirement. These are some of the financial products you can contribute to or purchase to safeguard your financial needs later in life.

Roth IRA’s
A Roth IRA is a financial account where individuals contribute funds for retirement benefits. The account is funded with the post-tax income which means that you will fast deduct taxes from your income before making contributions to the Roth IRA retirement account. The primary benefit that owners of this account get is that there are no taxes on future withdrawals irrespective of the amount you withdraw. Most of the people qualify for Roth IRA according to U.S. Census Bureau 2017 report.

Health Insurance Cover
Retirement comes at an age when your body weaknesses start to manifest through various illnesses. This is the time you are likely to get serious injuries such as leg fractures due to the weaknesses in your overall structure and poor immunity. Getting some health insurance policies such as disability insurance and life insurance covers will protect your family members from selling their properties and using their savings to pay for your healthcare services.

Trusts
Transferring your properties to a third party, who acts on your behalf is an important strategy that will help you in solving financial challenges during retirement. The primary benefit of transferring your finances to a trust firm is that you are likely to reduce estate and gift taxes. The more you minimize on taxes, the more you have many funds to save for your future. Trust firms will also help you in protecting your assets from creditors and lawsuit, especially during retirement, when you will not be in a position to pay your debts as and when they fall due.

Annuity
You can consider paying a lump sum or a series of payments to an insurance company upon which you will be entitled to disbursement at some point in future, especially after retirements. An annuity is a common vehicle that is used by people who want to prepare for financial security after retirement. It will provide a steady flow of income that will assist in supporting and catering for your financial needs. The benefit is that you will receive the annuity amount for the rest of your life.

Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners insurance is a financial product sold by insurance companies that help you to cover your home and the assets in it against any unforeseen circumstances in future. Buying this cover will be very useful because your home will be rebuilt or you will be given funds to construct a new one during retirement if at all there is an insurable risk.

Finding the best financial product for financial security during retirement is a goal that you need to achieve early in life. Some people wait until the last few years to find a product, but they find themselves in a critical situation as they do not save on contributing enough funds to cater for their needs.

References:
US News
Safe Retirement Solutions
Manning & Napier
InsureStat

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Can You Invest On A Budget?

8/23/2018

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Many people live on a very tight budget that leaves little to no money available for saving or investing. You may be aware of the financial recommendations to begin saving and investing for the future as soon as possible, but this may seem impossible based on your current circumstances. Each person has a unique financial situation (personal finances can be pretty tough), but most may be able to make a few changes to free up money that can be used for investment purchases.

Pay Off Debts

One of the primary reasons why many people live on a tight budget is because they are financially overwhelmed by high debt payments. Keep in mind that eliminating your debts would free up a substantial amount of money that can be used for investments in the future. More than that, some people could benefit from an increase in income to them get through their tough times. Develop a debt reduction plan as a first step toward finding money to invest.

Adjust Your Budget

Regardless of whether you need to start your financial improvement process by paying off debts or you are ready to begin investing right away, adjust your budget to free up extra cash. The best budgetary adjustments are focused on reducing fixed expenses. For example, sell one of your cars to get rid of an auto loan payment, or shop for cheaper insurance. By making budget adjustments, you may free up a few hundred dollars or more each month that may be used for debt reductions or investments.

Use the Right Online Trading Platform

Once you are ready to begin contributing money toward your investments regularly, look for an online training platform to use. While it is easy to assume that all platforms are the same, they usually vary in significant ways. For example, the trading fee can differ substantially. The types of investments that you have access to as well as the research tools offered through the platform may also vary.

Check for ROI

You can't dive into investing by throwing your money at the first thing that looks good — this is a good way to lose a lot of money and never see it again. Whether you're investing in real estate, franchising, or stock, you need to double check its return on investment (ROI) potential. If you're purchasing a franchise, for example, calculate ROI by dividing projected annual profit by the total investment cost. Do this several times for different possibilities to determine which one has the best likelihood for success.

It may seem like you cannot feasibly start investing at this time, but this may not be the case. You can see now that there are several steps that you can take to begin improving your financial situation and to free up cash that could be used to purchase investments regularly. Initially, you should review your case with debts and create a realistic budget. By doing so, you can better determine the steps that you need to take to start investing more money on a regular basis.

References:
https://money.usnews.com
https://www.powerfinancetexas.com
http://www.africamoneyskills.com
https://www.franchisegator.com

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4 Tips For Using Inspirational Quotes For Marketing

8/14/2018

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Courtesy of Soberlink

If you’ve spent any amount of time on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, you’ve probably noticed something: motivation is trendy. Everyone’s trying to bolster their own personal success by using inspirational quotes. And if you want to stay current, you should too. But how do you make quote graphics? Which quotes should you choose? Here are some quick tips for social media success.

Choose the Right Quotes for Your Audience

While inspirational quotes are great, it's difficult to keep everyone engaged. It's always important to target your quote for your audience. After all, these are the people most likely to purchase your company's products or services. If your company markets business software, you'll want to offer entrepreneurial quotes. On the other hand, healthcare companies might regularly post quotes appealing to nurses or doctors.

Create Your Own Images

While it might seem easy to begin grabbing motivational images, this is rarely the best option. Your company could find itself in trouble from using copyrighted images. Of course, using quotes means attributing them to their respective authors. However, it's best to use your own images while creating posts based around these quotes using tools like Canva. This also helps to ensure that your business is effectively branding all created content.

Place Quotes on Company Social Media Pages

After creating the right images, you might wonder where to post them. Considering that, you'll want to ensure these images are on your company's social media pages. This ensures that your company is popping up in followers’ feeds, staying fresh in their minds. In addition, this shows followers that your company is worth continuing to follow.

Try to Avoid Spamming Quotes

While it's important to have a stream of content, this can go wrong. With that in mind, it's important to avoid going overboard regarding inspirational quotes. It's great to want your audience to stay motivated. However, posting too many images each day could cause more harm than good. Your followers want fresh contact but they don't need to be bombarded. Therefore, consider keeping posts relevant and not creating more than a few per day. Social Media Today reports that posting too much will likely "annoy your followers."

To summarize, inspirational quotes are important ways for companies to market themselves. Many companies have grown their online following through this type of marketing. However, it's important to follow a few guidelines while creating these types of posts. If you follow the previously mentioned tips, your company might obtain a similar type of success.

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How To Financially Plan For An Amazing Retirement

8/14/2018

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Many Americans have major concerns that they will be able to achieve the retirement of their dreams. While it may be more difficult than it was a couple of decades ago, experiencing a great retirement can still be a reality for young adults. Here are some ways to make it happen.

Start Saving Early

The key to having a great retirement is having sufficient funds available to pay for it. This could mean having a great pension as a parachute. However, most people don't have this luxury. This means that they'll need to start saving as soon as possible. People who start saving in their twenties or thirties will be able to see their stash of cash grow because of compounding. It's simple. The earlier a person starts, the more time her money has to grow.

Minimize Expenses Today

Another step toward achieving an amazing retirement is through cutting expenses. Those who need less money today to live a fulfilling life will likely need less money in retirement to enjoy their golden years. Every dollar that's left over after expenses is a dollar that can go toward saving for retirement.

Estimate How Much You Need

To have an idea of how you're going to get to where you want to be in terms of retirement, you have to have a map that will track the steps that are necessary to get there. This is where the planning rubber meets the road. Figuring the amount that you'll need for an amazing retirement will involve figuring out how much you can expect to pay for a mortgage or rent, transportation, and food. Additionally, if you're looking to travel or spend time in a tropical location, it's a good idea to figure this into your retirement budget.

Consider Geographic Arbitrage

If you're really ambitious and open to adventure, it's possible to retire abroad, or at least in a cheaper locale within the US, to cut down on the amount needed to finance retirement. When retiring abroad, it's important to remember that immigration processes can be difficult and costly. However, the living expenses after these initial costs can be quite a bit cheaper over time, especially in countries where the dollar is strong.

Invest Aggressively

Investing in CDs will not work in a low-interest environment. This means that you'll want to keep quite a bit of your nest egg in growth investments like stocks or mutual funds so that you avoid losing money to inflation. Additionally, it's important to remember that you will want to avoid drawing down too much money, especially early in your retirement years. Most advisors recommend withdrawing between 3 and 4 percent annually to avoid running out of money.

Saving money early and then living off of investments is a great strategy to see that you're able to retire comfortably. Being willing to move to a cheaper part of the world might even mean that you can live on a tropical beach in your golden years. The time to start the planning process is now.

If you have questions about retirement and what you need to do to prepare, don’t hesitate to contact us today!

References:

American Funds | Starting Early to Save for Retirement Is Important
Kiplinger | Retirement Savings Calculator
Dave Ramsey | How to Invest in the Right Mix of Mutual Funds
Freedom Law | Immigration Law

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How Can Refinancing Improve Your Retirement

8/14/2018

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As many adults approach retirement, their goal is to pay off as much of their mortgage balance as possible. After all, when your mortgage is paid off entirely, your monthly expenses will understandably decrease substantially. However, there are numerous benefits associated with refinancing a mortgage as you approach retirement or even while you are in retirement.

Pay Your Debt Off Faster

Many homeowners who have been paying on the same mortgage for years may have their debt established on a 30-year term with a relatively high interest rate. When you refinance your mortgage, you may be able to take advantage of a lower interest rate and a shorter term. These two factors combine together to give you potentially faster debt reduction.

Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Depending on the specifics of your current loan and the new loan that you may qualify for, you could reduce your monthly mortgage payment. Keep in mind that your mortgage payment amount is based on the interest rate and loan term that you select as well as the amount of the loan’s original principal balance. If you had a starting loan amount of $200,000 on financing that started 15 years ago and that still has 15 years remaining on the loan, your payments are based on the $200,000 loan amount.

However, if you only have $50,000 left on your mortgage, you could refinance so that your payments are based on this much smaller loan amount. The result can be substantial savings.

Use the Equity

Another reason to potentially refinance your mortgage is to tap into your home equity. You may have tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars available in your home's equity. The cash-out refinance option can take some of that equity and turn it into cash in your hands. If you are a veteran, there may be even more options available to you when you use a VA cash-out refinance loan. This cash may be used to invest in income-producing assets, to pay off other debts with a higher interest rate, or to achieve other financially-beneficial goals.

Take Advantage of Tax Benefits

While it may seem ideal to pay off your mortgage, keep in mind that your mortgage gives you tax benefits each year. If you pull equity out or even if you simply apply for a rate-term refinance, you can continue to take advantage of the tax benefits while also taking advantage of some of the other benefits described here.

Your home mortgage is a debt, but it also can be an excellent resource when used strategically. Determine what your short-term and long-term goals are, and explore the many ways that refinancing may help you to accomplish your goals.

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5 Common Ways Senior Citizens Are Scammed

8/14/2018

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Why Scammers Target the Elderly

The elderly are targeted so much by scammers because they likely have a retirement or social security fund and are not as mentally sharp or technology-literate as a younger person. This makes them easier to scare and take advantage of in the modern world. Unscrupulous people try to take advantage of seniors in several ways, and here are the top 5 scams to watch out for:

1. Fake IRS Messages Scammers

use email and phone calls to pose as fake IRS agents in an attempt to scare people into giving up crucial information or sending money. They often accuse the recipient of not paying their taxes and threaten them with punishment or jail time. The elderly are often fooled by the fake IRS agents and end up with stolen identity information or missing money. The real IRS never contacts people via phone, email or social media, so any message from the IRS over these communication systems is a scam.

2. Fake Medicare Messages

Within the year of 2018-2019, new Medicare cards are being mailed to all recipients. These cards will no longer have the recipients' social security number but will provide a random number for the new system. Scammers are taking advantage of this by calling Medicare beneficiaries and demanding payment for their new Medicare cards. Any phone call or email that asks for money for a new card is a scam because Medicare is issuing these new cars for free in every state.

3. Home Invasions Scams

Some unscrupulous people go door to door posing as repairmen for water, electrical or some other utility. They arrive with an apprentice or assistant and show official-looking paperwork and identification. Once again this is playing to a seniors' fear that one of their utilities is down or they are in danger of gas leaks or electrical accidents. While the “repairman” is distracting the homeowner, the apprentice burglarizes the home and steals valuables and money. These home invasions can happen in as little as ten minutes. Seniors should be wary of any servicemen they or a relative haven't called for.

4. Posing as A Relative

These scams are especially horrible because they play on the fear a senior has for the safety of their loved ones. The scammers get a hold of a senior's telephone number and pretend to be a relative or a friend of a relative who is hurt or in trouble. Of course, the only way to bail this “relative” out of trouble is to send money in some form, either by wire, PayPal, and sometimes even ridiculous requests like iTunes gift cards.

5. Investment Scams

Because older people are saving their money and planning for retirement, they are targeted by scammers who take advantage of their need to save for when they no longer have a job. Whether it's a pyramid scheme or a dodgy email investment, these people are looking to drain social security and retirement from innocent people. Be wary of investments that seem too good to be true or have no public data available. And never invest in something presented over email.

For more help on keeping your money safe as you near retirement or feel you need to plan better for retirement, check out more articles from the Retirement Planning Store!

References:
ADT Home Defenders | Crime Rates
Local DVM | Police Warn Waynesboro Residents of Home Invasion Scam
AJC | 10 financial scams targeting seniors and how to avoid them

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Avoiding Scams And Making Wise Real Estate Investments Before Retirement

5 Financial Products to Secure Before Retirement

Can You Invest On A Budget?

4 Tips For Using Inspirational Quotes For Marketing

How To Financially Plan For An Amazing Retirement

How Can Refinancing Improve Your Retirement

5 Common Ways Senior Citizens Are Scammed

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