Beware of Collateral Mortgage

What Type of Mortgage Is Yours?

First Published Date: March 16, 2015

When you shop for a new mortgage, pay attention to what type of mortgage your financial institution is registering you. You may be lured into collateral mortgage without knowing, as financial institutions may not disclose enough to let you know that’s it’s collateral mortgage you are registered for.

Traditional mortgage represents the exact amount you need to borrow – plain and simple. With a collateral mortgage, the amount you are borrowing is up to 125 percent to 150 percent value of your property. And for that reason the lender will have a promissory note and lien registered against your property. For example, if your mortgage amount is $100,000, the bank will register you for $150,000, although you are receiving only $100,000.

Banks or financial institutions will tell you that it’s a good thing to register you for more than what need because you will have easy access to credit in the future without reapplying or avoiding extra fees and credit.

However, what banks will not tell you is the following:

– Unlike traditional mortgages, collateral mortgages are complicated and expensive to transfer to another lender at the end of the term.

– You could be paying higher interest at renewal because your lender knows it’s difficult to switch mortgage and you will have to stay with them, so they can make pay you more.

– Because you can borrow only up to 80 percent of your property value, collateral mortgage will not be able to let you access you the extra money banks are registering you for if your down payment or equity is less then 20 percent.

– If you want to transfer out of collateral mortgage, you must hire a lawyer and pay $1,000 or more to discharge the collateral mortgage.

So when you are shopping for mortgages, always read the fine print and consult an independent mortgage professional before making your decisions.

Overnight Bus to Aswan | Egypt Travel Blog: Day 2 (Part 20) 01D19

16 Hours Overnight Bus | Cairo to Aswan

Egypt Travel Blog: 10 DAYS Egypt Explorer - Felucca Cruise & Red Sea

After visiting the Pyramids, I reached the Oasis Hotel around 3:00. Our expected pickup time at the lobby was at 5:45.

To avoid the 16-hour bus trip there were two options available: upgrade to a sleeper cabin train for $110 CAD or a flight for $167 CAD. I was unlucky because both of them were sold out. So I had no option but to take the bus.

I rushed to finish my shower and get some rest after returning to the hotel. After packing my 2 small pieces of luggage, I had some time to have coffee in my room. I was at the lobby at 5:30 to be picked up.

I met some of my travel mates, but didn’t find a few of them as they were able to get flights. We all gathered in one area and chatted about our expectations and experiences in Egypt so far.

The bus came on time. It was a huge, shiny two-level bus. Inside the bus was very comfortable and that’s what I needed for this long journey. I chose to sit on the upper floor. Everyone sat far apart, as the bus was able to accommodate that.

We left a little later than 6:00, but no one complained. I saw two security officers to guard us throughout the journey. They had light semi-automatic weapons tucked under their suit.

I felt Egypt was very safe and the people were friendly towards tourists, but the government had to take all precautions to safeguard us, which I appreciated. 

The bus trip was full of events I will talk about in my next posts.

Real Estate Property in Costa Rica

Costa Rica? Si, Muy Rica.

First Published Date: July 18, 2009

It would probably take most people quite some time to guess which country recently finished top of the pile when Happy Planet decided to list the happiest countries in the world. Admittedly amid a recession it may not be easy for anyone to guess, because the impression we are generally led to have is that everyone in every country is walking around under a massive dark cloud. It appears, however, that one place in which people are smiling their broadest smiles and talking about the future with optimism is a country with a name that – at least presently – seems perfectly appropriate. Costa Rica – “the rich coast” – is being touted as the place to be. It is green, it is thriving and it seems that nothing can wipe the smile off its face.

To buy real estate property in Costa Rica currently is to join in with an increasing number of American and Canadian citizens who are drawn by the promise of Paradise on Earth. It would be easy to point fingers and laugh at the hubris, the cliché, but unless there is something in the water in San José then it would appear that this is a country with an awful lot going for it. Certainly it appeals to more and more people as time goes on, and business investment as well as real estate are both seeing money being pumped into the country. The fact that there are tax breaks for foreign investors surely doesn’t hurt, but you don’t need to come from elsewhere to see the benefits of Costa Rica – when surveyed, Costa Ricans themselves revealed the highest life satisfaction in all the world.

Property prices for a condo are, in general, slightly lower than you would pay for one further north, with the added advantage that property taxes are low in Costa Rica as a means of attracting external investment, but it is in the housing market that you will really see your dollar go further, with houses of real beauty and luxury in splendid locations costing on average half of what you might expect to pay for similar in the United States. The cost of living in Costa Rica is reassuringly affordable, too. This may have something to do with the fact that the country long ago disbanded its military and puts every penny that would have gone into it towards social programs. As a result healthcare and public services are extremely good.

If you have the patience to live in a country that seems to be a lot more relaxed than most, yet doesn’t fall down on getting things done efficiently and effectively, and can speak Spanish (English is spoken here and spoken well, but it would be a shame to come to somewhere so welcoming and not assimilate at least a little), then Costa Rica is a place worth investing in. The work/life balance is pitched just about perfectly for anyone who likes to enjoy themselves but knows that this is only possible through earning the money to do it.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 18, 2009.

Top Ten Emerging and Frontier Markets

Bloomberg’s 2015 Top Market Lists

Published Date : March 22, 2015

Bloomberg Market recently published its lists of top 25 and 19 emerging and frontier markets. These lists are made based on several factors, such as investing climate, ease of doing business, GDP growth, and so on. Let’s look at the top 10 countries from both emerging markets and frontier markets lists.

Top Ten Emerging Markets

1. South Korea
2. Qatar
3. China
4. U.A.E
5. Chile
6. Malaysia
7. Panama
8. Peru
9. Latvia
10. Poland

Source: Bloomberg Market

Top Ten Frontier Markets

1. Saudi Arabia
2. Estonia
3. Slovakia
4. Lithuania
5. Bahrain
6. Slovenia
7. Bulgaria
8. Vietnam
9. Kazakhstan
10. Romania

Source: Bloomberg Market

The term “emerging market” refers to market or country that is not yet fully developed, but has some elements of a developed market and on is its way to become a developed market in the future or was a developed market in the past. A frontier market or country refers to a developing market that is slower than an emerging market.

For example, MSCI, a leading provider of indexes, considers Saudi Arabia a frontier market, but considers Qatar and UAE emerging markets. South Korea, a widely considered developed market, is still considered emerging market by MSCI due to market restrictions in Korea.

Budgeting: The Dos and the Don’ts

Strict Budgeting Does Not Work

Published Date : March 07, 2009

It would seem that anyone giving financial advice always begins by saying “use a budget”. Unfortunately, this to many seems restrictive and cloying, and few people do it when times are good. Budgeting is associated with periods of low income, but in reality, if you budget during the affluent times too, the benefits can be huge.

If budgeting does seem to be too restrictive for you, then introduce a flexible budget. Instead of saying that X amount will be spent on X every month, try saying between X amount and X amount will be spent on X every month. For example, a strict $300 for groceries can become $300 to $350 a month for groceries. Studies have shown that even this slight difference is enough to make people feel released from the confines of a budget.

A budget doesn’t need to be strict. Instead, it can be more of a general guide If you aren’t struggling financially, then you can make your budget as vague as you like, while the practice of actually having a budget and sticking to it will be stored for future use should your circumstances change. There’s no need to write down the exact amount of money for everything you could possibly spend it on; some budget “$10 per month for magazines”, which is a little extreme.

Why not budget just for the essentials?  . These are simply amounts that rarely fluctuate and are essential. When you know roughly how much you need for these each month, the real budgeting begins.

At this point, the most common mistakes of budgeting arise. People make the limits of their budget too strict or not strict enough. The only way to avoid this is by trial and error. Split your non-essential expenditure into different groups, rather than specific sets, to begin. Allow amounts for entertainment, going out, clothing and other such variables. At the beginning, it really is best to just guess – find an amount that you think “sounds” right. This might sound a little pie-in-the-sky, but there’s no set figure that is ideal for each person. You have to find out what works for you.

With this done, go through a month on your non-essential budget, then evaluate it. Are there areas where you have a lot of money left over, or areas where you spent more than you were expecting? Within reason, simply alter your budget for the next month to fit the discoveries you’ve made. After three or four months of this, you should have a pretty good idea of the patterns to your expenditure. After six months, you’ll have learned enough to set a semi-permanent budget. After all, if you keep changing your budget forevermore, the point of it is lost slightly!

With your personalized budget in hand, you’re ready to begin. But there’s one final addition that should be in every budget; miscellaneous. You can never know what exactly might appear over the coming months – be it an unexpected bill, or something more exciting like a gadget you just can’t resist – so by always including a miscellaneous amount, you’ve got that covered. If nothing of this type appears over the course of a month, simply roll this amount over. With a plan designed to suit you and a miscellaneous figure allowed for, you’ll soon wonder how you ever managed without a budget.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 7, 2009.