Canada Gets New Credit Card Rules

Understanding the New Credit Card Laws

First Published Date: Oct 17, 2010

In an effort to make it easier for customers to pay back their credit cards and not fall behind to the point where they are swimming in debt. These rules actually came in effect on Sept. 1, but many residents of Canada do not know about them. To help educate people on the new rules, here is a brief rundown of what you need to know.

1.    There is a minimum grace period now of 21 days that are interest free on all new credit card purchases when a customer pays the outstanding balance completely.

2.    When a customer pays the minimum payment in excess, meaning they pay more than the minimum payment, the credit card company must allocate the excess so that it is put on the balance with the higher interest rate first, and then distributed proportionally to all other types of balance such as cash advances.

3.    Credit card issuers must inform consumers of their monthly statement and how long it will take to fully repay the balance if only the minimum payment is paid. This gives you a better understanding of how much time it is going to take for you to pay it off if you make no purchases on it.

4.    Another rule is that there must be a complete disclosure of interest-rate increases prior to those rates taking effect at all.

The biggest problem with these rules is that the Canadian public has not been educated on them, so many do not even know that they exist. The main reason is the government has not worked hard enough to publicize the rules, which means that many credit card companies can break the rules illegally, and consumers will not even know that their rights are being stepped on. It is very important that consumers learn these rules and pay attention to their credit cards so they can know whether or not they are being cheated out of the regulations put in effect to help them.

There was a voluntary code in place that would help to stop merchants from paying higher and higher costs from credit card companies but the problem was that credit card companies chose not to comply with it. As a result, those temporary rules became permanent and credit card companies are now forced to follow them, including allow merchants to cancel contracts without a penalty.

Credit card debt can literally sink a household and make it impossible for the house to pay their bills and survive day to day on what they have left. As a result, Canada is making it much easier for consumers to pay their credit card bills by ensuring that there are rules in place to protect the consumer. However, it is up to you as the consumer to know the rules and to make sure that the credit card companies are following them when they are dealing with you. It is your right as a Canadian citizen, so do not let credit card companies off the hook.

Real Estate In Saudi Arabia

Taking Advantage of Property in Saudi Arabia

First Published Date: July 19, 2010

For the first time ever, Saudi Arabia is opening its doors to foreigners who want to buy property in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country. Now unlike many other countries that allow foreigners to buy property within their borders, Saudi Arabia is going about things a bit differently. Instead of giving foreigners the ability to buy in places like Dubai, and other major cities in the country, Saudi Arabia is building a new city where it will allow foreigners to own property.

The city, which will be called, King Abdullah Economic City, will be the first freehold city located within Saudi Arabia and it is being built by the government-owned company Emaar Economic City. Named after the head of state for Saudi Arabia, the entire city is going to cost an estimated $27 billion to build, and it should be completed by around 2025. This means that if you want to own property in Saudi Arabia, you are going to have to wait about 15 years. That should give you enough time to buy property in the city, which will surely be expensive.

The city itself will be located near the city of Jeddah, and it will house roughly two million people in total. King Abdullah Economic City is just one of four cities that are being planned under a $400 billion plan created by the Saudi government to house a growing population. However, only King Abdullah Economic City will allow foreigners to own property within it.

The city is currently the home for 400 families and as the years go by, more and more families will begin to move in as the towers and buildings are completed. At this moment, mostly middle-income homeowners have bought property within the city, which lies on the shores of the Red Sea, making it one of the key points in future trade within the Middle East.

In regards to how one goes about buying property within this new Saudi Arabian city, those rules and regulations are going to be issued within the next few months. According to most reports, the new regulations for foreigners buying property within the city will cover things like foreclosures and repossessions, as well as the creation of a land registry.

If you are planning to live in one of the richest countries in the world, but also one of the strictest, then this new city may be the place for you. It will have all the modern conveniences and be incredibly high-tech. Families are already buying up property in it and it is expected that the waiting list will become quite long for the city. As a foreigner, there will be various rules and regulations you will have to agree to and follow while living in the country. As for what those are, you will simply have to stay tuned for the next couple months as the Saudi Arabian government begins to put that information together for foreigners wanting to live and/or invest in this new city.

Real Estate In Bulgaria

Buying Property in Bulgaria

First Published Date : July 24, 2010

When you think of Bulgaria, you probably don’t think about buying property, but instead think about the fact that it is in Eastern Europe and you probably don’t know too much about it. However, did you know that home prices in Bulgaria are incredibly cheap, and the country itself is quite beautiful, with a border along the majestic Black Sea?

Bulgaria is located in south-east Europe, with borders against Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. The country is the 16th largest in Europe, and there are several majestic mountain ranges that make their way through this beautiful country. If mountains are not your thing, then you can relax along the coast of the Black Sea, or stay on the Danubian Plain to the north, and the Upper Thracian Plain to the south. The largest city in Bulgaria is Sofia, where roughly 1,405,000 people live.

Bulgaria is also very diverse in terms of climate. There is snow along the mountains of the Rila, Balkan and Pirin mountain ranges, mild and sunny temperatures along the Black Sea, and a Mediterranean climate along the plains to the north and the south. No matter what type of weather you like, you will be able to find it somewhere in Bulgaria.

In terms of the type of country you are thinking of buying property in, Bulgaria is not as ranked highly as other countries in Europe, but it ranks much better than countries in Asia, South America and Africa. On the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Peace Index, Bulgaria ranks 56 out of 144. On the Human Development Index, the country is 61 out of 182. On the Corruption Perception Index, Bulgaria sits at 71 out of 180, while on the Global Competitiveness Report it is 76th out of 133.

So as you can see, Bulgaria ranks higher than most countries in the world, plus it is a place where you can literally buy a house with nothing more than a credit card. It should come as no surprise then that Bulgaria is growing in popularity as a place to buy a home, with 100 percent capital growth on property investments in the country in just the past year. As a result, prices are beginning to rise, especially in places like Barovets and Pamporovo, two very popular ski resorts within the country. Some areas have seen their housing prices double in just one year, so it is very important that you take advantage of buying a home in Bulgaria before prices get to high. In cities like Varna, Sofia and Barovets, prices are starting to get high, but you can still find plenty of deals if you go out to rural Bulgaria and buy a nice old cottage or home that just needs a bit of renovation. This can be a great investment if it is what you are looking for in Bulgaria.

If you do decide that you want to buy property in Bulgaria, for yourself or as an investment, then the process is pretty much the same as buying a property anywhere else within Europe. You find properties online, have someone you know check out the place, and then make an offer for the place. However, to help with the process, here is quick rundown for you:

1.    You should know the reasons that you want to buy a property in Bulgaria. Are you buying property for yourself as a holiday home, is it an investment, or do you just want to have more assets under your name? Once you know why you are buying a home, you can choose the area in Bulgaria that you want to buy the home in.

2.    At this point, you will need to establish a Limited Liability Corporation within Bulgaria. The reason for this is that only foreigners who own an LLC can own and buy property within Bulgaria. It is pretty easy to do this within Bulgaria but it should be noted that while in the United States, an LLC prevents you from incurring the debt; this is not the case in Bulgaria. You will be liable for the debts your company incurs.

3.    You will need to talk with the Bulgarian government and clear your tourist/visa status with them before you begin to buy the property. You will need to secure a D visa from Bulgaria if you are going to be staying longer than 90 days.

4.    Now, you should get a notary public that can oversee the entire transfer of the property. In Bulgaria only notaries can legalize a property sale. In Bulgaria, you will have to pay a two percent tax on the price of the property, and you will have to pay three percent commission. In addition, you will also have to pay lawyer fees so that you can make sure that the entire transfer is legal and proper in Bulgaria.

If you are going to buy property in Bulgaria, you always want to make sure you spend the time and money to get it done right. This is why a lawyer and someone you know in Bulgaria can be very beneficial because they will be able to check out properties for you and help you find a property. If you are buying a home for yourself in Bulgaria, then you will want to check out the property yourself to make sure it meets your needs. Come out to Bulgaria and look at the home and see what it is like. Sending someone to look at the home can help, but they may not look at the things you want them to look at. If you are buying it as an investment, then you do not need to go to Bulgaria to see the home, because you can have a proxy do that for you who knows what people within Bulgaria will want out of their home.

Bulgaria is a beautiful country that you can easily fall in love with given the chance. Check it out and you will not be sorry.

Should You Buy A Condo or A House?

Buying A Condo vs Buying A House

First Published Date : March 8, 2010

The real estate market of other countries may be doing poorly right now, but Canada’s real estate market is still in tremendous shape. In fact, it is not only stable, but it is currently growing. This indicates a healthy time to take the step and purchase real state in Canada. If you’re ready and willing to take the leap into purchasing real estate and having a new place to call your own, the first thing that you’ll need to do in Canada or anywhere else is determine what type of real estate is right for you.

The two most commonly preferred pieces of real estate purchased for personal residence in Canada are condominiums and houses. A condominium, or “condo” for short, is a building or complex in which apartments are owned individually while the common parts of property such as the grounds, recreational areas and even the building structure itself are owned jointly by the residence. A house on the other hand is perhaps best understood with a simple definition: a structure serving as a permanent dwelling for one or more people, particularly for a family unit. How does one decide whether to purchase a condo or a house? The best way to decide is to consider the pros and cons of both.

First, let’s examine the pros and cons of purchasing a condo. There are three commonly stated pros with regard to owning a condo. The first is easy upkeep. If you have a busy lifestyle, or simply have no interest in yard-work or significant home maintenance responsibilities, a condo offers itself as a great choice. The second is location. Typically, the joint ownership and structural arrangement of condominium complexes allow for living in or near the center of action, perhaps in the heart of your city. The third and final most commonly stated pro related to owning a condo is less obvious. Basically, contrary to a common misconception, condos have been increasing in value at a rate greater than single family homes. This means that they’ve been outperforming single family homes as a financial investment!

However, there are also some commonly stated cons for those purchasing a condo. First, there are fees associated with living in a condo. These fees typically take the form of maintenance, yard-management and trash cleanup fees, and they can sometimes be both confusing and expensive. The next commonly stated con in purchasing a condo is the lack of sole responsibility in decision making. Since your apartment is a part of a building in which others also have a claim, major decisions related to your apartment and the building itself are not universally up to you. The final, perhaps most frustrating con associated with condos is how the condo’s value may rise or fall sharply depending on factors beyond your control, such as how well the building is maintained by the collective inhabitants or on how well or poorly the surrounding neighbourhood develops.

There are also several pros and cons related to purchasing a home instead of a condo. The first commonly held pro related to owning a home is their family friendly nature. From the typically greater indoor space to outdoor space, including a yard, houses tend to be favourable for family units greater than just one or two people. The second commonly held pro is related to the first: pets and personal outdoor equipment are allowed on your own property; they may not be allowed in your condo.

On the other hand, there are two major cons associated with purchasing a house. The first is the greater responsibility over your house and its value. You’ll be responsible for maintaining the yard, for either completing repairs yourself or hiring others to make repairs to your house with your own funds. Despite the fact that taking these measures can improve the value of your house over the long-term, many people find having so many responsibilities frustrating or at least unnecessary and undesirable. The second downside commonly reported with regard to house ownership is the decisions and costs associated with taking advantage of all of the extra indoor and outdoor space. Additional furniture, garden items, swimming pools and all sorts of other possibilities can make outfitting your house much more expensive than simply furnishing your condo.

Of course, with all of that in mind, which one is better necessarily comes down to your own personal preference. If you want to have fewer responsibilities where you reside and like having the location offered by a condo at the expense of additional funds, for example, choosing to purchase a condo unit is probably best for you. However, if you want to have your own house in which you have all of the decision making power and can enjoy deciding what to do with both your indoor and outdoor spaces, even at the expense of being solely responsible for all maintenance and costs of living, then purchasing a house is probably best for you.

Regardless, there are great places to purchase either a condo unit or a house in Canada, ranging from the heart of the major Canadian cities all the way to the more rural, rustic towns throughout the country. What you prefer is up to you, but it would serve you best to explore both options in the part of Canada in which you want to settle down. That way, you end up with what you really want in the long-term, too.

Ocean View Condos around the world

Everything You Need To Know About Ocean View Condos

First Published Date : July 29, 2010

Some of the most beautiful real estate opportunities in the world are ocean view condos. Many homeowners choose to get ocean view condos because these condos offer them exactly what the name suggests; an ocean view. The condos look out onto the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, offering a wonderful and relaxing view that cannot be equalled anywhere else in the world. However, before you go about buying an ocean view condo, what do you need to know? You want to make sure you do not make a bad decision, or buy a condo that is not right for you. So, to help you make the right decision, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about buying an ocean view condo.

Where to Buy

There are a number of beautiful places that you can buy ocean view condos in, like the United States, Spain, France, Italy and Canada, but those condos are usually extremely pricey. If you want to buy condos that look out on the ocean for a much lower rate, then you can look at some very beautiful countries that have low housing costs. These are the Philippines, Thailand, Panama and Costa Rica.

Philippines

The Philippines are a serious of islands, hundreds of them, which rest between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. That means there are plenty of ocean view condos you can buy in this lovely country. However, before you buy property within the Philippines, you should do the following:

1.    Learn what you can about the Philippines so that you can choose the area of the country that matches what you want. Do you want to be on a small island, or on the big islands? Do you want to look over the South China Sea, or do you want to look over the Pacific Ocean? Do you want to be near major cities like Luzon and Manila, or small villages?

2.    There have been a lot of foreclosures in the Philippines so you should look for foreclosures of ocean view condos in the area you choose to buy in. You could spend a quarter what you would originally spend for a non-foreclosure house.

3.    You should seriously consider hiring a broker who can assist you in finding the right property.

It should be noted that under Philippines law, foreigners cannot own property within the Philippines. Only citizens of the country can own property but that is beginning to change. The easiest way to own property in the Philippines is to be married to someone from the Philippines who can buy the property in their own name. There are exceptions including you may own a house or building, but not the land on which the house sits. Also corporations can buy homes in the Philippines if they are at least 60 percent Filipino-owned. In regards to condominiums, the Condominium Act of the Philippines allows foreigners to acquire condo units and shares in condo corporations up to 40 percent the total.

Thailand

Thailand is becoming a very popular destination for individuals who want to own ocean front properties along the coast. The country’s cost of living is low and you can typically buy ocean front properties for quite cheap. However, there are some things to be aware of when you are buying an ocean front property here.

·    Under Thai law, foreigners are not allowed to own any freehold land within Thailand, but there are several exceptions to this including:

o  Foreigners can own 100 percent interest in a land lease in the country, with a maximum of a 30-year lease period.

o  Thai registered companies with a majority Thai ownership can buy land within Thailand. Many foreigners have bought an interest as minority shareholders in a Thai company in order to buy real estate.

o  If you are married to a Thai spouse, the Thai spouse is able to buy the property in their name without any problem.

The same rules apply to condos, but if you are able to find a way to buy an ocean view condo in Thailand, you will be happy that you did.

Panama

Panama is the southernmost country of Central and North America, and is the connector to South America. It has the third largest economy in Central America and is the fastest growing economy in Central America. It borders both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and it may be the perfect country for buying ocean view condos. Within Panama, laws are in place to make it very easy for foreigners to buy property within the country. In fact, there are also many laws in place that protect foreigners from being scammed or losing their money due to illegal property activities. Panama is one of the easiest tropical countries for you to buy ocean view condos in, and it is a place to seriously consider.

If you are buying an ocean view condo within Panama, then you should do the following to verify the possession of the real estate as you will most likely be buying within specially run tourist zones.

1.    Ensure that the piece of land is being issued by the Cadastral Land Office.

2.    Ensure that the piece of land has a complete description regarding it including its areas, limits, encumbrances and more.

3.    That the building, either new or being constructed is acceptable under the municipal government.

4.    Ensure that the property is not restricted by the Agrarian Code.

Keep in mind that the government created Law No. 2 that regulations administrative concessions and purchases of coastal territories. This gives you security when you are buying a home within Panama that lies along the coast.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a Central American country that is considered to be very modern, and one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. It is a beautiful place to live, but there are some things you need to be aware of if you are going to buy ocean view condos within the country. In the past, it was very easy to buy property as a foreigner in the country but several instances of foreigners doing illegal land deals has caused restrictions to be put in place.

In order to buy property within Costa Rica, you need to qualify for legal residency within the country. There are several alternatives to legal residency though, which include being a pensioner, being a foreigner with a guaranteed income, an investor, a relative of a Costa Rican civilian, or a foreign government assignment. The easiest method to get property is to be a pensioner or someone with a guaranteed income.  In order to qualify for this, the following requirements must be met to be a pensioner:

1.    At least $500 per month must be changed into Colones.

2.    You must prove that at least $600 per month comes from a pension, retirement account or Social Security.

3.    That you live in Costa Rica for at least four months out of the year.

In order to qualify for being someone with a guaranteed income the following must be met:

1.    You must prove that you have outside investments that will bring in $1,000 income per month for five years.

2.    You must change at least $1,000 per month into Colones.

3.    You must live in Costa Rica for at least six months of the year.

It is important to note that those who are pensioners in Costa Rica, or who are individuals with a guaranteed income, will not have to pay taxes on any money earned outside of Costa Rica.

Benefits and Disadvantages

When you buy ocean view condos, you should be aware of some of the benefits and disadvantages of this type of property.

The benefits include:

1.    Beautiful views that will dazzle your eye as the sun sets or rises on the ocean.

2.    Buying in the countries mentioned here is usually quite cheap and the money you already have can go a very long way.

3.    Ocean view condos are very beautiful buildings with many windows that face out towards the ocean.

The disadvantages include:

1.    You are at greater risk for tropical storms like hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that can do severe damage to your ocean view condo. As a result, you can end up paying very high insurance.

2.    It can be very humid and the salt in the area will result in you doing repair work on the exterior of the house every few years.

3.    You are at a big risk for tidal waves, as was seen on December 26, 2004, when a tidal wave killed 250,000 people in the Philippines and surrounding countries after an earthquake hit the Indian Ocean.