If you’re getting a mortgage, you will first need to understand the term private mortgage insurance, also known as PMI. PMI, which nearly became extinct during the real estate boom years, is an insurance product created solely for the benefit of a lender, although the borrower usually pays it. It gives limited protection to a [...]
I know the last thing you want is yet another health insurance plan, but it might be time to think about sports insurance for kids. For the most part, your regular health insurance plan will cover injuries and physicals, but you might want to check your plan for sports insurance coverage for kids. When I [...]
With the price of gold recently reaching $1,900 per troy ounce and expected to hit $2,500 per troy ounce by year’s end, the temptation to sell gold is high for many consumers looking for investing advice. An uncertain stock market and the recent downgrade in the United States’ credit rating have created a major demand [...]
I grew up with a dad who worked in the insurance business and who never bought a brand-new vehicle, so I have pretty strongly ingrained views on the new versus used car debate. However, there are advantages (and disadvantages) on both sides of the equation. Insuring your new car When you buy a new car, [...]
I met Roger B. Adams on the Internet, and he quickly became one of my best friends. At the time, he was just learning about taxes as a volunteer at the U.S. embassy in Lisbon, Portugal, helping Americans overseas file their tax returns. During the first couple of years of our acquaintance, Roger got hooked [...]
Life insurance and auto insurance are very different. People are used to buying both a car and the insurance for that car on the same day in order to drive out of the lot. With life insurance, put your seatbelt on. It’s a different transaction altogether. It can be hard for some people to understand [...]
At my 20th high school reunion, I learned that one of my classmates was homeschooling her two children. I was fascinated with the concept, though my main concern was about her children’s socialization with others their own age. No worries here—her children were actively involved with their own age group in church and in clubs. [...]
The Beginning of the End of the Foreclosure Era – Part Two: Seeing Improvement Did you read last month’s post on predicting the beginning of the end of the foreclosure era? Steve Cook discussed the three key factors that will determine the pace of change in the foreclosure market: 1) demand, which is largely a [...]
If you’ve been following along the past few days, I’ve been giving a primer course on 1031 exchanges. This common, but often misunderstood, tax code can help investors defer taxes from their real estate transactions. As more investors are profiting off of the foreclosures and short sales in the market, it’s never been a better [...]
A 1031 exchange is a common way for real estate investors to preserve the profits from their sales, but the complicated rules of Section 1031 of the IRS Code can confuse the most experienced of investors. As investors are again selling their properties at a profit, it may be time for a refresher course on [...]
