By: Keena Beecken
Like many other types of investments, the major thing that you will want to show at the end of the process is a piece of paper. This is the same concept with real estate. The type of paper that you will want to hold at the end of the loan is either a title or a deed. This will allow you to show the locality that live in that you own the house and have paid off your loan.
A title is a document or evidence that you own the property or home that you have been paying off. It can also mean that while someone else is on the property or land, an owner has the legal rights that are part of the property. When you have a title as a piece of documentation, it will usually be matched in the records of the locality that you are at as well as by the one who has sold the property.
A deed is a similar type of documentation that will be used in the process of gaining a title. Often times, those who are investing in real estate will receive a deed as a transaction paper to the title. This shows that the person who will be getting the property has the right to the title as well as the right to the property. Usually, there will be several legal factors and regulations that are bound to this type of documentation in order to make sure that the transaction is fair.
When you are about to receive a title or a deed for a home or piece of property, there are several steps you will have to take. First, a proof of insurance will have to be shown. You will also need copies that prove that you bought the house. The person who is selling you the home or property will also have to have these proofs for purchase. This includes a purchase agreement, invoices, receipts from the mortgage and proof of satisfaction that the one who is buying the property has met all of the requirements for purchase of the property.
The last step to making your home completely yours is to make sure that you have the title or deed in your hand. By understanding the process of getting a title, and making sure that you walk into the final closing ready to make the exchange, you can own the piece of property that you have been working towards.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Watch Out For Covert Capital Gains!
By: Debra L. Morrison
Hey all you smart mutual fund investors, listen up! Check your accounts on line now, or call your broker or investment company,to see if your fund issued any capital gains this month. That's right, even though your fund's value probably took a nose dive, there very well may have been trading in that fund throughout the year that could have resulted in a capital gain. Mutual funds distribute the bulk of such gains during December to their shareholders, so you COULD owe income tax on capital gains even though your fund is sporting a big fat loss, or even a mild-paunchy loss...
You see, when a lot of novice or nervous investors call 1-800-REDEEM (that's a joke, not a real number to my knowledge) fund managers have to raise enough capital by 4pm EST each day of trading to satisfy all the redemptions. Well, quite a few savers sold out of mutual funds when the markets started declining. (Generally it's savers, not investors, that panic and sell prematurely incidentally.) So, quite a few mutual fund managers had to juggle their portfolios, invariably selling out securities that had built-in capital gains. Yes, I know, a distant memory...over 6 months ago, even...but I digress.
If the mutual fund manager wasn't able (or interested) to offset those gains with losses, there may have been an excess of gains over losses, resulting in us shareholders having to declare a portion of those gains on our individual income tax returns.
Here's an example: Your mutual fund issued a gain to your account in mid December totalling $1,000. Look through your portfolio (as I mentioned in my earlier blog today) for a security whose value is at least $1,000 less than your basis (fancy term for what you paid for it, including all reinvested dividends, if applicable) and sell that security booking a $1,000 capital loss. Your losses offset your gains (for the most part it's that simple, although long-term capital losses-securities held one year and one day--offset long-term capital gains, and short-term capital losses--securities held less than one year and one day--offset short-term capital gains).
Finally, the federal government allows you to deduct an additional $3,000 in excess of all offsetting capital gains and losses each year against ordinary income. If you have more than $3,000, you get to carry the excess forward to future tax years. Some states follow the feds in the unlimited carryforward of capital losses, New Jersey, however does not. Check with your CPA for details on this, to be sure, if you expect heavy losses in 2008.
At the end of the day, its the end of the year. No sense in paying unnecessary income taxes. So, while you did not actively sell any securities this year to produce a capital gain, you may be an unsuspecting shareholder who DID receive a capital gain. There's still time to avoid paying tax on that by "booking;/realizing" an equal dollar capital loss, or even quite a bit more than the amount of capital gains, and deducting your $3,000 excess on your 2008 return and pushing the balance forward. Yes, Ms. Dubious, there WILL be capital gains in your future, and they JUST might start in 2009! You'll be prepared however, with perhaps an ample supply of carried forward capital losses so you won't have to pay taxes till they're all used up. Now THAT'S planning, and THAT'S effective planning.
Consult your broker and/or CPA for details. (Most likely your fee-only financial planner has already contacted you and handled this for you.)
About The Author:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Debra L. Morrison Speaks, LLC
Motivational Speaker
Phone: 877-239-4732
FAX: 800-620-4232
Email: info@debralmorrisonspeaks.com
We can do it Women!™
Hey all you smart mutual fund investors, listen up! Check your accounts on line now, or call your broker or investment company,to see if your fund issued any capital gains this month. That's right, even though your fund's value probably took a nose dive, there very well may have been trading in that fund throughout the year that could have resulted in a capital gain. Mutual funds distribute the bulk of such gains during December to their shareholders, so you COULD owe income tax on capital gains even though your fund is sporting a big fat loss, or even a mild-paunchy loss...
You see, when a lot of novice or nervous investors call 1-800-REDEEM (that's a joke, not a real number to my knowledge) fund managers have to raise enough capital by 4pm EST each day of trading to satisfy all the redemptions. Well, quite a few savers sold out of mutual funds when the markets started declining. (Generally it's savers, not investors, that panic and sell prematurely incidentally.) So, quite a few mutual fund managers had to juggle their portfolios, invariably selling out securities that had built-in capital gains. Yes, I know, a distant memory...over 6 months ago, even...but I digress.
If the mutual fund manager wasn't able (or interested) to offset those gains with losses, there may have been an excess of gains over losses, resulting in us shareholders having to declare a portion of those gains on our individual income tax returns.
Here's an example: Your mutual fund issued a gain to your account in mid December totalling $1,000. Look through your portfolio (as I mentioned in my earlier blog today) for a security whose value is at least $1,000 less than your basis (fancy term for what you paid for it, including all reinvested dividends, if applicable) and sell that security booking a $1,000 capital loss. Your losses offset your gains (for the most part it's that simple, although long-term capital losses-securities held one year and one day--offset long-term capital gains, and short-term capital losses--securities held less than one year and one day--offset short-term capital gains).
Finally, the federal government allows you to deduct an additional $3,000 in excess of all offsetting capital gains and losses each year against ordinary income. If you have more than $3,000, you get to carry the excess forward to future tax years. Some states follow the feds in the unlimited carryforward of capital losses, New Jersey, however does not. Check with your CPA for details on this, to be sure, if you expect heavy losses in 2008.
At the end of the day, its the end of the year. No sense in paying unnecessary income taxes. So, while you did not actively sell any securities this year to produce a capital gain, you may be an unsuspecting shareholder who DID receive a capital gain. There's still time to avoid paying tax on that by "booking;/realizing" an equal dollar capital loss, or even quite a bit more than the amount of capital gains, and deducting your $3,000 excess on your 2008 return and pushing the balance forward. Yes, Ms. Dubious, there WILL be capital gains in your future, and they JUST might start in 2009! You'll be prepared however, with perhaps an ample supply of carried forward capital losses so you won't have to pay taxes till they're all used up. Now THAT'S planning, and THAT'S effective planning.
Consult your broker and/or CPA for details. (Most likely your fee-only financial planner has already contacted you and handled this for you.)
About The Author:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Debra L. Morrison Speaks, LLC
Motivational Speaker
Phone: 877-239-4732
FAX: 800-620-4232
Email: info@debralmorrisonspeaks.com
We can do it Women!™
Investing For Dividends
By: Bob Smith III
When most people think about stocks and shares, they tend start out with the idea that you try and buy stocks that are cheap, and then sell them later on when they are more expensive. However, this isn't the only way to invest and make money from stocks. Today, more and more people are starting to focus on dividends, both as an investment strategy, and also a way of obtaining a steady passive income.
Up until its climax in the dot-com crash of 2001, the prevailing strategy for most stock market funds and individual investors has been to target “growth", that is, to buy companies that are predicted to grow their earnings faster than the market average. The alterative was “value" investing, where shares are bought based on the idea that companies are “undervalued" due, perhaps to short-term problems or modest growth prospects. Both of these strategies, however, depend on selling a stock at some later date for more than was initially paid for it.
Contrast this to the position of a small business owner, perhaps of a flower shop or restaurant. They will receive money regularly in the form of profits and perhaps be able to live very well off this income alone for most of their lives. In principal, an investor who owns shares in a profitable company is no different than the owner of a profitable shop. True, there are many shareholders to divide the profits amongst, but then McDonalds has a lot more than 1 store!
The fact is that most companies do pay their profits out to shareholders, but few investors pay much attention to them, instead focusing only on the share price. In part this is because most popular growth stocks have low or even no dividends, their price based on future predicted earnings. It doesn't have to be this way though, there are plenty of large companies available that have long histories of paying out a steadily rising divided to shareholders. Dividend yields (the yearly dividend payout as a percentage of the cost of the share) are available for many large, stable companies at more than 5%, far more than you can make from most savings accounts.
Investing for dividends is a strategy with numerous advantages. The most obvious is that a portfolio full of high-yield companies will be paying you money every year, money that you can either re-invest in more shares, or use to cover unforeseen expenses. This has the additional advantage of reducing the need to sell shares if you require cash, which can be very helpful if current market prices are depressed, as they are currently.
Also, in most countries, dividends are treated more favourably than other forms of income, often because a company will have already paid tax on its profits before it distributes the remaining money to shareholders. Finally, it's possible to never actually have to sell your shares, after all, why sell something that pays you a steady amount of money every year? Certainly you will often be able to get away with less buying and selling than other investment strategies, which can significantly reduce brokerage costs.
For some investors, the income from dividends can be all the income they need, allowing them to retire early, or work part time, and even if your portfolio never becomes quite that large, the regular dividend payments can act as a powerful incentive to keep investing whatever the economic conditions.
When most people think about stocks and shares, they tend start out with the idea that you try and buy stocks that are cheap, and then sell them later on when they are more expensive. However, this isn't the only way to invest and make money from stocks. Today, more and more people are starting to focus on dividends, both as an investment strategy, and also a way of obtaining a steady passive income.
Up until its climax in the dot-com crash of 2001, the prevailing strategy for most stock market funds and individual investors has been to target “growth", that is, to buy companies that are predicted to grow their earnings faster than the market average. The alterative was “value" investing, where shares are bought based on the idea that companies are “undervalued" due, perhaps to short-term problems or modest growth prospects. Both of these strategies, however, depend on selling a stock at some later date for more than was initially paid for it.
Contrast this to the position of a small business owner, perhaps of a flower shop or restaurant. They will receive money regularly in the form of profits and perhaps be able to live very well off this income alone for most of their lives. In principal, an investor who owns shares in a profitable company is no different than the owner of a profitable shop. True, there are many shareholders to divide the profits amongst, but then McDonalds has a lot more than 1 store!
The fact is that most companies do pay their profits out to shareholders, but few investors pay much attention to them, instead focusing only on the share price. In part this is because most popular growth stocks have low or even no dividends, their price based on future predicted earnings. It doesn't have to be this way though, there are plenty of large companies available that have long histories of paying out a steadily rising divided to shareholders. Dividend yields (the yearly dividend payout as a percentage of the cost of the share) are available for many large, stable companies at more than 5%, far more than you can make from most savings accounts.
Investing for dividends is a strategy with numerous advantages. The most obvious is that a portfolio full of high-yield companies will be paying you money every year, money that you can either re-invest in more shares, or use to cover unforeseen expenses. This has the additional advantage of reducing the need to sell shares if you require cash, which can be very helpful if current market prices are depressed, as they are currently.
Also, in most countries, dividends are treated more favourably than other forms of income, often because a company will have already paid tax on its profits before it distributes the remaining money to shareholders. Finally, it's possible to never actually have to sell your shares, after all, why sell something that pays you a steady amount of money every year? Certainly you will often be able to get away with less buying and selling than other investment strategies, which can significantly reduce brokerage costs.
For some investors, the income from dividends can be all the income they need, allowing them to retire early, or work part time, and even if your portfolio never becomes quite that large, the regular dividend payments can act as a powerful incentive to keep investing whatever the economic conditions.
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