As a homeowner, you undoubtedly are aware that you are going to have to sell your home at some point in time. Even if you plan to hold on to it for some time, life can throw things at you that require moving.

While the reasons may differ, what does not is the rather fundamental question faced by each of us. Should we sell our home before buying a new one or just go ahead and make the purchase in anticipation of selling the old one?

Okay, what if you just sell first to be safe? Well, you have a problem. The day escrow closes, you are homeless. You can rent a place, but do you really want to unpack, pack and then unpack again? Kiss your plants goodbye as well.

I have had personal experience with this situation. When growing up, my parents sold our home first. The subsequent purchase fell through. We ended up living out of boxes at the home of a family friend for seven weeks. Not fun!

What if you go in the opposite direction? Yeah, I will just buy a home and worry about my old one later. Only the boldest of us would try that in the current real estate market. I doubt many of us are that bold.

In this market, you will probably end up with two homes on your hand for a significant period of time. Even if you rent one out, it probably is not going to cover the cost. Throw in property taxes and it is not a pretty financial picture.

So, what is the answer? For many homeowners, a bridge loan is the way to go. This is particularly true in a tight market like the one we have now. A bridge loan can cover the time gap you are worried about.

A bridge loan is essentially a short term balloon loan. It allows you to take some of the equity from your first home and use it to finance the purchase of the second. This effectively allows you to make the down payment on the new home.

Is there any risk? We are talking about finance, so of course there is. Bridge loans are supposed to be temporary loans. They have terms that last at most five years. To make money, lenders charge more for them.

If you cannot sell the home within a reasonable time period, you are going to pay a lot for a bridge loan. If you can sell it in three to six months, you should be fine. Two to three years is going to have the opposite effect.

Bridge loans have one purpose. They are designed to bridge financial gaps. They are perfect for this purpose, but not much else. Use them correctly and you will love them. Use them incorrectly and you will not be so happy.

The only constant is change, especially when it comes to your mortgage rate.

One primary factor of mortgage rate movement is inflation. Inflation is a growing economy and increasing prices of goods and services. A growing economy means a higher demand for goods and services, allowing producers to increase their prices. This increase in prices therefore results in higher real-estate prices, higher apartment rents, and higher mortgage rates.

The Federal Reserve attempts to reduce inflation and slow down economy by decreasing interest rates. In the process, mortgage rates are lowered. Although mortgage rates have the propensity to fluctuate in the same direction as interest rates, their actual movements may also be based upon mortgage supply and demand.

Compared to interest rates, mortgage rates have a slightly different equation in their supply and demand. This difference explains why mortgage rates tend to move differently from other rates. For example, lenders may be committed to close additional mortgages. In doing so, they will have to decrease the mortgage rates even when interest rates are going up.

Additional Factors Affecting Mortgage Rates

There are other factors, besides inflation, that influence mortgage rates. Naturally, your mortgage rate will increase as the amount of the loan increases. This expansion of mortgage rates is particularly true when the loan amount exceeds your established loan limit. The loan limit will usually change at the beginning of each year to conform to mortgage rate trends that have been established.

Loan duration may also affect the mortgage rate. A loan over a shorter period will usually equate to a lower mortgage rate, while longer loan terms can bring about higher mortgage rates. If you take a loan over a fifteen or twenty year period, you can save thousands of dollars on mortgage rate payments. However, this shorter time period will also mean that your monthly mortgage payments will also be much higher.

To avoid this high payment, an adjustable mortgage rate may help you begin with a lower mortgage rate, but if interest rates grow, your monthly mortgage payments will rise as well. Fixed mortgage rates are typically higher than adjustable mortgage rates but they can save you money also, especially if the interest and mortgage rates go up.

A higher down payment can help you to save on your monthly mortgage rate payments. By making a down payment of at least twenty percent, you can get the best possible mortgage rate. If your down payment is smaller you’ll have less equity in the property. Less equity means less collateral, so your mortgage rate will be higher.

Discount points are another thing that affects mortgage rates. Lower mortgage rates generally means higher points paid on your loan. The same rule applies for closing costs, which are fees that the lender must pay. Higher closing costs paid to them results in lower mortgage rates. However, if you do not want to pay for all the closing costs upfront, the lender will increase your mortgage rate in order to cover it.

The concept is quite simple. Lenders are generally willing to lower mortgage rates as long as more money is paid upfront. More money down results in lower mortgage rates. And less money down results in higher mortgage rates.

Coming up with money to buy a first home is brutally tough. This is particularly true with the current market which is such a nightmare. Fortunately, the government is helping people in addition to the banks.

The housing market is a bottom up feeder system. Simply put, you buy a home, build some equity in it over time and then sell it. You use your gain to buy a bigger house and so on through life.

As a long time homeowner, you might scoff at first time buyers. You should not. Without them, you will never sell your home? Why? Well, who is going to buy it? If they people below you cannot sell, they have no money to offer to you. Without first time buyers, this is exactly what happens.

The current market is bereft of first time buyers. Without these buyers, the market is stagnating. While there are all kinds of finance problems contributing to this, the government has acted to motivate first time buyers to get back into the market.

The big carrot being dangled is a tax credit created as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. It is a very big carrot, indeed. How big? Try a $7,500 tax credit for first time homebuyers.

Stop whining about tax deductions disappearing. Yes, they are valuable, but not like a tax credit. Tax deductions reduce your income and then taxes are figured based on the reduced amount. Tax credits reduce your taxes directly dollar for dollar.

An example always helps show the power of a tax credit. Assume I can claim a tax credit of $5,000. Assume I owe the IRS four thousand dollars at the end of the year. After applying my tax credit, the IRS now owes me $1,000. Check, please!

You are probably wondering if it is realistic to ask for more than I actually owed. Yes. This is a fully refundable tax credit. In plain language, this means that it does not matter what I owe. Not bad, eh?

Before you go rushing off to look at homes, you should know there is a slight catch. Okay, a huge catch. The government wants the tax credit back. You have 15 years to repay it, which means about $500 buck a year if you take the max credit amount.

Can anyone claim the credit? No. It is limited by the amount of money you make. If you are married and making more than $170,000, you are ineligible. Other taxpayers making more than 75K need to talk to an accountant to get an answer.

Everyone gripes about the loss of tax deductions, but they miss the points. Tax credits are the real golden egg for taxpayers. Claim as many as you can. If you are considering buying a home, this one should help a bunch.

As the home mortgage is not guaranteed by the house, if a borrower doesn’t pay the home mortgage, he will not have to give up the house; he will just loose the funds that guarantee the home mortgage. The lender company can not touch the house.

Since this type of home mortgages is a non-purpose credit, the borrower does not must utilize the money just for the buy of the house. He may opt to utilize the money to acquire a house, or to pay for a vacation or rental house, a higher education, invest on a corporation or some other use.

An asset based mortgage has generally a shorter term than a typical home loan. Depending on the lender bank you pick out, the home loan could last 2, 3, 5 or even 10 years. This flexibility offers the borrower time to get a longer term home loan.

Likewise, this type of home loan lets you choose distinct kinds of payments. Depending on the bank, you could have monthly or quarterly payments. You may also have principal and interest payments or interest-only payments with a one-time payment at the end of the mortgage.

The loan-to-value ratio has to do only on the quality of the assets given as a warranty. In other words, the higher the quality of the bond, the better the LTV you will have. For example, a home loan with stocks from Google as collateral will have a better LTV that if you were using a medium-sized corporation bond.

In addition, because the stocks work as warranty for the home mortgage, the borrower’s quality and number of stocks are the solely point for the seal of the home mortgage. Credit is of no importance. The borrower may have bankruptcies and still effortlessly qualify for the home mortgage.

At the end of the home loan, the borrower can elect to renew it, or pay it off. If the borrower selects to pay off the home loan, the assets are returned to the borrower.

Obviously, hence this is a major economical choice, it’s up to the borrower to learn as much as possible on how an asset based mortgage functions. Even though this is not the best home mortgage for every investor, it might be a useful solution for potential buyers with many stocks but with a bad credit rating, or for those who want to ensure that they are not kicked out of their house even if they don’t pay the mortgage.

We all know that at the moment money is tight and times are hard. We are all looking at our outgoings and trying to decide which monthly expenses we can do without paying. How ironic, then, that with our financial security being at risk, often the first expense to get the cut is life insurance.

As a qualified financial advisor, I quite often wonder how people prioritise various aspects of their financial situation. It is very amusing to see that people consider Cable and Sky TV to be an essential expense, and for some bizarre reason life insurance is not. It is for this reason and the fact that I have a lot of clients at least seeking advice before making cutbacks that I feel this article is worth writing.

I often think back to a story about a man who on setting off for work one morning crashed his car and was tragically killed. The car was obviously written off and was an outright insurance claim. A few weeks later, two insurance men approached the home of the man’s widow, each with a cheque in hand. The cheque for the man’s life read 20,000 whereas the one to replace the nice new BMW he drove was for 25,000.

What you need to ask yourself is, what the widow would have found easier to replace, her husband and his support or a flash car. I am sure you see what I am getting at. The sad fact is that nowadays materialistic value supersedes personal value. With people trying to make cutbacks financially, they tend to put their possessions ahead of themselves when thinking towards the future, without giving thought to the consequences.

If you happen to be in the situation where you are analysing your expenses and are trying to decide whereabouts to start trimming the fat bear this in mind before you consider your life insurance. You took out your life insurance policy for one main reason. That if anything were to happen to you in the future, your family would be taken care of financially. Especially now that the credit crunch is bearing down on us, it must surely make sense to anyone who give it thought that continuing your policy is much more important to both yourself and your family than being able to watch the latest American comedy on cable.

Now this article is not meant to be scaring anyone into keeping on your life insurance payments. Scaremongering is not part of my business. What happens to you and your family is of little concern to the likes of me. What I do know, however, is that as a professional financial advisor, I deal with bereaved relatives on a day to day basis. Some of the deceased have life insurance, often not much, and some have none at all. What they all have in common is that they all say they wish they had planned better for the tragedy that has befallen them.

I can only give advice to people face to face if they knock on my door, but hopefully by writing these articles I can reach a larger audience in order that the right choices be made when planning ahead.

One thing I would definitely urge is that if you are finding money tight, which of course the majority of us are in the present climate, and you are considering doing away with your life insurance in order to free up some extra cash, please do one thing and consult your financial advisor before taking any drastic action. You may not know that if you have had any health issues since originally taking out the plan and you then stop the plan, you may not be able to restart the insurance plan in the future. You could even consider the possibility of transferring to a cheaper plan. It may not give the same amount of protection as before, but it may save you a bit of money in the meantime, and at least you will be partially protected, which is the important thing after all.

Buying a home should be an objective decision, to wit, is it a good investment. We all know there is an emotional element that can take over. This is okay so long as you pay attention to the fundamentals such as the condition of the roof.

Checking out a roof may seem a difficult thing to do, but it really is not. You are looking for both basic general information as well as specific potential problem areas. The key is to know what you are looking at and what it means.

The first subject to consider is the appropriateness of the roofing material for the geographic area. If you live in an area that is threatened by brush or forest fires, a wood shingle roof is not really a good choice. Even treated wood will burn if things get hot enough.

Perhaps we should take a step back first. To really grasp the roofing issues, you need to know some things about roofs. There are many types of roofs, but a few are more common than most and likely to be the ones you run into.

When discussing roofs, the wood shingle variety has to be mentioned first. It was the standard bearer for many years and can last up to 30 years. Most last well short of that, so it is important to know you can expect to pay $10,000 or so to replace them.

A metal roof may seem like a perfect roof. In some cases it is, but it tends to require a lot of maintenance work. Expect to pay in the eleven to fourteen thousand dollar range to replace it. With good care, it will last thirty five years or so.

At the top of the list these days is the clay tile roof. It has become popular for a couple of reasons. First, fire does not really damage it. Second, water cannot rot it. Throw in a life span of 60 years or more, and the only downside is a replacement cost in the $15,000 range.

When inspecting the roof, look for missing or broken pieces. They should not exist on a home for sale. If you see them, it means water may have penetrated into the underlying materials which can mean rot, mold and decay.

If the home has a wood shingle roof, there is a secret you can apply to gauge the condition of the roof. If the wood shingles bend up at the end, it is a bad sign. They are warping, which means the roof has serious problems. Do not buy this home!

Where the roof intersects with other items such as a pole sticking through it, metal flashing is used to keep a water tight seal. If you see flashing pulled away from a surface or just missing, the roof has problems and will also need repairs. Make the seller pay for them.

Now we head into the attic. Walk the length of the attic and look for stains on the boards of the underside of the roof. If you see them, there is a leak that needs to be repaired. Again, get a roofer out to inspect it.

It can be easy to get caught up in the euphoria of buying a home. This is understandable, but do not forget the basics. If you do, you risk buying what seems to be a gem, but is really a lemon.

Considering a holiday in Cyprus this summer to South Cyprus and staying in a Luxury Cyprus Villa? You are - then you Must Discover the most important points to avoid any possible upsets. Finding the perfect Cyprus Villa, just follow this simple Cyprus Vacation Holiday Tips Guide and you will be assured a perfect holiday in South Cyprus.

First of all you need to chose a reputable agent or at least a recommended agent through people who have already used their services successfully. Once you have the complete package confirmed along with full contact details, you can make your reservation payment and not before. The safest form of internet payment is via a Paypal account for which you don’t even need a credit card. The internet will also assist you in finding good recommendations as there are now plenty of social bookmarking sites like Digg.com where real people leave their comments about their internet experiences.

You might chose to use Google to find the Property Management company and that a dark past is revealed and you will be surprised at the findings. In order to double check quoted prices you could always make comparisons with traditional high street Cyprus holiday travel Agents. You will also be need to be wary of prices shown in Euros but this too can be checked out by on line exchange rate sites like xe.com.

It is imperative that you have the correct arrival instructions to get to your Cyprus rental villa as you might need to travel to your final Cyprus vacation destination on your own or at least with the help of a taxi driver. Another great free on-line tool is Google Earth which will show you exactly where you are staying and you will be able to see the surrounding area too.

If you have reached this point and you are concerned about your Cyprus Rental property that you have previously reserved, don’t worry yet as it will still be possible to change your holiday in Cyprus. You only have to follow this Cyprus Holiday Tips report and you will find a better Cyprus rental Villa in Cyprus and I really do believe that you will enjoy fantastic holiday in Cyprus this summer.

Don’t we all know that the bailout plan failed at first because the public is disgusted and would rather take a short-term financial downturn themselves than reward the powerful elite who have been fleecing us for decades. The public is sick to death of trickle-down economics, and the outcry was just too loud for government representatives to ignore.

So what does congress need to do? Congress needs to come up with a way of getting cash back into the credit market in a way that is fast and fair to the public. Here you go:

What we should do is take the $700 billion and pay down the mortgages of all the homes purchased between a certain time period, (let’s say 2000 when the real estate prices started going wild and 2006, when they really started going down). That’s it. That’s how simple it is.

Alright, I realize it isn’t that simple, and I anticipate some of the issues below, but first, let’s take a look at how this resolves the problem.

After a little research at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) website, I found that there were about 26 million homes sold between 2004 and 2007. So let’s estimate there were about 35 million sold between 2000 and 2006 (pretty rough estimate, but in the ballpark, I’m pretty sure). Dividing into the $700 billion, that’s an average of about $20,000 per home. With an average home value of $200,000, that means about 10% of the home value. Are you following?

So if you bought a home for $200K, the Bailout Commission writes a check for $20K that gets applied straight to your mortgage. You paid $500K, your mortgage holder gets a check for $50K, etc. So the first thing that happens is the lenders are all of a sudden flush with cash. They pay their obligations. The credit markets unfreeze. Financial institutions get back to business. (Hopefully not as usual).

In the meantime, you’re happy, right? You may not have gotten a bunch of cash to spend but your mortgage is much lower. If you bought during those years you’re probably still under water, but not drowning as much as before. So you’ll still have to take some punches, but it will surely soften the blow. You’re less likely to default and file for foreclosure and you feel more hopeful.

OK, before everybody starts tearing the idea apart, I’ll point out some of the potential objections:

1. Oh no! It’s Socialism! - Yes, I guess it is. And there will definitely be some people who will object to it on that level. But somehow I believe those objections will come from those who don’t benefit from the rescue plan. I have a feeling the 40 million or so families who get those mortgage reductions will be able to live with it.

2. It’s not fair! What about all the people who bought homes before 2000? - Give me a break! You’ve enjoyed six years of super-low interest rates and hyper-appreciation. And now you want this mortgage reduction too? In the name of fairness? Please. And as for those who bought after 2006 when the market was already falling, well, I’m sorry, but that was just too dumb. You don’t deserve a break.

3. It’s too complicated. How do we decide who gets how much? - We may need to come up with some formulas, but I actually think it will be pretty simple. It’s just a flat percentage of the purchase price of the home across the board.

So what other flaws do you see with this bailout plan? Let me know! And if everybody else thinks this is as simple as I do, let’s push it on our representatives.

My disclosure: In the interest of full disclosure, I should divulge that I am among those who would benefit from this mortgage reduction plan, so I do have an agenda, but at least it isn’t a hidden one.

Fortunately, yours’ is a well-traveled road and those who have gone before have given us these tips. Some organization at the start will help this project go more smoothly.

You Can Save Money By Packing Yourself - Packing your household goods is a very time and energy-consuming task. On average, it will take two people two full days to pack and prepare for the move of a 3-bedroom house.

If you can’t make such a time commitment, be prepared to hire others to do the job for you. Professional movers will do as little or as much packing as you want. If you have something very delicate or valuable, consider having it professionally packed. It is one way of increasing your chances of it safely arriving to your new home. If you pack yourself, though, it can be a real money-saver.

Several weeks before your move, take a realistic look at your belongings and dispose of unwanted or obsolete articles. Some people discover that moving is a great opportunity to ‘purge’ and let go of unused/unwanted items. Now is a great time for that Garage Sale! If not a garage sale, perhaps there is a charity in your community willing to redistribute your extra ’stuff’.

First of all, set up your packing headquarters. Cover a large table with a protective pad for a firm work surface. Start collecting your packing materials.

How Many Boxes Do You Need? Using packing boxes specifically designed for moving can really make the difference in ensuring that your items arrive at their destination safely. They come in shapes and sizes specifically designed to fit a variety of household goods. You can buy them at self-storage facilities. Here are the usual moving box choices

Here is a guide for the number of boxes you might need. Most self-storage businesses will let you bring back unused boxes for a full refund, so take more than you think you need. 1 or 2 rooms: Sm. Boxes - 7, Med. Boxes - 3, Lge. Boxes - 3, China Boxes - 1, Wardrobes - 1 3 to 4 rooms: Small Boxes - 15, Med. Boxes - 8, Lge. Boxes - 6, China Boxes - 1 or 2, Wardrobes - 1 5 to 6 rooms: Small Boxes - 20, Med. Boxes - 12, Lge. Boxes - 8, China Boxes - 3, Wardrobes - 3 7 to 8 rooms: Small Boxes - 30, Med. Boxes - 20, Lge. Boxes - 12, China Boxes - 4, Wardrobes - 4

Box Descriptions Professional moving boxes come in a few different sizes: Smaller (2 cu. ft.) boxes for heavy items such as dishes, files and books Medium (4 cu. ft.) boxes for pots, pans, small appliances, lamps, shades, clothing, linens, and toys Large (6 cu. ft.) boxes for light/bulky items: pillows, bedding, stuffed toys Mirror or Picture Cartons are a great way to move art, framed posters, etc. China Barrels provide extra protection for dishes, fine china and glassware. Wardrobe Boxes are used for packing clothes and drapery (each wardrobe holds approximately 20 garments).

As well as being strong and durable, there is another, hidden benefit to using proper moving boxes. The uniform sizes allow for quick packing and stacking - and that will save you time and money. When you use boxes of every shape and size, you’ll waste a lot of time fitting them all together in the moving van. When you are moving you want less aggravation and frustration. Using professional boxes will make the move easier.

Other Packing Materials Mattress covers to protect box springs and mattresses from moisture and dust Newsprint (preferably non print and in pre cut sheets) Tissue paper and/or bubble wrap for wrapping and cushioning breakable objects Styrofoam chips are necessary fillers for empty spaces and will prevent items from bouncing around inside the boxes Packing tape to seal the boxes Twine to seal boxes and tie loose items together Scissors or a sharp knife Felt markers and/or box labels Notepad and pen to list box contents as they are packed

Final Packing Tips - Label all your boxes on several sides. Include which room the box should be delivered to. - If there are boxes that you want to open first, write a number on them. - Start by packing out of season, or least used items first. Leave the things you use everyday to the end. - Tape important things together such as pins for shelves and bookcases to the bookcase, nuts and bolts for bed frames to the bed frame, etc. - Use crushed newsprint at the bottom of each carton for cushioning. - Fill empty spaces in the boxes with crushed paper. You don’t want anything to slide around. Put heavy items on the bottom and lighter things on the top of each box.

Sooner or later, we all move. When it happens to you, please make it as easy as possible and let the experience of others guide you.

Geography and topography have settled Marin County in a position where temperatures are lower than those in Sonoma and Napa Counties although they are mere minutes away. Furthermore, Marin County’s terrain and weather patterns are must more similar to those of the southern French wine country of Burgundy than of those in its on State of California. For that reason, viticulture in Marin County and its production of wines can easily compete with the world class wines of Burgundy.

Because of its awesome landscape, its irregular climate, its viticultural tendencies and the high quality wines its wine industry produces due to its extended growing season, Marin County has been said to be much more similar to Burgundy, the world renowned giant of French wine country, than it is to Sonoma and Napa, the wine country of Northern California. And like Burgundy, Marin County produces the elegant Merlots, the Pinot Noirs and the Riesligs.

Along with the building of the San Rafael Mission in 1817, the vitis vinifera grapes were launched in Marin County. The County’s residents immediately recognized that their wet winters and very dry summers, their lush soils, the diverse terrain and the warm California sunshine will be perfect for growing grapes and they soon set about cultivating small vineyards.

The vineyards that were started up by the San Rafael Mission to be used as therapeutic work for the Native Americans who did not take well to the Spanish rule were captured by General Mariano Vallejo. Vallejo promptly banned the Mission’s religious attachments, commended that the vineyards be dug out and replanted on his own property in the neighboring county of Sonoma. This action, of course, brought Marin County’s viticulture to a near standstill.

Vallejo’s actions and the Prohibition in the 1920s significantly slowed the budding wine industry of Marin County but what truly brought it to a full stop was the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. With Marin County being conveniently reached via the new Golden Gate Bridge, all eyes turned away from its vineyards to its lands and housing.

With twenty-five winemakers of today, the wine industry is slowly being resurrected in Marin County. In spite of their efforts and the first-rate wines they produce, Marin County’s wine industry is still being kept in the shadows cast by its gigantic neighbors, Napa and Sonoma Counties.

To keep them motivated and informed, the Marin County Grape Growers Association was established. Its members meet twice a month to discuss and debate over issues relating to their industry and to share experiences, to exchange ideas and to ponder over improvements and innovations.

The fact is that Marin County has only 200 acres of vineyards and merely twenty-five wineries while Sonoma County has better than 40,000 acres and nearly 300 wineries and Napa County has 45,275 acres and 316 wineries. Those are facts indeed. But there is still one more fact that I would like to share with you and that fact is that Marin County had the extended growing season and produced the first-class cold-climate wines that Sonoma and Napa Counties could only dream about.