Reasons Banks Refuse a Short Sale Sometimes banks will make unreasonable demands in a short sale. They often make unbelievable requests to approve the short sale based on their investor requirements. Those demands don’t always make sense. It would be nice if a bank would just lay it on the line and say it doesn’t want to do the short sale, but that will happen when pigs fly. Here are some of the ways a bank or its investors can sabotage the short sale:...
What Is an Assigned Risk Plan? Assigned risk plans are established by the states as a safety net for employers that are unable to obtain workers compensation coverage from “regular” insurers. They are the market of last resort for employers that would otherwise have no source of coverage. All states except monopolistic states have established a plan. The law in each state determines how the plan is administered and financed. Assigned risk plans are also called the residual market....
The extremely simple form to apply for up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness officially launched Monday. The deadline to file isn’t until the end of 2023, but with several legal challenges to President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness order working their way through the courts, experts say the sooner borrowers file, the better.“It is important to file the form ASAP,” said student loan expert and author Mark Kantrowitz, in an email....
Of course, you have to know what those dates and deadlines are so you can get started, and this can be a bit tricky because they can change by a day or two—or sometimes even longer—from year to year. The IRS sometimes extends deadlines due to national emergencies, and filing and payment dates are automatically pushed to the next available business date if they fall on a weekend or a national holiday....
In this article, we will look at the bond fund in greater detail and identify some of the key considerations for international investors. A Brief Overview The Templeton Global Bond Fund uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis, along with on-the-ground research, to identify global investment opportunities. The team focuses on conducting in-depth country analysis to identify economic imbalances leading to value opportunities in currencies, interest rates, and sovereign credit, while continually evaluating risk and shifting focus as global economic and credit cycles evolve....
Essentially, microfinance involves providing loans, credit, access to savings accounts—even insurance policies and money transfers—to the small business owner and entrepreneur. How Microfinancing Works Microfinance, pioneered by the Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, helps the financially marginalized by providing them with the necessary capital to start a business and work toward financial independence. These loans are significant because they are given even though the borrowers have no collateral. However, the interest rates for these microloans are often very high due to the risk of default....
Why work from home? If you’re working a day job, you may not want to head out again after work to pick up extra hours to supplement your paycheck. Or you may prefer to start a side business from home that has the potential to become your full-time job. In the gig economy, you might start out working as a freelancer and wind up with a brand-new career. Here’s how to find side gigs you can do from home....
Imagine an entrepreneur who found success in launching a business. Their operations and growing customer base have kept them busy through the early phases, but they notice a plateau around year two. To make it as part of the 50% still operating by year five, the entrepreneur needs to be dedicated to persistent improvement efforts. Small business owners who get their business in motion need to think a few steps ahead to avoid an elongated plateau....
If you’re amongst the majority of Americans who’d like to attain gainful self-employment, here are our seven key steps to starting your own business without wasting precious time and financial resources. Make Sure Entrepreneurship Is What You Really Want If you are thinking of starting a business because you lost your job and are having trouble finding a new one, then think about doing a better job search. Hire a career coach or get some training....
How do you manage to pay your monthly bills and still have enough left over to put aside for a rainy day? Here are seven easy ways to build an emergency savings fund, whatever your current income. 1. Save First, Not As an Afterthought The first trick to savings is not to wait and see how much you have “left over” at the end of the month, but rather to “pay yourself first....
Even though debt collectors and creditors can contact you about a debt as long as you still owe it, they can only sue you for a certain amount of time. That amount of time is known as the statute of limitations. Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the statute of limitations on debt. What’s the Statute of Limitations for My Debt? Each state has its own laws on the statute of limitations for debt, and they differ depending on the type of account....
Here’s why: Your emergency fund covers you in the event of an unexpected financial blow and can help prevent you from going into debt. It also provides peace of mind if you lose your job, become too ill to work, or have to cover a major car or home repair. There are many reasons why you should work on padding your emergency fund. Read on for eight reasons you should have an emergency fund....
Joos Mind / Getty Images There exist some investment instruments that are even more complex than standard stocks and bonds. These instruments require an in-depth knowledge of investing and finances and require the possession of enough financial assets to absorb large losses and risk. Thus, the accredited investor concept was invented to protect investors from themselves. How Accredited Investors Work There are many complex rules, regulations, and layers of paperwork to sell securities to the general investing public....
An actively managed investment fund is a fund in which a manager or a management team makes decisions about how to invest the fund’s money. A passively managed fund, by contrast, simply follows a market index. It does not have a management team making investment decisions. You’ll often hear the term “actively managed fund” in relation to a mutual fund, although there are also actively managed ETFs (exchange-traded funds). You shouldn’t assume that you have an active vs....
The Treasury Department, the agency responsible for managing the emergency rental assistance, released new guidelines Wednesday clarifying that the hundreds of local programs administering the aid are allowed to disburse it without requiring documentation from tenants proving they are suffering financial hardship, and other eligibility requirements. The move was intended to speed up distribution of the money, of which only 11% had been given out, according to the latest data in a Treasury Department news release....
When asked why they might want to purchase a smaller home, 69% of homeowners who have downsized in the past said saving money was their primary reason for doing so. But, of course, these reasons can vary. While it’s true that we live in a society that often holds that “bigger is better,” it can be worthwhile to shift your thinking and consider whether a smaller home would actually serve you and suit your lifestyle....
For an agent to sell fixed annuities, they only need a life insurance license issued by their state of residence. Fixed annuities are primarily represented by five different products: single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs), longevity annuities (also called deferred income annuities or DIAs), fixed-rate annuities (also called multi-year guarantee annuities or MYGAs), qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs), and fixed index annuities (FIAs). Fixed annuities are categorized as a life insurance product, so a life insurance license is all that is needed to solicit and sell these types of strategies....
Let’s delve into when legal fees are deductible for individuals and for small businesses. Most Personal Legal Fees Are Not Deductible With a few exceptions, most legal expenses related to personal issues are not deductible. Many were were deductible prior to 2018, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 changed tax law so that you may not deduct these types of fees. Specifically, you cannot deduct legal fees for:...
It’s a world that Vanji Unruh, a 59-year-old child welfare attorney from Exeter, California, could get used to. The roughly $26,000 in student loans she took out to go to college in the 1980s has haunted her ever since, ballooning into a balance of $132,174 because of a 9% interest rate. Even more unbelievably, since 2007 (as far back as her loan servicer’s records go) she has paid $93,594.44 and all but 90 cents of it has gone to interest, according to records she showed to The Balance....
Savings bonds were traditionally viewed as a good way to set aside money for college or other long-term goals. In fact, many people looked at them as a sound investment. The money is guaranteed, and if you purchase EE savings bonds, you can expect your investment to at least double in value by maturity. They’re also exempt from state and local taxes, and from federal income taxes if used for education....
