When you are out in the open market to buy a home and the number of sellers is more, it might be tough to make your offer get noticed to the seller of a home you love. Many sellers have multiple offers in order to get the highest possible price, with the simplest terms. Here are some instructions which you can use to compete in the market:

Sometimes, offering the highest bid isn’t the important thing, but it certainly helps a lot. You have to come clear with the maximum budget that you can afford to buy a home. Then you have to decide how much should be the price of that particular home you want to purchase. Is it really worth investing that amount in the home? If so, then go ahead and accept the deal.

Money is a very important thing in order to execute your financial decisions. If there are sticky terms attached, the seller might find the highest offer risky. If a buyer is looking to sell his home first, the seller keeps an eye on the time he might have been waiting before the sale is final. If a sale is immediate, it doesn’t hurt to accept an offer that may be couple of thousands lower than the forecasted price. This can work to your advantage if you wanted a house immediately with no delays or any strange clauses attached with the deal. Your offer stands out amidst all others who had better deals. Alternatively, the seller may want a delayed sale due to numerous reasons of their own. Being flexible to the needs will serve you the best if it’s the home you are in need.

Be aware that if you try to put any deadlines in front of the seller, he might get turned off and look somewhere else. Keep in mind that if the ball is in their court, they will not go out of their way just to adhere to your deadlines. Similarly, if they force deadlines on you, know the fact that they can accept offers from others also while they are waiting for your response. So if you have got a counter offer from the seller, its important that you reply to them as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you might see the deal gone to someone else.

Market keeps on changing everyday. If this is a seller’s market and you want to purchase a particular home desperately, don’t nit pick the seller about repairs. You can convince the seller to set aside a small fund that might be used to do the repair work of which the seller is aware of. If you try to add a new clause, the seller might sell the house to someone else in front of you. They want to move ahead, not to start something new.

Finally be sure that you are pre-approved for a mortgage. It will make your offer legitimate and you will know what your bidding maximum is. A sale can also go through faster if it’s the wish of the seller.

If you wish to become wealthy, it’s very important that you have a proper planning and fixed goals. Many people don’t become rich because they spend all the money that they earn, and secondly, they don’t know where to spend their money. Since most people don’t have their fixed goals, they spend unconsciously from moment to moment. Since all the hard money is spent, it is unlikely that those people will become ever wealthy.

Unconscious spending is more prevalent in our society than we realize. 80% to 90% of the total population follows the same habits. Except for a handful of people, the vast majority have no idea where the money is spent until they are asked to write down the details of all their expenses in a notepad. Many people get scared when they have to draw lines on their finance. That’s why they seek for professional help.

You need to be very relaxed and carefree with your financial matters. Money is not a scarce resource. You can work overtime to increase your income, sit for extra time on a regular basis to plan and review your finance. Then you can systematically separate a portion of your income to build savings and investments for the future. When you don’t keep a track of your money, you will realize that a lot of it has gone towards wasteful, extravagant and other expenses that were unnecessary.

After you have reviewed your finance and know the income and expenses, next thing to do is to set some goals with proper planning. You can take out one or two hours and prepare your plan and then review it everyday to see if everything is happening right.

Goals will help you to stay focused on your future and will stop you from any overspending habits. If your goals are set concrete, you will be more committed towards achieving the targets. You must set some timeframes and break them down into manageable steps. This will make your goals more realistic and easy to attain.

Along the way, you need to set aside some portion of your money from your income so that you can build more savings. Fixed costs are your essential costs that need to be paid on a regular basis. For example, mortgage or rental payments, personal loans, and credit card repayments, insurance, council rates, and school fees. Based on your lifestyle, you can measure how much you can save each month after paying these necessary expenses. If your fixed costs are too high, you will probably be living on a paycheck to paycheck and remain worried about the next large bills that will arrive. If your pay goes towards a large portion of your fixed costs, you will have less to spend on other necessary items, and often little for luxuries, unless you go farther into debt.

Next are variable costs that include your essential expenses and it can vary on a daily basis. This will include your costs on food, clothing, groceries, mobile phone expenses, medical and motor vehicle running costs, such as petrol and repairs.

There are some other discretionary costs which are totally non-essential and highly variable. You can keep these expenses in full control and know how much you can save at the end of the month. These costs will include entertainment, dining-out, presents, holidays and all luxury items that we love but can live without.

Recent statistics show that 40% of the people are able to live comfortably after paying their fixed costs. People above this percentage live a lifestyle that costs them more than what they can afford. People falling in this category might have spent more on their homes, cars, furniture and forced to having excessive debt. If you want to become rich, you have to keep your fixed costs below 40% at any cost. Then you can allow more saving that can be easily channeled into additional savings and investments. So the key to good financial management is managing and controlling your fixed costs. By following the set goals, you will accelerate your wealth and therefore become rich.

If your fixed costs are too high, formulate a debt free plan and keep your spending within control. This way, you will not go more into debts. Learn to live with cash. Do not use credit cards to make purchases that you don’t need at all. Plastic money is the easiest way to get you more into debts. If low income is your problem, consider all alternatives to increase your income. Everyone has some talents within themselves and you will be surprised to see that people are ready to pay for the products or services that you can offer in exchange of their money. Do part time work, turning hobbies or crafts into cash, or investing in additional training to expand your career prospects. With your fixed, variable and discretionary costs in full control and earning money from all sources, you will be able to create more savings. This is the guaranteed way to accelerate your path to wealth.

According to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), consumers have the rights to stop a corporation’s affiliates from sharing customer data if it’s related with marketing purposes. This opt-out feature is enabled along with the existing opt-out choices when information is shared with any third party non-affiliates and an existing opt-out under the FCRA.

According to the provisions of the FCRA, affiliates cannot share your information about your “credit worthiness” with other companies when the purpose is for marketing. Consumers now have the ability to stop information from being shared between different companies when they are trying to sell their products and services.

• How and when will I be able to opt-out?

You have to fill a few forms to be able to opt out of telemarketing calls. Once done, the flow of junk mails and pre-approved credit card offers will slow down. The number of phone calls will decrease and limit the sharing of your personal financial information

There is also an opportunity of one time opt out. Under your legal rights, you have the advantages of opting in or out of class action law suits and make informed decisions when there is a need to sign clauses limiting you to binding mandatory arbitration.

For list-based services that curtail unwanted marketing by phone and mail, registration is easy and available online, by phone or via a note sent snail mail.

One of the most popular opt outs is getting listed in the National Do Not Call Registry. This was established by the federal government in June 2003, the list is managed by the Federal Trade Commission and enforced by the FTC, the Federal Communications Commission and individual state governments.

You need to call (888) 382-1222 or go online to www.donotcall.gov and simply add your name and numbers to the list. (You can add cell phone numbers, too.) Once you have entered your number in the “do not call” list, marketers who use phone solicitation are prohibited from calling you for five years. However, if you have changed your phone number or the calling plans, you might need to re-register. Telemarketing companies are required to update their calling lists every 31 days, you will see a significant difference in phone traffic within a month.

Be informed that political organizations, charities and legitimate marketing survey companies aren’t covered by the do-not-call regulations. If you have bought something from a company, they are allowed to call you for up to 18 months. If you have initiated contact with some company but haven’t bought anything, then they are allowed to call you up to three months.

Have you started a new business and are puzzled about tacking your taxes? Go through some of the tips here to know the basic idea on what taxes needs to be paid and how to pay them. All taxes are paid differently and it all depends upon the legal status of your individual business. Sole proprietorships and partnerships report their net income on the owners’ personal tax returns. Corporations will have to file a corporate tax return.

Sole proprietors – People doing sole proprietor’s business must report their company’s net business profit (or loss) under the Self-Employment Income section of their personal tax returns.

You must report the gross and net income for your business and file either a Statement of Business Activities or a Statement of Professional Activities form. The basic difference between the two is that some professional activities may differ from other types of businesses activities.

Partnerships – Two or more individuals can have a partnership business. They are more compared with a sole proprietorship than a corporation. The partnership does not pay income tax or file a tax return. Instead each partner reports his or her share of the partnership’s net income or loss. This applies whether you received your share of the income in cash or as a credit to a capital account in the partnership.

Partners also file either a Statement of Business Activities or a Statement of Professional Activities form.

A corporation is a separate legal entity. All its business transactions are entered into and conducted separately from its owners. It therefore pays tax on the income it generates and files its own income tax return.

Corporations use the T2 return form, even if the company has zero taxes payable as in the case of non-profit organizations, tax-exempt corporations and inactive corporations. If you are not clear with this, get the full explanation on the items on the T2 return or consult the T2 Corporation Income Tax Guide (T4012).

Corporate filings are complex and assistance from a tax professional is always recommended.

• How do I calculate my net profit (or loss)?

To calculate your net profit (or loss) and complete your tax return you need to have detailed records of:

• Get all business details showing all income
• all expenses, and
• All company assets.

Next: subtract the cost of goods sold and expenses you incurred in the fiscal year (whether or not you paid them in that period) from the income you earned in that fiscal year (even if you do not receive it during this year).

This is known as the accrual method, where income and expenses are reported for the year in which work is done, regardless of whether payables and receivables for the job are actually paid in that year.

• What records do I need to keep?

If you wish to run your business more effectively, keep good records because you might need all the information of your business during auditing. You need to keep records of all income that you receive. You must also keep receipts for all of your business related expenses, including:

• receipts
• sale invoices
• purchase invoices
• vouchers
• banking information
• directors and shareholders minutes
• general ledger
• special contracts
• agreements

In this article we look at one of the most important consumer protection statutes known as Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act or RESPA. This act was passed in 1974.

This act covers loans which are secured with a mortgage on a one-to-four unit family residential property. This covers purchase loans, refinances, equity lines of credit, assumptions & property improvement loans.

• The main aims of RESPA are:

1. Help people become more aware of the settlement services & better shoppers of such services.
2. Some referral fees and kickbacks result in unnecessarily increasing the costs of settlement services. RESPA tries to eliminate such referral fees and kickbacks.

RESPA also requires that at various times borrowers receive disclosures. Some of these disclosures describe the settlement costs, escrow account practices and lender servicing. Certain practices which result in increase in settlement service costs are also prohibited under RESPA.

Regarding settlement services, as per Section 8 of RESPA people are prohibited from accepting or giving anything valuable for referrals of settlement service business in connection with a mortgage loan. In addition to it, a person cannot accept or give any portion of a charge for services not performed.

• Let us now look at the disclosures which are necessary under RESPA:

1. Disclosures when a person applies for a loan.
2. Disclosures before closing/settlement takes place.
3. Disclosures at the time of settlement.
4. Disclosures after settlement.

• Disclosures when a person applies for a loan

When someone applies for a mortgage, a mortgage lender and/or broker is required to provide the applicant:

a) A Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of settlement costs. The GFE lists all the charges a buyer will be paying at the time of settlement. But this GFE is only an estimate and the actual charges can differ.

In case lender wants that the borrower uses a particular settlement provider then such requirement is to be disclosed on Good Faith Estimate.

b) MSDS or Mortgage Servicing Disclosure Statement. This statement discloses to borrower lender’s intention of servicing the mortgage himself or transferring it to some other lender. MSDS also provides information regarding complaint resolutions.

c) A Special Information Booklet that has information regarding various settlement services for consumer. But such booklet is to be provided for purchase transactions only.

If the borrower does not get these while applying, the lender has to mail them to borrower within 3 business days after the loan application is received.

Disclosures before closing/settlement takes place

a) AfBA Disclosure – Affiliated Business Arrangement or AfBA Disclosure is necessary if a settlement service provider refers borrower to a provider with whom he has an ownership or other type of beneficial interest. This disclosure should describe the business arrangement that exists & specify the estimated charges of second provider.

b) HUD-1 Settlement Statement – This is a standard form wherein settlement charges imposed on sellers & borrowers are shown. According to RESPA, borrower can ask to see the statement 1 day before the settlement.

Disclosures at the time of settlement

Initial Escrow Statement – This statement is normally given at the time of settlement but the lender is provided forty five days from settlement to deliver it. It itemizes the insurance premiums, taxes & other charges that will be paid from Escrow Account in the first 12 months of the mortgage loan. It also lists the escrow payment figure & any kind of cushion that may be required.

Disclosures after settlement

a) Annual Escrow Statement (AES) – Once a year, the loan servicer is required to deliver the AES to borrower. This statement describes all the deposits in escrow account & the payments during a 12 month period. It also informs borrower about any surpluses or shortage in the account & provides suggestions to borrower regarding the action that is to be taken.

b) Servicing Transfer Statement – If loan servicer assigns servicing rights for borrower’s loan to some other loan servicer or sells it to some other loan servicer then this statement is required. Normally, loan servicer has to inform borrower fifteen days before the loan transfer takes place. If the borrower makes on time payments to old loan servicer within sixty days of loan transfer, then borrower cannot be penalized. This statement should include name & address of new loan servicer, telephone number & date from which new servicer will start taking payments.

These questions will vary as per your case. Go through these points and know how to get started.

• What are your areas of specialization?
• What is the cost of the initial consultation?
• Have you handled cases like mine before? How many? What was the outcome?
• Will you be the only attorney who works on the case? If not, who else will work on it?
• How long will it take for this case to be resolved?
• How much will my case cost? Can you take my case on a contingent fee basis?
• Can I do some of the work on the case to keep the cost down?
• Are there things I should do to improve my case, or to help you?
• How will you keep me informed about the progress of my case?
• If I contact your office with questions, how long will you take to return my call?
• If you are unavailable or on vacation, who can I speak to about my case?
• Can I reach you after hours, if I have an emergency?
• How often do you go to trial?
• If I am not happy with a settlement offer, and you want to settle, will you go to court anyway?
• If I am happy with the offer, but you think we can win more at trial, will you follow my wishes?
• Have you ever been disciplined by an ethics committee, or been suspended from the practice of law? If so, why?
• What “continuing legal education” courses have you attended during the past few years?

A written agreement is a must

Always get the written retainer agreement so that you have your rights protected. Before signing the contract, go through the points carefully and if you have any queries, get it clarified by your attorney. If you are paying thousands of dollars just in fees, you might even like to get the contract reviewed by another attorney and compare. The retainer agreement should accurately describe the legal issues for which the attorney is representing you, the amount of fees and all terms that have been discussed.

Terminating the agreement

You have the right to terminate a relationship with an attorney in an ongoing case. It must be noted that you have to pay for the services that the attorney has already performed for you. If the attorney has mentioned about recovering the complete cost of the case even if you decide terminating the agreement in between, you will have to pay the full amount.

Dispute between you and your attorney

In the event a dispute arises between you and your attorney, dispute resolutions services are offered by the state bar councils. These services are particularly beneficial in the event of fee disputes. Each state has a “grievance” procedure where you can file complaint against your attorney and have them investigated.

Why should one hire an attorney? The court system has become so complex, sometimes it becomes quite difficult to find a way through the system without special training. Even when judges sound to be understanding, if you are fighting your case on your own, their might be undue delay in the getting the final resolution of the case. Sometimes, small procedural errors can be very damaging to the outcome of a case. Expert advice from a lawyer is always recommended to avoid such situations.

• What will be the cost of an attorney?

The cost of an attorney can vary in each case. Some types of cases are more costly to litigate than others. If you are fighting on a case of traffic ticket, it will be cheaper in comparison to a federal case where an attorney is fighting on a felony criminal charge. Different attorneys have their own charges. It is not always true that the best lawyer will be very expensive. Sometimes they can win your case at an affordable price. When you are looking for an attorney, ask for the cost of their representing your case in the court. Most attorneys will not quote a price until they have gone through the case and learnt the facts. You need to feel comfortable with your attorney and the price quoted by him should not sound a burden on you. Other attorneys quote a very low retainer in order to get the client to hire them, and then bill the client for additional work.

• Where to find an attorney?

You can find attorneys from a variety of sources. Seek advice from your friends, or from your doctor, or, accountant, or another professional. You may contact the State Bar lawyer referral service. You may find an attorney through a variety of sources but there is no magical answer of finding the best attorney. It all comes by experience.

• Should the attorneys advertised in TV or 800 numbers be hired?

Generally speaking, television and radio advertisements are a bad way to find an attorney. There are many referral agencies who advertise the attorneys on TV and radio. They collect a large number of calls and then divide it to their member attorneys. The law firms pay a high cost on advertisements. They refer the cases to other law firms to share the enormous cost of advertising. Most of the time, the attorney will not take your case if there is no scope to make a large sum of money from your case.