In 2018, the national average price for homes reached an average of $218,000. Luckily, homeowners can take out a mortgage to ease their burden. However, the loan is no longer the best choice for their financial condition.

Refinancing a mortgage is an option most home-buyers choose. But mortgage refinancing can go both ways. It can either help a person save money or cost them more. 

It’s important to understand what mortgage refinancing is in order to figure out the right time to do it.

What is Mortgage Refinancing?

In an unstable economy with possible high-interest rates, it can be quite difficult for homeowners to pay off their debt. People who find themselves in this situation may consider refinancing their mortgage.

Basically, homeowners who refinance mortgage are replacing their original loan with a new one. The new loan is ideally a better one. This will allow them to have better interest terms and rates.

The new mortgage isn’t made to throw out the old one. Homeowners who refinance their mortgage can use the new loan to pay off the original mortgage.

But this isn’t the only reason why people choose to refinance. People do this to lower their interest rates, reduce monthly payments, or change mortgage companies.

Other borrowers refinance mortgage when they have equity in their home. Equity is the difference in the value of the house and the amount owed to the mortgage company. 

When Should You Refinance Mortgages?

Refinancing mortgages can be a slippery slope if one is ignorant about the topic. With the proper knowledge, refinancing can bring a lot of benefits to the homeowner.

But when should one refinance?

1. Refinance mortgages when interest rates are low

This is one of the top reasons for homeowners to refinance. A difference of 2% in savings is enough reason to refinance.

Reducing the interest rate of the mortgage does not only help with saving money. It lowers the monthly payment and increases the rate of building equity for the house.

• Refinance mortgages to shorten the duration of the loan

Homeowners can refinance their mortgage to shorten the loan’s term. This will significantly lessen the interest that they have to pay.

• Refinance mortgages to switch to a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage

Usually, adjustable-rate mortgages start with a lower interest rate compared to fixed-rate mortgages. When periodic adjustments begin for adjustable-rate mortgages, interest rates start increasing.   

Once this occurs, homeowners can switch to a fixed-rate mortgage. Converting into a fixed-rate mortgage would eliminate concerns regarding future interest hikes.

Converting from a fixed-rate to an adjustable-rate mortgage is also advantageous when interest rates fall. This is great for homeowners who don’t plan on keeping the house for a long time. When interest rates fall, they can save money without worrying about the future.

The Bottom Line

Refinancing can be the perfect financial move for every homeowner. It can lower monthly payments, shorten loans, and even increase equity. When done carefully, it can help bring debt under control. It’s a valuable tool for financial responsibility.

Making the decision to get divorced is never easy. Even if you feel it is the right decision for you and your family, you may feel regret over the lost relationship and the coming shift of your everyday life. You also may worry about how you are going to start over as a newly divorced individual.

While many of the uncertainties will work themselves out over time, the worries about child custody, child and spousal support, and living arrangements are best allayed in a courtroom. You can have these concerns dealt with in a timely and legal manner when you retain the services of a divorce law firm, court mediator, or Lake County family attorney today.

Skilled Legal Representation

Family laws vary from state to state. Even if you got married in one state, you are not bound by that state’s laws if you moved to another and now pursue a divorce in it. You may not even know what those family law are with any degree of certainty.

When you hire a family lawyer, you get skilled counsel who knows what the laws are and how they apply to your case. Your attorney can make sure you get the compensation to which you are entitled as the custodial spouse or as a spouse who does not have a full-time job right now. You may not need to worry about money right away after your divorce is finalized and support issues are settled.

Your lawyer can also be of assistance if you are divorcing an abusive spouse who has threatened your safety and that of your children. The lawyer can file for a protection from abuse order to make sure the spouse stays away from you. This evidence can also be used in your favor in court.

A divorce can alter your life in serious ways. You may not want to worry about issues like how you are going to support yourself or who will get custody of the kids. These issues can be answered in your favor when you hire an attorney to represent you.

ICOs raised capital in excess of $3.5 billion in 2017. Of this, more than $100 million came from ICOs based in different African countries. Compared to the huge amounts of capital raised by ICOs such as Tezos, African ICOs have a long way to go. However, the input of Initial Coin Offering on African startups is rapidly growing.

ICOs in Africa

One of the biggest challenges African startups face is inadequate capital. Getting venture capital in most African countries is a hassle. Startups from young people who are less connected almost always don’t attract any Venture Capital firms. Only a few lucky startups attract donations of more than $1 million before their launch. However, ICOs are changing the way African startups get funds for the better.

What are ICOs?

Initial Coin Offerings or ICOs, are a modern means to source funding for new cryptocurrency startups from the public. Like an Initial Public Offering, ICOs allow people to invest in the potential of a platform before it it’s actualized. The startups sell their own native tokens in exchange for established coins such as bitcoin or ethereum. Read more about the ICO topic.

Why African Startups are excited about ICOs

• There are few venture Capitalists in African Countries

Although there are VC firms in countries like South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, most of them are never concerned about unknown startups. VC firms and angel investors in most African countries only fund the most hyped startups. By contrast, ICOs are offering a new way to raise funds. By allowing investors to contribute as little as $10, ICOs allow even the low-income earners in Africa to invest in the crypto space.

• There is less Competition in Africa

So far, African ICOs that showed great potential have been successful in fundraising through ICOs. In European and Asian countries, startups are constantly competing for funds. Unfortunately, investors tend to favor the most hyped ICOs.  Many startups with great potential end up getting overlooked. By contrast, the few African startups that have shown solid potential were able to attract funding because had less competition for funding.

• The Hype and FOMO

African countries are fast embracing the cryptocurrency space. Throughout the continent, there are dozens of startups based on the blockchain technology. The huge hype surrounding the industry is attracting media attention and African tech related content providers. Startups, on the other hand, are catching up and looking for funding through ICOs. The Fear of Missing Out is partially ensuring that startups tap on the potential of ICOs.

How ICOs will help Fund African Startups

Not only are ICOs an exciting topic and a great way to fund startups everywhere, they will prove to be very beneficial for African startups. Here is how:

• ICOs offer a Fair Investment Platform

Unlike Initial Public Offerings, anyone can participate in ICOs, whether you have a lot of funds or not. From as low as $10, Africans can contribute to the success of a startup that will probably help solve major challenges. This benefit is particularly important in Africa because most investors are able to raise high amounts. The median annual income in most African countries is less than $200, meaning that potential investors can only fund where minimum contributions are accepted.

• ICOs are easy to Organize

ICO alternatives have proven burdensome to organize in most countries around the world. In Africa, organizing an IPO can take months. It’s expensive and requires resources that many startups cannot afford. By contrast, running an ICO is quite easy. Most African governments have not regulated ICOs, but startups must meet the basic requirements to run one. While that could be problematic for investors, it makes it easy for startups to fundraise.

• ICOs are easy to Access among Low-end Investors

Although Internet penetration in Africa is lower than the rest of the world, it provides the easiest way for startups to look for funding. In Kenya, for example, there is an 85% Internet penetration. Despite this, a very low percentage of the population has the means to participate in an IPO.

ICOs are proving the better alternatives since interested investors can learn everything about the ICO online and invest easily. Regrettably, the average penetration of the Internet in Africa stands at 35%.

• ICOs can Source Funding Globally

Since ICOs can welcome investors from any part of the world, they offer great advantage to startups from African countries. Startups no longer have to settle for low capital in their countries. Instead, they can set up mechanisms that allow investors from any part of the world to participate. This will increase funding for the best African startups and help them deliver the quality services their Whitepaper promised.

• Growing Interest in the ICO Space

Many African countries are fast catching up with the rest of the world in terms of adopting the ICO space. Thousands of investors throughout the continent have already tasted the benefits of investing in budding cryptocurrencies such as ethereum. As adoption of the blockchain and ICO industry grow, African startups will see more people gain interest in their platforms. In a few years’ time, it will be possible for African startups to raise in excess of $50 million through ICO crowdsourcing.

• Desire and ability to Support African Technologies

Africans have often shown willingness to support causes that affect their day to day lives. African startups that will develop solutions to African problems will have better chances to get funding online. This funding behavior has occurred before with startups such as Bitpesa (A Kenyan startups that offer bitcoin trading services), where investors contributed heavily in funding startups that promised to solve some common African problems in an efficient way.

• Influence of African Public Figures

One of the driving forces of ICOs around the world is endorsements and backing by influential figures. Startups that have used celebrities to endorse their product have often gained significant attention. Startups that attracted the attention of major players in the industry also had better success. As more influential persons in Africa gain interest in the ICO space, startups will start getting endorsements and financial backing. Slowly, ICOs will turn out to be the best financial option for many African startups.

Conclusion

As ICOs continue to draw massive attention around the world due to their great potential, investors will increasingly concentrate on the best startups no matter where they are located. African startups that will provide great solutions to African or world problems will likely gain great attention from serious investors. For investors, however, the lack of ICO regulations in Africa makes it extremely important to conduct due diligence before you make an investment decision.

2017 was the year Americans became more aware of their personal net asset worth when publications revealed only 4 in 10 Americans have savings of $500 or more. The American Dream now belongs to financial institutions as the ability to save is slowly replaced with the need to increase a FICO score. This is because more and more of the American population is relying on finance to build their dreams. A funding nightmare is on the cards and for Americans to avoid another bubble bursting as it did in 2008, a savings and investment approach is sorely needed.

Swap Rental for Mortgage Installments

With an estimated appreciation rate of 8% per annum on properties, it makes sense for consumers to look for a place of their own. In 2018, lenders are looking to tighten the lending leash somewhat due to the number of defaults listed in the past few years, however, this does not mean that the property market is out of reach. Consumers will still have access to property finance, but the criteria may be a little more strict. This is to the benefit of the consumer, as it ensures they are able to afford their purchase. This also means greater peace of mind adding a funded item to the personal asset portfolio.

Consider Tangible Investments

Investments are still a sticky topic for many potential investors, as it’s only been a mere decade since investors lost billions through stock market crashes and unscrupulous conduct by bankers and investment brokers. There is a route that provides a bit more stability, however, risk is still very much part of any investment portfolio. These include tangible investments which allow investors to own an item as opposed to just a profile. Property and classic cars are firm favorites and bullion is right up there with them.Australian silver coins are a good example of bullion and are fairly easy to purchase.

Purchase Everyday Items That Will Hold Value in Future

It’s tempting to go for items that are easily replaceable such as furniture, clothing, and jewelry. However, there is a strong market for vintage items that may have increased the personal asset value of the owner. These items include once-off pieces of jewelry and even fine furniture pieces that were handed down from generation to generation. Although the market may be small for these items, there is enough demand in order for the owners of these items to rely on their value.

Increasing personal net worth starts with the increase in assets. At first, there might be debt that goes along with it but in time the asset value should exceed these debts. This allows consumers to increase their financial position which helps in times of crisis.

Currency markets fluctuate daily and one of the best ways to evaluate the future direction is using technical analysis. This form of analysis uses chart patterns to analyze past price action, to formulate a view of the future direction of a currency pair. Many traders use support and resistance levels, which form the basis of chart patterns.

Support and Resistance:

Recall, support is a level where demand is evident and buyers are willing to step in and buy a security. Resistance is a level of supply where investors focus on selling or shorting an asset. Support and resistance levels are constantly changing as new information becomes available. You can use many different techniques to find support and resistance levels. One of the most common and efficient is trend line analysis. A trend line connects two or more points with a line in an effort to pin point support or resistance. Generally traders use downward sloping trend lines to designate resistance levels and upward sloping trend line to define levels of support. Although this technique is subjective, many analysts believe it is the most efficient way to generate a trend line that reflects either support or resistance levels.

Since trend lines can be subjectively drawn, it is helpful to find a technique that you can fall back on that takes the subjectivity out of this process. One of the most efficient methodology is Tom DeMarks trend line process.

TD Trend Lines:

DeMark created his TD (Tom DeMark) trend lines for the professional trader to eliminate the subjectivity from the process of drawing trend line. To do this he created the pivot top and pivot bottom. The TD pivot top is a high that is surrounded by at least one lower high on each side. For a more robust pivot top, you would look for a high surrounded by either 2 or even three lower highs on each side of the pivot top high.

Once you have found your first pivot top, you can then look back at the price history of an asset to find the next high that is surrounded by at least one lower highs on each side of it. If you are looking for pivot tops of 1-lower high than the next pivot should be the same. The pivot high you are looking for when you draw a resistance line should be higher as you move back in history.

The next step is drawing a trend line. You would connect one pivot top high to the next pivot top high and extend the line forward. The trend line has a slope and that becomes your resistance line. When an asset breaks through that resistance line, it is likely to continue to move higher. Generally the best way to trade this type of resistance trend line is to wait for a close above the slope of the trend line which will trigger a breakout.

When drawing a TD support line, you are constructing and upward sloping trend line that generates support. To do this you would connect a pivot low, which has one or more higher lows on each side of it to the next pivot low. The upward sloping trend line that is created forms support. When the price of an asset closes below the TD support line, a break down has occurred. Like the TD resistance line the TD support line can be drawn on every time horizon.

It is important to find charting patterns that you are comfortable using, as this can assist you in determining the future direction of a currency pair.

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