Home Loans With Bad Credit Three Deal

There is no point in claiming that getting a home loan is an easy process, guaranteed to end in success. These more frugal times means the process is even more cautiously managed by lenders, so the chances of approval is far from assured. Nevertheless, a home loan with bad credit is attainable, and if some simple factors are considered, the chances of success are greatly increased.

Of course, home loans with poor credit should be tricky, not just because a it is statistically the largest loan likely to be taken out by any individual, but because bad credit scores make lenders that little bit nervous.

But, by satisfying the right criteria, home loan approval with bad credit is within reach. In fact, if some specific factors are paid special attention to, the likelihood is increased dramatically.

Never Underestimate the Down Payment

For many applicants, the down payment is not really considered to be part of the mortgage application process. In fact, it is a very important part of any application, with bad credit an element especially. There are two good reasons why.

First of all, the size of the down payment affects the size of the loan, which in turn affects the size of the monthly repayments. If an applicant wants to buy a property worth $200,000, and has paid a 10% down payment, it means the home loan is $180,000. If, however, they have paid 20%, the size of the loan is $160,000.

It is more likely to get home loan approval with poor credit for the lower sum, because the pressure to pay the lower monthly repayments will be less and the lender can be confident of getting their money back.

The second reason the down payment is significant to an application for a home loan with bad credit is what it reveals about the applicant.

Only disciplined savers would be capable of raising $20,000 or $40,000 to make the payment. So, it shows that the applicant is committed to getting their property, and is less likely to default on their home loan.

Remember that a bad credit score can be achieved rather easily, with only a couple of poor decisions needed to see the scores plummet. So, a dedication to good money management is exactly what the lender needs to see before home loan approval with poor credit can be granted.

The Property in Question

There is no point at all in trying to secure a home loan with bad credit on a house that is very expensive. The reason quite simply is the degree of debt that someone with bad credit scores would be taking on, and the preference for lenders to avoid the hassles that come with foreclosures. So, the lower the price of the house, the better.

Also, bear in mind the question of home equity, and the fact that debt was too high when house prices took a tumble a few years ago. Getting a too large loan can mean setting yourself up for a major fall.

The Right Lender

Getting the right loan deal from the right lender can make all the difference. Generally, online lenders are the best option, with the lowest rates and, because they tend to be experts in loans with bad credit, provide a better chance for home loan approval with bad credit.

More than anything else, though, the best home loans with poor credit can only be found after some extensive searching. So, do not choose the first good deal found, but create a shortlist of 3 or 5 options to carefully consider and select from.

Readmore → Home Loans With Bad Credit Three Deal

Have You Already Missed the Fixed Rate Mortgage Boat

The Bank of England's base rate of interest has been consistently breaking records for the last couple of years. The panic in the financial world as banks, corporations and whole countries went bankrupt, led to record low levels in interest rates. The Bank was established in 1694, with interest rates of 6%. In 2009, the interest rate dropped to 1.5% - the lowest in its 315 year history. Today the current base rate is 0.5%; bad news for savers, good news for borrowers. The question on everyone's mind is just how long can this go on? For anyone with a mortgage, or in the increasingly unusual position of planning to take one, interest rates spark a lot of interest.

Fewer fixed rate deals?

We all know that 'interest rates can go up as well as down'. There hasn't been much evidence of the up recently, and the danger inherent in this situation is complacency. Recently many banks have begun to withdraw their fixed rate mortgage deals, or to make them more expensive to acquire. This should ring some alarm bells for anybody who has been thinking about switching to fixed rate. The banks, believe it or not, know what they are doing. It makes very unsound economic sense to allow their customers to tie into fixed rate mortgages now, if they think that rates are set to recover. The recent trend to withdraw the product, or make the short term costs prohibitive, suggests the banks are expecting some healthy rises in interest.

Balancing the costs

So is it too late to opt for a fixed rate mortgage? No, deals are still available, and will continue to be so. Fixed rate mortgages are an attractive option and banks know that many homeowners are still looking to tie in. While interest rates can go down, there isn't very far for them to go in that direction and it's likely that over the next five to ten years, the only way is up. With this in mind it is still worth considering shopping around for a fixed rate deal. The days of cheap fixed rate deals are possibly in decline, but that doesn't mean that by fixing now, you can't save later. The arrangement fees may seem to be rising excessively, but balance the up-front cost against savings you could well accrue by fixing now.

Fortune telling

Forecasting the financial markets future may seem to be a job best completed by a fortune teller on Blackpool's Prom, but signs are that interest rates will rise. Pressure is building on the Bank of England to raise the rates from their all-time low. Inflation is concerning the government, who are keen to see a drop in inflation figures. In 1979 the base rate reached an all-time high of 17% when Geoffrey Howe was trying to manage the upwards spiral of inflation. Many homeowners have 'panicked' in the early part of this year, rushing to tie in their rates. This is partly to blame for the bank's withdrawal of the products or the rise in arrangement fees. There is a strong chance that interest rates will rise this year, but they will probably do so slowly. There will still be time to secure a deal which will allow you to keep your rates low over the coming months and years.

Readmore → Have You Already Missed the Fixed Rate Mortgage Boat

Government Intervention Into Financial Markets Caused the Economic Crisis

The recent boom and bust crisis of our financial markets is not the failure of free market capitalism. It's a result of government intervention into the financial markets.It's this intervention that prevents the free market forces from bringing markets into balance to offset the possibility of runaway booms or busts.

The changing price for any commodity, good, or service in a free market supplies information about the markets associated with that product, coordinates the supply and demand for that product, and supplies incentives or de-incentives about supplying or demanding more of that product.

The financial markets are driven by interest rates which is the price of money. The interest rates determine the matching of the supply of money from savings with the demand for money in the investment and debt-related markets. Increasing interest rates favor the supply of saving but makes investing more expensive. Lower interest rates frustrate the supply of savings but makes investing cheaper. There's a rate that matches these markets under prevailing conditions of institutional incentives and responsibility.

Government intervenes and interferes in the financial markets - undermining free market forces - through its monetary policies. Such policies control the supply of money which, in turn, effects the interest rate.Increasing the supply of money can force down the interest rate (money's price) - just like the over abundance of any product, and vice versa.

But making too much money available in the hands of consumers and government without a commensurate increase in goods and services will bid up the price of those goods and services. This results in inflation - a lowering of the dollar's purchasing power. Too much inflation will force savers and lenders to demand higher interest rates to offset their money's loss of purchasing power during the time they lend it.

Government regulates the money supply to foster growth in the markets to increase productivity and employment, especially to offset current or impending recessions that result in reduced productivity and rising unemployment. Yet at the same time, it tries to minimize too much inflation from occurring. But this perverts and destabilizes the markets.

It regulates lending institutions, guarantees home mortgage loans - under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac type investment agencies - presumably to protect bank consumers and help citizens acquire homes.

Unfortunately, by trying to regulate the money supply to government's purposes, regulating the banks, and guaranteeing loans, the government undermines or destroys the free market forces that keep the markets balanced with appropriate incentives, de-incentives and responsibilities for savings and investments.

Without free market forces operating, the markets move away from equilibrium and have nothing to keep them from a running away toward boom or bust.

From 2003 to 2007, the government, to offset the recessionary fears from the end of the century equity market bust, expanded the money by 50% through its monetary polices to stimulate investment through 'easy available money or credit'. This unnaturally forced down interest rates to near zero levels and created enormous money availability for investing.

Such low interest rates made direct saving pay very little return, while making investment and borrowing very inexpensive. The result was an enormous housing boom as people - nervous about the recently busted equity markets - invested in real estate. It also frustrated normal savings rates, and highly aggravated the amount of debt consumers incurred.

Booming real estate investments fostered an explosion in mortgages. These were funded by banks, government agencies' guaranteed loans through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and newly created mortgage-backed investments.

For lending institutions and other money suppliers to compete and remain in business under the demands for mortgages with unnaturally low interest rates and rising house prices, they lowered their loan qualifications - and thereby increased the risk to future investors in all mortgage-backed investments.

Lending institutions- along with the government-related agencies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae lowered their loan application requirements so even the non-creditworthy borrowers got loans.

And of course, the government guaranteed those loans which certainly enhanced risk-taking since the government would be picking up the 'check' under any defaults. Mortgage-backed investments packages obscured the underlying loan risks to better compete for offering higher interest rates to investors.

So, the result of the government forcing low interest rates through over expansion of the money supply was to destroy the free market forces resulting in runaway booms driven by 'easy money'. The booms included the mortgage-backed real estate boom, the boom in all the financial investment supporting it, and the debt boom for consumers.

But of course, all booms end when the missing benefits that a free market would supply becomes apparent. What was missing in this government fostered financial crisis was the natural de-incentive for lending - i.e. defaults and the associated investment losses. The bust began in 2008 when the overabundance of non-creditworthy borrowers began defaulting on their loans.

By this time, the money and mortgaged-based investment boom had infiltrated the investments of most of the major financial institutions. Many of these 'default-related' investments became next to worthless causing them enormous losses. Such investment were called 'toxic asset'. With such assets, many large financial institutions, themselves, began to fail. The financial crisis instigated in the U.S. put additional countries into recession.

The recession then made financial institutions wary of lending any money they had for fear of further loan defaults and loss.

And so we're brought back into recession again with productivity down and employment high, after government's interference in the financial markets. But the boom and bust economy has been with us for the last 100 years that the Federal Reserve System has regulated the money supply.

*What's government's position?

'Capitalism - i.e. the free market - doesn't quite work'.

It needs more regulation by government. They say that the whole crisis is the fault of 'greedy lenders' who made irresponsible loans for profits. Of course, the government prevented the free market from working with the natural market forces that would have held lenders to responsible standards. Government forced irresponsible lending by perverting the markets and interest rates by infusion of available money.

*What's government's solution?

'Get us out of recession by expanding the money supply to keep rates low and promote lending' - as usual.

They're bailing out banks with an expansion of the money supply and forcing bankers to lend when they don't feel responsible lending. They want to regulate the banks more and determine what they can and cannot invest in. They even want to regulate how bankers can actually pay themselves salaries and bonuses.

That surely will throw more 'wrenches' into the workings of our institutions.

Slowly we should come out of recession. Business will pick up and depressed housing prices may slowly work their way up. Down the line we can anticipate more booms and busts.

*How would Capitalism - i.e. a free market - handle the economy?

I guess we won't know. That's because of several circumstances.

The government wants to be in control of the economy as much as it can so politicians and regulators can take credit whenever things improve and further blame others and grab more control when things get worse. That's where their power and benefits reside.

And worst still is that there are special interest groups that depend on government intervention. They will push to keep more government intervention since they that's how they make money their money too. All this happens when government just gets to big.

Get the word out.

Readmore → Government Intervention Into Financial Markets Caused the Economic Crisis

Get Your Credit Under Control This Christmas

There are some simple personal finance strategies can ensure that you have a merry Christmas...minus the New Year financial hangover.

A few extra glasses of champagne, a little more Christmas pudding, and a few last minute gifts purchased on the credit card - the festive season is synonymous with overindulgence. But along with some unwanted kilograms, Christmas can also leave us lumbered with bloated credit card debt.

The pre-Christmas spending season traditionally sees Australians give their credit cards a solid workout. Last yuletide we collectively spent $3 trillion more on our cards in both November and December than in any of the previous ten months. But it's not until the card statements come in that the legacy of this spending spree hits home.

Rather than undo all the healthy budgeting efforts made during the year, some simple strategies can help you keep credit under control over the festive season.

Maintain a sense of perspective

The final quarter of the year is a lot of fun with a happy mix of social engagements and a building sense of bonhomie. It's also a period that can shape how you'll fare financially over the next 12 months. Rather than getting swept up in a frenzy of festive season spending, aim to keep up your regular financial regime. Pay a bit extra off the mortgage each month, stick with your dollar cost averaging strategy for super or other investments and when possible pay off credit cards in full throughout November and December.

Follow Santa's lead

It's when we hit the shops over Christmas that caution tends to fly out the window. To avoid overspending especially with a high interest credit card, take a tip from the big man in red himself. Make a list. Then check it twice. Allocate a spending limit for each person you plan to buy a gift for and consider whether you really need to lavish big sums of money on distant relatives or acquaintances. A simple bouquet of flowers or bottle of wine can bring as much joy as an expensive dust collector.

Shop smart

Hit the stores early to snare the best deals on gifts. Doing your gift shopping online is an easy way to make cost comparisons - always allow for the time and cost of shipping, and check the retailer's refund policy. Online auctions can be serious money savers. In late September for instance, Grays Online (graysonline.com) were selling cases of French champagne for less than $300 - a low cost way to add some sparkle to your Christmas lunch.

Cash is king

If you're buying big ticket items this Christmas, aim to pay with cash and don't be afraid to ask for a discount. You may be surprised how many retailers will shave off a few dollars or throw in a sweetener when you pay with cash.

Using cash may mean dipping into your savings, but it makes a lot more sense than paying with a credit card charging 15%. You can always rebuild savings. Debt can be far harder to pay off.

Better still, think about delaying big ticket buys. The post-Christmas sales could see the same item available for a fraction of its pre-Christmas price.

With your finances in good shape and card debt under control, you're well placed to celebrate the festive season knowing your finances are in good shape for the New Year.

Readmore → Get Your Credit Under Control This Christmas

Fixed Rate Mortgage Or Adjustable Rate Mortgage Always Fixed!

Only in certain special cases the wiser choice can be different. Before any further explanations, I'll try to make clear the terms of this topic.

Four boring (but important) explanations

1. What' s the meaning of "interests rates"? The cost of money.

"Interest rates" means the cost of the money to be borrowed. It is expressed in percentage over a period of time. E.g. if the interest rate is 6%, it means that for 100.000 euros, you'll give back to the bank 6000 euros more (within the period of time specified).

2. Fixed interest rate = Fixed instalment

If you choose a fixed interested rate mortgage, the installment (i.e. the money you have to get back to the bank) is fixed throughout the whole period of time you chose.

3. Spread: a fixed percentage for the bank

In mortgages, the word "spread" means a fixed percentage for the bank. Usually it is imposed in the composition of the installment for a adjustable rate mortgage.

4. Adjustable interest rate = Installment that VARIES following a market indicator (for instance Euribor) + Spread.

If the interest rate is adjustable, you may not know clearly how much you have to pay each month. Part of your installment is linked to an interbanking index (in Italy, the Euribor). The other part of your installment is a fixed percentage called "spread" that you owe to the bank. Supposing that the index will fall to zero, you still will have to pay the spread for your mortgage.

What the bankers won' t tell you

For many years adjustable interest mortgages were more interesting than fixed. For this reason, many small savers were convinced in investing in this product.

Fixed rates advantages

. who has a regular wage does not want any surprise: every month he wants to pay the same amount for the whole period of the mortgage

. the amortization schedules of the capital are clear and well defined in the notary's office

. during the time, the instalments of this kind of mortgage are less "heavy" on a family's accountability.

Fixed rate disadvantages:

. the initial instalments can be expensive.

Adjustable rate advantages:

. the initial instalments can be less expensive (in comparison with a fixed rates mortgage).

Adjustable rate disadvantages:

. the installment is linked to market fluctuations and, therefore, it changes every now and then (monthly or every quarter) the amount of the installment is based on a complex calculation which the bank decides. Even if you discover a mistake in this calculation, it is hardly possible that you will be able to challenge the bank. You're not guaranteed by a notary and therefore it is easier for the bank to induce you to link your mortgage with other expensive products such as assurances and financial instruments.

When it is an adjustable rate mortgage suitable for me?

An adjustable rate mortgage is interesting for a small saver when he is expecting money to arrive in the near future

That is the case of an heritage or when he is purchasing a house with the intention of reselling after a period of time. In that situation, the adjustable rate mortgage allows you to take advantage of a smaller installment without taking the risk of unfavorable increases.

In my banking experience, the most important question for all home buyers is: fixed rate mortgage or adjustable rate mortgage (Arm)? In my opinion, the answer is straightforward and simple: always fixed!

Readmore → Fixed Rate Mortgage Or Adjustable Rate Mortgage Always Fixed!

Five Ways to Save - Buying Your First Home

Buying the first home is for most people the largest single investment of their life. Not just in monetary terms; it is also avery emotional experience with a mix of genuine excitement and fear. The Five Ways to Save tips below have been designed to bring some common sense to this big investment and to put you in a strong position to buy a property that will be both a great home and a successful investment

1. Get your Savings in Order

The global financial crisis (GFC) started because banks allowed people to buy properties that they could not afford. Both the home buyers and the banks were losers in this exercise.

Before you set about buying a property, demonstrate to yourself and the bank that you can save. This will ensure that you and the bank feel much more comfortable about the purchase. Ideally you should be able to save to around 20% (and more) of the property value to form a deposit. Also, you should make sure that the mortgage repayments are not greater than what you have been able to regularly save.

2. Research, Research, Research

There is a lot to research to be done when buying a property. Here are some key points to consider:

Your preferred location(s) - You want to be comfortable with the location

Design and size of the home - No point buying a house if it doesn't meet your living needs both now and for the future. For example, would it be easy to extend?

Potential growth prospects of your preferred locations - Are there many new developments happening in the area? Do people want to live there? Locations with limited growth potential may limit future price growth

Actual price growth of the preferred locations - Has the location shown real price growth? Potential growth is one thing, but real growth shows that there is an appetite for people to live in the locations

The total costs of buying and keeping the home in order - Think past the mortgage repayments

Finance options - Checkout various opportunities and always remember that cheapest does not mean best

How to protect your new home - Protect the home via home insurance and protect your salary via personal insurance(note: Tip 5 has more on this).

Start your research with friends and family as you can learn from their experiences. Obviously the web is great and a good banker/mortgage broker can also help. Remember, real estate salespeople work in the interests of the seller so they will have some bias. However, a real estate specialist in the location you are seeking will have valuable information that is hard to find elsewhere. After a bit of trial and error, you'll soon work out which ones you can work with.

3. Compromise, but not too much

Life involves compromise from time to time, but be careful. Once you have done your research you could be disappointed that you can't find anything around your price range in the location you want. As a result, you may make a make a snap decision to buy a nice house in a cheaper location. A snap decision to buy can also be as a result of 'deal fever' This can often happen through sales pressure, particularly at auctions. It's all too easy to sign a deal very quickly because it feels emotionally right, at that particular time, rather than rationally thinking it through.

One last point on compromising - It is important to understand that the value of a house is largely based on the location. The actual house (bricks, fittings etc) do lose value. Therefore, consider compromising on the actual house before the preferred location. You can always fix things about the house, but you can't fix things about the suburb.

4. Learn how to negotiate

You'll be up against some very sharp sales people. Your mortgage provider needs a deal and real estate sellers are known for their ability to sell just about anything. By contrast, most first homebuyers have had a fairly sheltered life when it comes to negotiating big investments.

Buy a book on how to negotiate. If you are simply not good at it, find a good friend or a family member to help you. Most families have the proverbial 'wheeler and dealer'. There are 'buyers agents' available and they could be worth talking to. Negotiating is not easy but it can pay off huge dividends if you can do it well.

5. Protect the new home (and that includes protecting you)

There are several steps to help protect the home, its value and your ability to meet the repayments:

Property inspections - Have it inspected for build quality and for termites. The inspections can seem expensive at the time, but they come in handy when negotiating the price and better prepare you for future costs if you do buy the home

Choose building and home contents insurance wisely - Make sure you are covered for all the big issues in the area that you buying in. For example, if you are near a flood prone area, can you get flood damage as opposed to storm damage?

Make sure your income is safe - Personal insurance is vital to protect against unforseen illness and accidents. You can also better protect your income by making sure you are a 'valuable commodity' in the market place through on-going education

Maintain your home - Try and do as much as you can to keep the home in good shape. Have regular pest inspections, keep the garden in order etc. As the saying goes, a 'stitch in time saves nine'.

Readmore → Five Ways to Save - Buying Your First Home

Explaining a Recession Simply and Clearly

Like many of our readers and clients, I'm the type of person who tunes in regularly to radio chat shows, current affairs programs and newspaper reports on how the global turbulence is affecting our house prices, our labour markets, our stock markets and our changing consumption habits.

There are lots of commentators out there who seem very qualified and sound like they know what they're talking about when discussing concepts like recapitalisation, nationalisation, liquidity ratios, deflationary pressures, credit ratings etc. and yet, when I've finished listening to them, I've usually forgotten what the question they were supposed to be answering was.

Sound familiar?

With that in mind, and throwing caution to the wind, I'm going to pose a few questions I think a lot of people would like answered, and I'll try and do as quickly and clearly as possible. Please bear in mind that all of these issues deserve much more comprehensive answers than the size of this newsletter or the limits of my ability permit.

How did the subprime mortgage crisis in the USA affect property prices in Ireland & Britain?
Why are large international banking stocks trading at 30-60c per share when they were EUR20-EUR30 per share 18 months ago?
Why have banks moved so rapidly from loose lending criteria to excessively strict lending criteria?
Why is unemployment rising so quickly and why are our economies slowly so rapidly?
How can a person safely invest in a property market without falling victim to another property crash in 2010 or 2011?

How did the subprime mortgage crisis in the USA affect property prices in Ireland & Britain?

The subprime market, i.e. the practise of offering high interest mortgages to people with a high risk of missing future payments, was just the most extreme example of a mind boggling variety of mortgage products. It was viewed to be of low risk overall because it was assumed the value of the properties they were secured against would always continue to rise and could be resold if the client defaulted on his loan.

While there was a time when mortgage lenders like AIB, Bank of Ireland, Barclays & RBS etc. could only source funds from their local markets and would simply offer a multiple of the deposits received from savers to borrowers who wished to take out a loan, this has not been the case for many years.

Nowadays, banks based in net borrowing economies (like the USA) receive vast sums of money from banks in net saving economies (like China). These banks then repackage this money in horrendously complicated ways and give other international banks operating in borrowing economies (like Ireland & the UK) access to it.

If the banks who lent to people with a high default risk operated in the old fashioned way and were not so interconnected with the global economy, their boardroom and their shareholders would be duly punished when these loans were not repaid and we would all move on.

However, this was not the case as institutions everywhere had products linked to these subprime mortgages. Gradually (from August-December 2007), it was realised that an unknown but potentially catastrophic proportion of the money lent to people and institutions all over the world would never be repaid.

During 2008, when Irish & British banks had much more limited access to global funds, mortgage lending duly slowed, reducing the amount of people who could afford to purchase a home, thus reducing the demand for housing. If a market suddenly realises that there is a large and impractical gap between supply and demand of any product, prices will fall dramatically, and they certainly have this time.

Why are large international banking stocks trading at 30-60c per share when they were EUR20-EUR30 per share 18 months ago?

At the moment, large and diverse Irish and British banks are being valued by stock markets at about one years profits, which is astounding. These low share prices have more to do with the markets perception of a banks ability to raise new capital than any major faults in their business models. If a bank cannot borrow cheaply from other banks or raise money from wealthy individuals and institutions, then it cannot function properly.

This is why governments are stepping in to provide funding to the banks so they in turn can pump it into the economy in ways only a bank can do (in the forms of mortgages, car loans, business loans, overdrafts etc.). Major problems will arise and people will start dumping shares when banks do not pass this money onto customers either because it has so much debt already and/or governments become very dangerously exposed to these enormous debts by providing continued support without the markets help.

Why have banks moved so rapidly from loose lending criteria to excessively strict lending criteria?

Banks need to abide by very strict laws which only allow them to lend money as a proportion of the cash they have access to. As a rule of thumb, if a bank has EUR10 million in liquid assets, it can lend EUR100 million to people in the form of car loans & mortgages etc. If a fictional banks' cash dipped to EUR7 million towards the end of the business day, and they had already lent EUR100 million to their customers, they would need to borrow EUR3 million from somewhere to remain solvent. They might borrow this EUR3 million for a night, a month or three months, but the interest rates for doing so were far lower than the interest rates they charged the customers they passed it onto.

When banks realised that many of the loans they were giving were worth less than they thought because of falling asset values, they needed to hold onto more cash to preserve this 10% ratio. This in turn meant they charged higher interest rates to other banks who wanted to borrow, which created a vicious circle dramatically reducing everybodies ability to lend money to their regular customers.

Why is unemployment rising so quickly and why are our economies slowly so rapidly?

If businesses (large and small) have less access to the loans they need to expand and the overdrafts they need to meet day to day expenses, either their business models will no longer be viable and they will shut down, or they will reduce their overheads dramatically and continue as a smaller entity.

If the average man or woman on the street is fearful of their job and/or realises they no longer have access to the overdrafts & credit card facilities they previously took for granted, they will spend less money and purchase less goods and services.

If companies are getting smaller and people are spending less, an economy will slow and GDP growth will contract.

How can a person safely invest in a property market without falling victim to another property crash in 2010 or 2011?

Firstly, thank you to those who have gotten this far though our newsletter. Secondly, and harsh as it may sound, there are several ways those who are still liquid can profitably take advantage of a global downturn which is causing much suffering to others.

One of these ways, which Someplace Else Ireland identified about eight months ago and launched as a comprehensive service about three months ago, is to purchase highly discounted and undervalued properties from distressed sellers. To maximise the return of these types of properties, they must be purchased in wealthy, democratic economies, with a history of renewal and recovery from recessions, and in fundamentally sound cities and neighborhoods where locals rent long term and have the ability to purchase and borrow against similar properties.

Regular readers will know of course, that I am referring to Florida. For the record, let me state that our focus is not on vacation homes. It is on long term lets to locals (only a small percentage of which work in the tourist industry). These properties are much more tax efficient, provide a much higher net rental return per square foot and are available at a higher discount than other property types.

Readmore → Explaining a Recession Simply and Clearly