My neighbor happens to be one of those men that you’ve always heard of but have never actually seen. He had a great relationship with his wife and two kids until one day, his wife suffered a stroke. He took loving care of his whole family by himself – while he held down a well-paying executive’s job at Ford. And then, his parents, he discovered, were getting too old to actually live by themselves. Almost anyone in his position would have thrown up their hands in despair and put their parents up in a nursing home. Not him. He decided that he would quit his job, and actually start a home care franchise on his own. This way, he figured he would be able to take care of his family’s growing needs for intimate help, while still staying solvent. He had just one problem. Taking care of 5 people this way for a couple of years, he had spent every last cent of his savings. He needed at least $100,000 in small business financing to set his home care franchise up. How was he going to do it?Actually, I was able to help him with what some consider to be a novel idea – I told him that he could fund his business by withdrawing as much as $150,000 from his 401(k) account with Ford. I told him that if he did it correctly, he wouldn’t even have to pay an early withdrawal penalty.People do get to doing this for small business financing these days. It’s called ROBS to the technically initiated – or ROllover as Business Startup. About one out of six people nearing retirement apply for a ROBS withdrawal each year to fund their business with.Of course, the IRS isn’t completely crazy about this. Your 401(k) has generous tax benefits; when you just go in and raid your retirement account, they feel you might do this to exploit the system. They’ve decided to scrutinize these applications especially closely these days to make sure that people really do use their retirement withdrawals for what they claim they use them for. If you plan to apply to withdraw your 401(k) for your small business financing needs, you’ll find that you stand a chance of getting audited by the IRS.The good news is though that the IRS almost never finds anything amiss with these audits. Usually, to make sure that everything’s done the way the IRS approves of, new business debutantes take the help of a financial services company to handle their 401(k) application and to start their business and everything goes smoothly.A financial services company would be able to really help the small businessman start off in a professional manner. For instance, in the case of the home care services businessman above, I asked him to start his own corporation, and make it so that his corporation had its own 401(k) plan. He then got the 401(k) money he had at Ford and rolled it over into the 401(k) plan in his new corporation. And then he used that money to invest in shares in that very company. That way, he got his retirement money to fund his new venture. This can be a great way to go about it.
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How Do Unsecured Homeowner Loans Work in the UK?
There are usually two kinds of loans: secured loans, and unsecured loans. Unsecured loans are the ones which do not require any kind of security that is to be assured to the loan lender. However, a secured loan is the one where the potential borrower would have to secure a guarantee or security against which the lender will lend money. Usually, secured loans are the better choices among the two because they come with many large and small benefits like lower interest rates – but you need to put one of your valuable assets as collateral. But you can easily avail a homeowner loan without using your property as mortgage. So, how do these homeowner loans work? In this article, we will discuss:
What is an unsecured homeowner loan?
How does it work?
Features of an unsecured homeowner loan
Why should you apply for it?
How to choose the right loan?
What is an unsecured homeowner loan?A homeowner loan can be taken by those who have a home in their name. With an unsecured homeowner loan, people can get a loan for a certain amount of the total value of the property without having to guarantee their property to the lender. One needs to be above 18 years of age and also should have a regular income source for being eligible for the unsecured homeowner’s loan. How does an unsecured homeowner loan work?Homeowner loans are very common these days as come with certain benefits, which are beneficial for the debtors. The borrower who has taken the loan has to repay it along with the interest charge in monthly instalments. The interested party should check the availability of the loan along with the market conditions before taking out an unsecured homeowner loan. They should also make sure that they can pay off the loan every month. Loans can be requested on different types of property like flats, bungalows, cottages, houses, etc. Some of the things that the lender usually takes into consideration are the age of the applicant, the loan term they can pay for, the value of the property, the income of the applicant and their credit record.Also, the rate of interest for these loans are either fixed or a floating rate of interest depending on the lender. Variable-rates of interest can be a bit expensive as compared to the fixed rate of interest in which the repayment instalments remain the same throughout the tenure of the loan.Some of the important features of homeowner loans The value of the loan will be a certain percentage value of the entire property which is negotiable in terms.
The tenure of the loan will be stretched from 1 year to 7 years, depending on the value of the loan.
The interest rate is either fixed or floating.
There will be a thorough affordability check considering income and credit score, and then a determination of eligibility of the homeowner loan.
Usually, there will be certain lenders who might take a certain amount as fees for finalizing the loan. Research can be done before selecting the lender who is not charging any extra fees.Some of the fees which are included in the homeowner loan are:
Legal Fees
Broker Fees
Disbursement Fees
Valuation Fees
After a lender and loan have been selected, several steps are to be completed before the loan is finalized. Usually, these steps can take 4-5 weeks, after which the loan amount will be transferred to the debtor’s account.
The lender will check the credit record and make sure that the loan can be paid.
The lender will then check the current pay stubs to determine an income’s regularity.
They will then check the registry of the house to confirm the ownership.
Lastly, they will calculate the property’s value and equity before finalizing the loan amount.
After the loan is granted, the monthly EMI’s of the loan will need to be paid. If you are paying off the loan early, a certain early redemption or repayment charge would be administered. Homeowners can also take a payment holiday with the lender’s approval, but in such cases, the cost of the loan will increase.Why should people apply for homeowner loans?Some of the reasons why people take homeowner loans are mentioned below:
Funding: The money that you receive can be used to fund a large expense or a smaller one, depending on your needs. Also, you can use it for your wedding expenses or to fund your dream holiday.
Business: They can start a business with their loan and invest in it with the amount. This will make the repayment of the loan easier because the returns can be used from the business to repay the loan and can also successfully secure the future of your business by investing in it.
Home improvement: Renovations and improvements can be made in the home because usually, these renovations are expensive. To increase the value of the home, timely renovations and improvements can be very helpful to enhance the overall property value.
How to select a homeowner loan?Searching for the right kind of loan can be difficult as there are many options to choose from. Some of the steps that should be taken while choosing a loan are:
First, decide the amount to be borrowed for this loan.
The next step is to calculate the value of the property according to the current real estate trend and by calculating the mortgage value that is still outstanding.
After this, decide the number of instalments that can be paid every month and according to that, decide the term of the loan.
Next, keep records like house registry, credit report, etc. available because these are needed by the lender to make their decision.
Lastly, talk to a broker for getting a market viable homeowner loan on the property
Comparing Traditional and Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing versus Traditional Marketing is one of the most heated new age debates that we often come across. While on one hand the tech heads give you the most obvious justification of fast paced digitization as to why digital marketing clearly surpasses traditional marketing. Corporate Executives, on the other hand, functioning in conventions, would more obviously than not justify traditional marketing. Before we ponder on this debate further,let us first understand what essentially distinguishes the two.What is Traditional Marketing?Traditional Marketing refers to the conventional methods of promoting a brand. This includes newspaper ads, magazine ads, billboards, brochures, hoardings etc. Traditional marketing also includes network marketing. In its most basic sense, Traditional marketing refers to a structured effort on endorsing one’s brand but without any reliance on online methodologies. Traditional offline media are often the channels that brands incorporate when it comes brand promotion.The tools for Traditional Marketing are:1.Print Marketing
2. Broadcast Marketing
3. Referral Marketing
4. Outdoor Marketing
5. Publication MarketingLet us Look at a few examples of Traditional Marketing:A. Vicks, a prominent brand in India came up with a campaign called Touch of Care. The ad film showcased a a daughter’s relationship with her transgender mother. This ad film that went viral because of how it truly the touched a chord with the sentimentality of the audience.B. Dove, around mid 2000s came up with the idea of giving away free samples with morning newspapers. This strategy truly helped the brand popularize itself. This brand strategy completely worked in the brand’s favour.What is Digital Marketing?Digital Marketing as the name suggests refers to the marketing efforts of a brand using online channels. It refers to how a brand handles it online reputation. Optimizing your brand forms the backbone in this case. The biggest channel definitely is the Internet. The sub channels include websites, blogs, Social media platforms etc. Digital Marketing includes a step of intricate procedures.The tools include:1. Facebook Marketing
2. Digital Campaigns
3. Search Engine Optimization
4. Content Marketing
5. Influencer MarketingLet us Look at a few examples of Digital Marketing:A. Kitkat hit it big with their influencer marketing strategy. Their challenge on Musical.ly which involved participants lip syncing to the new jingle was quite a rage. It brought great popularity to the brand image of Kitkat.B. Kellogg’s launched their digital campaign using Stranger Things on Netflix. We saw in the series how Eleven was obsessed with Kellogg’s Eggo waffles. This online promotion that incorporated storytelling elements really brought about a string of desirable effects for the brand.Which one Should you go for?The market conditions are reflective of the cut throat competition that prevails currently. In a situation like this both offline and online presence count. While it is extremely important to maintain effective optimization and an impressive online reputation, it is equally vital to maintain a strong offline presence.Despite having different channels,both traditional and digital marketing run on similar strategies. The Marketing Mix, the backbone of any marketing strategy, consisting of Price,Product, Place and Promotion,is essentially what goes into both traditional as well as digital marketing. Therefore a perfect marketing strategy should be the right blend of traditional and digital marketing.While SEO, SMM, etc are great ways of reaching people’s computer screens but there exists a world beyond that which can be reached through the facets of traditional marketing.As you saw, Marketing can be quite a fix. They are services that call for expert advice and professional help. If done right, Marketing can have a sweeping influence which will bring about a string of beneficial outcomes for your ambitious brand.