Twila Van Leer

Rent-To-Own? It Can Be Done

December 11, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Renting with the option to purchase the house can benefit both renter and seller.

Home ownership is out of the grasp of many Americans today who face a vastly different market from that of a few years ago. That puts leasing with option to buy near the top of the possibilities list for many.

But look before you leap. It’s possible, but not always an easy approach to obtaining a home. Know what is at stake before signing on the dotted line.

There are different variations of the rent-to-own option, but basically it involves an agreement between a potential buyer and a landlord/owner that is expected to lead to a purchase. Such agreements usually are for two to three years. During this time, the owner sets aside a part of each month’s rent into an escrow account. If payments are made as agreed, the money in the escrow account can be used at the end of the lease time as a down payment and the purchase proceeds from there as usual.

In another version, the seller the two parties would agree to a lease for a set time with no portion of the “rent” going into an escrow account and the seller offering a discounted price at the end of the lease. This obviously would be advantageous to a seller who is under pressure.

Both parties to such an agreement have potential benefits. The renter is forced into saving for a down payment and the owner gets a monthly return on his property without waiting for a sale.

Yael Ishakis, a senior loan officer at First Meridien Mortgage in Brooklyn, N.Y., offers a for-instance: A client put $5,000 down on a home and signed a lease for $1,800 monthly rent, of which $600 per month went into an escrow account. On the regular market, the home would have rented for $1,600 per month, so the seller also was contributing to the agreement. At the end of the lease period, the client had $14,400 in the escrow. With the initial $5,000 down payment, plus some $10,000 the buyers had managed to save, they had about $30,000 for a down payment.

The pitfall may come if, in the end, the potential buyers are not able to complete the agreement. They then lose the escrow money, and possibly paid more in rent than they might have done otherwise.

Those owners willing to enter into rent-to-buy agreements usually are motivated by a sluggish market or have had their property on the market for a long time. In areas where the real estate market is thriving, there are likely to be fewer opportunities for renting with intent to buy.

Sometimes a potential buyer can work a deal with someone who is selling, but most often the seller will advertise his intentions. Some agencies specialize in rent-to-own properties. RentMACK is one such agency and there may be others you could find by researching in your own neighborhood.

Be forewarned that at the end of the rental period, you still must qualify as a purchaser. Bad credit will still be a problem. Rent payments are not often considered in building credit. Learn what your credit rating is and what is likely to be required when you try to finance. Try to improve your credit by using a secured or regular credit card, ideally paying it off each month. Or, if possible, get a car loan and make payments faithfully. If you can’t arrange financing, you may lose the escrow money. Take advantage of the lease time to prepare for the purchase. Be sure you understand at the outset what the full down payment will be and work toward it.

Get expert advice. There are dangers on both side of rent-to-own arrangements and often, after looking at the possibilities, people decide not to pursue this approach to home buying. State laws surrounding rent-to-own vary. Be sure you know what they are where you live.

From the seller’s viewpoint, if the potential buyer defaults, but there is money is escrow, a court could rule that the tenant has a property interest.

Involving attorneys on both sides is a good idea. Having legal advice on the proposed agreement may save difficulties if things don’t go as expected.

Black Friday Perks Of The Season

November 28, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Walmart report that 22 million shoppers went through their stores on Thanksgiving day in 2014.

Black Friday is changing. Stores are spreading their holiday bargains over more days and shoppers are looking for deals earlier than they used to, or even later, as the gurus predict a long season of specials. Some even have rewritten the term Black Friday to Black November.

Bankrate.com, an organization that tracks spending habits among Americans, did a survey of 1,000 adults and found that only 28 percent had plans to rise early and hit the stores on Black Friday. The figure rises to 40 percent if you count the online shoppers.

Many retailers are simply swapping Thanksgiving Day for the day after, getting a jump on the Black Friday event. Major discounts are being offered before the turkey cools. Among those retailers planning to make the early dive into the shopping frenzy are Walmart, Target, Amazon and Toys R Us.

The early sales are a bonus for shoppers who like to avoid the dense crowds that have characterized Black Friday. They are making their plans to avoid the super-shopping day, rather than being in the midst of it. The over-stuffed stores of the past have helped push the move to spread the bargain days over a longer period, the experts say.

Of course, there are those who thrive on the push-and-pull of big crowds and count it as a part of the holiday fun. They’ll be there for Black Friday early and stay late, the survey said.

Cyber Monday, the electronics equivalent of Black Friday, will attract even fewer shoppers, the Bankrate.com poll indicated, with only one four folks looking for techie bargains expecting to hit the specialty stores. And they said they will spend less than in the past, an average of $361, compared with $399 last time around.

The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that some 6 million more shoppers will join the online shopping than last year, when some 103 million shopped online. The record number is expected to keep the ordering hot throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. Three quarters of them are expected to use a mobile device to do their shopping, the association says.

The hot-ticket tech items for the year include TVs, laptops, tablet, iPads, Xbox One, Playstation 4 and Call of Duty.

So rev up your engines, put the turkey on hold for just a short time and join the 2014 version of shop-‘til-you-drop.

10 Tips To Cope With Holiday Stress

November 28, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Stressed? Depressed? Here’s How To Cope

If you’re feeling Grinch-y, Scrooge-y and a bit more than bah hum-bugged, overwhelmed by the array of demands the holidays bring, there are ways to make things better, according to a Mayo Clinic release.

Among the stressors are too many – sometimes unwelcome – guests, selecting and then paying for gifts, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining. And the list goes on, depending on your own circumstances. Plenty to make for a no-good, no-fun, no-happy Noel.

The trick, if possible, is to recognize the potential and stop it at the pass. Especially if you’ve had problems in the past, anticipate an emotional toll and don’t let it happen.

The Clinic’s suggestions include:

1. Acknowledge your feelings. If you’ve had particular challenges recently, don’t expect them to be less emotionally draining just because it’s the holidays. It’s all right to cry or otherwise express your feelings.

2. Reach out to others. If loneliness or isolation get too big to bear alone, seek out community, religious or other opportunities to be with others. Volunteer to help others as a way to put your troubles into perspective and broaden friendships.

3. Be realistic. Nobody’s holidays are perfect. If things are different from last year, if your family structure has changed, traditions and rituals altered, don’t expect things to be the same. Hold onto some of your personal traditions and be open to new ones. For example, if your adult children can’t make it home, find new ways to share long-distance, through emails, pictures, chats or videos.

4. Set aside differences. Looking for the ideal in any normal family is an exercise in futility. Accept each other as is. If there are grievances, wait for a more opportune time to discuss them. If others get upset or distressed, be understanding. Avoid confrontation.

5. Stick to a budget. If your stress and depression are triggered by money matters, make them matter less. Plan a realistic holiday budget and then stick to it. Buying an avalanche of gifts that you can’t afford will only extend the pain beyond the holidays. Give homemade gifts, donate to a charity in another’s name, promote a family gift exchange.

6. Plan your time. Divide up the chores into manageable bits: a time for shopping, baking, parties and other activities. Avoid last-minute scrambling. Be sure you have the ingredients you need for cooking. Line up help for preparation and cleanup.

7. Learn to say No. If you overextend yourself, you end up feeling resentful and overwhelmed. If you can’t involve yourself in every possibility that comes your way, don’t feel the need to apologize. If you can’t avoid the added demands, for instance, if the boss says he needs you overtime, drop something else from your schedule if you can. The days during the holiday season are just 24 hours long, as usual. Don’t try to pack them too tightly.

8. Retain healthy habits. Have a snack before a party to avoid overeating. Get enough sleep. Make exercise part of every day.

9. Take a breather. Make time to relax and be by yourself. Just 15 minutes maky be enough to refresh and help you handle what’s on the agenda. Take a nighttime walk. Listen to music, read a book, get a massage. Whatever it takes to relieve the tension and prepare you to jump back into the maelstrom.

10. Get professional help if you need it. If you persistently feel sad or anxious, have recurring physical symptoms, can’t sleep, are irritable and feel hopeless and unable to face routine expectations, see a doctor or mental health professional.

10 Worst Toys Of 2014

November 25, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Toys That Cause Harm Are No Fun

This toy gun is a replica of a real machine gun and can be mistaken for a real gun. On The 10 Worst Toys For 2014 list.

The World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) doesn’t play around when its reps find toys on the market that could be dangerous for children. The agency has just released its list of the 10 worst toys for 2014 – just in time for Santa to take note.

For instance, be on the lookout for a “pencil catapult,” or the Alphabet Zoo rock and stack pull toy that has plenty of string to strangulate a small child – 20 inches worth, while safety standards call for 12 or less. More disturbing is the Swat electric machine gun that can be mistaken for a real gun by police

These are the types of hazards WATCH looks for when it assesses toys. The list includes long strings that can choke children, small parts that can be swallowed and those with potential for eye injuries. Toys made of hard materials that can lead to impact injury are on their no-good lists, as are those with long, slender parts that pose choking risks.

“The numerous recalls in the past year (17, with 4.8 million units that were being sold in the U.S. and Canada,) as well as the recurrence of many known hazards in toys are clearly suggestive of a broken system that needs fixing before more children are harmed,” said WATCH president Joan Siff.

On the list for 2014:

#1 – Zing Air Storm Fire Tek Bow: The toy comes with instructions not to aim the arrows at people or animals, especially the eyes and face. But it is unfeasible that children in the age group most likely to use the toy could be expected to follow those precautions, WATCH says.

#2 – Radio Flyer Ziggle: The problem the watchdog group found with this toy was in the advertising. Although instructions warn users to “always wear a helmet and other safety gear,” The ads show a child who wears no such protection, which could easily influence how the toy is used.

#3 – Toysmith Catapencil: The directions advise children “of all ages” using this toy to “play safe and enjoy,” but the idea is to use a catapencil as “target practice for your desktop.” Wow. Eye damage on its way! Sharpened pencils are not playthings, WATCH declares, and a miniature slingshot-style launcher should not be marketed as a plaything.

#4 – Alphabet Zoo Rock and Stack Pull Toy: The 20-inch pull string is clearly a safety hazard, the nonprofit agency declares. Industry safety guidelines call for a string 12 inches or less. The risk for strangulation makes this a gift parents and others should avoid.

#5 – Junxing Toys Industrial SWAT Electric Machine Gun: Even the name should serve as a warning. In today’s violent society, handing such a toy (weapon?) to a child is inexcusable, Watch says. They are potentially dangerous and generate unhealthy thrills for a young person. Such detailed replicas of actual weapons have caused injury and deaths in the past and should not be sold as toys, the agency says.

#6 – WalMart Spark. Create. Imagine. Wooden Instruments: A small child could easily choke on the drumstick that is part of these toys.

#7 – Science Wiz Bottle Rocket Party: Labeled for children as young as 8; kit poses the risk of eye, face and other injuries, the watchdog warns. The toy imitates rocket-launching projects at schools and camps over recent years, but lacks the adult supervision necessary for such events and involves propellants that can be unpredictable.

#8 – JC Toys Lil’ Cutesies Best Friend: With a name like that, how dangerous could it be? Plenty, WATCH warns. Sold as suitable for children as young as 2, the dolls have a decorative ribbon bow that detaches from the head, posing the potential for swallowing and choking.

#9 – Legends Orcs Battle Hammer: Inviting a 3-year-old to become a savage Orc with a hard plastic battle hammer to use against playmates is not a good idea, WATCH advises. The two-foot-long hammer is capable of doing damage on young flesh, they suggest. No warning cautions are included on the packaging.

#10 – Plush Colored Hedgehog: A stuffed animal with long, fiber-like hair that isn’t sufficiently rooted and easily dislodged invites ingestion and aspiration injuries, the agency says. Not the right gift for the infants for whom it is targeted.

Avoiding these specific toys and being watchful that the toys that are purchased do not have elements that could be dangerous is the objective. And WATCH will continue to monitor in the interests of keeping children safe.

Save Big Bucks On Energy Bills

November 23, 2014 By Twila Van Leer

Face it, folks. Indian Summer is not coming back, and already some parts of the country have posted record early-winter storms. Time to crank up the furnace so you can defy the elements and be comfortable in your own home.

You can do it more economically if you learn some tricks about keeping energy costs in line. Many of the tips you hear are not really reliable and could be costing you money.

For instance, programmable thermostats. They really don’t measure up to the hype. And if you’re using a fireplace to supplement the furnace output, you may find the heat is simply going up the fireplace chimney. And despite the name, duct tape really doesn’t seal ducts.

According to a Chicago Tribune article by Gregory Karp, there really are ways to minimize heating costs, but they come from authentic sources, not product hype. He quotes Max Sherman, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Sherman is the one who conducted extensive tests on duct tape and found it is not a reliable way to seal ducts. Other tapes out-perform it, he found.

Among the words to the wise expounded by Sherman:

The ambience, aroma and traditional perception of the comfort of a fireplace do nothing to make that a good way to heat a house. The cost of paying for firewood, which most suburbanites must do, may eclipse the costs of natural gas. The fireplace has a healthy appetite for oxygen and doesn’t mind taking it from the warm air coming from the furnace if you combine heating methods. The only way to save money with a fireplace is to close off all the rooms except the one in which the fireplace is located.

Programmable thermostats do, at a cost, what you could do by simply walking over to the thermostat and changing it by hand. As the name suggests, they require programming and the result doesn’t always correlate with the need. Simple thermostats are just a clock that changes the setting on a timed basis. More complex versions may, for instance, turn up the heat in the morning on a day when you are sleeping in or are away from home. Hand-setting to meet real needs is preferable.

If you have widely varying temperatures where you live, a heat pump may have more difficulty responding to changes, Sherman said. Set-back can be difficult for the pumps and your savings disappear.

If you really want the convenience of a programmable thermostat, you must actually program it. The devices sell from $50 to $500 and vary in sophistication. You are responsible to understand your own model and use it to meet very particular needs of your home.

Sherman warns against cranking up the heat to an abnormally high temperature as a first step to heating the house. Setting the thermostat abnormally high will only waste costly energy. He suggests thinking of the furnace as a light bulb. It is either off or on and upping the temperature will not make it any more “on.”

Maintaining a constant temperature, whether you are home or not, is not a good approach, despite claims to the contrary. If the furnace is on, it is using energy. He advises setting the temperature at 68 degrees and turning it down for sleep times and when you expect to be away for awhile. You can save up to 1 percent per year on your heating bill for each degree you set the thermometer back for eight hours, he said.

If you expect that such steps as installing more efficient windows will lower your heating costs, consider first how much you pay for the new windows. It could take a long time before there is any savings over the investment, Sherman says. Windows come behind sealing, insulation and system efficiency improvements in the list of things you can do to improve your energy situation. But if you want to change windows for aesthetic reasons, be sure the replacements are energy-efficient. Cheaper and ultimately more effective steps include sealing gaps and cracks around windows, doors, ducts, pipe cutouts and other areas that are conduits for cool air. air. Blowing sealant into ductwork (aero sealing) is effective, although initially expensive. A professional energy audit may be worthwhile, although it will cost from $250 to $800.

Least expensive among the steps to lower energy costs are the simplest: Put on a sweater and slippers during the day and use more bedding or an electric blanket at night.