Five Home Renovations That Could Give You a Return on Investment

DIY / Home Improvement

Renovating an entire home can cost hundreds of thousands. Instead of doing so, many households are turning to only renovating certain parts of their home.

Whether they might be renovating to sell, or looking to grow their property’s long-term value, there are certain areas of the home where attention should be drawn to. This is because renovating these areas could help to provide a much greater return on investment.

Firstly, it is important to address any underlying issues that the property may already have, such as mould. These issues should be prioritised before any cosmetic changes are to be made. This is because sorting these out can help to prevent the property from losing any value.

Kitchens and Bathrooms

Renovating both kitchens and bathrooms could help to make a noticeable impact upon potential buyers and valuers.

While entirely updating either can be costly, there are ways to update them without spending too much. For instance, updating the cabinets with a new paint or finish, and handles and knobs can freshen up the kitchen without the need to remove and replace existing tiles for instance.

If the budget can extend, it may be worth considering knocking down any walls surrounding the kitchen to allow for a more open plan layout.

When it comes to bathrooms, little changes can be made which can make a big difference. This could include replacing only chipped or damaged tiles and changing the taps and showerhead. These can help to create a new feel, without making any drastic changes such as plumbing.

Many people consider their bathroom as a kind of personal “retreat” from the world, so little changes you can make to encourage this could make a big difference. Replacing chipped tiles, replacing outdated vanities, and changing the taps and showerhead can all contribute to creating a new look and feel, without needing to make big changes to plumbing and the like.

The Garden

The front garden, or porch, is the first thing that prospective buyers will see when viewing your property. As such, it is important to utilise this area to make a good impression. Updates could include clearing up the path, replacing the driveway paving or the front door. Further and less costly updates could include hanging flower baskets outside the front door and planting colourful flowers, as well as freshening up the exterior paint.

Often, low maintenance gardens are appealing to prospective homeowners who may have limited gardening knowledge or experience so this is also something to consider.

Increasing Natural Light in the Home

Lighting is key in changing how someone might view a property.

Depending on factors such as structure and layout, adding or expanding windows or skylights to introduce more natural light could contribute towards increasing the value of a property.

A cheaper option could also be to strategically place mirrors to make the space feel bigger and brighter.

Increasing Storage Space

Providing prospective homeowners or new tenants with additional space to store their belongings can really help to increase the appeal, and thus value, of a property.

Ways of doing so could include adding in built-in wardrobes, or a walk-in storage room. Additionally, improving a garage’s capacity for storage space can also make a big difference too.

New Paint

A fresh coat of paint can freshen up any space and increase its appeal. This is also a relatively low-cost renovation option and can even be done without seeking a professional painter.

It is thus certainly worth researching which paint colours are the most popular at the moment, as this will help to make the property appear more modern.

How Can a New Renovation be Financed?

Often, many may dip into their savings to fund any renovations to their property. Alternatively, there are a number of finance routes that can be pursued. These include the following:

  • Refinancing a mortgage
  • Applying for a construction loan
  • Withdrawing money from a mortgage offset account
  • Taking out a personal loan
Continue Reading

Crypto Regulation Around the World

Finance

Regulation around cryptocurrency is still very unclear and governments around the world have very different ideas about it. While some jurisdictions are trying to ban it outright, others just want to have a bit more control over how it’s traded. Some jurisdictions still don’t fully understand crypto and still don’t know if it should be qualified as a currency or a security. Understanding regulations is very important for traders as they can have serious tax and legal implications. Let’s look at a few examples of how crypto trading is regulated around the world.

United States

Even if crypto trading and mining are very popular in the US, the country still doesn’t have a clear regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The SEC, the Treasury, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission all see cryptocurrencies differently, calling them a security, currency, and a commodity respectively. Not only that, but the IRS classifies cryptocurrency as property, which further complicates things for traders.

The country has done a great job at regulating exchanges in the country, however. All exchanges have to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and be registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. They also have to abide by the Anti-Terrorism Act and anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.

Japan

Japan is another country that has decided to embrace crypto, and like other regions has seen a rise in the popularity of crypto trading via a range of providers that seek to serve this booming market. These include “regular” crypto exchanges, to decentralized exchanges known as a DEX, to online brokers of crypto derivatives like contracts for difference. All locally based trading platforms have to be registered with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), which is one of the most rigorous financial regulatory agencies in the world. All exchanges have to be compliant with AML obligations as well. Crypto gains in the country are taxed under “miscellaneous income” and crypto is viewed as property from a tax standpoint.

United Kingdom

The UK, like many other countries, does not recognize crypto as legal tender, but as property. All exchanges operating in the country have to be registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority. They also have to abide by special ‘know your customer’ (KYC) regulations and follow AMT and CFT guidelines.

Canada

Canada is one of the countries that has taken the most proactive measures to regulate crypto trading. All exchanges in the country have to be regulated by provincial agencies. The country is also one of the first to accept crypto derivatives by being the first to approve a Bitcoin ETF in February 2021.

Australia

Australia is relatively proactive when it comes to crypto and has some strict rules about what exchanges can offer services to Australians and even which coins they can offer. Australia is one of the only countries to formally ban privacy coins, and exchanges operating in the country have to register with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre while abiding by AML/CFT regulations. Australia also has strict rules regulating initial coin offerings (ICOs) and crypto is treated as legal property under the tax code.

Even if most countries have similar legislation governing crypto, there are still some nuances. This is why traders living in these countries or thinking of trading within their borders should learn more about the regulatory framework in each country before starting.

Continue Reading

Tips For Buying a Vacation Home To Rent Out

Finance

Tourists searching for affordable accommodation have various options to consider. For budget tourists looking for a more homely experience, vacation rentals are an obvious choice. These properties can be as basic or as sophisticated as you want.

For real estate investors, vacation rentals present great opportunities for generating passive income.

Want to buy a vacation house to rent out? Find out the do’s and don’ts before taking the plunge.

Tips for Buying Your First Vacation Rental Home

i) Research Extensively

Before you buy a vacation house to rent out, research well. In particular, check how desirable the location of the house is, the average market rental rates, your expected ROI, local occupancy rates, and the affordability of the house.

Ideally, you want the home to be conveniently located near areas that tourists frequent, such as mountains, beaches, national parks, casinos, and other attractions.

Search for homes that match your criteria at online listings websites. You can also hire local realtors to help you with the search.

ii) Calculate the Income Potential

Carry out a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it would make financial sense to make an offer for a vacation rental house. Remember, the home may not be occupied throughout the year. With this in mind, will it still be able to turn a profit?

Check the vacancy rates and rental income of the location where the house is located. After this, compare the expected income against the operational costs, not forgetting to factor in vacancy periods. This should give you a good idea whether it would be profitable to own the vacation home.

iii) Consider Ongoing Costs

There are several costs you will need to cater to as a vacation homeowner. Remember, you are using the home as an income-generating asset. Therefore, there will be recurring costs to be footed. For example, if you hire a realtor to manage the property, you will need to pay property management fees.

Also, depending on where you purchase the vacation home, you may need to pay listing fees, utilities, hotel taxes (occupancy taxes), insurance, HOA fees, licenses, etc.

Note down all the recurring expenses of the vacation home and find out whether they are likely to exceed the income generated.

iv) How Will You Make Money?

Rental income is just one of the multiple ways of making money with a vacation rental home. Apart from rent, the house can generate money through exclusive hotel programs, Airbnb, Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO), and other ways.

Below is a rundown of the income-generating opportunities available for a vacation rental:

  • Exclusive Hotel Programs. After buying a vacation home, you can partner with hotels to rent it out through their rental program. With such programs, the hotels typically maintain and rent out the house on your behalf.
  • Airbnb. If you want to be directly involved in the management and letting of the home, list it on Airbnb. On the website, you’ll have to describe your property, its features and amenities, bedrooms, and bathrooms. You will be charged a service fee every time someone books your property through Airbnb.
  • Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO). You can also list your home on VRBO and other vacation rental classified sites. If you don’t want to be involved in the daily operations and management of the home, hire a property manager to help you.

v) Get a Home that You Can Use

A vacation home is meant to be your humble abode where you can rejuvenate away from your family home. Therefore, get a home that you will not have a problem using.

Since you won’t be spending a lot of time at the vacation home, it doesn’t have to meet all the requirements of your family home. However, you still want it to be functional and even luxurious, especially if you plan on renting it out to vacationers.

Location, size, amenities, and features are some of the important factors to consider when evaluating various potential vacation homes to buy.

vi) Get Help Where Necessary

If you are purchasing a vacation home in a different state or jurisdiction, it’s important to follow all the local and state laws regarding the transaction. Here, you may need to get help from a local realtor, a qualified tax professional, and a real estate attorney.

Before investing in a vacation home, find out about the taxes you will be liable to pay. For example, you should know how rental income taxes, occupancy taxes, and property taxes work in the area where the house is located.

To snatch great deals on a vacation home, work with local realtors. These professionals have extensive knowledge of the real estate market and may know of deals that are not publicly advertised, which may fit your bill.

Getting a great deal for a vacation home all boils down to research and patience. Follow the tips above when looking to purchase a vacation home.

Continue Reading

How Did Online Forex Trading Become So Popular?

Finance

Using different styles of financial trading has long been something that people have done as a way to invest or generate a secondary income. However, one of the most popular forms of online and mobile trading in the modern world was actually relatively unheard of until fairly recently. While almost anybody with an interest in financial markets, economics, or current affairs these days is familiar with forex, it wasn’t so long ago that currency trading simply wasn’t accessible to normal people. Rather, it was something only done by banks.

Today, advances in the internet have made forex a part of modern trading for everybody who wanted to try it.

Currency Trading Before Mainstream Internet

Louis Hernandez Jr highlights that there have been mechanisms in place to change money between currencies for about as long as organized currency has existed. However, up until the mainstream internet really took hold, it wasn’t possible for ordinary people to get prices on international currencies and make instant transactions in a way that could really leverage currency pair fluctuations. Banks were able to work with different currencies thanks to their infrastructures, but for the average person, the only time they were really concerned with changing money was to obtain currency when they traveled abroad, usually from a bureau de change or, later, by using cards at foreign ATMs and letting their bank handle the prices.

There was certainly no way to trade currency in any meaningful or profitable way.

The Biggest Advances to Help Forex Gain Traction

Forex trading online became possible because the internet made it possible for people to access trading platforms, hold online accounts, and make transactions. This was possible even in the late 1990s, however, it still wasn’t really something people found reliable. With slow dial-up internet speeds and problems with connectivity, it was hard to trust that your transactions would go through at the price you were seeing. Equally, there just wasn’t the knowledge and technology in terms of online security that there is now. Essentially, it wasn’t until broadband internet became widely accessible that forex trading online began to really ‘work’ as most people wanted – and to be trusted.

The Mobile Revolution

The second big change after broadband was the smartphone revolution. With apps that can connect people to trading platforms and forex resources, the 24-hour nature of forex became more accessible. Traders were no longer tied to their computers for a session and could be notified when conditions they have set up as triggers for them to act are met, allowing them to be available to trade and to avoid missing out on profitable transactions. Between mobile and fast internet speeds, people can now get the most out of forex trading and can also use a lot of analysis and news tools on their mobile devices to help them become more effective as traders.

As you can see, forex has come a very long way in just two decades and it will be interesting to see how its popularity continues to grow moving forward.

Continue Reading

Tips on Getting a Great Deal on Commercial Real Estate

Finance

Getting involved in real estate investment can give you a great opportunity to make money, in particular within commercial real estate, an area of real estate that is often overlooked. Sometimes the scale of the project puts people off investing in commercial real estate or sometime the amount of money that is attached to it, the rewards however can often be far bigger than with residential properties. If commercial real estate is something that interests you then here are some ways that you can get a great deal on your next property.

7187334830_844781eb61_b

Use a Broker

Many people dismiss the idea of using a broker due to the costs attached but the benefits of using one far outweigh the negatives, especially if you are new to the game. I began investing around 3 years ago and use The Welfont Group, they have not only negotiated some excellent deals for me in the past but found property when I wanted it, managed my investments and more importantly, helped me to make a considerable amount of money. The cost of paying a broker is well worth it, they are the geniuses of the industry who have insider knowledge and who will watch your back when it comes to your assets.

Learn All That You Can

Even if you opt to use a broker, it is imperative that you learn all that you can about the commercial real estate industry and in particular the way in which it operates differently from residential real estate. Before I made my first investment into commercial real estate I read as many books, magazines and websites as I could for around a year. My idea was that if I was going to part with so much money then I simply had to know everything about the industry in which I was putting it into and you should do the same, that way nobody can pull the wool over your eyes.

Don’t Discount Run Down Properties

Very often people completely discount the idea of a property that is simply in need of some TLC, this gives you a great opportunity to snag a bargain. Naturally there are some buildings that are more trouble than they are worth but at the same time there are many that, with a little investment and hard work can turn you a great profit. Much of the time the owners of these properties simply want to get them off their hands so will accept a low offer and, providing you have a team in place to renovate the property, you can make great profits from these buildings. If you do see a dilapidated property then contract someone in the know to look it over for you, often there can be problems that the untrained eye can’t see and the last thing that you want is to buy a property that simply can’t be saved. The cost of paying a professional to the view the property beforehand will pale in comparison to investing on a property that requires large-scale renovation work.

Continue Reading