Covering properties with strong wills during COVID-19 period? Buying more house than you can afford. It’s easy to fall in love with homes that might stretch your budget, but overextending yourself is never a good idea. And with home prices still rising, this is easier said than done. How this affects you: Buying a home that exceeds your budget can put you at higher risk of losing your home if you fall on tough financial times. You’ll also have less wiggle room in your monthly budget for other bills and expenses. What to do instead: Focus on what monthly payment you can afford rather than fixating on the maximum loan amount you qualify for. Just because you can qualify for a $300,000 loan, that doesn’t mean you can afford the monthly payments that come with it. Factor in your other obligations that don’t show on a credit report when determining how much house you can afford.
If you want to sell your home, you have to get rid of the clutter…period. Anything that you have not used in at least a year or more must go. Although this may not be easy, it is well worth the trouble even if you have to use a friend’s or relative’s garage or rent a space in a storage facility. Anything that is sitting on flat surfaces such as tables and countertops must go. Floors, closets, and cupboards should also be clean and clear because this translates into more space for potential buyers.
Affidavits have been permitted to be sworn remotely, even if full regulations to permit the process have not been introduced, and the courts have been operating on limited scales to deal with a variety of urgent litigation matters electronically and by way of video conferencing, with more routine matters like probate applications (Certificates of Appointment of Estate Trustees), being handled in one way or another. Consultation meetings with clients themselves have been arranged by way of various video conferencing facilities and on occasion in socially distanced settings, again with masks and sanitizer until in-office meetings can again be scheduled. Find additional information at coronavirus article.
Video-witnessing should therefore be a last resort for those cases when there is no other option for getting a Will signed. The government have issued guidance on the steps to be followed. All parties need to be present at the same time by way of a two or three-way live video link. The witnesses must be able to see the will-maker signing the document, not just their head and shoulders. The Will/Codicil then needs to be taken or posted to the witnesses to add their signatures, again via further live video session(s) with clear sight of the witness signing.
Spend Less Than You Earn: Yeah, yeah, I know, it sounds obvious, right? Well, it must not be because according to CNBC, 78% of Americans working full-time are living paycheck to paycheck. Here’s the thing: It’s easy to KNOW that you should be spending less than you earn, it’s a lot harder to actually do it. However, if you want to escape the paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle that so many others live, you need to spend less than you earn. This is one of the most crucial but basic personal finance tips ever. In order to do this, you need to track your spending. You can do this by either writing your purchases down or by using a free personal finance app. Business Debt: There are a lot of online business ideas you can start on the cheap these days, but a small investment can also go a long way in certain endeavors. Business loans are considered good debt because they are put towards something with the goal of increasing your net worth.
Real estate finance transactions have witnessed breaches, and potential breaches, of loan to value ratios (LTV) and/or interest cover ratios. Some lenders have been amenable to agreeing to LTV covenant holidays up to a period of one year (and the waiver of their rights to obtain property valuations at the borrowers’ cost for the corresponding holiday period). This has in particular been the case in the retail sector and in relation to loans that were performing pre-COVID 19. Other lenders have agreed to equity cures of financial covenant breaches, with some lenders acting in a spirit of co-operation and going as far as waiving any prepayment penalties resulting from an equity cure. We have also seen an increase in the use of cash trap and cash sweep provisions under existing facility agreements to preserve cash in the structure and ensure the servicing of debt. See even more details at https://techbullion.com/wills-and-covid-19-safeguarding-your-assets-during-a-global-pandemic/.