Voting Day
Tomorrow November 1st between 7 AM and 7 PM…
The biggest issue for Colorado is Referendum C&D. Here’s a quick synopsis:
Referendum C - For the next five years there’s going to be reprieve of the Tabor Law which basically allows the excess state taxes to go back to the tax papers.
Referenendum D - We the people give the State of Colorado the right to borrow money to build out the infrastructure.
Read more about it here
Tags: coloradoNBA Predictions
NBA opening tipoff is coming so here are my predictions for each division:
| ATLANTIC | New Jersey Nets - Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson will dominate |
| CENTRAL | Indiana Pacers - Ron Artest is back but will he behave? |
| SOUTHEAST | Miami Heat - Shaq and Flash + Williams and Walker = NBA Title |
| SOUTHWEST | San Antonio - The reigning champs are Eva Longoria’s favorite team |
| NORTHWEST | Denver Nuggets - This year’s version of the Phoenix Suns |
| PACIFIC | Golden State Warriors - “B-Diddy” Davis and his boys are for real! |
NBA CHAMPIONSHIP: MIAMI HEAT (EAST) BEAT THE DENVER NUGGETS (WEST)
Tags: denver, vaModern Door Bells
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never ever noticed my door bell. I just know that exists and that it works. The only time my door bell gets much “action” is on the 31st of October when the kids from the neighborhood come around for Halloween treats. So when I found out my friend Pete started to create his own door bell I was intrigued.
After a couple of years of developing prototypes he just launched his site called www.moderndoorbells.com
When it comes to door bell design, it seems the button gets all the attention. Well, what about the part that actually goes inside your house? If terms like “utility box” or “faux finish” come to mind when you think of door chime design, then you just haven’t seen ours.
Our solution is simple. A modern styled door chime that installs easily with your existing wiring. Our Modern Door Chimes are the perfect complement to any modern or contemporary interior while still maintaining the sound quality of a wired door bell system.
Blogging using Blogger
Recently Mark Cuban the owner of the Dallas Mavericks posted “Get Your Blogspot Shit Together Google.” A synopsis of this blog is basically that blogspot has unleashed a wave of spam blogs aptly named splogs. Blogspot is Google’s host for their blogger software. These splogs typically have links to nefarious sites and artificially inflate those sites page rankings.
Today’s Rocky Mountain News reprinted an article by David Kesmodel of the Wall Street Journal called “Spammers’ blog clog searches on Internet.” In his article, Mr. Kesmodel cited the aforementioned blog by Mark Cuban.
Here are my thoughts:
- There will always be spam on the internet. It’s part of the internet culture.
- There will always be spam in Hawaii. It’s part of the Hawaiian culture.
- The tides have turned. Typically blogs summarize events in major publications, now major publications are summarizing blogs.
World Series Chicago vs Houston
The Rockies stunk this year and it’s been 10 years since their only post season appearance. This year’s World Series pits the Houston Astros against the Chicago Whitesox. I’m really torn between watching this event or watching the movie Sahara on DVD.
- On one hand, I can watch Roger Clemens battle Jose Contreras. On the other hand, Sahara has Penelope Cruz. Edge — Sahara
- On one hand, 9 innings of baseball equates to 3 hours. On the other hand, Sahara is 124 minutes or 2 hours 1 minute. Edge — Sahara
- On one hand, the watching the World Series is on Fox 31 so it’s free. On the other hand, I got Sahara from the Denver Public Library. Edge — Push
- On one hand, the World Series will be played tonight and tomorrow in Chicago. On the other hand, Saraha takes place somewhere in Africa. Edge — Push.
- On one hand, the dynamic duo of Biggio and Bagwell are in the Series for the first time. On the other hand, Sahara has Penelope Cruz. Edge — Sahara
Looks like i’ll be watching Sahara!
Tags: denverSouthwest is coming…
Southwest announced that in early 2006, they’ll be flying out of Denver International Airport. Click here to read more.
I’ve never flown on a Southwest flight. However, I’ve caught a few episodes of Airline on A&E so i’ve seen how they function.
Tags: denverShould You Leverage Your Home or Pay It Down Rapidly
There is a great debate within the inner-mortgage circles these days. Should we, as loan professionals, encourage clients to borrow as much money as possible? Or would consumers benefit more if we helped them to understand the advantages of 15-year amortization schedules and pre-paying principal? Let’s examine the pros and cons of both strategies.
Leveraging Your Property. In order to understand why you’d want to borrow as much as possible for your home purchase, you must first grasp the concept that equity has a zero rate of return. Here’s an example:
If Consumer “A” buys a home for $300,000, and puts 20% down, then they have $60,000 in equity. Over the next 5 years, the property appreciates $100,000 in value. Consumer “A” now has $160,000 in equity.
Consumer “B” buys a home for $300,000, and puts no money down. At the end of 5 years, that same home is now worth $400,000. Consumer “B” has $100,000 in equity, which is the same appreciation as Consumer “A”, a net $100,000.
As you can see, your down payment has nothing to do with your rate of return. What becomes important is how you choose to manage the $60,000 you didn’t use as a down payment. If you use it for frivolous activities, such as buying toys or going to Las Vegas, it would be more prudent for you to use that money as a down payment. Especially since this will enable you to obtain a lower interest rate.
However, if you were to invest the $60,000 in a vehicle that can out-earn the cost of that debt, then this could be a formula for success. This is why some lending professionals suggest putting as little down as you possibly can, maximizing your tax write-off, and investing the rest. This principle has been applied for many years in the life insurance game. The old saying goes, “Buy term and invest the rest.” The key component is taking the money you would have used as a down payment and creating an asset accumulation account. This account should earn a significant enough rate of return to enable you to pay your mortgage off entirely and achieve the ultimate goal of being debt-free.
Paying Your Home Down Rapidly. There are very few times over the course of my career that I have seen a client with zero debt and no financial difficulties. Choosing to pay off all of your debt can reduce stress and help you to gain freedom of cash flow for investment opportunities. A 15-year mortgage or a bi-weekly payment strategy provides structure. It can also put you on track to have your mortgage paid off within a set timeframe. Simply put, it contains built-in discipline.
It’s important, however, to understand that regardless of how rapidly you pay your home off, you’re not getting any greater rate of return on your investment than if you paid it off slowly.
Conclusion. So how does one determine which scenario is best? The choice depends entirely upon the individual. Savvy consumers who are disciplined, and are comfortable taking chances from an investment perspective, would do well with the first scenario. Over the course of time, it’s been proven that your rate of return over the long-haul will be far greater than the rate you’d pay for a mortgage in today’s rate environment. It’s important to seek the advice of a skilled investment advisor to ensure success with this strategy.
The second scenario is best for those who have a difficult time managing their money or who’ll sleep easier at night knowing they have a plan in place to pay their loan off more rapidly. Be sure that your budget can handle accelerated payments. When consumers “bite off more than they can chew” with a 15-year mortgage, they frequently end up having to refinance back into a 30-year schedule.
If you find this subject intriguing and would like to know more, I recommend that you read a book titled, Missed Fortune 101, by Douglas Andrew. It’s an outstanding read that is very simplistic and goes into far greater detail than I can cover in this column. Douglas is a financial planner who advises safe-structured investments such as whole life policies and tax-free fixed income instruments.
Tags: debt, investing, lending, mortgage, property, purchase, rate, refinance, vaMy thoughts on the NBA “dress code”
who cares!
If Allen Iverson wants to dress like the thug that he is, let him.
If Reggie Miller wants to dress like the class act that he is, let him.
If Kobe Bryant wants to wear fur to piss of PETA, let him.
A suit, made from the finest wools with an Italian designer name, doesn’t make a person more respectable. Most of the corporate execs who fleeced thousands from their employees wore suits.
What I’d really like to see is MLB managers wear suits. Seeing Joe Torre and Bobby Cox in a baseball outfit is just silly!
Tags: rateProduct of the month: First Time Homebuyer Programs
Editors Note: Most of these First Time Homebuyer Programs have been eliminated. However, there are many programs that have been created. Please contact your mortgage professional to determine which program is right for you.
Today, there are many first time homebuyer programs to choose from. Here’s a sample of what’s available:
- FHA - often the best choice in first time home buyer programs. Requires 3% down and upfront mortgage insurance.
- Neighborhood Champions - allows 97% and 100% financing for Teachers, Firefighters, Policemen, and Medical Workers.
- Credit Flex - allows 97% and 100% financing on 7 year ARMs and 30 year FRMs.
- Fannie Mae Flex 97% - allows 97% on 7 year ARMs and 30 year FRMs.
- Fannie Mae Flex 100% - allows 100% on 7 year ARMs and 30 year FRMs.
- Freddie Mac 97% - allows 97% on a 30 year FRM.
- Freddie Mac 100% - allows 100% on a 30 year FRM.
- Nehemiah Foundation Program – FHA no down payment program.
- Nehemiah Conventional Program - conventional no down payment program.
- VA - military veteran loan that allows 100% financing. Requires a VA Funding Fee.
- 80/20 - no money down combination program. Eliminates mortgage insurance with 80% First mortgage, 20% Second Mortgage.
- 80/15 - eliminates mortgage insurance with 80% First mortgage, 15% Second Mortgage. Requires 5% down payment.
- 80/10 - eliminates mortgage insurance with 80% First mortgage, 10% Second Mortgage. Requires 10% down payment.
- 103% - allows 3% of the purchase price to be rolled into the loan.
- 107% - allows 7% of the purchase price to be rolled into the loan.
Mortgage changes are looming
Article in today’s Denver Post:
Mortgage abuses targetedTags: colorado, denver, mortgage
New rules proposed
By Margaret Jackson
Denver Post Staff WriterMortgage brokers doing business in Colorado should register with the state and post $100,000 bonds, Colorado’s top regulatory agency recommends, citing recurring broker abuses