River District on South Vancouver – Avalon 3

Experience elevated living in River District Vancouver. Imagine lounging at your rooftop pool and hot tub with a backdrop of stunning waterfront views. Retreat to your own suite where you’ll enjoy quality features such as a fully integrated fridge and dishwasher, wall oven and gas cooktop, all which come standard at Avalon 3. Come see the lifestyle you could be living, still a Vancouver’s best value.

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How to Find the Best Mortgage Rates in 2017

Getting the best mortgage rate involves more than just comparison shopping. Here are four tips that will help you snag a great interest rate.

After falling for decades, mortgage rates may actually be on their way back up. Granted, it’s still nowhere near the 15 percent or more consumers paid on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages in the mid 1980’s. But, still, it’s important to get the best mortgage rate you possibly can. So that’s what we’ll dive into here.

 

What Determines Your Mortgage Rate?

Seven factors will determine the interest rate you get on a mortgage:

1. The FICO credit score of each borrower
2. The price of the home and amount of the mortgage
3. Property location
4. The amount of your down payment
5. Loan term (e.g., 15-year vs. 30-year)
6. Type of interest rate (e.g., fixed vs. variable)
7. Loan type

(Source: CFPB). To this I’d add one more factor: your lender.

Let’s take a look at each of these factors and what it takes to qualify for the best mortgage rates.

1. FICO Credit Score

Improving your credit score is the single best way to save money on every type of financing–from home loans to car loans and even car insurance. With a mortgage, a good credit score can easily save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. The best mortgage rates go to those with a FICO score of 760 or better.

What do you need to do to improve your score? Start taking these steps right away:

1. Pay all your bills on time every month. If you have any late payment records, ask for goodwill adjustments to have them removed from your credit report.
2. Pay down your revolving debts. The less revolving debt–like credit card debt–you carry, the higher your credit score will be.
3. Don’t apply for too much new credit. Applying for lots of credit will ding your score, so keep this to a minimum, especially right before applying for a mortgage.

These are the three main tips for improving your credit score. But you can check out this longer list of tips for more details.

If you don’t know your FICO score, there are several ways to get it. First, you can buy access to your score directly from myFICO. It’s not expensive and you get your FICO score from all three credit bureaus. Since each bureau’s credit report can look slightly different, this can give you a better picture of what potential lenders will actually see.

If you don’t want to pay for your score, many credit card issuers offer free access as well. You’ll find a list of credit cards that offer credit score access here.

Finally, you can get free access to credit scores through sites like Credit Karma. The score is not based on the FICO formula. But it does a good job of replicating the FICO score. It also provides great information on ways to improve your score. And as I mentioned, it’s free.

It can be a good idea to start with the free options if you’re not yet ready to apply for a mortgage. But just before you apply, consider paying FICO for your actual credit scores and reports. That way, you can spot any potential last-minute issues in detail.

2. Home Price and Mortgage Amount

The cost of the home and amount financed also affect mortgage rates. Here, mortgage loans fall primarily into one of three categories (Source: FreddieMac):

1. Conforming: These are loans of $424,000 or less.
2. Super Conforming: For those that live in certain expensive areas of the country, mortgage loans can go up to $636,150 for a single unit and still qualify as super-conforming.
3. Jumbo: Mortgages that exceed the limits of Conforming and Super Conforming.

The key here is that, all other things being equal, a conforming loan will have a lower rate than a super conforming loan. And a super conforming loan will have a lower rate than a jumbo mortgage.

Using our mortgage rate tool, I found that the difference between a conforming mortgage and a jumbo was nearly 50 basis points.

Bottom line: If you want the lowest possible mortgage interest rate, opt for a conforming loan if possible. If you live in a particularly expensive area, you may need to opt for a super conforming loan, instead.

3. Property Location

As noted above, expensive areas of the country will qualify for super conforming mortgages. In those cases, the rates will be lower than if the mortgages were jumbo loans. Buying in a rural area can also have a unique impact on your loan options. Shop around for mortgages to see what different lenders will offer for your area of the country.

4. Down Payment

Lenders like to not take risk as much as possible. The more risk you make them take, the more interest they’ll charge to mitigate their potential losses. This means that if you have more equity in the home up front, your interest rate will be lower.

Think about it: You buy a home, and then default on the loan a year later. Is the lender more likely to get their money back if you put 5 percent down or if you put 20 percent down? A bigger down payment means the lender is more likely to get their money back during a foreclosure sale if you default on the loan.

While you can still get loans with less than 20 percent down, this is a good marker to try to reach. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself paying higher interest rates and private mortgage insurance (PMI).

5. Loan Terms

Again, lenders will typically give you a lower interest rate when they mitigate their risks. So a shorter loan term will generally cut your interest rate–often significantly. You may pay much less interest on a 15-year note versus a 30-year mortgage, though you’ll get a higher payment in return.

Interest rate isn’t the only factor you should consider when deciding between a 15- and a 30-year mortgage. But it’s one important one.

6. Fixed vs. Variable Rate Mortgages

Whether the interest rate is fixed or variable affects the rate. All other things being equal, a variable rate mortgage will start with a lower rate than a fixed rate mortgage. Just remember that a variable rate mortgage will go up in a rising-rate environment. And if rates rise significantly, so could your payment.

Adjustable-rate mortgages can be another way to take advantage of low rates. Typically an option like a 5-1 ARM, where your rate is fixed for five years and then varies annually after that, will start out with a lower interest rate up front. But, again, in a rising-rate environment, your interest rate and payment will rise, too.

7. Type of Mortgage

There are many different types of mortgage products. In addition to commercially available mortgage products, there are VA, FHA, and USDA loans. Each of these mortgage products come with unique terms and requirements. The mortgage rate also varies from one product to the next.

Some of these programs are built specifically for l0w-income home buyers. In these cases, you have to meet strict income requirements. But in exchange, you could lock in a below-market-rate interest rate, or even a longer term.

If you don’t meet the income qualifications, though, it may be best to go with a conventional loan. Loans like the FHA 30-year mortgage can have weird additional costs. For instance, the FHA loan charges PMI for the life of the loan. (Most loans are set up to get rid of PMI after you have built up 20 percent equity in the home.)

Related: Home Buying Programs for Low-Income Families

So Who Gets the Best Rates?

So looking at all of these categories, what do you need to do to get the absolute best available mortgage rate? Meet these qualifications:

1. Have an 800+ credit score
2. Take out a loan of less than $424,000.
3. Live in a relatively affordable area, but not one that need special mortgage considerations.
4. Put at least 20 percent down.
5. Opt for a 15-year loan.
6. Choose a variable interest rate.
7. Go with a conventional loan, unless you qualify for a specialized program with a lower rate.

Not many borrowers are going to check all these boxes. And, honestly, not all of these are in your control. And they may not make an appreciable difference, anyway.

So the best option is to:

1. Improve your credit score as much as possible.
2. Buy an affordable home.
3. Save up a 20 percent down payment.
4. Choose the loan product that works best for you.

There’s no magic formula here. Lenders just want to give loans to those who are least risky. So make yourself look more attractive to lenders, and they’ll reward you with a lower interest rate.

Get Several Quotes

This one is simple. It’s easy to compare mortgage rates online. In addition, if you are refinancing, it’s always worth checking with your current bank to see what they can offer. It pays to get at least three quotes, if not more.

• LendingTree is a great place to start.  The offer a great comparison engine to find the best mortgage rates for your needs.

Topics: Mortgages

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5 Ways to Invest in Bitcoins

Bitcoins are all the rage. If you are looking to get in, here are the 5 most common ways to invest in Bitcoin.

Bitcoins, the most popular in a wave of electronic cryptocurrencies, are taking over the news these days. There’s the Norwegian guy who bought $27 in Bitcoins, only to find four years later, that his investment was worth nearly $1,000,000. Then there’s the first Bitcoin ATM, located inside a Vancouver, British Columbia, coffee shop.

Some investors are all about Bitcoins, while others are wary, to say the least. But investing in Bitcoins can be fun and potentially very profitable.

Just what are Bitcoins, and how do you go about investing in them? Read on to find out.

What are Bitcoins?

As we explained in a past article, “Are Bitcoins a Scam?” Bitcoins are online currency created in 2009. Bitcoin is also the name of the open source software that lets you use this currency.

At its heart, the Bitcoin movement is meant to let people safely send money across a distance without risk of fraud or third-party intervention. While Bitcoin transactions can be relatively anonymous, that’s not the goal. Bitcoins are simply about helping people safely and efficiently complete transactions online and off.

The mathematics behind Bitcoins are quite complex, and the system is set up to limit the number of Bitcoins that can be created. The system will create 21,000,000 Bitcoins before it stops.

This limitation means that as demand grows, Bitcoins are worth more and more – usually. Bitcoins are volatile, to say the least. Their value can change in seconds, and it fluctuates dramatically from day to day.

However, the trend has been upward, which is why you hear astonishing stories like $27 turning into $1,000,000 in just a few years.

How Do You Invest in Bitcoins?

There are several ways to invest in Bitcoins, some of which are more complicated than others. Here are the five most common ways to invest in Bitcoins:

1. Mine Them

OK, so this is a less common option for investing in Bitcoins. Mining Bitcoins involves solving complicated mathematical problems and showing proof of work. When you solve a problem correctly, a new Bitcoin node will appear in the software that runs the currency.

Typically, your computer can do the mining for you. To mine, you connect your computer to the Bitcoin network and set it to solve a cryptographic puzzle. When the puzzle is solved, the Blockchain – the public record of Bitcoin transactions – gets a new digital block. And in exchange, miners get a set amount of Bitcoins.

Most of the time, these complicated cryptographs are solved by a group of miners who share profits. Thus far, mining has been open, honest and group-oriented.

You can purchase special servers designed specifically to mine digital currencies. Here’s one of the most popular options on Amazon.

2. Trade Online

Online Bitcoin exchanges are one of the more popular ways to invest. Websites like  Coinbase allow you to exchange your currency of choice for the virtual currency.

The problem with online transactions is that it can take two weeks for your bank account to be connected and verified. And that’s after you set up your account, which takes photo ID, proof of residency and an even longer wait time.

In that time, the value of Bitcoins can swing dramatically, so you really have no idea at the beginning of the transaction how much you’ll wind up getting in the long run.

Investing in Bitcoins online may not be a bad option, if you’re just looking to make a small investment to play around or get a feel for how Bitcoins work.

3. Buying Face-to-Face

For those who want to purchase Bitcoins more quickly, face-to-face transactions are the best option, though they can be somewhat dangerous.

This article on Read Write notes that some Bitcoin investors have been robbed, primarily because the face-to-face transaction usually involves quite a bit of cash. When one Bitcoin could be worth $100 or more, you can imagine how much money you’d need to bring to a transaction to make a major Bitcoin investment.

There are safe ways to invest in Bitcoins in person. You should take the same precautions you would with a Craigslist transaction – or any transaction where you’re meeting an individual stranger to hand him or her cash in exchange for something else.

Meeting in a public location and taking someone with you are good ways to protect yourself when investing in Bitcoins in person. You can also check out Bitcoin buyers and sellers on sites like LocalBitcoins, which gives each user a reputation score to help you decide whom to buy from.

This type of face-to-face transaction is also interesting in that you give the seller cash, in exchange for virtual Bitcoins. However, unlike buying through the exchanges, the transaction takes seconds. Bitcoin sellers can transfer money directly from their virtual wallets to yours, and you can see it all happen in real time.

4. A Face-to-Face Bitcoin Exchange

Serious Bitcoin investors may look in to this more complicated version of a face-to-face Bitcoin transaction. Bitcoin exchanges, often called Buttonwood meetups, are similar to the oldest version of the New York Stock Exchange: a group of people getting together to exchange goods (silver and gold) and currencies for cryptocurrencies.

As this article from Wired outlines, most Buttonwood transactions aren’t large. Often, the goal is just to get people informed and interested in Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. However, these can be a good place to meet with other Bitcoin enthusiasts and to trade coins, currency and other valuables for Bitcoins (and other cryptocurrencies).

5. Go to an ATM

You can invest in Bitcoins through an ATM, but not just any ATM. The world’s first Bitcoin ATM, created by Robocoin, was placed in the Vancouver, British Columbia, coffee shop called Waves Coffee.

The machine in Vancouver charges a transaction fee of 3-5 percent, but even so, it did $100,000 worth of transactions during its first eight days of operation.

Most of the people who use the ATM have been investors who insert cash for a share of Bitcoins. However, some people have used it to sell Bitcoins for cash.

While the Vancouver ATM is the first, Bitcoiniac, who purchased the machine and four others from Robocoin, plans to deploy the others in Toronto, Montreal, London and Berlin soon. Next year, the company hopes to add Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and a few other major U.S. cities to the list with Bitcoin ATMs.

Topics: Investing

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Swagbucks Review–Earn Rewards While You Surf

There are plenty of ways to earn a bit of cash online. But one of the longest-running, reputable companies for this is Swagbucks. Check out our review to determine if Swagbucks is right for you.

Swagbucks is often promoted as an income opportunity. In reality, it’s much more than a way to make a few bucks. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that it is a site where you can earn rewards for doing what you already do on the web. It also offers discounts and cash back when you shop online (similar to Ebates).

How effective the site is mostly depends on what your expectations are going in. In this review I’m going to approach it from the standpoint that it may be a good site to earn rewards, including cash back.

About Swagbucks

Swagbucks is an online rewards destination based in El Segundo, California. Joining is free. And once you’re a member, you can earn “Swagbucks” in numerous ways (more about that below).  You can then redeem your Swagbucks for either gift cards or to purchase specific merchandise.

Some of the activities that enable you to earn Swagbucks are relatively passive in nature, such as surfing the web or watching videos. Others are more specific, such as participating in online surveys, voting in polls, or playing online games.

Love it or hate it, Swagbucks has become one of the most active websites on the web. It has more than 10 million members. It operates in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. And to date it is paid out over $91 million in rewards.

As is often my habit when reviewing products, services, and sites, I did a general web search on Swagbucks. Regrettably, the word “scam” is often attached to the name.

To be fair, there is considerable difference of opinion here. Some people swear by the site and its rewards. Others complain about being kicked out of surveys, not getting rewards, or finding their rewards to be limited. That being said, it is free, has paid out a lot in rewards, and has an A+ Rating with the BBB.

How You Earn Swagbucks

Swagbucks is free to join and you can use the site as often or as little as you like. The primary reason for signing up with Swagbucks is to earn rewards. Here are the ways you can do that:

• Searching the Web
• Watching Videos
• Taking Surveys
• Inviting Your Friends to Join
• Shopping in the Shop & Earn Mall (You earn Swagbucks for shopping through major retailers and service providers)
• Completing Special Offers
• Voting in the Daily Polls
• Finding Swag Codes (finding messages or specific strings of text throughout Swagbucks.com that can be redeemed for Swag Buck rewards).
• Playing Games (Earn Swagbucks for gaming online)

Earning Swagbuck Through Surveys

Surveys are the heart of Swagbucks. To get access to the best surveys, fill out your profile. This lets Swagbucks send you targeted surveys worth a certain number of Swagbucks. Longer and more highly-targeted surveys will be worth more points

Gold Surveys are worth the most points. Each survey will tell you about how long it takes and the number of points you’ll get for completing the survey.

If you click into a survey, it’ll first collect some demographic information. Not that you won’t qualify for all surveys. They’re given on a first-come-first-served basis. And if too many people fitting your demographic markers have taken the survey, you may not be able to take it.

Some of the surveys will also have tricky questions designed to ensure you’re actually reading the questions.

The demographic and “are you paying attention” questions can take a couple of minutes of your time. Usually you’ll get at least one Swagbuck for trying, but you’ll only get the higher rewards levels if you actually qualify to take the third-party survey.

If you can get a few targeted surveys that you qualify for, you could pretty easily earn some side money with Swagbucks in your spare time. But it can be a bit hit or miss, so don’t assume you’ll make a certain amount on the time you spend on Swagbucks surveys.

Answering Polls

Swagbucks offers a daily poll you can answer for 1 point per day.

Watching Videos

You can also earn points by watching videos on Swagbucks. Some of these are news-related videos on certain topics. Others are advertising videos. You’ll earn about 2 Swagbucks per 20-ish minutes of watching, for the most part.

If you often take a break from harder work by watching videos, this could be a good way to earn something for that time.

Shopping Through Swagbucks

When you go to the Swagbucks shop tab, you’ll find deals from places like Groupon, and you’ll find featured stores. You can get cash back at these stores when you shop through the Swagbucks interface.

For instance, if you shop on Amazon through Swagbucks, you’ll get up to three percent cash back on your purchases–or three Swagbucks for every $1 you spend.

The catch? Your purchases have to be within certain Amazon categories. Still, if you already shop on Amazon or are planning to try their recent home services options, shopping through Swagbucks makes sense. Check out your other favorite online stores before you go buy things you were planning to purchase, anyway!

Search Through Swagbucks

Swagbucks offers its own search engine. Just click the “Search” tab. Then search through the engine, and you can earn points. You’ll need to install an extension on your browser to earn points for searching through Swagbucks. But this is an easy way to earn points doing what you were already going to do. Swagbucks’ search engine is powered by Yahoo!

Discover Offers

Swagbucks earns a lot of its money–some of which it gives to members–by giving people particular offers. They’ll try to tailor your offers to your needs and profile. If you purchase one of the offers through Swagbucks, you’ll get points.

Play Games to Earn

If you already waste time playing games on your phone, why not earn something for that time? With Swagbucks, you can. You can earn points for playing or making purchases in games you already enjoy, so you can get at least some of that cash back in your pocket.

The Bottom Line on Swagbucks

The bottom line here is that messing around on Swagbucks is never going to be a part-time job. You can earn a bit here and there, and possibly pay for your kids’ Christmas gifts with Amazon gift cards.

But if you have time to kill while you’re waiting for an appointment, you can take some surveys. Or if you’re one of those people who can’t just watch TV, do some surveys and other points-earning activities while you’re watching TV.

And, of course, you can always try to fold Swagbucks into the activities you’re going to do anyway–like buying a new Kindle on Amazon or a new local Groupon. Or searching the web. These options will slowly earn you rewards. But free money is free money, right?

How and Where to Redeem Your Swagbucks

Redeem your Swagbucks for hundreds of gift cards, entertainment coupons, or Swagstakes Entries.

You can redeem your Swagbucks for gift cards at popular vendors, such as Amazon, iTunes, Visa, WalMart, Target, and PayPal. You get $1 on each gift card for every 100 Swagbucks you earn. And you can even donate your Swagbucks to charitable causes, such as the American Red Cross, Unicef or Doctors Without Borders.

With the Swagstakes option, you can enter with a small number of Swagbucks. Then, you may get drawn to win a gift card that would be worth much more than if you bought it directly. For instance, you can enter a $1,000 Fall Giveaway Swagstakes with 20 Swagbucks. You may not win. But if you do, you just got to redeem your Swagbucks for a much higher rate than normal.

Is Swagbucks Worth Your Time?

So should you sign up for Swagbucks? My thought is that you should give it a try. It won’t cost you anything to join, so any rewards that you do receive will be a bonus. Perhaps more importantly, the rewards will come as a result of doing what you do every day anyway, like performing searches on the web.

Where this probably won’t work is if you join the service with the assumption that you’re going to turn it into an additional income source. It seems like it will be a lot of effort for very limited benefit. And there are better and more productive ways to increase your income.

But give Swagbucks a try, have some fun, and see where it goes.

Topics: Reviews

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