Buying Antiques For Less: How To Buy Antiques and Save Money
Some people have a passion for antique furniture. Designs and trends that have gone out of fashion are represented in the old pieces. Antique furniture has more value than new one. With the economic situation not quite rosy, investing in antique furniture seems like a bad idea. Yet, some people prefer antique rather than any other furniture. It is quite possible to stick to your budget while indulging in your passion. Here are some ways in which you can save money on antique furniture.
Ask Your Acquaintances
If you know someone among your family and friends who has purchased antique furniture, ask them where they bought it from. In most cases, people who buy antique furniture have knowledge of the best places to buy from. You can ask them about where you can find antique furniture for a reasonable price. They will guide you in the right direction. Asking people you trust is better than relying on the expertise of a total stranger.
Explore and Browse Around
There are a number of shops that sell antique furniture. You can also visit the flea markets and bargain stores that have old furniture pieces. The more you explore, the wider the range of prices will be for you. You will have a fair idea of how much cash you would have to pay to acquire the furniture you are looking for. You have to be patient because it might take some time before you find furniture for the best price. Keep your patience and efforts up and you will finally find the best place to shop for antique furniture.
Go Online
There are several online stores that sell antique furniture. It is a good idea to go online and research about the antique furniture available for sale there. More often than not, online stores offer a better price than the brick and mortar ones. Also visit stores such as eBay where people are selling their second hand things. You might be able to find just what you are looking for at the right price.
Auctions
Attend auctions where furniture is being sold off. Chances are that you may find a good piece of antique furniture which attracts no other buyers. If you are able to come up with a good bid for it, you can take it home. Avoid the high profile auctions because investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in antique furniture is hardly a good idea. If you are looking to save money on antique furniture, attend foreclosure auctions and other small scale events.
Package Deals
Sometimes buying one piece of antique furniture might be expensive but not if you buy the whole set. Some dealers are looking to clear out their inventory and are likely to offer a better price if you are buying more than one piece. Keep your options and your wallet open and you might be able to find good deals where you can save money on antique furniture.
These are the ways in which you can save money on antique furniture.
Chris specialises in french furniture. He loves to browse around to find a great piece. At the moment, he is looking for a unique french provincial bed
Tips For Saving Money on Decorating the Home
You spend so much time in your home and it is the base for entertaining family and friends, that you want it to be a stylish reflection of who you are. However, style doesn’t come cheap and you can easily become discouraged in your decoration goals and just give up. Instead of settling for an outdated home lacking in personality, think about how you can use these tips to save money on your home decoration.
- Know what you want. Spend some time reading home decorating magazines and looking online at new styles and trends. You don’t have to replicate the designer looks you see, but you can use them as inspiration for your overhaul. Plus when you have a plan and an idea of the style you want in your home you will be able to look out for bargains and buy only what you need and what will fit with your new look.
- Take it slow. You don’t have to replace everything in your home at once when you are decorating, instead, work with what you have and let the natural style and features of your home shine through and change little things every now and then and your home will always feel refreshed and you won’t have a huge decorating bill to pay.
- Watch for sales. You will notice that major department and home wares stores have regular sales, so watch and wait until the items you want are on sale and stock up.
- Look for second hand gems. Not everything you find in a thrift store or a garage sale is going to be able to help you revamp your home, but look out for pieces you can add new life to, such as picture frames, shutters or furniture like tables, chairs and desks, all of which can expensive to buy new.
- Paint it. Whether you are revamping that desk you found at a garage sale, or you want to update a room, painting is a fast and affordable way to achieve a new look. Stick to neutral colours to repaint your rooms to begin with, and look for places where you can add accent colours to add interest.
- Natural decor. The next time you’re out on a walk or down at the beach, keep an eye out for interesting shells, branches, drift wood or rocks which you can use to make interesting displays indoors.
- Bring plants indoors. You can also bring in potted plants to add personality, colour and of course life to your home decoration project very affordably. You can buy small plants more affordably than mature plants and grow them up, and you can even buy a plain pot and decorate it with left over paint, wrapping paper or fabric.
- Less is more. You can save money on your home decoration by buying fewer things. A simple display of three or four items on top of a bookcase will make s much more stylish statement than if you covered the surface with thirty things.
- Make your own wall art. Wall hangings will not only make your house feel like a home, they are also a great way to inject personality, and regularly update your home’s look. You can use anything to add interest to your walls and it doesn’t have to cost a lot, for example you could hang a window frame you found at a salvage yard, stretch and interesting pillowcase or piece of fabric over a frame or enlarge your photos and make a wall display of your family and friends. You don’t even have to use typical wall hangings, even quilts or china plates can make an eye catching and affordable display.
- Paper art. Before you throw away your old calendar at the end of the year, look at the pictures on each month and see whether you can reuse them as wall art too. Many calendars will have beautiful landscape photos or adorable animal images while others will have abstract lines and colours. Simply use some cheap frames and enjoy the pictures for more than a year this time.
- Make your room grand. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to achieve an opulent look simply mount your window coverings high above the actual frame of the window and your rooms will appear bigger and more stately because the ceiling will look higher as the eye id drawn upwards.
- Affordable window coverings. Curtain fabrics can be very expensive, but if you buy a sheet set in a department store sale, or get out one of those sets you were given but never got around to using, you can use the fitted sheet as a valance to dress up your windows – simply tack the sheet in strategic spots along the top of the window frame and you don’t even need a sewing machine or a curtain rod.
- Bring books back in style. You have probably noticed book stores closing down left and right, and at garage sales and thrift shops you can buy books by weight. Therefore, use these interesting literary works as affordable decor in your home. Look for unique, hard cover books at library book sales and antique stores and fill shelves or stack them to create a display.
Alban has been helping people to save money on all aspects of their life. You can find more tips from Alban on how to save money at Savings Account Finder
How to Pay Off A Mortgage Faster and Save Thousands of Dollars
There’s a major sense of accomplishment and peace of mind of owning your home outright. Paying off your mortgage sooner can make sound financial sense by saving you thousands of dollars in interest costs. Learning how to save on your mortgage can slice years off your loan. Finding out if you can save on your mortgage payments won’t cost you anything, and you will discover whether you have the best loan available for your individual circumstances.
1. Shop around for the best mortgage possible with your credit score.
When a mortgage company has a small overhead cost to stay in business it typically means that they will not charge you unreasonable ongoing service fees. Make sure you know the fees charged by your mortgage company before you sign on a loan.
2. Select weekly or bi-weekly mortgage payments.
A bi-weekly mortgage payment means you make 26 half-monthly payments instead of 12 monthly payments. But keep in mind that unless your initial mortgage is set up as bi-weekly, some lenders charge an upfront fee of $300-$400 to make bi-weekly payments, and even though you’re making a payment every two weeks, the lender only applies it once a month.
If you make bi-weekly payments of $415 instead of monthly payments of $830, you could save almost $27,000 in interest over the entire amortization period of your mortgage, and you could own your home about 4-1/2 years sooner.
3. Prepay a little extra every month, or any time during the term of your mortgage.
Increasing your payment by even a few dollars each month will pay down your principal amount faster. It is a good idea to pay 10-15% more each month. This amount shouldn’t put too much extra burden on you, and it will help to pay off your mortgage much faster. For example, if you increased your mortgage payments by just $170 from $830 to $1,000, you could save almost $48,000 in interest over the entire amortization period of your mortgage, and you could own your home about 8 years sooner.
4. Make an annual lump sum payment.
Use your tax refund, work bonus or any extra money you can save and apply it directly to your principal amount. Check your mortgage documents to find out how often you can prepay and in what amount. Many loans don’t prohibit you from doing this, however the lender may have parameters on how many extra payments you can make. Ask this question when shopping for a mortgage loan.
5. Pay as much as you can at renewal time.
Most mortgages become open at renewal. This means you can pay as much as you want on your mortgage. If you chose a 5-year, fixed-rate term, and made a $10,000 lump-sum payment every time your mortgage came up for renewal, you would save about $37,481 in interest over the entire amortization period of your mortgage.
6. Red flag your extra payments.
Always check your mortgage statement to make sure that any extra payments you made are being counted against the principal and that your bank has accurately documented your payments. Make the extra principal payments on a separate cheque and make a note on the memo line stating that the payment should be applied to principal reduction only. At tax time, tally up those payments and make sure they’ve been applied correctly.
7. Stay informed.
Once you have a mortgage, aside from making the payments, it’s easy to forget about it altogether. By keeping up-to-date on interest rates and new products could save you money. You may want to shop for another product that better suits your needs. For example, to qualify for a mortgage, you may have started out with a lower-rate adjustable rate mortgage, but you want to switch to a more long-term affordable fixed-rate mortgage later.
When Should You Hold Off on Paying Your Mortgage Faster?
While paying down a mortgage quickly may be a wise decision for many homeowners, it’s not for everyone. For example, you may want to switch to investing in mutual funds when yields return 10-12% annually. For most people though, this is not a mathematical issue but one of security, as they just want that mortgage paid off. For people who are very debt-averse, the peace of mind of paying off the house more quickly is worth the price.
Secondly, if you are planning on moving soon, you may want to hold off investing money into your existing home as you may need the money for a down payment, closing costs or buying new furniture for your new home.
As you can see, with a little research, you could save on your mortgage. The truth is: the banks won’t tell you how to save money on your mortgage as they want to make the interest on the money that they have loaned to you. If they were to help you save money, they would lose money and their profits would stagnate. Make sure that if you implement changes to save on your mortgage it is the right decision for you.
Article Source: www.vanhomesales.com
Under Water Mortgage Solutions
By Jesse Smith
With the housing market on the decline, many homeowners are noticing that their mortgage is underwater. In other words, many homeowners owe more than their house is worth. This can be a very bad thing, especially if a person is planning to move in the near future. Fortunately, there are a few different things that consumers can do to rectify their situation.
Loan Modification
A loan modification is usually the most attractive option to homeowners whose property has significantly decreased in value. There are many different programs available to homeowners in underwater situations. These programs may:
- Reduce the balance of a borrower’s loan
- Reduce the interest rate on the loan
- Lengthen the term of the loan
- Reduce the size of the payments
To begin the modification process, homeowners will want to contact their lender and explain their situation. A representative will be able to explain the modification process and help determine whether a borrower could possibly qualify.
The problem with loan modification is that the process can be lengthy and many homeowners simply don’t qualify. Luckily, all hope is not lost. There are other options for homeowners to consider.
Consider Becoming a Landlord
If a homeowner can no longer afford their home, but can’t sell it because their mortgage is underwater, renting can be an option. If a homeowner finds tenants to cover the cost of their home, they may be able to purchase a new, more affordable home. Of course, the consumer will need to have decent credit and enough money to place a down payment for this to be a beneficial option.
Even if a consumer cannot afford to purchase a new home, they may be able to rent a portion of their home. Homeowners may want to consider turning their basement or other area into an apartment. While this may not be the ideal situation, it may make the home significantly more affordable.
Surrender Your Property
It may also be possible to surrender your home to your lender. If the lender accepts the surrender, they will usually also forgive the loan. This is called a deed-in-lieu and is different than foreclosure.
When doing this, homeowners will propose the deed-in-lieu and then stop making their mortgage payments. The lender will then choose to accept the proposal or decide to foreclose on the home. However, lenders will often accept the surrender, since it saves them the trouble of foreclosing on the home. It also lessens the chance that the homeowner will decide to purposely damage the property.
While this could potentially backfire, it is an option. Homeowners that are considering this option may want to check with a financial advisor or attorney that can explain the local laws pertaining to this practice, as it does differ by state.
Consider a Short Sale
If a homeowner wants to sell their home, they will definitely want to consider a short sale. A short sale is composed of two different parts.
The homeowner will first want to contact their lender and negotiate the balance of their loan. For this to be successful, the lender must agree to lower the balance of the loan to less than the home’s market value.
Then, the owner will need to put their home on the market. Since they now owe less on their loan, they won’t lose money by selling the home for what it’s currently worth. Once the home is sold, the consumer can begin the hunt for a new, more affordable home.
Living with your mortgage underwater can be extremely frustrating. If you can afford your mortgage payments, you could wait for the value of your home to rise. Even if your home doesn’t rise in value, you will be building more equity in your home, which will help you refinance in the future. Fortunately, if you can no longer afford to make your mortgage payments, you could explore these options to improve your situation.
Jesse Smith is a personal finance expert with an interest in the mortgage crisis, managing credit card debt, and student loans.
Save For Home: 6 Tips to Help Get Your Home Down Payment
By Elizabeth Cutten
Saving up for a down payment to purchase a home may seem like a task that takes forever, but if you know how to save additional cash, you can actually save it rather fast. Before you start the process of saving for a home, you will want to keep in mind that you will want to purchase a home within your budget. Experts will tell you that your home mortgage payment should be no more than 25-35% of your monthly take home pay, and your down payment should always be more than 20%. If you have your eyes set on a home that is in the $200,000 payment range that would be a $40,000 down payment. How can you save for this, you might be wondering? Let’s take a look at what you can do.
Tip #1
Can you work extra hours at work? What kind of job do you have? Can you head into the office and ask your boss for more hours? Some employees have the luxury of doing this. Even if you make an additional $200/week by doing this, it can add up fairly fast if both you, and your significant other are doing the same thing.
Tip #2
Start selling your junk: Look around your house and see what you can do to get rid of some items in your home. There’s a good chance that you have $1,000 or so worth of junk just laying around. Start up a garage sale, sell on Craig’s list or even sell on eBay. You’ll be surprised what you can get for some items.
Tip #3
Cut down the bills: Do you have a cable package that has more than 250 channels? Do you have the latest smart phone? Try to lower these monthly “premium” bills. I was able to do this when saving for a home and it saved me around $250/month in savings alone. All I did was get rid of Netflix, drop my cell phone to a cheap plan and I signed up for a basic cable package.
Tip #4
Look at your cars: I hope that you’re not driving around a $40,000 car with a $600 payment. Car insurance can be expensive and so can the car payment itself. Try and highly consider purchasing a car that is only around $5,000 or so. Yes, the cars are still going to work and trust me, the payments are going to be a lot lower.
Tip #5
Snag a side job: What kind of side jobs are in your area? If you can’t find one, then maybe you will want to start up one yourself. What you can do is mow lawns, deliver papers, help out the elderly and so much more. Hey, you don’t even know if this can turn into a lucrative, full time job for the future.
Tip #6
Invest: Try hard to not spend your money. You don’t want to go out to the bars, or out to eat every other night. Instead, throw your money into a stock, or even a small CD. Every interest point is going to help you for the future.
As long as you have a goal and you stick with it, anything is going to be possible. Strive hard to get that down payment because not only are you going to avoid things such as PMI, you will also have a lower mortgage payment as well!
This was a guest post provided by Elizabeth Cutten. You can find more of her work over at FindSecuredCards.com, a blog dedicated to helping people get out of debt, as well as avoid it in the future.
How to Sell A House: Easy Ways to Fix Up Your House for Sale
Want to know how to sell a house in this market? Selling a home is never a small task, and with home sales still suffering it can be harder than ever within the current real estate market. Today, it’s not enough just to present the facts and let buyers use their imaginations as to how they might rework or redecorate the place.
It’s more important than ever to present to potential buyers a real vision of how the home could be theirs; the ideal locale in which to live, sleep, work, play, learn, grow and thrive. To get the best possible price when selling a home, many sellers and realtors are ‘staging’ homes with the right kind of amenities and furnishings to subtly persuade buyers into seeing the property in a new light. To easily fix up a house and make a faster sale for a higher asking price, without undertaking a full ‘staging,’ try some of the easy quick fix tips below.
The number one way to make a home sparkle and shine in the eyes of buyers is to make it actually sparkle and shine!
With a bit of good old fashioned elbow grease, and a great cleanser, any home can look its best with a good day or two of cleaning and organizing. Potential home buyers want to see that their investment was well cared for by the previous owner, instead of dreading inheriting someone else’s mess. Take the time to clear away clutter, scrub wooden floors, shampoo carpets, organize closets, dry-clean the curtains, clear drains and gutters, and even wash the home’s exterior.
Don ‘t stop with the home either, make sure the driveway and lawn are impeccable by mowing the lawn, trimming away tree branches, weeding any gardens or planted areas, and picking up any chaos or clutter that might frighten potential buyers away.
It’s understandable that a home will need a few touchups after being lived in for many years by any one owner.
Instead of leaving these touchups for the new buyer, it’s easy for sellers to take care of a few of the basics themselves for next to no investment. For example, it only takes a few moments to fill in picture frame holes, paint chipped window sills, or even just a few days to repaint the entire interior of the house. There’s no need to go professional with the paint job, just concentrate on creating neutral spaces the potential buyers will be able to envision their belongings in.
Painting the outside of the house is often unnecessary, but a fresh coat of paint on the windowsills or on the front door can really change the look of the house and make it seem fresh and exciting. Post the home’s street number in big, new numbers in an obvious place where potential buyers will be able to see them when arriving for a showing, or even when just driving by.
Finally, those up for a larger project that will really boost the return on investment should focus on quick fixes to the windows and floors.
Anything from a good cleaning and new window treatments, to an entire window replacement will help to sell the home more quickly. Floors, whether wooden or carpeted should be polished or shampooed to look their very freshest. Any dingy wooden floors can look brand new again with a weekend of sanding and refinishing, well worth the investment for the look on potential buyers’ faces. If there are wood floors hiding under carpeting in the home, don’t be afraid to expose them to increase the chances of a quick resale.
About the Author: This article is a joint effort from Jim Beadman of Construction Chemicals, who are experts in DIY projects from decorating a room to tanking a cellar, and Victoria Crowdell of Shopfit Design who specializes in displaying homes for sale on Cable Display systems.
Connect With Us!
Subscribe
