By Alexander Carl on June 30, 2010

Homebuyers— let's assume that you've figured out your financial limits, and have a general idea of what you need. Now comes one of the longest, most intensive processes: finding the house.

This is the meat and potatoes. Slacking off now means ending up with a sub par property.

But you care about maximizing your dollar (or you wouldn't bother reading this), so let's see how to do it:

Start your own research. Regardless of whether you use a real estate agent, you need to view property listings online. Your agent is a human being, which means that s/he won't know about every potential home, nor should you rely on him/her to do all your groundwork.

Online listings are fairly thorough in their specs, and give a brief idea of the layout and décor.

Don't limit yourself. Whatever your target price range and area, you should investigate homes 10% above and below your budget, and fifteen miles around your target area. There are gems that you could miss.

Are schools an issue? They are if you have kids. Don't let school districts become an afterthought.

Learn the comps. For any given neighborhood, what are homes selling for? How far from the asking price did they sell? If your agent doesn't volunteer this, ask. It gives you a good basis for your bid, and the neighborhood's vitality.

Don't view too many homes at once. The Solvency Shark knows that house shopping is very time intensive, so it's tempting to cram dozens of visits into one day. Don't. Details and differences will get lost in a blur.

Write down pros and cons. Yes, write, and preferably as soon after a visit as possible. What worked? What didn't? What needs to be changed?

Look at the structure, not just the design. Are floors sagging? Are there cracks in the foundation? Do you see water stains? These are tip offs for damage, and you should always

Hire an inspector. An appraiser assesses value from features, but an inspector looks at a house's soundness. Unseen problems can surface.

Offers are always negotiable. You and your agent can work out deals.

And of course,

No impulse buying! Sleep on any purchase, no matter how perfect the house. 

By Alexander Carl on June 30, 2010

The underlying idea: a car is not an investment. It is a tool. Vehicles make terrible investments because they depreciate continuously, need more upkeep than they return in value, and are too vulnerable to loss.

But that's no excuse to treat your car like trash. Wise consumers take care of their cars, and avoid the costly repair bills that come from negligence.

So how do you not neglect your car? The first way is essential:

Perform scheduled maintenance. Timing depends on the vehicle, but the basics are the same:

Checking and changing your fluids: oil, brake, transmission, windshield wiper, and antifreeze.

If you see fluid leaking on your driveway (that isn't A/C condensation), act immediately!

Replacing worn parts: the oil filer, air filter, spark plugs, etc.

Inspecting for wear and damage: Your tires need to be rotated and replaced. Other parts of the car should be periodically inspected.

Edmunds.com has a maintenance scheduler to determine what needs to be done for your vehicle.

If you're not in the habit of performing regular maintenance, start today. Your car and wallet will thank you.

But that's not all you can do:

Check your tires before every trip. There's no excuse for getting a flat when you didn't check the pressure. Properly-inflated tires get better mileage.

Check your battery. They can die unexpectedly, so it's a good insurance to replace an older battery before a bout of intense driving, like a road trip. 

Improve your driving! Seriously. Cutting down on sudden accelerations and breaking can save you major bucks, both in gas and brake maintenance. 

By Alexander Carl on June 28, 2010

It's the dream of nearly everyone in the United States— owning their own home. While no one path is the same, there are strategies that work, and those that don't.

In this first part, the Solvency Shark will examine the big issues of home buying: the whats, whens, wheres, and hows.

When am I ready to buy? The obvious answer is when you can afford it, but recent easy mortgages made that truth temporarily vanish. Now it's back, and it's asking important questions:

What mortgage can you get? Find out the current interest rates, and what you're eligible for. If your income and savings can't support a reasonable time frame (like 15 years), forget it.

How's the housing market? If the trend is down, you're still better off renting. A home is an investment, and it's bad to take on the debt of a depreciating asset.

Which tax credits can you get? Recent tax breaks have helped new homeowners. They're likely to return.

What should I buy? Earlier you should have taken an inventory of your assets. Now you should take an inventory of your needs.

How much space do you need? How much will you need in the near future (with kids, for example)? What do you require in a location (close to work, close to the beach)? What do you require in a neighborhood?

At this point, it's wise to contact a real estate agent. You can buy and sell homes on your own, but an agent knows the housing market, and can negotiate on your behalf.

Where should I buy? Some areas are simply better than others. This is when you should factor in cost-of-living indexes, and a town's growth. A growing town is more likely to lead to good returns on your house's value.

How can I get the best deal? Research. Know what your target homes are selling for in your area. 

Have your potential home inspected to prevent any disastrous discoveries. Don't forget that foreclosed homes can offer bargains.

Finally, you can always say no. Don't become pressured into a sale— there's an equally good house down another street.

Continued: Home Buying (part 2)

By Alexander Carl on June 22, 2010

For the most part, the Solvency Shark writes about microeconomic issues, the day-to-day work of loans and personal budgets. But it's good to have a wider perspective, so we'll look at some recent economic news:

China raises the value of their currency, the yuan. In 2008, Chinese officials pegged the yuan's value to the US dollar— that is, they determined the yuan's value based on an unchanging ratio to the dollar. So if the dollar went up, the yuan went up, and vice versa.

What China has just done is allow the yuan to float, or let the currency determine its value from the market. Undoubtedly, this will cause the value of the yuan to go up.

Uh, hold it... No worries. This is not an economics class, so the Solvency Shark won't delve into theory or speculation. He hopes to answer the question: what does this mean for us, as American consumers?

The first thing to understand is that China has kept its currency artificially low for years. Why would they do this? It benefited their economy in several ways:

It created lower wages for workers. By keeping their currency lower than their economy's worth, China could pay its workers less for the same labor value. This meant less overhead for factory owners, and thus cheaper goods for you and me in the United States.

It encouraged exports from China. Consumers in the rest of the world were encouraged to buy Chinese, since Chinese products were sold at an artificially lower value.

But this also created problems:

The Chinese had less spending power. A yuan got you less in the international market, than say, a dollar or a euro.

So, the bottom line? Good news and bad news for all involved. The good:

America's manufacturing could become more competitive. A higher yuan levels the playing field for American exports, which could create more jobs.

Chinese consumers could spend more. If they're able to buy more American products and services, it could improve our economy.

The bad:

Products could get more expensive. Since so much of what we buy comes from China, expect sticker shock in the coming months. 

By Alexander Carl on June 11, 2010

Who doesn't need extra cash? Plenty of us want more of it, and there are plenty of methods to get it— second and third jobs, paycheck advances, pawning...

And there are those “magic” work at home opportunities. You've seen their Internet ads: thousands of dollars per month (or per sale!) and all you need is a functioning PC (or telephone or brain, etc.)

When claims like these tempt you to sign up immediately, just recall this little mantra: If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

With that in mind, approach any potential mega-money making opportunity with a healthy dose of skepticism. First, understand how working at home takes place:

You operate a business as an independent contractor for a larger company. It's not a “job”, it's a business opportunity. Even the legitimate organizations (like Avon makeup) aren't recruiting you as an employee.

So you can eliminate any offer that claims to offer you a “position”. There are real telecommuting jobs, but they are posted through traditional means.

You should never have to pay to work. This proviso eliminates most of the other scams, which promise millions if you only, say, purchase a book for $500 (or $15,000). No way.

Of course, starting a real business involves buying supplies. A legitimate company will sell them to you at a reasonable price, and have a refund policy in place.

Despite these guidelines, scams can still fall through the cracks. But you can detect them:

Research the company. Do they have a website? Are they listed with the Better Business Bureau? Are there reviews of their opportunities on the Web?

Know the signs of a pyramid scheme. Does the opportunity emphasize recruiting new members more than selling product? That's a scam. The classic “envelope-stuffing” scam works this way.

Watch out for fake training. Some scams promise to train you in “flourishing” fields including: word processing, craft-making, medical billing, or Internet marketing (aka spam).

But the scam only works to sell you the training— and nothing else. You won't be able to get a job, or sell your goods.

Again, discovering these “inopportunities” happens through research.