A Review of the Associated Investors of Alabama Real Estate Investment Program

A Review of the Associated Investors of Alabama Real Estate Investment Program
Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc. offers the chance to
become more knowledgeable in the real estate world with
their website. It doesn't matter where you live, this
company gives everyone a state-by-state guide so anyone can
get involved in the program. There are three hundred
investment opportunities at your disposal, leaving plenty
of reason to research their information.

However, this may take some time because their website is
loading with everything you need involving real estate,
leaving Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc. as one of the
leaders in this form of information. The four different
categories they have give you anything from reading
courses, audio information, eBooks and more to make you
feel educated.

Real Estate Investment Program

Consider Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc. to be the
main source of real estate information as opposed to a
specific investment program. What happens is the company
offers a chance for you to fill out a form and become a
member of their club. There are both individual and family
member options with a cost of $72 or $108 respectively.
Keep in mind, if you wait until after the end of August to
renew, there is a $50 upcharge fee.

The real investment comes with the 300 companies you can
find on their websites. It is very professionally set up
with groups and contact members right from the beginning.
Even if you would like to add your own club, there is
availability by filling out a small form. You can find
your state where meetings can be set up with the contact
person at the establishment they have listed within their
information. Scrolling down to the bottom of the page is
where you will find the additional states.

Benefits of the Membership

Once a member of the Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc.
there are a plethora of benefits offered which include free
educational meeting with some of their top speakers, email
newsletters, connections to banks who will loan money to
investors at no cost, not to mention other discounts for
any out of state meetings you intend to travel to
throughout the year.

The discussion boards have to be right up there in regards
to the benefits Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc. has
the ability to offer. An individual or family can go to
this area and put their homes up for sale, rental
properties, and basically anything real estate. Anyone who
may have questions about the information they have been
presented with can ask about them in the forum as well.
Then of course, it's an easy way to keep up with special
news, meetings, and any other announcements they may have
for you.

Final Thoughts

The best part about Associated Investors of Alabama, Inc.
is everyone interested in real estate can get involved.
Someone new to the industry has plenty to learn and those
who are seasoned veterans can learn from the best through
emails, audio seminars, and phone conferences, along with
face to face introductions. The idea however is to go to
meetings and interact with others learning everything you
can abut this kind of investment industry. When you get a
chance look it over, you might just want to get started
today.

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Avoiding Inheritance Tax - Planning For The Informed

Avoiding Inheritance Tax - Planning For The Informed
Many clients have accumulated substantial funds within ISAs
and PEPs over the past 10 years and enjoyed significant tax
breaks in the process.

It's not unusual to see clients with capital in PEPs and
ISAs in excess of £200,000 enjoying the freedom to
switch investments without incurring capital gains tax,
personal liability to tax on dividend income or bond
interest received within the tax sheltered 'wrapper'.

However, as clients get older and inheritance tax (IHT)
becomes an important consideration in their financial
planning, many fail to recognise that capital growth from
any investment held within the estate may ultimately be
worth only 60% of its accrued value. Inheritance tax could
easily apply at 40%, both to the assets themselves and any
growth achieved over the years.

So the 'tax-free' growth from PEPs and ISAs may not be all
it seems...

To illustrate this, let us assume that a male client aged
70 has £200,000 invested in PEPs and ISAs and has no
personal need for the income generated of approximately 3%
per annum gross.

Current life expectancy for a 70-year-old male is just
under 85 years old (source: Faculty and Institute of
Actuaries 2007). Assuming a total annualised return of 7%
per annum net of costs is achieved, in 15 years' time the
portfolio may be worth in the region of £515,000.

If we assume the family home will utilise the nil-rate
band* at the time of death (ie, assuming £600,000 for
a married couple in today's money), the whole of the PEP
and ISA portfolio may be subject to IHT at 40%. The net
value passing to the family will then be just
£309,000.

If instead, the client had chosen to receive income
generated within the PEPs and ISAs and made regular gifts
of this surplus income to the family - for example, to help
with school fees or to increase tax-efficient pension
funding - then the future capital value would be reduced to
just £346,000.

The liability to IHT at 40% on those assets would be
£138,400, leaving £207,600 passing to the
family.

However, income distributions over the period, even
ignoring growth on any gifts made, would amount to
£150,770 and importantly, be free of IHT in the hands
of the person donated to. In total, the family would have
received £358,370 - overall, a saving of
£49,370 and perhaps more importantly, the next
generation would have the use of those funds when they need
them most.

In summary, in certain circumstances and especially as
clients get older, it may be better to 'cap' growth within
the ISA or PEP and to change investment strategy in order
to generate increased tax-efficient income for distribution
to the investor.

Providing this income can be considered for gifting to the
family, there is unlikely to be any eventual liability to
IHT under the 'normal expenditure from income' exemption
and less capital will find its way into the hands of the
Treasury.

Care is required both in terms of recording the gifts and
to ensure they meet the criteria for the exemption, ie,
they must be 'normal expenditure', made from genuine income
and after allowing for the gifts, the person transferring
must be left with enough income to maintain their usual
standard of living. Even gifts out of income will not
qualify for exemption if the person transferring has to
resort to capital for living expenses.

Keeping a record of the gifts made is vital as the 'test'
for the exemption is only carried out post-death.

Finally, where clients wish to retain access to funds or
control of the capital, other approaches such as 'gift and
loan' trusts or discounted gift trusts may offer more
suitable strategies. However, the overriding objective in
all these scenarios is to move future growth outside the
estate.

* Projected to increase at 3% per annum and have increased

Key Considerations:

There are a number of options available to you when it
comes to estate planning, and inheritance tax mitigation.
It is imperative that you consider ALL the options
available to you before you take any action.

ACTION POINT

Calculate what your current exposure is to IHT. Once you've
done this, devise suitable strategies to help reduce the
amount of tax that your beneficiaries would have to pay.
It's advisable to speak to an estate planning specialist as
of all the financial planning areas, this is probably one
of the most complicated.

----------------------------------------------------
Ray Prince is an Independent Financial Planner with
Rutherford Wilkinson plc, and helps UK Resident Doctors and
Dentists get the best deals on mortgages, protection and
investments, as well as helping them achieve their
financial objectives. Just visit
http://www.medicaldentalfs.com to get your free retirement
planning guide. Rutherford Wilkinson plc is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

How To Repair Your Broken Credit Report

How To Repair Your Broken Credit Report
It might be a fact that I had the worst credit report in
the world or at least thats how the banks treated me but
what if I told you that it was possible to erase everything
negative from your credit report, with out filing for
bankruptcy and in return keeping only the good credit and
raising your credit score drastically.

You may have heard about many different Ads books, systems
and secrets to help you repair your credit fast. Many of
these programs have claim to Erase bad credit and smash
your debts with just 2 Magic Letters! Create a completely
new credit file in 24hrs! Well I bet you wonder are these
types of claims too good to be true? The answer is Yes and
no.

Everybody loves to believe that the only thing that can
repair bad credit is time; but on the real nothing could be
further from the truth. The fact is, time is only one
aspect that can repair a credit report (but that is not the
only way). because a consumer protection law known as the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (a.k.a FCRA) says that the only
negative information which can remain on your credit report
is not what is true but what can be proved to be true.

That means that any negative item on your credit report can
only remain there if it is accurate and CAN BE PROVED AS
ACCURATE under the guidelines of the FCRA. this fact
presents consumers with both good news and bad news. The
good news is that through the FCRA your credit score can
most likely be improved drastically in a very short period
of time with only a little bit of effort on your part.

The bad news is that while the actual way will take very
little of your time, it is important that you have good
information on hand to go about it. now this is the really
bad news; 9 out of 10 courses on repairing your credit will
do nothing more than lead you down the wrong road. This is
because they provide you with some out-dated dispute
letters which are not that effective. These are nothing
more than form letters and to tell the truth the Credit
Bureaus and Creditors will laugh at you if you try to use
them.

The key element that you will need for success is the
latest inside techniques and procedures to get the results
you want. These involve strategies known as Proof of
Contract, Constructive Notice Challenge of Procedure or
Restrictive Endorsement and many others.

All these terms may be impressive but they are really quite
simple. In the end, it is nothing more than a method of
communication which exercises your consumer protection
rights, which gets the results you want and raises your
credit score.

----------------------------------------------------
This Article was written by Keishon Martin who operates
http://www.Newmoneycredit.com where you can get the best
self credit repair package on the internet. also check out
his daily blog @ http://www.blogmessiah.com

Do you need your Credit Scores with Credit Report?

Do you need your Credit Scores with Credit Report?
I was real excited after I went to annualcreditreport and
got my free credit report. But to my surprise there were no
credit scores. I started asking myself since everyone looks
at your credit score shouldn't I know what my scores are? I
would assume there is a reason for a credit score to begin
with, and some very important purpose behind this magical
number that everyone closely looks at these days. In this
article I will discuss why you need to know your credit
score and by not knowing it how it can affect your personal
life.

Reasons for knowing your credit score:
When you apply for a loan, all lenders look at your credit
score to determine what type of loan they will put you in.
Your score will also determine the rate and terms as well.
This magical number also will dictate how much money you
need to put down on the purchase too. The lower your score
the higher your risk, and the uglier your loan terms are.
This is just one example of why you need to know this 3
digit number.

When applying for that higher paying job, guess what most
companies are doing now. They pull your credit, and if your
score is low I am sure they may consider hiring the
applicant with the same credentials but higher score. You
might ask yourself why, and the answer would be risk. Your
score gives anyone that requests your report the type of
risk you are. This employer may think you are an
irresponsible person by having low scores. This could cause
them to pass you up on the position.

Maybe you are trying to get insurance for a car, house, or
a boat. All insurance agents pull your credit, and
determine your premium based on your credit score. The
software that spits out this number will even affect your
insurance cost. This is amazing if you think about it. Even
utility companies are pulling your credit report now, and
if you have bad credit they will require larger deposits,
just incase you skip out on the bill.

Since everyone is looking at your credit score to determine
your credit risk, maybe its time to learn all three of your
scores. With the current credit crunch that is taking
place, matters will only get tough to get loans. There has
never been a more important time to learn what is being
reported about you. So the answer is yes, you need to know
all three of your credit scores. It is recommended that you
pull your credit report every 4 months, since anything can
change within a 30 day window on your report. Below is a
example of what is considered good scores according to my
FICO.

* Excellent: Over 750
* Very Good: 720 or more
* Acceptable: 660 to 720
* Uncertain: 620 to 660
* Risky: less than 620

----------------------------------------------------
About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of
http://www.creditscorequick.com/ . CreditScoreQuick.com is
the one of the most unique on-line resources for free
credit score report, fico score, Internet identity theft
software, secure credit cards, and a BlOG with a wealth of
personal credit information. The information within this
website is written by professionals that know about credit,
and what determines ones credit worthiness.

Three Types of Wisconsin Reverse Mortgages

Three Types of Wisconsin Reverse Mortgages
The three basic types of reverse mortgage are:
single-purpose reverse mortgages, which are offered by some
state and local government agencies and nonprofit
organizations; federally-insured reverse mortgages, which
are known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), and
are backed by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) or Federal housing Administration (FHA);
and proprietary reverse mortgages, which are private loans
that are backed by the companies that develop them.

Single-purpose reverse mortgages generally have very low
costs. But they are not available everywhere, and they only
can be used for one purpose specified by the government or
nonprofit lender. An excellent example is the city of
Madison, WI which allows seniors over 65 with less than
30,000 in income to pay their property taxes with a
modified reverse mortgage. In most cases, you can qualify
for these loans only if your income is low or moderate.

HECM's and proprietary reverse mortgages tend to be more
costly than other home loans. The up-front costs can be 2%
FHA and 2% origination fee plus all the normal fees
associated with a mortgage (closing costs). Like a
refinance if you plan on being in your house a short amount
of time, it may not be worthwile to take out a reverse
mortgage. These mortgages are available just about anywhere
and have no credit or income requirements. The money you
receive either upfront or monthly can be used for whatever
you want. There is also the option of getting a line of
credit, which provides even more flexibility.

Before applying for a HECM, you must meet with a counselor
from an independent government-approved housing counseling
agency. The counselor must explain the loan's costs,
financial implications, and alternatives. For example,
counselors should tell you about government or nonprofit
programs for which you may qualify, and any single-purpose
or proprietary reverse mortgages available in your area.
They can't steer you to a particular lender but can tell
you what to expect. In the State of Wisconsin you can do
this over the phone if you can't get to a counseling place.

The amount of money you can borrow with a HECM or
proprietary reverse mortgage depends on several factors,
including your age, the type of reverse mortgage you
select, the appraised value of your home, current interest
rates, and where you live. In general, the older you are,
the more valuable your home, and the less you owe on it,
the more money you can get.

The HECM gives you choices in how the loan is paid to you.
You can select fixed monthly cash advances for a specific
period or for as long as you live in your home. Or you can
opt for a line of credit, which allows you to draw on the
loan proceeds at any time in amounts that you choose.You
also can get a combination of monthly payments plus a line
of credit.

The last type is the proprietary reverse mortgage, which is
a reverse mortgage that is backed and owned by the mortgage
company that markets it. Proprietary reverse mortgages are
generally the most expensive type. If your home is worth
more than the HUD's 203b limit for your county you may be
able to get out more money than with the HECM. if you have
a higher appraised value without a large mortgage, then you
may likely qualify for greater funds. Location (for
example, your neighborhood) is only one part of the
determination of appraised value.It is also possible it may
be less expansive than an HECM in the early years of the
mortgage because the insurance is not required.

As you can see some investigation needs to go into
obtaining a reverse mortgage. you must make sure you are
financially making the right decision when going with this
type of loan program. As always make sure you seek out and
expert in Wisconsin Reverse Mortgages who can help answer
your questions.

----------------------------------------------------
David Forer is an expert on Wisconsin Reverse Mortgages
with over 15 years experience with credit repair, debt
management, and mortgages in the state. He has a free
informational e book on Reverse Mortgages at
http://www.wisconsinreversemortgages.net/ebook.html

this
is not a sales book!