Seven alternatives to consider before getting a reverse mortgage

Reverse mortgages are hot. Baby boom demographics, inadequate retirement funding, and problems in the traditional mortgage market (pushing brokers into alternate products) have combined to make marketing of reverse mortgage products to senior citizen homeowners one of the hottest niches in the mortgage business.

And the effort is paying off for marketers. Federally-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) are the predominant type of reverse mortgage in the U. S. Recently, the number of HECMs originated has averaged about 9,000 per month, more than double the average in 2005. Moreover, about two-thirds of the total HECM reverse mortgages ever issued have been originated in the last two years.

Reverse mortgages are only available to homeowners age 62 and older who have paid off their mortgage or have only a small mortgage balance remaining. The sales pitch for these loans is enticing: tax-free retirement income for as long as you own the home - even for life; no monthly loan payments; no repayments until the home is sold, and payment options flexible enough to meet any need! In many cases a reverse mortgage is the ideal tool for senior homeowners.

But there is one big drawback with reverse mortgages: high up front closing costs that can sometimes reach $20,000 or more. Combined with the regular interest that accrues on the loan balance, the up front costs can make this an extremely expensive way to borrow. To spread these costs out and make the cost of borrowing reasonable, it is imperative that the borrower be confident in their ability to remain in the home for at least 5-7 years and, preferably, longer. Unfortunately, government data shows that most HECMs are paid off in seven years or less.

So, while a reverse mortgage may be a good fit for seniors in many situations, it is always important to carefully explore alternatives to see if a more cost-effective means to achieve your retirement financing goals is available.

We discuss below seven alternatives for you to consider:

1. Intra-Family Loan - Do you have a relative or friend with deep pockets and a good heart? An intra-family reverse mortgage loan can be an excellent way to gain the advantages of a reverse mortgage, but avoid most of the costs. The concept is straightforward: instead of a bank lending you retirement funds in exchange for a lien on the house, structure an arrangement with a relative or friend to lend you the money instead - collateralized with your home, of course. You can avoid most of the up front costs this way and have more flexibility to set interest rates and loan terms. There is even a company called Circle Lending ( circlelending. com/familyadvantage/reverse-mortgage. asp) that specializes in drafting these loans as "official" arms length transactions and then provides monthly loan servicing just as a traditional lender would do.

2. Price Appreciation Agreement - There are also firms that will give you money today in exchange for an "equity-share" in the future appreciation of your home's value. These programs are usually aimed at higher value homes (over $500,000) and may only be available in areas of the country with a track record of strong property value growth. The benefit of these programs is that you may be able to tap into your equity without the high up front costs of a reverse mortgage. The drawback is that it could cost you substantially more in the long run in the form of foregone home appreciation.

If you think this type of arrangement may be a good fit for you, here are two programs to look into to: Equity Key ( equitykey. com/) and, Rex Agreement ( rexagreement. com/)

3. Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) - As noted, reverse mortgages make most sense if the homeowner is able to remain the home for seven years or more. The reality, however, is that more than one-half of all HECM reverse mortgages terminate in less than seven years. To finance short and intermediate cash needs, a HELOC loan may provide a more cost-effective way to tap into your home equity. With a HELOC, closing costs are generally minor (sometimes zero). The downsides are two-fold: 1) there are monthly loan payments required and, 2) you will likely need to show the lender that you have adequate income to make the required loan payments.

An "interest-only" HELOC loan typically requires monthly payments equal only to the accumulated interest on the amount borrowed to date. With care it is possible to borrow an amount each month that provides cash for living expenses and is adequate to make the monthly interest-only payment. In this way the HELOC mimics a reverse mortgage with interest building up in the loan balance until the loan is repaid when the home is sold.

4. Delay Receipt of Social Security Benefits - The majority of Americans start their (reduced) social security benefit at the earliest possible age (62). While people may feel it is smart to "get the money while you can", the truth is that Americans are living longer than ever before and the decision to take early social security can cost you several hundred dollars per month for the rest of your life. People in their seventies and eighties often feel a reverse mortgage is needed to close a budget gap - a gap that might not exist if they were receiving full social security benefits.

5. Sell and Downsize or Rent - Using home equity to help pay for retirement is not a new concept. For generations, it was common for elderly homeowners to sell their homes and use the proceeds to buy or rent a smaller, more affordable dwelling. This remains a viable strategy and one of the best methods available to ensure you get full use of your hard earned home equity.

It is sometimes possible to sell your home to an "investor" and who will then rent it back to you. This provides you with needed cash while allowing you to remain in the home. Investors like this type of transaction since they get a "good" tenant who likely will take good care of the property.

6. Deferred Payment Loans - Many states, local governments and nonprofit organizations sponsor loan programs for the benefit of "house rich, cash poor" senior homeowners. Much like reverse mortgages, these programs lend money today that is paid back when the senior homeowner sells the home or dies.

The drawbacks are: 1) the use of loan proceeds is usually restricted to a specific purpose (e. g. home repair, payment of property taxes or special assessments, etc.) and, 2) eligibility may be restricted to seniors qualifying as lower income.

Deferred loan programs often have very low (even zero) closing costs and interest rates. This which makes them an alternative worth looking into before deciding on a reverse mortgage. To find out what deferred loan payment programs are available in your area, contact the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for your region ( eldercare. gov/Eldercare/Public/Home. asp).

7. Other Assets - Home equity should be viewed as a financial asset on par with CDs, stocks, bonds, cash-value insurance policies or other investments you may own. Before deciding to "cash out" home equity with a reverse mortgage, compare this strategy to other possibilities like selling other financial assets you may own. Stocks and bonds can be turned into cash much more efficiently than home equity can.

Deciding whether to take out a reverse mortgage is an important financial step for both you and you heirs. Be sure to consider the alternatives before making a final decision.

The great portable storage dilemma for pc

In ancient times, a few megabytes were considered to be a considerable amount of storage. Transferring data between computers meant carrying around big, goofy floppy disks that weren’t very reliable compared to today’s storage standards. Next the 1.44 megabyte diskettes became the norm for portable storage, their hard plastic casing mocking the bendable floppy’s soft and dainty exterior.

Time marches on. Programs and files begin to demand more storage real estate. Burning CD’s get you a nice 650-700 megabytes of space, but CDR burning is cumbersome; it’s not like saving or manipulating files on a hard drive, as the flexibility just isn’t there, and it’s certainly not as fast.

Today we have USB hard drives and flash memory-based thumb drives. These portable drives pack gigs upon gigs of space and can fit comfortably in your pocket or on a key chain. IT department types have even been spotted wearing their USB storage devices around their necks as an elite badge of some sort; portable storage has never looked this good. Visit waterwheel. com to learn more about PC hardware.

USB Thumb Drives

USB thumb drives are an amazing piece of hardware. Shuttling large files to and fro has never been easier. USB ports are like Starbucks; they’re everywhere, and as long as your computer has one, you can interface it with a USB thumb drive.

One of the cool things about a thumb drive is its durability. They’re like a little army tank for your data. Your computer’s internal hard drive is one of the last components that has actual moving parts—the read/write head; giving your hard drive a good clout when the read/write head is in operation isn’t recommended if you care about your data’s integrity. Thumb drives don’t have this problem, as they use solid-state technology to store your precious data—no moving parts. This amounts to a durable little storage device that can take a trashing and still keep your treasured mp3s safe from demise.

For a large amount of storage on an itty bitty thumb drive, Kanguru offers a 16 GB flash drive for around $800.

USB Hard Drives

USB Hard Drives are a popular choice when you need portable storage. Like thumb drives, USB hard drives can be easily plugged into a USB port. USB hard drives differ from their thumb rivals in a few ways: they don’t employ the same sold-state technology as flash drives—which means you can treat them with utter disrespect like you would a flash drive—and they are a little too large to fit comfortably on a keychain.

A major plus with USB hard drives is that they provide a significant capacity advantage over thumb drives, and for less money; this is a compelling reason to opt for a USB hard drive if your storage capacity needs are massive.

Thumb drives appear to be faster than USB hard drives up to a certain capacity. When a thumb drive’s capacity grows over the 2 GB mark, USB hard drives pull ahead in sheer file transfer speed.

When drive capacity is paramount, USB hard drives may be the perfect solution, but when you want to transfer data on the ring of your keychain, a flash memory-based thumb drive is a great choice.

Web site design color for you

Colors can influence our behavior, feelings and psyche. In fact, colors are oftentimes used as treatment to psychotics and other mentally incapacitated persons.

However, when it comes to web designing, many designers overlook the enigmatic power of colors. It can bring life to any image, text or graphics. It can create the atmosphere needed in order to capture the viewer's decision and loyalty. These are the reasons why colors should be on our topmost list of things that need to be considered in mounting a web site. You don't want a drab looking site, do you? It will appear, melancholic, chaotic, plain and boring. Thus, colors must be chosen in order to complement the site's ambiance, feelings and purpose.

Web browsers only see 256 colors. However, there are times when the number may not appear as such because no browser shares the same 256-color pallet. Nowadays, web browsers are sharing 216 common colors. Thus, in order to complement to other web browsers, web designers must stick to the 216-color pallet. If they go beyond this color pallet, chances are the colors may not exist on other browser. In order for the browser to display that particular color, it will need tiny dots from the colors native to the browser. The process is called dithering. Unfortunately, this will result to the distortion of some tiny dots. Further, this will make the image appear speckled and without a solid color. In connection to texts, dithering will make them blurry and hard to read.

Verdict: Web designers must use browser safe color when using solid color as a design element. However, caution must be exercised.

There are times when we feel we are tricked by our eyes. In fact there is what we call mirage? An optical illusion and there is a long list of optical illusions that can otherwise trick us. But there are times when we are neither tricked or deceived in fact it is an act of science. How do this happen?

At the back of our eyes, there is a thin layer of tissue. This layer of tissue contains millions of tiny light-sensing nerve cells which are called rods and cones. Our eyes have ample decoding cones. These cones are the ones responsible for responding to specific wavelengths of light. Say, when you look at a red box, the cones that have detected the red wavelength become exhausted and fatigued. As a result, opposite cones in the eyes start to enter and different colors are made apparent.

Eye fatigue is one of the important considerations in designing a web site. Thus, avoid colors that are tiring to the eyes. It can result to disaster and can further result to giving of wrong notion or idea to the viewers. Colors like red and yellow, strains the eye faster than any other colors. Thus, limit the use of these colors. Use them on areas that need emphasis and focus. This will surely pull viewers attention. Other that those areas - a big no-no!

World cup 2006 review - last 16

The World Cup has been reduced from 32 to 16 participating nations as the knockout stages begin. This is how the last 16 faired as they battled for a place in the quarter finals.

Argentina were firm favourites to see off Mexico but Ricardo La Volpe’s side were not there to simply make up the numbers. Captain Rafael Marquez gave Mexico a shock lead after four minutes but Argentina hit back five minutes later through Hernan Crespo, although it is questionable whether the Chelsea striker touched the ball. With the 90 minute draw secured at 7/2, the match looked to be heading for penalties until Maxi Rodriguez produced what could be goal of the tournament to send Argentina into the quarter finals.

Germany set up a mouth-watering quarter final encounter with Argentina after seeing off Sweden. Lukas Podolski showed his Golden Boot credentials with two goals after three and 11 minutes to win the match for the hosts at odds of 8/11.

England were predictably short odds at 1/2 to beat surprise second round qualifiers Ecuador but their 1-0 victory wasn’t convincing. Ecuador should have scored early on when Carlos Tenorio's latched onto an error by John Terry, but his shot was deflected off Ashley Cole and on to the bar. David Beckham curled in a decisive free kick after 59 minutes to secure victory.

Portugal beat fancied Holland at odds of 23/10 through a solitary Maniche goal after 22 minutes but it was four sendings off and plethora of yellow cards that was the game’s main talking point. Maniche, Costinha, Petit, Figo, Deco, Ricardo and Nuno Valente were all booked, with Costinha and Deco also receiving their marching orders for Portugal, while Van Bommel, Boulahrouz, Van Bronckhorst, Sneijder and Van der Vaart saw yellow with Boulahrouz and Van Bronckhorst also seeing red.

Italy were odds on jollies at 4/7 to see off Australia but extra time looked likely until the Italians won it with a controversial injury time penalty. Lucas Neill was adjudged to have fouled Fabio Grosso and Francesco Totti swept home the resulting spot kick to send 10-man Italy into the quarter finals.

Switzerland and Ukraine were involved in possibly the worst match of the tournament so far, with first-time qualifiers Ukraine securing their place in the last eight. Both sides played out a goalless, 90 minutes draw at 2/1 and with no goals in extra time, the first penalty shoot-out took place. Switzerland were equally poor from 12 yards out with the Ukraine triumphing 3-0.

Brazil were unconvincing against Ghana, but the 3-0 scoreline will have pleased big hitters who took them at 2/7. Ronaldo and Adriano gave Brazil a comfortable half-time lead with goals after four and 45 minutes and Ze Roberto rounded off the win with a third seven minutes before the end.

Spain were favourites to beat France, but it was the 1998 winners who pulled off the victory at 11/5. David Villa’s penalty gave Spain the lead after 27 minutes, but Franck Ribery on 40, Patrick Vieria on 82 and Zinedine Zidane on 90 turned the match around in favour of the French.

Enjoy the technology of a voip usb phone

The advent of the Internet made communicating with the rest of the world extremely easy. Instead of having to pay through the nose for a long distance phone call that lasts five minutes, an individual could simply type out an email message and send it to his or her friend’s inbox in an instant. However, that technology has now gone one step further. You can now make actual voice calls over the Internet using a VOIP USB phone or headset. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and is one of the newer mediums of communication that involves opening a connection and dialling another VOIP user in order to have a conversation. It has revolutionized the way in which we communicate today and has made life easier for many businesses.

In terms of being able to make VOIP calls, you only need four pieces of equipment to get starter – a computer, VOIP software, the capability to connect to the Internet and a USB headset or phone. The latter is very important if you want to be able to talk to people on the other end! The majority of new computer operating systems have the ability to accept USB connectivity, thus making the USB device the device of choice.

A USB handset seems to be the choice of many a user for a number of reasons, including the following:

• They are relatively cheap – USB headsets and VOIP headsets can be relatively expensive when it comes to purchasing a way and means of talking over the Internet. They are extremely fashionable and extremely desirable for business owners because they promote efficiency. As a result, USB phones happen to be a lot cheaper. They can be purchased for next to nothing in various stores. They do not have the operating system attached to the phone like a landline does, and that is what pushes up the overall cost. A USB phone therefore is less in terms of cost but you can get just as much out of it!

• Tried and tested method of calling – Everyone knows how to use a phone. It is not difficult because the mechanism on every single phone is roughly the same. Sure, they have different features and can take a little figuring out as a result, but they are all basically the same. This makes the transition that little bit easier.

• Ease of connection and use – With a VOIP phone, you just plug it in to the computer’s USB drive, place the appropriate installation disk into the disk drive, follow the instructions and away you go! It really is that simple. If problems do occur, they can usually be solved b reading the troubleshooting section of the manual.

• Personal comfort – The majority of people prefer to have a phone than a headset at their disposal. As we actively rebel against change, the phone is the best VOIP option because it will make the process of Internet calling much simpler an easier to get used to as a result of the familiarity.

VOIP is definitely the new trend in terms of easy communication and the VOIP USB phone definitely has its advantages and benefits, but how do you decide between those available for purchase on the market? If USB phones are associated with all of the benefits above then surely the brand and model you choose cannot make that much difference to you calling experience? Believe it or not, they can!

There are a number of things that separate the individual USB phones from each other and make it that little bit easier to choose between them, including:

• The features – As with every technological innovation, some phones are better than others in terms of features. Some have the same functionality and capabilities as more advances telephones in that they have inbuilt volume controls, mute functionality, address book and so on. However, the majority of them do not have features quite this advanced yet and are simple to operate. Your choice would depend on how comfortable you are using a more complex USB phone. Consumer reviews may help you to decide what you do need and what you do not need, as well as how much you are willing to give up in terms of convenience and ease of use for features.

• The system requirements – Some USB phones have certain system requirements. The general rule is that older systems cannot sustain the new phone systems, but newer computer packages should give you access to the whole range.

• Visual appeal – Of course, the visual appeal of a VOIP phone always plays a part! If you like the look of a phone then you will be more likely to use it! As a race, humans are shallow so of course this will affect your choice.

• Pricing – Some USB phones are much more expensive than others. This may play a part in your decision if you happen to be on a tight budget. Always compare pricing before you choose your phone because the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive is vast!

Deciding on a VOIP USB phone may not be easy but making the right decision can make the difference between enjoying the experience and truly hating it. Of course, this could then be the difference between using VOIP and returning to your regular landline connection!

Las vegas academy s series of short plays showcases student talent in las vegas schools

Las Vegas Academy, one of the magnet schools of the Las Vegas Public School District, has prepared a series of student produced and student led theater performances.

The Five Plays

• You Want Freedom Fries With That?

“An original theater piece about being an American teenager in an increasingly small world, written and conceived by the Roncalli Drama Festival Ensemble, performed at the Roncalli Drama Festival in Poggibonsi, Siena, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany.”

• Mixed Babies

“Five teenage girls of color discuss life, love, relationships, and friendship in this compelling short play.”

• Coffee Con Carnage

“An original sketch conceived and performed by the students of the Mime and Improvisation Class.”

• Sorry, Wrong Number

“A classic one act thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

• The Intermission

“A playwright listens clandestinely to the reactions of the intermission crowd at the premiere of his new play: a surprisingly insightful look at how we perceive what others think about our art.”

History of the Las Vegas Academy

Established in 1992 by the Las Vegas Public School District and area universities, the Las Vegas Academy is committed to fostering student skills in the arts and communication. This magnet school includes students from all over Clark County at its campus in an historic urban shopping district.

Las Vegas Schools students pursue a major in one of the following fields: dance, vocal music, instrumental music, international studies, piano, theater, theater technology, and visual arts. The school operates longer than other schools in the area in order to pack in all the subjects that students need to study in this arts intensive program. Classes are organized on a block schedule, in which students take regular academic classes every other day and major classes every day.

This aggressive approach to education has earned the Las Vegas Academy many honors, both state and nationwide. Including awards from the White House, Senators Reid, Bryan, and Ensign, former Governor Miler and former Las Vegas mayor Jones, the Academy has also garnered attention from the International Network of Performing and Visual Arts schools and been labeled a STAR school. In addition to winning three Grammy Signature School awards, the Academy has been recognized by the U. S. Department of Education as both a New American High School and a U. S. Blue Ribbon School.

The Student Experience at Las Vegas Academy

Students of the Las Vegas Academy compete through a tough screening process just to attend, including an audition as well as maintaining a high grade point average in their regular academic subjects. While students at other area high schools attend class for 50 minutes a day, students at Las Vegas Academy go for 86 minutes. The school day also goes one hour longer overall. This hard work pays off with over sixty percent of graduates enrolling in four year universities. The series of short plays to be produced by the theater and theater technology departments will be just one of many ways in which Las Vegas Academy students present their hard work and dedication to the local community.

How to find public car auctions

Have you been looking for a new used car to buy? If you have, there is good chance that you have visited a number of local car dealerships and there is also a good chance that you have kept your eyes and ears open on the way to and from work. Unfortunately, finding and buying a good quality used car isn’t necessarily as easy at it once was. For that reason, you may have spent weeks or even months searching for the perfect used car, only to come up empty handed. If that is the case, you may want to think about attending a public used car auction.

Even if you have never attended a used car auction before, you likely already know what one is. A used car auction is when used vehicles are auctioned off in a public setting. A public used car auction is one that is open to the general public. It is an auction where just about anyone, including you, can walk into. While different public used car auctions vary, depending on who is running it, you will find that a large number of public used car auctions are free to attend.

Since a large number of individuals are able to successfully buy a used car from a public used car auction, you may want to think about attending one. When it comes to finding a public used car auction to attend, you will have a number of different options. A few of your options are touched on below.

Perhaps, one of the easiest ways to go about finding a local public used car auction is by skimming through your local newspapers. A large number of auctions, including used car auctions, are advertised in the classified sections of many newspapers. This advertisement is often done in the weeks leading up to a used car auction. What is nice about checking your local newspaper classifieds to get information on a public used car auction is that you likely already get a newspaper, whether you pick one up on your way from home from work or if you a have subscription.

Another easy way that you can go about finding a local public used car auction to attend is by using the internet. When it comes to using the internet, you will find that you have a number of different options. To examine these options, it is first important that you know how some public used car auctions work. There are some auction houses or facilities that host used car auctions on a scheduled basis, like once or twice a month. On the other hand, there are some auction houses that only choose to host an auction when they have enough used cars to auction off. If you are interested in finding a public used car auction that is held on a scheduled basis, you may be able to use an online phone book or an online business directory.

In addition to using an online phone book or an online business directory to find information on an upcoming public used car auction, you can also use a standard internet search. When it comes to performing a standard internet search, you will want to keep your location in mind. For example, if you are a Chicago resident, you will likely not want to travel to New York just to attend a used car auction. For that reason, your standard internet search phrase should be something along lines of “Chicago used car auctions.” Your standard internet search should lead you to the online websites of individuals or companies who run public used car auctions. Should you find one of those online websites, you will want to thoroughly examine it to see if information is given on the cars that will be auctioned off and so forth.

In your search for a public used car auction, you may actually come across a number of different public used car auctions to attend. If you live in or around the Chicago area, you may want to take the time to examine North Shore Auto Auction.