When will this recession be over?

They talk about the green shoots of recovery; well I have not seen any, have you? I personally think that it is a form of increase confidence trick; an attempt to make people believe that the worst of this current recession is over; I work within the cost reduction specialists sector and things are still quite tough here.

They, and when I say they I am talking about the Government and business leaders, are no doubt hoping that this new confidence (false as it undoubtedly is) will spur people on to start spending money again; to start buying houses etc. Until these so called “leaders” realise that this crisis will only start to ease when the banks and building societies start to lend money again, the better. Already we hear stories of the bankers going back to their bonus culture, will they never learn? The bigger question is why are the Government allowing them to make the same mistakes again when we, the taxpayer, are the major shareholder? There is a real lack of leadership at the moment and it is about time somebody at the top started to crack the whip.

Now I am not some financial whizz kid who thinks he has all of the answers. I am in fact just an average working class guy from the UK who works for a company that offers advice about becoming a foster parent and who also has a partnership in a company that offers affordable front doors. I do however watch and listen in amazement at times when I see what some of the politicians and greedy bankers say – they really are not in the real world – they probably would have absolutely no idea as to the average cost of a pint of milk or loaf of broad – they are complete jokers and a waste of space.

I personally believe that this current credit crisis will last until the end of 2010, at least. I know that this seem rather negative but it is just my opinion on the situation. With a stronger leadership this would no doubt change but while the Labour cronies continue to bicker and squabble what chance have we got? Bring in Vince Cable I say as the new Labour leader!

Owners of holiday homes here in the UK that rent their property out for a large proportion of the year are expected to be hit by a stealth tax. Around 60,000 holiday home owners will be affected by the new taxes, wth each one being charged an extra £4000 every year.

The stealth taxes will hit those who offer their house for atleast 140 days each year. The holiday home also has to be rented out for atleast 70 of those 140 days that it’s available. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some people renting their houses out for 139 days a year.

The new taxes will be coming into force because, according to the Treasury, the tax rules at the moment break European laws. This is because current holiday home owners are able to receive tax reductions on certain things because they are classed as traders. The new tax laws will mean that they have to pay more taxes as they will now be classes as investors.

Although this isn’t good news for holiday home owners, it is good news for the Government. Due to the large number of home owners being affected, the Government look to make around £20 million each year from the new taxes. Despite the Government making this extra £20 million, it could prove to be worse for the Government than first appears.

This new stealth tax won’t come as good news for holiday home owners. Many already pay high amounts for things like maintenance and holiday cottage insurance. Now due to holiday home owners being charged more, therefore making less profits, many holiday home owners will be forced to close down. According to analysts, the resulting action of the stealth tax could cost the tourism business over £200 million. Not only will money be lost from a reduced amount of tourists, but jobs will also be lost with the increased amount of closing holiday homes. Yet more bad news for the current recession.

If you’re trying to find insurance for holiday homes based in the UK, or maybe overseas property insurance for your holiday home abroad, Schofields is the place to go.

Many people have built huge fortunes by investing in real estate. The old adage “buy low and sell high” is what a lot of real estate investors live by. I’ve heard a number of different real estate investors say that you make money in real estate not when you sell it, but when you buy it. This simply means that if you buy at a good price you are just about guaranteed to make a good profit.

A great way for savvy investors to practice the buy low sell high method is to invest in foreclosures. Foreclosures are at an all-time high and because of this there are opportunities everywhere for investors to find great houses at bargain prices.

A lot of real estate investors like to look at a bank foreclosure list and see what kind of inventory their local banks are trying to unload. When most people need to get a loan to buy a house they go to a bank so naturally banks would have a certain number of people default on their loans in the banks would then have a large number of houses that they need to sell. Banks do not wish to be in the real estate business. They do not want to flip houses or become landlords. Banks want to have good loans on the books, loans that people make their payments on. Because banks want to have a solid portfolio of good loans on the books and because there are more foreclosures than ever, many banks are willing to accept short sales. This means that a bank is willing to accept an offer for less than what is actually owed on the house.

Another way that investors like to find bargain properties is to look for government foreclosed homes. Banks are not the only institutions that make loans for people to buy homes. The Veterans Administration makes financing available to men and women who have served in the armed forces so that they can purchase homes, often with little down payment money and favorable interest rates. Like other lenders, the Veterans Administration has people that default on their loans from time to time and they will take houses back in foreclosure.

The Veterans Administration is not the only government agency that ends up with foreclosures. A lot of investors like to buy HUD foreclosures. HUD stands for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Department of Housing and Urban Development does not make loans directly but they are responsible for overseeing the activities of the FHA or Federal Housing Administration which provides mortgage insurance to approved lenders. If someone has a bank loan that is insured by the FHA and that person then defaults on their loan, and if the property were to go through the entire foreclosure process it would eventually go back to the Department of Housing and Urban Development which would then have the responsibility of selling that house to recoup losses.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development ends up with a lot of foreclosures because the FHA insured loans are usually made with very little down payment money and a lot more flexibility when it comes to buyers qualifying for a loan. The FHA makes buying a home easier for a lot of people but this also makes it easier for people to get in over their heads and lose their homes in foreclosure.

Times are tough for a lot of people and foreclosures are at an all-time high but if you are an investor now is the time to buy. There is more opportunity now than ever before to get quality properties at rock-bottom prices and real estate prices will not stay this low forever. This is one of the best times in history to buy low and sell high.