Bleak outlook for young South Africans

Cape Town – The youth unemployment level in South Africa will take longer than previously thought to revert to levels seen prior to the global financial crisis, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) report said on Tuesday.

South Africa's unemployment figures stood at 25% for the past year and was at 24.9% in the second quarter, according to the latest official statistics.

But SA's youth are not alone in their unemployment woes. Their their global peers are also experiencing unprecedented unemployment levels as the eurozone debt crisis spreads.

"As the euro area crisis continues in its second year, the impacts are spreading further, slowing down economies from East Asia to Latin America," the UN labour agency pointed out.

"The projected decline in youth unemployment in the developed economies region is not expected to be enough to pull the global rate downwards," it said in a statement.

In South Africa, the government has stepped up efforts to cut unemployment figures.

Key proposals in the National Development Plan is improving skills development and breaking disincentives to hiring young people, as well as increasing competition and breaking monopolies.

It also focuses on strengthening the social wage in order to raise the living standards of the unemployed and those with lower paying jobs.

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Top Tips for Taking Personal Loan and Management of Home Loan

Why Personal Loan ?

In this day and age of internet everything you need is just a click away. And so are loans. The loan process has also become more easier and more customer-friendly. Consumerism has increased to such extent that it makes us want things NOW rather than wait for months or even years to save enough money to buy things we want.

Therefore, today we don't think twice before committing ourselves to indebtedness. The personal loan schemes are quite promising today, no doubt. But we need to be extra careful.

Unsecured loans, such as personal loans are usually very expensive. While availing a loan has become affordable and simple, it does have its drawback.

The personal loan banks may not always tell you the full story. Therefore it is important for us to delve deep into any loan offer and make the right choice.

Fund Management When Carrying a Home Loan

As a fund manager of the house, one has to find ways to maximize the benefits of the cash flows. Make a list of all the loans and savings/investments that you have made. Do you find places where the savings/investment is giving lesser returns than the loan rates? This can typically be seen with your endowment insurance plans, your EPF and PPF, the postal deposits, sometimes-even ULIPs. Why should you be invested in something when you are paying higher interest to somebody else? It is better to close all or most of these lesser returns savings/investments and divert the funds to close the home loan.

Care should however be taken to replace an endowment insurance plan with a term plan of higher cover. Your employer and your EPF officer will allow withdrawal of funds from the EPF account for buying and closing the loan of a house. The PPF is not so flexible with letting go of your money. ULIPs and the postal deposits can be closed only after the stipulated 3 years of lock-in.

Ways to repay your debt quickly:

There are ways to come out of the EMIs and make your loan tenure shorter:

Partial pre-payment

Switching to a lower rate

Increasing the EMI

Now let us look at the options in more detail. The best part is that, the options do not in any way add to your existing budget.

Partial Pre-Payment

This is the easiest way to close a housing loan faster. The method is to make use of any one-time income like a bonus, salary arrears, gifts from friends/relatives, any wind fall gains from shares, property sold, deposits closed, tax saving investments maturing, closure of savings that are giving you lesser returns than the housing loan, etc. to partially close the housing loan.

Switching To a Lower Rate

The interest rates current are in a rising trend. There are times when the interest rates start going down too like NOW! Based on the interest rate reset period, different banks will reduce their rates at different times. If the reset interest band of your lender is a wider band, you may be at a higher interest rate for a long time after other banks have started to reduce their rates.

Increasing the EMI

This is another option to close the loan faster. If you can spare a portion of an increment to increase the EMI, considerable saving could be made. For example a Rs.30,00,000/- loan for 20 years will need an EMI of Rs.28,950/-. If you can spare an additional Rs.2,300/- per month, the loan can be closed in 15 years itself.

Summary

Only after closing the home loan does one really become the owner of the house. Closing the loan as soon as possible not only relieves the mental strain of carrying a debt but also releases more money into the family budget.

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The Inner City Building Process in Calgary

Building a new home can seem overwhelming, so at Sunset Homes we keep the building process on track for you. From pre-building to final construction and beyond, our team of Calgary infill builders can make your dream home a reality.

Over the first two weeks, we’ll help you choose a site for your new home and will carry out a site inspection. We’ll advise you on feasibility and any technical issues related to the site, and will help you choose an approximate size and style for your new income property.

Next, you’ll meet with our architect, who will discuss estimates, requirements and concept plans with you. At this point, your drawing deposit of $5000 will allow our architect to visit the site and, over the next two to three weeks, advise you on your site plan, services plan, dimensioned floor plans and elevations. We’ll draft contracts based on your original building estimate, and our team of Calgary inner city builders will review the City of Calgary’s bylaws, planning regulations and requirements, and will lodge your plans at Development and Building Approval. At this point, you’re ready for permit application and contract pricing. We’ll give you estimates of the total cost to build and give you time to discuss.

Once we’ve come to an agreement, you’ll sign your contracts and pay 5% of the building price. We’ll submit your final plans to the City of Calgary, and will commence construction of your home within 10 days of receiving your building permit. Our construction supervisor will meet with you to explain the building process in detail, and our team of interior designers and suppliers will help you choose the interior and exterior colour schemes for your new income property. This part of the process can take two weeks to three months.

After the earthworks and progress payments have been taken care of, our general contractors can start construction of your new home. Our building supervisor will take your design and weather conditions into account, and will advise you on the approximate time frame for building your new home. We aim to be as detailed as possible about time frame estimates, but please be prepared for delays, as weather and new building regulations may impact your project.

After approximately 16 to 20 weeks, your new Sunset Home is ready and you can move in. You’ll feel secure knowing you’re covered by our New Home Warranty. Take time to sit and enjoy what you’ve built – you’ve earned it.
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Personal Loan

Personal Loan Tips For Intending Borrowers

If you're thinking of borrowing money to buy a car, boat, debt consolidation, home repairs, medical bills or anything else for that matter, here are some red hot tips to make the process much, much easier.

1. Avoid unsecured loans if possible

Avoid using unsecured personal loans if you can put up some security for your borrowings. This will get you a lower interest rate. A home equity loan, or redraw of extra repayments, allowing you to borrow against the equity built up in your own home or an investment property, is the best option of all, and could get you finance at up to 5 percent less than a personal loan.

2. Be honest in loan applications

Be honest about why you want the loan. Your bank may be able to offer you a loan option that better suits your circumstances. There are an increasing variety of different types of personal credit these days; car loans, commercial loans, leases, home equity loans, are just some of the examples.

3. Can't get a standard loan? There are alternatives

If the banks, building societies and credit unions won't lend to you because you're self employed, newly arrived in the country or have a poor credit history, consider the booming non-conforming and "low doc" loan market. A number of non-bank lenders offer loans which especially cater for this type of borrower. The interest rates on non-conforming loans are generally higher but come down after a few years of on-time repayments.

4. Check your statements for errors

There are claims that more than 50 percent of loan statements contain calculation errors. Simple mistakes, like the entry of the incorrect balance or the application of the wrong interest rate at the wrong time can be costly and mostly favour the lender. We all make mistakes, even bank computers make them and that's why borrowers should keep a close eye on loan statements. Various software for your home PC is available that can run a check on your statements.

5. Consider smaller lenders too

When shopping around for a car loan, consider community banks, credit unions and other smaller financial institutions which might be more approachable, and offer lower interest too.

6. Do you have to take out a personal loan at all?

Think twice before borrowing money without security. You may have a better option already available; home equity extension to your home loan, a new loan that uses your property as security, a credit card, or even a rich relative!

7. Do you qualify for a 'relationship discount'?

Relationship discounts are available from banks and credit unions for those borrowers who consolidate a range of banking business with the one institution. Home and personal loan interest rate discounts, term deposit bonuses, savings account fee waivers and credit card annual fee waivers are commonly offered.
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Property Finance

The financing of property investments is very similar to the financing of any business venture - there is a basic choice initially between equity (risk capital) and debt.

Equity funding means risking your own capital (your hard earned savings) or getting some other investor to risk his or her capital along with yours, and of course, share the rewards.

Debt funding means borrowing the funds in the form of a commercial loan or a mortgage. In this case, unlike equity funding, the debt has to be serviced, i.e., you need to pay interest.

We cover the ins and outs and the pros and cons of investing in property in the separate section on Investing in Property in Good Times and Bad!

Warning: Investments in property can go down as well as up in value and property can sometimes take a long time to dispose of. Never invest money in property which you may need in the short-term - invest with a long-term perspective.
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