5 Ways to Reduce Your Debt

When used wisely, debt can be a good thing. It can help you buy a house, pay for your education, or enhance your standard of living. However, if you’re borrowing gets out of hand it can lead to many problems such as running out of money, not being able to deal with unexpected costs, causing stress and much more…

Have a look at the following 5 tips that will help you gain control of finances and reduce your debt:

Make a Budget and Reduce Your Spending

First things first – make a budget and plan your spending. Planning a budget helps you to track where your money goes and enables you to achieve financial success.

Determine your monthly income and then figure out your expenses. Decide how much you would like to put aside for saving and create a template or use this Budget Worksheet. Try to cut down on as many of your personal expenses as possible, such as clothes and eating out. By following your budget, you can put any extra money you have each month towards lowering your debts and saving money on interest fees.

Consolidate Your Debt

Debt consolidation loans offer the chance to pay off your debt faster while paying less interest. All of your individual debts are collected into one loan, giving you just one low, easy-to-manage monthly payment. This saves you money on interest fees and lets you pay off your loan faster.

Contact Your Creditors

Don’t be afraid to contact your creditors and try to re-negotiate your arrangements. Contact your creditors and request one or more of the following:

• Lower monthly payments
• Longer time period to make your payments
• Lower rate of interest

More often than not your creditors will work with you to accommodate your needs to the best of their ability.

Communicate With Your Mortgage Lender

Contact your mortgage lender as soon as you run into mortgage problems. Do not feel as though you need to dodge or avoid your lender, as this will just cause more problems for you. Your mortgage lender will work with you to find a solution.

Restructure Your Assets

A personal asset is something that you own. If you cannot earn more money or alleviate your expenses, selling a personal asset (such as your car), down-sizing to a less expensive house, or using savings, investments or cash to pay off outstanding loans can reduce the cost of your debt.

The longer you owe money, the more it is going to cost you. So aim to manage your finances today and pay off your debt as quickly as possible. Before you know it you will be enjoying a hassle-free financial life with controlled financial affairs.

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At Alta Pacific we are active in the specialty mortgage market in Western Canada.  The big conventional banks focus on conventional mortgage opportunities leaving opportunities in the specialty mortgage market for Alta Pacific Mortgage Investment Corp. and other MICs that participate in this market. If you are interested in learning how you can share in the returns generated by specialty mortgages, we invite you to learn about Alta Pacific MIC. We focus on consistent returns for registered investors (those with RRSP, LIRA, RESP, TFSA etc.) or open investments (for Canadians with cash on hand). Alta Pacific works with Western Canada’s best Exempt Market Dealers and will work to understand your current situation and future need.  Feel free to contact us directly with any questions you might have.

www.altapacificmortgages.com

Security. Growth. Transparency.

Urban starts down in BC and Prairies December 2011

Today the CMHC announced the housing starts stats for December 2011.  The gross starts are up across the country with Ontario and the Atlantic provinces leading the growth.  In Western Canada (where Alta Pacific primarily operates), urban starts decreased by 19.8 per cent in British Columbia and by 11 per cent in the Prairies.

The full news release is available on the CMHC website – here

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At Alta Pacific we are active in the specialty mortgage market in Western Canada.  The big conventional banks focus on conventional mortgage opportunities leaving opportunities in the specialty mortgage market for Alta Pacific Mortgage Investment Corp. and other MICs that participate in this market. If you are interested in learning how you can share in the returns generated by specialty mortgages, we invite you to learn about Alta Pacific MIC. We focus on consistent returns for registered investors (those with RRSP, LIRA, RESP, TFSA etc.) or open investments (for Canadians with cash on hand). Alta Pacific works with Western Canada’s best Exempt Market Dealers and will work to understand your current situation and future need.  Feel free to contact us directly with any questions you might have.

www.altapacificmortgages.com

Security. Growth. Transparency.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Alta Pacific!

Your friends at Alta Pacific hope that you had a Merry Christmas and safe, enjoyable New Years.

While it’s a new year on our calendars, its mid-year for Alta Pacific Mortgage Investment Corp. as our fiscal year spans from July 1 – June 30. The first 6 months of our 2012 fiscal year (July 1 – Dec 31) has performed as expected. We remain confident in achieving our target return to investors of 8-11% per annum in 2012. Alta Pacific continues to locate quality mortgage lending opportunities through our network of mortgage brokers and contacts in the Western Provinces. Newly funded mortgage loans, coupled with a stable real estate market in Western Canada, gives continued confidence in the performance of our fund over the coming quarters. Our focus on low loan-to-values (LTV) has allowed us to outperform our target of 65% LTV for the overall fund. This LTV underscores our primary focus of protecting capital and keeping each shareholder’s investment safe and secure.

As we start 2012, we may find ourselves thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Sometimes our resolutions are about personal health or time spent on important priorities; and sometimes they are about financial matters. When it comes to financial affairs, there are things we can all do this year that improve our financial “health” – namely improving our credit score / credit report. Adult Canadians – with few exceptions – have a credit score / rating. Our credit rating affects all aspects of our financial activities when it comes to borrowing money. It has the ability to affect employment, the mortgage we attempt to refinance or close… even the apartment we rent and our ability to open a bank account. Think of it as a stranger’s (i.e. the bank) way of determining your ability to repay them when they entrust you with money or something of value. The behavior of people in the past tells an awful lot about the likely behavior in the future, so each of us has a credit rating that tells this with a score from poor (under 600) to excellent (700 and above).

Here are some simple steps to keep your credit score in good shape:

1. Never miss a payment – set up pre-authorized minimum payments for your credit cards.
2. Avoid using more than 75% of the limit on credit cards and lines of credit. Never exceed the limit.
3. Don’t think “I’ll show them” by not paying an old cell phone bill (for example). Sometimes the smallest unpaid debts cause the biggest credit score problems.
4. Review your credit report once a year – this will help you to catch inaccuracies and track overall health of your credit history – www.equifax.ca is one place to do this.

For those without credit history; obtain two credit cards from recognized financial institutions. Always follow the above 4 steps and life will be grand.

For more information about credit scores visit: http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/consumers/creditloans/index-eng.asp

Finally, have a look at how your credit ranking is weighted. Some things are more important than others so make it this year’s resolution to not only follow steps 1 – 4, but also to understand how to improve your credit score by understanding how banks and lenders think about you.. 2012 might just turn out to be your best financial “health” year yet!

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If you are interested in learning how you can share in the returns generated by mortgages, we invite you to learn about Alta Pacific MIC. We focus on consistent returns for registered investors (those with RRSP, LIRA, RESP, TFSA etc.) or open investments (for Canadians with cash on hand). Alta Pacific works with Western Canada’s best Exempt Market Dealers and will work to understand your current situation and future need.  Feel free to contact us directly with any questions you might have.

www.altapacificmortgages.com

Security. Growth. Transparency.

Is investing in Real Estate for young people?

This question was posed by The Globe and Mail this week in the article titled “Investing in property: a young person’s game?“

The article goes on to talk about how the stock and bond markets are spinning their wheels and many Canadians are looking for alternative places to invest their money.

The thought for many is that investing directly in real estate is a large effort.  If you are a home owner you already know the effort of managing house maintenance, insurance, property taxes, not to mention the monthly mortgage payment, utilities and the required upgrades from time to time.  The thought of owning rental property for many Canadians adds a few more items to that list; finding tenants, keeping them happy, collecting rents, dealing with move-outs and move-ins etc.  And if you happen to have a bad tenant, watch out, it can be a bit of a nightmare.

So, some of the alternatives that Canadians turn to when they think about investing outside of equities, stocks, bonds or mutual funds… is to look at real estate investments that do not carry the burdens of home (or condo/townhouse) ownership.  These include REITs and MICs.  A REIT is a Real Estate Income Trust and a MIC is a Mortgage Investment Corporation.  They have many similarities and a few key differences.  Think of it simply this way:

• In a REIT, investors are essentially investing in real estate through the REIT entity and the REIT entity manages the many things required in real estate ownership (both commercial properties and multi-unit residential).  The REIT entity generates its income from the monthly rent collected from tenants of the properties.
• In a MIC, investors are essentially investing in real estate through mortgages.  The MIC entity manages a portfolio of mortgages secured by Canadian based real estate (both commercial and residential).  The MIC entity generates its income from the monthly mortgage payments collected from borrowers of the properties.

As an investor in either a REIT or a MIC, the key is to understand the current portfolio of the entity you are considering investing in along with feeling comfortable with the key personnel that operate the entity.  Find the right combination and you should experience long term consistent returns that outperform many traditional investments.

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If you are interested in learning how you can share in the returns generated by mortgages, we invite you to learn about Alta Pacific MIC. We focus on consistent returns for registered investors (those with RRSP, LIRA, RESP, TFSA etc.) or open investments (for Canadians with cash on hand). Alta Pacific works with Western Canada’s best Exempt Market Dealers and will work to understand your current situation and future need.  Feel free to contact us directly with any questions you might have.

www.altapacificmortgages.com

Security. Growth. Transparency.