Category: Finance

Everything You Need to Know About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Most people may have heard of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, but may not be aware of what exactly this plan is. This article summarises everything that you want to and need to know about Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

What is Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?

Launched by the Government of India, PMAY aims at making housing affordable for all Indians. There are two types of schemes:

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U)
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Grameen (PMAY-G)

As the names suggest, the first plan is for those living in urban areas while the second plan is to provide monetary help for those living in rural areas.

Both schemes provide financial assistance and credit subsidies to those looking to build or buy their own home.

One of the main features of PMAY is the credit linked subsidy scheme. This credit subsidy is provided on the interest charged on home loans.

For both middle-income groups and people from economically weaker sections of society, this interest subsidy is provided on home loans taken either for purchase or for construction of a home.

Features of PMAY

A subsidy of 6.5% on the interest rate for the home loan for a period of 20 years.
It is mandatory to use eco-friendly material for construction.
Unless there is no female family member, the scheme makes it compulsory to register the property under the names of both the male and female members of your family.
The scheme is elderly friendly and differently-abled friendly. This is why it is mandatory for homes that are being built to provide ground floor accommodation for the differently abled as well as senior citizens.
GST for those applying for a loan via this scheme is 8%. This was brought down from 12%.

Who is eligible for PMAY?

To be eligible for PMAY, you need to meet the income criteria set by the government for this plan. The four groups that are eligible for the scheme are:

Persons belonging to economically weaker sections of society (EWS)
Those who belong to low-income groups (LIG)
Individuals who are part of the middle-income group (MIG I)
Those who belong to the second tier of the middle-income group (MIG II)

Criteria	EWS	LIG	MIG I	MIG II
Annual household income	Up to Rs.3 lakh	Rs.3,00,001 to Rs.6 lakh	Rs.6,00,001 to Rs.12 lakh	Rs.12,00,001 to Rs.18 lakh
Woman co-ownership/ ownership	Compulsory for new property, not existing property	Compulsory for new property, not existing property	Not compulsory	Not compulsory
Existing permanent home	Applicant or applicant’s family cannot have a permanent dwelling of their own

Note: if you or your family members have already benefitted from a Government of India housing scheme, you will not be eligible for PMAY. Moreover, not all cities in India are on the approved list of cities for PMAY. You can find the list of cities by logging in to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs website.

What you need to keep in mind

Based on the income group you fall under, here is what you need to keep in mind:

EWS/LIG individuals

Apply for the scheme before 31 March 2022.
EWS individuals can choose a home with a carpet area of 30 metres square and the carpeted area for LIG individuals is 60 metres square.
The loan tenure is up to 20 years and you need to repay the loan before you turn 70 years.

MIG I individuals

A subsidy of 4% is applicable on the interest up to Rs.9 lakh only. Any extra amount taken up that will not receive a subsidy.
The total carpet area of the home cannot be more than 120 metres square.
The maximum tenure of the loan is 20 years. However, banks can extend this to 30 years on a case-to-case basis.
Your age at the end of repayment cannot be greater than 70 years.
Total debt payments including the EMI on your home loan cannot be more than 50% of your gross income.

MIG II individuals

The credit linked subsidy of 3% is limited to Rs.12 lakh. If your loan is greater than Rs.12 lakh, the subsidy will not be applicable on the additional amount.
The loan tenure is 20 years which can be extended to 30 years on a case to case basis. This will be provided only if you are less than 70 years old at the end of the repayment period.

How to apply for PMAY

If you meet the eligibility criteria and are looking to apply for this scheme, here are the steps you need to follow:

Apply via the Joint Facilitation Centre:

You will need your Aadhar number and two passport size photographs to complete your application.
Pay a fee of Rs.25.
You will then receive an application number. This number can be used to check the status of your application.

You can also apply online by visiting the official PMAY website:

Visit the PMAY website.
Click the ‘Citizen Assessment’ tab.
Then choose ‘Benefits under other 3 Components’.
Enter your Aadhar number (without spaces) and then select ‘Check’.
You will then receive the PMAY application form. Fill in the required details and submit the form.
Click on ‘Save’.
You will receive an application number. You can use this number to track the status of your application.

Documents needed to apply for PMAY

Completed PMAY
Identity proof. This can be your PAN card, Aadhar card, voter ID card, or driver’s license.
Address proof.
Proof of income and a self-attested income certificate.
Your latest income tax return or form 16.
Bank account statement for the last 6 months.
An affidavit claiming you or an immediate family member do not own a property in India.
A valuation certificate of the property you are looking to purchase.
Construction agreement with a builder or developer.
An approved construction plan as well as a certificate from an architect or engineer stating the cost of construction or repairs.
A certificate from the architect stating the property’s fitness.
NOC from a housing society or any other recognised body.
Letter or allotment and other property-related
An invoice/receipt for the advance payment you made for the purchase.

PMAY is a way to ensure that all Indians have access to affordable housing since housing is the right of all and not just the affluent. However, like with any loan, do your research and choose the right developer or home before you go ahead and apply for this scheme.

March 25, 2019

4 Ways Pawn Shops Determine Prices
Pawn shops come across plenty of used items and brokers need to consider many elements when it comes to determining the value of an item. A pawn broker’s appraisal takes into account the item’s condition and even the seller’s circumstances. While third-party and in-house experts are often consulted, most pawnbrokers turn to online resources and blue book databases when valuing an item.

There are Gold Buyers in Melbourne who use different methods for different types of stock.

General Merchandise

General pawn shops, those don’t really specialize in something, deal with plenty of different items, including:
- Sports Goods
- Consumer electronics
- Specialized tools
- Antiques
- DVDs and video games
- Musical instruments
- Jewelry and watches
Each kind of item has unique considerations and current market values. To arrive at a price, the broker will use his skills and experience to look at the condition of the item, including accessories and packaging. They may even consider ongoing economic trends when pricing merchandise.

Gold and Jewellery

We all know that pawn shops do a lot of business in precious metals and jewelry. So, they’re likely to have expertise and experience when it comes to valuing items. For instance, they have familiarity with clarity and cuts of diamonds, and carat weights. They’ll also consider the metal price of silver and gold, keeping up with day to day changes.

While pawn shops don’t offer set a fixed minimum value on items, they often use a percentage as a baseline when valuing gold.

Value Databases

Before the days of the Internet, pawn shop owners relied on blue books for baseline resale values of just about any type of item. Some big pawn shop chains even developed their own internal guidebooks to help with assessments. Today, pawn brokers can head online and consult related auction sites for ideas on current market values.

Specialties and Experts

While most pawn shop owners have familiarity with the value of many items, some shops specialize in certain merchandise. Gold and jewelry are the most common pawn shop specialization, but there are those shops that specialize in firearms, electronics and even sporting goods. Sometimes, a broker may call in an expert or this-party consultant if they need assistance determining the value of something.

What’s more, the hard numbers of resale potential and market rate considered, small pawn shop owners have a great deal of flexibility to consider a borrower and seller’s circumstances. A pawn broker may place a certain degree of value on repeat business from satisfied sellers and borrowers and even recognize themselves as part of a community.

What’s more, some pawn shop owners may even offer a higher value depending on an item’s personal meaning, although this is not the case for all pawn shop owners. Offering a higher price, though, for a family heirloom compared to an identical item a seller grabbed at a car boot sale.

Overall, pawn shop owners know their trade. They have experience when it comes to properly value different types of items to ensure the best price possible.
March 14, 2019
Why investing in London properties now is a great idea

Investment’ has turned to be happening one all over the world. Even though there is a jinx pertaining to Brexit and its aftermath, people are eager to invest in the housing market. Moreover, the political situation is expected to reach a steady pace in March 2019. Whatever form Brexit is going to take, most of its fascinations to the international community do not depend on the EU membership remotely.

Across the UK, a housing cycle is underway, said Richard Donnell, director of housing market analyst Hometrack. On one side, growth is powering ahead in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. On the contrary, it is flagging or going into reverse in places like Aberdeen and parts of London. There are also other parts of the UK that are yet to witness the ripple effects of formerly stratospheric growth in London and the Southeast. Nearly 5 cities are 50 percent higher in terms of price when compared 10 years ago.

The number of housing transactions has been stagnant at the same level for four years — around 1.2m per year. But in London, where the market slowdown has been particularly witnessed in central or “prime” areas, the turnover is much down by 20 percent over four years. Most of the sellers are coming to terms with the fact that there are fewer buyers on the ground, and today’s house hunters are remarkably making higher demands of vendors.

The UK is known for possessing a talented workforce accompanied by highly flexible labor laws and also a purely accommodative attitude to the industries of dispute. All these when put together make this country the most preferable one to invest in the year 2019. There are also many hotspots considered to be highly viable for investment. The most predominant one being Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, New castle, Slough etc.

Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester:

Known to be the top-notch investment destination in the North East these places are often targeted by the property investors as they offer a guaranteed return. They also play a vital part in the economic growth of the country, by and large.

Newcastle:

This is also one of the most sought after place for investment. This area has been into renaissance owing to the amalgamation of the Northern Powerhouse initiative and extensive investment in digital infrastructure, and ultimately paving the way to lay hands on multifarious global opportunities. Hence, it has attracted renowned industries such as pharmaceutical, finance, and technology

Leicester:

Its geographical location contributes to a large extent for Leicester to be at the top of the UK’s economic growth table. Its accessibility to airport symbolizes an easy reach for any European destination within 4 hours without having to go via London Heathrow. It is also digitally sound and is working hard to diversify its economy.

Buying an off-plan home especially in the central London is a great way for investors and also owner-occupiers to make their home in a newly built residence with all the modern comforts set within a historically rich capital city which accompanies with own renowned perks.

Slough

Even though high prices and a sluggish market may put many investors off the London housing market, at least for some time, Slough could be very much worth a look owing to the combination of the arrival of Crossrail as well as the forthcoming Heathrow expansion. Both of which are likely to enhance the appeal of people towards Slough. The main reason is that people always search for accommodation which is really affordable and it should be also in a convenient traveling distance of London and beyond. Even, there is also scope for better employment in the future.

Like Slough and other areas, even Norbury has also turned out to be a most sought after area and there are many properties for sale in Norbury. These properties pave way for a better investment in the long run.

Conclusion:

It is always better to look at the pros and cons before making an investment in real estate as they always personify long term growth. Hence, it is better to invest by making a thorough study of the market.

March 4, 2019
The steps necessary to get your debt relief

There is a set of obligatory steps that every over-indebted person can follow to get ahead and find relief. They are simple. The real challenge is to go ahead with each one and finish the cycle having detected the problem and with the true intention of implementing the solution.

It must be recognized that getting out of a debt is a more difficult and slow process than getting into debt. It is a long way although it is possible to carry out as long as the debtor is willing to do it.

Debt inventory
Consolidating all debts first in chronological order in a single listing offers clarity on the true scope of the problem. The idea is to account for everything from credit to debt in the light account. It is necessary to know the time remaining for each debt, the dates of payment, and the cancellation method agreed (fees, half and half, block, etc.)

Income inventory
It consists of recognizing all the income that the person has. From the salary to the money saved in term deposits or mutual funds, anything goes, even the tax return made by the Internal Revenue Service (SII) every year.

Know the true liquidity
Consider both inventories. It’s time to really know how much money the person has to pay debts.

From the income inventory, you have to discard all the money used to pay for the expenses: basic services accounts, telephony, lease or dividend, gasoline from the car, cable TV, to Netflix. These expenses include the payment of the auto insurance as well as other insurance and legal obligations.

Recognize the savings
With this inventory, you have to separate the money that is being used for savings or hosted in financial savings products (term deposit, mutual fund etc.). With this liquidity cleanup, the person will have a true insight of their debts and the money available to pay them.

Nobody likes what they see after doing this exercise. Most of the time it leaves in evidence much more than the debts:

Bad financial organization
Low income
Low savings capacity
Consumption addiction
Fraud or embezzlement
The first thing to avoid is to panic. The debts are repairable as long as the person is willing to follow the following steps:

Ask for help

By the time the debtor realizes he has no money to pay, few alternatives are available. That is why every debtor must have a direct line with their creditors.

The first thing that the over-indebted person must do is approach their creditor and consult what their new payment alternatives might be. It is better to get ahead of the collection agency and negotiate with the creditors a new payment date and renegotiate the credit amounts as best you can.

This step includes separating the waters between the debts; evaluate the possibility of paying the smallest and renegotiate the times of the largest.

Since he gave the notice too late, the debtor should keep in mind that the creditor will offer more time but at a new higher interest rate. Another positive result is that if the debtor manages to pay the debt within the new stipulated time, his financial history will not be so damaged.

Compromise well

If the creditors agreed to reorganize the debt with new payment dates, amounts and fees, the debtor must start this new stage on the right foot.

This includes taking care of the work until you get out of the financial mess, or looking for a job that offers higher income to have more slack to meet the payments.
This does not mean passing on opportunities, but the debtor must study well the returns that these offer; focus efforts on those that will give you money within the new payment terms.
In the case of independent workers, this also includes organizing and prioritizing jobs according to amounts; such income will help to pay such credit while the other parallel project will allow the payment of another debt.
Clean the closet

The debtor already made the inventory of debts and income, asked for help and began to pay little by little. Now the real “cleaning” of all those unnecessary expenses begins.

This includes making some sacrifices, including:

Cancel the cable account
Change the cell phone plan or simply opt for prepaid cards
Stop going out to eat out
Reduce supermarket expenses to the essential or buy in a supermarket with wholesale prices and share expenses with a relative or friendship
Occupy more public transport (which will lead to greater organization of the times), or well organize the use of the car

In this step, the debtor must also evaluate the possibility of selling assets or high-value assets to redirect the money to the payment of the debts.

If the creditors refuses more time

If the debtor follows all the steps but still cannot pay there is one more step, and that is to take part in the Bankruptcy Law for Natural Persons. Ordinary people can exercise this right to declare insolvency and request legal mediation to renegotiate delinquent debts. It is a free and voluntary administrative procedure that facilitates the Superintendence of Insolvency and Re-entrepreneurship (SUPERIR).

Every debtor must know this information before accepting bankruptcy:

The official name of the procedure is the Bankruptcy Procedure of Renegotiation.
Its objective is to renegotiate the obligations of the debtor or facilitate the liquidation of assets for the payment of its current obligations.

It consists of three hearings in which the debtor, its creditors and the Superintendency participate.
The debtor must not have issued service provision tickets during the 24 months prior to the request for renegotiation.

You must have two or more debts due for more than 90 calendar days, that are in force and that exceed the 80 Development Units (among other requirements).
It must have the Unique Code granted by the Civil Registry and Identification Service. This is requested at the service offices.

March 4, 2019
Debt Consolidation: everything you want to know

If you are looking for debt relief, whether for student loans or credit card debt, you have probably heard of debt consolidation. But unless you have already faced challenges with debt, this may be the first time you encounter this concept. If so, this page is designed to teach you everything you need to know about debt consolidation.
Body:Debt consolidation is a financial process in which you take several debts and combine them into a single monthly payment. In most cases, you can only consolidate debts of the same type. So, the consolidation of student loans is done separately from the consolidation of credit cards, in case you have both types of debt to eliminate.
The consolidation objectives may vary depending on the type of debt and its financial situation. However, in general, it is consolidated to:
• Simplify your bill payment program
• Reduce your total monthly payments
• Minimize or eliminate interests

Things you need to know about debt consolidation
• Do it on your own: It usually only works with simple and low debt volumes. Whether you’re talking about credit cards, student loans or tax debt, this advice is right. Consolidation “made by yourself” is usually the most effective when you have a low volume of debt. If you owe more than $ 50,000 from any type of debt, it is usually best to get professional help. This is also true if your situation is “complicated”.

• Recognize that consolidation and liquidation are different solutions: People often confuse consolidation with debt settlement, but the two are very different. With debt settlement, the goal is to eliminate your debt for less than the total amount owed. On the contrary, the objective of consolidation is to pay everything you owe.
Consolidation simply facilitates debt management within your budget. You restructure the way you pay the debt, so you can make the payments each month without having to fight. Although you can reduce interest charges, the principal or principal is always paid in full.

• When done correctly, consolidation should not damage your credit: This is another way in which consolidation and settlement differ. The settlement of your debts for less than you owe, creates a negative observation in your Credit Report. This lasts seven years from the date of the discharge of the balance owed.

On the other hand, debt consolidation should not negatively affect your credit if you execute your plan correctly. In fact, in most cases, consolidation improves your credit score. Create positive credit history every time you make a payment on time. It also reduces your total debt burden, which also helps you achieve a higher credit score.Normally, the only time you consolidate the debt, you can damage your credit, is when you stop making a payment or leave the consolidation program.

• Re-consolidation is normally allowed: Generally, if you consolidate the debt and your plan does not work, you can usually re-consolidate with another solution. For example, let’s say you use a personal debt consolidation to consolidate a credit card debt. Then, as you pay off the loan, you accumulate new balances on your credit cards. Then he starts having difficulties to make the payments again. You can re-consolidate, using a broader debt consolidation loan, or enroll in a debt management program. In both cases, the original consolidation loan can be included in your new plan.

• Consolidation is not always guaranteed to reduce your payments:Two of the federal payment plans that you can use to consolidate federal student loans can actually increase your payments. The standard refund is designed to pay off all your loans in 10 years or less. This allows you to get out of debt quickly, but the compensation is that you can have higher monthly payments. With repayments or graduated depreciation, payments start low, but then increase by 7% every two years. As a result, the final payments you make may be even higher than the standard plan.
Even with credit card consolidation, lower payments are not guaranteed. Since this type of consolidation works to reduce or eliminate interest charges, it usually decreases your monthly payments, too. However, depending on the amount of debt you have and the length of the payment schedule, payments may be higher.
Conclusion: If you have very good credit, should you consider options for debt consolidation, such as “do it yourself”, so you can avoid damaging your credit.

If you simply cannot afford to pay all you owe, then you should explore options such as debt settlement. This is where you can settle your debts for less than the total amount owed. However, it is important that you know and be forewarned, because this could damage your credit significantly in the years to come.
If you cannot find any option that works for you, bankruptcy is the final solution you can use to get a fresh start.

February 23, 2019
Slow steps to be a millionaire
Being a millionaire is probably the great dream of many and, although achieving it is not something that happens overnight. It is incorrect to think that this is impossible, especially if good habits are acquired.

Money is not everything. Maybe for you the money is almost at the end of the list. Everyone has their own definition of success. Everyone has to confess that money did matter to them at some point in time in their life.

In most cases, there are people who want to achieve wealth:
- In fast mode that is to say quickly
- In lazy mode that is to say without working
- And finally as many of to become rich without money, without input or from nothing.
Starting from these questions above, yes it is possible to become rich quickly, without working and also starting from scratch. But everything depends on what you have in your head. But one must understand one thing above all else, you cannot get rich without doing anything, it is virtually impossible. The rise to riches requires sacrifices that many cannot do.

Reason why many are not rich

All of us want to enjoy a good holiday, travel, buy beautiful cars, new phones, get dressed, and visit the most expensive restaurants and hotels. But in reality, we do not have the means to take advantage of all these needs. So quickly, to satisfy our needs we do not hesitate to get into debt. As you read above, one is not getting rich by going into debt. Paying off one’s debts is one of the steps towards wealth. And if you were asked the question, what does it mean to become rich?

Having $ 3000 each end of the month can be a source of wealth for someone to qualify among the rich, while the other is only a pocket money. It is only from this illustration that you can understand that being rich has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of money that one can have, but on the contrary it is in the investment that we discover to be rich. And on the other hand, the definition of becoming rich has been much more about being a millionaire. While some once he starts winning 3 or 4 times what he earned automatically rises to the rank of the rich. And the more one wants to become a millionaire. One loses one’s concentration of becoming rich, because there is an amount that determines our effort.

We will discuss about the kind of things should you do to increase your chances of joining the club of millionaires.
1. Stop obsessing with money
Discover if what you do distracts you from the things that would really help you grow your fortune. Change your perspective. You should see money not as your main goal but as a result of doing things well.
1. See making money as a way to do more things.
In general there are two types of people:
1. One does things because he wants to earn money. The more things you make the more money you will have. It does not matter much about your product or service; they will do whatever it is while customers pay you.
2. The other wants to make money because this will allow them to do more things. They seek to improve their product and extend line. They want to create another book, song or movie. They love what they do and see earning money as a way of doing more than they love.
Although it is possible to find a product that everyone wants and you become rich when selling that product, many successful entrepreneurs evolve and grow when they earn money and reinvest it in an incessant search for excellence.
1. Resort to loans only if that help you win: Golden Rule.
Never borrow money that will not help you earn more. Consider what will be the final profit you will get thanks to the money you will borrow and consider if this will be sufficient not only to pay the loan back, but to continue producing money in the future.
1. Treat the work as a friend
Although it seems logical, it is necessary to emphasize that work is our main source of income. Do not take your position for granted and treat it as the best of your friends: spend a lot of time with it, do not ignore it and, of course, do not abandon it. A millionaire is not done from one moment to the next, much less with a bad attitude towards work.
1. Open different ways of income
Do not concentrate only on one source of income. Consider acquiring a second part-time job, start a small business or rent all your belongings, this will help you increase your monthly earnings much faster.
1. Invest in yourself
Every good millionaire knows that his main generator of capital is himself. Therefore, it is important that you invest in your education and allow yourself to constantly acquire new knowledge through trips, courses, workshops and specialties that help you learn how to grow your money.

Conclusion: Set goals, create routines that support those goals and make a record of your progress. Fix what does not work. Improve and repeat what works. Seek to be better than you were yesterday. Soon you will be good, then you will be excellent and one day you will be the best. The day will come when, without you noticing, you are a millionaire, if that kind of thing interests you.
February 7, 2019