Estates Commerce Blog » Comparing Home Loans

Marine Farms and Real Estates

admin — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:43:04 +0000

If oil deals where you do not even own the land seem odd from a real estate perspective, then even odder are my marine farms in the Marlborough Sounds in New Zealand. With the entire operation being out at sea, it stretches the meaning of the word real in real estate.

The Marlborough Sounds are an extensive waterway in the northern part of the South Island of New Zealand. The fractal shores in fact comprise one-fifth of the length of New Zealand’s coastline. With unpolluted waters, an abundance of nutrients, and shelter from the open sea, these sounds provide the perfect environment for shellfish to grow. (See Figure 18.4.) The waterways are highly regulated. Limited numbers of licenses are granted, as overharvesting would be detrimental to the entire industry. Consequently, licenses have considerable value even before a crop is harvested.

My farms grow oysters and mussels. The spat is seeded on lines that hang vertically in the water from floating racks. Depending on water temperature, nutrients, and a number of other factors, the shellfish may be harvested anytime from around 7 months to 18 months. Once harvested, the crops are sold on the open market either for local consumption or, more typically, to be airfreighted to Asia or America. As such, prices are global, being affected by world supply and exchange rates.

Always be willing to expand your concept of commercial real estate to include anything where commerce is conducted within geographically defined spaces, be it on land, in the air, at sea, or, dare I say it, out in space.

Comparing Home Loans

admin — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:32:18 +0000

When looking for suitable home loans, always remember to compare your home loan opportunities in the proper way. This means that you cannot actually compare a 30 year fixed home loan at 6.5% to a 5/1 ARM at 3.8% without real knowledge of what you are doing. What does it all mean anyway? Below is an easy home loan guide:

Loan Term – The loan term is the repayment time of your loan. In most cases mortgages are 30 years, but some of them may be 10 or 15 years. The longer the term the lower your monthly payment, but at the same time you are paying the higher interest!
Interest Rate – A fixed interest rate indicates that you will be offered the same interest rate for your entire loan period. An adjustable interest rate may change after a period of time. If you are comparing a fixed rate and an ARM loan, use a mortgage calculator to compare your payments down the line as well as those up front.
Closing Costs – Lenders, closing agents and attorneys, state regulations should be taken into account when calculating closing costs. Choose the lender with the smallest amount of junk fees or the one that will cover your closing costs out of his own revenues.

Real Estate Insurance can be cheaper!

admin — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:36:15 +0000

When you’re buying your home insurance be certain that you are getting all of the credits for which you are eligible. If you have installed an alarm system that reports to a central station (companies such as Brinks or ADT), in some situations you can ask for as much as a 10% discount. If you are over 50 and willing to admit it, you may also be eligible for a discount. Names for age preference policies tend to vary depending on the company, from senior discount to mature policyholder discount. The most popular discount is the multi-policy discount. This will allow you to save money on your home and auto insurance as well. When you combine the two policies with the same company, you are given a certain percentage discount on both of them. The percentage discounts varies from company to company, so it’s best to spend some time looking for the best offer on the market.