Thursday, April 2, 2009

Types of Foundations For Your New House

When deciding on which type of foundation (basement, crawl space, or a slab) for your new home, there are many different factors to consider. In some parts of the country full basements will be the norm (most common in the north), while others will have slab foundations (most common in the south) and still others will have crawl spaces (most common in the central regions). Many people, because of local soil and groundwater conditions, often have only one or two options when it comes to house foundations. In certain places, constructing a full basement means blasting through solid rock. In other places, the ground water table may be lurking just a few feet below the surface limiting these folks to a simple slab on grade.
Keep in mind, that if you are planning a crawl space, and all of your neighbors have basements, your house may be more difficult to sell unless you are prepared to lower the price. This is simply a value/price perception issue since many people feel that having a full basement gives them more room even if it is used only for storage purposes. And of course, the potential is always there for someone to finish the basement and add extra living space at some time in the future.
The concrete slab choice is attractive to builders because of its relatively low cost. Excavation is kept to a minimum and the construction schedule can often be accelerated. The day after the slab is poured, wall framing can often begin. But slabs come with some negatives. Typically, plumbing drainage and water supply lines are buried beneath the slab. If something goes wrong or a leak develops, repairs can be costly. Heating or cooling ductwork buried underneath the slab (not recommended) can sometimes fill with water during wet seasons. Should this happen, fungus can form and spores might be blasted into the home each time the HVAC starts up. Thermal conduction issues are always present. Slabs poured in colder climates can conduct cold back into the house unless special precautions are taken when built. Homes built on slabs often offer little protection during tornadoes or hurricanes, unless a special masonry or concrete safe room is built within the house. These safe rooms can be designed as a large walk-in closet.
A crawl space foundation is a step or two above a slab foundation. Generally speaking, a footing needs to be poured and short foundation walls are built to support the home. Crawl space foundations allow you to install plumbing and HVAC systems so that they are accessible. The floor system over and the foundation walls inside of the crawl space almost always need to be insulated. A vapor barrier must be placed over the soil in the crawl space to control moisture, preferably one that is sealed at its seams & to the foundation walls. If this vapor barrier is missing, water vapor will readily travel up into the wood floor system and then into the house. This water vapor can cause severe mold problems. Homes built over crawl spaces offer minimal protection in severe weather unless you can install a floor access door in a closet that allows quick entry into the crawl space, assuming there is sufficient clearance.
As for basements, ask any homeowner who has a dry full height foundation and they will often tell you they would never be without one. The cost per square foot for this bonus space is often a fraction of what you pay for the living space stacked above it. If you do an actual cost analysis of a full height foundation versus a crawl space, you will find it costs very little to upgrade to the full foundation. Typically, full basements make a house more attractive to potential buyers.
A full foundation offers superb protection in the event of severe weather. It is not difficult to keep basements dry, even in extreme wet weather. The builder simply needs to install a proper drainage system around the perimeter and to apply a real waterproofing material such as synthetic rubber or liquid asphalt that has rubber additives. These materials can bridge small hairline cracks that might otherwise leak water. If you intend to finish off the basement space at a later date, be sure to install a true waterproofing material not the traditional hot asphalt damp-proofing spray.
If you can afford the extra cost, ask your builder to consider extra height foundation walls that allow you to have a clear ceiling height of eight feet or more beneath any and all beams that support floor joists, so that finishing the space at a later time will be easier and provide proper ceiling height.


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Sunday, March 29, 2009

loans tips

Payday loans have many names -- cash advances, signature loans and paycheck loans, etc. Payday lenders provide quick and easy short-term cash to those who need money immediately. That's the big reason why they're so popular.

However, payday loans come at exorbitant costs. This can -- and often does -- lead borrowers into a downward spiral of rapidly escalating debt. Let's look at the issue from various angles to get a complete picture.

First, the pluses. Here's why cash advances may hold enormous appeal for you.

  • You can have bad credit and still qualify for a payday loan. In most cases, no credit check is conducted.
  • The process is fast -- it takes as little as 20 minutes to complete. You can even find lenders who target approvals in 30 seconds!
  • There are no upfront costs -- so the buy-now-pay-later mentality can find full expression.
  • You can apply in person at a local outlet, over the phone or over the Internet.
  • You get funds deposited into your bank account in 24 hours.
  • Compared to some other sources for cash, payday loans are discreet -- no one else needs to know about it.
  • The transactions are secure -- your financial information remains private.

If you're faced with an emergency -- say, unexpected medical bills -- your only consideration might be to get money now. The speed and convenience of a cash advance comes in handy here.

So what are the disadvantages?

The most obvious one -- high costs. A payday loan can cost you say, $15 per two weeks. If you're borrowing only for two weeks, that doesn't sound like much. However, if you calculate the Annual Percentage Rate (APR), you'll see it comes to 391%!

If you don't think that's too much, let me ask you this question. If you invested money in the stock market, what would you consider a good annual rate of return? 20%? Maybe 30%? If you made a 20% return (on average) in stocks year after year, you'd be doing very well indeed. And this is for an investment that's generally considered high risk.

Now compare that with what the payday loan companies charge. You are providing them with a return on their money they likely won't get anywhere else on the planet!

There is another, less obvious reason why payday loans are dangerous. According to some estimates, over 60% of borrowers roll over a payday loan. Many take loans repeatedly, too.

How to get no fax payday loan immediatly?

Let's put in some numbers so that you can clearly see what rollovers imply.

Assume you borrow $400 for two weeks at a cost of $15 per $100 per two weeks. At the end of two weeks, you owe them a total of $460.

Let's say you don't repay the $400 at the end of two weeks. Instead, you request a rollover. So you pay them the lending fee of $60 and they agree to roll over the loan for another two weeks. The total cost of the loan at the end of 4 weeks may be as follows:

Original loan amount: $400
Fresh lending fees payable: $60
Late fees payable: $60 (assuming late fees apply at the same rate as lending fees) 
Lending fees already paid: $60
Total: $580

At the end of this period (which is 4 weeks from the day you originally took the loan), you decide that you don't have $580 available and so request them to roll the loan over for another two weeks. Then this is what it can cost you in total at the end of 6 weeks:

Original loan amount: $400
Fresh lending fees payable: $60
Late fees payable: $60
Lending fees already paid: $120
Late fees already paid: $60 
Total: $700

If you continue this process for six months (more specifically, for 24 weeks), this is what it may cost you in total:

Original loan amount: $400
Fresh lending fees payable: $60
Late fees payable: $60
Lending fees already paid: $660
Late fees already paid: $600
Total: $1780

For an original loan of $400, in a mere 6 months, the payday loan company will collect fees and charges of $1380 from you. That's 3.45 times the amount you borrowed. In APR terms that's 749.5%! If over 60% of borrowers roll over their loans, no wonder many payday loan companies are wildly profitable!

Snowballing costs can easily lead you into a debt trap if you get addicted to payday loans.

So what are the key points to keep in mind when dealing with payday loan companies? Two things:

First, avoid them if at all possible. The best way is, of course, to get your finances fully under control so that you always have cash and / or credit available to meet emergencies.

Second, if you do choose to borrow from payday loan companies, borrow only an amount you're 100% sure you can repay on the due date. If that amount is too low to meet your needs, get additional funding from other sources. Because rolling over cash advances is one of the worst things you can do to yourself.

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