Buying A Car With Dealer Finance

Finance packages can be very lucrative for dealers

Many car dealers, car brokers and car supermarkets offer finance packages to people buying a car. These can be very lucrative for dealers but confusing for buyers. However, whatever package you go for, there are three golden rules when choosing dealer finance.

• Always compare finance deals using the annual percentage rate (APR) and the total amount repayable. Never rely on the ‘flat rate’ interest that dealers often quote.
• Haggle on the APR – dealers will often drop it if you do, saving you hundreds of pounds over the life of the loan.
• Always insist on written finance quotes to take away and mull over – if the dealer refuses to do this, don't do business with them.

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Buying a car with hire purchase (HP)

This is a simple form of finance, secured on the car itself. You pay a deposit (often 10%) and then repay the balance, plus interest, over the loan period. There are usually administration and ‘option to purchase’ fees, but if you object to these the dealer should agree to knock them off.

You don't own the car until you've made the final payment, so you can't sell it without the lender’s permission. On the plus side, if the car goes wrong during the loan period, the lender is jointly responsible with the dealer for fixing it.

Buying a car with 0% finance

This is usually a special-offer package for cars that the manufacturer or dealer needs to shift – such as outgoing models. 

You pay a large deposit upfront (35% or more is common) but then there’s no interest on your monthly repayments. The bad news is that it can be hard to get a discount on top of 0% finance and if you miss any payments, you're usually switched to a higher interest rate.

Buying a car with personal contract purchase (PCP)

PCPs can suit buyers who want to change their car every two to four years. You pay a deposit (often 10%) and low-monthly instalments over a fixed period, but defer a lump sum until the end of the contract. 

This ‘minimum guaranteed future value’ (MGFV) is the amount the lender guarantees your car will be worth after three years, say.

At the end of the term, you can pay the lump sum to keep the car, hand the car back and pay nothing, or sell it privately to fund the balance. Stick to the agreed mileage limits and keep the car in good nick to avoid any complications, and make sure you read the small print.

Buying a car with personal leasing

Like PCPs, leasing offers low monthly payments (starting from around £100) but you have no option to buy the car. The type of car, length of contract and agreed mileage limits determine the overall leasing cost. You normally have to pay up to three months’ rental in advance.

Source:- http://www.which.co.uk/cars/choosing-a-car/buying-a-car/buying-a-new-car/buying-a-car-with-dealer-finance/

No Car, No Problem

How one man's choice to live car-free brought him more in touch with his neighbors, his community, and himself.

Bicyclists celebrate "Car Free Day" by setting up a café in a parking spot.

Photo Essay: (PARK)ing Day
One day a year, in cities throughout the country, parking spots take on a whole new meaning. Simply by paying the parking meter and rolling out some grass, residents claim these spaces as public parks—and have their say about how small but precious pieces of urban real estate are used.

Photo by Kevin Steele

On cold rainy days in February, when my shoes are soaked and my legs are damp, I often find myself wondering, “Why did I decide to live without a car?"

Growing up as a teenager in the suburbs, I believed cars were a source of independence. Yet, over the years, I've come to see cars as a symptom of cultural sickness. In college, I decided to save money by not purchasing a car and found that I also escaped worries of shoveling the snow from around its tires, finding parking, and arguing with mechanics. Now, when parents or friends offer me their used vehicles, I turn them down, preferring to avoid the hassle of ownership.

Cecilia Kingman, a minister who convened a Common Security Club in her church, notes that her decision to live with out a car, “always draws curious comments.” Yet she managed to raise two children as a single mother without one.

Kingman's children now say that growing up without a car not only brought their family closer together, but also helped them develop a more relaxed schedule, environmental consciousness, and a strong sense of their own independence and capability. “They learned to take public transportation at an early age, and by middle school could get all over town on their own,” she says.

Lately, it seems, everyone is going “green”–even my mom is eating vegan and taking public transit. Still, as climate change unfolds on a grand scale, we all must wonder if our individual lifestyle choices are really making a significant difference. Although one can worry about paper or plastic, the Union of Concerned Scientists explains that the most influential environmental choices an individual can make boil down to three: Drive less; Eat less meat; Live in smaller, well-insulated homes.

A more radical consciousness raiser for me was reading Ecocities, in which architect and urban planner Richard Register explains how, in addition to environmental problems, cars cause a dislocation of community.

31 Ways to Jump-Start the Local Economy

How to make it with less, share more, and put people and the planet first.

As Kingman points out from her own car-free experience, “We ended up supporting a lot of local businesses, because big box stores and malls were much harder to get to. We bought our groceries every few days, which supported a healthier diet. And most of my children’s friends were in the neighborhood, because I couldn't drive them across town for play dates, and that helped us know our neighborhood, which has benefits beyond our own family.”

My friend Danilo Morales grew up in Ecuador with six brothers and sisters. A car was more than his family could afford. As a child, he felt normal taking the bus, as most other families couldn’t afford a car either. Even though he wanted one in high school so he could take his girlfriend to the beach, the idea of going into debt for five to seven years—with little money left over for food and rent—seemed absurd. When he came to the United States, he was shocked to find that a lot of families have one car for every member.

As he began his U.S. job hunt, Morales considered buying a car in order to be able to go after the best available job. Yet he found the stress from the rush hour commute lingered. As he puts it, “When I was young in Ecuador, still finding my identity, a car was attractive in theory. But now I have core principles and I’ve overcome the status mirage of a car. I feel like I am doing something good by avoiding car ownership. Of course, you have to be strategic about where you live.”

As for myself, I am not very rigid about my lifestyle choices. Of course, I still can take taxis—which is recommended on cold, rainy days. I still rent cars to get out of town or to visit relatives. I often borrow cars, if I have big shopping trip to do. And I always accept a ride, if it really isn’t an inconvenience.

I’ve learned some wonderful lessons from living without a car:

• Commutes are wonderful times to read, and I find the subway relaxing despite the loud roaring and screeching sounds of the wheels on the rails.
• Walking is when I get all my best thinking done. On a sunny day or summer night, long hikes through the city can be as beautiful as long hikes through the mountains.
• Shoes are beautiful and important and worth spending money on.
• Community is vibrantly alive in my neighborhood! Every day, I bump into a neighbor while walking down the street and spend an extra ten minutes chatting–there is a village within the city, and I feel embraced by it.

Any lessons you other car-free folks want to share? I am curious to hear reflections from people thinking of driving less.

---

Interested?

Neighbors are coming together to support each other in hard times by offering mutual aid, taking social action, and learning about the economic forces that impact their lives.

Source:- http://www.yesmagazine.org/blogs/common-security-clubs/no-car-no-problem

Affordable Housing In Fife

New Build Council Houses

Fife Council is leading the way in Scotland by investing in its housing stock, benefiting current tenants and generations to come. We have an ambitious target to deliver 2700 affordable homes by 2017.

The project is a collaboration between affordable housing providers in Fife including Fife Council, Housing Associations, private developers and a number of Scottish Government initiatives. In total, around 900 of the 2700 new homes for rent have now been built .  Fife Council has provided 174 of these new homes which offer a real mix of house types to complement our existing range of properties and are highly energy efficient.

The total cost to deliver the 2,700 Programme is around £300m. The Council’s budget for the Programme is approximately £150m. The Housing Associations’ budget is approximately £70m.  Both are supplemented by approximately £55m from the Scottish Government through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and other previous funding. The Scottish Government also provides approximately £12m through their various funding initiatives as part of the Programme

Watch our  video to see how brand new homes are changing the lives of their new tenants: 

How do I get a new build council house?

Where possible, new build properties are allocated to existing tenants in housing need - such as those in overcrowded or under-occupied houses. This makes the homes which the tenants of the new properties have moved from available so that the needs of more households can be met through further allocations.

New Council properties are allocated through the Fife Housing Register (FHR). If you are a tenant of Fife Council or a tenant of the following FHR partners (Ore Valley Housing Association; Glen Housing Association; Fife Housing Association; Ochil View Housing Association ) and you wish to be considered for one of these new homes, please complete an FHR application form, available from any Local Office, Home4Good Centre or download here. Remember to select the areas where new properties are planned or under construction.

Other affordable housing options: mid-market rent

New homes for mid-market rent are being developed at private sites in Rosyth and Crail. Mid-rent properties may be more suitable for you if you're working but can't afford market rent prices. The rents are set at a level between market rent and those charged for council homes.

The homes will be rented for 5-10 years with the option to buy later. The tenants will have the first opportunity to buy the home when they are later sold at market value. These developments also offer incentive schemes where the landlord will contribute towards the deposit savings of the tenant should they buy the home.

The Stewart Milne Group has completed the first 3 phases of the development in Crail which includes a mix of 2 bedroom flats, 2 bedroom terraced homes and 4 bedroom town houses.  Phase 4 & 5 which consists of 2 bedroom terraced homes are due for completion between the end of March & April 2015   Find out more about the flats here.

The Kapital Group is aiming to have its 1st phase of homes at Rosyth complete by the end of April 2015. The overall mix will include 1, 2, 3 & 4 bed homes, flats and terraces. Find out more here.

Council housing for the future

The housing developments built directly by the council as part of this programme have not just met industry standards. They include important features such as sprinkler systems, innovative technologies, increased insulation standards and high air tightness. In turn this contributes to tackling fuel poverty and improving living standards.

In several cases the council is also bringing derelict land (like brownfield sites) back into use or redeveloping derelict buildings into modern day housing.

Read the rest of this article here:- http://www.fifedirect.org.uk/topics/index.cfm?fuseaction=service.display&objectid=2EAE8093-0D06-3214-493E59D1FF99B54D

How Rent-To-Own Homes Work

You've just bought the home of your dreams, signed the contract and packed the moving van -- you're all set, right? Not if you haven't sold your current home first. So you put it on the market and you wait. And wait. And wait. In many cities where it makes more financial sense to rent than own, buyers may simply not be interested. In others, buyers do come along, but they don't have enough money saved for a down payment or their credit isn't good enough. How will you ever sell this house?

For many, the rent-to-own home may be the best option. Also called a lease-to-own house, the process works similarly to a car lease: Renters pay a certain amount each month to live in the house, and at the end of a set period -- generally within three years -- they have the option to buy the house. Each month of rent they pay is income for the seller, while a portion of it goes toward a down payment to eventually buy the home.

Both renters and sellers need to be very clear about the contract they draw up before they agree to this arrangement. Renting-to-own has advantages and disadvantages for both parties. Sellers who have already bought a new house will have relief from paying two mortgages at once, and in a slow housing market with many homes for sale, this may be their best option. Buyers who can't yet afford a house may be able to get one more quickly.

Read on to find out how the rent-to-own process works.

Read the rest of this article at:- http://home.howstuffworks.com/real-estate/buying-home/rent-to-own-homes.htm

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