The Finatical
Week of June 7th, 2022 - Homeownership, Growth of Optical Character Recognition Market, The Next Big Cryptocurrencies
Topic Breakdown - Homeownership
Homeownership will probably be one of the most expensive investments you will make in your lifetime. To help you with this complicated purchase process, in this article, we will cover the financial aspects of finding and financing a home, purchasing, maintaining, and refinancing a home, and finally selling a home.
Determing Affordability
To find a home, first, calculate your budget's upper limit to determine what you can afford. The average person can normally afford to purchase a home that is three times their annual salary, before taxes. Next, save up for a larger down payment to boost your purchasing power. Though 0% down payments are available, you will receive a smaller loan from the bank and pay more for the property over time. You may also not win in a possible bidding situation if you have a lower down payment, but if you put down a greater down payment, such as 20%, you have a better chance of convincing the homeowner to sell to you. Once you start searching for houses, look in areas where there seems to be potential for growth in house prices over time. It’s also important to compare the advantages of a new house vs an old one. A recently built house may be more expensive than an older home, but you may end up saving a lot on maintenance costs by not having to make regular repairs. Once you find a home, you will need to make sure you can finance it. There are multiple options for mortgages, so you can pick one that suits your needs. Conventional loans are ideal for homeowners with good credit and a considerable down payment. They're offered at most banks and through a variety of independent mortgage lenders. Loans backed by the government (FHA, VA, or USDA) can be excellent choices for borrowers who do not qualify for a traditional loan or who fulfill certain qualifications, such as military service for a VA loan.
Purchasing a Home
Once you know that you will be able to finance a home, it is time to buy it. Making an offer, obtaining a home inspection, and closing on the purchase are all part of the house-buying process. Your real estate agent will assist you in determining how much money you want to offer for the property, as well as any conditions you wish to impose. Your agent will next deliver the offer to the seller's agent, who will either accept or counter offer your offer. You can then accept or continue to negotiate until you reach an agreement or decide to give up and search for a different property. With the amount of money you're investing in your house, you'll want to make sure it's well-maintained. Regular maintenance can help you save money on repairs by allowing issues to be repaired while they are small and manageable. Eventually, you can also refinance. A refinance allows a borrower to obtain a lower interest rate on their mortgage. When refinancing a home, you replace your existing mortgage with a new mortgage with better conditions. Whether or not you should refinance is determined by whether or not you will save more money.
Selling a Home
Someday, you might want to sell your home. First, evaluate your market. Do you live in a seller's or a buyer's market? How much do comparable properties in your neighborhood sell for? This will help you decide how much to sell your house for. Then, set an appropriate price. You want to know how much money you'll get from the sale after deducting marketing expenses, closing costs, and any broker commissions. Once someone places an offer on your house, prepare to negotiate. A good real estate agent may help in this situation. An aggressive negotiator may save you thousands of dollars. Finally, get ready for the closing. You may have to deal with contingencies as well as problems discovered by the house inspection.
Financial Trends
Growth of Optical Character Recognition Market
Optical Character Recognition is the conversion of physical documents into a digital form. It allows users to transform various images and paper documents into editable digital formats. It is mainly used for logistics and transportation, banking and finance, and, service-based sectors. The increase in digitization, user data, and demand for healthcare has led to the adoption of OCR across many sectors in 2022. For example, the increased use and demand of shopping malls, and transportation services have led to a higher demand for OCR and is likely to continue to increase the market growth of shopping malls.
The regions where OCR has seen its most success so far this year are Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Latin America. The factors that have caused OCR to see a recent surge in its use across the world consist of the rise of disposable income, the rise of transportation services, and the improvement of healthcare infrastructure. If this trend of OCR is to continue in the upcoming years, it could create more lucrative growth potential for OCR across the Asia-Pacific region.
The Next Big Cryptocurrencies
Initially, cryptocurrency started out as a side asset that only wealthy investors used to invest in for fun but now they have a significant place and value in the financial industry. Currently, banks and investors consider cryptocurrency to be a serious asset despite its recent volatility and regulatory conflicts in China and some other nations. According to Nasdaq, there are six cryptocurrencies that have the chance to explode in the upcoming years and potentially reach levels of success like Bitcoin. These six cryptocurrencies are Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), Tether (USDT), Decentraland (MANA), Algorand (ALGO), and RenderToken (RNDR).
The reason why cryptocurrencies are now considered a major asset and hold significant value in the real world is due to the development and fundamental change in the perception of digital assets. These six cryptocurrencies were chosen for having the biggest chance to explode because of their potential market capitalization and their price. The market cap shows investors how much capital has been invested into that specific asset and the larger the market cap, the more stable the asset. Another thing that has caused cryptocurrencies to explode in the past and will continue to explore is their price. The prices of the digital assets help investors determine whether the cryptocurrency is bullish or bearish. Since cryptocurrencies are becoming more and more popular and a serious asset, they are becoming less volatile, resulting in them becoming a more stable digital asset.
Financial Guidance
"The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'this time it's different.'" - Sir John Templeton
While it may seem random, the market follows trends and patterns over a period of time. Don’t assume that this time is an exception to the trend.
Money Fact
The first motto that appeared on the US currency was “Mind your business”, not “In God we trust”.