BackgroundAccounting has been defined by the profession as The art of recording, classifying, and summarising, in terms of money, transactions and events which are, essentially, financial in nature, and interpreting the results accordingly.Accounting relates to the dissemination and measurement of financial information by accountancy professionals to establish the level of performance of an organisation. The culmination of such analysis is the...more
History of AccountingBeyond Luca PacioliIn 1543, it is believed that the first book on accounting to be published in English was by John Gough. Entitled Debtor and Creditor, it was portrayed as A Profitable Treatyce.In 1588, John Mellis of Southwark published a book which consisted of a series of instructions based on accounting principles. He refers to the fact that his book makes use of ancient copies of a manuscript printed in August 1543 by a...more
The price of properties has fallen drastically since the advent of the credit crunch.The main effect was found in the mortgage and secured loan markets.Secured home loans require the security of the bricks and mortar value of a property, and they depend to a large extent on property value.In addition to property prices decreasing the number of secured loans and remortgages available, the underwriting criteria of mortgage and secured loan lenders tightened, further limiting the eligibility of many.Prior to the credit crunch and with home prices going up, underwriting in the mortgage and secured loan markets was less strict.There was ready availability of secured loans at 90% LTV , 95% LTV,100% and even the 125% equity plan whereby it was possible to borrow up to 25% more than the property was actually worth.Similarly with mortgages and remortgaes it was possible to obtain a mortgage or a remortgage up to 100% of the property value.Mortgages and remortgages were available from The Northern Rock at up to 125% of the value of the property.This meant that apart from property prices continully rising, with underwriting and loan to values being very liberal, many more people up to three...more
For the married couple, it is truly essential that an estate is properly structured, legally protected, and the disposition of assets in the case of separation clearly defined. If you have not yet started a trust for your assets as a property investor, perhaps this scenario will convince you of the need to do so.The Case of the Trust-Less DivorceIn...more
When financial woes hit a married couple the unfortunate outcome is often a divorce. Of course, this means the division of assets, along with the usual amount of bickering over that division. But if those assets are in a trust, what happens?The Creation of the TrustFor the property investor or any other type of investor, a trust is always...more
Here are 5 signs that you either have a major debt problem on your hands, or you are headed in that direction:1. You have no clue how much total debt you have. A sure sign that you are either in trouble, or are on the brink, is not knowing how much debt you have outstanding. Odds are you are either ignoring your debt problem for fear of how big it has gotten, or because you do not think it matters. If you have no clue, you should sit down immediately and take a full inventory of the total debt you owe and what it will take to pay if off.2. You use cash advances from credit cards to pay off your others bills. Credit cards usually have various fees associated with cash advances. They either have higher interest rates, or there is a certain percentage fee on the transaction. This is beside the fact that you are so overextended that you are borrowing money at a high interest rate just to meet expectations.3. You regularly bounce checks or overdraw your bank accounts. As your debt problems multiply, they will begin to affect all of your financial transactions. If you do not balance your checkpoint or pay attention to your ledger, you are a sure candidate to overextend your bank...more
If you are going through the ordeal of a foreclosure on your home, you will need stop foreclosure help right away. Stop foreclosure help can come in many forms for the homeowner. A homeowner can seek the help from a lawyer or foreclosure...more
The UK economy has rarely been so seriously bad.The UK has only previously been in such financial crisis when at war.It was to be hoped that the Budget this week might contain some little gems that would help the recovery but unfortunately this was...more
Anyone who has a poor credit rating will find that obtaining credit is very difficult. These people are seen as a large risk by companys who offer credit. However many people with bad credit still want to have a credit card to make purchases. Whilst...more
When you decide to get a credit card your first instinct might be to go straight to whoever you bank with and enquire about their credit cards. At one point this was virtually the only way of getting a credit card for the majority of people, but it...more
There are certain things in life that no one really looks forward to doing. These are the things that seem to take forever to accomplish and are not very interesting. Searching for the right credit card is one of those things, but it really needs to...more
Debts can sometimes become messy and further settling them can become a headache especially when your financial structure is not supportive. If you are drowned with huge loans to repay and your business running in loss, the options reduce faster than...more