Who doesn’t dream of having the latest vehicle model? For some reason we link the newest cars with status and glamour. However, due to the recent financial crisis, it is becoming more and more difficult to afford one of these vehicles. That is why many people resort to leasing a car.

Leasing a car is basically renting a vehicle for a certain amount of time, in other words, it is a mirage, an illusion, something that was never really yours. Still some people insist on this method, even though its drawbacks outnumber its advantages.

In the first place, the most obvious drawback of a car lease is that you are subject to car payments indefinitely. You will never be the real owner of the vehicle, and each month you will have to pay the monthly installment. Contrary to buying a car, in which case you at least have the prospect of stop paying the loan installments at some point.

Another huge disadvantage of car leasing is the fact that mileage is restricted. Lease car mileage is usually restricted between 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year. So if you usually drive a lot, or if you were planning a long trip for your vacations, you can forget about car leasing.

To make matters worse, if you go over the set mileage, you need to pay an extra amount per exceeded mile. The amount charged per extra mile is around twenty five cents, so if you drive, let’s say four thousand extra miles, you will end up paying eight hundred dollars more on top of your lease.

In addition, insurance companies tend to charge more for lease cars. And the lease companies also require that you get a comprehensive insurance, which results in a huge monthly bill. The insurance bill added to your monthly car payments make a pretty high figure, which you will have to struggle to pay for.

Also, since the car you will be driving for a couple of years is not yours, the real owner will need to make sure that you will meet your payments. The owners do that by requiring higher credit worthiness standards. That is why you need to have an impeccable credit history, if you wish to lease a car.

Lastly, whenever you lease a car you have to comply with the early termination terms. These terms can be kind of harsh, especially if you are the victim of a robbery or if the car is declared a total loss after an accident. In these cases, the insurance only pays for a small amount of the due balance, and you are responsible for the rest.

Buying a car seems like the wiser choice. The vehicle will be yours, you will be free to sell it or do whatever you want with it. You will not have any miles restrictions or high insurance bills. However, if you still feel that a lease car is your choice, be sure to read carefully the terms and conditions of the lease, to know exactly what you are agreeing to.

The boss at Advertizia, Julian J. Lenox evaluates websites for Finance Top 100, a human-made Finance websites reviews pool. Get the facts from Novated Lease Calculator.

[tags]car leasing, leasing a car, bmw leasing, lexus leasing, infinity leasing, luxury car leasing[/tags]

Deciding to rent a property in Italy can be a rewarding and money saving experience, Italy is a beautiful and cultured country and it is easy to see why so many people want to stay there. However for anyone deciding to buy or rent in Italy it is important they research the system they are going to be buying into. Here in this article we look at some advice regards renting houses or apartments. Italy has a different system to the UK so to understand it is important for anyone considering renting in this beautiful part of Europe.

Property in Italy is rented in three ways; empty, known as vuoti, which means there is no furniture, light fittings or even a fitted kitchen. Semi-furnished, known as parzialmente arredati which will contain light fittings a kitchen and possibly wardrobes or completely furnished which is known as arredati.

Rental costs in Italy is dictated entirely by the location, until recently Italy had a fair rent law that limited rents to be set by local authorities rather than at the market levels. But this resulted in a big shortage of rental properties in some areas so now owners are able to set their prices at the market levels; this has encouraged many people to rent their houses and apartments. Italy allows for rent prices to be negotiated and if rented through an agent then they may be able to suggest to owners reasonable prices for their property.

If a property is rented through an agent then the tenant must pay the agency a fee, which is usually around ten percent of the year’s rent, or one month rent. The landlord can ask for a deposit that equals to about three months of rent, and the deposit must be returned with interest within two months of the termination of the lease.

In addition to paying rent in Italy, tenants in apartments are required to have compulsory insurance and pay all service charges. Service charges include heating, hot water, rubbish removal, upkeep of gardens, and use of lift, communal lighting and any caretaker services. Tenants then have to pay their other utilities such as gas, electricity and water. Make sure to check whether rent is inclusive or exclusive of charges which is usually found in the advertisements of the apartments. Italy prices vary from 20 Euros to 200 per month.

Finally, when signing a lease for an Italian property ensure that all the bills from the previous tenants are paid as new tenants will be liable to pay. Choosing to rent can be a great experience and the step you take before choosing to own either a house or apartments. Italy has a huge amount to offer to those that choose to live in this stunning part of the world.

Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the property market.
Find out more about Apartments Italy and how the services available can help with finding the best places to rent and buy in Italy.

[tags]Apartments Italy, Italy Property,Houses in Italy[/tags]

Rental growth and high occupancy rates continue to attract investors to the student accommodation sector, though the limited availability of appropriate investment vehicles risks frustrating attempts by individual investors to benefit from the sector, according to a new report from Savills Research.

“High demand, low supply growth, rising rents and high occupancy rates make student accommodation an investment vehicle of choice during uncertain economic times, and suggest that the sector will remain relatively low risk for the foreseeable future”, explained Jacqui Daly, director of Savills Research.

She added: “An underlying supply/demand imbalance points to a robust outlook for the sector, while the fundamental strengths of the business model mean that capital values have not fallen to the same degree as other commercial or residential real estate.”

Nationally, average rents for Purpose-Built Student Housing (PBSH) grew by 5 percent between 2007/8 and 2008/9, and 7 percent in London.

While private rented sector rents offer higher rental growth (+8 percent nationally and +10 percent in London), this is without the certainty of high occupancy rates. Demand for PBSH shows no signs of falling and this will underpin future growth. Undergraduate student applications are up 9 percent for 2008/9, with growth in student numbers outpacing the new supply of accommodation by a factor of 10 nationally and 15 in London.

However, despite the benefits, Savills Research believes that the current financial climate - in particular the withdrawal of developer debt-funding - will limit the scope for investors to grow their interests.

As a result, the past 12 months have seen consolidation of stock, with operator activity focused primarily on buying and selling existing stock from universities and private operators, as well as refurbishing old university stock, rather than organic growth through new developments. As a result, and in the face of rising student rolls, demand will continue to rise.

Marcus Roberts, head of student housing at Savills, said: “Our forecast of 10 years ago that student accommodation would be a counter-cyclical investment is proving to be accurate. The scope for individual investors to access this market is rather limited against a backdrop of constrained credit availability, particularly as lenders have tended very recently to tarnish student accommodation with the same brush as buy to let investments which have proven very much higher risk in the market downturn.

“As credit becomes more available, however, we would expect to see investors exploiting the sector’s potential. One such model would be the creation of clusters of student accommodation, which given rising demand and a frustrated supply channel, would offer a relatively secure investment model for the foreseeable future.

“At the institutional level the counter cyclical dynamics of the sector are boosting investor interest. After risk adjustment, this is a sector that is still showing rental growth, clearly setting it aside from other commercial investment vehicles.

“The model is based on many individual students regularly paying small amounts of rent, meaning that the risks of large scale default or voids are extremely negligible, with or without a university guarantee.”

More essential buy to let info can be found at Residentiallandlord.co.uk. Including many useful tools including a much praised tenancy agreement, as well as essential and up to date information including; latest buy to let mortgages and rates, property auction dates and many more besides.

[tags]buy to let, investment, tenant, landlord[/tags]

When I first looked into acquiring a holiday home last year a great deal of timeshare options came my way but with the myriad of horror stories I’ve heard about timeshare scams I was reluctant to follow that path. I considered buying outright - it was expensive, but it seemed like the best option until a friend suggested looking into a leaseback property in France. On first glance, it seemed like it would be similar to a timeshare; I don’t permanently live in the property but get time there every year, however a quick bit of research put my mind at rest.

Sale and lease back is when an asset - usually property or a similar fixed asset - is purchased and is leased to the seller. This means that they are able to continue using it but no longer own it, providing the seller with the money from selling it, but without losing the use of it. In France, the leaseback process has been popular with new properties for many years, largely due to the law there which is designed to encourage letting. The government discounts the 19.6 percent tax which is to be paid on any new build on the agreement that the party leasing the property will pay 5.5 percent tax which, over a 20 year period will match the initial saving.

At its core, this meant that I would buy (or at least mortgage) my holiday home from the developer or letting agent and they would lease it back from me. I would be the owner, but they would be responsible for its upkeep and when I wasn’t using the property, they would find occupants for it. In order to qualify for the leaseback scheme, I would only be allowed to live there for six months of the year but since I was intending this to be a holiday home I wasn’t too concerned about this issue.

With the lease money from the letting agents hopefully covering most of the monthly outlay for the mortgage that I would be paying, I was far less concerned about the financial side of things than I would have been if I were simply mortgaging the house to use it for just a few weeks every year. It really was sounding like an excellent approach to purchasing my holiday home and it was becoming easy to see why property leaseback in France was such a popular option.

After some further research, I found a good agent who fully and clearly explained the process to me; the pros and cons, what I would need to do and what they would do for me and it really became apparent that this was something I could be happy with.

The mortgage outlay after the lease money comes back is an easily manageable payment which saves me a lot of money over purchasing outright and not leasing back and I thoroughly enjoy my holidays there every year which is really the main concern for me.

Thomas Pretty is journalist who has just leased back a holiday home. Find out more about leaseback in France at http://www.premierfrenchleaseback.com/

[tags]leaseback France[/tags]

Too often when it comes to auto-leasing, people get so dazzled through the myriad terms and the lingo thrown their way that they end-up paying by the nose, relying on a dealer’s ‘help’ than their own informed decision.

Here is a look at some of the tricks dealers use for their benefit and leave the customers shelling hundreds of dollars more than the deal should be worth.

Trick 1: Renting always a better deal than buying

Dealers use the lure of lower-monthly payments to entice customers to sign for long-term loans, with terms stretching for five years or more, making the payments even lower. There are two catches with such lengthy contracts: higher mileage, exceeding the prescribed limit and hefty repair costs.

With leases charging on average 10 to 20 cents a mile for any extra mile over the agreed amount in the contract, and warranties only covering three years, you leave yourself wide open for hefty charges for excessive mileage and wear and tear.

Trick 2: Cheap 2-3% APR rate on your lease

The dealer is not quoting the interest rate you would be paying on your let; he’s rather giving you the lease money factor. Whilst similar to an interest rate and crucial in determining your monthly payment, a more accurate rate is calculated by multiplying the money factor by 24. For example a ‘cheap’ 3% money factor is 24 X 0.003 = 7.2%. This gives you a better sense of what your annual interest rate on your lease contract is.

Trick 3: Stress-free early lease termination

Dealers know consumer driving needs change and they would like to have the option of getting out of a rent commitment sometime down the road, before their let ends. Truth of the matter is, when you sign for a lease, you are effectively saddled with monthly payments for the remainder of the let term and there is little choice of getting out early. Let contracts carry hefty financial penalties for either defaulting on monthly payments or terminating the let earlier than the scheduled term.

To avoid being on the receiving end of such ‘tried and true’ tricks, educate yourself about letting. Get down to the ‘nitty-gritty’ and understand what the letting terms used by dealers mean. Crunch the numbers along with him and understand how they arrived at the monthly payment figure. Don’t sign anything until you’ve understood all the terms and your numbers match those of the dealer. Do not let the dealer pressure you into signing; you are the one to determine whether the agreement is right for you.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Rally Race

[tags]Some Dealer Letting Tricks, Dealer Letting Tricks[/tags]

$250 to dispose of your vehicle, $1000 for extra miles you put on the clock and $200 to replace the light bulb and the worn tyres lease agents constantly nickel-and-dime consumers when their rent runs out. Here’s a rundown of what can trigger those fees, and some steps to take in self-defence.

Disposition fee: renting companies charge you if you choose not to buy the vehicle at the end of your rent. This fee is set as compensation for the expenses of selling, or otherwise disposing of the vehicle. It typically includes administrative charges; the dealer’s price to prepare the car for resale and any other penalties. Make sure this fee is stated clearly in the contract and is agreeable through you before signing on the dotted line. At lease-end, you are left in no position to negotiate as the dealer can apply your refundable security deposit towards this fee.

Excess mileage charges: Almost all renting companies will charge a premium for each mile over the agreed upon mileage stated in your contract. This penalisation can be as high as 25 cents per mile and can add up quickly. To avoid the risk of running thousands of dollars in extra mileage penalties at the end of your lease, always check the ‘per mile’ charges in your contract and be realistic about your mileage before you sign any contract. If you think the limit is unrealistic given your commutation needs, then negotiate with the dealer to get a higher mileage or contract for excess miles.

Extra tear-and-wear charges: Another potential toll at the end of the let is any incidental damage done to the car during the lease. This is deemed any excessive damage done to the normal tear and wear of the vehicle. Notice the use of the terms ‘deemed’, ‘excessive’ and ‘normal’.

There is no standard formula to define what’s ‘excessive’ and ‘normal’ and it’s up to the leasing company to assess - or deem - the damage and determine what they are going to charge. This leaves you at the mercy of unscrupulous renting agents who set stringent tear-and-wear standards. Make sure you read the description of these standards, understand them and agree to them.

If your leased vehicle is damaged prior to the end of the lease, you may detect it cheaper to repair the damage yourself than pay the excessive charges of the letting agent. In the event of a dispute over the charges at the end of your lease, get an independent third party to do a professional appraisal detailing the amount needed to repair any damaged parts or the amount by which tear-and-wear reduces the value of the vehicle.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Grand Prix Legends

[tags]How To Avoid Excess Costs At The End Of Your Lease, The End Of Your Lease[/tags]

In order to get a good chartering deal, you need to understand renting lingo. Read through this letting glossary to get an overview of the basics:

Acquisition fee: A fee billed through a letting company to begin a lease. Not all chartering companies charge an acquirement fee but if charge it begins at about $300 and is seldom negotiable.

Capitalised cost: The total trading toll of the chartered vehicle This also accounts for taxes, title, license fees, acquisition fee and any optional indemnity and guarantee items you elect to fold into the let and pay overtime rather than upfront.

Depreciation fee: Forms part of the monthly lease defrayment charge and accounts for the loss in the value of the car at the end of the lease. The vehicle’s list toll minus the expected residual value at rent end is divided through the number of months in the lease to give the depreciation fee. Suppose you decide to lease a vehicle with a retail toll of $23,500. The chartering company estimates that after a three year lease, the vehicle will be worth 35% of its archetype retail value, or $8,225. The difference, $15,275, divided by the number of months in the lease, 36 months, gives us the depreciation fee ($424)

GAP insurance Pays off the rent balanced if the vehicle is wrecked, stolen or totalled.

Inception fees any fees that are due at the beginning of a let. These typically include a security deposit, acquirement fee, first monthly payment, taxes and title fees.

Mileage allowance the maximum number of miles a chartered vehicle can be driven a year without incurring an additional mileage penalisation. A typical mileage allowance is 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year, although this is conveyable with your leasing company.

Mileage charges a penalty that you incur if you exceed your mileage allowance on a leased vehicle. Typical mileage charges are 10 to 20 cents per additional mile.

Money-factor a fractional number, such as 0.00043, used in accounting your monthly let payments. You can get a rough estimate of the annual percentage rate on your let by multiplying the money factor by 2,400. If a dealer quotes a money factor such as 3.4 than you can get the equivalent APR, 8.16, if you multiply by 2.4.

Residual value is the amount of money the letting company says your rented vehicle will be worth when your let ends. Higher residuum values lead to lower monthly payments but higher lease-end purchase price if you decide to keep the vehicle.

Security deposits an up-front amount that you’re letting company needed at the commencing of a rent to safeguard against non-payment. This is generally refundable at the end of your rent.

Termination or Disposition fee the amount you have to pay the letting company at the end of your let if you decide not to purchase the vehicle.

Wear-and-tear charges excess charges you have to pay at the end of your rent for any wear and use the chartering company considers above normal.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Cheap High Risk Auto Insurance

[tags]Lets Take A Look At A Chartering Glossary, Chartering Glossary[/tags]

It’s the classic dilemma that faces every auto-consumer out there: Pay cash upfront or forego the ownership and pay monthly settlements instead? Buy or rent for a new set of wheels?

As is the case with every other common dilemma, there is no slam-dunk answer. Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks, and it all depends on a set of financial and personal considerations.

First, your finances. Affordability is clearly key, and you need to ask the question of how stable is your job and how healthy is your general financial situation. The short-term monthly-cost of renting is significantly lower than the monthly payments when buying: you only pay for ‘the portion’ of the vehicle’s toll that you use up throughout the time you drive it.

If you have a lot of cash upfront, then you can opt to pay the down payment, sales taxes - in cash or rolled into a loan - and the interest rate determined through your loan company. Buying effectively gives you ownership of the car and that feeling of ‘free driving’ that goes on providing transportation.

If, say, you want to get into luxury models but can’t afford the upfront cash of purchasing the vehicle than you’re a good candidate for letting. Unlike buying, it gives you the option of not having to fork out the down defrayment upfront, leaving you to pay a lower money factor that is generally similar to the interest rate on a financing loan.

However, these gains have a price: terminating a lease early or defaulting on your monthly let payments will result in stiff financial penalties and can ruin your credit. You need to make sure you carve out the monthly rent defrayment in your budget for the foreseeable future, at least for the duration of the lease.

Besides the financial aspect, making a buy or lease decision depends on your own particular lifestyle choices and preferences. Think about what the car means to you: are you the sort of person to bond with the car or would you rather have the excitement of something new? If you want to drive a car for more than fives years, negotiate carefully and buy the car you like. If, on the other hand, you don’t like the idea of ownership and prefer to drive a new car every two to three years then you should lease.

Next, factor your transportation needs: How many miles do you drive a year? How properly do you maintain your cars? If you answer is: ‘I drive 40,000 miles a year and I don’t really care much about my cars as I don’t mind selling with repair bills’, then you’re believably better off buying.

Chartering is based on the assumption of limited-mileage, usually no more than 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year, and wear-and-tear considerations. Unless you can keep within the prescribed mileage limits and keep the car in a good circumstance at the end of your lease, you might incur hefty end-of-lease costs.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Super Exotic Sports Cars

[tags]Should I Buy or Lease, Buy or Lease, Buy, Lease[/tags]

Understanding how to calculate your monthly rent payment makes it easier for you to make an informed decision. Yet, most of us shy away from the ‘complicated’ math on our rent contract, leaving it up to the dealer to do the payment formula.

Actually, it’s not that difficult! Once you interpret all the figures involved in accounting your monthly payments, everything else falls into place. These key figures are:

MSRP (short for Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price): This is the list cost of the vehicle or the window sticker price. Money Factor: This determines the interest rate on your lease. Insist on your dealer to disclose this rate before entering into a lease. Lease Term: The number of months the dealer rents the vehicle. Residual Value: The value of the vehicle at the end of the lease. Again, you can get this figure from the dealer.

Now, rent us calculate a sample lease defrayment based on a vehicle with an MSRP (sticker toll) value of $25,000 and a money factor of 0.0034 (this is usually quoted as 3.4%). The scheduled-lease is over 3 years and the estimated residual percentage is 55%.

The first step is to calculate the residuum value of the car. You multiply the MSRP through the residue percentage:

$20,000 X .55 = $11,000.

The car will be worth $13,750 at the end of the lease, so you’ll be using:

$20,000 - $11,000 = $9,000

This amount of $9,000 will be used over a 36 month lease period giving us a monthly defrayment of:

$9,000 / 36 = $250.

This is the first part of the monthly payment, called the monthly depreciation charge. The second part of the monthly payment, called the money factor payment, factors the interest charge. It is calculated through adding the MSRP figure to the residue value and multiplying this through the money factor:

($20,000 + $11,000) * 0.0034 = $105.4

Finally, we get the approximate monthly defrayment through adding the two figures together:

$250 + $105.4 = $355.4

To recapitulate, the sample formula looks like this:

1- Monthly Depreciation Charge:

MSRP X Depreciation Percentage = residue Value
MSRP - residual Value = Depreciation over rent term
Depreciation over rent term / let term (number of months in the rent) = monthly depreciation charge

2- Monthly factor money charge

(MSRP + residuum value) X Money factor = money factor payment

3- Sample Monthly Payment:

Depreciation charge + money factor defrayment = monthly payment

Keep in mind that this is a simplified calculation that executes not take into account taxes, fees, rebates or any other incentives. The calculation gives you a ballpark figure or a rough idea of what your rent payments for the vehicle in question should be.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Mercedes Benz Accessories

[tags]How To Calculate Your Let Payment, Calculate Your Let Payment[/tags]

Whether you lease a car to get into the latest models or have better purchasing flexibility, getting a good deal is always bound to give you a lift. Use these guidelines to help you spot one:

Check incentives: be on the look-out for factory subsidized let deals. Car manufacturers realise that consumers who rent vehicles from them are more likely to be repeat customers than those who simply purchase vehicles. Through their chartering companies, they adjust the residuum value and offer low financing charge. Other auto-manufacturers are also beginning to give incentives on leasing, called renting subventions. They offer these subsidies to put slow-selling models on the street, saving you even more money.

Set up a competitive: bidding environment to get the lowest price. If you already have an idea in mind of the make, model and trim stage of your desired car, attempt to calculate your own lease payment before you go shopping to avoid paying through the roof. Check online comparison instruments or use a rent calculator to check your let payment based on purchase price. This gives you greater negotiation leverage as you solicit quotes from several letting companies.

Make sure you know all the fees involved at the beginning of your lease: you may have to pay fees for licenses, registration and title. Other fees include acquirement fees, freight fees and local or state taxes. At lease-end, you may have to pay a disposition fee and charges for extra mileage and any additional wear. Be aware that some of these fees - like acquisition and disposition fees - are negotiable.

Know your mileage needs: almost all leases limit the number of miles per year by imposing typically 10 to 20 cents per additional mile over 15,000 miles a year. If you are the kind of high-commuter who puts 40,000 miles a year on his car, then you might end up running thousands of dollars in hefty penalties at the end of your rent. Be smart and negotiate a higher-mileage limit or pad you excess miles at the beginning of your let to avoid robber tax rates for additional miles.

Almost all leases limit the number of miles per year by imposing fees typically 10 to 20 cents per mile over 15,000 miles per year. If you are the kind of high-commuter who puts a lot miles on his car, then these costs can add up quickly. Negotiate

Include GAP coverage: make sure your let includes GAP coverage. This covers you in the event of the vehicle getting wrecked, stolen or totalled. Without GAP insurance, you leave yourself wide open to thousands of dollars in leased obligations. Check if the GAP coverage is included so you don’t pay it twice.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor

For further reading please check out: Lexus Accessories

[tags]How To Let A New Car, Let A New Car[/tags]