Author: Victor Varma

College is an expensive proposition and costs vary widely, from public to private universities.

According to the College Board, in-state students in a public four-year college can expect to pay about $9,500 per year; out of state students pay approximately $24,000. A private four-year college, costs about $33,000, as of 2016 for tuition and fees. That doesn’t include housing, books, food, and incidentals.

Preparing for this expense can be daunting for parents, but one option is the 529 plan. This is a type of savings and investment plan, which has been around since the late 1990s.

There are two types of 529 plans. The first is a prepaid tuition plan, which can be used to purchase 1-4 years of tuition, and when a student reaches college age, pays out at the tuition rates at the time of purchase. The second is a college savings plan.

With the college savings plan, there are a variety of ways to invest the funds. Account earnings are based on how investments perform. This type of plan is available in 49 states and Washington D.C.

The College Board notes that the published price and the “net” price of college often differ greatly. So you may not have to save as much. Some investment professionals suggest that families save about 25 percent of what their child’s education will cost

There’s another aspect that could bring a college tuition bill to a lower-than-expected level: tax credits. The IRS offers the American Opportunity Tax Credit, up to $2,500. Student loan interest can bring a deduction of as much as $2,500.

Funds in a 529 plan can be used for a variety of college-related costs. These include tuition, room and board, computers and supplies, even food. A word of warning: look at what the school would charge, because that is the limit of what is considered a qualified expense for spending 529 plan funds.

Home inspectors actually save stress, even lower prices

For buyers and sellers, having a professional house inspection can ensure a happy sale.

According to a study by the American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of Realtors), about four out of five homes sold in the nation are inspected before sale.

No wonder: An inspection helps parties on both sides of the sale.

For the buyer, the inspection is an obvious contingency. Buyers don’t want expensive surprises after sale. A home inspection reveals the systemic condition of the home, not just whether the paint is new.

Inspectors take a close look at the home’s inner health in 10 areas: interior and exterior, structure, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, and ventilation, and fireplaces.

These evaluations are detailed. For example, in the case of roofs, inspectors will study shingles, flashings, roof drainage, skylights and chimneys.

Of course, even a house with some problems can sell, but the price will reflect needed repairs

That’s where the seller’s inspection comes in.

A seller is just as motivated as the buyer to know what is wrong with a house because necessary, but unfinished, repairs mean a lower price at sale, or even a deal that falls through.

A home inspection gives sellers the chance to fix things before the house goes on the market and it is an important part of the clean-up, fix-up process.

You might not want to put on a new roof, but repairing the flashings and roof gutters, puts your house in a solid light. Buyers might not expect a new roof, but they don’t want to find leaks.

There are a variety of specific things that a home inspection can look for, depending on an individual’s concerns. For example, a radon inspection checks a home for levels of radioactive gas and takes between two and seven days to complete. A termite inspection looks for damage to the wood structures of a home. With homes that have a well for water, well water testing is another option; for homes with a septic or oil tank, examination of those structures may be part of an inspection as well.

A general inspection should consider the condition of the roof, the water pressure and plumbing, electrical outlets and switches, and the crawl space and attic, according to HGTV.

Finally, if you have a home inspection, find a place to sit down and relax. Don’t follow the inspector around. After all, the inspector is working for you and the report will be for you only.

Watch for scam sites by looking at the domain (paypal.com is a domain), not just the design. Design can be mimicked. Addresses can’t. It is not paypal, if the address is paypol.com. If you are at all suspicious, don’t put in your password. If you do put in a correct password, a phishing site will often repeatedly say it is wrong. That way they can get all your passwords.

“Buy land. They’re not making it anymore.” – Mark Twain

Property is valuable and mostly becomes more valuable as time goes on.

This idea is not lost on today’s legion of real estate investors or the average person.

According to the Financial Security Index Survey released in July, 54 million Americans consider real estate to be the preferred cash investment for funds not needed for more than 10 years.

A survey in 2012 by the National Survey of Residential Real Estate Investors found there are about 28.1 million real estate investors in the country spending a total of $9.2 billion on real estate renovations.

It is a great time to invest in real estate with interest rates are historically low.

Owning rental property is one way to invest and immediately get return on your money.

The key before you start is to ask yourself what you need to make on a rental.

Enlist a real estate agent to help you analyze rental rates and apartment prices in the neighborhood.

Scour the classifieds to get an idea of what rents are in the area you would like to buy. Also, learn what properties are selling for.

Before you buy, know what your costs will be for taxes, maintenance, and profit. Can you be competitive at this location and still make a profit? One landlord writing in ConsumerismCommentary.com said she must make $500 profit on each rental per month.

Pick the right neighborhood. High crime areas will cost you money, according to Consumerism Commentary. High rent areas probably will resist rentals. Sturdy middle-class neighborhoods are often best.

One useful talent is a flair for DIY. If you like doing general repairs, you can usually save on expected expenses. If you don’t have such a flair, develop ties to handy-people who are skilled and available. You might be able to hire someone on demand for a low hourly rate.

Finally, once you have done the math and purchased your rental, find the right renter with a strict application. You must make your money back on a property so your three questions have to be: Can they afford the apartment? Will they pay the rent? Will they keep the property nice? To find out, check previous landlords. Verify income. After that, run a civil and criminal background check.

One landlord even calls the mother or father of younger people who want to rent.

Just two weeks after President Woodrow Wilson signed the congressional document creating Lassen Volcanic National Park (August 6, 1916), he set up the National Park Service on August 25.

Previously, the 14 other national parks were not uniformly serviced under the Department of Agriculture; now, the NPS, a bureau of the Department of the Interior, would create enforced standards to conserve and protect treasured areas for future generations.

Since its inception in 1872 with Yellowstone National Park, the system has grown to over 450 natural, recreational, cultural and historical areas, including parks, battlefields, memorials, monuments, military parks, seashores, scenic rivers and trails, parkways and the White House.

Every state has a park. Find yours and celebrate this special birthday on August 25. From concerts and special tours, to scavenger hunts and birthday cake, parks will party in different ways. The NPS has worked to ensure attendees know the Centennial is “more than a birthday.”

“We want people É to embrace the opportunities to explore, learn, be inspired or simply have fun in their 407 national parks, as well as understand how the É Service’s community-based recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs positively impact their own communities.”
An engaged citizenry now will set the course for the next century.

* The U.S. Mint is commemorating the Centennial by issuing three limited-edition coins, a five-dollar gold coin, a silver dollar, and a half-dollar clad coin with various iconic images and the NPS’s logo, the Arrowhead.

* The U.S. Postal Service is issuing 16 new Forever stamps featuring national parks.

Suppose there were five people who live within two blocks of you who were all going to work at the same time and roughly the same place.

It would be so easy to share a ride. But so hard to get that group together.

Enter ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. The companies are developing algorithms to locate neighbors headed to the roughly the same place at the same time.

The strategy has already reduced some congestion in larger cities.

A recent report by the American Public Transportation Association suggests that ride-sharing trips are replacing personal vehicles and public transportation.