Getting all confused over APRs
Who doesn’t want a low APR? Don’t you want to only pay the minimum interest or better still, no interest on the money or credit that is extend to you? Doesn’t 0% APR attract you instantly? It should, or there could be something wrong with you. But before you start applying for the next 0% APR card, do be mindful of a few things especially on the fine prints.
Firstly, check the period offered for the 0% APR. Is it for 6 months or 12 months or for a period of up to 12 months. Getting 0% APR for 12 months and getting 0% APR for up to 12 months is a different thing altogether and can make quite a difference in the dollars and cents. If you thought the card was going to offer you 0% APR for 12 months when in actual fact, it is for a lesser period of time due to your failure to comply with certain conditions imposed, you could find yourself having to pay for unnecessary interests.
If you are keen on balance transfers, again, check on the fees which may be imposed and whether the special APR granted is for a substantial period of time to enable you to tide over your outstanding balances.
Next, find out what will be the APR be once the special APR rate is over. You don’t want to be changing cards every other 6 to 12 months. Would it be better to go for a card which offers a low interest rate or would it be better to go for one which offers 0% APR for a promotional period. In some cases, it may be better to stick to the card which offers a low interest rate because the post-promotional rate for the 0% APR card is far higher than the former and in the long run, you will be paying more than you should.
There are many sites which offer a comparison of the 0% APR cards available in the market and http://www.applyfast.com/0-APR-Purchases.php is one of them. Do your homework and do it well before you hit the submit button when you apply for a 0% APR card. And if you want to get more information or confused along the way, see what the wiki page on APR has to say.
A Commentary On The 50% Stamp Duty Exemption On Loan Agreements
In the recent Malaysian Budget 2009 announcement, one of the items touching conveyancing transactions is the 50% stamp duty exemption on loan agreements for medium cost houses of up to RM250,000.00. This is an extension to the existing provision of the 50% stamp duty exemption on the instrument of transfer. To the lay person, what does this mean and how much money are we talking about with this exemption?
A little background on how stamp duty is derived would be necessary at this stage. For a transfer of an immovable property worth RM250,000.00, the stamp duty payable would be 1% on the first RM100,000.00 and 2% on the balance. Therefore, the full stamp duty payable on the instrument of transfer would be RM4,000.00. With the 50% stamp duty exemption, the purchaser saves RM2,000.00 if the value of the transaction is RM250,000.00. For obvious reasons, the amount saved is reduced proportionately if the value of the transaction is lesser than RM250,000.00.
For Loan Agreements, the stamp duty payable is RM5.00 for every RM1,000.00. Therefore, where the loan is RM250,000.00, the stamp duty payable would be RM1,250.00. With the 50% stamp duty exemption, the borrower gets a savings of RM625.00. Again, if the loan amount is lesser, the savings would naturally be lesser and in proportion. But then again, how many people out there will actually benefit from these savings? Read more
