offshore bank accounts are not for everyone, they can offer huge benefits to the right person. For many small businessmen and entrepreneurs, a good offshore bank account has provided the “key” or competitive edge to unlock vast potential wealth. But first I want to dispel two big myths about offshore bank accounts.

#Myth 1 – Only the super-rich can afford offshore bank accounts. You don’t need to be rich to open an offshore banking account. While it is true that a “wealth-management” service with a personal banker might require an initial investment of US$1MM, accounts with no minimum deposits certainly exist, and smaller minimums of US$500-5000 are quite common.

#Myth 2 – Offshore bank accounts are illegal, or used only by criminals. The confidentiality that offshore banking accounts offer has led to abuse by criminal gangs, but in fact these days many offshore banks have stricter due diligence than their onshore competitors. Criminal activity, wire fraud and money laundering will just as likely take place in New York or London (government sponsored or otherwise). Furthermore, ownership of an offshore bank account is never illegal, although not declaring that you have it can be illegal (laws will vary from country to country).

What can an offshore bank account do for you? Here are some of the advantages that have helped investors make their choice.

1) Privacy – Shield your assets from prying eyes. The phrase “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide” is often used, but the brutal truth is that many citizens from countries all over the world are exposed to corrupt authorities and criminal elements. Even in more stable countries frivolous litigation can decimate a man’s wealth, while he cannot trust the government to rule in his favour. Why take the risk? By shielding your financial identity with an offshore bank account you can escape the attention of greedy lawyers and experience the kind of total economic freedom that a domestic account can’t offer.

2) Asset protection – Wealth held offshore is harder to reach for anyone who might want to get their hands it. Often the physical distance and legal complexity of attempting to seize an offshore account will ensure that a case against the account holder never takes off.

3) Earn tax-free interest – Many offshore accounts will not have interest taxed at source like your home bank account. In addition the offshore account can open up for you some of the best investment opportunities not available in the domestic market .

4) Multiple currencies at your fingertips – swiftly change between foreign currencies at a fraction of the cost of doing it at home. Some offshore accounts will also offer FOREX and Trading accounts, allowing you to instantly buy and sell at the click of a button from a tax-free offshore base.

5) Perhaps the best advantage of an offshore account is that it will allow you to make international transactions with little or no hassle and red-tape. If you try to transfer even relatively small amounts of money from your domestic account you will likely face a barrage of security questions and other invasive queries, but a good offshore account will allow you to make such transactions online effortlessly, and into the many millions of dollars.

With the current “mortgage meltdown” we hear so much about these days, your average consumer thinks that the days of 100% financing have gone by the wayside. True, you are hard pressed these days to find a bank or lender that will want to carry a second mortgage that combined with a first mortgage adds up to 100% financing. That’s because if there is a default, sitting in second lien position is particularly dicey. Too much risk is involved. And since, in recent history, that scenario of the 80/20 combo was the most common 100% financing vehicle available to a certain group of consumers (non first time homebuyers), there’s a misconception out there that 100% options are all but dried up.

But, a-ha! There is hope for someone who has great credit but prefers to invest his/her assets elsewhere when rates are so low. It’s called the Flex 100. And it can apply to purchases and refinance transactions.

I heard an analyst mention on television the other day that mortgage money is so cheap right now it’s like a sale at Macy’s. That made me chuckle, but it’s true. In which case, why not invest your money elsewhere if you qualify for 100% financing. After all, the homes are still appreciating in most areas, but not at the stellar rate we saw in the past.

The Flex 100 requires you to invest $500 of your own cash towards the transaction, so I guess it’s technically not 100% financing, but it’s pretty darn close. And no, you don’t have to be buying your first home to get this deal. You can actually have owned a home in the past three years! However, it does apply to financing your primary residence only. You can’t get this deal for that nice cabin in Gatlinburg you want to use on the weekends or for that great rental down the street you think you can get a good deal on. You’ve got to live in the house to qualify for this financing.

But you can do a refinance, as long as it’s not a “cash-out,” meaning you’re not paying off debt or taking equity out of the property. It must be a rate term refinance only. However, you can pay off that second mortgage or home equity line of credit you hate, IF you obtained that 2nd lien mortgage when you got your first mortgage (a piggy back closing, we call it). Or to make it clearer, you originally had that 80/20 combo mentioned earlier. If you got that home equity mortgage a month or two after your initial closing to build a deck or payoff a credit card, than it that won’t work for a Flex 100 refinance.

What about your credit score? Well, it will affect the price you get, but there is no “minimum” credit score required for this program. You just have to get an approval through the automated underwriting system required. But be realistic – if you’ve got “iffy” credit, you probably won’t get an approval. A borrower with a credit score below a 620 would probably have to have a low loan to value or debt to income ratio for a chance of an approval.

A Flex 100 may or may not make sense for you. But hey, at least you know it’s an option. Your lender should be able to help you determine if this opportunity to flex your mortgage muscle makes sense for you.

One of the best real estate investments that you can possibly make is buying bank foreclosed homes. If you’re looking to buy a home for your family or simply for investment purposes, then a repossessed home or bank owned foreclosures home is the ideal choice for you.

Why buying foreclosed homes is a good investment?

When you are purchasing bank foreclosed homes, you have already managed to make a significant amount of money on the property. As you are paying a property price that is about 10% to 50% below the market value, the moment you close the deal, the property has equity.

Are all such homes bank foreclosure homes?

Foreclosure homes are basically categorized into two types – pre-foreclosures that come from the public notice filing to evict and Real Estate Owned or REO, which are homes possessed by banks and vacant to move in after the purchase.

For real estate investors or first time homeowners, the safest, easiest and convenient method of property acquisition is Real Estate Owned properties. This is because compared to any other form of property purchase; there are no issues of property title attached to the property.

Buying bank foreclosure homes means no hassles!

When you are buying foreclosed properties owned by banks or bank foreclosure homes, you get the property title policy without any exceptions. Additionally, there are no back taxes to be paid, as the banks have paid everything at the closing and the house is vacant for you to move in at your own convenience.

If you are considering buying a home, bank foreclosed homes is the perfect choice to have your dream home and save a huge amount of money. For a free list of bank owned foreclosures, please feel free to browse through bank foreclosure homes or contact us.