Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 6 June 2019
A25

Millennial Money: How to share a deed without an 'I do'

By SEAN PYLES You'll likely face higher up-
NerdWallet front fees and monthly pay-
Associated Press ments, as well as costs like
My partner had a goal: He mortgage insurance.
wanted to be a homeown- CLEAN YOUR CREDIT
er by 30. While you save a down
A natural at saving, he payment, work to improve
built up a down payment your credit profiles. Lend-
throughout his mid-20s. I, ers prefer a credit score of
on the other hand, always at least 630, Thedford says.
struggled to save. That put Borrowers with scores of 700
us in very different finan- and higher get better rates.
cial positions when it came Clear your credit reports of
time to buy a house. negative marks if you can.
We were committed to Delinquent account can
sharing the road ahead, make you look risky to lend-
but without rings or legal ers. If you see mistakes on
documents tying us to- your reports, such as an ac-
gether, we wanted to take count that's not yours, dis-
a smart approach. So we pute them with the credit
talked through our finances bureaus.
and took steps to protect Lower your debt-to-income
our individual investments. In this Jan. 4, 2019, file photo people walk by a real estate office in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville ratio by paying down ac-
Our story is hardly uncom- neighborhood. counts like credit cards.
mon for our generation. Associated Press Carrying a lot of debt also
Nearly 25% of homeown- makes you look risky.
ers ages 18-34 purchased Talk through the financial year or more before buy- down payment, but that's WORK OUT AN AGREEMENT
a house with their current aspects that determine ing a home," Thedford says. out of reach for many first- Unmarried couples don't
spouse before marriage, how much house you Having a stable income will time buyers. My partner have the same protections
according to a 2013 study can afford: income, sav- help you manage the reg- ended up putting 3% down in the event of a separa-
from Coldwell Banker. ings, debt load and credit. ular expenses of homeown- for our home, and we're tion as our ring-clad coun-
That's in contrast to just 14% Know where each of you ership. not alone: 67% of millen- terparts. To make up for
of those 45 or older. stands to get a picture of BUILD UP YOUR DOWN PAY- nial home buyers put down this, having a legal agree-
Here's how you can do the how you'll both contribute. MENT less than 20%, according to ment before mortgage pa-
same. Make sure you're on firm The biggest challenge a 2019 survey by Clever, a pers are signed and cash
UNDERSTAND EACH OTH- financial footing with a many people face is build- real estate service. changes hands is impor-
ER'S FINANCES stable income, advises ing a down payment. For help building a down tant, says attorney Kath-
Chances are you and your Gregory Thedford, certi- Talk it over with your part- payment, look into your erine O. VanZanten who
partner aren't in exactly the fied housing counselor at ner. state's first-time home buyer practices in Portland, Or-
same financial situation. Money Management Inter- Will you both save, or is one programs . Many combine egon.
Maybe one of you earns national, a nonprofit credit going to put up most of the grants for down payments "Meet with an attorney
more, or one has a delin- counseling agency. money? My partner and I with lower interest rates. and put everything in writ-
quent account or two lurk- "I would advise a home- went the latter route. There are trade-offs to a ing while everyone still gets
ing on credit reports. owner to be at a job for a Many lenders prefer a 20% smaller down payment: along," VanZanten says. q

World Bank downgrades its forecast for global economy

By PAUL WISEMAN growth at 2.5%. In the 19 uncertainty for businesses
Associated Press countries that use the euro that must decide whether
WASHINGTON (AP) — The currency, growth is forecast and where to make invest-
World Bank on Tuesday to slow to 1.2%, down from ments, buy supplies and es-
downgraded its forecast 1.8% last year and the 1.6% tablish factories.
for the global economy the World Bank expected "We are not pushing the
in light of trade conflicts, in January. panic button yet," said Ay-
financial strains and unex- Slowed by the Trump ad- han Kose, a World Bank
pectedly sharp slowdowns ministration's trade war with economist. "But we are
in wealthier countries. China, global trade is ex- sending a message" of a
The bank, an anti-poverty pected to expand just 2.6% possibly deeper slowdown
agency, expects the world this year, the weakest pace if trade hostilities persist.
economy to grow 2.6% since the 2008 financial cri- "This is high time for poli-
this year. That would be sis. cymakers to find ways to In this Oct. 27, 2017, photo, workers assemble Ford trucks at the
the slowest calendar-year The Trump administration resolve their differences," Ford Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Ky.
growth since 2016, and it is and Beijing have imposed Kose said. Associated Press
down from the 2.9% expan- tariffs on hundreds of bil- China, the world's second-
sion the agency forecast in lions of dollars of each oth- largest economy after the violent crackdown on pro- Some developing world
January. er's imports in a clash over United States, is forecast to democracy protesters at countries are contending
The World Bank downgrad- China's aggressive drive to grow 6.2%, which would be Tiananmen Square. with financial stress. Turkey's
ed every major region of overtake American tech- its weakest performance The Japanese economy is economy is expected to
the world, though it kept nological dominance. Their since 1990, when it was en- predicted to eke out 0.8% contract 1% and Argen-
its 2019 forecast for U.S. showdown has generated during the aftermath of a growth, same as last year. tina's 1.2%.q