The Story of Valentine's Day

"The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian Martyr.   The emperor was Claudius II.   The Christian was Valentinus.

 

Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods, and had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians.   But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ; not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs.   He was arrested and imprisoned.

 

During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened.   Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons.   She had been blind since birth.   Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind.   Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her.   He described the world of nature to her.   He taught her arithmetic and told her about God.  

She saw the world through his eyes, trusted his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

 

"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.

"Yes, my child, He hears each one."

"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night?  I pray that I might see.   I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.

"Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!"  She knelt and grasped his hand.

They sat quietly together, each praying.   Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell.   Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see!  I can see!"

"Praise be to God!"  Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer.

 

On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God.   He signed it, "From your Valentine."  His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory.   He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome.   It is said that Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave.   Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.  

 

On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world."

www.olrl.org/lives/

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What documents do you need when applying for a loan?

Applying for a loan is a very big step, and it’s not always straightforward. To help make it simple, here is a handy list of the documents you are likely to need when you meet with your credit adviser.
You are ready to buy a home, you just need a mortgage. Before you go rushing off to meet with your local credit adviser, be sure that you have a few documents on hand to prove your identity, income, assets and liabilities.

Identity
You will need two of the following three:

• passport;
• driver’s licence; and
• photo identification, such as a university identification card or proof of age card.

If you don’t have two of these, you can also provide one, plus a birth certificate, Medicare card, citizenship certificate or similar documentation.

Income
If you are employed on a full-time basis, this is a fairly easy part. You will need to prove your income by providing your most recent PAYG payslip, including YTD income of at least three months. If your payslips don’t list your YTD income, you will need to provide previous payslips, your employment contract, an ATO tax assessment, a PAYG summary or a professionally prepared tax return.
If you are self-employed, you’ll need to provide your individual tax return and ATO assessment notices for a year, as well as your business’s financial documents: one year’s tax return, profit and loss statement, and balance sheet. You may need BAS statements or other documents from your accountant, too.
Whether you are self-employed or not, any other income you receive will also need to be documented. For example, if you own an investment property, provide a current lease, tax return listing the rental income or a letter from the leasing agent; if you own shares, bring a statement, investment record or tax return; and if you receive any government benefits, bring a statement from Centrelink.

Assets
You will need to prove your savings with bank statements, as well as be able to provide details and values of any other assets, such as cars, stock, term deposits and property.

Liabilities
By the time you are applying, you should have paid down your debts and reduced the limits on credit cards to give you the best chance of approval and improve your borrowing capacity, as lenders assess your ability to make repayments on your credit limits, not just the amount you owe.
You will need current statements for your credit cards, store cards and loans.

Are you refinancing?
If you are refinancing a loan, you will need the past three months’ loan statements and the current payout figure including any exit fees.

Competition Time

COMPETITION TIME: To be in the draw to win a luxury Christmas Hamper all you need to do is refer a friend that is looking for great service and a fabulous interest rate on their home loan. You will both be put in the draw. The more you r...efer, the more chances you have of winning.

We just need a name and number. Our Professional Finance Brokers will do the rest. (Make sure you ask your friend's permission first.)

The winner will be announced on Monday 22nd December on our Facebook page.

Good luck to all. See More

WA Landgate clarifies VOI practice

_{26 November 2014}

A recent Bulletin (No. 257) from WA Landgate confirmed that the ‘reasonable steps’ approach to Verification of Identity (VOI) outlined in the nationally consistent Participation Rules for eConveyancing will meet the WA regime’s identification requirements in land transactions.

Some financial institutions had queried that the VOI’s Participation Rules, saying that they differed to WA’s VOI Practice Rules (for paper transactions) and had different identification standards.

Landgate confirmed that this was not the case.

Edition 12.0 of the Land Titles Registration Practice Manual can be found here.
Information about the WA Registrar and Commissioner of Titles Joint Practice: Verification of Identity Practice can be found here.

Information about national e-conveyancing and the Participation Rules can be found here.

Top ten 0% purchase rate cards for the silly season

http://mozo.com.au/blog/2014/11/10-top-0-purchase-rate-cards-silly-season-spending/