How Good a Deal Is Your Banks Mortgage Insurance Plan?
April 30, 2007
When you go to the bank to get a mortgage, you’ll inevitably be asked to take out mortgage insurance. The idea behind mortgage insurance is simply that if something happens to you or your spouse then your loan will be paid off which is good news for your family and the bank. Most financial institutions act like they are doing you a favor by offering you mortgage insurance through their own group plan, but are they?
The truth is that you could probably get a much better deal and at least an equal amount of protection by shopping around for your own insurance policy.
Essentially, mortgage insurance is no different than term-life insurance. With both, your policy only lasts for a specified period of time and pays its benefits if something happens to you or your spouse. The real difference comes down to how much control you’ll have over your policy and how much you’ll pay for it.
Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items!
April 30, 2007
Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It’s a passion. Call Me Crazy! I love It!
Why, who wouldn’t love getting paid to buy products that they use everyday?
Here’s how I do it.
I purchase an item that has a rebate offer (either a store or manufacturer rebate) while it is on sale and use a coupon during purchase. That’s it! Using this formula I almost always come out ahead. When all is done, I’ve gotten back more than I actually paid for the item.
Even when I do have to pay for the items like deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes it’s about 50 cents for a item that would cost up to $2 -$4 originally.
Am I the only one out there that gets excited about this? I doubt it! At least I hope not. That would make me “Crazy”, wouldn’t it? But a lot of folks just don’t know how to combine money saving measures to maximize savings.
Selecting A Credit Counselor; Asking The Right Questions.
April 29, 2007
When you find yourself thinking about using a credit counseling service, you need to be very careful. You need someone who will help you, not just some pushy sales associate who wants only to sign you up for their service.
You are about to place your financial life in someone else’s hands. Make sure you have the answers to some questions before you do. Then make sure you like the answers to your questions. Here are some for starters:
Which of my creditors have you worked with in the past?
You have a list of your creditors. You want to compare it to the creditors they have worked
with in the past. Have they been successful working with your creditors in reducing payments,
lowering interest, and eliminating fees?
You need to know not all creditors will work with credit counselors. If all, or most, of your
creditors have, or will, you should investigate these services further. If not, credit counseling won’t do you much good. To protect yourself, ask for a list (in writing) of any of your creditors they have worked with in the past.
Will my creditors be paid on time each month?
No Income Verification Home Equity Loan
April 28, 2007
A no income verification home equity loan is a second mortgage loan that does not require you to provide income documentation to qualify for the loan. This type of loan is great for homeowners who need a home equity loan but have hard to document income.
The majority of borrowers with hard to document income are either self-employed or commission based employees. Consumers who fall under these categories may have high income but have a lot of business related deductions that they write off on their taxes. This is good on the one hand as it reduces the taxable income and thus the amount of taxes owed, however, when it comes to getting a home loan it can hurt as most lenders use the average of your last 2 years taxable net income (the amount left after all of your deductions) to determine your income figure for qualifying purposes. This may cause you to have a debt to income ratio problem if you have a high debt load and thus keep you from qualifying for the loan. With a no income verification home equity loan, however, your gross income can be used for qualifying purposes as opposed to the net income.
Bankers Dont Want You to Know That You Pay for Your No Cost Home Loan Forever
April 27, 2007
With mortgage rates continuing on a downward trend, the competition in the business is fierce. A day never passes that I don’t hear some crazy advertisement about a new loan program that XYZ mortgage company has and no one else offers. One of the oldest programs remains steadfast in both its high profile and its duplicity. This program is the No Cost Home Loan — the one bankers say is free, but you actually pay for as long as you have the loan.
The no closing cost home loan is virtually everywhere. It is advertised in the mail, on radio and on TV all the time. “Hey, refinance your loan today, and there will be no closing costs,” the ads scream. Wow, a free loan. Imagine the money you’ll save. So, if you are in the market for a refinance loan or home equity line, which you probably should be, with rates at all-time lows, you might consider running to XYZ mortgage company, who is now offering free mortgage loans.
Credit Damage: Getting Compensated for Your Loss
April 26, 2007
Until recently lawyers for victims of credit damage had little possibility to collect for damages beyond medical treatment, lost wages and property loss. Insurance companies threw up their hands in sympathy, claiming victims can only be compensated for what can be measured - tangible goods and services. But, what happens when the victim has lost considerable time from work, the family bank is broke and monthly payments on mortgages, car loans and credit cards payments are missed? Regardless of the haggling between lawyers and insurance companies, it’s the credit victim who ends up having to live with a bad credit rating.
Today, there are legally accepted means for measuring loss of credit through the procedure of Credit Damage Measurement (CDM). CDM is fast becoming a potent tool for recoverable credit damage awards when the damage is not self-inflicted. Previously, both judge and jury, and especially the insurance companies, refused to acknowledge CDM claiming it was speculative because they could not define it as tangible damage.
However, in case after case, victims of credit damage who use the CDM method are getting compensation for credit loss. Many factors are changing the old mindset including credit bureau technology improvements, the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), risk scoring sophistication, and the development of CDM as an objective, repeatable method that measures out-of-pocket damage reliably.
Are Biweekly Mortgages Really Worthwhile?
April 25, 2007
You may have heard people, especially mortgage lenders, extolling the virtues of biweekly payments, saying that you can save thousands of dollars and take 5-7 years off your mortgage–and then offering to set up a biweekly plan for you for as little as $400. But you don’t have to spend $400 to begin saving money and time on your mortgage. In fact, you don’t have to spend anything at all! You can set up a money-saving mortgage payment plan yourself–easily and at no extra cost.
The key is to look carefully at the fine print in many biweekly plans. You find that even though you’d be making biweekly payments, the lender may only post them to your account on a monthly basis, which means that you wouldn’t be saving anything on interest, because mortgage interest is paid in arrears (as opposed to rent payments, which are paid in advance). Your only real savings would be in the fact that you’d be making the equivalent of one extra payment a year. That’s a good thing, of course, but you don’t need to pay someone $400-500, possible monthly maintenance fees, to be able to accomplish the same results.
Are Interest Rates Up, Up and Away?
April 25, 2007
Interest rates have been at their lowest levels in over 40 years. U.S. consumers have been able to purchase previously unaffordable homes, cars and other toys. Many have used cheap home equity loans to remodel, take vacations and pay off credit cards. Students have taken advantage of the rock-bottom student loan rates.
But, interest rates look to be headed up. Recently, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve escalated the Fed funds rate from 1% to 1.25%. So, what does that mean to you and me?
The increase in rates is important if you have variable (not fixed) loans. For example, if you have adjustable rate mortgage or home equity lines of credit, the interest rates will probably go up (as well as the payments) in the next few months. Each time the Fed increases the Fed funds rate, it will roll down onto your adjustable rate loans and your payments will go up. The speed of increase and the amount of the increase will depend on what index your loan is based on ? check with your lending institution for more information on that.
19,178 Identity Theft Victims Per Day - Are You One Of Them?
April 24, 2007
Identity theft statistics are shocking. And we are told that it will only become worse, before it gets any better. Are you likely to be affected?
According to recent studies, up to 7,000,000 people become identity theft victims each year, in the United States alone. That’s over 19,000 cases a day, or 799 cases an hour. Whichever way you look at it, these are shocking figures. And with more and more people using the Internet, online banking, and other hi-tech services, things aren’t likely to improve any time soon.
In fact, another research, a survey conducted on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission recently, tells us that the situation is even worse. According to the FTC survey report, 4.6% of the US population were identity fraud victims last year - that’s 10 million people.
According to the FTC figures, if someone fraudulently opens a new credit card or another loan account under your name, on average you can expect the dollar amount to go to about $10,200. That’s just an average amount.
To clean up your name, and your credit rating, you will need to deal with this experience. You can expect to spend between $500 and $1,200 of your own hard-earned money cleaning up the mess. You can also expect to invest between 30 and 60 hours of your time.
Selling Your Business Note
April 23, 2007
Before I go further, let me ask a question- if you won the lottery tomorrow, would you take the payout in a lump sum or in monthly payments?
Most people would take a lump sum because even though it might be less than the total prize, they would have control over a large sum of money now and could let the time value of money go to work and increase their winnings.So why then would you opt to get paid on your business sale over several years rather than take a lump sum payout?
The answer is probably because you didn’t know that you could get cash for your business note. Peacock Capital can help you to sell your business note at a discount and cash out now, rather than later.
Advantages to sell your business note include:
? Walk away from a business you didn’t want without having a financial anchor still attached to you for the next several years
? Use the balance owed to you to fund a new business, pay off debts or finance education for yourself or your loved ones- now!
? Avoid the risk that the buyer will default on the loan
