The Top 5 Things You Must Know Before Applying for a Mortgage
November 30, 2007
You’ve been thinking about buying your own home for quite a long time, and now you’re ready to take the plunge. You’ve been saving money for a down payment, and you know the next step is preparing to apply for a mortgage.
But where do you start?
Here are the top 5 things you need to know before approaching a mortgage lender.
1. Understand Your Options
All mortgages are not created equal. There are several different types, which vary based on interest rates and payment terms.
For example:
? With a fixed-rate mortgage, your monthly payments remain the same during the entire length of the mortgage. There will be no variations in monthly payments, regardless of changes in interest rates and inflation.
? With an adjustable-rate mortgage, you will often receive a lower initial interest rate, but your monthly payment amount can rise and fall as interest rates fluctuate (within certain caps or limits).
? With a balloon or reset mortgage, you once again may be offered a low interest rate, but it will hold for a limited time. After that, the balance of the mortgage will be due, or you will need to refinance.
How To Get Rid Of Debt Problems Step 3 — How To Negotiate Reduced Payments With Creditors
November 29, 2007
First, make a list of your creditors (NOTE: you should only attempt to re-negotiate payments on your UNSECURED debts if you wish to avoid the risk that an item upon which a debt is secured could be re-possessed)
Add to this list the outstanding balance owed to each creditor. It is essential that you are accurate with this balance. You should find the balance on the most recent statement from each creditor on your list. If you cannot find a balance figure, call the creditor or write and ask for a current outstanding balance. Only when you have an accurate outstanding balance for each creditor on your list can you proceed to the next step.
From your financial statement (prepared in the last of this series), subtract the total of your outgoings from the total of your income. The resulting figure is your disposable income.
You need to divide the disposable income figure amongst your list of creditors in proportion to the outstanding balance owed to each. This is why you need an accurate balance before you start. Otherwise, your creditors will not accept your proposal.
Refinancing Your Auto Loan
November 28, 2007
Refinancing your loan is one of the best kept secrets around for saving you money, but most people never think of it. Whether refinancing your home or car the process is the same. When refinancing car loans, you pay off your current car loan with a refinancing car loan from a different lender that has a lower APR. The beauty of this is that by refinancing your auto loan you lower your monthly car loan payments significantly, and your interest rate drops, which can allow you to pay off the balance of your car loan even quicker. You can save thousands by refinancing you auto loans.
If you have bad credit it is crucial that you refinance your auto loan to lower your APR. Even with bad credit it is possible for you to refinance. Many people do not even bother trying to refinance because they erroneously believe that they are stuck at a 21-25% APR.
Whether you are paying a high APR or even a decent one, it is possible for you to refinance your auto loan. The refinancing racket is growing in popularity among lenders. They pay off your current car loan, and you pay them back at your new lower APR rate. Your loan can usually be completely refinanced within 2 days after you apply.
SuperCharged Secret 2, Credit Card Utopia
November 27, 2007
INTEREST BEWARE, THERE’S SAFETY IN NUMBERS!
Note: The following is part 2 of a 5 part series, Over the course of these 5 articles, I am going to introduce you to several methods for maximizing the use and benefits of the best Credit Cards and offers on the market today. This information, when used in conjunction with one another, is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I like to call this approach, the "5 SuperCharged Secrets to Credit Card Utopia."
Without further Ado, let’s continue with Secret #2:
SECRET 2: INTEREST BEWARE, THERE’S SAFETY IN NUMBERS!
1) This secret method isn’t for everyone.
I would venture to say that this turbo-charged low rate secret is really for those with reasonably good credit.
But with that said, you may have good ENOUGH credit, and it doesn’t hurt to TRY. If you don’t succeed, then you’ve been blessed with the one thing most people don’t have, and that’s a GOAL?
Fees Paid To Brokers By Mortgage Lenders Are Far Too High
November 26, 2007
Procuration fees paid by some sub-prime lenders are too high.
Fact.
There can be no justification for some of the fees paid by lenders. Proc fees of 2.75%-plus are simply deplorable when it is clients who will ultimately pay the price through an extra loading on the interest rate they pay, be it at the front end or - as is more common with some lenders - at the back end after an initial deep discount.
Traditionally, high proc fees were justified by the relative complexity and extent of the work undertaken by the intermediary on behalf of customers with specialist financial needs; for those customers with more heavily impaired credit backgrounds, there was more work so the fee was higher.
But advances in technology mean obtaining the required information is now relatively straightforward so how on earth can lenders still justify paying fees of 2.75% or more?
Consumer protection is paramount. Those lenders that continue to hide behind the excuse that the fees they pay impact only on their own profit and loss accounts are fooling nobody. In the end it’s the client that pays.
SuperCharged Secret 3, Credit Card Utopia
November 26, 2007
TURBO-CHARGED KILLER RATE SAVING INFORMATION!
Let’s just take a brief moment to recap:
If you’ve been following along on this journey with me, learning the 5 Super-Charged secrets to Credit Card Utopia, then you now know 2 very important things:
With me? Good. These are both essential foundations that you need to follow in order to live in Credit-Card Utopia.
Now, let me flavor it up for you.
What could be better than zero interest credit cards? What could be better than having the best, lowest, guaranteed credit card in your wallet?
1) How about cash? Would that work for you?
How about a big fat check at the end of the year, in the thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars?
Would you like to get PAID thousands of dollars each year, just for spending money that you ALREADY SPEND?
Seven Tips For Credit-Enhancing Your Business Loan
November 25, 2007
What are the avenues available to businesses with weak credit profiles or to companies pursuing credit transactions that are perceived as too risky by credit providers? Many companies apply for credit at banks, finance companies or equipment leasing firms and are routinely rejected due to the high degree of perceived credit risks. When approaching a credit provider, it is helpful to understand what can be done to reduce the risk of a credit transaction in the eyes of the provider. Never accept a credit rejection without considering credit enhancements. Here are a few tips on credit enhancement to help guide you in approaching the credit process:
1. Credit enhancements are modifications to credit transactions that improve the risk-reward relationship for credit providers. Enhancements can be real or merely perceived by the receiving party. Also, they can be tangible things like real estate and equipment or they can be intangibles like future rights or options.
2. Use credit enhancements to strengthen credit transactions and to improve pricing or terms. They may be used to entice credit providers to approve credit transactions that would otherwise be unacceptable because of the perceived risks. They can also encourage credit providers to make transaction approvals faster.
How Not To Be Ripped Off By Mortgage Brokers
November 24, 2007
One of the things that bothers me about the mortgage industry is the number of unscrupulous brokers that operate in this market.
Talk about giving the industry a bad name!
I worked for a mortgage lender until quite recently and I used to be shocked at the fees that brokers charged their clients. I mean lets put this whole “mortgage arranging” thing into perspective.
Assume I am meeting a client today. The guy walks into my office and sits down and has a chat with me about getting a mortgage.
It appears that he is not a “clean” client as he is suffering from a few credit problems. Well, I stroke my chin and let out a couple of sighs but wait, I CAN HELP HIM.
I tell the client that it is going to be difficult but I think I can help him. There may be a few “fees” but hey, at least he is going to get a mortgage and that is all he cares about isn’t it?
So, he needs to borrow £150k. Because of ALL the work I am going to have do I am going to charge him a competitive fee of 3% of the loan amount. That’s right, £4,500!.
The Origins of Check Writing
November 23, 2007
People haven’t always written checks to buy goods and services. But you know that right? So how did people transfer money from one place to another in times of old?
In ancient times the most popular form of money exchange was the trade. However, some point along the long line of history people started realizing they had a surplus of goods that was best stored somewhere other than their home.
During the sixteenth century Amsterdam became a key global trading and shipping outlet. Within this area, many people started amassing cash. Rather than stashing this cash at home, some people had the brilliant idea of depositing their money with safe keepers or cashiers for a fee.
Keeping their money in a central location allowed tradespeople to start writing notes to pay off debts owed to other people. Thus emerged the idea of writing checks.
Where Did The Word Check Come From?
The word “check” did not emerge until later in the 1800s. At this point in time cashiers started placing numbers on each of the notes depositors wrote so they could better track notes coming into and out of the station. Eventually a system was born and the idea of writing checks and storing money in a “bank” caught on en’ masse.
Purchase Your Future Now While It Is Still Inexpensive
November 22, 2007
Leaving school, getting a new job, or even a raise at your current one, has most people considering their next great purchase. Few think about the affect this could have on their future. Rather than pay down the debt they carry, many ponder, "What can I buy now"? The greatest purchase anyone can make is their future.
Each year as you live your life, the proper choices would have you possessing a greater net worth at the end of the year than you had at the beginning. What happens though, is you usually find yourself further in debt. The balances on your credit cards are higher. You bought a new car. You needed more toys for the home.
This is not how you purchase your future. You pay all your bills, except for one. Your future does not submit an invoice; you never receive a statement. Even though it does not demand an interest payment, the longer you give no heed to the purchase of your future the more it will cost you. Your future has no advocate, except you, you can’t continue to ignore it.
