Home Loans and Mortgages ? Beware of New ?Mortgage Elimination? Scam
July 31, 2009
The booming real estate market has allowed many Americans to become "equity rich." They may not have a lot of cash on hand, but they might have equity in their homes worth several hundred thousand dollars or more. Unfortunately, this increase in home wealth has spawned an equally booming business in equity theft, as more and more thieves find increasingly clever ways to con homeowners out of their equity, their homes, or both. One clever new scam involves companies that promise to completely "eliminate" a homeowner’s mortgage. For a fee of a few thousand dollars, these companies claim that a homeowner can have a free and clear title to their home without paying off the remaining debt. How does this scam work?
This scam is a bit more complicated than other scams that often use simple forgery of identity theft. In this "mortgage elimination" scam, the homeowner places his home in a trust with the mortgage elimination company as the trustee. The trustee files a long, tedious, frivolous, letter of complaint with the mortgage company, giving them a mere ten days to respond. Should the mortgage company not respond within ten days, and they frequently do not, the trust claims that they are then free of the mortgage obligation. Using a questionable power of attorney procedure, the trust then files with the local register of deeds for a release of the home’s title. This makes it appear that the home is now owned without a lien.
Guide to Bridging Loans
July 30, 2009
Here is a useful guide to bridging loans. This is a loan that is usually taken out to solve a temporary cash shortfall that may arise when buying a property or business. It’s basically a very short term mortgage. Like a mortgage, it’s a loan that is “secured” against property.
A bridging loan is a type of loan that is used to cover shortfalls between buying one property and selling another. A prime example of when you might need a bridging loan would be if you’re ready to buy a new home but are let down on the sale of your existing one. To secure your new home, before it goes to the competition, you could use a bridging loan.
A bridging loan is a short term mortgage which is secured by your property. This is usually arranged by getting a mortgage on the new property, and taking out a second mortgage on the property being sold. This type of loan is mainly available for house sales and is usually taken out to solve a temporary cash shortfall which can happen when selling and buying different properties or to pay for renovations. It ‘bridges’ the gap between the purchase of a new property and the sale of an existing one.
Using Credit Cards Wisely
July 29, 2009
“I think money was stolen from my card” or “I might have blocked my card in the ATM” - these are frequent problems that bank customer-support officers usually hear from agitated clients. Incorrect use of credit cards or wrong interpretations of their functions are frequent even after tens of years of credit-card extensive use. Actually, there are 4 most frequent causes for problems; one is related to overspending, the second is about missing money; this is usually connected to the 3rd problem - unauthorized use and finally there is the issue of forgotten information. All these problems are interconnected and can lead to serious financial problems. However, there are a few simple things that you can do in order to avoid hassle.
First and foremost, remember that your credit card has a limit. When you open a credit line you will be given a certain credit limit that can vary from twice your monthly income to 3 or maybe 4 times that income, depending on past credit history. However, do not spend more than you can pay back. At the end of each month you will have to pay-back the borrowed money and there will be no exceptions from the rule. So lesson number one is "spend within limits".
Home Refinancing Scam ? Thieves Use Identity Theft to Steal Your Equity
July 28, 2009
Since the demise of the stock market in 2000, the real estate market has been booming. Investors who are justifiably cautious about investing in stocks have been investing in homes. This has driven the prices of homes in the United States to record levels. Long-time homeowners are discovering that they have a tremendous amount of equity in their homes as the values rise, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The past five years have been good to homeowners and lenders. Unfortunately, the past five years have also been good to equity thieves, who are using identity theft to steal the equity from homes, often without the homeowner’s knowledge.
As the median value of a home in the United States is currently a little more than $200,000, there is plenty of incentive for the equity thief. The scam is relatively simple and usually involves homes that are completely paid off. The thief obtains a copy of the homeowner’s Social Security number and a fake driver’s license in the homeowner’s name. Using this fake identification, the thief forges a quitclaim deed, a document transfers a homeowner’s interest in a property to a third party. The document says, in essence, "I don’t want this property anymore." The property can then be transferred to anyone the thief chooses. Once the transfer has taken place, the thief applies for a home equity loan, takes the money, and simply walks away. In an alternate scenario, the thief simply sells the house and pockets the money. As most agencies involved in real estate transactions are quite busy these days, property transfers of this type can often be accomplished without drawing undue attention.
Pay Off Debt - Get Out Of Debt And Lower Your Monthly Payments
July 28, 2009
Debt consolidation can be confusing, especially if you have never considered contacting a debt consolidation company before. A debt consolidation company can give you free advice on reducing your monthly payments and show you the path to becoming debt free. High interest rates and the various fees charged by creditors can leave the average consumer unable to meet their monthly financial obligations. If you have found yourself overwhelmed by credit card debt and unsecured loan payments, debt consolidation may be the answer you have been looking for.
The services offered by debt consolidation companies will not eliminate your debt overnight, but they will assist you in lowering your interest rates and monthly payment amounts. Debt consolidation is not an instant cure for your financial problems, but rather a tool that is available to consumers who can no longer afford the high payments and high interest rates charged by creditors. Instead of making high monthly payments to your creditors, you can drastically lower the interest rates on your accounts and lower your monthly payments.
Identity Theft ? More Tips on How it Can Be Avoided
July 27, 2009
Recent security breaches at several credit card companies continue to worry Americans, as stolen financial information can lead to identity theft. Identity theft occurs when someone obtains your Social Security number and/or other vital information and uses it to pose as you. By doing so, they can take advantage of your good credit history to open new credit card accounts or obtain loans. They get to spend the money, but you get to pay the bills. It often takes a victim a year or more to even detect that he or she has been a victim of ID theft; clearing up the mess caused by an identity theft scam can take years and can harm you personal credit report indefinitely.
We have covered a few identity theft tips in previous articles, but here are some more things the conscientious consumer can do to minimize the chances of being the latest victim of an ID theft scammer:
New Bankruptcy Legislation May Make it Harder to Find an Attorney
July 26, 2009
The recently passed Bankruptcy Abuse prevention and Consumer Protection Act will make it harder for people with problem debt to have their debt eliminated through filing for bankruptcy. This new legislation will make it harder to have debts wiped out by the courts, and will require more debtors to pay back some or all of their debts. Considered by many to be a gift from Congress to the major credit card companies, this new law has many people rightly concerned about how to best deal with their debt problems. An additional concern that few have considered is that it not only will be more difficult to file for bankruptcy, it may also be difficult to find legal assistance once the new law takes effect in October, 2005.
Why Choose a Bad Credit Personal Loan?
July 25, 2009
Listed below are some of the reasons for choosing a bad credit personal loan.
A bad credit personal loan is a low cost loan secured on your home. It frees up the spare capital (or equity) in your home for you to use on whatever you want.
A bad credit personal loan allows you to borrow money at a far better rate than an unsecured loan because your home is used as security and deemed less of financial risk by the borrowers.
A bad credit personal loan is a specialist loan aimed at those people who may have had credit problems in the past. They may have County Court Judgements, mortgage arrears or an imperfect credit history.
A bad credit rating does not always mean you will be unable to get a loan. As long as you have an income and can afford the repayment, you can get a loan. A history of CCJ’s or defaulted loan repayments will mean that lenders will inevitably charge you higher rates to cover their perceived increased risk.
Finding What is on Your Credit Report
July 24, 2009
A credit report is basically a file about you kept by lenders and banks. As annoying as it may be, it’s still perfectly legal for them to gather all sorts of details about you. In turn, you have the right to check this file - and you should do so and inquire regularly about your credit report and your credit score, particularly when you plan a big financial change, for instance, before applying for a loan or a mortgage, you should always take time and review your credit report. This allows you not only to plan your moves accurately, but also to dispute any mistakes that might occur in the report.
The credit report is an accurate record of your financial activities, including the accounts you have, the credits you may have taken so far, any late payments, and the actions started against you for financial reasons. This report is used to determine your credit rating - which is a number indicating your financial risks.
The information typically included in a credit report refers to your personal identification data, credit information, public record information and a list of recent inquiries. The personal identification data, as you may expect, means your name, social security number, address (current and previous addresses), employer (also current and previous), your birth date, and so on. If applicable, your file may contain similar information about your spouse.
Buy To Let Mortgages ? To Let in Reasonable Capital Growth with Financial Obligation
July 23, 2009
Every individual needs a home and every home needs an owner. Perhaps you are already a homeowner. If you can afford why not buy a home and let it out on rent. It can be immensely rewarding if you need a loan. Buy to let is when a buyer buys a property to let it out for commercial purposes. Mortgages specific to these kind of purchase are called buy to let mortgages.
Buy to let mortgages are highly specialized and meant to cater to specific needs. In 1996, The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) made a constructive effort in the form of Buy to let mortgage. This effort was endorsed by several leading mortgage lenders which included Birmingham MidShires, GMAC Residential Funding, Nat West Mortgage Services, Paragon Mortgages, and The Mortgage Business. Buy to let mortgages is an endeavor to motivate the growth of the Private Rented Sector by encouraging private investors to take the opportunities given by low, highly competitive, interest rates. The buy to let is supposed to sustain reasonable capital growth over the coming years.
