Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Check your Home Loan Options

If you are a first time buyer you may wish to do a bit of checking before you just get a home loan. With a little bit of research, you may find out that you can save several thousands of dollars according to the mortgage loan you choose.
There are many different types of loans for you to choose from and you should not run out and choose the first company you come across. It’s also important that before you go about finding the home of your dreams, you need to know how much you can afford. It would be best, before you even step out the door to look at a home, to get pre-qualified for a loan. This will let you know just how much you can afford for a home and how much your mortgage payments would come up to. It would be a shame to find your dream home and then learn you can’t afford to own it.
You’ll also need to carefully examine the other expenses that may come up as part of the loan package – make sure you account for any hidden costs involved. You should also look at the difference between variable rate and fixed rate mortgages. A fixed rate will never change over the course of your loan while a variable rate will change as the interest rates change. Weigh your options carefully before signing on to a loan.
Source: EzineArticles.com
Credit Counts: Know Your Credit Score before Making a Major Purchase

Whether you’re in the market for a new home or applying for a loan, before you start looking at neighborhoods, you need to look somewhere else -- at your credit score. A credit score can give you the information you need to negotiate loan terms and bring you one step closer to your dream purchase. The next time you’re contemplating a key purchase, start with your credit score -- it’s what lenders use to determine your credit worthiness.
Learn What Can Make or Break Your Credit
Here are a few tips to help ensure that your credit score gives you the credit you deserve:
Payment History -- Your payment history is a significant factor in determining your credit score. A history of late payments on current and past accounts is likely to have a negative impact on your score.
Amounts Owed -- What you owe counts significantly in the calculation of your credit score. Maintaining large balances on your credit cards may be a signal to lenders that you have accrued more debt than you can handle.
Length of Credit History -- A portion of your score is based on how long you’ve had established credit. In general, a longer credit history can help earn you a better standing with creditor grantors and lenders.
New Credit Requests -- Consider ways to manage new credit wisely. Applying for many different types of credit in a short period of time can take a toll on your score.
Credit Diversity -- Mix it up. Having a combination of account types including installment, revolving and mortgage is a good way to help diversify your credit.
Know Where You Stand
Knowing your credit history early can help you prepare for negotiations with lenders. For this reason, it’s a good idea to review your credit report regularly and monitor your credit score for any changes that may affect loan terms.
Score monitoring services such as Score Watch can put valuable information in the hands of consumers preparing for a major purchase. Available at Equifax.com, Score Watch continuously monitors your FICO score and Equifax Credit Report and notifies you when a score change impacts the interest rate you are likely to receive on a mortgage, auto or home equity loan.
Courtesy of ARA Content
Bad Credit

Bad credit is getting loans – all kinds of loans". Lending institutions, banks and other financial constitutions are coming forward to provide loans for bad credit. There is a new rescue programme for people with bad credit - bad credit loans.
Millions are earmarked every year for bad credit. It is highly unlikely that you don’t suffer from bad credit. Bad credit have become easily accessible to people making it easier for people to sort out their money issues. Those who have been previously rejected have now bad credit loans to start off their financial plans.
The meaning of the term bad credit has changed leading to a new improved perspective of loans lenders towards people with bad credit. Therefore, bad credit loans have become more flexible, more consumer friendly and with innovative modifications.
You are liable to bad credit if you have made any previous faults with credit payment which amounts to arrears. Further bankruptcy, county court judgements, credit card debts or any other financial impairment leads to bad credit. Bad credit loans are offered to people by leading mortgage lenders.
If you are fresh to the concept of bad credit loans then perhaps you need to understand credit rankings. A minimum 500 credit score entails any kind of bad credit loan. Grades are provided by various loan lenders to differentiate between various loan borrowers.
A + credit score (580-620 or more) implies very few or no credit problems since last two years and no delayed mortgage payments.
A – credit score (560-580) few mortgage problem over two years and one or two thirty day late payments.
B credit score (550-560) implies a fall in the credit reports. This means a 10% down payment is required for any loan claim.
C credit score (535-550) lots of late repayments. Any late mortgage payment that is in the 60- or 90-day range. This also includes bankruptcy or foreclosure that had been discharged or settled in the last 12 months. A 15-20% down payment would be required for bad credit loan with this credit score.
D credit score (500-535) implies lots of missed payments. A bad credit loan claim with D credit score would require a 20% down payment.
Bad credit loans are forever providing financial aid to bad credit loan applications. But don’t jump on to the first bad credit loan advertisement where low APR, reduced interest rates are frequently flashed. Bad credit loans are furnished at higher rates as compared to other loan types. There is no escaping that in the context of bad credit loans.
Bad credit loans are provided as secured bad credit loans or unsecured bad credit loans. Unsecured bad credit loans cater to those residents who do not own a home or who can’t place their home as a guarantee. On the contrary, a secured bad credit loan is meant for homeowners or those people who can place their valuable assets as a security. Loan lenders have specialist products for every bad credit loan condition.
Higher rates for bad credit loan are unavoidable but with constant and careful research, you can get a bad credit loan at lesser interest rate. You can borrow up to £5,000 to £75,000 with a bad credit loans. Further some bad credit loans can permit you to take approximately 125% of your property. Bad credit loan can overcome financial impediment of any kind such that you can buy a new car, get married, go on a holiday, make home improvement, and also consolidate your debts.
Debt consolidation through bad credit loans can do wonders. It will not only bring down interest rates for all your debts but also initiate a debt free cycle. If honesty is the best policy, it is certainly true in relation to bad credit loans. If you are straightforward about your debt condition then perhaps you will be able to avail a good interest rate on bad credit loans. Also being aware of your rights with respect to loan borrowing will put you in a better condition while taking a bad credit loan.
It is a vicious circle. What bad credit loans? No. Bad credit. Bad credit can start circle of ongoing unpleasant circumstances if not tackled. Bad credit loans are provided but you don’t want bad credit to go a long way with you. Bad credit loan should not be made a habit but should solve temporary monetary stress. Buying a new home, or a car, starting a new business – do you think anyone can stop that? Certainly not bad credit loans.
Courtesy: EzineArticles.com
Bad Credit Home Equity Loan

Home loans with bad credit may not seem possible to achieve. Many online financial agencies have services available that provide the options for home loans with bad credit. Pursuing a home loan with bad credit from one of these online agencies provides online applications, quick transactions, and many different programs or loan types to choose from. Getting a home loan with bad credit will only take a short time and is available to anyone.
The process of receiving a home loan with bad credit is much more promising now than in the past. Many financial organizations have websites that provide information and resources to potential home buyers or those interested in refinancing. With these online agencies, the online applications provided make it much more efficient and effortless for anyone seeking a loan to apply. The application asks certain personal and credit questions, in order to get the basic background of the individual. The information that is supplied is then used to find the most appropriate lender that will meet the needs of the borrowers seeking home loans with bad credit.
Receiving home loans with bad credit is usually difficult, if not impossible. With the many financial companies and mortgage providers online, however, the method is much simpler and takes relatively little time. The application process to obtain a home loan with bad credit, as previously explained, is a quick process that can be completed on the applicants own time. Approval or denial of the application is completed in a very quick manner, with results of the application processed in a matter of hours, if not minutes.
Pursuing home loans with bad credit is much more possible now, than in the past, with the availability of online mortgage and financial companies. While a home loan with bad credit is still somewhat difficult to achieve, these online sites have created many options and programs that cater to the needs of borrowers. The online applications and quick transactions make pursuing home loans with bad credit much quicker for working individuals, or those with limited time. Receiving a home loan with bad credit will provide many opportunities to borrowers with less than perfect past financial history. Source: Homeloans.christianet.com
Filling the Need Gap: Last-Minute College Financing Options Are Still Available

After the initial euphoria of college acceptance passes, reality sets in: someone has to pay for it. When financial aid is not enough to cover the cost of college and the start date of school is nearing, more families are turning to alternative financing options.
Families should first consider funding options that do not need to be repaid, such as scholarships and grants. Once those have been exhausted, they may consider an education loan to cover their education expenses. The Federal Stafford Loan is the most common type of education loan for undergraduate and graduate borrowers. However, students are limited by what they can borrow.
One option to help bridge the financial aid gap is a Federal PLUS Loan. PLUS Loans are the lowest-cost way for parents to finance their child's education. Parents may use PLUS Loans to borrow money as needed, including to get money for tuition, room and board, books, supplies, even travel to cover the cost of attendance at their child's college of choice.
“Parents can borrow for college, but they cannot borrow to pay for their retirement,” says Martha Holler, spokesperson for Sallie Mae, the nation’s number one paying-for-college company. “Most families will qualify for PLUS Loans, and everyone gets the same low interest rate regardless of their credit history.”
PLUS Loans are not based on income or assets and do not require collateral. Moreover, parents can take up to 10 years to repay the loan using a wide variety of repayment options, including delaying repayment for up to five years while their child is in school or once their child leaves school. Sallie Mae offers free, no obligation credit decisions regarding PLUS loans when parents visit www.parentanswer.com or call (800) 891-1410.
Another last-minute financing option for students is a private education loan, such as a Sallie Mae Signature Student Loan. The Signature Student Loan is a private education loan for undergraduate, graduate and health profession students attending four-or-five-year schools at least half time. Interest rates and fees are based on credit history; the better the student's or co-signer's credit, the lower the interest rates and fees. Students and families can learn more about the Signature Student Loan and use Sallie Mae's online pre-approval feature to receive credit results by logging onto www.SallieMae.com/Signature.
Another option is to take advantage of the school’s monthly tuition payment plan. Most schools offer families the ability to make monthly tuition payments over the course of the school year, an interest-free alternative to a large, one-time payment due at bill time. For a small fee, families can reduce the amount they need to borrow to cover the cost of college. Students and their families should ask their campus bursar or financial aid office for more information.
“Finding last-minute money to pay for college is doable, and parents don’t have to take a second job or another mortgage on their home to accomplish it,” says Holler. Courtesy of ARA Content
0% APR Credit Cards: A Tool To Eliminate Debt

It is interesting to note that what started off as a marketing gimmick has now become an almost permanent part of the credit card industry in America and today 0% APR credit cards can in fact play a significant role in helping a person reduce or get out of debt.
What Is A 0% APR Credit Card?
APR is the annual interest rate known in industry jargon as the Annual Percentage Rate. It is a reflection of the cost of credit. In the old days everybody paid a standard APR based on bank rates. It was usually about 18 per cent. The use of low APR came with the emergence of the monoline bank. These were banks that only issued credit cards and did not take any deposits or issue conventional loans. For their business model to work well large numbers were important for these breed of pioneering bankers and credit cards issuers so low APR teaser rates were successfully used to lure as many new card users as possible.
The gimmick seemed to have worked so well that today it is difficult to find a credit card company that does not offer some type of incentive APR during the first 6 months or one year. The more popular credit cards offer 0% APR for the first year.
Usefulness Of A 0% APR Credit Card In Reducing Debt
A 0% APR credit card can be extremely useful for somebody who wants to reduce their large credit card debt. For instance if you have a credit card debt that remains at about $10,000 and the APR is 20% then you will end up paying a whooping $2,000 in interest payments alone. With a 0% APR credit card the $2,000 could all go towards reducing that crippling debt. It is therefore clear that 0% APR credit cards can offer much needed financial breathing room for somebody in a serious credit card debt situation.
Consolidation Or Transfer Necessary To Benefit From 0% APR Credit Cards
Transferring a credit card debt or credit card debt consolidation are all-important first steps that will need to be taken before a person in deep credit card debt can enjoy the benefits of a 0% APR credit card. The objective here would be to have all the person’s outstanding debt payable to one credit card company and at a 0% APR rate.
The importance of 0% APR credit cards in helping an individual or business to get out of credit card debt cannot be understated.
Although many potential card users place a lot of importance in being able to obtain a 0% APR credit card, the truth of the matter is that it is only attractive and beneficial to two groups of people. Firstly persons able to settle their credit card balances on a month to month basis to whom the 0% APR rate means that their cost of maintaining a credit card is very minimal. Secondly those in debt also benefit because the 0% APR credit card greatly assists them in their efforts to reduce their debt. Courtesy: credit-card-surplus.com