Tag: Smart
The Five Mistakes You Want To Avoid When Getting A
by admin on Aug.04, 2010, under Loans and Mortgages
The Five Mistakes You Want To Avoid When Getting A Home Mortgage Loan
Your home mortgage loan is the largest debt you will carry. Your home mortgage loan is also the highest bill you will pay each month. Avoiding mistakes when looking for a home mortgage loan can make you a smart and happy homeowner with more money in your pocket each month.
First mistake
The first mistake you can make is not looking for the best home mortgage loan rates you can find. There are so many lenders that want your business, and taking the time to find out the best rates is time well worth spent. When you find a competitive rate, you may find that not only do you save money each month, but just think of the savings you will enjoy over the life of the home mortgage loan.
Second mistake
A mistake many new homeowners make when searching for a home mortgage loan is not checking their credit history before applying. Many times there are mistakes on your credit report that could affect the rate you are offered, and taking the time to take care of those problems before putting in your application with a mortgage lender, can save you time and aggravation in the long run.
Third mistake
Another costly mistake you may make when you are buying a new home is spending too much money and not being able to handle the payments each month. Before you decide the purchase price of a home you can afford, you will need to sit down and take a look at your monthly expenses and bills to see what type of payment you can easily afford each month. Lots of times after you buy a new home, something will go wrong and you may have to pay for costly repairs. This can be difficult if you are carrying a home mortgage loan that is too high for you. It can also make your life miserable if you have to worry each month about how you are going to make the mortgage payment.
Fourth mistake
Before you are ready to make a bid on the house of your dreams, be sure you are pre-approved for a home mortgage loan. When a lender looks at your current financial picture, they can decide on a cap for your loan. This makes it easier to make an offer when you are ready as you will already have the financing set up.
Fifth mistake
Never agree to a pre-payment penalty fee. A home mortgage loan given to a borrower who has a poor credit rating can charge sometimes as much as thousands of dollars for those who pay off the loan in the first few years of owning their home. Many times the reason that people pay off a mortgage early is that you have found a more attractive interest rate that will put more money in your pocket each month. Keep this in mind, and read the small print before signing on the dotted line to ensure you are not agreeing to this practice.
When Do You Need a Debt Consolidation Loan?
by admin on May.28, 2010, under Loans and Debt
If your monthly debt payments to credit cards and banks and retail outlets, exceed 20% of your income, your debts are what might be termed out of control. If thats you, its time you took serious steps in a smart direction.
The first step you need to take in your self-examination is to write down what you owe, to whom, and how much they take off you each month. This is important, because so often we dont even count what were paying out, and we wonder why were always broke.
Once youve done that, identify the debts that are costing you the most. For example, are you paying more interest on one credit card than another? Is that retail charge account charging you a minimum of $50 per month, even though your interest is far less?
Dont worry about totals just look at percentages. That 23.5% interest rate on your MasterCard needs to be the first thing you lose. The 19% on the Visa, thats your next bet. Order them according to how much theyre ripping you off, and look your list over.
The first items on the list the bigger interest rates items you need to lose those and lose them now.
Perhaps you can sell some things you have lying around, and put the proceeds directly to the first thing on the list. Maybe you can borrow from a relative, and pay them bank interest rates, while using the money to pay off your credit card. Maybe you can even get a second job for the summer, and use that money to pay off the second or third item on your list down.
Another option is a very simple, yet often overlooked option call your creditors and let them know theyre killing you.
In short, if you call your credit card company and let them know youre unhappy with your interest rate, they may well reduce it for you, or even give you a few months of interest free time to help pay down what you owe (it doesnt happen often, but it does happen). Alternately, calling one credit card company you have an account with and asking if they can transfer your debt from one card to another, may just see you able to move your debt from a high interest account to a lower interest account, at no cost to you.
When in doubt, call the company up and ask. Ultimately, they dont want you going broke. They want you to be able to pay everything back, so if youll work with them, theyll work with you.
