Financial Updates

Do you want to purchase a house? Are you in need of a mortgage loan? If yes, you must find out the various factors that affect mortgage rates. In order to find cheap home loans, you must also compare the rates on different types of loans.

Some of the tips that can help you find cheap home loans are:

1. Research on types of mortgage : There are various types of mortgages available. The most common types are fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate loans. Fixed-rate loans are very affordable when market rates are low. If you obtain this loan, your monthly payments will be the same. The introductory rates of adjustable-rate loans are generally lower than that of fixed-rate loans but gradually increase with changes in market indexes. If you plan to stay in your house only for a few years, you can reduce your mortgage cost by obtaining an adjustable-rate loan.

2. Shop around for mortgage rates : The interest rate on the same types of home loans varies with lenders. Before obtaining a loan, you must shop around and compare the mortgage rates offered by the different lenders. Some lenders may offer you cheap mortgage rates that are not genuine. It is always better to ask the lenders for annual percentage rates (APR) that represents the total fees. By comparing the APRs, you can obtain a low cost loan.

3. Check your credit report : Lenders analyze your credit report to determine the risk the take by offering you loans. You must review your credit report for incorrect/incomplete items and take the necessary steps to fix it. By eliminating negative listings from your report, you will be able to obtain cheap home loans.

4. Make a higher down payment : Lenders generally require a down payment of at least 20% of the purchase price of your property. However, you can also obtain a loan by putting down less but in such a situation, you have to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI). The PMI will increase the cost of your home loan. You can reduce your monthly payments and hence the overall cost of your home loan by making a larger down payment.

5. Pay higher points : Points are interest paid in advance. One point is equal to 1% of the home loan amount and is normally equivalent of 1/8 of 1% of the mortgage rate. You should request your lender to allow you to pay higher points. By paying higher points, you will be able to reduce the interest rate on mortgage.

If you cannot afford a conventional mortgage and want to get cheap home loans, you may consider applying for FHA and VA loans. FHA loans offer down payment as low as 3% to eligible individuals and VA loans offer mortgages with out down payment to Veterans of the U.S. military.

If you cannot purchase your vehicle from your own resources, you will have to obtain a car loan. The dealer from whom you are purchasing your car may offer you the loan or you can also obtain it from other lenders. There are various ways by which you can obtain cheap auto loans. Some of the ways are : 

 1. Determine your budget : You should first find out how much you can spend on a new car. You must determine your budget keeping in mind your income and household expenses. You should also consider the cost of insuring your car, fuel and maintenance to determine the amount you can afford to pay for your car. According to experts, you should not spend more than 20% of your monthly income on your car.

2. Scrutinize your credit report : The higher is your credit score, lower will be the interest rate on auto loans. You must get a copy of your credit report from the credit reporting agencies and scrutinize it for incomplete/ incorrect information. If there is any wrong information, you should inform the agencies about it. You can also negotiate with your creditors to fix negative listings on your report. To improve your credit score, you should start repaying your debts.

3. Shop around : The interest rates on auto loans vary with lenders. Before financing with your dealer, you must shop around and compare the rates that different banks and credit unions are offering. You can also compare multiple quotes online. By shopping around, you can find cheap auto loans and save on interest payments.

4. Choose the suitable term : By opting for a shorter term of loan, you can reduce your interest payments. Most of the lenders offer a lower interest rate for short term financing.

5. Save up for down payment : The amount you put down directly affects your monthly loan payments. Most of the lenders may offer to finance your car even if you don’t make a down payment. But if you don’t provide a down payment, you will have to pay more in the long run. It is best to make a down payment equal to10% of the purchase price of your car.

You can also obtain cheap auto loans by reducing the purchase price of your car. Most of the motor dealerships offer national and regional rebates to encourage individuals to purchase cars. You can take advantage of the rebates to lower the price of your car. As the purchase price gets reduced, you will require a smaller amount of loan. This in turn will lower the cost of your loan.

Are you in severe debt crisis? At first, stop worrying about it and then start working on a debt relief plan that can help you pay off all your bills/debts in a systematic way. You can take professional help if you’re not able to clear your dues on your own. Read on to get a brief idea on debt solutions – how professional debt relief options help you pay off your debts and get your finances back on track. 

Here are 4 professional debt relief options that help you pay off your multiple bills/debts.

1. Credit counseling session : You should first go for a debt/credit counseling session whenever you start facing debt problems. In such a session, a credit counselor examines your financial condition and offers suitable suggestions to manage your debt properly. A counselor may also prepare a personalized debt relief plan for you by following which you can pay off your dues completely.

2. Debt management plan : A credit counseling organization may offer a debt management plan to you if suggestions and tips are not enough to pay back your dues. In a DMP or a debt management plan, a counselor, on behalf of the organization, negotiates with your creditors to reduce your loan interest rates. With your creditors’ approval, the counselor also finalizes a monthly payment that you need to pay towards clearing your multiple bills/debts. Thus, you can get rid of your debts with the help of professional guidance.

3. Debt consolidation program : There is not much difference between a debt management plan and a debt consolidation program. The only difference is that a consolidation program is usually offered by a consolidation company whereas, debt management plans are generally offered by credit counseling organizations. In a consolidation program, a debt consultant (on behalf of the consolidation company) negotiates with your creditors to reduce the interest rates on your loans, decides upon a monthly payment and gets it approved by your creditors. When you make the agreed upon monthly payments to the consolidation company, it distributes the amount amongst your creditors on your behalf.

4. Debt settlement program : You can take help of a settlement program when you have huge debts to pay off. In such a program, the settlement company negotiates with your creditors to reduce the amount that you owe to them. In most cases, the settlement companies can reduce the outstanding balance to about 40-60% of what you owe. In the meantime, the company asks you to stop paying your creditors for the time being and instead deposit an agreed upon monthly payment to a settlement account. You need to use this accumulated fund to settle the debt as soon as one of your creditors agrees upon a reduced payoff amount. Thus, you can get rid of your debts one by one by paying less than what you owe.

You can take help of a debt consultant if you cannot make up your mind as which debt relief program may be best suitable for you to clear all your dues. A debt consultant can help you to get brief idea on debt solutions along with making you aware about the pros and cons of each of the debt relief programs.

Now a days there are lot of bad stuffs is happening with credit card industries. Right now the credit card insurers are playing very adroit game with their consumers and the consumers have no option to get out of these traps. So you should know these traps to save yourself from these tricks of credit card insurers.

Most important and popular trap is the interest rate because the consumer didn't know the interest rate . If you are making payment on that time you didn't know the interest rate so they can even charge more than the actual rate.

The grace period is another trap you must know. Sometimes it may be happen that if your grace period is of 15 days and you are preparing your payment according to that but on the last time you get to know that your grace period was less than that .

First of all you always need you check your credit account , billing date as well as the grace period so that no body can cheat you.Watch out for the changes with the rules of the credit card companies, the Government and the Federal Reserve. You should have a clear knowledge over the credit card agreement, mostly the section of fine for default payment.