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Whether you are Working at Home, a salaried Professional, are Older and Wiser, or at any stage of your life, your credit can be good, or bad.

No matter what you think it is, i.e. you pay your bills on time so you think it’s really good, you should know as much as you can about it and how it can affect you.

Seventy percent of Americans have never seen their own credit report or credit score.

Do you know that you have a credit score?

It’s usually referred to as a FICO score.

Being a Mortgage Consultant, Mortgage Broker, I’ve seen many credit reports and I am often surprised by the fact that my clients either don’t really know they have a credit score, or they don’t realize how much it can hurt them if they were inattentive to the numerous factors that make up a Credit Score.

The FICO score is a summary of your credit history. In other words, it’s a financial history of your life.

That score impacts a surprising cross-section of life, in fact it impacts many things you knew about. Such as;

? Lenders use it to evaluate your eligibility for mortgages.

? Landlords use it to gauge the likelihood you’ll pay the rent.

? Car dealers utilize it in arrange financing for you.

? Credit cards are, or aren’t, given to you because of it.

Now, for some things you may not have been aware of,

? Insurance companies may base your premium on it.

? Potential employers often use it to assess your character and they may base there hiring decisions on it.

The FICO score reflects hundreds of parameters in one’s financial history.

? Score 700-850 – smooth loan process; best interest rates

? Score 550-699 -medium risk; higher interest rates

? Score 300-549 -sorry, no loans or credit cards

These hundred of variables are included in the calculation of your credit score, but I only mentioned the bigger ones here.

Just paying your bills on time, as important as that is, may not rescue you from other credit pitfalls.

Bills, mortgages, your monthly rent, credit cards, long overdue or overlooked, can show up as a blotch on your credit.

? A cable, or credit card bill, that didn’t make it to your new address, or you Read more…

When you are heavily buried in debt and your finances are not enough to cover additional expense, lenders seemed like godsend angels from above.

Basically, a lender refers to any financial institution, whether a bank, lending company, cooperative, credit union, or agencies, which provide or extend help to those who need hefty amount of money for some personal reasons.

A lender is actually a company that represents the institution as a whole. Generally, these type of moneymakers earn a living by lending money to people and reap interest rates in return.

These interest rates are being charged by the financial institution on the debtor while the loan is still in full force.

Additional charges can be made in the event that the debtor was unable to pay back the loan within the agreed period. In this case, the loan officer will, then, make necessary procedures in getting back the loan amount in a more legal way.

Normally, lenders work hand in hand with realtors or real estate companies. They provide the appropriate financial aid to the clients of the real estate company.

Real estate agents will mostly refer you to a loan officer that has an established track record. Or better yet, they will recommend you to portfolio lenders because these are the type of persons who are usually capable of closing a deal with the clients.

On the other hand, loan officers may also take the form of a mortgage lender. They are the ones that provide mortgage loans to people who have assets that will serve as collaterals.

Generally, every loan officer would claim that their company is better off than the others. But when you encounter the same person a few years later, he will still tell you the same thing even if it means that he is already in a different company.

This only means that a lender will typically tell you that he or she can give you the best deal when it comes to loan and credits so as to earn interest from your loan.

That is why most financial experts contend that it is best to consider the individual loan officer rather than consider the financial institution as a whole.

The basic concept of a lender’s job is confined on two things: First, to be your backer so Read more…

Your credit score is the most important factor to getting the best car loan rate. Many shoppers make the mistake of going to the car dealership and applying for a loan before checking their credit report and score. By checking your credit score ahead of time, you will know where you stand before seeking a lender. If you have an excellent credit score, you should expect the best car loan rate possible. Do not expect the lender to tell you that you could save money by applying for a loan elsewhere. Make sure you do your homework before applying for the loan. The little time that it takes to receive your credit report from the three major agencies could end up saving you a lot of money.

Understanding Your Credit Score

Your FICO credit score is more than just a number. Understanding how your credit score is determined can help you to maintain or improve your credit rating. Most credit scores will range in number from 300-850 points. The higher your number, the better your credit rating. Your credit score will be determined by five different categories. Some items will have a greater affect on your credit score than others.

1) How timely you pay your bills carries the greatest amount of weight on your credit rating. While it is a good idea to always pay your bills on time, lenders will look Read more…

College graduation is one of those times of life when we talk and think of the many promising changes of life that will occur after passing out. Full careers, independence and a fresh start in life seem all exciting. But the paying back of the many loans taken during the academic life may cause some tension.

Similar to any debt, student loans could affect the decisions you take in future and your credit history. There are two ways in cutting the weight of your student loan. When interest rates of loans come down, your education loans could be refinanced or consolidated.

Here let me point out that Federal Student Loans are more beneficial than private student loans. The interests on federal loans are tax-deductible, and on a few types of service, the student loan can be let go of. But there are no such benefits with private loans. When consolidating your student debt, it is recommended not to mix federal and private loans together.

Make sure that you consolidate all your federal student loans. After that, you can consolidate your private loans in a separate manner. There are numerous methods of determining whether an individual is eligible in consolidating his or her federal student loans. There are various types of student debt consolidation plans provided.

When students fail to consolidate their student loan debt, then it renders them ineligible to get car loans, future mortgages, credit cards, and other credits in a few more cases. To make the payment of federal student loans hassle free, it is highly Read more…

I have great credit and want to refinance. I’m the perfect customer for any lender. So why do I have to do all the leg-work to find the best rate? Is there anywhere where lenders will bid rates & points against each other in an effort to obtain my business? (I will report spam – so don’t bother with that!)
I’m doing a lot of research but I’m afraid I will miss out on the best deal because I just can’t look “everywhere”!

A debt consolidation loan is a type of loan used for paying off creditors. Borrowers often take out debt consolidation loans to lower their rates and payments. One can choose between a secured loan, in which his/her home is used as collateral, and an unsecured loan.

A borrower can also choose to work with a debt consolidation program, where a third party agency is involved to negotiate lower rates with creditors. Before choosing this route, one should be sure to do the proper research; compare pay back dates, fees, and estimated monthly payments.

On a personal level, if you are unsure about which option is right for you, consider seeking advice from a credit counselor. They can break down each option in detail for you, analyzing the pros and cons according to your financial situation.

A debt consolidation loan from A Bad Credit Lender can provide you with the cash you need in order to consolidate all of your debts in one low monthly payment. A debt consolidation loan can be a great relief from having multiple credit card and mortgage bills that have to be paid each month. Instead, we can consolidate your loans into one simple payment — less hassle, less chance to miss payments and be assessed late fees Read more…

What’s the best/fastest way to erase debt? That’s one of the most common questions asked by people who owe money. So if you’ve asked yourself that question recently, here’s a list of the steps that you can take to destroy your debt in the shortest period of time.

1) Know How Much You Owe

If you want to erase debt, you must know the overall size of your debt. So get together all your bills, statements and final demands. Open a spreadsheet or a pad of paper and add the following details;

The amount owed to each of your lenders. This includes, credit cards, store cards, overdrafts, mortgages, personal loans and other bills. Leave nothing out. Write down the amount you owe, the monthly minimum payment, the interest rate (user the APR rate), any arrears and any penalties that are due.

At this stage, it’s a good idea to list your debts with the highest rate of interest at the top and the lowest rate at the foot. Use the rate of APR on each loan to sort them out instead of the actual monthly amount owed. For example, 18.9%, 16%, 12.3%, 7.9%, 6.2% etc

As a general rule, store cards, credit cards and overdrafts will be at the top, personal loans in the middle and mortgages at the foot of your list.

2) Work Out Your Monthly Income

Add all sources of income, including income, fees, bonuses, overtime etc. If your income varies from month to month, work out the average monthly amount over the last year. You can do this by adding up all your income over the last 12 months and dividing by twelve.

3) Set A Monthly Budget

Start by writing down all your essential monthly expenses. This means basic food, basic clothing and a roof over your head. In short, the things you need to keep body and soul together. Anything else is a luxury.

Once you know the amount you have to spend each month, it’s a simple sum. Monthly income less monthly essential costs. And anything that’s left must be used to erase debt. Once you know the monthly amount you have to eliminate your debts, you’ll find it easier to decide how much to pay towards each of your debts. This is your “war chest” to erase debt.

If you’ve reached the stage where you don’t have any money left after your essential living expenses and you can’t cut any more costs, your only chance to get out of debt is to persuade your creditors to dramatically reduce your debts or consider declaring bankruptcy.

4) Prioritise Debt Repayments

If you’ve got more than one debt, it’s important to erase debt according to the rate of interest charged. Get rid of the debts with the highest rate of interest first. That will help to reduce the amount of interest that you pay, and reduce that time taken to repay your debt. That’s the reason why I suggested listing your debts according to the rate of interest.

Take your “war chest” and deduct the minimum monthly payment for each of your debts. Once they’ve been paid, there won’t be any risk of falling further into arrears for the next month at least. The rest of your war chest can then be paid towards your debt at the top of your list. Keep going in this Read more…

Who needs a mortgage? Well, nearly everyone in North America who plans to own their own home. Interestingly enough, when you look at the Latin roots of the word ?mortgage?, you?ll find two terms ? mortuus which means death, and gage which means grip. So the term ?mortgage? actually means death grip? pretty fitting when you think about it.

Nobody WANTS a mortgage, but most people do find themselves needing one in order to purchase a home. Very few people would consider themselves ?mortgage experts? however ? and most of those who would call themselves that are the ones selling a mortgage?which means that they?re probably not your best bet for solid advice.

When looking for a mortgage, many creatively named fees tend to show up, such as an ?underwriting fee?, a ?document review fee?, ?loan preparation or origination? fee, and more. These fees are unnecessary, and often not included in a mortgage broker?s ?good faith? assessments beforehand. Depending on your broker, they may present you with the new fees in addition to your mortgage as indicated in their assessment, and give you the ?take it or leave it? ultimatum.

By that point, most people are either tired and frustrated with the mortgage shopping process, or they feel that they have no other option, and are concerned that they may not get the house they?ve set their hearts on if they keep looking elsewhere, so they accept the additional charges.

In most cases, your best bet is to deal with a direct lender rather than through a middleman like a mortgage broker. Look for a no-cost, no-fee mortgage, and ensure that all fees are reflected on the ?good faith? assessment performed by your lender before you Read more…

Mortgage Prepaying

Mortgage prepaying consists on cancelling part or the total amount of the mortgage loan remaining debt. If the type of mortgage loan lets you pay part of the principal and not only interests, then you?ll be saving money by prepaying your mortgage.

The reason why prepaying part of the principal can save you thousands of dollars is that interests are calculated as a percentage over the principal. If the loan?s capital is reduced, the interests charged will also be reduced.

Since the interests are the lender?s earnings, many lenders penalize these practices either by not letting you prepay the mortgage or by charging prepaying fees in order to discourage these practices.

Home Equity Lines of Credit

The difference between the property?s value and the remaining of the home loan debt constitutes equity. And the equity you?ve build on your home since the mortgage loan was agreed, can be used to obtain further finance in the form of a home equity loan or line of credit.

A home equity line of credit is guaranteed with the same asset as the mortgage loan. This line of credit usually carries lower variable interest rates which let?s you take advantage of good market conditions and get money at probably the lowest rates on the private financial market.

Combining Both

Prepaying itself let?s you save thousands of dollars in interests. But in order to do so you need to save a significant amount of money and make a lump mortgage payment every 4 or 6 months in order to reduce the principal. You?ll then get fewer interests and thus, lower monthly payments that will let you save even more money each month.

However, you can?t always save enough money to make such payments and if you want to have any reliability in your finances, you?ll probably want to have an extra amount available for any unexpected situation.

At this point is when home equity lines of credit come in handy. Since they carry low interest rates, these lines of credit are the perfect solution for solving the problem of unexpected situations. Read more…

A home purchase is the largest investment most people will make in their lifetimes. We save for years to accumulate a down payment to purchase our first home. We work hard to keep a stable job and income to ensure our mortgage payments are made on time every month. The loan commitment can be 20, 30, 40 or now even 50 years, so its payment can actually cross generations.

Our emotional attachments to our home can be as great as our financial ones. We raise our children there. We entertain our friends. We enjoy intimate times with our loved ones. It is our solace from the hectic pace of the world.

So, when life deals us a particularly difficult and often unexpected blow such as a divorce, a job loss or transfer, a business failure, a death in the family, a major illness or something similar, it can shake our financial and emotional foundations to the core. The ownership of our homes can be at risk and falling behind in payments, even through events beyond our control, can place us at risk for losing our home and our credit records can be destroyed.

If the delinquency in payments becomes too severe, the lender may foreclose. A foreclosure means that the property will be repossessed by the lending institution that provided the mortgage. In addition to losing the possession of the home, it is likely the owner could even lose all of the equity they have accumulated after years of making those payments.

Fortunately, even if a homeowner becomes delinquent, it does not necessarily mean that a foreclosure must occur.
A great first step is to get in touch with your lender. You must be willing to be open and honest about your financial situation.

Banks are in the business of lending money and want it to be repaid. They are not in the real estate business and do not want to own homes. A defaulted loan is bad for their record with regulators and with their shareholders and can result in a substantial financial loss to them. If a bank is required to repossess a home, it must then assume responsibility for insuring it, maintaining it, paying taxes on it, and incurring commissions and fees to sell it.

Do not ignore a lender?s attempts to contact you. In fact, you should reach out to them as soon as a problem begins to develop. Homeowners and lenders should work together to develop a solution since it?s in both their best interests to do so.

There are several alternatives to foreclosure:

Pay the delinquent amounts. Generally speaking, lenders are required to accept delinquent payments and reinstate the loan. Of course, the amounts owed will not be just the monthly payment, but might also include late fees, additional interest, and legal fees if a foreclosure has begun. Certified funds may also be required in order to reinstate the loan.

Forbearance. Often, lenders will agree to a plan that will allow a partial payment of the delinquent amounts every month in addition to the regular monthly payments. This is called Forbearance. The lender may also agree to suspend payments for a certain period of time until a repayment schedule can be started.

Reamortization. In a reamortization, the delinquent amounts are added to the loan balance as a way of bringing the mortgage payments current. This move increases not only the total loan amount but also the monthly payments. Of course, the increase in payment will not be as large if the life of the loan is also extended.

Payment Assistance. Help may also be available from state and local governments or private organizations that help people in such situations pay all or part of their mortgage obligation for a limited period of time.

Refinance. It is often believed Read more…