Poor Credit Mortgage - Overcoming Financial Slumber

By: Natasha Anderson

issues like - poor credit, sub prime loan borrowers. Some years ago what was seen as a sure sign of frustrated mortgage attempt is now opening a new variety of mortgage called poor credit mortgage.

There are loan lenders who specialize in giving poor credit mortgage and helping the larger population who suffers from the drawbacks of poor credit. It doesn’t matter what kind of poor credit you have, you can get a mortgage.

A little hard work with poor credit will make it easier to find mortgage with your kind of interest rates. Usually mortgage borrowers are totally clueless about their credit score and suddenly realize that they are labelled as “poor credit”. Poor credit rating cannot, in principle, prevent you from having a mortgage. However, it will surely have impact on the mortgage interest rate which is fundamental.

You would be applying for poor credit mortgage if you have any of these things on your credit report.

• Bankruptcy will undoubtedly result in poor credit this is what most people know. But a chapter 7 bankruptcy will have more negative effect on your poor credit mortgage application than chapter 13 bankruptcy. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy all you debts are discharged, while chapter 13 bankruptcy you pay some of your debts before being discharged.

• A foreclosure lawsuit can result in poor credit and can affect harmful consequences on your mortgage application. Keeping regular on mortgage payment is the best way to avoid a poor credit.

• A debt sent to debt collection agency will result in poor credit and reflect on your mortgage application.

• Any judgment against you will result in poor credit. Any thirty day late payment will mark as poor credit on mortgage application.

• Every time a credit check is done, it reports on your credit report. A few credit checks are fine but many credit checks will result in poor credit.

Whether you have poor credit or not is determined by credit score. While applying for poor credit mortgage you must know beforehand your credit score. Being aware of poor credit score would place you in a strong position when you make a mortgage claim. Lenders and mortgage brokers might take advantage of your ignorance and charge you more for poor credit than applicable.

The ABC of credit extends from A to E. These grades are used by loan lenders to estimate poor credit. However, some lenders may have some exceptions and can have different course of action accordingly.

Credit grade A+ to A- would mean credit score of 660 to 670 or above. This means excellent credit. No credit problems from 2 to 5 years and no bankruptcy for the last 2-10years.

A credit grade B+ to B- would mean a credit score of 620. This means no sixty day mortgage lates and 24-48 months since bankruptcy discharge.

Credit grade of C+ to C- is credit score of 580. This means late payments, any late payment within 30-90 day range. This will include 12-24 months since bankruptcy discharge.

Credit grade D+ to D- would imply a credit score of 550. Lots of missed payments. 12 months since bankruptcy discharge.

Credit grade E is a credit score of 520 or lower. This score is for a possible current bankrupt with poor payment record of many 30, 60 or 90 days late.

A loan lender has the right to determine whether he wants to offer you mortgage with poor credit. Loan amount is crucial for poor credit mortgage. To neutralize poor credit, you need to have stable income which is above the minimum requirement. If you have good capital - that is the money in your bank, stock and house – poor credit mortgage will be easily approved. The down payment for poor credit mortgage can be anywhere between 10%-20% or more.

Poor credit mortgage approval is also dependent on your ability to make timely payments. Since you have poor credit this possibility has already exhausted. Taking select steps will prove positive for poor credit. Close all the present unused accounts. Reducing credit card balances to 75%. Start making regular payments for any current debt. Also if there is wrong information about your credit in your report, get it corrected.

Poor credit is easy to catch. Sometimes during hard times like job loss, divorce, illness, death you can’t keep up with your payments – which leads to poor credit. It is not a bad situation. Mortgage borrowers themselves are not sure if they can get it. There is a separate space for bad credit mortgage online. In essence poor credit mortgage is not very different from the usual mortgage. Neither is finding it.


About the Author: After having herself gone through the ordeal of loan borrowing, Natasha Anderson understands the need for good quality loan advice.She works for the UK secured loan web site uk finance world.To find a Secured or unsecured loan that best suits your needs visit http://www.ukfinanceworld.co.uk

10 Steps To Improve Your Financial Situation

By: Gregory Thomas

Here are ten steps you can follow to help improve your personal financial situation and inevitably save more money:

1. Pay Yourself Weekly

This may seem a bit odd, but this is an excellent way to start building a substantial savings. On a weekly basis, pay yourself $25-$50 and immediately put it in a safe place. You can even open a special savings account where this weekly "payday" can by placed to help minimize or eliminate impulsive spending. Think about it this way, if you paid yourself $25 a week, in two years you'll have accumulated $2600 (not including interest)!!! That's almost $3000 from just putting $25 aside every week! Take advantage of this money-saving opportunity. Simple, yet very effective.

2. Don't Shop

For those of you that love to shop, you may find that this is one tip that could save you hundreds, maybe even thousands every year. Start using the "Need or Want" strategy. Before you spend a single dollar on anything, ask yourself, "Do I really NEED this item, or do I just WANT it??" You may find that many of the items we purchase, we do so just because it "caught our eye" or it was "an impulse buy" or "my friend bought the same thing". All these excuses just add up to wasteful spending. You can probably get by without another sweater, or a new pair of jeans, so just buy what you absolutely need, and pass on those items that aren't necessities.

3. Use Your Bank's Own ATMs

Some banks will charge you money for using other ATM machines. Even though you will be able to withdraw money using your ATM/debit card from literally any machine, banks will charge you $2 (generally) for using a machine other than theirs, in addition to a standard $1.50 charge the machine charges for its use. In other words, if you use the ATM at your local 7-11 to take out $20, you'll most likely end up paying $3.50 in additional charges! If you do that 5 times a month, you'll lose $17.50 for that month, or $210 per year! What a waste! Try and stick with your own bank's ATMs whenever possible.

4. Track Your Spending

Take the time to track your spending habits for one week. Take note of every single dollar you spend, even those sodas and candy bars purchased here and there. This will give you a "birds-eye" view of exactly where your money is being spent, thus allowing you to refine your spending habits to essentially save more money.

5. Lower Credit Card Balances

Another very important tip that many often overlook. Pay off those pesky credit cards as soon as possible because you are losing up to 19% of the total. What a waste of your hard earned money! Keep chopping away at the balances until you get to an amount that is reasonable $100-$500 dollars.

6. Use Your Debit Card Instead of Credit Cards

Get in the habit of using your debit card instead of your credit cards. For the most part, debit cards are accepted anywhere a credit card is accepted, however as you know, with a debit card the amount is taken directly from your checking account whereas credit card usage is billed at a later date (along with a hefty interest rate).

7. Changing Jobs? Roll-Over that 401(k)

When people change jobs/careers they will be faced with a decision to either "rollover" their 401k (retirement plan) or to withdraw it. It will be ever so tempting to withdraw the money since it will be a substantial amount, but don't! You will be charged fines and penalties for an early withdrawal that will cut YOUR total by 40%-60%! That's like giving half of your earned retirement savings away to a stranger. Why would you do that? Even though you may want the money now, resist the temptation and roll it over. It will be well worth it in the long run.

8. Avoid Getting Too Many Credit Cards

Why have eight credit cards? That's just going to provide you with more opportunities to go further into debt. It's fine to keep 1-3 cards to build credit, establish yourself, and for emergencies, but credit cards are double-edged swords. They can help or hurt you depending on your self-control.

9. Check Your Credit Score/Report

It's important to know where you currently stand as a consumer and since your credit report is the most important historical list of your financial past and present, it's a very good idea to check it from time to time. There are a number of places where you can get your credit report, however the most detailed compares information from the top three national credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Once you get your report, look through it carefully to see if all the information is accurate. If there are any discrepancies, get those solved as quickly as possible to improve your credit rating - a score of up to 800. Often times, consumers are unaware of unsettled accounts, or accounts that are still open/active when they should be closed. Pay close attention to this when inspecting your report.

10. Finally: Review - Revise - Retry

Once you start implementing these tips and become more familiar with the money saving opportunities you have, take the time to REVIEW your progress. Check and see where it may be possible to REVISE some of your techniques or where you can implement new ones. Once you have revised your plan, RETRY to see if your results improve. The more frequent you review, revise, and retry your saving ideas, the more "in tune" you'll be with your finances and spending habits, and learn what works and what doesn't for you.


About the Author: Gregory Thomas has been writing effective money-saving tips for SavingSecrets.com for over six years. Hop on over and you'll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by!

Credit Score: The Brightest Feather In Your Financial Cap

By: Sarah Jones

Credit scores are the most important aspect that determines your financial future. Carrying a good credit score is an asset and can pave your future towards greener pastures. On the other hand a negative marking on your credit report can be ruinous for your future dreams. However, "There Isn’t Much anyone can do for those who will not Do Something for themselves." The same is applicable for credit scores. Your prime aim is to maintain a good credit score and lead a planned life.

How to assist myself to have a good credit score

To have a clear knowledge about your credit score, it is a good idea to get your credit report from the credit bureaus once a year. This will ensure your credit is being reported correctly. Usually the credit scores are within 400 to 850. If your credit scores are higher, your eligibility to get approved in a loan also gets higher in priority.

Credit scores consider 5 main categories for scoring consideration and are rated according to importance:

Payment History -35%;
Length of History -15%;
Amounts Owed -30%;
New Credit -10%;
Types of Credit -10%.

Correlation between the Credit Score and Defaulters

Most lenders consider people having credit score above 650 to be prime borrowers. This means they will most likely be approved at favorable interest rates. According to credit report from Equifax, 71% of the people with a credit score from 500-550 will default on their credit. Another 51% of buyers with a credit score from 550-600 will also default on their credit. Those individuals having credit scores of 650 or more is considered to have a decent credit score.

More than 2 million credit reports are issued each business day in the United States, allowing millions of consumers to purchase homes, cars and other durable goods and services on credit.

In the only statistically valid study conducted to date, Arthur Andersen concluded that in only two-tenths of one percent of the over 15,000 cases studied, where consumers denied a benefit based on an error in their credit report.

•Experian’s credit files contain records on approximately 205 million credit-active consumers.
•Each month, there are more than 4.5 billion updates to credit report information throughout the U.S.
•The American credit databases are the most accurate and secure in the world.
•There are over one billion credit reports issued annually.
•Credit reporting saves the average person from 200 basis points on their mortgage loan.

In any part if the world it is very easy to stack up a large debt. Private debts on homes, cars and credits have ballooned through the sky. At such a juncture when people are undergoing the syndrome of easy to pile up and difficult to clear like dirty linens, one should be overtly conscious of their credit score.

For better insight on the effect of credit scores please view:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/credit-score.html
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/credit-counseling.html


About the Author: Sarah Jones is a contributing writer to http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/and is currently working on a special section in the site called do it yourself where you can eliminate your debts and become debt free.. Email: sarah@debtconsolidationcare.com

Tips For Financial Planning

By: Jay Moncliff

Financial planning, something we all know we need to do, but always put off to the future. Financial planning is hard simply because it requires financial discipline, which is difficult to have in this consumer society. However, financial planning is very important because you want to retire one day, be financially stable in the event of an accident, or unexpected loss of a job. Financial planning will help you rest easy as you age.

The following tips will help get you in gear to start your financial planning. Once you have made financial planning part of your routine, it won’t seem so difficult. But getting your financial planning started can be the most difficult thing. These tips will help motivate you to make financial planning one of your main goals.

Financial Planning Tip #1 Pay off Debt

One of the biggest factors fighting against financial planning is debt, especially credit card debt. If something starts off as a small debt it turns into a big one simply because you were not paying off the debt. Financial planning means you have a plan and paying off debt should be the first goal of your plan.

Financial Planning Tip #2 Invest

Another financial planning tip is to invest. Financial planning means you are saving for the future in many cases, so you will want to take money you earn today and invest in the stock market, in bonds, IRAs, 4019k) or a mixture of all of the above. Saving your money with the help of financial planning will help money grow all on its own.

Financial Planning Tip #3 Spend Less than You Earn

This is tough for people to understand and often times what they resist most when they begin financial planning. This is because Americans always want what is bigger and better. Regardless, financial planning is more important than consumerism. Make spending less than you earn part of your financial planning.

Financial Planning Tip #4 Budget

A great financial planning tip is budgeting. You won’t be able to save unless you know what you spend. Make budgeting part of your financial planning and you will realize saving is not so hard.


About the Author: Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.mileniumfinancial.com a blog focusing on the Financial, resources and articles. This site provides detailed information on Financial. For more info on Banking visit: http://www.mileniumfinancial.com

Steps To Financial Freedom

By: Richard Pullman

Financial freedom is the power to do what you will with your life without being forever bound by lack of money and over burdened by debt. This worthwhile goal can be achieved by anyone through careful planning and persistence. Just follow these steps:

• Pay yourself first
• Control your spending
• Get free of debt
• Build a contingency fund
• Become an informed investor
• Give
  

Achieving financial freedom is a gradual process that will happen as you implement all these simple steps in your life.

Pay yourself first
Every paycheck, keep some of your money for yourself and keep it. It takes money to make money, so goes the old saying. To achieve financial freedom, you'll need some seed money that can grow into a substantial nest egg.

Take a percentage or a fixed amount from each paycheck and add it to your seed money, at least 10%, if possible. This is your investment money. Do not use it for anything else. Every paycheck be sure to pay yourself first. With time and persistence you'll soon have the funds to start making profitable investments. You'll be a lender and not a borrower. Reinvest all profits and dividends to maximize the growth of your nest egg.

Control your spending
Make sure that your spending is less than your earnings. When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is STOP DIGGING. You may have to create and follow a budget.

Creating a budget is easy; following it may be hard. Start our by tracking your current spending habits. Visit www.financesoftware.net for software that can help you. Summarize your spending into general categories such as Food, Clothing, Entertainment, etc. Then you can decide which categories you can cut and by how much. Continue to track your spending and do your best to stay within the limits you set for yourself.

Get free of debt
Debt is bad, "the borrower is the slave of the lender", and none of us wants to be a slave. There are some debts that may be helpful, such as business debts to increase profits, home mortgages, and car loans. Avoid any other borrowing, even pay cash for your car if possible.

Increase the size of the payments you're making. Pick the creditor who charges the highest interest and increase that payment by as much as you can. When that creditor is paid off, take the payment amount and apply it to the next creditor. Continue this process until all are paid off. Destroy and close all or most of your credit card accounts.

Build a contingency fund
Life is full of unexpected surprises; the car breaks down, the furnace fails, we lose our job, etc.. To prevent these occasional events from derailing your financial plans, you need funds just for emergencies. This will help you avoid borrowing or dipping into your seed money.

Every paycheck, take a percentage or a fixed amount of money and put it into your contingency fund. As the money in this fund grows, you will have the peace of mind that comes from being better prepared for life's little surprises. For life's big surprises, buy insurance.

Become an informed investor
In this day and age, there are endless opportunities for investments that can make or lose you money. In order to make money and not lose money, you'll need to start educating yourself.

As a start, here are some concepts it will be good for you to know. RETURN is how much profit you're likely to make on a given investment, usually expressed as a percentage or a range of percentages. RISK is the possibility of something bad happening, like losing money. A SCAM is a false investment opportunity presented by lying thieves trying to steal your money. DIVERSIFICATION is the strategy of not having all your eggs in one basket to spread and minimize risk. An INVESTMENT STRATEGY is a long term approach to making money. Visit www.financesoftware.net for more investment ideas and related software.

Give
Begin to give away some of your money. "For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." If you are religious, give to your religion. If you are not, then give to the poor, or to "save the earth", or whatever noble cause appeals to you.

Not only does giving help free you from the mental and emotional grip of money, God Himself will generously respond to more than repay what you have freely and joyfully given away.

Conclusion
You can make it happen. Establish your strategy and stick to it. Implement all these steps in your life and your financial freedom will soon come:

1. Pay yourself first
2. Control your spending
3. Get free of debt
4. Build a contingency fund
5. Become an informed investor
6. Give

Now, you're on your way.

Copyright © 2005 Richard Pullman


About the Author: Richard Pullman is the webmaster for www.financesoftware.net and has a bachelor's degree in finance and economics. You can contact him at richard@financesoftware.net

Refinancing Your Home Why You Should And Why You

By: Paul Foley

There are many people in today’s society that have, for one reason or another, found themselves in massive financial difficulty.

The reasons for this are widespread but typically include credit card debt, loan debt, Car Loans (believe it or not), or mortgage problems.

All of these things are debt of one type or another and during our study we have found that there is a typical pattern of events surrounding the persons problems. Read on and see if this sounds familiar:

1. Person has a job, not brilliantly paid but a paying job
2. Person feels comfy so gets a loan to buy ‘x’ with (Car, kitchen, holiday, etc)
3. Person then either
a. Loses job
b. Acquires more loans (because they need more stuff)
4. The debt that they’ve acquired then starts eating away at what ever money was left at the end of the month
5. Person borrow more money to help prop up the existing debts, usually with credit card spending
6. Points 4 and 5 then get repeated until suddenly the monthly out goings are more than the incomings

And suddenly the person finds themselves in trouble because each month the debt gets bigger and bigger.

Sound familiar?

There are probably some of you reading this thinking ‘What is he talking about?’, rest assured there are those reading this right now having just experienced a cold chill.

One of the options that ‘Person’ usually overlooks is the value of the house that they are living in, a simple mistake (because realistically who wants to gamble the roof over their head?).

There are two clear ways out for Person, he can either sell the property (in which case a series of new problems come to light – like finding somewhere else to live) or more intelligently he could refinance the property (the technical name for this is ‘Refinance Home Equity’ / ’Refinance Home Mortgage’).

Most banks will do this for you (assuming you haven’t already upset them) or you can approach a private company for a ‘Home Equity Loan’.

The thing to remember about refinancing your home (whether ‘Refinance Home Equity’ via a bank or ‘Home Equity Loan’ via a loan company) you are essentially borrowing money against the value of your home, and so if you default on this loan (or remortgage) then you are going to be in real trouble.

To limit the potential for problems you should:

1. Find local refinance companies – they’ll be more sympathetic to your situation
2. Find the best refinance loan rate or Home Equity Refinance rate
3. Clear credit card debt first – this is typically the most expensive type of loan
4. Don’t refinance just to buy a car – if you’re not doing well don’t go OTT
5. Whether you’re looking at mortgage loans or equity loans be sure to shop around – the larger banks might make an offer to stop you using the smaller refinance provider

This may seem like very simple advice to many people but for some, who have worked themselves into a rut it’s handy to be reminded.

And don’t forget, by intelligent use of credit and refinance you can solve your debt problems.


About the Author: The author, Paul Foley, is a successful counselor and Webmaster of the refinance information site www.mortgagehelp4u.com The site is dedicated to providing information to those who need it regarding getting out of debt by means of financial tools.

Steps to avoid Financial Disaster!

By J. Sutton

Many Americans are living from paycheck-to-paycheck leaving them exposed to financial disaster. The primary cause of financial disaster comes from the lack of planning and having poor financial habits. For this reason, many Americans have been forced to lose or sell their homes, cars and businesses after losing their jobs unexpectedly. How do you prevent this disaster from happening to you?

One way to prevent financial disaster from happening to you is to create an emergency fund to bail yourself out of any potential financial troubles that may occur. This emergency fund could be easily developed by using a well-known strategy called the "10% solution". This particular strategy involves discipline for those of you who have become accustomed to spending or impulse shopping.

In that, I have inserted some guidelines for you to follow:

1. Create a list detailing all of your expenses - Here you could separate the important bills from the least important. Things such as credit cards, utility bills, etc,. should be deemed important. However, your cost for entertainment, food, clothes, etc, are all flexible expenses that could be manipulated to save more money. Once you have determined an adequate monthly average amount for your monthly expenses this should be multiplied by 6 or 8 to get the total amount that you need to save for your emergency fund.

2. You must learn to pay yourself first - This particular strategy is designed for you to pay yourself first outside of any other outstanding debt that you may have. Save 10% of whatever cash that you accumulate and place it in a high interest bearing savings account. Today, there are many savings accounts that allow you to make periodic automatic payments from your checking into your savings account.

3. Create more savings by budgeting your expenses that are discretionary - If you seem to have problems saving and/ or making payments then you must take money from your discretionary expenses like entertainment, clothing, food, etc., and manipulate these expenses to cover other more important costs. This money could be used for some bills or consumer credit card payments until you regain control over your expenses. You could very much budget your cost for food, entertainment, clothing, etc, or you have the option taking another job on the side.

4. Open a high interest bearing money market account - Once you have acquired the minimum amount to open a money market account. Your accumulated savings should be placed into a high interest bearing money market account. The logic behind this strategy is because the money market account accumulates more interest and you would be allowed get money from your account when needed, as well. (Always make sure that your emergency fund is placed in an easily liquidable account.)

5. Do not use this money for spending unless emergency - This money is to be used only for an emergency basis. In that, if you lose your job or get sick you have 6 to 8 months to find another job or get back on your feet. Once you have your fund established, you don't have to worry about any unexpected job loss.

I myself have used this strategy to turn my own finances around and into a positive networth. However, I chose to exercise the option of using 15% to accumulate the growth of my emergency fund. The information I have just given you is a guideline for helping you create your very own emergency fund. So, if you really want to prevent yourself from being exposed to financial disaster then you should start building your emergency fund today!

The book Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a very resourceful book for those of you seeking to prevent or find their way out of financial ruin. The #1 New York Times best seller offers some excellent strategies and tips on getting out of the rat race. The book is very motivational for those seeking encouragement and the inspiration needed to change their financial situations.

Lowering your mortgage interest rate

Are you buying a new home? I don't care if it's a condo or a
house, you will end up spending a lot of money. For most people
it's going to be the single largest business deal of their life.
To keep expenses incheck it is extremely important to try and
secure the very best mortgage rate possible. There is a number
of things you can do to lower your mortgage rate, and right now
is an excellent time because of thelow interest rates.

Tip number one - let lenders compete

Banks and mortgage brokers are in business to lend you money.
If your credit record is in order and you have a steady paycheck
coming in you are a prime candidate for a home loan, and banks
will bid under each other tooffer you a loan. The trick is to
let them know you are an informed customer looking for the very
best interest rate, and that you are also looking at what other
banks have to offer. Don't just go to your regular bank, shop
around!

Tip number two - get your interest rate offer in writing

Right, so you have approached several different banks to try
and secure a lowinterest rate for your new home loan. As soon
as one of these financial institutions have pre-screened you and
are ready to offer you a loan,get them to put the interest rate
they will extend to you in writing.With this interest rate
locked in, you can now get back to all theother banks you are
talking to and tell them: "If you can't match a 5.25% interest
rate, we have nothing to talk about."

Tip number three - don't compare apples and pears

Remember that the interest rate you get is dependent on a
number of things, but the main factor is if you are shooting for
a fixed or adjustable ratemortgage (FRM or ARM, as they are
called for short). This is in factone of the first decisions
you have to make about your mortgage. Sayyou decide you are
looking for a 3/1 ARM, being fixed at an initial lowrate for
the first three years and adjusted each year after that.
That means that is what you are going to use as a basis for
comparison between different lenders. Don't get side tracked by
all the other adjustable mortgage rates or fixed rares on offer,
they'll only get you mixed up.

Tip number four - go for the adjustable rate mortgage

First of all, everyone has different needs and no one mortgage
type will fitall. Some people really appreciate the security of
knowing the exact amount of their mortgage payments for years to
come, and that means fixed rate is the best choice for them.
With that out of the way, whatwe're looking to find here is the
best way to lower the interest rateon your mortgage. And that
definitely means adjustable rate. Adjustable rates mortgages are
nearly always lower than fixed rates, just take alook at what
your local bank will offer you. Over the life of your mortgage
that adds up to serious money, and personally I've always hated
paying too much!


About The Author: Gus Benson runs
http://www.mortgage-content.com, a website dedicated to
information on mortgages, home loans and interest rates. Click
to visit his site: www.mortgage-content.com