Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Maryland Refinance Loans. Refinancing For Equity, Cash Out or Debt Consolidation – Up to 125% LTV

Homeowners in Maryland have experienced significant increases in their home values, with most homeowners having up to 50% equity in their homes. If you live in Baltimore, Annapolis, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Howard County or surrounding counties – you can take advantage of the equity in your home to finance special projects.

Refinancing your home allows you to lower your mortgage payment, take cash out of your home for home improvement projects, debt consolidation, education, real estate investment, pay off medical bills, take a much needed vacation, finance an automobile purchase, etc.

Depending on the equity in your home, homeowners can draw as little as $10,000 to an amount over $200,000 – the sky is the limit depending on your personal situation.

When refinancing your home loan, the most important factors to consider include the following:

1. Get the lowest interest rate available in your state of residence.

Getting the lowest refinance rate, means shopping around, without spending any money. Work with a reputable mortgage company, who gives free mortgage loan quotes, at no cost. You should never pay for this service.

2. Find refinance loan terms that work for your situation.

An Interest only refinance loan may be right for you or not. If you are planning to move to another part of the country or want to sell your house in 3 to 5 years, then you may not care, if you pay down your principal balance. In this case, an interest only loan, may be work for you.

On the other hand, if you plan to stay in your home for the next 30 years – a fixed rate loan, might be your best choice.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Foreclosures Are Exploding - Values Are Down - Homeowners Are Stressed - Rates Still Low

A homeowner holding this hand looks around the room to see if there are any players to help. Personal self-defense is based on fight or flight. The decision then is to stay and fight or choose flight and run away and take off to a safer place. When a borrower is faced with this situation there are three options for additional cash flow. Make more money, reduce expenses or do both. Once a decision is made to keep the home then the strategy must be developed to make that happen. If flight is the choice, decisions must be made to make that happen while perhaps downsizing and reducing the monthly housing expense. One of the best options, IF there is any equity at all, is to refinance to a lower fixed rate, which is now available. This is one of the great positives of the current market, low interest rates can save the day and give borrowers a chance to get into a stable payment situation. If a borrower can't do that then other alternatives must be considered.

Although there is major hand wringing going on with these high risk hybrid subprime (higher credit risks) mortgages there is also an opportunity for many to finance to a lower fixed rate loan. There will be heavy refinances going on with those who can qualify and move into the lower fixed rate loans. This will be an answer for many. If the credit must be tweaked and improved to make that possibility a reality, then so be it. Pay off credit cards, settle collections, pay off judgements, put time and distance from any past bankruptcy actions while improving the debt to income ratios all as a means to better qualify for a low rate fixed rate loan. If a borrower is behind on their payments a lender may offer a "forbearance" option where the payment arrears are set up on a parallel pay back schedule while the normal payment is being made. This is a catch up mechanism. All of these options invoke the stay and fight decision, which comes to the front by selecting these choices. This selection must make sense and there must be a reasonable chance of making it happen. Employment needs to be solid and dependable income steams must be in place. If a part-time job is necessary, it must be done. As far as reducing expenses, trading down cars with large car payments to free and clear transportation may be necessary in the reducing expense mode. Gym memberships may need to be cancelled and settled, any ongoing sundry expenses can be eliminated until the mortgage crisis situation has passed and settled down in a year or two. Cable extras may need to be pared back. Dial up service versus a more expensive high-speed service may need to be likewise pared back. Cell phones may need to be converted to pay as you go throwaways to further cut expenses or eliminate them entirely. Eating out will be a thing of the past for the short term. Packing lunches may be an option. These are all tough options. If after all of this takes place and there is still a desire to stay and a borrower is still under the gun, a Chapter 13 Repayment Plan may need to be selected. This will not cut any mustard with the mortgage lender or other secured debt, but the non-secured debt such as credit cards can be lumped into the BK option. A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may be selected if the borrower(s) do not make too much money per the new Bankruptcy Law restrictions. This would wipe out all the non-secured debt. It may take a few years to reestablish credit to the point where a new lower rate fixed rate mortgage can be put in place. Over time, values MAY appreciate a bit to assist in qualifying for a loan. If a borrower is not up to any of this, then the flight option can be selected.

The flight option basically comes down to selling the property and taking whatever equity is available and possibly renting or finding a lower priced opportunity in a market populated with the same disparate sellers all begging for offers. When a homeowner gets beat up on the price in selling there is a real possibility in making up the loss on the purchase of a depressed value property. When borrowers select to buy a lower price property then the family budget may be positioned to make a comeback with saving opportunities to stabilize the asset side of their financial statement.

When the stock market is in the full "Bull Market Mode" and keeps running up unabated until finally the "Bear Market" shows up then major corrections are experienced. When the chickens come home to roost and stocks with weak fundamentals, high price earning ratios, low or no dividends, and perhaps bad sales and profit news the stocks fall big time. Some stocks will get pounded more than others. Perhaps it was just a weak quarter or extenuating circumstances with big one time write downs, or it might be a big problem like a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing like many of the airlines and other companies are dealing with. When this happens in mass, the Dow Jones Average together with other stocks fall as a group due to fundamentals and consumer perception and confidence. Now, the spill over from the defaults in the Subprime, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are impacting the financial markets as well. Investors are nervous. It will be a period of adjustment until this "problem" is handled one way or the other. Much like the RTC fiasco of the Savings and Loans debacle, serious and painful resolutions will be required until these troubled properties get folded back into the housing stock through new family ownership. Supply and demand principles are in full effect.

Much is the same with housing. Stable and steady increases in some communities in the 3% to 5% appreciation ranges have had minor effect in the market depreciation fall with all other things being equal. In other areas where appreciation was hitting 12%-20% per year where investors were flipping left and right and making major hits it was the "new wild west gold rush" of money making opportunities. Many property flippers (buy, fix up and sell) were making $50,000 to $100,000 per deal. Buyers were camping out at builder's offices to get in on the property gold rush. Builder concessions were non-existent. Builders did not have to offer anything to get buyers through the front door, so they didn't. Then "It" hit the fan. Reverses occurred. New homes sat vacant. New and resale inventories swelled. Builders were gone with many seeking Bankruptcy protections. Existing homeowners selling their homes remained mired with no sales activity. Sales prices were adjusted down where homeowners absolutely had to sell and move. If owners found themselves in a situation of being upside down (owed more than the home was valued) only a few options were available. (1) Walks away and move out and let foreclosure take its course. (2) Stays in the house until the foreclosure happened and let the sheriff put them out on the curb. (3) Consider "deed in lieu of foreclosure" where the lender takes the property back and avoids a foreclosure action and moves out and moves on. (4) Consider structuring a lease-option with a buyer at favorable terms with hopes of appreciation that will kick in over a two or three year period. (5) Offer sales concessions to buyers paying all their closing costs and prepaid escrow and even hold a second mortgage for any shortfall behind a new first mortgage. (6) Propose to the lender to consider a "short sale" where the mortgage amount is reduced to accommodate a new buyer that puts a new mortgage in place. This particular option does not put one penny in the seller's pocket, but the property is sold and the buyer can move on. The lender takes the hit, BUT it may be less of a hit for the lender then going to the full foreclosure option. This is by no means an exhaustive list of options but is a few of the more prominent ones.

On the positive side, this is a great time to buy with great interest rates in play. Values are down and good buys can be found. Sellers are motivated and flexible terms can be negotiated. Lenders holding loans on "upside" down properties are willing to make deals to mitigate the loans hanging on the books on a non-performing basis. Much like in the Dot.com era, many investors chasing the "good story" stocks lost big time. Likewise, buyers chasing the "good story" properties with multiple offers on listings and builder inventories will lose as values in many areas have fallen. A real estate value correction is underway. Warren Buffet has made billions seeking out values and taking long term positions. A little of this philosophy will go along way in profiting from future real estate cycles. No one is good enough to determine the absolute bottom or top of the market, but good values will always pay dividends with proper due diligence of the underlying elements. A deal is a deal is a deal. When a deal is found people of action can find rewards and long term returns. There is no reward for overpaying for real estate in the near term. This is a time of incredible opportunities to make sense out of the madness and profit during this period of market correction in this real estate arena.

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Saturday, March 17, 2007

Secured Personal Loan – Loan for Homeowners

Recent figures indicate that more and more people in the UK are availing secured personal loans, as they are much cheaper than other loan options like unsecured personal loans and payment cards (credit cards, store cards, charge cards and overdrafts).

A secured personal loan is the right choice for someone who has a big monetary requirement or a bad credit record or is not getting an unsecured personal loan. This loan can be availed by offering something valuable as collateral. The purpose of collateral is to secure the loaned amount. Irrespective of the reasons, repeated defaults or non-payment can lead to collateral seizure, i.e., the lender can sell the pledged asset to recover his investment.

A secured loan deal may sound risky, but one can easily take care of the risks by paying his EMI's (Equal Monthly Instalments = Principle + Interest) as decided. Choose any one of the following payment plans to pay off the EMI's:

Fixed rate of interest – interest rate is fixed for a certain period and is reviewed at regular intervals

Flexible rate of interest – interest rate fluctuates in accordance with the base rate prevailing in the market

Interest only – borrower pays only the interest through out the term and the outstanding principle at the end of the loan term

Partial interest and partial repayment – borrower pays only the interest for a specific period and after that pays both the principle and the interest

Please note: Repayment plan should be in accordance with the borrower's payback capacity and future plans.

Presence of collateral makes it easy for the lender to part with his money and facilitate the loan seeker with quick attention, high credit limit, competitive low APR, flexible payback terms and negotiable loan conditions. Hence, secured personal loan provide a great way to use the equity in the house to raise money for any legal purpose.

Secured personal loans can be availed for a variety of reasons. Based on reason, some of the most popular loan varieties are homeowner loans or home improvement loans, debt consolidation loans, holiday loans, car loans, wedding loans, education loans and bad credit loans. One may even find a secured personal loan for business purposes.

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Thursday, March 15, 2007

Tips on Finding Scholarships and Student Loans for Single Parents Returning to School

Now more than ever, the laws in place today recognize the importance of single parenting and the responsibilities involved. This is why there is such a growing trend towards extending financial help to single parents. Not only in the U.S., but in many places around the world governments, social institutes and religious organizations are recognizing the value of single parenting. There may be many reasons why you initially left school. Either to have children or get married, being a single parent returning to school you are faced with the same uncertainty that other incoming students are faced with, and that is funding your education. How will you pay for it?

If your are returning to school with the intention of going half time or more, consider filling out a FAFSA application. This is free and can be done online. In most other cases, the eligibility requirements for single parents basically require that you prove that you are really in need of financial help. While federal aid is one way to go, there are alternatives to student loans for single parents returning to school. One such alternative is to apply for scholarships. As a returning student, your scholarship search will follow along the same lines as a traditional student. Don't be afraid to ask the college you are applying to, as they may have their own scholarships and financial aid. You can inquire at the college financial aid office about scholarship information and collect the appropriate forms. While searching for scholarships the United States has a surprising number of unusual scholarships that are awarded to people. Combinations of personal characteristics such as surnames, race, religion, sex, age, profession, etc are just a few unusual types. You can do your research online or at your local library and the benefit is that you can find many scholarships that many people don't even know about because they haven't investigated them.

One option that you may want to consider is discussing your return to school with your employer. In some cases, you may be eligible for tuition reimbursement for earning credits, in addition to the availability of flextime to attend classes during your normal working hours. If it is a large company, chances are that they will have some sort of funding in place for employees returning to school. One example of a company that has a tuition reimbursement program is Wal-Mart. They have a program for eligible Wal-Mart employees called The Higher REACH Scholarship which has helped many employees to continue their education.

If the idea of studying late in the evenings after the kids are asleep and everything is quiet just doesn't sit well with you, give some thought to obtaining a degree online. An online degree is highly regarded and the benefit is that it can often be done at your own pace. You also save on time and money in terms of transportation. For those people who have the discipline and need flexibility with studying and taking classes, online education is an excellent alternative.

Research schools that have on site child care facilities. It isn't easy juggling work, school, and family. Finding the time to study when your children need attention can be another huge challenge. Some schools have on site child care facilities which are great for single parents returning to school. Not only will your child be nearby, you may have a chance to spend some time with them between classes.

Fortunately, a growing number of continuing education programs today are offering returning students access to more resources and support services than in the past. Historically, these services were catered towards your traditional student, but these days they are specifically designed to assist adult students and single parents reach their academic and professional goals.

Consider the options discussed above and keep in mind that while financial help and aid for single parents is available and open to every single parent in the land, qualifications and eligibilities do exist and are set to protect against abuse of the system.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Meet Your Needs With Secured Online Loan

Life is full of surprises. At one point of time, you want a bike then may long for a car. However, do you think it is end to your demand of having one? Oops! Now you want much more luxurious car. In short, your want doubles but your funds remain the same. Then what do you; wait or go for an easy way. Yes, I was right in saying that the easiest way out is secured online loan.

Secured online loan is provided to you instantly. Just you need to fill an online application form. The form is a way to reach your desired lender. So every detail is of due importance. You have to fill the loan amount you require, repayment duration, purpose of the loan and some personal details. Then the lender makes the verification of the details that takes less time and your secured online loan is in your hand. Secured online loan can be used by you for a number of reasons like meeting with wedding expenses, child education, home improvement, debt consolidation and many more.

Secured online loan is called secured because the lender is provided with collateral. The collateral can be your car, home, property papers and many more. This guarantees the lenders of getting back the loan amount. The reduction of his risk factor allows you to get much more facilities as compared to unsecured online loan. The basic facilities are lowered interest rate, low monthly repayment, and flexible loan term.

Now do not worry if you carry bad credit. Secured online loan are even for bad credit borrowers. May they be charged high rate of interest but on the other hand gets a chance to enhance their credit history by sticking to the repayment term.

Then what is next! Meet up your needs with secured online loan with in no time.

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Personal Emergency Loans UK: A Service to Meet Personal Needs

All the UK people do not look alike, nor are their emergency needs alike. The emergency needs vary form person to person but the solution, perhaps, is the same- personal emergency loans. The UK people may need urgent money for any of their personal needs, be it in normal periods or in emergency, but, most of the time they prefer personal loans.

Personal loans are the best loans to cover any emergency personal need, because, in UK, these loans are available for almost all sorts of personal needs. You may need to put some money in your business urgently which you don't have or you may have to improve the condition of your home immediately because of any celebration ahead. Emergency may take any dragon face, yet there are ways to combat through spearheading personal loans which are plenty in UK these days.

Personal loans are ready to cover any sort of personal emergency needs, but which personal loans serve the best in emergency times, one may ask the question? The answer is, whichever personal loans you opt for, secured or unsecured personal loans, each has got its own benefits. If you want lower interest rates in your emergency personal loans in UK, you may opt for secured personal loans, which in UK, want collateral to be put before the lender for the loans. The lender feels secured as the borrower's asset plays the security and in return he gives the borrower cheap rated loans. However, in UK, the unsecured personal loans are matched with emergency needs of the people by not charging any collateral for the loans. These loans, although are slightly higher interest rated and are available for shorter time span than the secured loans, yet they are advanced without any property valuation which is really swift in terms of the emergency needs. Personal loans in UK are also available for the bad credit holders with slightly higher rate of interest.

However, emergency needs can be met the best online since personal loans are faster as well as cheaper there because of high competition in the online market.

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Sunday, March 11, 2007

Let Your Business Grow With Low Rate Business Loans

Business needs cash for flowing efficiently. People look for cash when they are facing lack of finance and want to bridge the gap of monetary requirements. In this situation, you can move for loans, but lenders are imposing you higher interest rate. The better loan for you is that low rate business loans, because these loans are available for low rate of interest.

Low rate business loans not only can be used for opening new business, but also can be used for, expanding business, buying business, purchasing machineries or equipments, paying the salaries and consolidating the debts of business.

You can take low rate business loans according to your convenience, because low rate business loans are available in both secured and unsecured forms. Secured law rate business loans are available by placing asset as collateral. Due to presence of collateral, you have to pay lower interest rate and repayment term is longer. And if you are not satisfied with your interest rate, then you can negotiate with the lender.

Low rate business loans are approved faster because there is no evaluation for the collateral. Then you can move for unsecured low rate business loans. These loans have slightly high interest rate compared to secured loans. But you can take this loan at lower interest rate, because there is competition among lenders.

Bad credit borrowers are also accepted in law rate business loans, because credit history does not matter in these loans. But the thing is that bad credit borrower has to pay slightly higher interest rate compared to good credit borrower. But bad credit borrower also can get low rate business loans at lower interest rate, because there is competition among lenders.

Low rate business loans can be availed through online method. Through this method, you can research and analyze various quotes of various lenders and then decide better deal and choose the lender whose quotes are suitable for you.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Secured Personal Loans - Benefits Reloaded

There are different reasons why secured personal loans are so popular in England and people here prefer to go for secured personal loans over other kinds of loans. Some of the main reasons why people opt for personal loans are:
Complete or partial renovation of home


Financing the education of children


Consolidating existing loans


And also as bridge loans in times of emergency

What are secured personal loans?

Secured personal loans are nothing but loans which you can avail by placing a valuable asset as collateral with the lender. In simple terms, it means you need to secure an asset (that has equal or more value as that of the amount you take as loan) with the lender. This secured asset would guarantee that you would pay back the lender the entire sum of the loaned amount plus the interest rising thereof.

If in case you fail to repay the loaned amount or the interest, the lender has the right to seize your asset. But this should not scare you as you can easily avoid it by paying your EMI on time each month.

Online secured personal loans

With the competition in the online lending ambit getting stiffer with each day, you can easily find a secured personal loan deal that offers you easy terms and conditions. Even the period of repayment is quite flexible these days. You can frame the time period with your lender as per your convenience.

Usually, in case of secured personal loan, lenders give a lot of flexibility to the borrower. This is due to the fact that they have a security from you in the shape of your asset. Plus, with the kind of offers and promotional measures you can find online these days, you would surely get something that would be quite comfortable for you to repay back.

Now all you have to do is click on secured personal loans and research through all the options you get from a wide variety of lenders. Go for the one that best meets all your requirements and also provides some benefits to you.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

How To Find Approval For Bad Credit Finance?

Earlier several borrowers witnessed rejection just because of bad credit record. The lenders seem to loose faith in the repayment capability of the borrower due to bad credit and thus were quite hesitant to offer any finance in the hour of crisis. However, with a change in time, financial policies have also witnessed a change. Today, there is no dearth of lenders, offering bad credit finance to people suffering from adverse credit. Let us get discuss all the relevant details about bad credit finance. For better understanding you need to go to the root of the trouble like how an individual get trapped in to poor credit and what are the possible viable options to come out of this situation? Above all, this will help you to find out, how you can mend your bad credit with the help of bad credit finance?

Firstly, you need to understand the root cause of poor credit. It is a result of missed or non payment in the past borrowings, which leaves your credit record flawed with defaults, arrears, CCJ, IVA, or even bankruptcy. Usually, the rates of interest of poor credit rating loans are higher. Still, if you are looking for nominal rates, you can find so by offering any of your assets as collateral. This will help you to attract a large number of lenders that too at nominal rates.

You can use bad credit finance to cope with any of your financial crisis. From debt consolidation to wedding purpose and repair of home to medical expenditure, it can be used for all such purposes.

If you want to apply for bad credit finance, you will have to be extra cautious with the repayment schedule of the loan amount of poor credit rating loans. In case of any deferment in the repayment of the loan amount, your lender will have every right to seize your precious assets.

In order to find the best rates of bad credit finance, you need to widen your horizons of search, search through various online sources. There you will find a large number of lenders at a single place. Collect and compare the quotes of more than one lender before arriving at any conclusion.