Reverse Mortgage Fixed Rate Lacking Punch

By Borko Panteleio

A prospective client called me a few days ago. We discussed his situation for fifteen minutes and I told him flat out the best option for him was an adjustable rate mortgage.

Well, this isn't my first rodeo and know how most seniors feel about adjustable rates. So, my goal is, after I tell them they should get an ARM to explain myself as fast as humanly possible.

The adjustable already isn't in good standing with the general public. With a conservative group like seniors it's even worse. I better start making sense and quick-like.

I lost the race. This guy was like Speedy Gonzalez. He immediately held up the proverbial stop sign and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, he wanted the fixed rate.

I knew he was being somewhat ignorant and the adjustable really was his best option. I tried again and he cut me off again, "FIXED RATE". He was a man of few words. I felt like a little kid being shushed by his father.

I never got my point across to him, but since you can't shush me maybe I can get it across to you. The ARM is not always the best choice, but for most people's situation it is.

Quite simply, the fixed rate does not have a line of credit option and the ARM does.

Borrowers qualify to receive a certain amount of money. Most do not need to use all of it. Some hardly need any up front, which makes the line of credit an important option.

The line of credit option gives the senior the right to draw out cash, use as needed, and leave the rest for later. At any time they can draw out more money.

What is most notable about this is the interest accrues against the borrower's equity only on money drawn out and used. While it's sitting in the line of credit it's not working against the borrower's equity.

Unlike the ARM, the fixed rate option allows only one draw of funds. So, the borrower better make it count. And interest starts accruing immediately on the entire sum.

Let's say my guy above, who wouldn't listen to me, owned his home free and clear (which he did). He also wanted to supplement his income. His is the most obvious example of someone who should go with an ARM. Going with a fixed would force the borrower to draw out a big sum and put it into some other investment while waiting to use it.

It does not compute. The rate charged for money pulled out would be greater than the return from the bank or CD. The best option is to go with the ARM and leave it the line of credit. On top of that the 15 year average interest rate on the ARM is lower than the current fixed rate.

About the Author:

To get California Reverse Mortgage myths, pitfalls and mistakes click me. For a very good and tasty area for getting the right answers to the California Reverse Mortgage go to this site.

Credit Repair Company ??" How to Start Your Own

By William Blake

It is very usual that people, when they first start considering starting a credit repair business usually have little idea about what it takes to repair a bad credit. However, starting a credit repair business is quite simple and you can even do it out of your home. Most people after they have started a credit repair business will be amazed at how simple the whole thing was and also how profitable a line of business it is.

No Huge Expense to Get Started

To start a credit repair business also does not require investing a whole lot of money though before you do get started it is a good idea to understand the type of skills that are desirable and which will help you succeed in your new business venture.

Good marketing skills are important with any business. With credit repair it is also important to have a good financial head and a good attitude with your customers. Patience is also a good thing to cultivate.

Before you do anything else in starting a credit repair business it is necessary that you pick a nice sounding and pertinent name for your new business; the name should be easily recognizable and something that a customer won't forget easily. The name should also be unique; after that, you will need to look at the pros and cons of the business type which could be sole proprietorship, corporation or partnership.

You want to pay close attention to legal guidelines when setting up your business. There are different credit laws that govern each city and state, along with the federal laws that everyone must abide by. Be sure you understand those laws and follow them. That will set you apart from those who fraudulently prey on people with credit problems.

The final step in regard to starting a credit repair business is to have a wide list of possible customers. This is not too hard to do because, it is believed, that as many as eighty percent of the population has a problem or two with their credit and these people are always on the lookout for a good credit repair company that will sort out their problems for them.

The new bankruptcy laws are making more people turn to credit repair as a solution to their credit problems. There is a constant increase in the number of people buried in debt. Now is a really good time to consider credit repair as a possible business venture.

About the Author:

Are you tired of struggling to keep up with your credit card debt? Learn some simple methods of how to pay off credit cards faster on the Debtopedia website. Get a free copy of my report "Secrets Of Credit Card Debt" at http://www.debtopedia.com

Consolidation Loan Choices Make Choosing Easier

By Daniel Atolben

Debt consolidation loans were created solely as a means for putting all the debt together, or consolidating it, and lump sum loan is made instead of separate payments to individual creditors. Instead, the bank takes your debt total, and through many different types of loans, can, with the appropriate credit, aid in the immediate repayment of all creditors. The bank pays off the debts, and you pay the bank.

A very good reason to do this is when the interest rate on the loan is a fixed rate that is less than the typically higher rate charged by credit card companies and other creditors, especially if you have recently begun to pay your credit card bills later and later and the fees for such activity are beginning to mount.

A possible consideration for debt consolidation is a straight loan. This is equivalent to a home or car loan, but with no collateral. You are simply borrowing a set amount to pay a specific debt. Again, the rate should be noticeably lower than the interest rate being paid to the credit card companies. Not everyone who applies for a straight loan will qualify. There are serious guidelines to protect the bank from someone who may default on a loan that the bank has no way of recouping without your cooperation. Usually this type of loan is reserved for consumers with the highest credit rates.

Home equity loans are also valuable to a consumer interested in debt consolidation. If your home is worth more than the amount of the loan you are paying for it, the difference may be borrowed from the bank and used to pay creditors. These loans are restricted by the amount of equity in the home, and dependent upon good standing in the first mortgage. Often these loans are separate from the first home mortgage, and the rate may or may not be the same for each loan. As long as the interest rate is lower in the equity loan than the credit card rate, a home equity loan can be a good decision.

A total home refinance is also a possibility. If your home has been paid down considerably or increased in value quickly, and if the rates have gone down enough to justify the fees for refinancing, an whole new home mortgage may be established, with the extra debt added in to the value of the loan.

While escaping from a debt ridden situation can seem like a struggle, debt consolidation loans can be invaluable to a consumer who would like to reduce the number of payments that they make and interest that they pay per month. Consolidation loans stream line the payment process, no matter which method you choose.

About the Author:

Daniel Atolben wrote principally for http://www.debtania.com , an internet site on how to negotiate a settlement within creditors . On his site you might discover his work on how to negotiate debt and how to negotiate debt settlement yourself.

Eliminate Debt Faster Using the Credit Card Snowball Effect

By Phil Crafton

Americans have on average three credit cards per household carrying a combined balance of nearly 12,000 thousand dollars and most are just paying the minimum payment due.

You are already aware that this is taking you deeper into debt and further from debt elimination. In fact, your balances are likely growing on you seemingly moment by moment. Do not give up there is a better way!

Using what is known as the credit card snowball effect you can pay down then pay off all of your credit cards. Currently you are floating along only doing the minimum, this way you take an active role in your debt elimination.

Let's take a closer look at a snowball. You start small and soon after rolling over and over they can build massive. Does that sound a little too familiar with your credit? Apply the credit card snowball effect in the positive way and you'll see it works.

Credit cards grow so fast due to something called compound interest. To put it simply when you only make the minimum payment you likely are not even covering the interest. Now that interest ends up as part of the balance and next month, you will be assessed interest on the new balance. Sound like a credit card snowball?

There are many people who will tell you to pay off the card with the highest interest rate first. This is what that plan will look like:

Write down all your cards.

Rank them in order of interest rate percentage.

Pay extra on the card with the highest interest percentage.

Repeat this process for all of your cards as you pay them off.

There seems to be nothing wrong with the above example for debt elimination, and sometimes it is that simple. Nevertheless, situations are not all created equally and there will be times that demand a different solution.

All of your credit cards have different balances and interest rates. It would only seem to make sense to pay off the highest interest first. Nevertheless, consider these numbers.

To put this in terms that make sense consider the interest on your different cards and how your balance affects that number. Say, you have a credit card with a $5,000 balance at 10% interest; this means your monthly interest is fifty dollars. On the other hand, say that the other card has a $2000 balance at 20% interest rate. Your monthly interest would be forty dollars. The higher interest rate is actually cheaper per month.

Conventional wisdom in the above case does not apply to debt elimination. The lower interest rate card in this example will actually increase your debt faster than the higher interest rate card.

Let's take another look of how to use the credit card snowball effect to your advantage:

Create a list of all your credit cards and their rates.

Start with the one that accrues the highest interest every month.

Add extra payments to this card until the balance is zero.

Pay only the minimum on the rest of your cards until the first is paid in full.

Repeat this process until all cards are paid off.

Looking at it, this way it is easy to see that this will be the fastest road to debt elimination. It is important to always consider financial issues from many angles. This is doubly true with credit cards.

About the Author:

Philip Crafton is a professional at managing credit, he has over four years experience in the finance and credit industry. Apply for 0% interest credit cards and more at www.Credit-In-Minutes.com. Copyright 2008 credit-in-minutes.com

Fixed Rates Home Equity Loan Permits the Owner to Budget

By Seymour Tinkenger

There are arguments for and against taking out a fixed home equity loan. However, in a tight credit market, the advocates for fixed rate home equity succeed. Throughout the time of easy credit and low rates, various people took the benefit of adaptable rate mortgages, permitting them to buy a home based on a low interest rate. While the interest rate stayed stable, they benefited from this advantage. Nevertheless, as the prime went up, so did the rate on their fixed home loan and along with it their monthly payments.

Since the scheduled monthly payments are set up and founded on a set rate and the total dollar value spread across an amount of time, there's only one variable during a credit market fluctuation that can be changed; that's the interest rate. The scheduled payments will be changed to meet the new total over the life of the loan, something that does not happen with a fixed home equity loan.

Persons who borrowed in this kind of credit market on their home equity with an adjustable rate, may discover that even a modest raise in the prime can convert to a significant increase in their scheduled payments. One unpredictable item left out of the fixed rate equity loan may create much financial pressure for owners and their families.

Some equity lenders give reduced pay back schedule and at the end of the period, a 'balloon payment' is due. This means a larger, lump-sum payment may be steered clear of when you paid above the minimum payment or refinanced.

Fixed Rates Mean Nothing is Open to Change Although the interest rates commanded by a fixed home loan is perhaps a higher rate than a rate quoted for a variable rate, it is a risk that a lot of owners are eager to take. If the rates go up they win, because the price of the mortgage is fixed, unchanged by the market fluctuation. If the rates fall, then they will spend more money for their loan than had they used an adjustable rate, but it is a chance most are willing to take.

After watching friends and reading about many others who may have lost their homes on account of an escalation in interest rates, adjustable rate loans are not quite as attractive to as many homeowners, in particular those looking for a home equity loan. More than ever if their main mortgage has a fixed rate, neglecting to ask for a stable house equity loan might result in repayments rising so high, they end up losing their home by default.

While many lenders will advocate adjustable rate loans, while not necessarily wanting the rates to increase, these business owners stand to gain a windfall if the rates do swell. A fixed rates home equity loan permits the homeowner to precisely budget their money and not concern himself or herself about an escalating loan repayment.

About the Author:

Seymour Tinkenger published mainly for http://www.spain-tips.com , a web page about i want to move to spain and working in spain. You can come across his writings on relocating to spain on his site.

? Subprime Mortgage Foreclosures: The Importance of Reading the Fine Print

By Michael Geoffrey

If you don't have good credit, you can still own your own home. This is the offer that many people noticed a few years ago. These people rushed to get their own homes and signed up quickly for their low interest rate loans. They couldn't believe their luck. Before, nobody would give them a chance but now here's a lender that's willing to move them into a new home and with such a low interest rate.

Unfortunately, the majority of people who purchased homes by means of this type of mortgage did not carefully analyze the details hidden in the fine print of their loan agreements. Because of that, they had no clue that their interest rate was set to skyrocket after a few months or years. Since they were not expecting it, that interest rate increase made it impossible for the individuals who took the loans out to continue making payments on their mortgages. This sad situation is now happening all over the country.

When that jump happened, many people saw their payments rise so much they couldn't believe it. Sometimes, the payments more than doubled. When that happened, and they could no longer afford their payments, they found a note on their door saying that if they didn't pay within a certain amount of time, they would face mortgage foreclosure.

A mortgage foreclosure is when you are forced to leave your home. Your home is then put up for resale or it is auctioned. You see, the bank or the lender would rather have someone else in the home who is able to make payments than to have you live there for free. They don't care who lives there, as long as whoever does pays their mortgage.

Protect Yourself

The best way to keep yourself from getting into a similar situation is to read all of the details found in the fine print of a loan agreement before you agree to or sign anything. If your interest rates are going to go up and you know that at the time you take out a loan, you will be able to prepare for the increase and budget yourself accordingly.

You need to develop the excellent habit of reading all of the fine print on any important papers you sign before you ever sign them, regardless of what the paperwork is for. Financing can be dangerous if you do not understand the details of your agreement and interest rates shoot up unexpectedly. This has caused many mortgage foreclosures.

Before they know it, many people find themselves homeless because they suddenly are no longer able to make their mortgage payments. By being a wise consumer and reading the fine print in any contracts before you sign them, you can keep yourself free of the misery of foreclosure.

About the Author:

Are you tired of buying financial guides that make great promises but just don't deliver on those promises? We offer objective reviews of many resources in the debt, credit, investing and real estate markets, to name a few. Visit http://www.financeproductevaluations.com to take a look at our latest reviews, such as our current top pick 37 Days To Clean Credit.