Londrescallando Finance Secret

Archive for December, 2010

It’s not very often that a borrower takes into heavy consideration what his loan to value is when shopping for a loan.  In fact, if the subject is brought up by the customer, it’s mostly in relation to avoiding paying monthly mortgage insurance.  But sometimes, a loan to value can affect even more aspects of your loan – like pricing and approval!

What is loan to value?  Well, it’s exactly what it says.  The loan amount compared to the value of the home you are buying or refinancing.  For example, if you are buying a $100,000 home, and your loan amount is only $50,000, your loan to value or “LTV” is 50%.  It’s also very common to refinance a home to obtain a lower LTV and drop mortgage insurance that was before required.

Different types of loans have different minimum requirements for LTV’s.   With primary residence purchases, for instance, an FHA loan can have as high as a 97.75% LTV (soon to change to 96.5% in 2009).  A conventional loan can have as high as a 97% LTV (but more common is 95% LTV).  VA and Rural Housing loans can have 100% LTV’s.  People who have cash to put down on the property they are buying and financing with a conventional loan oftentimes try to amass 20% of the purchase price in order to avoid mortgage insurance.  Mortgage insurance is required when your LTV for a primary residence is above 80% and is issued by independent mortgage insuring companies like Genworth Financial or PMI.  Fannie and Freddie, the big purchasers of conventional loans, will require one of these or other approved companies issue mortgage insurance unless the loan has an 80% LTV.  And if you’re refinancing the home you live in?  The whole grid of acceptable LTV’s changes for the most part, with a few exceptions.  And furthermore, if you’re talking about investment properties, it’s another can of worms.

But when else does LTV mean something?  Consider when a loan specialist prices your loan.  Oftentimes there are pricing differentials based upon the loan to value.  For instance, if you carry mortgage insurance and your LTV is 85.01% or higher, you might actually get a better interest rate than if you had an 85% LTV (but don’t get too excited because your monthly mortgage insurance will be higher).  Or if your LTV is 60% or lower, you might also get a better interest rate.  If you are close to tipping the scales on one of these ratios, it may be to your benefit to ask your loan specialist how close you are to a pricing break one way or another.  You’d be surprised to find out it might change your mind as to how much money you decide to put down on your loan.

And guess what else?  A low loan to value may be the difference between loan approval and loan denial.  Why is that?  Because if you are investing enough of your own money into the equity of a property, chances are you won’t default on the loan.  And if you do, it’s probably a last recourse.  Not to mention, the lender who holds the note won’t lose money because there is enough equity in the property to cover foreclosure costs, re-sale costs and any value loss from an upside down market.  The lender is covered.  So, the lender will consider the loan less risky and a higher debt to income ratio is tolerated when reviewed with a high credit score.

While buying a used car you can not only save thousands of dollars in depreciation, taxes and factory costs, but also wind up spending more on your financing. As new car manufacturers lure buyers with 0% interest rates and no-money-down offers, it’s hard to find a better deal when you’re purchasing a used vehicle.

If you’re planning to buy a used car, keep reading for some financing tips that will save you money.

1. Shop Around for a Better Rate

If you need to obtain financing for your used car purchase, try shopping around for the best rate. While the dealership may often offer you a good financing option, you should to check with your bank and other lending institutions to see if they can do better.

Other car financing options that may get you a better rate include a line of credit, which can sometimes be as low as 5%, or simply offer a low-interest home equity line of credit loan from your lending institution.

A slight drop in the interest rate can save hundreds – sometimes thousands – of dollars over the life of the loan, so this is a worthwhile investigation.

2. Be Ready to Walk

If you’re obtaining financing directly through the used car dealership and you’re not happy with the offered rate, be ready to politely walk away from the deal. Most dealerships would rather lower their interest rate by a half point or full point than see a potential sale walk through the exit door – especially in tough economic times like today when gasoline prices are so high and car sales are low.

Additionally, if you are able to wait until the end of a month to buy from a dealer, you may have some additional leverage with salesmen who are under pressure to meet a monthly or quarterly quota.

3. Pay in Cash

The best way to save on financing costs is to avoid financing and credit all together. If you can do it, pay in cash.

Let’s say you’re buying a five-year-old Civic for about $10,000 – that can be saved up in a year at a rate of about $833 per month or two years at $416 per month. Rather than taking out a car loan, put that money in a high interest-yielding savings account and you’ll reach your goal even faster.

4. Pay it Off Fast

If you can afford to do it, the faster you pay off your car, the less you pay in interest and financing costs. While it would be unwise to stretch your family budget too tight in an effort to pay off your vehicle, you should avoid long-term financing that drags on for four or five years.

5. Refinance Down the Road

Let’s say you need a new used car this year but you’ve just put money in the house, perhaps had a baby, had a dip in your credit rating and money is tight. Well, you might accept a higher interest rate now, but in a year – once things improve – you should investigate the prospect of refinancing that loan with another lending institution that can offer you a lower interest rate.

Women are creative, bold and daring; they can run a home or run a company. Unfortunately, when it comes to money, many women still require some extra help when it comes to information on finance. Tips that are practical and easy to execute are the most beneficial. The following are three finance tips that women can integrate into their already busy schedule.

Don’t Become Dependent – Women can often become dependent on the income of their partner or spouse. If something happened to that person tomorrow, or in the case of divorce, millions of women would be left with little resources and a mountain of debt. Rather than become a victim of financial prison, women should have their own checking and savings accounts with regular money deposits.

Make a Money Goal – Women are natural goal setters; even if it’s something as simple as getting dinner on the table at a certain time, or making it to the gym three days a week. Making a financial goal can be just as simple. Instead of looking years into the future for a money goal, make the goal monthly so that it is easier to track and not lose sight of.

Be Prepared for a Disaster – Going on the previous finance tips, if something terrible happened tomorrow, there needs to be a financial cushion in place. Whether it’s a death, illness, natural disaster or loss of job, creating a cushion makes good financial sense and can be done by putting a fraction of the monthly income away every month.

Women need to take time to become more educated about their power over money. Much of what we know about money is learned from family. It is up to every woman to change her habits and put these finance tips to use in her daily life.

Credit card debt help and relief programs are the best way to get out of unsecured debt. Thanks to the stimulus money acting as catalyst; for providing you a platform to negotiate with your credit card company. You can now follow any debt relief program and eliminate most part of your debt by smart negotiation with the help of Settlement Company. If the debt management company have a good reputation and track record, they can even fetch you a deal to wipe out to the tune of more than 60 % of the total outstanding amount. To make the best of this process, here are some tips that can help you: 1. Find the top performing debt settlement company to help you with it. Make sure that the settlement company is legitimate and has earned good reviews from its old customers on this ground. 2. Remember that the credit card providers consider your payment record and it might turn in your favour. If you have failed to repay the bills on time for lost few months, it might help strengthen your case. 3. You should now plan out your expenses and reduce your expenditures so that you stay accountable for each penny spent. 4. Once you end up with a handsome bargain, try your best to eliminate the remaining amount in one big shot. This is possible if you take the help of personal finance tips. It is often associated with the settlement companies and you can stop the bankers calling you every day. 5. To legally eliminate your debt, it is fairly important that you take each and every step after consulting with the advisors for personal finance tips. Make sure that your steps are being guided regularly so that you don’t end up with big loss. 6. Apart from all these, the personal finance concept allows you to end your loans era and start fresh with a new agreement so that you keep paying the amount with very low rate of interest. Always make sure that you calculate the profit and loss with each negotiation so that you don’t end up in losing side. It would be wise to not go directly to a debt settlement company but rather first visit a debt relief network. The top debt relief networks only allow debt settlement companies into their accredited organizations that prove a track record of successfully negotiating debts and have also been certified.

Do you always end up having too much month at the end of your money? Are you over stretched and unable to meet your financial commitments? If the answer to these questions is yes, maybe you should have a serious look at your personal finances and see whether you are managing them properly. A good personal finance manager spends within their income, plans for the future and solves financial problems as they arise. Poor personal finance managers pay more, do without and fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your finances by planning your personal finances. If you are just starting to take your financial planning seriously then you will need to follow these personal finance tips. You need to find out your exact financial situation. To do this you must gather as much accurate information on your personal finances as you can. You can use this information to calculate your net worth. Included in this information should be all assets, savings and real estate. It is then that you can decide how much is left for you to save for the future. Making a personal finance budget is a good place to start. This is made up of information about you income and expenditure. The personal finance budget should cover a year at a time and worked out on a monthly basis. It must be accurate to ensure that you are able to meet you financial goals. All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find expenditures that recur every month and expenditures that happen less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals. Pay your bills by Direct Debit. This will make bill payment much more convenient. All payments are made immediately and good records are kept which help you keep on track with your budget. Make an investment and finance plan. Now that the fundamental state of your personal financial security has been established, the time has come for the more prosperous part of your personal financial life. You need to make a personal finance plan of what you really want in life that money can buy. Your personal financial plan can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Find out how to finally start to implement this plan and get the money to finance it. This is the long term part of your financial. This journey is the most interesting and exciting part of personal financing you can have toward financial freedom. You can prepare for a secure personal financial future by following these simple tips. When you take control with your money, you don’t have to worry about debt taking control of you.

Do you always end up having too much month at the end of your money? Are you over stretched and unable to meet your financial commitments? If the answer to these questions is yes, maybe you should have a serious look at your personal finances and see whether you are managing them properly.

A good personal finance manager spends within their income, plans for the future and solves financial problems as they arise. Poor personal finance managers pay more, do without and fall behind. If you find yourself in the second category, you can do something about it. You can learn to take charge of your finances by planning your personal finances.

If you are just starting to take your financial planning seriously then you will need to follow these personal finance tips.

You need to find out your exact financial situation. To do this you must gather as much accurate information on your personal finances as you can. You can use this information to calculate your net worth. Included in this information should be all assets, savings and real estate. It is then that you can decide how much is left for you to save for the future.

Making a personal finance budget is a good place to start. This is made up of information about you income and expenditure. The personal finance budget should cover a year at a time and worked out on a monthly basis. It must be accurate to ensure that you are able to meet you financial goals.

All expenses must be included. To be sure of that go through all your paid bills, check register and credit card receipts to find expenditures that recur every month and expenditures that happen less frequently. Personal finance budgeting requires some small sacrifices. To be able to make good personal financial decisions and set priorities, you must know where your money is actually going. Start your budget and accomplish your goals.

Pay your bills by Direct Debit. This will make bill payment much more convenient. All payments are made immediately and good records are kept which help you keep on track with your budget.

Make an investment and finance plan. Now that the fundamental state of your personal financial security has been established, the time has come for the more prosperous part of your personal financial life. You need to make a personal finance plan of what you really want in life that money can buy. Your personal financial plan can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. Find out how to finally start to implement this plan and get the money to finance it. This is the long term part of your financial. This journey is the most interesting and exciting part of personal financing you can have toward financial freedom.

You can prepare for a secure personal financial future by following these simple tips. When you take control with your money, you don’t have to worry about debt taking control of you.