Ken Charnly asked:


This article will seek to answer some frequently asked questions about home improvement loans, and help you make an informed decision about whether a home improvement loan is right for you, and what kind to choose.

What is a home improvement loan?

A home improvement loan is a loan which is secured on your property, allowing you to free up cash to spend on whatever improvements you might wish to make.

Why get a home improvement loan?

Whether it is a loft conversion, a new kitchen or bathroom, or even a swimming pool, a home improvement loan can be used to make those changes you have always wanted to, but never quite got around to making.

How much can I borrow?

It depends on your circumstances, and the value of your property. Generally you can borrow an amount equivalent to a significant proportion of the value of your home.

What period can I repay a home improvement loan over?

Specific terms vary, but home improvement loans tend to be repayable over a period of between 5 and 25 years.

How do I choose the right home improvement loan company?

Look at the interest rates on offer, and also the reputation of the companies offering them – there are a lot of lenders in the market nowadays, and not all of them necessarily have the best track record.

What other factors do I need to bear in mind when applying for a home improvement loan?

Apart from the interest rates, look out for insurance schemes to cover you for changed circumstances such as unemployment or illness, the possibilities for early repayment, and penalty clauses for late repayments.

 



COLBY

Sadhana Dhanyal asked:


Borrowers, who have accumulated too many debts, find it difficult to clear the outstanding debts. The impending debts over a period of time create debt problems. When the situation gets worse, such borrowers find it extremely difficult to avail loans. The constant pressure to payback the loan creates financial problems.

Opting for bankruptcy may seem as the last option to get over credit problems. Before deciding to go ahead with this, it would be advisable to know what exactly bankruptcy is. Bankruptcy loan process and FAQ’s, can help such borrowers get a fair idea about what involves bankruptcy. A person can become aware of the bankruptcy loan process by knowing in depth before hand what bankruptcy means.

Here are some of the FAQ’s on bankruptcy.

What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a legal process that is available to anyone, who is burdened with debt problems to make a fresh beginning financially. To go into bankruptcy, a person must be insolvent. It means:

•  A person must be absolutely incapable of making any further payments.

•  The debts must have exceeded the value of the assets.

•  The person must not be a bankrupt already.

What is a Trustee and what do they do?

Trustees in bankruptcy are the only debt professionals, that can provide a full range of debt relief options and the only debt professionals that can guarantee protection from the creditors.

Will My Creditors Stop Harassing Me?

Yes. Once the bankruptcy documents are filed, any kind of action against the person must be ceased.

What is the procedure to apply for bankruptcy?

There are two ways a person can become a bankrupt. The first and most common way is to make an assignment in bankruptcy (voluntary bankruptcy). The second method is the creditors asking the court to make an order that a person is bankrupt (involuntary bankruptcy). In both cases a Trustee in Bankruptcy is required to administer the process.

Will I Lose My House or Car?

This solely depends on how much equity you have. With a house for example, the equity would be the amount left over after mortgages, penalties and property taxes are taken into account. If your equity in the asset is within the allowable limit, then the Trustee will generally release the asset to the secured creditor.

What if I Have the Cash Flow to Make a Proposal?

If a person has the ability to make a proposal (i.e. his or her income exceeds their living expenses), then he or she should consider making a proposal.

There are many alternatives of bankruptcy. Opting for an IVA can help a person immensely. It will eliminate the risk of going bankrupt. A person can make use of the available options and avoid bankruptcy.



GAIL

AccessNational asked:


If you are looking to find out your New York FHA refinance benefits? Look no further than your New York FHA mortgage lender,

who has some excellent tools to help you find out what’s best for you!

FYI: New York FHA Refinance Benefits

What are the New York FHA refinance benefits that will help you when you become a home owner, especially when compared to other programs? Here are the list of a few:

•Lower monthly payments and interest rates

•Better terms (30 to 15 years) and equity building ability

•Streamlined paperwork, reduced documentation

•Low down payments

•Cash-out options for other expenses and debt consolidation

•;More access to other credit lines

•Little to no out-of-pocket expense needs

Sounds good? Keep reading to find out how you get those New York FHA refinance benefits.

Getting a lender to learn more about your New York FHA refinance benefits

In order to get access to national mortgage information and learn about FHA refinance, you need to get in touch with a local reputable FHA lender. You can find one through the ads or yellow pages or look on the Internet. The HUD website can also help you locate a qualified FHA lender.

Remember, though, that even though there are many great benefits with your New York FHA refinance benefits, FHA is just an insurance policy which provides backing and program guidelines. The loan terms, fees, rates and closing costs are determined by the lender and will vary, which is why you should look around for the best terms.

Getting your New York Refinance Benefits — next, the New York FHA Mortgage Calculator

So, you have your FHA lender, now you can go to their website and discover one of the best tools going in your hunt for a good mortgage.

This invaluable tool is a New York FHA Mortgage Calculator. The New York FHA Mortgage Calculator should be a standard part of any New York FHA lender’s web site. On some, it may just be called a mortgage calculator.

Why is this New York FHA Mortgage Calculator so useful? It’s because the New York FHA Mortgage Calculator show you want you can afford at each interest rate, which decides how high of a mortgage you can afford based on the rates being offered.

You can use the New York FHA mortgage calculator to estimate your payment ceiling and what you can afford. As you get term offers, you can stick in the rates, terms and down payments to see what you think about the ultimate affordability of the payment.

You can also enter the terms into the New York FHA Mortgage Calculator from different lenders to see who is giving you the best deal on affordable payment. But don’t forget that you can’t compare additional fees and other costs. To figure out which New York FHA refinance benefits a chosen lender might offer, you need to talk to the lender you’ve chosen and figure out the terms from there.

Additionally, you can change up the terms on the New York FHA Mortgage Calculator to decipher which options may work the best for you. For example, you can see how the amount of your down payment may impact your monthly payment.

The New York FHA Mortgage Calculator is a quick and good tool to have on your side as you begin the borrowing process. Plus, there are other tools on lenders’ web sites, like information FAQ lists and article archives. They can offer much information and research which is helpful. When you take time to locate a good New York FHA lender and use the information and tools they provide (like the New York FHA Mortgage Calculator) you can find out all about the great refinance available to you.



DEAN

Jay Conners asked:


If you are considering investing your hard earned money with a mortgage lead company, or you are switching lead companies because you have gone through the pain of seeing your money go down the drain, here is a good place to begin.

Before you take that leap of faith with a lead company, take a step back and reexamine exactly what it is you are looking for from a lead company.

You should be looking for the exact same thing that you would expect from any other reputable company that you deal with. And that would be good quality service.

Before you invest your money, research the company, most of the research can be done right there on their web site. Read the FAQ’s, read about their return policy, read about how they acquire their leads, etc.

Once you have read all there is to read about their company, give them a call and speak with someone in their customer service department. Ask as many questions you feel to be appropriate, and verify everything you have read with them.

You should be able to get a good read on the company from the customer service representative about what their company has to offer. And make sure their answers to your questions are matching up to what their site implies.

Lead generation will be something you definitely want to research. It is crucial for you to find out where exactly the lead companies obtain their leads from.

Do they own and operate their own sites to obtain their leads? Or are they buying their leads from other lead companies and recycling them?

Remember, as with just about everything else, the better the quality of the product, the better your chances of success with it. The same holds true for mortgage leads.

Also, consider the pricing that is involved. Make sure you compare companies, and will you be getting what you paid for? You don’t want to be spending twenty-five dollars on a lead that has already been sold five to seven times.

Check out their return policy. Is it fair? Will they refund your money if the contact information is bad? Will they return your lead if the person on the lead is not responding to your calls? Will they return your lead if the customer says something to the effect of, “ I took care of that months ago.”

There is a lot to consider, so before you invest your hard earned money, take the time to do your research.

One more thing . . .

Before investing, call the lead company to make sure someone answers the phone, if you have to leave a message, make sure they return your call. Than, e-mail them and make sure you get a response, if not move on. If they are unresponsive now, you can bet they will be unresponsive when you have an issue with the lead.

You have worked very hard for your money, so before you invest it with a lead company, make sure you do enough research where you know that whatever company you decide to go with, you will be getting the best return on your investment. Good luck.



SANTIAGO

Mike Samadi asked:


(copyrighted)

Here is a new one to some of you, but an old one to me.

I have been warning a lot of people about certain types of scams for a long time.  Recently, I learned about a few people that were scammed and sent their money elsewhere based upon fake checks they received.  They were both young and old in age.”

Several months ago, as I finally got one of my properties back because of the injustice of the U.S. Department of Justice.  A friend suggested that I should advertise the property on craigslist.com.  Not knowing the site, I listed an Ad.  Of course this site is just like any other advertising site visited by good people but also visited by scammers.

As a result of my Ad, I received many emails from interested parties, who all wanted me to hold the property, and they have already sent me payment. They sent me payment so that I would pay the travel agency for their travel arrangement from England, Australia or even some northern parts of the U.S.

Here is the order of the emails I receivedJ

1.    Every one of them had very poor English writing skills, however, claimed to be doctors, professionals, engineers, and minimally educated people with high paying jobs.

2.    They all claimed to be English speaking citizens.  Of course, any one can be a citizen, even if they cannot speak a word of the national language of the country.

3.    All of them had the same style of writing with broken sentences.  All of them excited; asking me not enter into an agreement with anyone else (showing much interest).  They also claimed that payment is on the way -even if they didn’t have my information.  Then, they asked me for my name, address, and phone so that they could send the payment.  They all claimed that the payment has come or is coming from a company in the U.S.  They all also claimed that they are sending me more that my required amount so that I would pay for their travel arrangement to my house/city and all their furniture shipment.

4.    All of them were ready to grab the property, without seen the property.

5.    All of them had a third party in the U.S. that was going to overnight the check to me

Mind you, I have been writing and talking about scams for years and am very familiar with banking laws (at least presentation of checks and have access to find any bank and their company officers in a matter of minutes, if not seconds.

When I saw the first email, I prepared a general Q & A (FAQ) email, describing the property, showing pictures, described in detail that I ONLY ACCEPT U.S. BANK CASHIER/CERTIFIED CHECKS or the U.S. POSTAL SERVICES MONEY ORDER.  I announced clearly that I would not accept any other payments.

I also noted very clearly that, I WILL NOT HOLD THE PROPERTY for ANYONE UNLESS I RECEIVE THE EXACT AMOUNT OF PAYMENT FOR THE FIRST MONTH, and 2 PAYMENTS FOR SECURITY.  Moreover, I noted, “PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME A DIME more that what the payment is.”  I WILL NOT SEND PAYMENTS ELSEWHERE, PAY FOR ANY OF YOUR OTHER NEEDS, MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS, OR MAKE OR PAY FOR YOUR FURNITURE and SHIPPING”.

I bundled the entire email including pictures and had it ready for anyone that responded to me.  It seems that it did not matter how many times I would tell these scammers the same thing, they would still send the same type of email or modify it a bit and again, send me the email.

And finally:

I received 3 overnight packages. One was a check printed on an old INK-JET color printer with a COPY signature. Another one- was a regular check from a bank account, which had been inactive for years with a negative balance, and one that I cannot even describe because it was screaming FAKE from miles away.

I immediately contacted the “SECURITY” departments of banks that was stated on the face of the check and shared the information.  One of the banks already knew and the other was glad to hear from me.  The third, I did not even bother, because it was too fake to waste time on. 

Now, one of the idiots who sent me the checks, also sent me a “fake” official-looking document that accepting these check and not complying with the terms of the agreement would cause criminal prosecution upon me.  Oooh, very scary!!!  As soon as I read it, I could not stop laughing.  Of course, for those of you out there, this is a way for the scammers to present themselves as legitimate business people wanting to make you scared that if you “DEPOSIT” the check, you MUST immediately take money out for the overage and send it to the destination they provide, or they will press criminal charges.  What a bull.   J

Let’s not forget, these checks were NOT the type I asked.  They were personal or company checks when I asked for Bank Cashier Check.  Every one of these checks was for thousands of dollars over the amount of my required payments.  The interested parties (scammers) wanted me to deposit the checks and take money out-of my account (for the difference between what I asked and what was writing on the check) and Western Union the difference to some location OUT-SIDE the U.S.

I am certain you got the picture.

Now allow me to shed a little light over check processing.

I send you a check.  Whether it is legitimate or fake, whether in-state or out, it must be deposited, except if you take it to the issuing bank (the bank that is on the face of the check).  If you take it to the issuing bank, the bank can cash the good check, if the funds are available. Otherwise, you have to take the check to your bank, make the deposit, and hope and pray it will remain good until it clears the issuing bank.

Let’s not forget the following issues:

1.    You deposit this check, take some money out and then I stop payment a couple of days later (immediately before it hits my bank).  You lose.

2.    I will even let the check clear my account. Then, I contact my bank and dispute that the payment was issued to a wrong party.  Most banks do NOT allow these types of disputes, but believe me, it can BE DONE.  You lose again.

I hope I am making some sense here.  Just like you tell your young ones, “Do not take candy from strangers,” follow the same rule and don’t accept what looks to be like candy from strangers.

Recently, I went to another great and helpful site for consumers and advertised my Chinese Crested puppies.  Again, I was stormed by similar emails and a check delivery, even though I repeatedly forwarded my FAQ, my funds acceptance policies and pictures of the puppies.

So, good boys and girls, do NOT accept fake checks, rush to the bank, drain your account, and forward money to some stranger somewhere-cluelessly.   Some of these “fake” checks look so good that even your bank managers (experienced bankers) may get fooled.  Therefore, this is my suggestion.

When you receive a check from an unknown entity, take your time, find the issuing bank, call them or drive there (if in your neighborhood), and share all the information about the check. Show the check and let the bank certify that it is a legitimate check.  Otherwise, send the check back and ask for cashier/certified U.S. bank check).

With love and best wishes,

Mike Samadi

Any questions?  Go to Q & A of http://www.MasterCreditRepair.net, read and post.  Go to the “Comment” page and post your story or comment.  Your information will remain confidential.  Joint my membership club (coming soon).



MONROE

Ken Charnly asked:


Just because you have filed for bankruptcy, you should not give up on your dreams of owning your own home. There are mortgage companies that will give you a home loan after bankruptcy. These lenders specialize in bankruptcy home loans and work with people in most any financial situation. Most bankruptcy home loan companies require that you have a minimum of 500 on your credit score. If you fall in this category, these lenders will work hard to customize a home loan that will work for your individual needs.

* If you are seeking a home loan after bankruptcy, you should know you will only be eligible for 80% financing. This means that you must come up with the remaining 20% and it will be used as your down payment.

* You should know that your debt to income ration will need to fall within the 45-50% range when you are seeking a bankruptcy home loan.

* Lastly, you should know that the interest rate on your loan will be higher than a typical mortgage.  However, do not let this stop you from purchasing a home. As time passes and your credit rating improves, you can refinance your home for a lower interest rate.

Everyone dreams of owning their own home, just because you have been declared bankrupt in the past there is no reason to stop dreaming.

Your past mistakes should not affect the living situation of your children for the next eight years.

There are now many mortgage lenders who are reaching out and offering individuals who have filed bankruptcy a way to purchase their own home. No one wants to see a family of four living in a cramped, two-bedroom apartment.

Do not feel that that your bankruptcy has backed you into a corner and that you have no other option but to rent. That is no longer true, you can turn that rent money into an investment for your future.

 



ZANE