Credit Card Rates - Negotiating Rates with Your Credit Card Company
July 23, 2007
Ok, let’s face it, everybody hates high credit card rates, and they drain hard earned money out of your wallet. As a valued consumer, it is apparent that you learn how to negotiate to get the absolute best rate that you possibly can. The good news however is that it doesn’t have to be a difficult or time-consuming process. In fact, it can be very easy indeed if you know what you’re doing. In this article we will discuss the ins and outs of credit card negotiating to ensure that you get the best possible rate with the least amount of effort.
1. First and foremost, you should figure out if you even want to continue using your current credit card company. Are you pleased with the overall service that you are receiving? Do you like their benefits? If the answer is yes then you can proceed. If not, you should stop reading this article and start looking for a better company.
2. Second, you should evaluate your paying history and make sure that it is positive before you call to negotiate. If it is positive then you have power and if it isn’t then you’ll be negotiating from a position of weakness and that might not be good. Instead, you should wait until it is more positive before you call them to negotiate rates.
What is a Commercial Business Loan?
July 22, 2007
A commercial business loan is designed for a wide range of UK small, medium and startup business needs including the purchase, refinance, expansion of a business, development loans or any type of commercial investment.
Finance is the lifeblood of a business. Without it you cannot grow.
Commercial business loans are generally available from £50,000 to £50,000,000 at highly competitive interest rates from leading commercial loan lenders.
A commercial business loan can be secured by all types of UK business property, commercial and residential properties.
Commercial Business Loans can offer up to 79% LTV (Loan to Valuation) with variable rates, depending on status and length of term.
Commercial business loans are normally offered on Freehold and long Leasehold properties with Bricks and Mortar valuations required. Legal and valuation fees are payable by the client.
Commercial business loans are available for Self-Declaration with CCJ’s & Mortgage Arrears.
Commercial Business Loans cover most types of UK property, including:
Development property, new & redevelopment Country properties Retail / offices / factories / warehouses Investment & owner occupied Leisure buildings (Hotels / Pubs) Professional practice premises
You may freely reprint this article provided the author’s biography remains intact:
Little Known Secret: Eliminate your Mortgage in 23 years or less!
July 21, 2007
Wanna know a little secret? There is an ingenious method you can use, to pay off your 30 year fixed rate loan, in 23 years or less. It’s straightforward, simple, and easy to understand. In this article, we’re going to explore this little known secret, and we’ll provide several examples of how it works, a few methods on how to implement, along with some information on where to go and how to get started.
1. Accelerated Payments:
By accelerating the payment structure on your loan, the life of the loan is reduced:
- In a normal 30 year fixed rate loan situation, your monthly payment is applied towards principle and interest. It is amortized over the course of 30 years.
- So any money above and beyond your normal payment is applied solely towards the principle of the loan.
- By reducing the principle of the loan, you are reducing the total amount of interest that must be paid, and that equates to an early loan payoff.
2. An Illustration:
Some Truth About Credit
July 20, 2007
Credit is currently and has been historically an integral component of our economy. Credit contribute a person’s net worth, and financial power. No matter who you are or what type of business you are considering, credit is a vital component to be considered when developing your business idea and business plan.
Your credit history and status will always be a factor when lenders consider financing your entrepreneurial endeavor. No matter what type of loan, even loans for those who may struggle to acquire traditional financing, such as the SBA funded micro loan, will consider credit as one of the underwriting factors.
Because your credit history and status greatly impact your bankability and ability to acquire business funding, it behooves you to spend a significant amount of time developing and creating positive credit status and repairing poor credit history.
== personal note ==
When I got married I gifted my wife with a huge debt load and a toilet level credit status. Through diligence, patience, and time, I’ve been able to repair my history and develop credit status that has allowed us to finance vehicles, mortgage and refinance homes, and acquire construction financing. So I know you can repair your credit history and develop positive credit status but it takes patience, diligence, and a willingness to reprioritize your financial outlook.
Organizing Your Finances - Thinking Outside the (Shoe) Box
July 19, 2007
If you’re like most people, your personal financial records are most probably kept in less than "Good Accounting Practices" standards. For example, stashing old ATM receipts and hanging on to a stub showing what you paid for a pack of mints two years ago (cash, of course), might be filed with your paycheck stubs, credit card statements ? paid and unpaid alike ? as well as a few tax forms, a stray paper clip and a penny. Anything from an old shoebox to a toolbox would do you for this method of personal financial tracking but you can do better than that.
Not to worry. Here’s how:
1) Plan for a few hours of "alone time" with your financial records. This is a dandy time to pack the kids off to the mall, put up a pot of excellent coffee and a little snack (preferably chocolate), as a treat when you’re done.
2) Supply yourself with ample space, such as a large dining room table. Make sure you have enough organizing supplies close at hand: sticky notes, file folders, a tub to hold them with hanging file folders, large envelopes, a check file, ring binder/s and a three-hole punch if you like, an open stacking file, and an organizer/sorter. A trash can by your side is a must.
Mortgage Free In 15 Years!
July 19, 2007
Imagine paying your mortgage off in 15 years! Think of all the great things you could do with that extra money. What would you do? Retire early? Buy an R.V.? Travel around the world? If you could eliminate your mortgage in half the time, then your options would be wide open.
Let’s take a look at 3 benefits and 3 considerations when evaluating whether or not the 15 year fixed rate mortgage, is right for you:
1. Lower Interest Rate:
The 15 year amortized fixed rate loan carries a lower interest rate.
- The interest rate is usually about ½ % the rate of a 30 year term.
- For example, as of today’s date, the average 30 year fixed is going for about 5.67%, while the average 15 year fixed is going for about 5.10%.
- That’s a savings of .57%!
2. Huge savings on Interest Paid:
Do you want to save a ton of money? A 15 year fixed will accomplish this for you.
What is a Home Owner Loan?
July 18, 2007
A UK Home Owner Loan Can Unlock Your Capital To Use Today.
Unlock the value tied up in your property with a great value secured Home Owner loan. The loan can be used for any purpose, and is available to anyone who owns their home. Home loans can be used for any purpose such as, home improvements, new car, luxury holiday, pay of store card or credit card debt and debt consolidation.
Home owner loans are available for practically any reason. One of the most common types of home owner loans on offer are debt consolidation loans where the objective is to reduce monthly outgoings to a more manageable amount.
Another good reason for a taking a home owner loan would be if you had a poor credit history. Many of the home owner loan companies will accept an adverse credit card loan application.
Many lenders look more favourably on people who are home owners as this demonstrates a commitment to repay a large amount of money over a long period.
A UK Home Owner Loan offers you low cost, low rate, cheap borrowing with low interest rates and low monthly repayments.
Get Your Credit Score To Soar In The Twinkling of An Eye
July 17, 2007
Ever wonder how a creditor decides whether to grant you credit? For years, creditors have been using credit scoring systems to determine if you’d be a good risk for credit cards and auto loans. More recently, credit scoring has been used to help creditors evaluate your ability to repay home mortgage loans. Here’s how credit scoring works in helping decide who gets credit — and why.
What is credit scoring? Credit scoring is a system creditors use to help determine whether to give you credit.
Information about you and your credit experiences, such as your bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts you have, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, and the age of your accounts, is collected from your credit application and your credit report. Using a statistical program, creditors compare this information to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles. A credit scoring system awards points for each factor that helps predict who is most likely to repay a debt. A total number of points — a credit score — helps predict how creditworthy you are, that is, how likely it is that you will repay a loan and make the payments when due.
Be Prepared With Your Home Equity Loan Checklist
July 16, 2007
A home equity loan can be an excellent way to obtain money in order to pay off high interest bills or consolidate your current debt into one monthly payment. A home equity line of credit is a form of revolving credit in which your home serves as collateral. Because the home is likely to be a consumer’s largest asset, many homeowners use their credit lines only for major items such as education, home improvements, or medical bills and not for day-to-day expenses. Additional benefits include a nice tax advantage and the possibility of an overall lower monthly payment. However before you decide that a home equity loan is right for you make sure you do your homework.
Not all online lenders of home equity loans are the same which means there are ample opportunities to save a few more of your hard earned dollars.
The biggest obstacle to overcome is deciding on the appropriate online loan lender. Make the wrong choice here and it could come back to haunt you in the form of higher payments. I have compiled a small list of items to check for when searching for the best online loan lender. One item to be on the look out for is the annual percentage rate or (APR) as it’s commonly known. This is the cost of credit on a yearly basis expressed as a percentage. This cost is based on the interest rate alone and will not take into effect other fees and charges such as closing costs.
Why Bank Overdrafts May Be a Bad Deal For You
July 15, 2007
Many banks actively encourage their clients with low balances to overdraw their accounts. That means, if the customer writes a check or uses her debit card and has insufficient funds in the account, the bank clears the check by granting a temporary overdraft (a short-term loan), up to a specific limit. The customer is saved from the problems of bounced checks or interrupted shopping sprees.
Sounds like a good deal for the customers, right? That’s what the banks say. They claim overdrafts are an added convenience to customers.
The truth is, they’re often a very bad deal for the customers. Here’s why.
When a bank grants a regular line of credit, the interest charged may be up to say, 20% or so. However, for overdrafts, banks don’t charge interest — they charge a flat fee on each transaction. This fee does not depend on the value of the transaction.
Let’s see how that works. Overdraft plans fees may be as high as $35 per check. We’ll assume a more conservative fee of $20 per check. If you have four checks totaling $200 that have insufficient funds against them and the bank automatically activates the overdraft and clears those checks, you will owe $80 in overdraft charges.
Unlike revolving lines of credit which you can repay at your convenience, an overdraft has to be settled in just a few days. Let’s say the bank allows you to run the overdraft for 14 days.
A loan of $200 for 14 days incurring charges of $80 translates into an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 1043%!
A “convenience” for customers? Not at these rates.
What does this remind you of? It reminds me of payday loans and cash advances. Those are the other forms of lending which charge you such sky-high APRs. In fact, if you choose to repay a cash advance on due date and not roll it over, you’ll likely be charged far less than what the banks charge you for an overdraft.
It gets even worse. Banks have software that ensures that your largest value checks and debits get processed first. There may be some logic to that. However, this arrangement also means that when there are insufficient funds in your account, instead of paying one overdraft charge on one large check, you pay several charges on several smaller checks!
Plus, most customers don’t even realize that they are overdrawn until the bank notifies them about it.
Consumer advocates say that banks are perfectly aware that many people barely make it from payday to payday. These customers typically have very low balances. Rather than offer them a service that would be in their interests, banks extract high fees from them to cover bounced checks.
If you are caught short between paychecks, consider arranging funds from other sources rather than turn to overdraft protection. The best solution to the problem is to systematically build up cash balances so that you don’t face such a situation in the first place.
