The majority of people who decide to buy a car will finance that purchase through an auto loan. After you select the car that’s best for you, decided on options and colors and negotiated the price it will be time to finance your purchase. A little forethought and planning will make this transaction much easier.
Long-term and short-term auto loans each have advantages and drawbacks. Lenders will usually restrict long-term loans to new cars. These loans typically have lower monthly payments, as they’re spread over a period of three, four or five years however, you’ll pay more interest charges on these longer loans. A car purchased for fifteen thousand dollars and financed with a four year loan will ultimately cost you about $18,000!
The longer the term of your loan, the high the interest rate. You must also take into consideration the devaluation of the car over the life of the loan. If the car is damaged or destroyed before the loan is paid off it can be worth less than the value of the loan.
Short-term loans are extended for used cars and last from two to three years. They usually have lower interest rates than long-term loans, so you’re actually saving money by taking out a short-term loan. Your monthly payments will be higher than with a long-term loan but the interest savings are substantial and you’ll pay less overall.
Another type of loan is a lease. You may choose to lease a car for many reasons but people usually lease in order to have a new car every few years and avoid the devaluation that comes with owning a car. Lease payments are often lower than the loan payments on a car you purchase but there are costs to leasing you will want to be aware of.
If you decide to lease a car you will need a down payment, just as when you buy one. The leasing industry calls this a “capitalized cost reduction”, as it reduces the amount of the lease. A security deposit will also be required, also referred to as a “reconditioning reserve”. Your deposit is returned to you at the end of the lease arrangement unless your violate the terms or damage the vehicle. You must also pay the first monthly payment of the lease before you take possession of the car.
Closed-end leasing is an agreement that allows you to simply turn over the car to the leasing company as the end of the agreement and walk away with no other commitments. Unless you’ve damaged the car, violated the lease agreement or have caused unusual or excessive wear and tear to it, the end of the lease is the end of your commitment.
Open-end leasing, on the other hand, doesn’t afford the same protection as closed-end leasing. At the end of your lease agreement, the leasing company (or “lessor”) calculates the car’s fair market value and residual value. You will have to make up the difference in the form of an extra payment and it could be quite costly.
One big disadvantage of leasing a car is the mileage limitations, imposed to control the devaluation of the vehicle. If your business or personal needs require you to do quite a bit of travel, leasing may not be your best option.
Lessors are required by the Consumer Leasing Act to explain all charges and terms of the lease to you. Be very sure you understand the terms and conditions if you decide to lease a car.
Whether you decide to buy or lease a car, read every document carefully before signing.
Debt Consolidation Versus Debt Negotiation
17-12-2009 by admin
Debt consolidation versus debt negotiation are two options that are available to you if you need debt assistance. When your monthly bills become too much for you to handle, it makes sense to use debt consolidation or debt negotiation for solving debt and credit problems.
Debt Consolidation
Debt consolidation services have prearranged debt repayment plans with most credit card and collection companies. When you sign up with a debt consolidation company you are offered a lower overall monthly payment based on a lower interest rate they have arranged with the creditor.
This payment is lower than what the credit card companies offer you, saves you money every month and is often the best way to consolidate debt.
One benefit of a debt consolidation repayment plan is it will stop you from getting harassed by your creditors as long as you make the new, lower monthly payments.
The downside of the debt consolidation repayment plan is that you have to cancel all credit cards that you include in the plan. You are also charged your first payment you make toward the program and an additional monthly administration fee. This administration fee ranges from flat fees of $10-$50, while others charge a $5 fee for each creditor. That means you’ll pay about $30 a month that doesn’t go to paying off your debts.
The debt consolidation program benefits you if you have high interest rates or have higher credit card bills than you can manage. Some people like to make only one payment to one company for all of their debts.
Debt Negotiation
Debt negotiation is sometimes referred to as debt settlement. This is most often offered to people who can’t handle a debt consolidation program. If you can’t make the minimum payments of a debt consolidation repayment plan or haven’t made payments in the past 3 months, a debt negotiation program is the next step for solving debt and credit problems.
One benefit of a debt negotiation program is you stop making payments to your creditors. The debt negotiation company either takes monthly payments from you and keeps it in an account, or lets you keep the money in your own account.
While you are making these monthly payments to the debt negotiation company, they negotiate with your creditors for a lower payoff of around 40-50% of your total amount of debt. Once the negotiated settlement is agreed upon with your creditors, the debt negotiation company makes a one time payment to them.
A downside of the debt negotiation program is it lowers your credit score for as long as you are in the program. However, most debt negotiation companies require the creditor make the credit report show paid in full so it doesn’t show up as a negative on your report once your account is settled.
Some debt negotiation companies include a credit repair service that will remove the negative items caused by the debt negotiation program. You pay for this service as part of their program.
Now that you have an idea what debt consolidation versus debt negotiation is choose which one will work best for solving debt and credit problems for you.
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Learning How to Accelerate Your Debt Payment
31-10-2009 by admin
Speeding up the debt repayment process is called an accelerated debt payoff and that’s something every person who owes money should know about. It’s a way to get out of debt faster and easier.
It doesn’t matter whether all the debt you have is in your mortgage, or whether you have lines of credit or credit card debt, you can use an accelerated debt payoff plan to shorten the amount of time you spend paying your debt, and more importantly, you will spend less money servicing your debt, too.
Here’s how it works. You make your regular payments when servicing your debt and then you add additional funds to that debt every month to save interest and pay it off more quickly. This can save you thousands of dollars.
If you’re talking about accelerated debt payoff for your mortgage, things can get a little tricky. Some mortgages don’t allow for you to make lump sum payments, increase your payments or stipulate that you can only pay up to a certain amount at certain times over the course of the mortgage. If you want to pay off your mortgage faster, talk to your financial institution to see if you can work around the fine print.
If you don’t have a lot of debt, such as one credit card or a line of credit, you can do an accelerated debt payoff very easily. Just pay your minimum payment and then add extra money to that payment each month.
If you have multiple creditors, you should consider consolidating your debt. In this way, you can access a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments. This will give you cash-in-hand every month, which you can turn around and add to your payment schedule. That means you are saving more in interest and paying off more of the money you actually owe your creditors, not just the future interest.
If you don’t want to consolidate your debt, or can’t consolidate your debt, you can still do an accelerated debt payoff. Simply analyze your debt situation. See which creditor charges the highest interest and start by adding the extra payments to that debt until it is eliminated. Then move on to the next highest interest rate. Continue in this way until you are debt-free. And don’t forget to make the minimum payments to the other creditors in the meantime.
To determine how much extra money you can put toward an accelerated debt payoff subtract all of your anticipated expenses from all of your anticipated earnings. Don’t forget to include money for entertainment or other fun outings. Then you will know how much extra money you have each month that can be contributed toward debt. Usually this extra money is spent frivolously without a second thought. It is a very good idea to put this money to good use.
To find out how much money an accelerated debt payoff can save you, search for an “accelerated debt payoff calculator” on the Internet. It will help you determine how much you stand to save by adding more money to your payments.
125% Home Equity Loans: A Solution for Debt Consolidation?
23-10-2009 by admin
Debt consolidation, whether it relates to credit card debt consolidation, the consolidation of other bills or loans, or some combination of the three, is a growing trend. The promises that a 125% home loan offers, like no-hassle consolidation, extra cash, and the possibility of lower monthly mortgage payments are all very tempting, But is a 125% home loan right for you?
If you are a homeowner with relatively good credit trying to streamline your finances, the answer may be yes. Here are some facts to consider when making this decision:
1. A 125% home loan allows you to borrow more than your home is worth, as opposed to a traditional mortgage or refinance. According to eloan.com, “if your home is worth $100,000 and your first mortgage is $90,000, you can borrow $30,000, for a total of $125,000 and shrink your monthly payments.”
2. The interest rate that you get with your loan contributes significantly to whether or not you actually end up with lower monthly payments. The ideal scenario would be to obtain a mortgage loan with a fixed or secure interest rate, (APR) Lenders at Capital Resource Finance report an estimated savings of up to three times more with a simple interest, fixed rate loan to pay off your debt versus simply making the minimum payments on your credit cards. This is because the interest on credit cards and other types of credit lines is compounded daily. Compound interest means that for each day your credit card has a balance, you end up paying on the interest, instead of directly toward the balance that you owe. This adds up to more money for the credit card company, not to mention that it will take longer for you to get out of debt.
3. If you are not able to obtain a fixed rate loan because of less than perfect credit or some other reason, you still have options. If you can qualify for an adjustable rate loan, it can still save you money in the long run, since your interest rates may become lower over time, and you will be able to consolidate your bills.
4. Several lending companies offer loan programs for people with no equity. Many lenders offer damaged credit options,but only a few mortgage brokers can help you with sub-prime 2nd mortgages. Also consider the option of obtaining a rate quote or pre-qualification online.
So do your homework: Take the time to find out what all of your options are and review them carefully before deciding, and you will be on your way to being debt free.
Residential Bridge Loan Terms – What Are Normal Terms to Bridge Home Mortgage Loans?
18-10-2009 by admin
For most homeowners who seek to purchase new homes, selling the old one in order to finance their purchase of the new one is normally what is being done. However, you need to consider the fact that selling a house isn’t as easy as it seems.
For this, many people take out home bridge loan in order to finance their purchase of the new home even before they get to sell their old home. This means that you can get your hands on cash that you can use to buy a new home.
There are quite a lot of benefits that bridge loans can provide you with. However, before you take out bridge loans, you need to remember that it also has terms that you need to follow in order for you to fully understand how bridge loans works and how you can pay it off.
Basically, bridge loans will be able to allow you to temporarily own both homes. By using the equality in your existing home, you will be able to use this in order to provide down payment to the new home you are planning to purchase.
Now, after your old home is sold, a part of the home bridge loan is paid off. Your monthly payments will also adjust which will only cover your new home. This means lower loan and lower interest rates as well as lower monthly payments.
Normally, most bridge loan can provide you with 85% of the present value of the home. It will also pay off your existing mortgage and the remaining equity will be used to pay off a part of the mortgage of your new home.
These are the things that you need to remember about bridge loan terms. By remembering these things, you will be able to get your new home in no time at all.