Guns Archives – Refinance – Mortgage Refinancing Rates And Information

Loan Modification, DIY or Professionals, which is the best route.

August 31st, 2009 No comments

Finding a loan modification you can live with and getting your bank to accept it is no easy task. It requires a lot of time, large amounts of patience and determination.

Banks are swamped with more loan modifications than they have ever had to handle and the dilemma of some loan modifications costing them more money than they are worth. Bringing all kinds of issues, like why would a bank provide help to a borrower through a loan modification if it is more cost effective to foreclose the mortgage?

The complexities behind a loan modification can be scary and frustrating but if you jump through the hoops and stick to your guns you have a good chance of reducing your monthly bills and even saving some money.

To get us started lets answer some basic questions most borrowers that are looking for a loan modification ask?

Do I need to have a job to get a loan modification?
Not necessarily. You can apply for a loan modification even if you don´t have a job as long as you can prove you can pay for the modified mortgage payments in some way or are likely to be able to do so soon. The details of your case will condition what response you get. For instance if you have recently been sacked or laid off from a well paid job and have the skills to get one soon you are more likely to get a loan modification than if you have been unemployed for a year.

Do you have to pay someone to manage your loan modification application?
Not at all. The government is backing a variety of loan modification programs that are designed to incentivize banks and service providers to supply sustainable loan modifications. Government websites and helplines are in place to guide you through the mortgage modification process.
It is true that loan modification consultants can provide you specialized advice on how to fill in applications to maximize your chances of being approved but you can do just as well with a little patience and by reading the instructions carefully.
If you do decide to hire someone make sure they are not one of the many con artists and scammers that are so common now. Stay clear from companies that guarantee successful applications and ask for upfront fees. There is no way to guarantee a bank will accept a loan modification and it is illegal to pay for services that have not been provided.

How do you get the ball rolling?
Call your bank and ask to be put through to the mitigation department. You will then be asked to jump through a few hundred loops and explain your situation. It is a good idea to find out first what paperwork you need and make sure it is all correct before starting your application process.
What kind of information do you need?
You will need W-2s from your employer, a pay sub and details on your savings and investments. You will then be asked to provide an income to expenses ratio and basic paperwork to support your claims. Don´t forget to be honest, any discrepancy that is picked up by the service provider will cause your application to be dropped.

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New Credit Card Rules Spells Good News For Debt Relief

July 29th, 2009 No comments

One of the greatest culprits for serious debt problems are credit cards. Obviously it is our bad use or management of credit cards that causes the debt problems, you can’t blame a gun for what its owner does with it. Nevertheless some guns are more trigger sensitive than others, and it’s not the same to own an automatic machine gun than an air gun. It’s all about understanding the rules of the game and what the real cost of your credit is. The Obama administration have backed the implementation of new credit card rules that will help many of us to save money and stop paying so much of it to the banks in fees and penalties.

What are the new rules?

Raise interest rates on existing balance. This is a great victory for consumers. This is a little known tool banks had in their arsenal of money making methods. In fact most of us probably didn’t know the bank could increase the rate of interest on our credit card without asking. If you think of it that is pretty crazy because the interest rates on credit cards are already huge.

Payments will pay off your most expensive debts first. Borrowers using credit cards, especially when transferring balance from one card to another, can find themselves with different rates of interest for debts on the same card. Previously there was not guideline or rule on which part of the debt banks must use your monthly payments to cover. Obviously banks had an incentive to pay the cheaper interest rates first and leave the most expensive rates to last. With this new credit card rule that will not be a legal course of action for banks that must allow borrowers to pay off their most expensive credit card debt first.

Other cards can’t penalize you for missing a deadline on another cards. We all know that banks are a closed knit community. They might compete against each other but when they are dealing with borrowers data, credit record and payment history they are happy to share their knowledge. They can still share information on delinquent credit card payers but can’t hold it against them.

None of these measures will stop the banking industry from making more and more money on our misuse of credit cards but it has plugged some holes banks will no longer abuse.

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