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AndrewWBradley.ca Financial Services Blog

1
Jun
2015
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In simple terminology, a home equity loan is a loan taken against your house. A home equity loan is also called a mortgage or a second mortgage. Another synonym for home equity loan is equity release schemes. While taking a home equity loan you are actually borrowing the worth of your house. If the house is completely owned by you, then the term used for home equity loan is "mortgage", otherwise if your house is not fully paid off but has equity, it is called a "second mortgage". From now on we will use one term for both to facilitate better understanding. We will call them Home Equity Loans. A home equity loan is an extra loan that you take against your home in addition to your mortgage; hence this is called a second mortgage. This enables a home owner to encash equity without refinancing the first mortgage. Most people are under the impression that the only way to raise cash is by selling their homes. However reality differs and factually one can take a second mortgage to free up the first mortgage also. Equity is the difference between the amount you owe on your current home mortgage and the current value of your home. Furthering this definition, suppose you sell your home, the amount of cash left in your pocket after paying off the mortgage is called Equity. This equity when taken as a loan from a lender, without actually selling your home comes to be known as home equity loan. Many lenders or loan companies allow you to borrow bigger amounts calculated by subtracting the balances of outstanding mortgages from 125% of the market value of your home. However the actual equity is the difference between appraised worth of your home and the balances of your outstanding mortgages. There is no bar on how you can use the home equity loan. You can use it for any purposes as it suits you. A home equity loan is usually a one-time fixed interest rate loan, which is paid out at one go. The rates of interest or the cost of the loan will depend on options you choose: the term of the loan and the amount; of course another important factor has always been your credit rating. The longer the term of the loan, the more you pay out as interest, also if the amount is more, the more interest you pay. As always with any liabilities one undertakes certain words of caution are advised. Check all your options thoroughly before making a decision. Choose the amount carefully and take only what you need and specify the term which you think would be comfortable for you to repay in. No point accumulating liabilities in exchange for spending on pleasures or acquiring unnecessary assets. Home equity loans are easily accessible to people with poor or bad credit rating since the lender is taking a lesser risk as the loan is secured against their home. A Home Equity Loan usually means that you get the best interest rates on the loan, i.e. you get the loan at a lesser cost compared to other loans because of assured security, but one should always remember that the house is at risk lest you fail to repay the Home Equity Loan. AndrewWBradley.ca

1
Jun
2015
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When a friend or a family member asks you for money you can be faced with a delicate situation. Thinking it is your duty to help that person, sometimes you end up hurting yourself. Try, when you can’t resist a close person, to analyze first all the data of the problem. 1. Analyze with you heart and mind Look at the situation with the objectivity of a bank, combined with the sympathy you feel for a friend. If your heart and head agree you probably are not making a mistake helping him. If one of them tells you “No!” there is probably something wrong. 2. Consult with someone else If a friend asks you for money, ask a third person and rely on his or hers objectivity, a person that can be another friend or a family member with a trusted intelligence. 3. Don’t be afraid to say no Never hesitate to refuse someone if the situation involves too many risks. Search for other helping options for that person. Conduct the conversation in such a manner that your friend will understand you are refusing the request not the person that made it. 4. Lending equals giving a gift? You can suggest to that person that, if his of hers financial situation improves in the future, you will be glad to get a present that would equal the money you lent to them. 5. For your safety, sign a contract. When you are about to give away significant amounts of money, sign, each of you, a contract that settles the conditions and the return date of the money, and also their total amount. AndrewWBradley.ca

30
May
2015
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The most important factor that determines whether a person is can procure a loan for himself or not is the fact, whether is past credit history is stable enough or not. All factors depend on his past record of handling credits. A bad credit history implies that his appeal for a loan would be rejected and won’t be met in most of the places. And the worst part is that, if the concerned individual in his past has ever been declared as bankrupt or had a foreclosure, then for sure the borrower would face difficulties when he tries to get a financing for a home mortgage purchase, home equity or second mortgage loan. But the gab that home loans are not available for people with bad credit history is just a baseless myth. Since these loans are available to people with bad credit history too. The way however to find such a kind of loan, however is to be to be persistent in looking out for such kind of loans, because there are home mortgage loans for people with bad credit. The basic problems involving, the process of procuring loan arises from the activities of sub-prime lenders. These are those lenders who actually work really hard for fetching loans for the people with bad credit background and low credit score and then the charge absolutely unreasonable price for the job. Borrowers should be careful of borrowing money from sub-prime lenders, as they can charge high interest rates which, comparatively are too high than the market rate. Not only this, but these lenders also charge unreasonable pre-payment penalties. Online articles are posted in websites to inform the borrowers about their existence and caution them. However, it’s not absolutely impossible to find lenders who give out loans at reasonable rates and agreeable charges, to people who have a bad credit history. All a borrower needs to do is look around and talk to different mortgage brokers, which would prove to be helpful to find a lender, that can get them an approved loan with a reasonable interest rate and fair terms of repayment. Things that the borrower, should make sure about, are that he makes use of the lowest interest rate and terms possible. Specially a borrower with a bad credit history and bad credit score should make sure that he sends application for loans to a number of different lenders, since it would be sensible for him to make comparison between different mortgage loan quotes, so that he makes sure that he chooses the best one. AndrewWBradley.ca

28
May
2015
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The most important thing that has to be decided before one begins to start looking for the car, one wants to buy, is that he should find out how much can he pay for repaying the installments of the car loan i.e., how much is affordable for him. He should prepare a budget, which gives him the maximum limit, to which he can spend on buying a car. For preparing such a budget, he needs to analyze all different car loans that are available in the market, their rates, interests and also the details about the lenders should be double checked for the purpose of security. Being pre-equipped with a budget, one knows his limit, which helps him to choose the car that suits his budget the best. Monthly expenses of the car- The repayment installment of the car should not exceed more than 20% of the income, remaining after meeting all the necessary expenses of the month. Not only the part of income saved has to be used for repaying the installment but also other expenses related to the car has to be met, like fuel, licensing fee and other petty expenses of the car. Also, the saved income should be sufficient to pay for the sales tax, registration, after the expenses mentioned above are met. Conditions of disbursement of auto loans- usually the terms of auto loans differ from each other. Different lenders providing auto loans, provide such loans on different terms for repayment, different interest rates and also different time limits for repayment. But generally what happens is that, 10% of the loan is paid as down payment and then rates are fixed. Usually, rates on loans, with zero down payments, are much higher. To reduce the rate, one can actually pay back the loan amount in short period of time. Lenders of car loans- loans for buying cars are available not only from banks but there are hundreds of institutions providing such loans to the interested consumers of such loans. There are many companies, who indulge themselves in providing such loans, which is way of extra-earning for them. Apart from all theses sources, the most popular one is the one where the online lenders provide loans for buying cars. These companies offer quotations, on request, absolutely free of cost, and give the opportunity to compare different quotations from different online lenders and select the best alternative. People with bad credit can also avail of such loans, from the options available to them. AndrewWBradley.ca

25
May
2015
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An individual’s home is the biggest asset that one has at his disposal. A home to back you up when you need a loan is one of the greatest advantages of home ownership. In recent years, there has been a major boom in the amount of people looking to use their homes as a way to get access to extra money when they need it most. One of the best ways to do this is through a second mortgage.
Second mortgage loans are loans that are made in addition to the first mortgage, and it is usually based on the amount of equity that the borrower uses to build into his home. Usually it’s required to fund home renovations. Since the borrower has already been through the process once, the underwriting that is required to get a second mortgage is much simpler than it was the first time around when the borrower had taken the first loan. The cost of the transactions involved will be lower when the borrower applies for the loan second time. This usually happens for the fact that interest rates on the second mortgage are a bit higher than they were on the first one. But then, there are some positive points too. For example, the fact that the interest paid on the loan may be tax deductible. In most cases the interest is 100% fully deductible as long as the combined loan to value of the 1st and 2nd mortgage does not exceed the value of the home.
On a second mortgage, one borrows a fixed sum of money against the home equity, and pays it back after a specific time. The amount borrowed will be combined with the amount the borrower still owes on his first mortgage. But there are a few things that one should keep in mind. First of all, one should not take a second mortgage on his home unless one has made payments on the original mortgage balance for a good amount of time. One may be able to get a second mortgage if one does not have much equity, but then the loan rates will be much higher, and the amount that one can borrow much lower. It will essentially be a waste of time and money.
A second mortgage is a loan that is secured by the equity in ones home. While obtaining a second mortgage loan the lender places a lien on the borrowers’ house. This lien will be recorded in 2nd position after the primary or 1st mortgage lender's lien, hence the term second mortgage. Second mortgages aren't for everyone. Borrowing more than 80% of the home's value will subject the borrower to private mortgage insurance. The monthly payments should also be a factor. If one refinances in the future, he will have to pay off the 2nd mortgage. Loan proceeds from a second mortgage loan can be used for just about anything. Many consumers take out 2nd mortgage loans to consolidate debt, do home improvements or pay for their children’s college education. Whatever one decides to do with the loan proceeds it is important to remember that if one defaults on then payment then he can lose his home. So one would want to make sure that he is taking the loan out for a worthwhile purpose
Thus we see that a second home loan can be of great help to the borrowers, although the borrower must take steps to ensure that he does not squander away the advantages of second mortgage. AndrewWBradley.ca

23
May
2015
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Term life insurance is basically a “no frills” type of life insurance. It is a life insurance for a specified duration limit, or time. You buy a specific amount of coverage for a specific time period by signing a contract. You pay for that coverage period and at the end of the term the policy expires. For example, the term might be until retirement, or until children are grown, or until college is paid for.
Term life insurance is the least expensive available insurance policy and allows you to spend a lot less and use the extra money in a better investment. It does not build up cash value and the premium normally increases as the policy owner gets older. Usually term life insurance covers a specific term such as term of 1year, term of 20 years or term of 30 years.
If you die while the policy is active, term life insurance provides a stated benefit for it; and your survivors will be paid the agreed upon amount. However, the policy does not provide any returns beyond the stated benefit and once the policy expires, the insurance coverage ceases and the insurance company keeps the money. Some term insurance policies give you the right to renew at the same rate for multiple years, while others do not. The former are generally a bit more expensive.
Term life insurance is most suitable for you, if you are:
• in need of coverage for a limited period of time,
• young and looking for lower premiums,
• buying a home or car, where the financial burden of a loan will disappear in time.
Term life insurance policies must be renewed when each term ends. Before buying a term life insurance policy, you should ask about the renewal provisions for the protection of your future insurability.
There are some typical choices:
Annual Renewable-----the premium go up each year.
• Level Term-----the premium stays the same for specific period like 5, 10, 15, or 20 years, then increases sharply.
• Automatic Renewable-----you'll have to pay more for this feature.
Some other options on term life insurance policies may include:
• Re-Entry------it requires a lower premium than an automatically renewable policy. You can renew at the same low rate offers to new customer; but you'll have to pass a physical examination. If you've developed any health problems, your premium could go up and cost more than an automatic-renewable policy.
• Convert-able term------you’ll have the option to convert to a whole life insurance policy in later years. AndrewWBradley.ca