So, you are in need of some cash. Your family members, friends, neighbors, even your golfing buddy are all tapped out. Trouble is, your car payment is due in 3 days and you can’t be late. That Pontiac Solstice sitting in your drive is a great ride, a chick magnet, and more precious to you then food. Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point: you need money and you need it now! Personal loans abound and they are one solution to a crisis situation. Is a personal loan right for you? More importantly: exactly what are your options? Read on and I’ll show you the way!
Payday Loans: Payday loans have gotten a lot of press over the past few years as they are a great way to secure personal loans quickly and easily. However, fees and interest rates are high so if you aren’t planning to pay it off within a few days you’ll end up paying extra charges.
Cash Advances: Credit Cards are another way for you to secure a personal loan. By drawing on your card’s cash advance feature, you can borrow a few hundred to a few thousand dollars without seeing a loan officer. You’ll pay a fee for the privilege and the interest rate on a cash advance is quite high. However, if you can pay the loan off quickly it could be a viable personal loan alternative for you.
Equity Loans: If you own a home, your house may have some equity in it. Some lending institutions are so eager to lend money to you that they’ll approve a loan on the spot. Be careful: the rate could be high and you are putting your house on the line. That Pontiac Solstice convertible may not be worth that sort of aggravation!
Friends, Family Members: Ah, now for a test of your familial relationships. Ask Mom, Dad, Gramps, Aunt Bea, or Sis for the funds. That cold hard stare back from them probably means “no” but it could mean yes if you whimper. Groveling could help too. Seriously, a family loan could mean a low or zero interest rate for you. Better than the rate the loan shark guy at work wanted to charge you, right?
Retirement Funds: More than likely you won’t be able to tap your retirement funds within three days time, but borrowing from your 401(K) can be a wise decision. Just remember to pay the loan back with interest to avoid tax penalties. Besides, that Pontiac Solstice will look pretty ratty when it comes time to bid your work place good-bye.
Yes, you do have choices when it comes time to securing a personal loan. Some options are better than others so it behooves you to check the fine print when seeking personal loans. Personal loans can be a good option for you for the short term, but likely a long term solution could involve you getting rid of that pricey Pontiac Solstice!
By: Matthew Keegan
Posts Tagged ‘Loan Officer’
Personal Loans: Where To Find Them
June 17th, 2010Home Loans & Refinancing, Borrower Beware!
April 24th, 2010
Mortgages…if you are planning to purchase or refinance your home you should be very careful about the home loan you select. There are many gimmick loans on the market today like “interest only loans” and “negative amortization loans” which help people buy over priced property by the skin of their teeth. Having been a loan officer for a number of years in the past, I have often wondered why people just don’t stick to the traditional “30-year mortgage” and buy (or refinance) what they can afford. If you plan on buying or refinancing a home consider the following… In my mind, a 30-year fixed rate loan is better than a 15-fixed rate loan and here’s why… you have a lower monthly payment with a 30-year loan than a 15-year loan. What if something happens to your income?
Sure, you can pay a 15-year mortgage off faster but you have a higher house payment strapped to your back and if ANYTHING causes a reduction in your income you may find yourself hard pressed to make the house payment. Few people realize that you can pay off a 30-year loan in about 15-years by making 1 or 2 “principal only payments” on a 30-year loan each year. The key is that you decide whether you can afford to make those additional principal payments rather than being obligated to higher monthly payments under a 15-year loan. You may pay a slightly higher rate on a 30-year loan but the comfort level and flexibility of a 30-year loan may be worth it. Adjustable rate loans (ARM’S) are risky business and tend to “adjust up” over time. They say “whatever goes up must come down” and with interest rate you can pretty much bet that “whatever goes down must go up”. Here are a few tips for people who are planning on buying or refinancing a home:
1. Thinking about refinancing? You typically want to see a 2% improvement from your current interest rate and the proposed “new rate”. When you add up the costs of refinancing as well as the time and hassle associated with the process, you may find a refinancing doesn’t make a lot of economic sense with a spread lower then 2%.
2. Find your break-even point by taking the total costs of refinancing (divided by) the projected monthly savings under the new rate. Doing so will tell you how many months it will take to get your money back!
3. How long you plan to own the property is important. Rule of thumb: If you plan on owning the property for less then 5 years, a refinancing may or may not make sense. Only you and the numbers can tell!
A “Discount point” is 1% of the amount of money you are borrowing and is paid to a lender to secure a lower interest rate on a mortgage. Many people want to pay “points” to get a lower rate. But, are you really getting a lower rate? When you pay discount points you are basically pre-paying the lender interest 15 or 30 years in advance! You are handing over “real dollars” for an intangible “interest rate” that will result in a lower monthly payment…the more important question is will you live in the property for 15 or 30 years? If not, why prepay the interest? Hint: Zero point home loans often make the most sense.
Another cool tip if you have equity in your home and need to purchase a large ticket item like a car… it may make sense to refinance the house and roll the car purchase up in the new mortgage. In this way you spread the cost of your car over the life of the loan, avoid the high interest car loan with whatever tax advantages you may have resulting from your mortgage deductions.
Copyright © 2006
James W. Hart, IV
All Rights reserved
By: Jim Hart
Home Mortgage Loan Refinance – Benefits To Refinancing Your House Online
April 11th, 2010
Here are some of the benefits to doing your home loan refinance online:
Everything seems to happen faster – Online, when looking for a mortgage loan you can search around, fill out an application and a few minutes later, you can be receiving a pre-approval letter via email. There was no calling, no driving & no waiting on hold for an answer. The mortgage company will usually contact you quickly and give you all the information you need to move forward.
You will be more informed and make better decisions – People nowadays that use the internet as consumers, use it primarily to make better purchasing decisions. If you are sitting at home on the couch with your phone book calling every mortgage company listed, you are not going to know what the current interest rate is. You aren’t going to know what your contacted companies competitors are like. All you will know is what that loan officer tells you.
Online, you can view a lot of information very quickly. – After looking at a few mortgage loan websites, you will know quickly that when you refinance you have many options. Do you want to get cash out of your home? Do you want to borrow more than your homes current value? Do you want an interest only loan? And, you will know right away which mortgage companies offer these options. There are many different kinds of refinance loans, and all of these options can be learned after a few minutes of searching online.
Deal with large, reputable companies – When applying online, you should quickly be able to spot the larger, more reputable mortgage companies. I always prefer to use the companies that will submit your application to multiple lenders. That way, your credit is only pulled once, and you can receive multiple offers from up to 4 lenders. For a list of these recommended mortgage companies, see the link below.
Save money – Many online mortgage service companies can save you money by cutting out fees like origination fees and underwriting fees. You will also save money using mortgage services where more than one lender competes for your business. When you can receive multiple offers, you will know that you are choosing the loan with the lowest rate possible and the best terms you can qualify for. I usually recommend applying with about 3 different mortgage companies that will submit your application to multiple lenders and give you multiple offers. That way you can really maximize your options.
Less Commitment – You can search around online and apply to 2-3 different lenders without feeling guilty for working with more than one company. That way you make can make sure you are getting the best deal. Often when you start working with a mortgage broker in person, even if the person isn’t doing the best job for you, you start to feel obligated to continue to work with the person. This is not so online. If you aren’t getting what you want, you are free to move on with no guilt.
For a list of recommended mortgage companies to refinance with online, click on the link here: recommended
refinance mortgage lenders. The mortgage companies recommended on my website, for the most part, will submit your application to more than one lender and provide you with multiple offers.
By: Carrie Reeder