Refinance Home Loans

Author: Toni Harris

Part 1

Refinance Home Loans

There are several reasons that people may look to refinance home loans. Probably the most common is to take advantage of lowered interest rates. Some of the other reasons people refinance home loans is to pay off high priced credit cards, make home improvements, and rebuild credit rating that has taken a turn for the worse.

What is involved when borrowers look to refinance home loans? When you refinance you normally just pay off the old mortgage and sign a new mortgage. Now this will also mean most of the same costs you had when you signed the original mortgage. Depending upon your State or the terms of your mortgage you may pay a penalty for paying the note off early.

Individuals who refinance home loans look at several things before doing so. Look for a company that may be willing to waive the normal fees. These include such things as an application fee, legal fees and appraisal fees. This are all normally associated with closing fees on a new mortgage. This could save thousands of dollars. It would give you a higher monthly payment but this could be still acceptable with a small rate decrease.

How long do you plan on staying in your home? If the answer is just a few months the monthly savings may not have time to catch up to the costs involved if you were not able to secure a loan from a company who will refinance home loans but will not waive fees involved. What are the new rates? As a rule try and find a rate that is minimum 2 points below your current mortgage rate.

Some who refinance home loans do so with the intention of building equity in their home faster. Now with this type of loan your month cost will be higher even with a lower rate. The benefit is you build equity faster and pay less interest over the length of the mortgage. If you wanted to refinance a 30 year mortgage to a 15 but the cost was to high you may want to check about a 20 year mortgage to still be able to take advantage of the lower rates.

The last important point to remember with companies who refinance home loans. Try and get a guarantee on the rate so that it is locked in during closing. This will keep the rate the same even if it should go up prior to your closing. You could even try and see if they will agree to a rate decrease if that should occur before closing. The refinance of home loans is competitive enough that if a company will not do either of those option. You may want to check with another company. The ultimate goal is to reduce your payments or to increase the equity of your home in a shorter time.

For part 2 about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Refinancing my home for free

Author: David Fulkner

A zero cost refinance mortgage is actually a loan where the loan broker, or company organizing the loan will pay all of the closing costs on the borrowers behalf. This type of loan is brilliant for anybody that needs to refinance their home loan without having to pay lots of money upfront.

The zero mortgage cost loans can vary quite a lot depending upon the person that is offering the loan. Almost every home loan has physical fees that must be paid, who pays these fees is decided in the agreement under the particulars.

A few mortgage lenders aren't prepared to pay for the closing costs, and expect you the borrower to pay for them. Even if this is the case, homeowners can still benefit from a no cost refinance. The fees for arranging the refinance can be incorporated in the loan. Although you will have to pay the fees eventually you will be required it does mean you don't have to pay as much up front.

Including the refinancing fees within the mortgage means that you have to pay little, or nothing up front. You must realize that you will be paying interest for this, so it's not free.

Benefits of using a zero closing cost refinance home mortgage loan. These types of loan are preferred by people that have little cash flow, these will help people to maintain the most cash flow.

The normal closing costs are around 3-5% of the loan amount, which can be very expensive. You really can save a fortune by looking for no cost refinance home loans. If the mortgage broker or lender is willing to pay the arrangement fees, the borrower still has to pay other fees that may be incurred. These include things like escrow fees, and fees to pay for the appraisal of your home.

Anybody looking to take out a refinance loan should work out these costs in advance, this makes it possible to put enough money aside to meet the expense. It's only a problem if it's an unexpected expense.

So far it looks as if a no cost refinance home loan is perfect, however it's not. There are a number of things that could be seen as disadvantages of a no cost refinance home loan.

Loans that have zero closing costs cost a lot more in the long run than conventional home refinance loans. This is because the lender has to make up the extra money that they are giving you somewhere. Nothing is free! You have to realize that the only reason someone would want such a loan is to improve their cash flow.

Borrowers using no closing cost loans will have a higher monthly payment as a result of higher interest rates.

About the author: You can also find more info on

debt refinance and

home refinance . Mortgagerefinanceloanhelp.com is a comprehensive resource to get help in Mortgage refinance Loan.

Short-Term Homeowners and Interest Only Loans

Author: Toni Harris

Short-Term Homeowners and Interest Only Loans

Let's assume that you're one of the new age consumers, who fit into the fastest growing segment of the mortgage market today, the interest only mortgage. It is time to you to secure a mortgage, and there are several loan options that can be tied to the features you desire; you're particularly interested in the interest only feature that seems so appealing to many consumers today. But have you stopped to question why the interest only feature has become so popular with consumers today? Are you aware that it is a re-born feature laid to rest in the great depression of the 20s?

Have you stopped to examine the purpose of the interest only loan and what purpose it will serve in your particular situation? The original intent of the interest only mortgage was to make home ownership more appealing to young couple; not every prospective buyer, however, is a young person looking to buy home. Careful evaluation of your situation and the interest only mortgage must be performed in order to secure the best mortgage possible.

Let's take a look at the original intent of the interest only mortgage, and the greatest benefactor in the interest only mortgage segment: the short term homeowner. The idea behind the interest only mortgage product was to give the short-term homeowner a race in the buy home, with or down payment requirements associated with the standard mortgage. This idea worked so well, that now almost every kind of homeowner is exercising their interest only mortgage option. As it was only ever really intended to benefit the short term homeowner, the interest only mortgage product is currently used as a means to buy ""more home for less money"".

The appeal to the short term homeowner segment of the market was a way to grow the housing industry, since this particular type of buyer, normally only rented. In most short-term home ownership, situations, the buyers are young professionals in the beginning years of their career, who have tremendous potential, and almost always a guarantee of purchase from their company should their home remain unsold after one year on the open market. As you can see, the consumer who was initially targeted for this type of loan would truly see a benefit from the interest only mortgage product. Today, however, the consumer actually applying for the interest only mortgage product is a consumer who seems to be spending beyond their income means.

What we have discovered, with today's consumer there is an overwhelming tendency to purchase more home than can possibly be afforded; the reasoning behind such a purchase? Since the term of the interest only segment of the loan will normally run three to five years, many homeowners are borrowing based on ""anticipated earnings"". Quite often, the anticipated earnings never materialize, and at the end of a five year interest only term, the homeowner is left with a much higher mortgage payment minus the increased earnings.

As with many other modern-day products packaged and sold to the consumer, it sometimes is not always the wisest choice, the best buy, or the greatest benefit to simply follow suit; sometimes, educating yourself as a consumer is a much better, and a much more affordable choice.

The long-term, homeowner purchasing to procure a safe haven from which he or she can retire and be assured of a decent home, is not a benefactor, nor suggested candidate for the interest only mortgage product; however, in the attempt to grow this product into a larger share of the mortgage market, many interest only loans have been advertised as ways to pay off credit card debt, avoid a down payment, and create greater tax savings at the end of the year. None of these reasons, within itself would be a ""good"" reason to purchase an interest only mortgage product.

Many of the local lending institutions, especially the banking industry, have shied away from the open arms welcome that the interest only product received in the mortgage company circle, simply because the loans are a riskier prospect, and many times consumers aren't as educated about the choices they are making. When you misuse a product, you begin to run into problems, and create a potentially dangerous market situation.

For more information about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Washington Home Loans

Author: Toni Harris

Washington Home Loans

An interest-only loan has become a very popular choice of the many Washington home loans that are available. What is making this type of loan so popular? What other options are available to potential Washington home buyers.

If you have a desire for a lower initial monthly payment, lower payments over shorter period of time, the possibility that if rates improve your rates could go down giving you lower payments, the fact you may qualify for even an even higher loan amount which would allow you to purchase a larger house than originally you thought this may be an option you should investigate. There are a couple of other things you may need to consider. Your payments may change over time. There is also the potential for higher payments if the rates go up. These interest only loans are normally interest only for a specific period of time. The normal time is 4 to 11 years then the payment is raised to a normal level. This type of an option can be placed on any type of mortgage so you still will need to plan carefully since it will resort back to the original mortgage you have.

The best candidate for an interest-only loan would be someone who could afford to pay for the home with a typical fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage. The reason they would choose an interest only is it is part of a financial plan they have for the future.

Washington home loans are made available thru several other programs. The Homeownership Opportunity Initiative was created to make home financing more available and easy for working families. They also have the HomeSite program. This unique program is based on need and provides the home owner opportunity to modest income first time home buyers.

A bit about down payment assistance and what it means. Most of the Washington home loans have programs to assist with down payment issues. Many people believe this is free money, most of the time it is not. Many of these programs are actually a second mortgage that has low interest rates or deferred payments. Now you may be able to qualify for a Grant. This does not have to be paid back. It is normally paid back if you sell your home within a certain amount of time however. Most of these programs have income restrictions. These normally require buyers to be below 80% or at 80% of the Area Median Income to qualify.

So along with the normal loans such as a standard 30 year mortgage Washington also allows the buy a choice of several other programs to assist in getting the house of your dreams. It is suggested before deciding on any of the Washington home loans, you develop a financial plan and speak to a mortgage professional with any questions that you may have.

For more information about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Reverse Mortgage Loans

Author: Toni Harris

Reverse Mortgage Loans

If you were to ask the average consumer to define the reverse mortgage concept, you would find very few able to do so. Many consumers, especially those who aren't up on their mortgage products and their availability will never have heard of a reverse mortgage, much less able to explain the concept. But it may just be one of the best financial planning tools available to many seniors and those reaching retirement age.

As many individuals reach retirement age, their fixed incomes simply aren't adequate. They aren't receiving enough through social security or a pension fund to take care of the rising costs of living and the medical attention many older citizens must have. So what is the solution? Many of these retirement age citizens have children. Why can't their children supplement their incomes, or simply take care of their elder care needs? The simple fact is that many of their children aren't in a position to care for their elderly parents. Their incomes aren't enough to have money left over, and if both spouses work, there is no one to take care of an aging parent.

It is at this juncture that many people have begun to turn to the reverse mortgage in seeking the increase in monthly income that is so desperately needed. The reverse mortgage offers older citizens a way to benefit from the equity in their home, because the reverse mortgage turns that equity into a monthly income. Quite frankly, unless you live with your parents, or you intend to move into your parents home when your parents pass, you aren't going to retain the home; statistics attest to the fact that the vast majority of children sell their parents home, once their parents are no longer in need. Why not cash in on that equity when your parents are alive, and need the monthly income?

The popularity of the reverse mortgage has been steadily increasing, and many reverse mortgage companies expect 2007 to be a banner year. As the idea begins to catch, and spread among the elderly, there are more mortgage companies that offer a reverse mortgage product. The key here is that most of these elderly did plan for retirement; they did try to make the necessary adjustments so that there monthly incomes would be enough to see them through their retirement years. Thanks, however, to the rising cost of medical care, prescription medicine, and heating fuel, many older citizens have found that their planned retirement income each month is simply not enough.

There are those reaching the retirement years, for which the reverse mortgage is not an option, simply because they have no equity in their homes, or they don't own a home; but for the remaining seniors, it's an option that I would exercise, especially if I were certain my home would be sold during an estate or inheritance sale. The money that the reverse mortgage generates, can add so much to the few years we have during our retirement in the areas of travel, entertainment, and sheer enjoyment of life.

Since we can never be sure that we've properly prepared for retirement, or that some unexpected emergency won't knock us off our feet, or that we simply do not have enough thanks to the stock market losses of recent years, the reverse mortgage is one of the best ways for older citizens to access the equity in their homes and turn it into ready cash.

We have saved the best part, however for last: any proceeds from the reverse mortgage are tax-exempt proceeds. In other words, you will not have to pay tax on the money. There are other, tax-exempt options, but the reverse mortgage remains one of the most conducive to the senior citizens needs, as well as those of their families. The interest payments on a reverse mortgage are deferred until death, therefore, seniors do not have to be concerned with making interest payments or tax payments on the proceeds.

If you're not familiar with the reverse mortgage, and you think you might benefit, or that your parents might benefit, take a moment to seek the advice of a financial officer, and then quite possibly your attorney. Never make any decision before you fully understand what the consequences of your decision might be, legal or otherwise. For more information about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Second Mortgages: Friend or Foe?

Author: Toni Harris

Second Mortgages: Friend or Foe?

Great news! You qualify for a second mortgage. Now what would you like to do with the second mortgage? It will be your answer to this question that determines whether or not your second mortgage is your friend, or your foe. That seems to be an awfully strange way to look in a second mortgage; however that's exactly what the mortgage will be. Your friend or your foe.

How do you even qualify for a second mortgage, what is a second mortgage, and why would you want a second mortgage? Well, the answers here are as varied as the consumers who apply for such mortgages. Many times consumers need a second mortgage to make improvements on their home. Many times consumers need a second mortgage to put their child to college. And sometimes, consumers need a second mortgage to start a business. The reasons given here for obtaining a second mortgage increase the value of the home, provide opportunity as an investment in your child's future, or provide the opportunity to increase income. These are the original and most beneficial reasons for obtaining a second mortgage.

Are they the only reasons consumers obtain second mortgages? No. Today's market has been a great influx of second mortgages to pay off credit card debt, to buy new car, or to simply take a vacation. Should consumers receive a second mortgage for those reasons? Absolutely. Should consumers actually ask for a second mortgage for those reasons? Absolutely not.

An educated consumer understands the consequence of a second mortgage. The educated consumer understands the price of the second mortgage. What is the price of the second mortgage? The equity in your home. When you apply for a second mortgage, you're trading the equity in your home for cash. You're giving up your savings.

If you're trading your savings, in order take a step up, you've made the right decision. If you're trading your savings for a frivolous expense, you've made the wrong decision. That's how you determine if your second mortgage is your friend or your foe.

Today's consumer is acquiring second mortgages that for many will prove to be their foe. They're not increasing the value of the home; they're not educating their children. Nor are they increasing their income earning potential, they're simply spending their savings. Rising real estate prices, increasing availability of mortgage products, and the decline of savings for the public as a whole is creating the ""bubble"" effect. The bubble effect occurs when prices rise, spending rises, at a rate greater than can be supported on a long-term basis. At some point, the bubble bursts.

Your second mortgage, if used to increase the value of your home, will have insulated you against the drop in price. Your home is actually worth more; therefore, if prices drop you're protected. This was the original intent of the second mortgage; to provide the consumer with easy access to the savings accumulated in their home for home improvements, emergency events, or in order to better their homes or lives. You know for the most part consumers do not save money in a savings account; consumers only save money when they aren't aware that they're saving money. Home equity was one of the last hidden ways consumers were saving. Second mortgages and other loan mortgage products have managed to eliminate those savings as well. Has the consumer stop to contemplate the consequence of negative saving? Absolutely not, and our current system of mortgage lending encourages negative savings.

For more information about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Second Mortgage

Author: toni Harris

Second Mortgage

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.

For more information about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Retirement and the Mortgage Loan

Author: Toni Harris

Part 1

Retirement and the Mortgage Loan

There is an untapped reserve of cash in our homes; it's the equity we've built into our homes over the life of the mortgage, or simply in owning our own home. If you're looking for a great financial tool, learning to use the equity in your home to its fullest extent is something we Americans aren't very good at accomplishing. Fear of a loss is the number one reason we don't utilize our equity asset. But, if you will take the time to investigate many of the investment options available to us, the risk is minimal, and the return is great. Especially now during this period of extremely low interest rates, your home's cash equity could be earning you a return of 18-20% in certain investment funds. Even if you borrow money in order to cash out the equity, you're making money. The interest you pay is substantially less than the interest you're earning.

Why are we so reluctant to take out a second line of credit, or increase our mortgage balance through refinancing? Many of today's homeowners reaching retirement age do not fully understand all their investment options, nor do they understand how investments like growth funds work. They are very reluctant to try anything that is beyond the sure bet of a certificate of deposit. In so doing, they are missing a tremendous opportunity to earn a greater return on their money, and let their money work for them.

Take a look at your 401k, where are your investments? Are they earning 5-8-10 %? Unless you're ready to retire, your 401k should earn at least 6-8% on your investment. Your home is earning you nothing on your investment, at least, not in the sense that the money must stay in the home in order for the home to increase in value. Quite honestly, your home will appreciate in value if you do nothing but maintenance work and live in it. Your equity you have in your home, can earn you up to a 15% return, while you still are fairly safe with your principal investment.

Speaking of 401k investments, are you investing the maximum each year in your 401k? If you're self-employed, are you making use of the SEP retirement options that reduce your tax liability? If you're not, you should really consider the equity in your home as an investment option for adding to your 401k, or establishing an SEP that will allow you to invest your money in profitable and fairly safe global and growth funds. There are still many excellent opportunities in the stock market. There are segments of the market that are experiencing phenomenal and stable growth. The overseas markets, the domestic real estate markets, and the energy markets are growing, and are expected to see sustained growth. Put your money to work for you, especially if you are several years away from retirement.

Another retirement option that involves a mortgage loan is the reverse mortgage. This however, is not a way to build retirement savings; it is a way to simply access the equity you've built in your home, so that your monthly income levels are adequate to sustain your most vital needs. Food, clothing, heat, and medicines are a must as you reach or near retirement age. Many times, the elderly are not as prepared financially as they anticipated that they would be. How can they supplement their monthly incomes? The reverse mortgage is the answer to many older citizens' financial needs. The reverse mortgage allows a person to withdraw a monthly sum against the equity they've built into their home. The interest payments are deferred until death, and the homeowner doesn't have to worry about making a monthly payment, or borrowing money. They are able to use the money they've already put into their home, just when they need it most.

If you are past the age of 40, and you haven't taken the time to consult with a financial analyst, I would recommend that you seek out one that you can trust and that you are comfortable in discussing your financial affairs with, and begin to look at your retirement options, your retirement needs, and your ability to meet those needs, based on your current income and savings. What you may find is that you aren't near as prepared for retirement as you thought. The monthly income needed will probably greatly exceed your anticipations. But, if you own your home, you may have just prepared more than you think!

For Part 2 about Mortgage please visit the website.

About the author: http://www.jacksworldshop.com/Mortgage

Toni Harris

Critical Illness Insurance VS Life Insurance

Author: Mike Armstrong

* Critic al Illness Insurance

Critical illness insurance is a type of insurance designed to award a tax free lump sum on diagnosis of a critical illness acceptable to the insurance company. People are becoming more aware of the need for insurance cover, particularly critical insurance cover. That is why most people nowadays seek cover from critical illness insurance. Let's see some advantages that a critical illness cover can offer.

To possess a cover from an insurance such as critical illness insurance can be a plus for you. Normally critical illness insurance covers seven major diseases namely: stroke, cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, major organ transplant, etc. If you claim for one of these listed diseases, you may be entitled to receive a tax free payout. The way you will consequently use the money is completely up to you. It can be towards your own advantage if you use the money intelligently.

As a matter of fact, due to your critical illness and state some financial pressures may grow up at your home. The payout may surely alleviate some of the financial breakdowns by settling some or part of your debts. Your mortgage repayments could be handled. Daily expenses could be covered such as paying of bills and buying of food. Your children could continue their studies as fees would be taken care of.

Moreover, when buying a critical illness insurance most companies offer you the choice to tailor make your own policy. You could decide how much cover you want and for how long you would be taking out the policy. The joint account option may also be available which pays out on illness of any one member of the account. This may be a definite advantage as you could make some important savings. That is both persons do not have to pay separate premiums and still could obtain the same benefits from only one policy.

Furthermore, when you make a claim, your critical illness insurance may wait about three months before awarding you payout. If by misfortune you happen to pass away, the inheritor you had already specified could obtain all the money hence having a degree of support even if you are not around.

* Life insurance Likewise to critical illness insurance, life insurance also awards a payout but under different circumstances. Life insurance will make the payment only on death of the insured person. Life insurance can be considered as a long time investment. Normally it may last for 25 years or more. It depends on which type of policy you choose.

There are basically two types of policies that most people look for: term life insurance also called level term life insurance and permanent life insurance. Term life insurance is probably the most popular life insurance policy. The reason behind is because of its cheap cost. As its name already describes, this type of insurance lasts for only a short period of time. It can be fifteen years or less, depending on which type of policy you choose. One of the advantages of term life insurance is that you know exactly when the policy is going to terminate. Therefore, you already have an idea of how much you are going to invest. Also, the relative low pricing of the policy may not affect your monthly budget so contributing may not be a burden. People who have a limited monthly income could also take term life insurance. Remember that if you opt to go for a combined policy, for example, term life insurance with critical illness insurance your premium payment values could be affected. They might either be lowered or elevated.

Permanent life insurance is a type of insurance that may last for a very long time. You could take a permanent life insurance policy if you want to ensure maximum cover in the future. If you happen to cross the entire policy in good health, you may be entitled to profit form a beautiful sum paid to you as survival benefits. Otherwise on your death, your inheritor may get the payout similar to term life insurance.

With permanent life insurance you get to pay a premium that may rise as you grow older contrary to term life insurance which stays constant throughout the whole term. Therefore, the premium payments may tend to be higher but you may surely get the lump sum compared to term life insurance. Upon termination or cancellation of term life insurance policy you may lose all your contributed money.

Insurance protection may be an advantage in your life. If you love your family and want to ensure their safeguard should you be victim of a critical illness or death, life insurance or critical illness insurance may be the right choice.

About the author: For more information about life insurance and critic al illness insurance please visit www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk.

Investment Property - Are rising interst rates pushing UK investors out

Author: Jennifer Tweed

Investment Property - Rising Interest Rates

Investment property is still high on the list of best investment vehicles. But with rising interest rates, can this level of sustained growth continue for investment properties? In the UK, property owners and those with investment property have enjoyed significant capital appreciation on their residential and investment properties. With prices doubling and sometimes trebling in some areas over the last 10-15 years, this is reason enough to look at buying investment property.

Investment Property - Repossessions

However, it cannot be ignored that with rising interest rates, this has resulted in a higher number of property repossessions coming to the market in recent months compared to the levels this time last year. Repossessed property can be a prime area for landlords and property investors to pick up good quality discounted investment property. Some may even give the current occupant the opportunity to rent the investment property back from them and the landlord retains the property as an investment property.

Investment Property - Renovation Property

Investment Property requiring work. Those with a skill or an eye for a bit of DIY are also able to capitalise on investment property as there are always properties coming on the market requiring modernisation that can be excellent investment property opportunities. It's important to buy investment property at the best possible price and budget correctly for the works required. A good buy to let mortgage broker may be able to offer some excellent investment property options on the funding of these types of investment properties. The ideal solution would enable the investor to refinance the investment property immediately on completion of works to release the profit acquired so that the investment property could then be let and the released funds to go towards more investment property.

Investment Property - Buy to Let Mortgages

Buy to let mortgages for investment property have played a significant role in landlords and property investors being able to purchase more investment property for their investment property portfolios. The buy to let mortgage market for investment properties has become increasingly competitive and in line with rising interest rates, there has been more emphasis on developing products for investment property that assist landlords to continue to grow and finance their existing and new investment properties. Previously there was the requirement to get at minimum of 130% rental cover for investment properties, but some products carry a calculation of just 100% and others where there is none.

About the author: Jenny Tweed is the founder of www.buytolet4sale.com, the UK's fastest growing investment property portal. UK & Overseas agents advertise for FREE their suitable investment property and landlords and investors regularly visit this popular site to find investment property for sale ranging from new builds, development projects, auction properties, discounted properties, pre-tenanted properties and more ..

How Can A Standalone Critical Illness Cover Help?

Author: Mike Armstrong

We are all conscious of our health and many of us will suffer one form of illness or another in our lifetime. As a result, more and more people are buying a critical illness insurance policy. While some buy life insurance policies, others buy critical illness policies because these policies offer different benefits. We will look at critical illness insurance in more details. Some people also buy a combined critical illness policy with life insurance. Others consider having a standalone critical illness insurance. Let's see the variation between these two.

A combined critical illness cover will provide benefits if the insured person happens to die or to suffer from a critical illness. The effect of a critical illness can either render the person permanently disabled or make him take a lot of time to recuperate. In this case, combined critical illness can be useful. The lump sum could be used to alleviate financial insecurity at home as well as lessen the pressure on members of the family.

On the other hand buying a standalone critic al illness insurance will pay benefits only if the insured person happens to be diagnosed with a severe critical illness. As seen above, the combined insurance would pay in both cases. Thus many people tend to choose the combined critical illness policy. Therefore the premiums tend to be lower as compared to the standalone policy.

However a standalone critical illness policy can be valuable to you and your family. You could pay for your medical charges or otherwise change your living environment to match your changing needs. With a standalone critical illness cover, you could even specify the maximum amount of time you want the cover for or how much cover you want. Let's say if you have a mortgage to pay over 20 years, you could choose a critical illness cover for 20 years.

In case of a claim, normally most critical illness insurance companies take about 28 days to 3 months to award the lump sum. The possible reason behind is that they look at your medical history. If the critical illness you are suffering from is clearly covered by the policy they will award you the payout without problem. Therefore you should read the terms and conditions carefully before you sign the standalone critical illness policy. It is important to compare quotes and companies to find the best critical illness cover deal you can. It is imperative that you look at the fine print carefully. Look at the exclusion clauses. You could find your claim refused when you are in a state you mostly need care if you fail to disclose any medical condition.

About the author: For more information about life insurance and critic al illness insurance please visit www.unbeatablelifeandcriticalinsurance.co.uk.

Bankruptcy is a very harsh word to say.

Author: Linda A

Bankruptcy is a very harsh word to say. Bankruptcy can be defined as the legal process thorough which individuals or businesses who can find themselves with more debts than they can pay as they become due are able to wipe out their debts and pay them out under the protection of the bankruptcy court. Overspending is a main reason for many debtors suddenly putting themselves in financial trouble. But filing for bankruptcy cannot be the answer to all your financial difficuties. In fact, bankruptcy cannot discharge all your debts.

The two kinds of bankruptcy proceeding that you can file for are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 called liquidation is the most common type of bankruptcy proceeding that involves the appointment of a trustee who collects the non-exempt property of the debtor, sells it and distributes the proceeds to the creditors. The basic concept in a chapter 7 bankruptcy is to wipe out your debts in exchange for your giving up property, excluding exempt property which the bankruptcy law allows you to keep. If you want to keep property such as a home or a car and are behind on the payments on a mortgage or car loan, a chapter 7 filing probably won't be the smart choice for you. The reason is mortgage holders or car loan creditors can take your property to cover your debt.

Chapter 13 called reorganization allows you repay your debts over three to five years. In order to file for Chapter 13, you must have a reliable source of income that you can use to pay off creditors, and propose a repayment plan that explains how you are going to pay back your debts over the next three to five years. Also, under chapter 13 you can have an option to catch up delayed payments to avoid repossession or foreclosure if you have secured loans.

A good experienced bankruptcy lawyer can lead a debtor through the complicated legal, financial, and emotional chaos of bankruptcy proceeding. Confronting the emotional and psychological issues encompassing bankruptcy and acceptance of the situation are also crucial to rebuilding and keeping a successful financial life.

About the author: Linda A owns and operates http://www.bankruptcy0.info Bankruptcy

Orlando Family Loses Dream Home -- This Could Happen To You!

Author: Mike Payne

Buying your new home is exciting. Moving in to your new dream home is exhilarating.

Getting a mortgage to finance your dream home is not fun or exhilarating. It's a drain even with good credit and a bank full of money.

Before shopping for your new home, find a mortgage professional whom you trust - rely on him or her to help make your new dream home a reality.

Should you allow lenders to compete for your business, understand that each lender competing for your business will pull your credit reports and lower your credit scores.

Of course, your scores are not supposed to fall as a result of credit pulls when shopping for a mortgage; however, the reality is that your scores do suffer.

Rodney P. of Orlando, FL, had found his family's dream home. His wife and he received loan commitment and anxiously began packing and looking forward to their new home. A few days before closing, Rodney's mortgage broker called him with bad news. The lender retracted loan commitment, citing revised qualifications for the loan program for which Rodney and his wife had applied.

""They told us we qualified...we get all excited...and they pull the rug out from under us,"" Rodney stated. ""Of course we're devastated. My wife is crying...my kids are crying. I'm angry that they told us yes then told us no. That's not right.""

Tomorrow, qualifying conditions may get even more rigorous.

""I started the loan process with a 619 and fell to a 589 when we got rejected right before closing. All of this happened in about a month's time,"" said Rodney.

Once you're comfortable with your mortgage professional, get pre-approved. What can you afford and what type of home loan do you want.

Your mortgage professional will take time to listen to your needs and fears about mortgage financing.

Generally, borrowers with a middle credit score of 650 or lower are considered subprime. With some lenders, albeit fewer by the day, an acceptable middle score is ~620; however, that is fast being replaced with a middle score of 650.

Those with scores from 650 to 720 are in a mid-grade (between subprime &prime) category and are considered more favorable risks.

The best rates and terms go to ""prime"" borrowers with middle credit scores above 720 - these borrowers typically negotiate the best rates and terms.

Want to buy a home but can't or don't want to put down a down payment? To get 100 percent financing (that is, 100% of the cost of the home is available generally only to people with credit scores of 680 and higher).

Not long ago, mortgage professionals could offer 100% financing to borrowers with a middle credit score as low as 560 to 580.

Perhaps now more than ever, you must understand mortgages - you cannot rely on your mortgage broker or loan officer to look out for your best interests.

The general belief is that mortgage brokers shop among many lenders for the best loan deal for you. But the broker often makes more money by selling you a more expensive loan.

The reason why subprime loans -- especially ARMs -- make up such a large segment of the market is simple: greed.

Do you personally know your mortgage broker?

**Pull your own credit reports from the Big 3 (Equifax, TransUnion & Experian). Go to www.annualcreditreport.c om and get instant access free to each of your three credit reports. (NOTE: To get your scores, you will need to buy them, but your reports are free under the FACT Act).

Carefully examine your reports for both good and bad credit accounts. If you're uncomfortable reviewing or repairing your own damaged credit, visit www.fixmyuglycredit.com

Once you've confirmed your credit will not deny you the best loan programs, talk to your mortgage professional about qualifying for the best loan programs:

1. Can you prove two years' income? 2. Can you prove two years' same industry work experience? 3. Can you prove your down payment money?

Just in case, confirm the following considerations with your mortgage professional:

**Do you have a pre-payment penalty? If so, what type of pre-payment penalty, i.e. is it a soft or hard pre-payment penalty? A soft pre-payment penalty allows you to sell your home during the ""penalty"" stage with no ""pre-payment penalty."" A hard penalty, on the other hand, penalizes you for selling or refinancing. For how long is this penalty? How much is the penalty, i.e. a pre-payment penalty may be a dollar amount or a % of the loan amount.

**What is your APR or annual percentage rate? Your quoted rate may be 5.92% but the APR is 6.56%. What's the difference? The fees.

Your mortgage broker, who may not have your best interests in mind, earns more commission for building in prepayment penalties that may prevent you from paying the loan off early by refinancing. Many brokers also make money by charging high origination and closing fees. Often, the higher the interest rate, the bigger commission the broker gets.

**What is your broker's fee/commission? Typically, a mortgage broker makes 1 to 2 percent commission on a loan. The government thinks that all the disclosures you sign during the loan process will reduce or eliminate fraud or your lack of understanding of the mortgage financing process. The shocking reality is that many buyers ignore the legal gibberish comprising the disclosures and trust their mortgage professionals to protect their interests and not gouge them.

Shopping for your new home is much more exciting than learning about financing options and actually getting financed - however, this is must-have education. Without your financing, your dream home may be some other family's dream home.

About the author: How people with ugly to great credit are buying their homes @ Orlanda Real Estate-Rent Own Florida .

FREE credit repair secrets @ Credit Repair | Free Credit Repair .

What is a Notary Signing Agent and How Do You Start a Business?

Author: Misty Chaplin

A Notary Signing Agent is a Notary Public who has acquired a familiarity and understanding of mortgage loan documents either via experience or training. This individual will work as either is hired as an independent contractor for signing agencies, or as a self-employed person receiving assignment through his/her own marketing and advertising efforts.

The job consist of ensuring that real estate loan documents are properly executed by the borrower(s), notarized, and returned promptly for processing to the title or escrow officer. This is an important and vital service for borrowers and closing agents, without which a mortgage loan transaction would not be able to be consummated.

The Statue of Frauds and the Patriotic Act seek to maintain integrity of a signer's signature to authenticate a document, and to identify the borrower for tax reporting and anti-money laundering regulation. This is significantly role for a notary very important, now that so many more transactions are being conducted online or by telephone.

A Notary Signing Agent will travel to the customers home or office at their convenience to execute loan documents instead of having the borrower interrupt their busy schedule to drive to a the title company, or escrow agent's office.

This convenience allows all parties to the transaction be more productive and in any cases reduce the settlement cost. Closing agents have discover this is a much preferred means of doing business, allowing the borrower to review the documents in the privacy of their home or office while increasing the volume of loan a closing agency can handle.

Your primary duties will include: answering phones, customer service, some filing, notarizing documents, networking and marketing your services. You will be required to pass a test or exam sponsored by your state's governing agency to obtain a certificate or commission. At times being a Notary Signing Agent can be fast-paced and require flexibility and patience.

To really be highly successful as a Notary Signing Agent you must be reliable, honest, willing to learn, a good communicator, work well with others, enjoy dealing with people, and be somewhat computer literate. Being multi-lingual is a great advantage, as it increases the population of people you can serve.

One of the biggest challenges beginning Loan Signing Agents face in getting their business up and running is marketing. There are just too many tasks involved in setting-up, managing and marketing a new business. The list of tasks seems daunting and never-ending.

This is what stops most beginners, the amount of time, energy and effort and needed to develop the business and start getting regular clients that pay well and promptly. One of the easiest ways to get your practice off to a good start is to promote your service online through a high-traffic notary portal. Title, insurance, mortgage lenders, medical related industries, traffic schools, auto dealers, bails agents and the general public depend on these sites to find notaries daily for loan signings and other general notarial related work.

This is the quick means to marketing your notary practice and giving your business a jumpstart, while you work to develop long-term business relationships. Plus you get a webpage as part of the price.

About the author: Need a Notary can help you find a notary anywhere. Also find out more about becoming a notary or if you are a notary you can join in this network of notaries to earn extra income. Anyone who is in need of a notary can search in his or her local area or another area you expect to be in to

Investment Property Mortgages - Are UK rising interest rates pushing investors out of the market?

Author: Jennifer Tweed

Investment Property Mortgages

Investment property mortgages are often referred to as buy to let mortgages. Investment property mortgages are used where an investor is purchasing an investment property with the intention of renting it out to tenants in return for a monthly rental income.

Many people are now involved in buying and selling investment property and as a result, the range of investment property buy to let mortgages has significantly grown. The investment property mortgages have become more widely available with some lenders offering buy to let mortgage products with up to 90% loan to value. If you can purchase investment property by using just 10% of your own capital this can result in the landlord being able to buy more investment property than before when the industry standard for buy to let mortgages was 15%.

Investment Property - Do your Research

With more sophisticated products available for investment property and the demand for rental property continuing, landlords are tirelessly looking for ideal investment property for sale. Finding investment property for sale can be a time consuming exercise but the most successful investors will constantly be on the look out for the best deals on discounted investment property. An established investor will always be researching areas identified as property hotspots where they can be the first to invest in an investment property. Investment property in regeneration areas can be equally as good but remember it can take time before these investment properties deliver a substantial return on your investment. Investment property in good areas, with strong rental demand will always be a winner if you are looking at good investment property potential.

Investment Property - Flat or House

Should you buy a flat or a house as an investment property? A question often asked but there is no right or wrong reason. Property investors buy investment property for different reasons. Some may buy investment property in their local areas whereas others may buy investment property further afield. A house as an investment property may present a wider choice of tenants. For example a house bought as an investment property could appeal to a single person, a small family, professional couple, elderly couple etc. A house is more likely to be freehold so avoiding annual service charges. A flat bought as an investment property is more likely to appeal to professionals who don't necessarily have time to maintain gardens or have children. So for these reasons it is important to identify the best investment properties in the area and where the biggest demand for tenants is.

Investment Property - Student Let

If you are looking to buy an investment property in a university town, then a house could present a good return on investment for student lets. Plus, there are now many more buy to let mortgages available for investment property that is being let to students.

About the author: Jenny Tweed is the founder of www.buytolet4sale.com, the UK's fastest growing investment property portal. UK & Overseas agents advertise for FREE their suitable investment property and landlords and investors regularly visit this popular site to find investment property for sale ranging from new builds, development projects, auction properties, discounted properties, pre-tenanted properties and more ..

Investment Property UK - Is it still worth it with rising interest rates?

Author: Jennifer Tweed

Investment property is still proving to be one of the most popular forms of investment. Property in the UK has historically doubled in value every 10-15 years and regardless of the peaks and troughs during this time, investment property has steadily become one of the most stable ways to invest for the future as opposed to stocks and shares and other investment options.

Established landlords with investment property are very aware of the benefits of investing in property and in particular investment property in the UK. With affordability becoming one of the main issues for first time buyers, landlords are keen to snap up investment property in the UK in the knowledge that first time buyers and other buyers with affordability issues will be left with no alternative but to rent. It is the buy to let investment property market that landlords capitalise on and investment property is their key to success particularly during times when interest rates are rising and investment property prices are rising they are even more keen to buy to rent to this sector.

Investment property in the UK is a key topic of conversation and there are now more than 750,000 individuals who have at least one investment property that they have bought as a buy to let investment property. With buy to let mortgages for investment property becoming more readily available it is giving first time entrants to the buy to let investment property market an even greater chance of owning more than one investment property. Ideally, buy to let investment property investors will be keen to develop their investment property portfolio to such a level where they have multiple investment properties which are all likely to enjoy good capital appreciation. For those more mature entrants to the investment property market, they may be more focused on trying to buy investment property that provides them with a 'passive income' from their investment property on a monthly basis. These types of investment properties are generally lower value, but may present a higher rental yield but subsequently the capital appreciation on these buy to let investment properties may be a little slower.

As and when the opportunities arise, shrewd property investors will refinance their buy to let investment property during a strong property market to realise any potential profit from their investment property portfolio which can then be used to purchase additional investment property to add to their buy to let investment property portfolio. Buy to let mortgages for investment property are so varied in choice that it is much easier to obtain good competitive buy to let mortgage products on almost all types of investment property in the UK. Even those where the investment property in the UK is held within a Ltd Company where previously the products available for these may have been more restrictive.

About the author: Jenny Tweed is the founder of www.buytolet4sale.com, the UK's fastest growing investment property portal. UK & Overseas agents advertise for FREE their suitable investment property and landlords and investors regularly visit this popular site to find investment property for sale ranging from new builds, development projects, auction properties, discounted properties, pre-tenanted properties and more ..

Investment Property - How to find Discounted Properties

Author: Jennifer Tweed

Investment Property - The Future

Investment property continues to be a popular form of investing for the future. Some chose investment property as a way of funding educational fees in the future. Others may chose investment property to help secure a more financial future, fund additional investment property purchases, or they may simply chose investment property as a way of creating passive income so as not solely dependent on their mainstream employment.

Investment Property - Interest Rates

Despite recent interest rate rises, the property investment market in the UK remains strong. There are a number of reasons why investment property in the UK has remained a strong contender in the investment market. The UK investment property market has experienced a high level of growth especially over the last six years. But historically property in the UK has doubled every 10-15 years. In the last few years, the UK has seen dramatic increases in investment property and incentives for landlords and investors which has seen some investors buying investment property in the UK for up to and occassionally with over 20% discounts. These represent significant savings to a property investor buying multiple investment properties and subject to sourcing the best buy to let mortgage products for these investment property deals, can often result in the property investor having the ability to buy an investment property with little or no deposit.

Investment Property - Finding Discounts

Finding investment property from property developers with genuine discounts can be a time consuming exercise. It is important to identify whether the discount being offered for the investment property is genuine or whether the gross price has been inflated on the investment property to allow for the discount. Establish whether it is a genuine discount on the investment property by getting comparables of other investment property that has recently sold and at what price. Although bear in mind, some investors are able to negotiate better discounts on investment property than others. This may be due to the volume of investment properties that they have either bought already from the property developer or the number of investment properties they are intending to buy. Just as important, is to establish what the likely rental figure will be for the investment property as this will often determine the overall loan amount you can achieve on the buy to let mortgage loan for the investment property.

Investment Property Hotspots

If an investor is looking at investment property in property hotspots or areas that are experiencing high levels of regeneration, it can sometimes require them to fund a higher level of deposit for the investment property initially whilst the rental figure remains relatively lower than the general market average for a new build investment property of the same value in another area. Property investors with a long term view on investment property will still see this as a positive action to take for their investment property portfolio in the knowledge that as the regeneration area becomes more developed, the potential rental demand for the investment property will increase at which point they will use this time to look at re-mortgaging their investment property to release the capital that they had additionally funded. Typically a buy to let mortgage for an investment property will require the property investor to fund at least 15%. Although some buy to let mortgage lenders are offering up to 90% buy to let mortgages on investment properties.

About the author: Jenny Tweed is the founder of www.buytolet4sale.com, the UK's fastest growing investment property portal. UK & Overseas agents advertise for FREE their suitable investment property and landlords and investors regularly visit this popular site to find investment property for sale ranging from new builds, development projects, auction properties, discounted properties, pre-tenanted properties and more ..

Understanding Reverse Mortgage Loans

Author: Wade Robins

If you are one of the millions of senior citizens approaching retirement with less financial security than you had ever imagined possible, you may be overlooking one of your biggest financial assets--your home. If you have paid off your mortgage completely, or almost completely, you can consider taking out a reverse mortgage loan.

A reverse mortgage loan will allow you to get cash, a monthly payment, or a line of credit based on your home's appraised value; you will continue to live in your home; and the loan will not have to be repaid until you leave your home permanently or sell it. A reverse mortgage loan is not the same as a home equity loan, and the older you are, the more of your home's appraised value will be available to you as a reverse mortgage loan.

Precautions While a reverse mortgage loan sounds too good to be true, however, there are precautions you must take when applying for one. Many applicants for reverse mortgage loans fall victim to unscrupulous loan brokers or lenders who attach undisclosed fees to their services. Those unfortunate applicants end up with far more less money than they expected.

You owe it to yourself to become educated in the entire process which accompanies reverse mortgage loans, so that when you do apply for one you will recognize any warning signs before it is too late.

In order to qualify for a reverse mortgage loan, you need to be at least sixty-two years of age. As mentioned above, you should have completely, or very nearly, paid off any outstanding loans on your house.

Those who do owe money on an existing mortgage or home lien will have to use their reverse mortgage loans to pay those off before they can spend it one anything else. And reverse mortgage loans are binding, so if you find after committing yourself that you were unhappy with the terms, you will have no recourse.

Finding A Good Lender The best way to ensure that you will be happy with your reverse

mortgage loan is to work with a trustworthy lender. You can easily find the names of several lenders in your area on the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association--NMRLA--website; just enter the name of the state where your home is located, and sort through the large list of names which comes up to find lenders near you. All the reverse mortgage lenders on this site have agreed to operate under the Code of Conduct established by the NMRLA for the protection of senior citizens.

As an extra precaution, you would be wise to have an attorney familiar with reverse mortgage loans review any contract before you actually sign it.

About the author: You can also find more info on

Reverse Mortgage Information and

Reverse Mortgage Lender . i-reversemortgages.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Reverse Mortgage.

Mortgage and Financial Market Update

Author: Ed Culin

Today's Mortgage and Bond  Rates

Bond Market Rates                  Mortgage Rates

30 Year Treasury    5.04%          30 year Fixed       6.500%

10 Year Treasury    4.94%          15 Year Fixed      6.250%

2 Year Treasury       4.97%           1 Year ARM       6.375%      

3 Month Treasury    4.79%            5 Year ARM       6.500%

 

Today's News

The Bond market is opening slightly stronger in early trading while the stock market opens lower. Heavy loses overnight in China markets appear to be hurting stocks a bit and bringing some much need strength back to the Bond Market.  The yield on the 10 Year Note stands a 4.93% still near the 10 month highs made on Friday.  The 30 year bond stands at 5.04%. This marks the 8th day that yields were above the  psychologically important 5.0% level. 

In news today Bloomberg has an interesting article regarding Options trading which indicates a market opinion that the Fed may be raising rates not lowering rates in the near term. They feel that weakness in the housing market will be offset by strength in other sectors of the economy. Our view is that most prognosticators are underestimating the impact that the housing market will have on consumer confidence. The losses being seen in housing are going to be more severe and widespread then thought. The article below details the issues:

Fed Faces Growing Pressure to Raise Interest Rates, Options Market Shows

In what some would view as positive news two more mortgage companies have been acquired by Wall Street companies Accredited Lending and ResMae were purchased by two hedge funds. Companies again are bottomed fishing under the hopes that can acquire future production at Rock Bottom Prices. Accredited shares traded as high as 58 less then 2 years ago. The company is being purchased  now at 15.10 per share. The articles below provide specifics:

Citadel's ResMae Purchase Signals Recovery of the Subprime Bond Market

Accredited Home to be bought for $400 mln

 

As we say on a daily basis We continue to urge caution in placing new money into the equity markets. We believe that the weakness in the housing market  will continue to impact economic growth. Rates have risen steadily over the past month further hurting the ability of buyers to afford the housing they desire. This is also making it more difficult for economically challenged folks to affords potential increases in mortgage payments as ARM loans reprice .We believe that this weakness will impact company profitability in all sectors as time goes on, which will  cause lower stock process over time.

We believe that we are in a recession at this point. We continue to believe that the Fed needs to Cut rates at this time to help stabilize the issues that consumers are having in the repayment of their debts. From what we are seeing in the market place there is no indication that the Fed will be acting on this anytime soon.  If action is not taken this will just prolong the slowdown in housing and create a deeper recession.

 

About the author:

This article was written by Ed Culin. Ed is a Mortgage broker who manages the following Web Sites http://www.gofairway.com and

http://www.thebestloandeal. com . Visit these sites for more information about the mortgage process.

Only pick a fight you can win - the first rule of successful Web marketing

Author: David Rosam

We're at least a decade into the Internet as a commercial medium. The top sites have been there for a long time, so if you're launching a site now, you have a lot of catching up to do.

Aren't a great site and brilliant products enough?

In a word, no. Consider the nature of the battlefield. Google is king of the Web - more than 70% of searches worldwide are on Google. And, in the B2B sphere, probably more.

Google actually prefers older, established sites - it even largely ignores new sites by 'sandboxing' them for 9 to 12 months. The big hitters have been there for 10 years or more, and they have thousands of mature links, many of them inevitably of good quality. They're the kind of sites that will be entrenched in the top positions on popular searches.

Now do you want to take them on? Do you have the budget, stamina and time? Or will you find a better way?

Only pick a fight you can win

To pick a fight you can win, you're going to have to operate smart. You're unlikely to want to take on Tesco (Wal-Mart, if you're reading in the US) by setting up a small general store next door, so why would you want to take on the Tescos of the online world in a similar kind of contest?

One of the areas we find people trying to pick the wrong fights is in financial services. From time to time we get an enquiry from someone who wants to rank on the first page of Google for 'home insurance', 'car insurance', 'pensions' and 'mortgages'.

There's next to no chance (within reasonable budget and patience boundaries) of getting them there because every bank and financial institution has been pouring loads of investment into marketing their sites online.

Many have been on the Web for years, and just as many of them have thousands and thousands of links. And, for regulated financial products, the poor financial services business will have government sites to contend with as well - Google loves government sites because they're the ultimate reference for so many matters.

Where's your niche?

You need to look at what makes you different. Particular product niches or geographical focus, perhaps? That's good basic marketing, not Internet marketing or SEO. Look at your products and services.

Let's go back to the mortgage example. Do you specialize in self-employed mortgages? Or do you have particular geographical focuses? 'mortgages in West Sussex' would be a much more realistic target than simply 'mortgages'.

Your Web site needs to reflect what your business, products and services are really about, not what you'd like to be about, or what you'd like to target. Be realistic. The tough targets can come next year, once you've started making some profit from your site.

Pinpointing your opponents' undefended side

So how can you find a niche where your competitor is weak? Think about the kinds of things you can do that your competitors don't or can't? If your business is already running, then the chances are, you already have figured out your niche offline. That's your starting point for marketing online.

Or look towards your business plan. A SWOT (strengths weaknesses opportunities threats) analysis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWOT_analysis) can be applied in the online environment just as well as off-line.

But commission some appropriate key phrase analysis, researching both traffic levels and link competition, and your opportunities should be laid out in front of you. By this, I mean higher traffic key phrases that are relevant to your business, and that you should be able secure a first-page listing for on Google because the tougher competitors have ignored those pieces of prime turf.

These niches are normally there if you look hard enough and in the right places.

Winning your fight

Once you've identified your niche, you can attack on two fronts - Organic SEO and PPC. For successful Organic SEO, you need to do three things: Write the copy with an awareness of your customers' needs and the strengths of your products and services - to be as competitive as possible, your copy should be optimized on your researched key phrases Build links - one-way, non-paid-for links, so don't go in for link exchanges, and beware of anyone who promises you thousands of links very quickly Ensure your site is built to enable search engine spiders to read your copy - it's best to use CSS

For PPC you need to:

Run ads on one system only - unless you have a large amount of time to manage the campaigns (or the budget to employ an expert to do it for you), choose Google Adwords or Yahoo Search Marketing or Microsoft adCentre. In the unlikely event you are profitably buying all the clicks you can and still have some budget, you should try the same profitable key phrases on another system as well Start with the key phrases you have researched, then use the system's tools to research even more - and keep on researching as your campaign runs. With PPC, you'll almost certainly find yourself targeting more key phrases than with Organic SEO Set a budget - and make sure you have set that maximum budget in the system to ensure you don't overspend Set up Ad Groups and write copy - bear in mind you should try testing headline, content and landing page variations Monitor, manage and test, test, test - keep a close eye on what's working and what's not; monitor bidding levels and CPCs (costs per click) Work out your break-even point and be ruthless - if you can't make a key phrase profitable after a reasonable time, drop it. It's no use inflicting a hit on yourself through making a loss on PPC

Have patience and you'll win

Sandboxed or not, it'll take some months before you really start reaping the benefits of your Organic SEO. And although you can get immediate traffic from PPC, it's unlikely that you'll hit the jackpot right away. Have realistic expectations and make a sustained attack on your competitors' weakest points and you'll have won the online fight.

About the author: David Rosam is Head of SEO Copywriting at Web Positioning Centre (http://webpositioningcentre.co.uk/search-engine-optimisation.php ), and specialises in Internet marketing strategy and optimised copywriting. His blog is Dangerous Thinking (http://dangerous-thinking.com) which covers SEO Copywriting, Ethical SEO and Marketing.

A House is Not an ATM or a Slot Machine

Author: ForeclosureFish.com

It is always a little disheartening to read and hear about homeowners who treated their homes as if they were a giant ATM machine and could pull out a few thousand dollars whenever they needed. This gambling on the value of a home to pay off past, present, and future debt is one of the main contributing factors to the current foreclosure situation, and it was a factor that wholely avoidable. The missing counterbalance was simply education for homeowners on the actual use of a house.

The necessary lesson can be summed up in a single sentence: a home is a place to live in,

not a slot machine that periodically pays off every few years. Given a choice to pay off the mortgage completely and own a home free and clear, or keep going further and further in household debt while increasing the amount of money is costs to pay back that debt, it is amazing that homeowner chose the second of the two possibilities. Instead of eliminating their mortgage payment completely, they chose to increase it stedily over time, to keep up with their own rising consumption rate. This is, frankly, crazy.

Now that the bills are coming due, many homeowners are realizing that their house is more important to them as a place to live, even as they desperately try to use it as a bank one last time to hold onto it and remain living there. But with so many others facing the same problems of rising payments and falling home values, these homeowners are unable to stop foreclosure from taking away both their homes and their equity.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that foreclosure victims are made to feel as if they are alone in this situation. This is exacerbated by the fact that almost

no one is talking about the dangerous atmosphere in the housing market ; in fact, many ""authorities"" are talking up the rebound in the housing market as if it actually exists. Besides a few isolated areas of the country in which housing prices are rising or holding steady, there is a

general decrease in property values this year, the first since 1990-1991. This time, there are no huge bank failures or a meltdown of the Savings and Loan industry to blame it on. And with even more Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) about to reset this year,

the devestation may just be in its initial stages .

Homeowners are not alone in their quest to stop foreclosure and save their homes. They should seek out the best foreclo sure information that they can find, and put together the best plan to work with their lender or get a fresh start. But this is also a time that foreclosure victims should take a careful examination of their situations and work towards viewing their home as their place to live, and making sure they own as much of it as quickly as they can. Treating a house as if it was a bank or ATM machine will only cause more problems the next time the machine runs out of money.

About the author: ForeclosureFish.com is a website that was designed to help homeowners find as much foreclo sure information as they need to save their homes on their own. Visit their website today and download a free e-book and learn how to stop foreclosure: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

A real Eye Opener! The true cost of your Credit Card!

Author: Diane Cleak

Most people use credit cards, but do they understand the charges involved?

Apparently not. The figures show that 50% of card users only pay the minimum balance every month.

A typical scenario may start with you receiving a credit card offer in the mail: borrow up to $2000 and pay only $40 a month. The interest at 18% ( could easily be higher) but the payment is still only $40 a month. Sounds like a great deal! You've been thinking of buying a new big screen TV for ages, and now you can have it all for only $40 a month. Who COULDN'T afford this, right? Before you sign that offer and run out to purchase your new TV, let's look at the mathematics and see how long it will take you to pay off this purchase at $40 per month, what you'll end up paying in interest, how long it will take to pay off the balance, and the total amount you'll end up paying for your $2000 TV. The minimum monthly payment on most credit cards is usually calculated as a certain percentage (often around 2 percent) of your total balance. Remember, however, that this payment includes interest as well as payments against the principal amount that you borrowed. On the $2000 TV, 2 percent of the balance is $40. At 18 percent interest, your $40 payment would include $30 in interest and only $10 towards the amount you borrowed (18% divided by 360 days = 0.05% per day times 30 days in a month times $2000 outstanding balance equals £30 in interest). If you pay the minimum balance each month (calculated as 2% of your outstanding balance), it will take you over 30 years to pay off your $2000 TV, which will be gone long before it's paid for. What's worse, you'll have paid nearly $5,000 in interest. The $2000 TV will have cost you nearly $7000! To make matters even worse, think of what you would have earned if you had simply put $40 a month into an investment earning a conservative 8 percent for the same number of years (30). Your £40 a month would be worth over $60,000 and you would have earned almost $46,000 in interest on your investment. Many people get caught up in credit card offers that are ""too good to pass up."" The question is: ""good for whom?"" Certainly not good for you! The example of the TV purchase illustrates the extremely high cost of paying the minimum balance on your credit cards. The Independent on Line 19 Feb 2006 confirms this with their statement:- ""Separate studies reveal that a £2,000 credit card debt at an APR of 15.9, repaid at only the minimum 2 per cent, would take more than 28 years to clear!"" USwitch spokesman Nick White said:- ""Today, there's the possibility that some people could finish off paying their mortgage before their credit cards."" ""While low, affordable minimum monthly repayments are marketed as being a benefit to cardholders, this benefit is a big money-spinner for the banks."" It's a real eye-opener!

So do take care,

Diane Cleak www.knowledge2freedom.com

About the author: I am committed to helping people to rid themselves of debt, and to gain understanding of their financial affairs. This is the first step to financial freedom.

Get a No Credit Check Mortgage

Author: Steve Faber

There are many reasons you may need to get a no credit check mortgage. Some of the most popular reasons you may need such a mortgage are having no verifiable income, or having a great income, but poor credit score. You may be young and have no credit history, even if you now have a great job or are a successful new business owner. If you have your own business, especially if it's fairly new, you may have a very high income, but you may not have either the income history or documentation required by most mortgage lenders. The same is true if you did very well in investments at an early age or are a professional athlete early in your career. What are you supposed to do? Unless you have enough cash on hand to actually purchase a property outright, you're going to need a mortgage. Unfortunately, many mortgage lenders won't give you the time of day unless you can verify your income and credit history. If you don't have either, you'll be out of luck.

Fear not, there is hope if you need a mortgage but can't get a credit check first. It won't be as easy as running to a bank or mortgage broker, but you'll be able to get that mortgage and purchase your house. You will probably have to do more legwork to find a mortgage lender that is willing to loan money to you without performing a credit check.

Look at it from your lender's perspective. It is much easier, lees expensive and accurate for them to assess your ability to repay your mortgage if they can check your credit. Any lender is interested in your ability to repay their money. The more difficult it is for them to determine weather or not you can do so, the higher interest rate you'll typically pay for your mortgage. You can still get a mortgage if you don't allow them to run a credit check however.

You may need a larger down payment in addition to a higher interest rate. In some cases they may not give you a higher interest rate, but you may have to have at least 20% down. The larger your down payment is on the property, the lower the risk for the mortgage lender. If they need to foreclose, they stand to have your equity to recover their costs. In addition, experience has determined that the larger your down payment, the less likely you are to default on the mortgage. Again, it's about the lender lessening their risk.

You'll probably have to approach many lenders in order to find those willing to work with you, and to get the best interest rate and fee structure for your loan. In any case this is a good approach to take. You want to be able to compare the loan package from several different lenders, especially in the case of a no credit check mortgage. Lenders know your options are limited compared to a conventional mortgage. That's another reason you stand to pay higher interest rates and fees.

So, don't give up in your search for a no credit check mortgage. There are lenders that will make your dream a reality. Weather you work with a mortgage broker, or other service that looks at mortgages from several lenders, you probably have to compare what you are offered from multiple different lenders. They key to getting a great mortgage is to get out there and look.

About the author: Do you own a small business? Doing great, but haven't the history to back it up yet? Maybe your credit plain sucks, but you still need a place to live, don't you? Maybe you'd rather buy a home instead of throwing money away every month for rent. To discover how to get a mortgage with bad credit, or no credit go to the

no credit check mortgage guide.

Indiana Follows The Lien Theory Of Mortgages

Author: John D. Waller

An interesting dispute in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Indiana resulted in a March 27, 2007 opinion by Judge Harry C. Dees, Jr. about a borrower's attempt to transfer ordinance citations, fines and other property-related liabilities to a lender. The issue was whether a mortgagor's/borrower's unilateral execution and recordation of a quit-claim deed effectively transferred the real estate to the mortgagee/lender. Although the case involved residential property, the rules and holding are equally applicable to commercial real estate and business borrowers. The lesson of Phillips v. City of South Bend, 2007 Bankr. LEXIS 1503 (N.D. Ind. 2007) is: a borrower simply can't unload its real estate-based problems onto a secured lender without some kind of agreement or consent.

The facts. The City of South Bend pursued a residential property owner for nuisance violations related to property, which was in disrepair and had documented unsanitary conditions in the yard. Potential fines and penalties were around $5,000. Citifinancial held a mortgage on the property. The borrower/mortgagor, in an apparent effort to avoid municipal liability, executed and recorded a quit-claim deed purporting to abandon the property and transfer title to Citifinancial. Citifinancial, however, never ""acknowledged transfer of the property"" or took ""responsibility for maintaining the property."" Id. at 3. Citifinancial ""did not accept the transfer"" (although it is not entirely clear how Citifinancial manifested that non-acceptance). The borrower did not enter into any kind of written agreement with Citifinancial, and Citifinancial ""took no action at all"" with regard to the property. Id. at 14. There was no written consent by Citifinancial or any activity demonstrating consent, such as the physical possession of the property. Evidently, Citifinancial simply ignored the quit-claim deed.

Indiana mortgages, generally. Indiana follows the ""lien theory"" of mortgages. This means that a mortgage creates a lien on property but not title to it. Mortgagees do not have an ownership interest in the real estate. Id. at 15. Title to property cannot be transferred to the mortgagee unless there is a foreclosure and sale (or a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure). Indiana defines ""foreclosure"" as a legal proceeding that terminates a mortgagor's interest in property. Id. ""The right to possession, use and enjoyment of the mortgaged property, as well as title, remains in the mortgagor, unless otherwise specifically provided, and the mortgage is a mere security for the debt. Id. So, secured lenders holding Indiana mortgages merely have liens as security for their loans.

Transfer is a two-way street. In Phillips, the borrower executed and recorded a quit-claim deed in order to surrender the property, but no foreclosure took place. The Court held that the borrower could not compel the mortgage holder to accept the surrendered, quit-claimed property and that the borrower continued to be the owner of the property, with all the rights and obligations. The City properly enforced its property maintenance codes against the borrower, not the lender, as owner of the property. Id. at 15. The unilateral execution of a quit-claim deed in an effort to surrender the property to mortgage holder, while clever, ultimately accomplished nothing from the standpoint of avoiding liability.

Impact on commercial cases. Phillips impacts the handling of commercial foreclosure cases as well. A corporate borrower in possession of commercial real estate collateral could decide, in an effort to avoid certain liabilities related to the ownership of the land (such as public nuisance fines, utility charges or maybe even real estate taxes), to dump these problems back on a commercial lender simply by quit-claiming the property and surrendering possession. A secured lender may, for a variety of reasons, not want the property, particularly by quit-claim deed, until the property is run through a foreclosure. In that case, according to Phillips, the secured lender should take every possible action to show that it has not acknowledged or accepted transfer of the property or otherwise consented to ownership. Don't sign any paperwork indicating you are the owner. Avoid physical presence on the premises. Make sure there are no communications with the mortgagor/borrower other than with statements that unequivocally demonstrate you do not want title to the property at that time (unless through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure with a supporting agreement). That way, if and when you want to liquidate the collateral or become the owner of the property, you can do it on your own terms and avoid the potential liability found in Phillips.

About the author: John D. Waller is a partner at the Indianapolis law firm of Wooden & McLaughlin LLP. He publishes the blog Indiana Commercial Foreclosure Law at http://commercialforeclosureblog.typepad.com. John's phone number is 317-639-6151, and his e-mail address is jwaller@woodmclaw.com.