Leveraging a secured loan to consolidate your unsecured debts

With the present condition of the US economy, everyone is going through a borrowing binge and according to most financial economists this will take long years to repay. If you’re a homeowner and if you’ve incurred unsecured debts on all your credit cards, you need not worry as you can tap the equity in your home and use it in paying off your debt obligations on time. With a secured debt consolidation loan, you can consolidate debt like credit card debt, overdraft personal loans and also store cards. There are multiple benefits of using a secured loan for unsecured loan repayment purpose. Read on to know about them.

Low interest rates: Though the home equity loan carries higher interest rates than the first mortgage loan, the rates are much lower than that of the credit cards. The main reason for inability to repay the debts is the outrageously high interest rates and therefore if you can tap the home equity, you can easily pay back the amount in affordable payments throughout the term of the loan. Saving a considerable amount of money is also possible by consolidating through a secured loan.

The repayment term is longer: As you’re taking out a secured debt consolidation loan to repay all your unsecured debts, you can reap the benefit of repaying through a long period of time. With a longer repayment period, you may also be able to save enough money every month and use the rest of the money in repaying all your other debt obligations.

Tax benefits: The secured loan is said to be a good form of debt and therefore the interest rates that you pay on the home equity loan will be tax-deductible. You can therefore save money again while paying the taxes.

Taking out a secured loan – A word of caution

Before taking out a secured debt consolidation loan, you be sure about your repayment ability as failure to make the payments on time will lead to a forced foreclosure. When you take out a home, loan your home is used as collateral to the loan so that in case you default on the payments, the lenders can seize your home and recuperate the money. Similarly when you take out a home equity loan, your home will be pledged as collateral and thus you have to make timely payments on the loan. Don’t combine a large number of unsecured debts so that it gets your means to manage the payments.

Thus, if you don’t want to avail an unsecured debt consolidation loan as you’re a homeowner and you’ve accumulated enough equity in your home, you can consolidate debt through a home equity loan. Manage your finances so that you don’t fall back on the payments.

For more information you can visit http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/

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Bad Credit Refinance Options For Home Mortgage

Refinancing can be termed as a way of moving from a higher interest loan to a lower interest one and this is therefore a great way of saving. Although having a poor credit usually limits the opportunities available for one to obtain funding, you can still benefit from refinancing through bad credit refinance. The most common method of refinancing is the home mortgage refinancing and you can even use the funds to take care of other financial needs.

How does bad credit refinance work?

Getting fixed rates: it is quite common for people to first start with adjustable rate mortgage the main reason being that the interest rates allowed at the beginning are usually lower. This, however, can be inconveniencing since the mortgage rates keep on fluctuating and this is why such people later change to a mortgage that has fixed rate. They can therefore use the new rate for the whole period up to the time they clear their debts.

Reducing monthly repayments: you can reduce the amount of cash that you pay on your debts through bad credit refinance. This is where you borrow some huge amount of cash on a cheaper loan and then repay the other debts that you may be having. You should, however, be careful and you can even make use of a loan repayment calculator to ensure that the refinancing loan will be cheaper than what you would have settled on the other debts.

Improving credit score: having poor credit can really put you in a tight situation when searching for loans and anyone having such can rebuild his or her credit through bad credit refinance. By borrowing a huge loan to repay some other smaller loans, you will really have made timely repayments and this works great in improving on a low credit score. There are huge benefits that come with having a high credit score and these include:

  • Getting even huge amounts easily
  • Easily securing cheaper deals
  • Being allowed flexible terms and conditions

When you are looking forward to refinance with a bad credit, you will require to look into some compensating factors like applying for some amount that you can comfortably handle with your present income. You can even consider pledging collateral or using a cosigner and this will see you have the amount you need pretty fast. It is also good to consider refinancing when the interest rates are low.

Even when you have a poor credit score, you can easily get a hold of your debt situation through bad credit refinance. This is also some way that you can rebuild a poor credit score which will have a lot of benefits in future loan applications.

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3 Money Saving Uses for Mortgage Calculators

The next time you are on the market for a mortgage you can take advantage of at least 3 money saving uses for mortgage calculators. How much can you afford?

With the prices of homes in the UK being at unprecedented lows, now would be the time to buy if you have the funds for a decent down payment and a credit rating to qualify for a mortgage. However, on the other side of the equation lies the fact that you will also be expected to make monthly repayments timely which is why you need to carefully consider if you can afford a major expense at this time. With mortgage calculators you can better determine if this is something you can comfortably handle and here are 3 money saving uses for mortgage calculators to help you better assess the situation.

#1 – Compare Mortgage Rates

Online mortgage calculators a handy little programs as they can help you calculate what your monthly repayments would be at given interest rates and on terms that you specific. For example if you had a 20 year fixed rate mortgage for £100,000 at a rate of 6% then your monthly payments would be £726.53 per month whilst just one percentage point would raise that loan to £786.60 if your rate was fixed at 7%. The difference of £60 per month could easily pay another bill. You can vary the terms of the loan as needed because common mortgages are in 10, 15, 20 or 30 year terms.

#2 – Compare Fixed vs. Variable Rate Mortgages

Here is another area where you can save a considerable amount of money when taking out a mortgage. As you can see by the above example, there is a huge (almost 10%) difference on the amount of money you would need to repay monthly with just one interest point. Now then, if you have a fixed rate at 6% for the first three years and then the lender is allowed to vary your rates per the contractual mortgage agreement to 7%, you will still be paying a huge difference because in the early years of a mortgage the bulk of money goes towards the interest and not the principal. Mortgage calculators show you that fixed rate mortgages are always more cost effective than variable rate mortgages.

#3 – Refinancing Vs. Second Mortgage

Today’s mortgage rates are considerably lower, in most cases, than they were before the mortgage market meltdown of 2008 and 2009. Therefore, mortgage calculators can help you determine quite quickly if it is better to refinance your home or to take out a second mortgage when you are in need of a lump sum to make repairs, pay down other loans or for any reason whatsoever. If you still owe a considerable amount of the home value in unpaid principal, you might find that refinancing may be your better option by using mortgage calculators by comparing the high interest rates you are paying now as compared to the current low interest rates that most lenders are charging. With a second mortgage you would still be paying high rates on the bulk of unpaid principal.

Although mortgage calculators can help you decide so much more, these 3 money saving uses for mortgage calculators are amongst the most common reasons they are used by the average consumer. You can also do calculations to see if a 30 year mortgage would provide more affordable repayments or if a 15 year mortgage would have payments you could still handle whilst getting your home paid for sooner. Online mortgage calculators are easy to find and use but above all, they are handy little tools to use long before you speak with potential lenders. In this way you know what you can afford and are prepared to talk business.

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Fixed rate bonds or ISAs

Smashed Piggy BankSavings accounts offer a great place to store your cash, allowing you to save up for whatever you like, from a holiday to a new car.

Howver, finding the best place to house your savings can be difficult, and with interest rates at an all time low, banks are struggling to offer attractive returns on your savings.

The two main savings accounts that are known for offering the best returns are fixed rate bonds and Individual Savings Accounts.

For those that are unfamiliar with these accounts, i’ll explain. Fixed rate bonds require savers to lock their funds away for a fixed period of time, without withdrawing any funds in exchange for a higher rate. Fixed rate bonds do not come with any risk to your main pot – the only risk you’re taking on is that rates could improve while your funds are fixed on a lower rate, leaving you with a worse return than other accounts. Continue reading

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ISA Season prompts increase in savings

According to financial information company Money Facts, people are saving more after a number of competitive Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) deals were released onto the market.

Figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) showed that a total of £1.37 billion was deposited into cash ISAs in April alone, more than doubling the £668 million added to cash ISAs in April 2010.

Several attractive ISAs were launched throughout the ISA season and savers were quick to respond, making use of their increased ISA allowance and finding the best ISA rates which rose by £480 (£240 for cash ISAs) to £5,340 in April. Continue reading

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How to find the right savings account for you

Savings AccountsWhether you’re just starting out, or you already have a nest egg, you should think about the best place to store your cash to make sure it has the best chance of growing.

It is important to remember that if the interest rate paid on your savings accounts is lower than that of inflation, you are actually losing money. Inflation is a measure that allows us to see the rate at which things increase in price, so if the rate is at 4.5%, we can expect things to go up in price by this amount next year.

As long as you can secure an interest rate that falls above the inflation rate, you will avoid your savings effectively being eroded.

This is not always an easy task, so you may have to go beyond your average savings account and venture into fixed rate bonds, ISAs and even share dealing accounts, adding an element of risk to your investment.

According to My Savings Accounts, your first port of call should always be Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). These unique accounts allow you to take all of your earnings, without having to declare them to the tax man.

Every type of savings account requires you to pay income tax (up to 50% depending on your income) on any returns. All except the ISA.

ISAs allow you to save up to £10,680 per year, building up a savings pot over the years that will benefit from tax free interest for as long as you leave the funds. Once removed, the funds cannot be replaced, so this option works best for the serious saver.

Half of the annual ISA limit can be used toward cash ISAs, with the option of using the remaining half in a stocks and shares ISA. However, those that are willing to add a bit of risk to the mix may be interested to know that investors can use the full amount in stocks and shares ISAs, allowing them to earn 10% tax free returns.

Fixing your rate can keep you ahead of the game, especially when interest rates peak, but as things currently stand, fixed rate bonds may not be the best option, as if rates were to increase, you would be left behind until your bond matures.

This being said, locking in for a short term will reduce your risk and allow you to earn a half decent return on your savings.

Another option is to go down the share dealing route. Investors can incorporate their ISA allowance into these accounts, allowing you to earn higher returns on your investment

Written by Sam Gooch


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