 |
«A website where you can find the lowest interest rates on home loans with absolutely free quotes from multiple lenders» |
| • Home Equity Loan • Home Refinance Loan • Home Purchase Loan • Second Mortgage Loan • Debt Consolidation Loan | ||
|
 | |
| |
| Home Equity Loan Store :: Personal Finance | |
|
|
|
Affording a Home
Can you really afford a house? If so, how much house can you afford? To determine this answer will take serious financial planning, and the best time to start is at least six months before buying the home. Although buying a new home may seem like an American Dream or romantic venture, the reality is that the house you can afford depends on your current income and debt obligations. You must be able to pay your mortgage, satisfy all your current debt, and still have money left over each month to put in the bank. When you consider all these issues, you may find you will actually be shopping for a lower-priced house than the anticipated dream home. If after careful financial evaluation, you realize you cannot afford the house of your dreams, don't feel tempted to count on expected annual raises, thinking that eventually you'll be able to afford the higher payments. Most raises are generally 4% to 7%. In bad times, you won't get a raise, while inflation overtakes you. In the worse case scenario, you may get laid off and you won't be able to afford your monthly bills. If you don't have a budget that includes a savings account worked out on a spreadsheet, you are faced with a serious debt problem waiting to happen. If you cannot recite from memory all the creditors you owe and how much you owe them, you have a credit problem. MONTHLY BUDGET SHEET At the top of your planning list, you must determine what your mortgage payments will be, while not ignoring other monthly expenses. Remember, you need this complete research, and an organized budget sheet, to guard against becoming seriously in debt. For example, besides the home loan, monthly expenditures to add to your budget sheet may include: * Homeowners insurance, Second on your list is to clean up your credit report. YOUR CREDIT REPORT CALCULATING YOUR CREDIT SCORE Everyone has a credit score calculated at the time your credit report is requested. It's based on over 100 different proprietary variables and algorithms developed by Fair Isaac (FICO). The range is 300 to 850. You can get your credit score from Equifax Score Power, True Credit, or Consumerinfo. Most lenders consider people above 650 to be prime borrowers, meaning they will most likely be approved at favorable rates. According to a credit report from Equifax, 71% of the people with a credit score from 500-550 will default on their credit. Another 51% of buyers with a credit score from 550-600 will default on their credit. It is for this very reason that lenders run your credit report and focus on your FICO Beacon score. FACTORS AFFECTING YOUR CREDIT SCORE So, take an inventory of your credit cards. Do you have department store credit cards, appliance store credit cards, and computer store finance cards that are no longer used? What's worse, even if a store is defunct, your account may still appear on your credit report as open. Call all sources and close these accounts since you never use them. Just remember, it takes about 30 days for the closing transactions to appear on your credit report. Once you successfully dispute and remove negative items from your credit report, wait 30-60 days and order another copy of your report to verify that the bad debt was removed and you now have a higher score. Genesis Font is an SEO and Developer for LoansInteractive.com > Mortgage and Loan Officer Websites. We also offer Quality Web Hosting Services.
MORE RESOURCES:
Personal-Finance - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring? I've been sharing the following idea with people for a few years now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:"I cannot predict the future. Financial Security 1) HOW TO LOOK FOR A JOBA) The Chronological Curriculum:1. First and foremost you have to be able to write an effective resume or curriculum. Adverse Debt Levels Blight UK Consumers Personal Finances Debt levels are at an all time high in the UK. The younger generation tend to be feeling the pinch the most, but parents are increasingly being required to bail them out, often at great expense to their own limited mortgage or retirement savings. The World is Not Enough - Calling for a More Ethical Approach to Personal Finance At a time when the entire world's attention is focused on the problems of world debt, with the Live 8 concerts, the G8 summit in Scotland, the Make Poverty History Campaign (MPH) and the various anti-poverty marches, it seems that everyone wants the world's governments to behave more ethically towards the manner in which international finance is conducted. This is obviously a laudable attitude to take, and has gained immense momentum with such a groundswell of public opinion that even the UK Chancellor, Gordon Brown, has stated he is planning to participate in the Make Poverty History demonstration in Edinburgh during the G8 summit. Top 10+ Ways to Jumpstart your New Year's Finances! Of course, these don't have to be done in any particular order! Just pick one or two that particularly apply to your situation. * Create your 2005 filing system. First Checking Account - When is it Time? We all know that money doesn't grow on trees, but we all need it to survive. The use of cash will only go so far in life, as you can't send it through the mail. 5 Steps to Healthy Spending Habits Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually great our follow-through and discipline generally isn't. Are You Ready To Be Fired? Your boss has just informed you that your department is being reduced by two and you are fired. After he leaves, what are you going to do? This is not about finding a job it's about being prepared for financial change. How to Draw a Personal Budget that Works Many people spend their little income haphazardly without any planning and end up getting broke before month-end. They then borrow to make ends meet and end up with more problems that they fail to repay their debts promptly. Do You Really Need the Power of Money Management Software? I have been a loyal user of Quicken(R) for more years than I can remember. But a conversation the other day with my youngest son started me wondering whether or not I really need money management software. 10 Steps to Take if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims on America and over 40% of all consumer complaints in the U. Whats The Truth Behind Your Finances? Between 15 - 20% of people in our country (UK) own there own businesses. This statistic is on the rise thanks to the incredible invention of the Internet. Estate Planning Basics You have probably accomplished a great deal with your life. Over the years you have worked, planned and saved. University: A Course in Personal Finance Recent findings from the Educational Policy Institute indicated that the UK is the third most expensive place in the world to go to university. Combine this with figures from the Prudential, showing that a third of university students have considered abandoning their studies due to the financial strain they have encountered, and it is not surprising that many prospective students are finding the need to seriously think through the merits of going to University. Save Money Off Your Home Utility Bills Many don't realize that our basic utility bills provide the perfect money saving opportunity for practically every household!Especially with today's energy crisis so prevalent throughout many of the states, you've probably heard this term - conservation.Guess what, conservation really means "using less". Can You Afford Not To Look After Your Personal Finances? Investing is a subject a lot of people don't want to think about. And there is good reason for that. Portfolio Planning can Lead to Irreconcilable Differences The judge had to ask the question, and we had to answer it in order to get our divorce finalized. It was all supposed to be pro-forma. Save Money on your Clothing Budget. Tame the Closet Monster! Reducing the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me. Two pre-teen girls and a teenage girl certainly didn't make life any easier. Safely Save for Your Childs University Studies Using An Education IRA! This investment retirement account (IRA) is useful to you as an investor to understand because it may be a good way for you to save for your kid's education AND save on taxes. These plans are now called Coverdell Education Savings Accounts in honor of the late U. Planning Your Financial Future Millions of people give a lot of thought to financial planning but get frustrated and give up before ever making any progress. Making yourself aware of the most common reasons people fail to make a viable financial plan is the first step in reaching your financial goals.
|
