Read the Mortgage Girlfriend's blog post on what this organization can do to help homebuyers with credit issues, and how loan officers can help their clients with credit issues.
Check it out at:http://www.MortgageGirlfriends.com/girlfriend.html?ln=Diva
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Suze Orman Offers Free 2009 Action Plans
If your goal for the new year is to get your finances in check then Suze Orman may be able to help. During her appearance on the Today show recently, she announced her offer for free 2009 action plans that are available on her website. I did a test run on the debt eliminator option this morning to check it out. It allows you to enter in your credit card debt information, and then helps you to put a plan in place to eliminate your debt.
It's free and it doesn't require you to provide any personal information. It does ask for your name at the beginning, but it doesn't ask for an email, telephone number, or address, so you won't be added to any lists. There is also a big disclaimer that states the eliminator doesn't store any of the information you provide.
If you're trying to put together a plan to eliminate your debt, check out Suze Orman's action plan and start working on getting rid of your credit card debt in 2009.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Credit Card Changes Are Coming (But Not Until 2010)
We are a little over half-way through the first month of the New Year, which I can't believe. New years usually bring resolutions on how people are going to change their lives this year. By now, people have usually forgotten what their resolution is and they have returned to their old ways. When it comes to your credit card spending, I suggest you keep your resolution this year because there are changes coming.
The Federal Reserve, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration have set new credit card issuer regulations that prohibit what they deem "unfair acts." While these regulations don't take effect until July of 2010, now is your chance to get your credit card "situations" under control. Consider it practice for when it'll really benefit you--and your credit.
New regulations
- Prohibits lenders from raising the interest rate on your credit balances, unless you make a payment late. Translates to: make your payments on time!
- Credit card issuers cannot charge a late fee, if the credit card statement is not sent within a reasonable amount of time (must be received by the borower about 21 days prior to the due date)--allowing the borrower to make the payment on time. Translates to: make your payments on time!
- Restricts the way that lenders can apply payments. They can't apply payments to your account in a way that would cause the balance to earn a higher interest rate. Translates to: make your payments on time!
What you can do to take control of your credit
- Sign-up for bill pay. Most banks offer free bill pay with your checking account. You can schedule your bill to be paid on whatever date you want, so sit down and schedule the payment to be paid on or before your credit card due date. This way, the credit issuer won't be able to raise your interest rate because you absent-mindedly forgot to make a payment one month.
- Set-up automatic payments. You can also provide the card issuer with permission to deduct the minimum payment (or another payment amount) from your checking account each month. Since it puts the onus on the credit issuer to withdraw the payment for you, there is little chance it'll get paid late. And if it does, it's their fault. Don't feel comfortable with this. There's still another option. Most credit card companies allow you to schedule future payments on their own website.
- Only charge what you can afford to pay. The absolute best way to get your spending and credit card debt under control is to only charge an amount you can afford to pay off the following month when the bill comes. No balance means no issues.
You shouldn't need an excuse to get your credit under control, but government regulations are coming that you give the opportunity you may need to do just that.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
LendingLadies.com Interview
By Kelly Rusk
At SmartHippo, we aim to keep consumer’s best interests in mind and we love lenders who think the same way! That’s why I’m more than pleased to share this interview with Jessica Peterson, one of the co-founders of LendingLadies.com–a unique broker firm that does things a little differently.
What is LendingLadies.com all about?
Try to make obtaining a home loan fun. As it stands it can be a dry process, so we do everything we can to make it fun for our clients. The site provides information about mortgages in plain English, and we make it fun by letting people fill out a loan application in relaxing virtual places like the coffee shop, the pool, the retreat or the golf course.
Do you lend to men too?
Yes! Actually our clients are about 50/50 male and female and we have both men and women working for us. However, our investment clients are pre-dominantly male, so we are trying to even it out a little.
How are you different from other lenders?
What makes LendingLadies.com different from most lenders is we truly care—in a few ways. First and most obviously we care about our clients and we truly care that they get the best mortgage for their needs. You’ll notice on our application form that we ask a lot of question that other lenders don’t, including questions about lifestyles and other financial relationships, this is because we want to ensure each client get the best product for his/her needs and the more information we know, the better decision we can help our clients’ make.
We also truly care about being an asset to our community and to volunteer as much as possible. My partner and I are working on volunteering 70 hours a month. We’re not quite there now, but it’s a goal we’re working towards.
(Editor’s note: As an avid volunteer, I love this about the Lending Ladies! Volunteer work is so rewarding and I definitely recommend getting involved any way you can.)
And finally, we truly care about the people who work for us and make sure they are the best people for the job. We do thorough personality tests and have a very involved hiring process. For example, last year we received around 100 applicants, but only hired a couple of people. We feel if we’re going to offer the best service, we need the best people working with us.
Can you give us some recommendations for first-time homebuyers when choosing a lender?
Ask friends and family for recommendation, real estate agents, talk to two or three mortgage professionals, and talk to them within 2 hours as rates can change quickly.
When deciding on a lender, see if they provide educational materials to help you understand the mortgage process and what they are offering you.
It is also a good idea to ask if the person has won any awards, or if they can provide references or testimonials. Also be sure to ask if they can guarantee fees on the Good Faith Estimate, and get it in writing.
Ask how long he/she has been a loan officer and what makes him/her different from other loan officers. Ask if the loan officer prefers fixed rates or adjustable and why? Oh, and always ask if there are any specials.
In order to get the best mortgage for you, you need to find a lender who knows the numbers, loans and truly cares.
Very solid advice! Thanks Jessica!
If you’d like to learn more about LendingLadies.com, you can visit the site, view the profile on SmartHippo, or connect with Jessica via Twitter. Oh, and if you’ve worked with LendingLadies before, why not write a review?
You Have to Eat, Right? Find Ways to Eat Cheaper without Giving Up the Places You Love to Go
One way that many consumers have cut back on their spending is cutting down on eating out. A family of four that used to eat out 2-3 nights per week now finds themselves eating out only once a week. The good part about this behavior is that the family is using their money wisely--cutting down on unnecessary spending. The bad part? It makes the economic problem even worse because now the restaurant business is down, which means even less of a cash infusion into the economy.
What if you could eat out and still save money?
At http://www.restaurant.com/ you can do both--eat out and save money while doing it. This website refers to itself as the "matchmaker" of the restaurant world because it matches consumers with restaurants in their area. Not only does it help you locate local eats, but if you purchase an e-certificate from the site, you save money on your bill. For example, you can buy a $25 e-certificate from restaurant.com and pay only $10 for it. With your certificate in hand, you can head to your favorite eatery, or try a new one, and you're already saving $15 off your bill.
Many people are familiar with http://www.opentable.com/ as a way to make reservations online. When you create a free account on Open Table, you can also participate in their Dining Rewards program. This program allows you to earn anywhere from 100 to 1,000 points per reservation made on the Open Table website. When you reach a certain point level, you can redeem your points for a gift certificate that is good at any Open Table restaurant. If you're eating out and making reservations anyway, you might as well get rewarded for it!
Similar to Open Table is http://www.dinnerbroker.com/. The difference? For one, if you're a flexible diner, you can instantly save 30% off your bill. When you make reservations with participating restaurants for off-peak hours on the Dinner Broker website, it rewards its visitors with a 30% savings on their dinner bill. Dinner Broker also offers a rewards program.
In tough economic times, everyone has to give something up. It may be cutting down on your dinners out. Or you could be a smart diner that stretches your dollars and still gets to eat at your favorite place.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Helping Homeowners Stay in Their Homes
This is one of my former co-workers (when I was in the mortgage business). Check out his new business venture, and how it may be able to save you (or people like you) from foreclosure.
Helping Business Owners Stay in Their Homes
Friday, January 9, 2009
Renters Need to Beware of Foreclosure Too
I read recently in the Washington Post that renters are bring affected by foreclosure too. At first glance, I thought, huh? Then I read the article and it made sense. Whether you rent an apartment in an apartment complex, or rent a house directly from a landlord, as a renter you can find yourself homeless from foreclosure. Remember, just because you are paying your rent to your landlord, it doesn't mean they are using these funds to make the mortgage payment on the unit or building they are renting to you. So, when the foreclosure monster comes knocking on your landlord's door, guess who can soon find themselves without a roof over their heads--you, the renter.
Fannie Mae to the rescue
Fannie Mae is instituting a new program in January for renters of foreclosed properties. Fannie Mae will either assist the renters with relocation costs or have the renter sign a lease with Fannie Mae until the building sells to a new owner. The details of these arrangements remain to be seen, but it is an avenue of hope for renters around the country.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Blog Review: Her Every Cent Counts
I came across a blog maintained by a 25-year-old woman that is trying to figure out personal finance called Her Every Cent Counts. She refers to her insights as dealing with a quarter life crisis and change. As you can see from my blog roll, this is a site that I enjoy following. Even though it hasn't been that long since I was 25, you do see personal finance in a different light at different ages. At 25, many people are still finding their place in this world. Many will change careers a few times before they find one where they are happy and can excel. Some never find this.
To the Her Every Cent Counts blogger, and anyone else floundering around in the personal finance arena of their life, I give you hope in saying, you can figure it out. Read everything you can get your hands on. Educate yourself. Put your learnings to the test, and listen to those that have made mistakes before you and learn from their lessons. It's called personal finance for a reason--there isn't one answer that works for everyone because everyone's situation is different. You can, however, take bits and pieces and apply it your personal financial situation.
Write on, Her Every Cent Counts.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Business School
If you had asked me during my undergrad or grad finance classes if I thought what I was learning was useful, I probably would have replied, "I only need math to count my money." After launching into the real world (too many years ago to list here because it scares me how long ago it was), I realized that learning how to use my financial calculator prepared me for many things:
*My first job out of college in mortgage and credit for Merrill Lynch
*My ability to calculate my own mortgage payments, conduct a break-even analysis, and decide whether or not buying a townhouse was the right option for me
*Walking into the car dealership, sitting in front of the finance manager and whipping out my financial calculator to figure out my own car payment to see if I could afford it or not (and, boy, you should have seen the look on his face)
The knowledge I gained can be applied to real world situations, and I encourage business students to find ways that what their learning can be applied to life--even if they decide to work outside of the finance industry. Counting on your fingers and toes only gets you so far. I still treasure my financial calculator that I've had since my six-year stint at Merrill. It's moved with me from house to house, and while I don't use it as much as I once did, there are still instances where I pull it out to tell a friend what their mortgage payment would be or figure out the future value of my investment so I can figure out how rich I'll be when I retire (wink, wink).
Friday, January 2, 2009
Credit Problems Start with You
There is no doubt that 2008 has been a tumultuous year for the credit industry. The problem is the true culprits aren't taking the blame, but are pointing the finger at everything else. Who is the culprit? Greedy Americans that are living beyond their means.
Greed takes the lead
Many Americans live their lavish lifestyle on their credit cards. Trips here, the latest in fashion there, sending the kids to a private school they cannot afford. Then when the mortgage rates dipped, they ran out and used the opportunity to buy a house they could afford while the rate was low (or the payment was interest only), but now can't afford when the rate is higher and they have to pay principal and interest.
To these people I say,"You only have yourself to blame."
What can you do?
After you take the first step of accepting your part in your downfall, it's now time to do something about it. The solution to the problem is NOT to stop making the mortgage payments on your house or only make the minimum payments on your credit card. You have to proactively take action and find ways that solve your credit problems.
*Get a second job: And I don't want to hear that there aren't any jobs out there because there are still plenty of companies hiring. Serve fries up at McDonald's if you have to, but find a way to bring some additional funds into your bank account and your household.
*Use some of your savings: While you don't want to deplete your savings in case of an emergency, if you have funds set aside for a rainy day, it's raining people. Read an article I wrote for BillSavings.com about paying off your debt using your savings and how it'll benefit you.
*Find other ways to pay off debt (even if you don't have savings): For those that don't have cash savings, don't throw up your hands in defeat either. There are plenty of other options for you. Read my article Reducing Debt Even if You Don't Have Savings to see which options are viable for you.
The bottom line is that you're the only one that can get yourself out of the mess you've created. Don't wait for a bailout. Don't give up. Take control and do whatever you can to get your personal financial situation under control.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
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