Tuesday, February 6, 2007

The Truth About Self Certification Loans

By: Chris Copper Jnr

Ten years ago if you were self employed you were very limited to the deals that were available to you. Lenders tended not to like it if you couldnt prove you income when apply for a secured loan or mortgage.Things have changed, because they have had to. With more and more people starting their own business and companies opting to contract staff on a self employed basis, lenders have had to change policies. Now many more lenders have had no choice but to offer self certification loans and mortgages in order to service more customers.With a self certification product you can state your income without having to provide payslips. Such loan and mortgage products are available with specialist and some high street lenders.The hook is that with a self cert loan you will normally have to pay lager deposit and slightly higher interest rates than a standard borrow would. You should also be prepared to incur slightly higher fees as well.Different lenders will have different criteria. Some will be more concerned about affordability, others with job title and credit history others will require accounts, accountants letter or bank statements.Whether you are with a specialist lender or a high street one, you will generally need a minimum of a 10 per cent deposit (some 5 per cent). In most cases the bigger the deposit you put down the lower the interest rate will be, because you are reducing the lenders risk. You will also pay more fees when putting down a small deposit.Self Certification loans and mortgages used to only be available through specialist lenders, but this is now changing. A handful of dynamic lenders have realised that they need to include the self employed into their mainstream products.Even if you do not have three years worth of accounts, do not think that a self certification product is your only option. Lenders are now embracing more sophisticated credit scoring techniques to better weigh up the potential lending risks.Another bonus for the self employed, is that if you can get together a 25 per sent deposit then you will be able to approach most lenders and choose from their mainstream loan products. Also because of the size of the deposit you are putting down, many of the fees will be crossed out.Although self cert loans are a lifeline to many legitimate people there are a small number of borrowers that take advantage by lying about their income. Over inflation of income in order to have access to more lending or get on the housing ladder is not only illegal but also very dangerous. People that do this will often find that eventually they fall behind on their loan repayments and can face repossession. It pays to make sure that you are always honest on your application.The key rule is to ensure that your mortgage loan repayments are going to be affordable. Flexible mortgages are great for the self employed that might have seasonal spikes and dips in their income. They allow you to overpay, underpay and take payment holidays if you wish to.The best way to ensure you get a good deal and the right product is to use a good broker. They will have access to a number of lenders and products and be able to advise you on the best cause of action.

Chris Copper Jnr enjoys writing on all areas of personal and business finance. He works for Any Loans who are specialists in Self Certification Loans.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Student loans are a great source of financial aid

By: Ganesh
Student loans are a great source of financial aid for students who are in need of financial assistance for their education. With the escalating cost of higher education many will need to look beyond what they are able to save for college financial support. Student loans provide an affordable option. First of all you need to choose how much money you’ll need, which loan type is best for you; you’ll also need to decide whether this is the right time to do it and how you are going to pay for it. All these questions need to be answered preceding to apply for a student loan before doing some research and requesting loan quotes.

In recent times many financial Institutions providing loans like Student loan refinancing, Student loan consolidation, International student loans. Student loan refinancing, it is the main goal of refinancing is usually to reduce your monthly student loan payments. When refinancing your student loans there are several things to consider. First, you have both federal student loans and private loans; you will want to refinance them separately. Because of the way federal loans are structured, you can get a much lower interest rate on them than you can on private loans. Student loan rates vary by lender and by your credit history. So, before your refinance make sure your credit history is in good shape.

Student loan consolidation is the term may not be proverbial to you but to put it merely, it is about combining all your student loans into a single loan with one lender and one repayment plan. It helps to integrate all your student loan payments into one monthly bill and it provides a fixed low interest rate for your loan and this translates into huge savings for you in the long term and it also offer flexible repayment options and no fees, charges, or prepayment penalties. Consolidating student loans allows you to extend the repayment period, which means lower payments every month.

The International Education Finance Corporation (IEFC) is the premier provider of International student loan programs for the rapidly growing population of students who wish to study in foreign countries. It offers Competitive interest rates, No application fees or other out-of-pocket fees, Funding in as few as 5 business days from receipt of completed application , Preliminary approval in as little as 15 minutes.




For more Information on student loans Visit our www.bankxp.com forum and place your valuable comments on it.

Joint Loan Application Tips

By: Peter J Kenny

If you are living with a partner or family member and you need some money but don’t have the means, then you should think about applying for a joint loan. Joint loans can help you and a partner or family member both get their hands on more money than you could individually, whilst sharing the burden of repayment. If you want to know more about joint loans and how to apply for them, then here is some useful information that might help.Who can I get a joint loan with?Joint loans are not available for all types of relationship, but are in fact limited to certain partnerships. Married couples are the most common joint loan applicants, although unmarried couples are not eligible. Some companies will allow applications during engagement, but the loan will not be given until after marriage. Also accepted are applications from a parent and child. Although some loan companies also consider two brothers, all other sibling and family relations are generally not accepted.Getting more moneyThe main reason to jointly apply for a loan is to get a larger amount of cash than you might be able to if you were applying on your own. Married couples or parents and children can include both of their incomes to allow for a larger loan to be taken out. If you have a similar salary, then you can usually double the amount that you can borrow.Unequal earningsApplying for a joint loan doesn’t mean you both have to have excellent salaries. Even if one of you doesn’t have a salary, but money earnt from a part-time job or other work, this can help you both to get more money. As long as you are both earning and can make a contribution to the repayment it will be in your interests to apply jointly.Both responsibleAlthough both of you will get benefits from the loan, it is important to remember that you are also both responsible for the repayment of the loan. Even if you are married and split up, the amount still owed on the loan will need to be paid back by both of you. Of course there is more risk of default than a normal loan, because should one of you stop payments then the other may not be able to keep up and so you will both end up in default. This means you risk having your credit history damaged even if you were not responsible for the debt problem. Make sure that you can definitely afford to pay the loan back, even if you are no longer living with the other applicant.Who should get joint loans?Although most married couples are eligible to apply for a joint loan, they are not right for everyone. If one of you has a poor credit history or earns significantly less than the other, a joint loan may not be the right choice for you. Also, try and make sure that any joint loan you take out will benefit both of you. Just because you can get more money does not mean that money will benefit you both. Always use joint loans to fund something that will help you both, so that you can get the most out of your loan.

Peter Kenny is a writer for The Thrifty Scot, please visit us at Poor Credit Loans and Compare Secured Loans Visit www.thriftyscot.co.uk/

Refinancing A Car Loan

By: John Miller
The term "refinancing" should be familiar to anyone who has purchased a loan. Simply put, refinancing is the process of obtaining a loan to pay off an existing loan. Obviously it's not quite as simple as it sounds, but understanding that basic description is enough to begin the process of learning about refinancing.One of the best-kept secrets in the finance industry is refinancing. A great deal of time, trouble, and most importantly cash can be saved through this method alone. Home refinancing has been around for a long time now and is used by many people to save money on their loans and/or reduce their monthly payments. However, many people still balk at the idea of car loan refinancing despite being familiar with the benefits of refinancing a home loan. Those who have a less than perfect credit rating to back them up, in particular, are likely to react this way.What exactly is different about car loan refinancing? In essence, nothing. At the basic level, car loan refinancing works the same as refinancing your home. In car loan refinancing, a new car loan is obtained in order to pay off the existing car loan. The new loan may have different (typically better) interest rates, a new lender, or both. Again, as in home refinancing, this is beneficial since car loan refinancing can make your monthly car loan payments lesser. Alternately lower interest rates garnered through car loan refinancing can be capitalized on to pay off the balance of the current car loan in a shorter period of time.Very few people understand the time value of money--that the longer a loan is paid on, the more money is spent on interest charges. Take for example a 60-month loan for $16,500 on a new Honda Accord and assume that the buyer's credit is poor. The car dealer manages to get the buyer approved at 21% APR for that loan, making the monthly payments $446.38. By the end of the loan term, the buyer will have paid $10,282.83 on interest charges alone--almost as much as the initial price of the vehicle (which, of course, is now worth far less than when it was purchased). Now, if the car loan were refinanced with another lender at 6% APR after the first few months, the monthly payment would have been $318.99, allowing the buyer to save as much as $7,643 on interest charges. If the buyer refinanced at the lower APR but retained the same monthly payment, the term of the loan would be shorter and the interest savings even higher.Record numbers of homeowners refinanced their homes and saved thousands of dollars during the years 2001 and 2002. More car owners are beginning to realize the benefits of car loan refinancing every day. With the steady drop in interest rates, car loan refinancing is fast becoming a trend as more and more people realize how much money can be saved simply by refinancing a car loan.

John Miller is a writer for several well-known online magazines, on shopping and products and shopping tips topics.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Art and Antiques Insurance

By: Dovetail
Is the Art and Antiques Insurance Cover on your Home Policy Adequate for your needs ?
Most home policies will insure your precious objects like art or antiques under the contents section of the policy. But if you possess a valuable painting, item or collection, it’s worth checking to see whether this cover really meets your needs fully. You may get a better deal by switching to an insurance provider who understands art and antiques insurance better.

Most home policies are designed to offer Art and Antiques Insurance in a very general manner. After all, they have been created to cater to the needs of an average family and accord very little consideration to the specific needs of the individual customer, especially one who owns precious art and antiques.

Typically, the insurance cover will be limited to a percentage of the overall contents. Besides this, the insurance sum insured will have a single article limit that’s too low and rarely provides cover away from the home unless a specific extension to cover is opted, and paid, for. This may not be the ideal situation for precious objects like art, antiques and other high value items.

Dovetail Insurance Services only recommends insurers who recognize that this type of general cover is too restrictive for individuals needing more art and antiques insurance than the average home. These providers are often referred to as “High Net Worth” insurers.

These are some of the art and antiques insurance benefits you could get with a High Net Worth policy:

• Worldwide All Risks cover so that your art and antiques are covered wherever you may take them.

• A high value single article limit (i.e. no individual specification required) of up to £25,000

• Depreciation in value of the piece of art or antique, following restoration, if it is only partially damaged rather than completely lost or destroyed

• Assistance in getting your art and antique collections professionally valued

• If you have a valuation, which is less than 3 years old, your art or antique could be covered for up to 150% of the specified figure to give protection against market value appreciations

• New acquisitions of art or antiques covered automatically upon purchase with a set time period to notify the insurers.

The insurance cover varies between each provider so we need to know which items are particularly valuable to you so that we can get the best possible art and antiques insurance. Please use the ‘Your Specific Needs’ section of the quotation request form to tell us or contact us directly.




www.dovetailinsurance.co.uk/art-and-antiques.htm