Just about everybody has some sort of credit card these days. Whether it's with a retail store, gas chain, or with the large credit card companies. The truth is that there is a large variety of choices when it comes to interest rates, annual fees, late penalties, balance transfers, and payment terms. Following these "5 Simple Rules" when applying for a credit card, can save the consumer a ton of money and lots of headaches, down the road.
Rule #1: Always look for a credit card with a low interest rate, or a 0% balance transfer option. This is extremely beneficial to the borrower, so that he or she, may have the ability to transfer their higher interest rate credit cards to the 0% or low interest credit cards.
Rule #2: Always look for a credit card that has a grace period on payments that are late. Many credit card companies hike up interest rates, whenever a card holder is late on a payment within a certain period of time. This certain period of time is usually between six months and a year.
Some credit card companies will boost the interest rates anywhere from 5 to 10 percentage
points, after just one late payment. Some credit card companies reverse the 0% balance transfers, which in turn forces the card holder to make interest payments on the balances. So that low interest credit card, now turns into an out of control debt monster that will devour all of the borrower's income.
Rule #3: Try to find a credit card with no annual fee. If the borrower has good to excellent credit, say with a credit score of 550-800, then it is extremely easy to search online to find a little or no annual fee credit card. Unfortunately, if the borrower has bad credit, then paying an annual fee is almost imperative. A credit card applicant with good to excellent credit shouldn't have to pay any annual fees at all. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule such as business, revolving, or corporate credit cards, which many offer extremely high or even no credit limits.
Rule # 4: Only apply for a credit card with a company that has a proven track record with a solid reputation in the financial industry. Many credit card companies have a reputation of honesty, fairness, and excellent customer service. However, there are many credit card companies who have reputations of changing terms frequently, raising interest rates often, having bad customer service, and receiving a large amount of complaints from consumers. It will save the borrower a lot of time, headaches, and money to find a credit card company that is reputable.
Rule #5: Never apply for a credit card with a company that stipulates that they can accelerate your payment of the debt. Many cardholders don't know that numerous credit card companies can, and do, sometimes raise the minimum monthly payments due by the borrowers to
extremely high amounts. Some raise the minimum monthly payments to as much as 200% of their regular payments. So beware of the cardholder terms of agreement. Study the terms and conditions of the credit card very carefully.
If you follow these 5 Simple Rules , then you too, will be able to steer away from pitfalls that befall millions of the credit card holders, and you will be able to say confidently, that Yes, I have a good quality credit card.
Author: Bryan Pringle, Ph.d.
Article Source: http://www.apply-forcreditcards-online.com
Credit Cards
How does the FHA help homeowners secure mortgage loans
If you have never heard of the FHA or have no idea what the FHA does in helping you obtain a mortgage loan then you will be interested to learn more about the FHA or Federal Housing Administration.
The Federal Housing Administration often referred to as FHA is a government backed agency that provides insurance for mortgage loans. The FHA has been in place for over 50 years and is the oldest government program designed to help homeowners. What this means is that they are not a direct mortgage lender and do not offer any type of home loans directly to the public. FHA's sole responsibility is to provide mortgage lenders insurance against default of mortgage loans. To obtain an FHA mortgage loan you will need to apply with a lender that is approved by the FHA.
There are many advantages with FHA mortgage loans. For example, FHA insured loans allows for purchasers to qualify with a smaller down payment and often allow for more flexibility with non traditional credit scoring.FHA mortgages are available as both refinance and purchase loans and are offered by most major national lenders. You can utilize a FHA mortgage to purchase a home with as little as a 3% down payment. Recently the government announced a program called the FHA Secure loan program. This is a new initiative to help homeowners who are in adjustable rate mortgages refinance into an FHA mortgage loan. In the past if you were behind on your present loan payment you would not be able to qualify into an FHA mortgage loan. Under the new FHA secure program if you can demonstrate that you fell behind because your interest rate adjusted then you will be eligible to refinance into a fixed rate mortgage under the relaxed guidelines of the FHA Secure.
Author:Oliver Kyle
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Mortgage Leads, Ask for the Business
Many times in the process of making a sales presentation to a potential client, we will break down our product piece by piece, explaining all of the features and benefits it has to offer, then we expect our customer to have immediate buy in, and purchase our product based on the presentation they just heard.
Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Simply explaining your product is not enough. To many times we are satisfied with our presentation of the product that we forget our number one goal. Closing the deal!
Customers will get up from your desk, or hang up the phone, parting with statements such as, that sounds great! Let me think about it, or let me discuss it with my spouse and get back to you.
The number one reason we do not ask for the business is the fear of rejection. We would rather end our presentation on a happy, upbeat note, and leave the ball in our customers court.
Ask yourself this question:
Would Michael Jordan leave the ball in the opposing teams court, or would he take the ball to the hoop?
You should be doing the same thing at the end of every sales presentation, take the ball to the hoop, except in your case, ask for the business and close the deal.
One of the best techniques for doing this is by asking leading questions.
Here are a few examples of leading questions:
How about we open an account for you right now?
Why don’t we take a minute and get you started?
What do you say I go ahead and order an appraisal right now?
A leading question basically leads the customer in the direction you want to go with them, if they weren’t interested in your product, you would
never have gotten to this point. It is just following through with everything you just explained to them.
They are most likely going to agree with you and buy your product because the information is fresh in their mind. The minute they leave your
office, or get off the phone, your business card is left in their pocket, all but forgotten, headed toward a wash cycle, or the napkin they wrote your number on is headed for the trash.
Out of sight, out of mind!
So strike while the iron is hot!
Get their business while they are in front of you, because they may never be in
front of you again!
Author: Jay Conners
Article Source : http://www.jconners.com
Health Insurance Options in the State of California
When it comes to health insurance in the state of California there are definitely a lot of options available. The competition between the insurance companies for your business is fears, even though it might not seem that way when considering monthly premiums. The reason for the completion between the insurance companies in the sate of California is California laws and the size of the population. Laws in California surprisingly make it much more affordable and easier to get health insurance than in states like Washington and New York. Where average premium is three times of what it is in California. The problem with laws in California is that insurance company can decline and charge more money anyone with any medical issue. It is a win solution if you are healthy and almost no solution if you have medical issues. If you do not work for a company and do not have group plan available to you then your only options of getting health insurance in California is thought program called MRMIP. It is a California state sponsored high risk group health insurance plan that anyone can join with medical issues. It is a limited health plan and is very expensive.
When is comes to choosing a health plans in the state of California one generalization we can make to make it easier to choose and compare plans. That if it is a large insurance company with over one million people insured than the cost of the insurance is going to be pretty close to being the same. That means that no matter which company you are comparing it the cost of insurance is going to be very close to being the same. This includes companies like Aetna, Assurant, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Celtic, HealthNet, PacifiCare, Nationwide and Kaiser is going to be exception because it only offers HMO type of plans. Cost of insurance meant that you are going to get so much coverage for every dollar that you are going to spend with the insurance company. You have to consider this when comparing health insurance plans. When you are looking at a plan from one company that you think you are getting this "greatest deal", when you are actually are not getting something. Insurance companies are in constant competition on who can create a more of a creative plan. What that means is that there is a reason why one plan is much more per month than the other plan from different insurance company even though the benefits might look identical.
In California with all the insurance companies to choose from, insurance companies are constantly introducing new plans to be more competitive. That does not mean that suddenly they just decided one day that they don't want to make money and that they don't want to stay in business. New plans that are being introduced and some have been available since late nineties. Today consumer needs to be educated when choosing a health plans since plans that are offered today give you flexibility to get a plan where it covers only what you think is important to you. It could be a scary proposition since how can you possibly know what you really going to need coverage for. In most cases with all the big name insurance companies, the flexibility of the health coverage only applies to preventative care. Every plan has a number called "maximum out of pocket" that should be considered all the time when comparing health plans. That number represents the maximum dollar amount you can be out of pocket in any given year for all the medical expenses before insurance company starts paying for everything at one hundred percent. There are some really cheap plans offered from every major insurance company where nothing gets applies to this number except in case of catastrophic even where you end up in the hospital. Then insurance company starts paying at one hundred percent after your hospital bill reached that number called "maximum out of pocket".
The great thing is that insurance companies are getting smarter and give us the consumers the option to have the health plan we want with monthly premium we can afford. When working with agent or representative and you get a quote ask him or her what is not covered with this plan versus the plans that cost more money. Insurance agents get paid by the insurance companies and come at no cost to you. Therefore do not be afraid calling an agent or agency and asking them questions. It always makes sense to go through agency or independent agent since they can assist you with any health insurance company in the state of California. Also your agent or agency is going to be there for you incase you have any issues with billing or claims. It's your agent's responsibility to take care of you if there is a need, take advantage of your agent.
Author: Dennis Alexander
What are Secured Loans
A secured loan is a loan in which personal property is held as collateral in the event that the
secured loan is unable to be paid by the borrower. For instance, a secured loan would be a loan that is granted on the condition that if the secured loan is unable to be paid, the borrowers home will be taken to put the debt in good standing. A secured loan is often requested as a means to pay off high interest credit cards or to make improvements on a home. Many banks and lending institutions will allow potential borrowers to apply for a secure loan via the internet. The best asset someone can have while applying for a secured loan is a home. A secured loan is often easier to get approved, especially for someone who has a poor credit history or someone who needs a large amount of money. In order to receive a secured loan with the home as collateral,however, a homeowner will need to have established some equity. Otherwise, a secured loan based on the value of the home will be impossible, due to the fact that the home generally belongs to the bank and would not be useful in collecting a debt from an unpaid secured loan. A homeowner should proceed very cautiously when considering taking out a secured loan. In the unfortunate circumstance that a homeowner is unable to make the secured loan payments, it is quite possible that his or her house could be repossessed by the bank. This would be a scary thing for anyone to face, but it is a reality when receiving a secured loan. Before applying for a secured loan, it might be a wise idea to obtain a copy of your credit report. This will give you an accurate view of what your standing is when you apply for a secured loan, and it will also give you an idea of what kind of interest rate you can expect with your secured loan. It can also help you decide if it is an appropriate time financially to be requesting a secured loan. Interest rates for a secured loan will vary, based on a number of things. One factor is the amount of money you are borrowing through your secured loan. Another is the amount of time that your secured loan will last while you make payments. As already mentioned, an additional detail which helps decide interest rates for a secured loan is the credit score of the borrower. Although finding a good interest rate for your secured loan is very important, it is also equally important to make sure you know exactly how much you will be expected to pay in your monthly instalment toward the repayment of that secured loan. A secured loan can be a very helpful way to find money when money is needed, although it is a very serious and important financial move. Before taking out any secured loan, the borrower should make sure he or she is completely ready to handle such a decision.
Author: James Copper
Article Source: http://www.any-loans.co.uk
How Credit Scoring and Loans Interact
When you're in the market for a personal loan, one of the biggest factors that will influence the kind of deal you can get is your credit score.
Most people have heard of credit scoring, but not all of us really understand what it is and how it interacts with financial products such as loans.
The process of credit scoring is made possible by companies called credit reference agencies, who collect and store information on the financial activities of all of us. Details such as credit applications we've made, credit searches carried out on us, payments we've missed or made late, and debts that we've not paid are all held on what's known as a credit file. Every one of us who's made contact with the financial services industry will have a credit file dedicated to us.
When you apply for a loan, the first thing the lender will do is request a copy of your file from one of the credit reference agencies, so that they will have the bare facts of your financial and credit history available to them to help them come to a decision. It is not however, contrary to
popular belief, the credit agencies who decide whether you're a good or bad credit risk, and they have no direct control over your credit score.
This will be determined by a set of credit scoring criteria drawn up by the lender, of which your credit file is only a part. Each kind of entry on your file will be given a 'weight' in the scoring process, along with other information you gave on your application form such as income, residential status, marital status, length of time in employment, and so on. The importance given to the various factors will vary from lender to lender. For example, one company may place great importance on being a homeowner with a high income, and may not to be too concerned over previous late payments or arrears. In contrast, another company may not be concerned about where you live, but will take a dim view of any previous
black marks on your file, however inconsequential.
Once all this information has been weighed up, the lender will be left with an overall credit score. If this score is below their minimum threshold for approving a loan, your application will be rejected. If your credit score is excellent, then you will likely be approved at an attractive rate of interest. The majority of people will, naturally, fall somewhere between these two positions, and will be offered a loan at an interest rate that reflects their individual credit score. By law, the interest rate that two thirds or more of applicants can expect to be offered is the one that
should be given greatest emphasis and prominence in any advertisements or marketing material.
If you find that your credit score is too low to get a decent loan deal, then you can look into ways of improving your credit rating. This is a whole new subject in itself, but suffice to say that you should be wary of any companies who claim to be able to dramatically improve your credit
rating. This is in many cases unrealistic. What you can do though is to get hold of a copy of your credit file yourself, for a minimal fee, and check that all the information on it is correct. By doing this, you'll at least be getting your loan application off to a proper start.
Author: Michael writes
Article Source:http://www.article4.us
