Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Wisconsin Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Wisconsin

Find out more on Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Wisconsin Now!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

What Equity Release Is Really Good For

By Chris Channing

Anyone can tell you that owning their own home is a dream that they wish to accomplish in their lifetime. Once you get that home and you life a long happy life in it, what else do you need it for? You can really do a lot with an equity release using your home before you pass on.

The value of your home can be use towards an equity release loan. Mainly this loan is designed for individuals who want to live in their home until they pass away. The equity of the home determines the amount of the loan that an individual may take out. The money that is borrowed does not need to be paid back, as the home will be payment once the borrower passes away.

With this large sum of money now in the hands of the borrower, many of the people that use this loan option travel the world or head on an extended vacation to relax. Once they finish their adventures, they can return to their homes to finish their long lived run on this earth. This can deeply calm the soul.

Taking an equity release loan as a supplement towards a retirement fund, or as a complete source of living funds can help someone to feel safe in their final years. Others may choose to use this loan to evenly distribute the value of the home through the beneficiaries that will inherit the valuables.

If you do have heirs, it is the perfect way to give a young scholar a nice chunk of money for their schooling. That way they can study wherever they please and grow up to be whatever their imagination leads them towards. You can even divide the money up from an estate to pass on instead of the land so your heirs do not end up fighting over it.

You can even put the money you get in your loan in a high yield savings account, so the value of the money keeps growing until you pass on and your heirs can have a very large inheritance that they can use towards things they really need and your burial expenses.

Closing Comments

Equity releases are a type of loan that can really benefit an older person. They can even use it towards bettering the future for their beneficiaries.

About the Author:

How to Raise Credit Score in 30 days or less

By Marcus Duke

If your credit score is low and you need to purchase a home or buy a car or open a credit account you may find that these privileges are extremely difficult with less than perfect credit scores.

A bad credit score does not have to be a permanent fixture on your credit report. You can greatly improve your credit score by making simple changes to your credit report which in turn will improve your credit score in the long term.

So, here are several important tips that can help you to raise your credit score back up so you can have an easier time:

1. Pay every bill before it is due. If you make it a habit to pay your bills on time you can improve your credit rating and credit score.

When your payments are overdue or late your credit score can suffer greatly. Paying your bills on time is good practice. This one step alone can change your credit score in a positive way.

This step is extremely important in raising your credit scores and will help to improve your score as well.

Late payment can have a negative effect on your credit report and in some cases can even lower your score even further. When your bills are paid on time your credit report will reflect this.

2. If you have outstanding bills it's a good idea to contact the companies and make arrangements to make these bills current.

Every on paid bill does not go away, those companies still expect to get paid. Most companies will be happy to make arrangements with you to make payments towards paying off the debt owe.

4. Making your creditors aware of your current situation is helpful in finding out how to raise your credit scores under these specials circumstances.

4. One step in learning how to raise your credit score is to contact your creditors and explain your situation, they cannot help you if they are not aware of your current financial situation.

Tip #5 - Avoid Just Moving Your Debt - Many people merely move around their debt instead of paying it off, which will not help you out when wanting to know how to raise credit score. Instead of moving your debt to another card, you should be working to pay it off instead. This is the way that you can lower that score.

About the Author:

Is a reverse mortgage a good thing??

By Doc Schmyz

If you have already heard the term reverse mortgage, it still sounds a little odd. If this is the first time you are hearing the term, it will probably sound like some kind of shady deal. Reverse mortgages are becoming more popular these days, but are they scams or are they legitimate?Is it really possible to sell your house back to the bank and still retain the deed to it? Will the bank really pay YOU the mortgage payments? Let's review what a reverse mortgage is so these questions can be answered.

The name is somewhat misleading. A reverse mortgage is a loan that is structured like a mortgage, with YOU as the lender and the BANK as the buyer. In the U.S., homeowners wanting to initiate a reverse mortgage must be at least 62 years old, and own all or most of their home. These backwards mortgages are usually performed through a bank or broker. The homeowner essentially sells his or her house to the bank, in return for receiving periodic mortgage payments. Sometimes the payments can be structured as a lump sum, line of credit, or a combination of the three methods.

So what are the benefits to a reverse mortgage? It provides a constant and dependable stream of retirement income. Most retirement plans such as 401(K) or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) generally increase in value, but are still tied to stock market. The amount of money they provide during retirement can vary. A reverse mortgage can supplement a senior citizen's income. The amount depends on the homeowner's age, equity of the house, interest rate on the loan, closing fees, and a few other factors.

A common misconception about the reverse mortgage is that the bank eventually owns your house. This is not true! The deed remains in your name throughout the entire term of the process. Note that there is interest on the loan payments, but it is deferred until the loan is repaid.

The homeowner can remain living in the house during the entire term of the reverse mortgage. The loan becomes due when the homeowner moves out, or becomes deceased. At those times, the survivors/heirs can repay the loan themselves if they want to keep the house. They can also sell the home and repay the loan plus the interest in full. The money paid to the homeowner as mortgage payments must be repaid to the lender when the loan becomes due.

These mortgages can provide much needed financial support during retirement. It is a time when medical costs are likely to increase, as well as unforseen costs can creep up. Use a reverse mortgage to help yourself or your aging relatives to gain the financial security in retirement that they worked so hard to achieve.

About the Author:

Make Sure You Look For The Right Credit Counselling Agency

By Mr Bolden

Imagine over the years your debts have somehow piled up to an unmanageable level. And now amongst unpaid bills and dealing with angry creditors, you feel the only solution for you is to get some help to clean up the mess. That is all well and good, but where exactly do you go to find this help?

Now imagine this: tired of the growing debts and with no way out you decide to consult a 'professional'. You go to a credit counsellor and let that person try to help you out of your debts only to find that they have put you in more trouble than you already were in when you started.

Needless to say, over the years because of changes in lifestyles and spending habits, many individuals have found themselves in a situation where they are too deep in debt. Unfortunately, at the same time there has also been an increase in the number of abusive practitioners who pose as credit counsellors only to make the situation much worse than it was in the beginning.

The traditional credit counselling agencies were small and local services whose main function was to lend a hand to consumers with guidance and education about budgeting and how to manage their debts. Each case is studied individually and depending on the individual consumer's situation they will be directed towards debt management, or at the worst case, filing for bankruptcy.

However, there has been a shift in the nature of these small agencies. For a start, a lot of them are not small anymore. Nor are they local. The trend in credit counselling agencies finds organizations that operate at a national level and adopt aggressive marketing strategies to break through to the public. It is not unusual to see these credit counselling agencies selling their pitch by advertising through television, magazines, radio and the internet.

When going to a credit counselling agency keep in mind that most genuine agencies of this kind offer their services at a minimal fee. This fee that is charges is usually just enough to cover their expenses, thus they make the grade at a 'non profit' business. It might only be natural for consumers to drop their guards when they are met with the word 'non-profit'. But one has to be aware of the fact that not all these organization have your best interest in mind.

Experts suggest that people who are looking for assistance from credit counsellors should be cautious with the choices they make. It is important to understand the fee structure and look into the structure more deeply if they operate on the basis of percentages and commissions.

You should understand points such as who pays the commissions, you or the credit card company. Also be sure to check out if the agency gets a kickback from the credit card company from the outstanding amount when it repaid, since that is something that is likely to have an effect on the way the agency works with you.

About the Author: