Know Your Used Car Loan Value For a Better Deal
January 17, 2012 | 
Author As a worthy consumer you should know the used car loan value if you are just about to avail a car loan. Taking the condition of the economy into account even a used car appears to be high priced merchandise. With such circumstances people are aiming at getting better deals in car loans.
A new automobile could cost about 21,000 dollars or more. That is quite pricey even in the best of times. And what about the times when financial conditions are tight? If you are thinking about trying to manage the funds putting in all the investments, is it really worth it? The Auto Affordability Index composed by Comerica Bank based in Detroit acknowledged in their report that it takes 19.9 weeks of a median family’s income to clear only taxes to pay money for a car. Such prices bring the many available loan options before eyes. Also millions of cars come off lease every year leaving loads of options open. So you have plenty of time to determine the used car loan value.
Whether old or new, cars are investments. Most lenders provide (financing car loans) finance for the loan value rather than the automobile which is generally lower than the price of the car. The loan value is quite similar for both used and new cars but if you are not aware of the car‘s value then you might not be able to get hold of the best possible loan.
Down Payments And Car Loan Value:
If you are wondering about the down payment then take the purchase price and subtract the used car loan value, you will come to a conclusion on it.
If you know the loan value of the car then you can come up with the approximate amount of money you would need for the payments. If you have bought the car for 5000 dollars and the loan value is about 4000 dollars then you would be discussing about the down payment of 1000 dollars with the caterers. By doing the loan value calculation, you won’t go out of your budget.
Look into the price quotes from different agencies and analyze the rates. Now you can negotiate for low interest car loans. There are many online portals of banks, financial agencies and institutions and you can also apply for a loan online. A car loan rate calculator on some portals will give you an idea of how much you should pay for your monthly installments.
By working out a used car loan value you will save yourself from surprises and take the smooth side of the road.
Calculating Interest Rates with Microsoft Excel
The Rate function calculates the interest rate implicit in a set of loan or investment terms
given the number of periods (months, quarters, years or whatever), the payment per period, the present value, the future value, and, optionally, the type-of-annuity switch, and also optionally, an interest-rate guess.
If you set the type-of-annuity switch to 1, Excel assumes payments occur at the beginning
of the period, following the annuity due convention. If you set the annuity switch to 0 or
you omit the argument, Excel assumes payments occur at the end of the period following
the ordinary annuity convention.
The function uses the following syntax:
RATE (nper, pmt, pv, fv, type, guess)
As one example, suppose you want to calculate the implicit interest rate on a car lease for a $20,000 car that requires five years of $250-a-month payments (occurring as an annuity due) and also a
$15,000 balloon payment. To do this, assuming you want to start with a guess of 10%, you
can use the following formula:
=RATE(5*12,-250,20000,-15000,1)
The function returns the value .95%, which is a monthly interest rate of just less than 1%.
If you annualize this monthly rate by multiplying it by 12, you get an equivalent annual
interest rate of 11.41%.
As another example, suppose you want to calculate the implicit interest rate on a $300,000 real estate mortgage that requires thirty years of $2000-a-month payments (occurring as an ordinary annuity) but (thankfully) no balloon payment. To do this, assuming you want to start with a guess of 10%, you can use the following formula:
=RATE(30*12,-2000,300000)
The function returns the value .59%, which is a monthly interest rate of slightly more than half a percent.
If you annualize this monthly rate by multiplying it by 12, you get an equivalent annual
interest rate of 7.0203%.
A final point: Excel solves the RATE function iteratively starting with the guess argument you provide.
(If you don’t provide this optional argument, Excel uses 10%.) If Excel can’t solve the RATE argument within 20 attempts, it returns the #NUM! error. You can try a different guess argument, which may help because you’re telling Excel to begin its search from a different (hopefully closer) starting point.
How Much Will Income Tax Rates Go Up Between 2010 and 2012?
We have all been promised that people that make under $250,000 a year would not see a tax increase during the Obama administration. Of course, that promise is highly unlikely to hold. Especially considering the huge amount of money that has already been spent, and the upcoming costs related to the ObamaCare healthcare insurance program.
So, one can expect that in 2010 we will see an income tax increase, and by 2012 we will probably see a total of 10% to 20% increase between those years. Will the poor people also have to pay more income tax? Generally speaking, poor people don’t pay any income taxes as it is, it’s the rest of us that pay.
The poor people tend to use the most services and those services are paid by people who have jobs and work for a living, as they are the ones paying the income tax. Will the rich people have to pay more too? That’s an interesting comment, however you must understand that people who are extremely wealthy have many other chances to deduct various investment incentives, and take advantage of loopholes.
For those people who believe that the income taxes will not increase between 2010 and 2012, they are kidding themselves and if you ask any economist they will tell you that there is no way the government can continue to spend if they don’t raise our taxes.
Our taxes will be raised no matter what anyone tells you from any particular political persuasion. If our nation follows the same strategies of the socialist nations of Europe we should expect to pay similar percentages and taxes over time, and that’s basically the way it’s going to work, remember this is the real world. Please consider all this.
Water Usage and Car Wash Operations
Do carwashes really save water? Well, if you wash your own car in your driveway and use your garden hose with a flow rate of 8 gallons per minute and you fill up a 5 gallon bucket with soap and then wash your car; how much water do you think you will use?
If you spray your car off for four minutes (24 gallons) and then soap your car up (5 gallons of soap) then rinse your car for 6 minutes (48 gallons) then you will use 77 gallons of water. Quite a bit, but then again so is a long shower too.
The average full-service car wash in the United States as per industry surveys show that it takes 37 gallons to wash one car. But what the industry surveys don’t tell you is that many carwashes use a reverse osmosis rinse. To make reverse osmosis water it usually takes 3 gallons to make 1 gallon of the pure water for the spotless rinse.
How much of the water at a car wash is recycled? Well the truth is that most carwashes do not recycle their water. Many do but most do not. A mobile carwash generally uses a 3.1-gallon per minute pressure washer at 2200 psi with an average spray time of three minutes total. That is 9.3 gallons of water. And therefore it is the most efficient way to wash your car to conserve water.
We must protect this valuable resource of our water supplies and conserve water whenever possible. As our population in the United States by 2050 grows to over 430 million people water will be a more and more precious commodity. Please do not waste water. Learn ways you can conserve water in your community. Think on this in 2006.
What’s the Credit Score Needed For a Car Loan?
Credit scores can be broken down into a few categories:
Prime
Good
Sub-Prime
Bad
Poor
So what is the actual credit score needed to get a car loan?
The answer isn’t quite that simple. Regardless of your credit, you can get approved for a car. It’s just a matter of using the right lender that fits your credit situation. You can get approved based on your income through special finance companies that offer their services online. There are real and legitimate lenders online that cater to helping people of all credit scores.
It depends on the lender…
There are lenders that specialize in working with people that have prime, good, sub-prime, bad and poor credit. Finding the right lender is all that you need to get approved. There is no direct answer to the minimum credit score for an auto loan. All lenders are different.
Fortunately, if you have bad credit, you can get approved for a new or used car and your payments are based on your monthly income. It’s very simple to obtain a car loan if you have a low credit score and getting approved with lenders that operate online is much faster than using a local bank, credit union or car dealership.
Believe it or not, new cars are just as easy to get if you have bad credit. It just depends on the make, model and the amount financed. If you can get approved easily for a $18,000.00 used car, it’s even easier to get approved for an $18,000.00 new car. The minimum credit score to get approved through special finance online is 480.
Personal Injury Settlement Calculators
Personal injury settlement calculators provide you a new method of computation for determining a settlement amount. It tells the appropriate amount that can be claimed from the damage or the loss that has happened. For this calculation of the claim, consultation with your attorney helps you to recover the legal damages caused by the civil wrong of the person who caused you the personal injury.
Personal injury settlement calculators are specifically used only for personal injury. This saves lots of time and helps you to reach a reasonable and fair personal injury settlement. It is a real time saver and a solid frame of reference is made using this calculator. It calculates the amount value and gives you a clear picture of the lump sum you might be paid for your structured settlement.
Calculations which are done by the personal injury damage calculator include factors such as medical expenses, future medical expenses, the process involved in rehabilitation, prosthetics, wages that are lost, future lost wages, pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, disability, the future disability involved, loss of quality of life, the present and the future impairment, loss of consortium, and the loss of services.
The amount involved in the personal injury is categorized in each of the above factors. A fair settlement amount is then calculated. In certain cases, if the insurance companies do not pay you the claimed amount, then one has to consult with their attorney for the recovery of the lost and the legal damages caused by the civil wrong of the defendant. It is not recommended to evaluate the personal injury without knowing the law or consulting your attorney, since in many cases the insurance companies attempt to minimize the damages by just refusing few of your legal damages.
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12 Ways to Control Costs in Your Business
Incurring expenses is usually the focus of many business owners. Generally because it’s the easiest and most visible thing to look at. However, there are other considerations for controlling costs. The first one is to look at how you manage the flow of money overall. By this I mean your budgets.
I want to reiterate that if you spend the time upfront defining your budgets, then it’s a lot easier to manage the costs that are incurred down the track. It also allows you to then delegate the management of this process to the bookkeeper or financial controller.
1) TOP TIP: IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM THAT YOU ONLY PAY ON PURCHASE ORDERS
One of the most effective ways to control costs is once you have your budget defined, is to then implement a system where you ONLY pay invoices on purchase orders. This will stop employees ordering willy nilly in its tracks. Because as soon as you issue the edict to staff, you make sure that the accounts people ONLY pay where a purchase order is quoted.
For staff to spend money, this means that they have to request a purchase order from the accounts person. They would then check the budget to make sure that the amount is allocated, and that the person ordering the goods is authorized to make the order. If the answer is yes to both of these, then the accounts person would issue a purchase order which the person ordering the goods when then quote.
So when the invoice is received by the accounts person, they would then check that the goods have been delivered and that there is no outstanding issues to resolve. They would then prepare a cheque or online transaction for payment.
If there is no purchase order assigned, then they would refer it back to the supplier and/or the staff member who ordered the goods to resolve. I suggest being tough here – if its not assigned, then you don’t pay. It’s then up to the employee to settle the account – well essentially you probably would, but when there’s a perceived consequence, it usually puts the fear of god into them! They usually don’t spend your money again after that scare!
2) VALUE FOR MONEY
One of the areas that most business owners are usually fairly comfortable with is controlling costs. But let’s just go over the basics again. As a business owner, you should set a key performance indicator for your financial controller to be responsible for value for money. This means continually looking for different and innovative ways to control costs as a way of impacting your business’ profitability. A dollar saved as a cost, goes directly to bottom line profitability. Some businesses find that by implementing tight cost controls and questioning the need for all spending has achieved the same profitability improvement that would otherwise have had to come from a substantial increase in sales.
Now I’m about to briefly go through a checklist that is available in the ‘Essential Financial Management Templates’ workbook which you can purchase from our website.
3) SHOP AROUND FOR DEALS
The first rule of thumb is to shop around. No matter who I’m dealing with, whether it’s a good friend or colleague that’s providing the service, I always compare it against two other quotes. Now, I usually don’t go straight for the cheapest option, but it does allow me to then go back to the original person and have an open and honest discussion about reducing the original cost. I always think about a comment one NASA astronaut once made when being asked about his feelings about being in space on a new space shuttle for the first time. His reply was, “how would you feel if you were about to fly in craft millions of mils into space, where your shuttle safety is completely reliant on our governments policy of sourcing the cheapest part possible.” Point well taken. It’s not always about going for the cheapest option, but it is about ensuring that you’re getting value for money.
4) COMPARE ACTUAL COSTS TO YOUR BUDGETED COSTS
Another point is to always review costs on an ongoing basis. I would suggest monthly – lets not wait until the end of the year or when we’re in strife, we should always be focused on ensuring that we’re getting value for money at all times. When you are going through your reports with your financial controller, use this as a time to look over your costs and compare them to your budgets.
5) THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX TO CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS
Also be sure that you’re aware of what’s happening in the market place. Is there a new player who can provide competitive prices, or is there an online option available to you. Perhaps even a global possibility for you to explore. I’ll give you the example of a website. I had a friend who rung me to ask my opinion about a quote she had received on building a website. The quote was for $10,000. I referred her to a website called elance.com that has a global online bidding community. She placed a project brief for someone to build her a website and ended up getting one built for $1400. She was delighted with the quality and the end result – the only thing she did say was that she had to spend more time communicating with them (as they were overseas) but she was happy to do that to save herself $8,600!
6) CONTINUALLY REVIEW YOUR STANDARD PROVIDERS FOR THE BEST PRICES
Are there areas in your expense items that are being deregulated or additional players coming into the market. For example, electricity or gas providers, telephone providers, etc. You may be able to save money by consolidating accounts on your mobile phone bills. There are also telco providers that actually provide a free assessment service to see where they can save costs for you – use them!
7) REVIEW ELECTRICITY COSTS WITH AN ENERGY AUDIT
And while we’re on electricity costs, have you conducted an energy audit in your business to ensure that you’re not needlessly wasting money? For example, some energy reduction strategies could include turning off lights in offices that are not being used, or turning off the air condi8tioning system, photocopiers, printers and computers at the end of the day. Is there the potential to use electricity in “off peak” periods. Put timers on plant and equipment and put signs around your business reminding people to turnoff the lights and to save energy.
REIGN IN THE STATIONERY BILLS!
One of the biggest expense items in a business can be stationery. A lot of business owners won’t pay a $10 delivery charge to their business, but they will send an office person to pick up the stationery, at $25-30 an hour, plus allow them to purchase “whatever they need”. Have you ever tried not to buy an impulse item at a stationery store? It’s impossible – take it from someone who knows! Look also at the purchases that are being made in small quantities – can money be saved by purchasing in bulk – especially in printing. Make sure that one person only has the responsibility of purchasing stationery and ordering printing so that its not open slather of everyone in the business and they can also make sure that the items are actually required.
9) ESTABLISH A TRAVEL POLICY
Do you have a travel policy in your business? If so, it should clearly outline the class of air travel, grade of hotel accommodation and what expenses can be incurred and reimbursed. There are numerous accommodation site available now days that allow last minute bookings at a greatly reduced cost – have a look at wotif.com to see what I mean. Using this site means that you can actually book staff into 5 star accommodation at 3 star prices.
10) CHECK BANK CHARGES & FEES
Also consider bank interest, fees and charges – these should be checked regularly as banks often make mistakes in charging fees and interest. You should also maintain a record to interest rates and margins quoted by banks and shop around for the best interest rates.
11) REVIEW VEHICLE ALLOWANCES
Vehicle allowances are also another area of costs that can rack up pretty quickly when employees cotton to the fact that they can receive a nice little earner using the ATO vehicle allowance figures. If you have people using their vehicles a lot, you may want to consider whether you purchase or hire a pool car. Often the amount of money that you can spend paying vehicle allowances can actually pay off a company car – therefore building your assets at the same time. Another way to hand this is to offer to pay for all petrol costs instead. So everything an employee fills up, they just need to hand you the receipt and they’ll be reimbursed in full. This still adds up cheaper than paying a vehicle allowance – and is easier to budget for in your profit and loss projections.
Another way to further streamline this process can be to have fuel cards that link into a single account that you pay each month.
12) ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES FOR EMPLOYEE EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS
Always establish the boundaries for expense reimbursements in your business. Incorporate this into your induction program in your business so that everyone is extremely clear of the expectations. This is particularly relevant if you have a business development person who wants to have an “entertaining” budget. I usually empower people in this regard by providing them with a profitability target on sales made – which incorporates things like their entertainment budget. But more often, I’ll act6ually sit with them and run through ways to provide potential clients with value, without expenses “wining and dining” experiences. In fact, in my IT days, where everyone apart from me had a corporate credit card for “smoozing”. I was more effective with my sales because I would take people for a coffee.
13) MAKE SURE THE INVOICES YOU PAY ARE CORRECT
Advertising is another area where businesses can incur lots of charges. I’ve covered off on advertising in another CD in the Jump Start Your Business Series, but one thing I want to mention here is taking care with “bogus” invoices for advertising and checking that all invoices are actually for valid advertising. Now if you have a purchase order system or a centralized purchasing process, then you won’t get caught out on this one. But a few years back there was a scam where people were receiving invoices for “advertising” and then pressuring the accounts payable staff to pay them. A nice little earner made from the lack of internal systems in 99% of companies.
14) BEWARE OF OVERCHARGING!
I want to finish by talking about overcharging and the need to always check invoices against contracts or agreements. This includes rental agreements, any supplier invoices, etc. If in doubt, don’t be shy of asking the supplier to provide more details or query any inconsistencies. Errors are easily made and usually suppliers are extremely apologetic should a discrepancy be discovered.
15) ENSURE THAT YOUR PETTY CASH HAS A MONTHLY LIMIT
Despite your best planning, there will be cases when you need to have access to some petty cash – that is small amounts of cash for purchases that are fairly minor and random.
Make sure that the initial petty cash amount is realistic – if it keeps exceeding the amount each month, you need to establish where the cash is being spent and then put alternative strategies in place. However, I would strongly recommend setting a monthly limit that staff are aware of – for instance set a monthly amount of $150. Once it’s exceeded, it’s exceeded.
Taking time to reassess your costs will have a direct impact on your bottom line. However, be careful that you don’t focus more on cost minimization than opportunity creation. It’s easy to cut costs, but downright difficult to create more income. So be sure that your attention is focused in the right direction.
Car Heater Not Working – Blowing Cold Air!
There are several reasons why your car‘s heater may be blowing cold air, instead of heat. It is important to understand how the heater works in your car before you can begin to try to diagnose why it is not working. First, there is NOT an electric heater element in the heater system in automobiles, like in portable heaters used in the home. The part that transfers heat into the passenger compartment is called a heater core. A heater core can be thought of as a miniature radiator. The car engine’s coolant flows through the heater core while the fan (also called a blower), blows air through the heater core fins. When air blows through the heater core fins, it is warmed, therefore warming the passenger compartment.
Start by checking the coolant. As we already said coolant is what warms the heater core. So if the coolant is low, there may not be a sufficient amount of warmth to transfer heat to the air in the passenger compartment. Since it ‘s cold outside, low coolant may not effect the operating temperature of the engine significantly, so you won’t be alerted to a coolant problem by the temperature gage on the instrument panel. Once the coolant is full, feel the heater hoses that go through the firewall. With the engine at normal operating temperature, BOTH of the heater hoses should be hot to the touch. If only one is hot, this indicates there is is a blockage in the heater core or there is air trapped in the heater core. Using a Lisle coolant funnel is helpful in purging the air from the cooling system. If the coolant is really brown, has been neglected, or if “stop leak” has been used at some point, the heater core could be stopped up. The blockage can sometimes be unstopped by removing the heater hoses and using a garden hose with a sprayer to flush the heater core out. If neither of the hoses are hot to the touch, there could also be a malfunctioning heater control valve, if used on the model you’re working on. Check for presence of a heater control valve by following the heater hoses back to the engine. Sometimes, a vacuum line could have a break causing there to be no vacuum to operate the valve. Also it should be noted that if this is your first winter with this car (and you’re unfamiliar with the car‘s repair history), the previous owner could have by-passed the heater core because of a leak. When a heater core leaks, usually they wet the passenger side floorboard. The labor cost to change heater cores is usually expensive, so sometimes people will loop the heater hoses and by-pass a leaking heater core instead of repairing it properly.
Next check for proper airflow. After you’re sure the heater core is getting hot water flow, read the following information. Doors within the heater case are either controlled by electric actuators, cables or vacuum motors. Adjust the heat control to both extremes while listening for movement of the blend door. With a cable operated heater door it’s easiest to hear the door thump when it closes. If the door is not operating, find the door that controls the airflow across the heater core. If there is an electric motor that controls the door, tapping on it can sometimes make it work temporarily for testing purposes. A vacuum operated motor needs vacuum to work, so using a handheld vacuum pump for testing is usually recommended. If the vacuum motor does not hold vacuum, the diaphragm is leaking requiring replacement. To go deeper into diagnoses of the control head’s function and diagnosis, specific vehicle repair manual information is needed. But hopefully the basics laid out in this article has helped to get you started on the right track.
Five Reverse Home Mortgage Scams to Watch Out For
By all accounts, reverse home mortgage growth is set to explode. Baby boomers are reaching retirement and, for most, home equity makes up the largest part of their nest egg. Reverse mortgages will be the tools that many of these retirees will use to tap into this nest egg for retirement living expenses. The number of new HUD Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) already has increased more than percent in the first nine months of 2006 over the same period one year ago.
But along with reverse home mortgage growth come increased opportunities for fraud and scams. Reverse mortgages are different from traditional mortgages in ways that make them attractive vehicles for scam artists:
reverse mortgages are products specifically designed for and targeted to senior citizens, the population group most vulnerable to fraud;
scam artists know that a reverse mortgages provide the senior homeowner with relatively easy access to a sizeable pool of cash; and,
reverse mortgages are harder to understand than traditional mortgages making it easier for the scam artist to confuse and take advantage of victims.
In this article we look at some of the tactics scam artists are using and the precautions reverse mortgage borrowers can take to protect themselves.
Scam Tactic One – Downplay Pre-Loan Counseling
An educated borrower is the scam artist’s worst enemy – but it’s up to the borrower to educate themselves and take advantage of counseling and other opportunities to learn about reverse mortgages.
All three major reverse mortgage programs – HUD HECM, Fannie Mae’s Home Keeper and Financial Freedom – require potential borrowers to have counseling with an independent counselor specially trained in reverse mortgages before taking out a loan.
In a recent Detroit-area fraud case, a corrupt lender was able to keep the borrower in the dark about the amount she was eligible to borrow. She thought her loan would be for $61,000 when in fact she was borrowing $103,000. Guess who pocketed the $42,000 difference? A thorough counseling session would have given the homeowner an accurate idea of the true amount she was eligible for. Unfortunately for the victim, the prosecutor in the case says this never happened:
“A counseling meeting explaining the reverse mortgage process was required by Financial Freedom before the loan could be processed. Mr. James allegedly informed Ms. Schultz that he would be able to waive the counseling meeting by just asking a few questions over the phone.”
Precaution: Although counseling by telephone is allowed, it is always best to meet face-to-face with the counselor. If you find that anyone you’re working with in the process suggests that counseling can be done quickly over the phone or otherwise downplays the importance of pre-loan counseling, be highly suspicious.
Scam Tactic Two – Forgery
Forgery is a key part of many scams. In the Detroit case cited above, the lender requested the title company to prepare two checks payable to the homeowner: one for $61,000 which the homeowner received and a second one for $42,000 which the corrupt lender endorsed with a forged signature and deposited into his own account.
In one California case, two con artists – one working as a financial advisor the other a handyman – convinced an elderly homeowner to take out a reverse mortgage to pay for home repairs. The financial advisor opened an account for the proceeds of the loan and forged the victim’s name to gain access to funds.
Another California case reported in the Santa Cruz Sentinel shows how dangerous it can be to sign “unfinished” documents:
Mrs. Sally Scott is 66 years old. While she receives Social Security and pension checks, she still can’t make ends meet. She saw an ad for a “reverse” mortgage – a loan that allows seniors age 62 or older to receive cash by borrowing against their homes and does not require repayment as long as they live there. Seeking a little financial cushion, she spoke to a mortgage broker about a $10,000 reverse mortgage.
When she received the loan papers, she noticed that the loan amount was $200,000. The broker promised that he’d change the figure, but insisted that she sign the paperwork first. Trusting the broker, Mrs. Scott signed.
A week later, she received a check for $200,000. She immediately notified the broker, who apologized for the mistake and instructed her to wire the money back. As it turned out, the account that Mrs. Scott returned the money to belonged to the broker. He disappeared, leaving her with a mortgage in default and no way to repay the loan.
Precaution: Never sign documents with blanks to be filled in or corrections to be made later. Carefully protect access to your checking and other accounts. Review and reconcile checking account and loan statements regularly. If you find something awry, contact your financial institution immediately.
In the Detroit case cited above, the victim caught on to the scam when she received a loan statement indicating the balance of her reverse mortgage (including interest) totaled $131,000.
Also, take advantage of the free credit reports available to you under federal law. Reviewing your credit report each year is also a good way to catch unauthorized financial activities under your name.
Scam Tactic Three – Charging for Free Reverse Mortgage Information
The complexity of reverse mortgages means that it is natural for borrowers to seek assistance and guidance to help them understand the loan process, find a lender or, generally, better understand what they are getting into. Some scammers have seized on this to offer – for a fee – reverse mortgage information and services that are available to consumers at no charge.
For example, some senior homeowners have been contacted by firms offering to assist them in finding a reverse mortgage lender, in exchange for a percentage of the loan. This type of arrangement should always be avoided. According to HUD’s website:
HUD does NOT recommend using an estate planning service, or any service that charges a fee just for referring a borrower to a lender! HUD provides this information without cost, and HUD-approved housing counseling agencies are available for free, or at minimal cost, to provide information, counseling, and free referral to a list of HUD-approved lenders. Call 1-800-569-4287, toll-free, for the name and location of a HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you.
Precaution: Walk away from anyone who offers to find a reverse mortgage lender for a fee. Use the internet to find free information about reverse mortgages or, read one of the several excellent books that have been published in recent years.
If you feel you have need for a professional financial planner to assess your overall situation – including the reverse mortgage decision – find a certified financial planner (CFP) who works on a fee-only basis and who is knowledgeable of reverse mortgages (many aren’t).
Scam Tactic Four – Posing as a Government or Non-Profit Representative
The most popular form of reverse mortgage – the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) – is an official program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). However, neither the HECM program nor other reverse mortgage programs are marketed directly to senior homeowners by government employees.
Unscrupulous reverse mortgage salesmen have been known to represent themselves to elderly homeowners as government representatives or volunteers for non-profit organizations.
Precaution: Be sure you know who you are dealing with and what organization they represent. Do not be timid about asking for information such as their home office location and phone number. Use resources like HUD and the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) to check out the company.
Scam Tactic Five – Bundling Things with Reverse Mortgage Financing
Smart consumers know that the best way to shop for a car is to separate the parts of the transaction – purchase, financing and trade-in – from each another. With a bundled transaction, it’s easy for the consumer to be befuddled and not understand the true cost of the overall deal. What appears to be a “great price” on the car may mask exorbitant finance charges or a low trade-in value.
Similarly, a common tactic of scam artists is to bundle reverse mortgage financing with something else such as home improvements, annuities, risky investments, living trusts or other estate planning products.
In one Seattle-area case, elderly consumers were told that living trusts must be purchased in order to obtain a reverse mortgage. In another case, seniors were encouraged to take out a reverse mortgage and use the proceeds to “invest” in truck-mounted billboards.
Frequently, two or more scammers work as a team. For example, in the California case cited earlier, an unscrupulous financial advisor steered the homeowner to a home repair contractor who was party to the scam and who grossly overcharged the victim for repair work.
If you find yourself dealing with someone who attempts to bundle a reverse mortgage with another product or service or steer you to a particular contractor/lender, be highly suspicious. If you feel at all uncomfortable or that the person is using high-pressure sales tactics, walk away.
Precaution: When home improvements or estate planning services are needed, shop for the best deal. It’s best for you to find what you’re looking for rather than them finding you. Homeowners should avoid doing business with anyone who comes uninvited to the door, makes an unsolicited phone call or whose name is found randomly on a flier.
When you’ve found the best deal, then weigh your financing options – including a reverse mortgage. Keeping these decisions separate will protect you from possible fraud and help ensure you get the most for your money.
Lower Your Auto Insurance Premiums – Tips and Tricks For You
Do you want to get lower price rates for your auto insurance coverage plan? Is your current insurance too costly and too much for your tight budget? If you want to get lower premium insurance payments, then take heed of the following pointers written below. Getting cheap auto insurance rate for your car is easy only if you take consideration of the following:
Factors that define your auto coverage quote:
1. Car driving record- Your driving behavior is one of the factors that may influence the price rate of your auto insurance. You should ensure that your driving record is clean and reveals someone who takes responsibility over his driving. Speeding tickets and other recent bad driving record will surely raise the price of your premiums.
2. Gender – Gender may sometimes influence your insurance rate. There are insurance providers who provide specialized auto insurance deals for lady drivers. Women drivers have been found to pose lower risk and involvement in car accidents than men, thus there are some insurance providers who give discounts to the members of this gender.
3. The model/type of car you are driving – Your premium rate is partly based on the model of car that you drive. When you insure an expensive and flashy car, you will surely have to pay a higher premium quote because replacement of your vehicle in case of accident costs a lot as well. According to the statistic records of the Highway Loss Data Institute, cars prone to accidents and collisions along the road are small 2 or 4 door cars. Sports cars are also highly prone to accidents thus higher premium rates are quoted. Go for low profile cars with complete security and auto theft equipment, and you will get a discounted price on your auto coverage plan.
4. Type of Occupation - Your occupation can also influence your insurance price. Insurance providers give low premiums to people whose occupation does not likely involve incidents of frequent car usage and long travels. There are auto insurance groups that give discounts to certain professions so be sure to inquire about that.
5. Being Loyal to One Insurance Company – If you get your auto insurance from the same company that provides coverage for your house and health needs, then you are likely to get discounted premiums for your loyalty. Ask the insurance company agent if a combined coverage is available.
Tips when shopping for auto insurance online:
1. Check your credit record - take note of your current insurance premium and monthly payments. Your task now is to find a insurance deal that exceed or equal the coverage of your current insurance plan but is cheaper or more affordable to purchase.
2. Comparing similar price quotes – Always get an update for the current auto insurance deals available from different insurance groups. You can enlist the help of an insurance broker so you can be presented with a list of possible auto insurance providers and the deals that they offer. You can also use the internet and search for sites that offer auto insurance plans and list all the details so you can make a comparison. Ensure that you are comparing the same type of auto insurance coverage and choose which one seems to give you the most benefit.
3. Using comparison websites – If you want to have instant results and have an easy search, then use insurance comparison websites. These websites give you a comprehensive list of auto insurance offers so you only need to type in the keyword and wait for the results.
Before deciding to purchase an auto insurance plan from a certain provider, you must ensure that they are not a scamming company. Good insurance companies have key features including reliable business record, recommended by professionals, good company credit standing and positive customer reviews.