Reverse Mortgage Adjustable Rate Crushes the Fixed Rate

By Borko Panteleio

A senior gentleman gave me a call yesterday. For 15 minutes I assessed his situation and told him definitively he should move forward only with an adjustable rate mortgage.

I've spent enough time around the old block to know that If I'm going to say something to a senior like, "you need an adjustable rate mortgage" I better explain myself in no uncertain terms.... And post haste.

Many seniors have built up opinions which may be hard to shake. When one makes a grand statement, that might normally be seen as negative, one better quickly put some logic behind it.

I lost the race. This guy was like Speedy Gonzalez. He immediately held up the proverbial stop sign and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, he wanted the fixed rate.

I knew he was being somewhat ignorant and the adjustable really was his best option. I tried again and he cut me off again, "FIXED RATE". He was a man of few words. I felt like a little kid being shushed by his father.

Well, he was set in his ways and never did open his mind to logic, but maybe you will. The adjustable rate, as it pertains to reverse mortgages, is typically the way to go.

The reason is the adjustable rate mortgage is available as a line of credit. The fixed does not have this option.

A borrower will qualify to get a certain amount of money based upon multiple criteria. Most don't need all of it at the time they close on the reverse mortgage. That makes the ARM appealing.

The adjustable rate, unlike the fixed, gives the borrower to pull out money, from the line of credit, as needed and when needed.

This benefits the borrower's equity. Unused money in the line of credit has no negative affects on the borrower's equity. It's not accruing interesting eating away at the precious equity.

When a borrower goes with the fixed rate he takes out a sum of money, either the entire amount or a portion thereof. And "Ba Dee, Ba Dee, Ba Dee, Thats all folks!"

If Mr. Fixed Rate above owned the home free and clear and was getting the reverse mortgage to supplement income, it would be silly to get a fixed rate mortgage. To do so means the borrower would have to pull out a large sum and plop it into a bank or CD awaiting its use.

It does not compute. The rate charged for money pulled out would be greater than the return from the bank or CD. The best option is to go with the ARM and leave it the line of credit. On top of that the 15 year average interest rate on the ARM is lower than the current fixed rate.

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To get California Reverse Mortgage myths, pitfalls and mistakes make it to this site. An excellent question and answer location about the California reverse mortgage is here.

Credit Repair Help - It's Not As Hard As You Think!

By Mark Alison

It's really hard to go and live in this world with bad credit. People everywhere are in debt and in need of help. What are you supposed to do when you want to make that big purchase and the loan gets denied?

Getting your credit fixed takes time and effort. It's a simple process and it can be done. Patience is the key. Keep a reign on spending and follow some rules and your credit will be back in good standing.

Budgeting your income is the first step for healthy credit. You need to figure out your spending habits. When you review them, you will see what extra income is going to waste. Suggestible items to cut back are cigarettes, coffees, and fast food. In order to get your credit back in good standing, some sacrifice should be made.

We need to then know what's in your credit report. There are three credit card companies, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. There are many places to go that will get you a report from all three. These reports will list everything you owe to the people who have reported it.

Contacting the creditors is the next step. You need to speak to them to offer a payment plan. They will be willing to work with you because they want the money owed to them. If you offer to pay off the full balance and settle right then and there, usually they will give you a discount and ask you only pay the principal. Any agreements should be mailed to you in writing.

Now you need to close out and pay your credit card debts. Destroy the cards and start paying them off. The best idea is to close all the accounts you have except your three oldest ones. You see, credit scores are based on the account history as well as other factors. Even if these lines of credit are opened, you don't need to use them unless it's an emergency.

You must make all your payments on time and avoid bankruptcy. It's a good idea to join a credit union as well. They offer a better chance of giving you a consolidation loan if you want to go that route.

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The Way Personal Finance Software Can Change Your Life Forever

By Jenni Snook

Without personal finance software, do you feel as if your income disappears like magic each month? Do you often think about where the money listed on your credit card statement disappeared? Have you already used all the money you took out of the ATM the other day? In the event that you find yourself in any of these financial situations, you might as well go ahead and face it, maintaining your personal finances may be an extremely difficult task, particularly when you are on a really tight budget.

Each and every time that you turn around, you will discover yet another bill that has to be paid, and then before you know it, your whole entire paycheck has been paid out in bills and maybe a little extra as well. Living from paycheck to paycheck is certainly not an ideal way to live your life as this would mean struggling to meet your financial obligations. You may even resort to credit, which could potentially cause more problems.

It's probable that you have wondered on many occasions how you got to be in such a situation. Rest assured that you are by far not the only one struggling in the financial area of your life. Today on average, an individual has 1 income stream which then has to distributed to another 30 sources, this is how modern society is today.

By simply looking at the amount of payments you make on a regular basis such as credit cards, mortgages and insurance, you should be able to see why money seems to disappear so quickly before our eyes. Nevertheless, how would you feel if you could always know where money went and shape your life in a way that would guarantee you financial freedom for a long time? Fortunate for you, where you find a will, there is certainly a way.

You may not be aware but there exists a fantastic piece of personal finance software called Family Finance Planner. For those people that are not too familiar with Family Finance Planner, it is a free budgeting program for families available online on many websites.

It's quickly being taken up throughout the personal finance world and it could provide the solution to your financial problems for you and your family. It's surprisingly very easy to use and you would be mad not to give this piece of personal finance software a try.

About the Author:

Jenni Snook is the head author of http://www.HealthyWealthySoul.com, a website dedicated to providing people tips and tools on personal finance software to attain both financial and spiritual happiness in their lives.

A great opportunity for the smart real estate investor

By Rem

Many hear about the phrase "real estate short sale" and do not fully grasp what it means. If you read the newspapers, or turn on the TV and the odds are high that you will come across stories about declining real estate market conditions and the increasing willingness of banks and other financial institutions to consider real estate short sales as an alternative to foreclosure.

The real estate crisis throughout the country has made the prices decrease and the sell time increase. It is not unfair to label the current real estate market one that is undergoing a market meltdown in many cases, and Detroit is one of those. Declining real estate markets are the primary reason for the rise in short sale real estate opportunities.

A real estate short sale happens when a bank lets a property be sold for less than the amount owed on it. In order for this to occur, two conditions must be met. Firstly: Market values are such that the property's sale price cannot cover the outstanding mortgage balance(s). An inability to make additional payments on the property is the second requirement.

Let's look at an example property that was bought five years ago for the rate of 217,000 dollars with an adjustable rate mortgage. Two years after purchasing their property, the owners also took an additional mortgage out, to the price of 10,000 dollars. In a five year time span, the amount the mortgages would have been paid is negligible. Further assume that the property is in a part of the country where market values have fallen to 215,000 dollars for comparable properties, and that the adjustable mortgage interest rate has recently increased from 7 to 11 percent. Once one of the owners loses their job, the situation is ripe for a real estate short sale.

For a bank, a foreclosure can mean a lot of time and money spent that a short sale would not. The reason for this is that the banks believe it is better to get the property off their books and accept a smaller amount of money they are guaranteed to get than to accept an unknown amount in the future. Those are the basics of a real estate short sale, though numerous complications can arise from having multiple owners and lenders not agreeing to a short sale terms.

A real estate short sale is an unpleasant experience for an owner, but it is not the worst thing in the world. The methods may not be flawless, but it will beat having a foreclosure on the credit report. On the positive side, it can represent a great buying opportunity for the smart real estate investor.

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Also have a look at Cheaper Home Blog and Home For Less Blog

What You Should and Shouldn't Do When Remortgaging

By Troy Cruz William Engle Dawn Khoury James Nissen Robert Hill Chris Laning Janet Taylor Jack Enders Bruce Gross Rick Bean Keith Wood Ray Johnson Alex Velez Juan Hines Paul Holtz Kenya Rios Peggy Dye Neal Dawes Lucas King David Hebert Karl Howell Jarrod Lucky Ruth Coats Doris Lund Ryan Hudson Henry Bush Lonnie May Arlen Bell Wanda Kuebler Kevin Stiles Nick Horton Jorge Pina Frank Vera Chad Copp Fred Brod Jose Cruz Mark Jones Kelly McMahon Barney Bernard Ailleann Alan

You may feel pressured to remortgage the house and other properties that you own, but you aren't 100% sure that it is the right move financially. If you decide to remortgage your property in the end, here is some advice on what you should and shouldn't do to make your remortgage a lot easier.

Should: Window shop. When you remortgage, you are taking your current mortgage with your bank and moving it to an entirely new bank. It doesn't count as a remortgage if you don't change banks or mortgage companies. If you want to get a great deal on your remortgage you are going to have to window shop. You are not going to be able to talk to just one bank, you are going to have to go to many different banks and see what each one has to offer.

Should: Reevaluate your finances. Sometimes, a person remortgages their house thinking about all of the money that they are going to save, and it turns out that they aren't saving very much money at all. You are going to need to remember that it costs money to remortgage, and you might be better off putting the thousands of dollars in fees towards the principal of the loan in order to pay it off quicker. Those extra payments might just be more economical than remortgaging. Don't just think about how remortgaging will help you now, think about what it will do for the rest of the life of the mortgage.

Shouldn't: Follow the crowd. If you know a lot of people that are remortgaging now, it doesn't mean that you need to remortgage now, too. If a lot of people are remortgaging you are still going to have to make the best decision for yourself and weigh the plusses and the minuses of the whole process.

Shouldn't: You shouldn't get swept away with silly promotions. Some banks are going to be less than honest with their advertising, saying that they can offer you a really low interest loan, but then the mortgage papers say the interest rate is much higher. If you can't believe a bank could offer such a good rate, then it is probably just a way to get you in the door.

Shouldn't: Rush things. There is often this big rush to remortgage property, but you are still going to have the option of remortgaging tomorrow, one week from now, one month from now and even one year from now. If you are worried about getting a special deal because the offer runs out tomorrow, you should take a breather. Remortgaging is something that you are going to have to live with for a long time and because it is such a big pain in the butt to do, you don't want to do it and then decide to remortgage again in a couple of years.

There are things that you should and shouldn't do when taking the leap and remortgaging your home. The most important advice is to make sure that you understand what you are doing and how it will affect the future of your mortgage. Remortgaging is going to be an individual thing, so make sure that you look at your situation only.

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Want To Remorgage? Ring Brendan at 01 4790579 Now

How Does A Basic Retirement Calculator Work?

By William Blake

Most people are interested in what situation they will be in when they retire. Everyone has an idea of how they would like their life to be. If you input what you are currently putting away for your retirement into a retirement calculator it can tell you what you can expect to have at the time of retirement. This can help you make any needed adjustments to be sure you can have the retirement life you want. This valuable information is at your fingertips. Just surf the internet to find a retirement calculator and start inputting the numbers.

Many people do not understand what a basic retirement calculator is telling them and they do not understand how it gets the numbers it spews back out at them. A basic retirement calculator is a guessing machine that takes current conditions, puts a huge guess for future trends on the current conditions, and then it tells you that there is no way you will be able to retire.

What the calculator does is determine what your standard of living is costing you now and tries to predict what that same standard of living will cost you at the time you are ready to retire.

The basic retirement calculator will even go so far as to tell you how much per month that $4,000 in 2007 needs to be to give you an equivalent lifestyle in 2027. The whole thing is a huge guessing game and the basic retirement calculator is just a tool the financial advisor uses to scare you into giving them as much of your disposable income as you think you can part with and then some.

When you look at history and the facts you may want to keep your money and live for now.

Can We Predict the Future?

The economy has been extremely unstable and unpredictable over the years. That is evident by the millions of dollars that have been lost on investments when the market crashes as it has every 10 to 20 years over the last century. One thing is for sure, the prices have consistently risen throughout the years. Consider how much it used to cost to buy a car.

Today, only 60 years later, that price has gone up over 2,700% to over $16,000 for a new car. So when you put an inflation percentage of 4% or 5% a year you are really not being honest with yourself. Between 1979 and 2000 the average American salary only went up by 11.5 cents per hour per year. A basic retirement calculator doesn't take that into account either.

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Looking for credit card debt assistance? Stop by the Debt Reduction Academy website, where you can sign up to receive your free 5 day mini course "Operation Money-Find: How To Find Money To Start Paying Off Your Debt This Month". Grab your copy now at http://www.debtreductionacademy.com/minicourse.php

Bankruptcy Assistance

By Jon Pete

The current economy isn't in a good shape, there isn't a positive note in the near future, most of us have had to take a long hard look at our money and may have to take drastic measures! The fact is that you may very well find yourself in financial debts and not see a way to pay them off. Usually, one of the first solutions that should come to mind is bankruptcy. Remember, though, that it is not really as simple as it may seem. When considering bankruptcy, remember that bankruptcy assistance is something that you need to consider.

When you are contemplating bankruptcy assistance, keep in mind the idea that bankruptcy is actually a fairly complicated matter. There are six different chapters of bankruptcy that are regulated under law, and though you will usually find that you are in a position to file under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, there are still many things to look at. Unless you have some bankruptcy assistance on your side, you may still be stuck with long term payments and be forced to be tied in deeper financial woes; what is worse, and your credit will be trashed as well!

If you are looking to move forward with bankruptcy , note that you do not need to proceed on your own. There are people who file without professional aid, and in many ways, they regretted not looking for assistance. When you are in a position where you are looking to move forward and to make sure that you are getting the results that you need from your bankruptcy, don't leave it to chance.

When you can get professional bankruptcy assistance, you will be in a position to stop and really consider what your options may be. Are you going to be able to get out from under all of your debt free and clear, or will you look at what have been setup for you in terms of the payment plans? It will make a big difference when it comes to filing, and they are all firmed up, you will find that a number of self-help guys are not in a good situation to make these choices by themselves.

Whether you comprehend that bankruptcy assistance is the only way out, or still delaying on the idea of whether bankruptcy is for you, you will find that this is not a arrangement that you want to go through by yourself. Hiring a local expert who can make you make the right choices at this decisive juncture is something that is quite crucial, and if you want to make sure that this is the resolution that you don't come to self-reproach, it is important to find help before long.

Finding reliable bankruptcy assistance can enable you get around this difficult period and live through it relatively unscathed.

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Bankruptcy is not a favorable financial position to be in. If there is a need to go for bankruptcy, perhaps you need bankruptcy assistance. Do visit our website for more assistance.

In modern times, it is almost impossible to stay out of debt

By Keith BL Mallinson

In modern times, it is almost impossible to stay out of debt,this problem is sometimes caused by outside pressures. When this happens, it doesn't actually mean that it was done with intent. When a borrower has a poor credit history it's not the end of the world; there are still many companies who will provide bad credit loans for people in need of financial help. It's not the end of the world even if you have a poor credit scoreas bad credit loans can be provided by online companies.

Finance provided in this way is can be used by the applicant in the same way as a personal loan, they shouldn't find any restrictions. If a person is accepted for a loan then there is a good chance they may help their credit rating.

These bad credit loans may be used for other situations and not necessarily debts, so it could be used for an emergency expense that has arisen like medical fees not covered by insurance or a wedding for example. They use a loan that they can pay regularly, as a means to achieve this.

It also has a greater repayment period up to twenty five years. Through the unsecured loan method, an amount in the range of 2,000 to 50,000 dollars is available for borrowing but this sum has to be paid back in a period of 6 months to 10 years.

The risk of defaulting is much lower with a secured loan as the finance company take a charge on your property which is also the reason they can arrange the loan at a preferential rate of interest. But for an unsecured loan, the borrower is charged a higher rate of interest because there is no guarantee that the loan will be repaid.

It will probably be necessary to carry out some research online first. Loans arranged when court judgments are in force are harder to find, especially if you have special needs such as extending the period of the loan for example, so applications will need to be carried out online.

The good thing about bad credit loans is that you will probably still be able to fulfil your financial obligations without the poor credit score getting in the way. By making the loan application online it will speed up the process so you will be able to get back on with your life.

This opportunity should not be forgotten or wasted.

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