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Student loan borrowers spend countless hours attempting to figure out the best way to finance their college education, including finding the best rates and deals available from lenders. Sometimes the best deals are not those that just sound great over the phone but are backed by the solid standing and integrity of the lender and its representatives. If ever there is any doubt, it is best to have the company put the facts in writing.
Since students and their parents have so many student loan options from which to choose, it is important that borrowers carefully review their choices and select a reputable lender. Such character qualities as a proven track record of honesty, excellent customer service, and a history of providing helpful information over high-pressure sales pitches are essential, according to NextStudent, the Phoenix-based premier education funding company.
Top-Notch Training Sets Standard
When students or their parents contact NextStudent they are assigned a personal NextStudent certified Education Finance Advisor. The EFA will answer all their questions and provide guidance through the often confusing student loan jungle. This ensures that borrowers receive the highest level of customer service and equips them to make the best decisions based on their individual goals and objectives for college.
With NextStudent’s emphasis on outstanding customer service and dedication to making college funding a simple, easy process, the company places high demands on its EFAs to adhere to that standard. Therefore, becoming an EFA is much more than being hired as a talented telemarketer with closing skills and getting on the phone. EFA candidates start with four weeks of in-depth training, which include both classroom time and live calls made under the direct supervision of their managers. In order to assist customers, representatives must test at 90 percent or better, or else they continue to practice their skills until that score is attained.
Next, EFA candidates spend a rigorous six months of on-the-job training in order to become NextStudent certified in each of the four product areas: NextStudent’s Student Loan Consolidation, Private Student Loans, Federal PLUS Loans and Stafford Loans. They are not able to take incoming calls from NextStudent customers until they have demonstrated specific mastery in each area.
Quality Assurance, Promotion from Within Maintain Standard
Borrowers may be confident that they are receiving accurate information when dealing with a NextStudent Education Finance Advisor, as all EFAs carefully are monitored on a weekly basis, both directly by their floor managers and through the Quality Assurance Department.
The NextStudent certified Education Finance Advisor training program and its comprehensive quality assurance measures backed by some of the most advanced proprietary student loan technology on the market ensure that borrowers receive the premier level of service in the industry. Whether that means educating students as to their federal aid entitlements or selecting the best incentive package for their consolidation loan, borrowers can be rest assured that NextStudent EFAs are helping them make the best decisions for their college financial aid needs.NextStudent believes that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and it is dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding simple. Learn more about student loans at source
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Life is a bundle of surprises and uncertainties. And one thing that helps a man to handle such surprises and uncertainties efficiently is a sufficient monetary reserve. Some situation may arise in life when you need fast access to monetary aid to fulfil an urgent need. You cannot afford to wait for long to receive the financial aid.
What kind of financial solution is ideal in such situations?
Unsecured loans are devised keeping in consideration the need for quick cash during the phases of financial emergencies. An unsecured loan is a short-term loan that can be availed by a person without the need to place a collateral. So, this loan can act as a saviour for the tenants or non-homeowners who do not have a home to offer as collateral for receiving financial aid.
Absence of collateral eliminates the step of property evaluation. As a result, you receive the required cash in very little time through quick unsecured loans So, an unsecured loan is an ideal option when you are in need of immediate financial aid and are unable to offer a suitable collateral to back the loan money.
Lack of collateral security in quick unsecured loans increases the risk borne by the lender. The lender adjusts this risk premium by charging a higher interest rate as compared to the secured loans. But this aspect of an unsecured loan is compensated by its speedy processing. You get the loan money well on time. And this is a big advantage when you require fast monetary aid.
There are different types of unsecured loans, such as unsecured debt consolidation loans, unsecured home improvement loans, unsecured holiday loans, etc. All these types of unsecured loans enable you to meet different types of needs, such as collating the debts, making home renovations or going for a dream vacation.
So, an unsecured loan is a true friend in the phases of urgent financial needs when you need money...fast.
Source
Student Loan Consolidation: Turn Your Variable-Rate Student Loans Into One Fixed-Rate Loan
Posted by Coool Dude
Although Federal PLUS Loans and Stafford Loans are currently issued at fixed interest rates, PLUS and Stafford loans issued prior to July 1, 2006, are variable-rate student loans. The interest rate on these college loans adjusts every year on July 1.
If you’re a PLUS or Stafford borrower with one of these variable-rate loans, your monthly payment amount could fluctuate from year to year, depending on your adjusted rate. When interest rates go up, the monthly payments on your federal parent and student loans may also go up, putting a bigger dent in your budget than you may have planned.
Lock In Your Monthly Payments With Student Loan Consolidation
If you wish you could do away with the uncertainty of variable interest rates and potentially higher payments, NextStudent’s student loan consolidation program could be the solution you’re looking for.
NextStudent Federal Consolidation Loans give you the security of a fixed interest rate. By consolidating your federal college loans with NextStudent, a leading Phoenix-based education funding company, you’ll replace your variable-rate parent and student loans with a fixed-rate student loan consolidation.
With a federal student loan consolidation, you’ll never have to worry about rising interest rates leaving you guessing about your monthly payment amount and whether you’ll have enough room in your budget.
Cut Your Monthly Payments on Your Student Loans by up to 40%
Besides offering you the stability of a fixed interest rate, NextStudent consolidation loans could also cut your monthly student loan payments almost in half.
The standard repayment term for Stafford and PLUS loans is 10 years. But when you consolidate your parent or student loans with NextStudent, you may be able to extend that 10-year repayment term by up to 20 years to a 30-year repayment term. By extending your payments over a longer repayment term, your student loan consolidation could lower the amount you have to pay each month.
Consolidate your college loans with NextStudent, taking advantage of that longer repayment term, and your monthly student loan payments could go down by up to 40%!
Hassle-Free Repayment for Your Student Loans
If you have several parent or student loans in repayment and you’re juggling multiple bills, multiple due dates, and multiple monthly payments to multiple lenders, a student loan consolidation could help make your student loan repayment easier to manage.
With NextStudent’s student loan consolidation program, you can bundle your entire eligible federal parent or student loans into one single fixed-rate consolidation loan—that means just one monthly bill and only one monthly payment you’ll have to make. And that payment amount is fixed for the life of your student loan consolidation.
Fast, Easy, and FREE: Apply in Minutes to Consolidate Your Student Loans
You can apply for your NextStudent consolidation loan in minutes, either online or with a quick phone call. It’s fast, easy, and free to apply, and there are no credit checks, so you won’t need to worry about finding a co-signer.
NO fees
NO credit checks
NO co-signers required
You don’t need to worry about prepayment penalties either. There are no prepayment penalties on NextStudent Federal Consolidation Loans. When you consolidate your federal parent or student loans with NextStudent, you’ll never be charged extra for paying more than the minimum each month or for paying off your consolidation loan early.
Consolidating Your Federal Student Loans
To be eligible to consolidate your own federal student loans, you can’t currently be enrolled in school more than half time. The student loans you’re looking to consolidate must be in repayment, in a grace period, or in an authorized deferment or forbearance period.
If your parents have Federal PLUS Loans that they took out to help you pay for school, they’re also eligible for NextStudent’s student loan consolidation program. And your parents don’t have to wait for you to graduate in order to consolidate their own loans: Your parents can consolidate the PLUS loans they took out for your education as soon as the PLUS loans have been fully disbursed and have entered repayment, even if you’re still in school.
Although your parents can consolidate their federal PLUS loans, you won’t be able to consolidate your own college loans together with your parents’ loans.
Student Loan Consolidation for Your Private Student Loans
If you have private student loans in addition to (or instead of) your federal student loans, you won’t be able to consolidate your private loans with the federal student loan consolidation program. But if you’re looking for the same convenience of a single consolidated loan for your private student loans, you may be eligible to consolidate your private student loans separately with a NextStudent Private Consolidation Loan.
NextStudent believes that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and we’re dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding simple. Learn more about Student Loans, Private Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation at www.nextstudent.com.
Stay Current with our Student Loan Articles
NextStudent is proud to annouce that we now provide newsfeeds for our student loan articles and for NextPath, our free financial aid newsletter. You can use the RSS feed below to add this to your "MyYahoo" account, your blogs, newstickers, and other channels that accept distributable content.
source:http://www.nextstudent.com/articles/Fixed-Rate-Student-Loan-Consolidation.asp
The rising cost of living and changing business trends have made UK unsecured loans an integral part of our lives. Almost everyone is taking these loans on a daily basis in the form of credit cards, charge cards, store cards, overdrafts, etc. A credit option that can be availed on a daily basis would obviously not involve collateral, as asset evaluation procedures are quite time-consuming.
The main feature of unsecured loans - the above mentioned and the formally applied loans - is no collateral. Hence, these loans are ideal for:
Tenants, as they may not have something valuable to pledge
Homeowners, as they may not be willing to risk their asset
Other main features of unsecured loans are less paperwork and speedy approval, as lengthy property evaluation routines are not a part of this loan alternative. Popularly called fast loans, these loans are ideal for:
Urgent needs, i.e., when time matters
Temporary and small monetary needs, i.e., when security is not required
Non-existence of collateral condition means no immediate risks, i.e., in the event of repeated defaults - accidental, circumstantial, or intentional - the lender cannot take over the borrower’s valuables. Approaching Count Courts is the only way to deal with an unsecured loan defaulter. To avoid a CCJ (County Court Judgement), borrowers should always pay their EMI’s as decided.
Risk factors are high in unsecured deals. Hence, lenders usually impose high APR’s, and virtually fixed payback terms and loan conditions. Generally, an unsecured deal has:
An amount range of £500 to £25,000
An APR range of 7.4% to 41% Variable (typical rate is 19.9% APR Variable)
A compensation term range of 5 months to 5 years
A typical example - a customer with above average fiscal standing, borrowing £5000 for a period of 60 months would probably pay an APR ranging from 10.7 to 14% APR.
As always, a person with a good credit account may get a better deal.
Typically, for any loan type, the loan seekers credit history and DTI are the major approval parameters. Credit history throws light on the loan seekers past credit records and the DTI (Debt To Income) ratio on the current fiscal standing.
source
Here at NextStudent, we know that the world of student loans and college financing can be overwhelming and confusing, especially when all the financial aid literature throws around terms like “consolidation” and “subsidized,” and alphabet soups like FWS, EFC, PLUS and FAFSA. We always want our customers to feel comfortable with their education financing decisions, and we believe you should be informed about all your financial aid options. So to help you decipher your financial aid award letters and understand your school financing options, NextStudent, a leading Phoenix-based education funding company, offers this quick guide to the different types of financial aid.
Financial Need: Need-Based vs. Non–Need-Based Aid
Financial aid can be classified into two main categories: need-based and non–need-based.
Need-based aid—financial aid that’s awarded on the basis of financial need—is given out according to a student’s financial situation.
Financial need is determined by the U.S. Department of Education using a standard formula, established by Congress, that evaluates the financial information you provide each year on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The fundamental elements in this formula are the student’s income (and assets, if the student is independent), the parents’ income and assets (if the student is dependent), the number of people in the household, and the number of family members (excluding parents) attending college or graduate school.
If your FAFSA shows that you demonstrate financial need, you could qualify for need-based aid. Federal need-based aid includes the Federal Work-Study Program, Pell grants, Perkins loans and subsidized Stafford loans.
Non–need-based aid is awarded without consideration given to the student’s financial situation. If you meet program eligibility requirements, you can qualify for non–need-based aid, regardless of your or your parents’ income.
Merit-based scholarships, athletic scholarships and credit-based loans (which require a review of the borrower’s credit history) are all examples of non–need-based aid. Non–need-based federal aid programs include unsubsidized Stafford loans, PLUS loans for parents and Grad PLUS loans for graduate students. Private student loans, like NextStudent’s Private Student Loans, are also a form of non–need-based aid.
For non–need-based student loans that are credit-based (like PLUS, Grad PLUS, and NextStudent Private Student Loans), although borrowers won’t be disqualified for earning too much income, they may need to meet minimum income requirements to qualify.
Financial Aid Awards: Scholarships, Loans and Work-Study
Financial aid can take three main forms: scholarships (or grants), student loans, and work-study.
Scholarships or grants can be either need-based or non–need-based. Scholarships and grants, unlike student loans, do not need to be repaid. Scholarship money may come directly to you, to be used for school; other scholarships are paid directly to your school.
Some scholarships, whether academic or need-based, may be awarded to you automatically by your school with your admission. Others are awarded competitively, as prizes (like the National Merit Scholarships based on your PSAT scores, or the $10,000 given to the first-place finisher in the annual Ayn Rand essay contest). Scholarship competitions can be national, state-wide, or local. Some scholarships are targeted toward specific groups—athletes, for example, or members of 4-H. Grants are often awarded to graduate students to help fund their research or dissertation.
There are millions of dollars in scholarships available each year for almost every type of student. The NextStudent Scholarship Search Engine, a database of over 5.9 million scholarships worth over $16 billion, offers an excellent starting point if you’re on the hunt for free scholarship money.
Student Loans can also be either need-based or non–need-based. The money you receive in student loans will need to be repaid. You’ll also be charged interest on the amount of money you borrow. There are federal student loans, state loans, institutional loans and private student loans available to undergraduate and graduate students and to the parents of dependent students. Federal student loans usually have more attractive terms than private student loans, so you should always look into your federal financing options first.
Some student loans, like Federal PLUS Loans, Federal Grad PLUS Loans and private student loans, are credit-based loans and require a determination that the borrower is “creditworthy” under the program guidelines. Other student loans, like Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Consolidation Loans, are non–credit-based and don’t require a borrower credit check.
Federal student loans can be either subsidized or unsubsidized. With a subsidized loan, you won’t be charged interest while you’re in a grace period, in deferment or in school at least half-time. Subsidized student loans, which include Perkins loans and subsidized Stafford loans, are awarded on the basis of financial need.
With an unsubsidized loan, you’ll be responsible for all interest charges. Interest will accrue on an unsubsidized loan even if you’re temporarily not making payments because you’re in an authorized postponement period (such as a grace period, deferment or forbearance). Unsubsidized Stafford loans, PLUS loans, Grad PLUS loans and NextStudent Private Student Loans are all unsubsidized loans. Unsubsidized loans are typically non–need-based loans.
Work-study is a federal program that provides funds to schools to award to students through part-time employment. Work-study earnings do not need to be repaid.
Approximately 3,400 postsecondary institutions participate in the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, which is a need-based program. Work-study jobs can be on- or off-campus and can range from lab assistant to museum docent to elementary school tutor.
Your work-study job is required, by federal law, to pay you at least the federal minimum wage—as of July 24, 2007, that’s $5.85 an hour. You might get paychecks for your earned work-study funds, or your earnings could be deposited into your student account. Consult your financial aid office for details.
Student Loan Consolidation
A consolidation loan is a specific type of student loan available to you once you’ve left school or dropped below half-time enrollment. Student loan consolidation allows you to bundle all your eligible student loans into one single loan with one lender and one monthly payment. Consolidation offers the convenience of one easy-to-manage loan, with the added bonus that it could substantially reduce your monthly payments and give you more time to repay.
Once you’ve left school or dropped below half-time enrollment, a federal student loan consolidation allows you to consolidate all your eligible federal student loans, such as Stafford loans and Grad PLUS loans. Parents are also eligible to consolidate their PLUS loans as soon as those loans go into repayment. By consolidating your student loans, you could cut your monthly student loan payments nearly in half and get up to 20 more years to repay.
NextStudent believes that getting an education is the best investment you can make, and we’re dedicated to helping you pursue your education dreams by making college funding simple. Learn more about Student Loans, Private Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation at source
Individuals applying for a home loan get upset when their applications are turned down. Of course, there are reasons for the same, but they are not adequately conveyed to the individual. The agent interacting with the individual needs to be more proactive about it and let the individual know upfront what could go wrong with his home loan application. Here, we take a look at some of the reasons why individuals may be unsuccessful in applying for a home loan.
1. Area of the flat
HFCs (housing finance companies) generally have specific norms with respect to a minimum area of the flat. For example, one HFC has a norm of giving a home loan only if the built-up area of the flat is at least 400 square feet. Of course the ‘minimum area’ prerequisite will vary across HFCs. You need to ensure that your home meets the minimum area requirement while applying for the loan or alternatively look for an HFC that gives a loan that fulfills your criterion.
2. Financial profile of the individual
The individual’s financial profile is an important consideration for HFCs before they lend money to him. For example, an HFC may require that an individual have a minimum income, of say, Rs 8,000 per month, to qualify for a home loan. In most cases the individual will also need to furnish a guarantor’s signature. Many HFCs also decline loans to individuals who do not have a fixed and certain source of income. Another aspect that HFCs scrutinise is the credit history of the individual in terms of bounced cheques and loan defaults to cite a few parameters.
3. Personal profile of the individual
HFCs also take into account the personal history of an individual. For example, an HFC will want to look at the number of dependants an individual has before clearing the loan. This is done in order to ascertain the repayment capability of the individual. A higher number of dependants implies lower repayment capacity. Similarly, an HFC will also run a check on his savings habits. This they will do by way of asking for say, the last 6 months’ savings account statement from the individual. The balance should be such as to ensure that the individual is able to honour his EMI commitments.
4. Individual’s age
If the property is co-owned, then the co-owner cannot be a minor. Similarly, the co-owner cannot be above a certain age limit. The age limits have been set to minimise ownership disputes. Also, the age limit will affect the tenure of the home loan in some cases and in effect, the EMIs too. Lets take an HFC that has an 80-year age limit for the co-applicant. If the applicant is 40 years old and the co-applicant is 70 years old, then the home loan will be sanctioned for a maximum period of 10 years (80 years minus 70 years). Likewise the applicant’s retirement age is also considered. For example, if the applicant is 55 years of age and is set to retire at 60 years, then the maximum loan tenure available will be 5 years.
5. Legal/technical discrepancies
HFCs are also likely to decline the loan in case of a legal/technical discrepancy. For example, if the title deed to the property is not clear, then a loan will not be granted. Similarly, individuals should be able to produce post-1991 historical agreements (also referred to as link agreements) for the property alongwith the stamp duty receipt and the registration receipt.
6. Age and location of property
The age of the property can be important in case of resale. Home loans on resale properties are sanctioned only if they are less than 50 years old. Likewise, certain areas are also marked as being ‘negative’ in the books of some HFCs. If an individual intends to buy a property in such an area, then he will not be granted a loan by the HFC. Similarly, the property also has to fall within the geographical limits as defined by the HFC for it to sanction the home loan. For example, the geographical limits defined by IDBI Bank for Mumbai are Churchgate-Virar and CST-Kalyan. Of course, there are a few negative areas defined by IDBI Bank, as explained before, which fall within the said geographical limits.
source : http://personalfn.com/detail.asp?date=7/14/2005&story=4
This article was carried earlier on Personalfn with the title “The road to your home”. However in view of the renewed interest displayed by visitors and the article’s relevance in the present scenario, we have decided to carry the same again.
One of the biggest attractions of an investment in property is the fact that it is relatively easy to gear the purchase – that is, to use someone else's money to cover most of the purchase cost.
Lenders are happy because their loans are secured by bricks and mortar assets and, for the borrower, there is always the chance of a quick gain from rising property prices. So if you are planning to buy a home loan there is some homework you need to do before going in for the deal.
Five steps to picking the right loan
The housing loan market at present is going through a phase where you need to do lot’s of market research before opting for a loan. You should never get carried away by advertisements that offer you loans at 7.00% or 7.75% interest rate. The other terms and conditions like special interest rates for fixed tenure, hidden terms and conditions often come later. But you should always opt for the bank that that offers you the lowest EMI (equated monthly installments).
1. Gather data on interest rates
Get interest rate information from more than one source, and get the same information from each so you can compare the offers. You will also have to choose between a 10-Yr or 20-Yr loan. A 20-Yr loan will mean lower EMI but probably a higher interest rate. In the long run, you'll be paying more for your house because you will be making more interest payments. With a 10-year loan, the EMI will be higher but the interest rate lower; thus you'll pay less for your house because it will be paid off in a shorter period of time. Consider this: a 0.25% (25 basis points) additional charge on an Rs 2,000,000 loan with 20-Yr tenure means additional payments of more than Rs 75,000 over the tenure of the loan. The other factors like whether to take a fixed or a floating interest rate loan can also affect your total outflows. Play lenders against each other for the best rates. You should explore employer-lender tie-ups for discount rates. Also check out deals at property fairs and loan melas.
2. Find about fees
Next, find out about processing fees, administration charges and the quantum of loan. Have each lender provide you with a written statement of all fees connected to the loan. Then, ask each to reduce one or more of the fees. Use the lowest amount of fees to negotiate with the other lenders to see if they'll reduce their fees.
3. Get a pre-approval letter
This gives you substantial leverage: Sellers immediately see you as a serious buyer. Not only will you know the exact price range you can afford, you'll be able to negotiate a better deal and move faster when you see a house you like. For pre-approval, you will have to furnish the necessary income documents to the bank. After verification and preliminary checks, the bank issues a letter agreeing to finance you a certain amount. This letter will help you bargain with builders or sellers. Sellers too are more comfortable once they know you are serious about buying. Try and get pre-approval from three or four financiers, as interest rates change regularly. Pre-approval also saves time since the rudimentary paperwork is already covered.
4. Negotiate your loan
Most lenders will reduce their printed rates for customers with a good credit record, so don’t be shy about bargaining. A bargain deal will easily fetch a home loan at around 25-50 basis points (0.25-0.5%) lower than official rates.
Home loanrates depend on a number of factors like general economic conditions, liquidity position in the money markets and the lender’s cost of funds. At any point of time, these factors remaining unchanged, you will always get a better deal if you negotiate. Besides, competitive pressure has already reduced effective rates below the official rates or ‘rack rates’.
Once you get what you think are the best terms possible, ask for a written rate lock. It will include the interest rate, how long the lock-in will last and the number of points to be paid. A lock-in protects you from a rate increase if rates go up during the time your loan is being processed.
5. Watch out for predatory lending
Don’t play along with a sales person who asks you to include false information on your home loan application to get quick approval. Also don’t get pressured into borrowing more money than you need or can afford. If you get new numbers or new terms at the closing, ask for an explanation.
source:http://personalfn.com/detail.asp?date=5/18/2004&story=7
You are thinking of buying a house so you go on a home-hunting spree with your real estate agent for the perfect "move-up" home. You fall in love with it. So you make an offer. The only problem is that you need to first sell your current house in order to buy the new one.
But you haven't even put your house on the market yet. So you make a "contingent" offer. Your offer to buy is contingent upon your ability to sell your house in time to close the deal. Considering you haven't even listed your house yet, it’s a little too contingent. In all likelihood your offer for the new house will get turned down. In hindsight, you realise you should have listed your house first, got an offer (and accepted it), then gone out looking for a new home.
But it's too late and you really want that home. The real estate agent suggests you get a "bridge loan." If you have enough equity in your present home, the bridge loan (which is like a special loan) allows you to avail of a loan so you can make a down payment and buy the new home. Interest rates on the bridge loan are higher than home loan because it is a short-term loan, and there are also costs and fees involved.
Comparison between fixed rate and bridge loans
Banks Rate of interest (%)
Normal Bridge
ICICI 8.00 9.25
HDFC 7.75 10.25
Citibank *8.50 12.50
SBI 8.25 10.75
Dewan 9.90 13.00
(*Floating rate of interest; Tenure of fixed rate home loan is 15 yrs and the rates are on monthly rest basis.
Companies are known to offer varying rates on a case to case basis.)
How it works
The procedure is similar to applying for a home loan in terms of eligibility criteria and the documents to be submitted. However, you must first identify the new house that you intend to purchase.
The financial institution generally considers a bridge loan only after ensuring that the seller (i.e. loan seeker) has already entered into an agreement for sale of his property. The seller is asked to provide details of the new property he plans to buy. In cases, where the existing home is owned by a senior citizen who may not be eligible for the loan, the heirs can be made jointly responsible for repayment.
If one is unable to find a buyer for the old flat within the stipulated period of say, six months, the lender has the option to convert the bridge loan into a mortgage loan at a higher rate of interest and to recover the same over the stipulated or rescheduled period, provided the borrower has the capacity to repay the loan.
Top-up loan, is a facility by which an individual who has an existing home loan gets a chance to borrow additional money from the housing loan company at an interest rate that matches a home loan.
The edge here is that the HFC would not enquire about the usage of the money. The lenders don't seem to care if you divert this for other things. You can invest that money for your child’s education or buy the much-needed computer to fulfill his educational needs. It is a kind of personal loan being offered to you at the interest rate of home loan. At present when the interest for personal loans are somewhere in the range of 18-20% and home loans are being offered at 7-9% this sure is a good bargain.
The extra amount is given depending upon the amount, tenure of the existing home loan and your track record. The topping up amount can range from a conservative 20-30% of your current loan.
For example, IDBI Bank gives its customers a top-up loan subject to a maximum total loan outstanding of 85% of market value of the house property or documentary cost whichever is less. Suppose you have a home loan outstanding of Rs 300,000 and the current market value of your house property is Rs 800,000 and you have taken the housing loan 2 years ago for around Rs 375,000. Then you are eligible for a "top up" on your loan with another Rs 60,000. Normally for a loan with outstanding of 7 months to 1 year the top up you get is 10%. For 2 years it is 20% and 3 years or more it is 30%.
Compare home loan interest rates
You can get a top-up loan provided in situations if the market value of the property goes up, leading to higher loan eligibility. This is because banks and HFCs give loans based on the collateral value and any appreciation in the collateral value makes one automatically eligible for higher loan amounts than before. Secondly, as you pay your home loan, your loan outstandings would also fall. And that, in turn, would make you eligible for more loans, to the extent of the original loan amount. But the downside of the top-up loan is that you are not offered any tax benefits on the amount taken.
suorce:http://personalfn.com/detail.asp?date=4/2/2004&story=5
Have a financial emergency? Need fast cash in a hurry? Looking for the best payday loan service online? Well look no further! You've come to the right place.Payday Advisor is a leading provider of payday loans nationwide. Get the money you need and the professional service you deserve, with only a few minimum requirements.Apply for a payday loan today and as a first time customer, you can get up to $1500 directly to your account overnight. This means you will be able to begin spending your cash the very next day. The application process is very simple and quick. Just fill out the instant cash advance application and within minutes, we'll review your application and inform you of your approval.
There are several advantages in taking out a payday loan and one of them is that when you apply for a payday loan it does not take months or even days to get the loan, you get the loan right away or give or take a few hours. Another advantage is that payday lenders do not do any form of checks. They do not care if you have bad credit with your bank or have recently declared yourself bankrupt. Payday loans are the fastest loan one can get and banks are even now offering them. You do not have to look far for payday loans they are everywhere and are now online.
http://www.onlineloansblog.com/
Aziza Gary, a lending specialist for Municipal Employees Credit Union, tells customers about her experiences with payday loans.
Aziza Gary grew increasingly uncomfortable.Here she was, a lending specialist for a credit union in Baltimore, advising a member to steer clear of payday loans. Gary knew these loans were a bad deal from her years in banking. She even briefly worked for a company offering payday loans and had seen consumers unable to escape the cycle of these high-cost, revolving loans.But the more the credit union member gushed with gratitude for Gary's sage advice, the more Gary squirmed.
The truth was Gary had three outstanding payday loans. A big chunk of each paycheck went to finance these loans. She was behind on her rent and utilities. And the single parent barely was able to put food on the table for herself and her young daughter."In the back of my head I'm saying, 'You're such a hypocrite. Take your own advice,'" says Gary, 31, who works for the Municipal Employees Credit Union.Her story is a firsthand account of the intoxicating world of payday lending and the hard journey out of it.Payday loans are small cash advances on a borrower's next paycheck. Their hefty fees translate into annual interest rates of several hundred percent, if not more.Maryland essentially blocks payday lenders from setting up shop here by capping the interest rate that can be charged on loans. But the Internet opens the door to payday lenders from other states and countries that can easily sidestep any state's consumer protection laws."Internet lending makes it very, very easy because you do that in the privacy of your own home," says Jean Ann Fox, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America. "Once you start, you get onto a debt treadmill.""People don't tend to complain because they think it's their own fault," Fox added.There are no firm figures on how much people borrow through payday lenders, although estimates range from $28 billion a year to nearly $48 billion.Gary's troubles began about two years ago with an e-mail from a payday lender offering fast cash. She was struggling to make ends meet on her $22,000 salary.The payday lender's e-mail arrived just when Gary needed money for school supplies for her daughter, who was then 11. All Gary had to do was fill out the online application. No faxing, no credit check. She borrowed $200 and gave the online lender access to her bank account."In 24 hours, the money was in my account," she says. "I thought that was the best thing next to peach cobbler at that point."On payday, she had the option of repaying the $200 along with a $60 fee, or just paying the fee and rolling the loan over until the next paycheck two weeks later. She rolled over the loan. And each time she rolled the loan over after that, she paid another $60."I knew the business," she says. "I knew what could happen."But she figured she could handle it.Within a month of her first loan, Gary took out two others from different payday lenders that had e-mailed her. One loan was for $300 and carried a $90 fee; the other was a $400 loan with a $125 fee.She says she doesn't remember why she took out the second loan."Honestly, greed," she says. "Just because I didn't have money at that time and I wanted something. And it was easy." She took the third loan out to help meet the rent.Every payday, she rolled over the first two loans. The third she would pay off but turn around and take out again. After three months, the first two lenders began withdrawing principal payments on top of fees from her bank account.At that point, payday lenders were taking $375 from each paycheck. And after insurance and car loan payments were automatically deducted from her account, Gary was left with less than $100. Her finances deteriorated rapidly. "I'm trying to stay in good standing with the payday-loan company so they don't come to my job and ruin my whole career," Gary says. "But my bills aren't being paid."She says she fell two months behind in rent. For four months she made only partial payments on her electric bill. When the refrigerator was empty, she and her daughter visited Gary's sister for meals or to borrow food.She didn't tell her family or colleagues what she was going through, worried they would think less of her."I panicked," she says. "I cried. I prayed. It was a crazy situation for me."Then came the call at work from the cash-strapped credit union member whom Gary talked out of payday loans."As soon as I hung up the phone, ... I said, 'OK, this has to end.' That's when I actually pulled my contracts and read what I signed," she says. "It's right there for you to see -- when you want to look for it."What she saw scared her. The fees on one loan worked out to an annual percentage rate of 524 percent. The rate on another loan exceeded 700 percent. Maryland caps annual interest at 33 percent.Gary says, "I walked into my supervisor's office, closed the door, cried for about 15 minutes and said, 'This is my problem.'"Sherry Bender was Gary's supervisor at the time."When you see someone professionally coming in here every day, you don't know that people are having these problems," Bender says. "It's just heartbreaking. She came in here telling me that they didn't have hot water."Bender says she had been a single parent, so she understood the difficulty of making ends meet on one income. At the same time, she says, "We hold [employees] to a higher standard." Bender was firm."She gave me the hard truth," Gary says. " 'You know what this was about. You put yourself in this situation. ... Whatever we can do as your credit union, we are going to do. But you're going to have to show us that you want to get out of this situation.' "Gary committed to paying off the $200 payday loan on her own. She took out a $1,700 personal loan from the credit union at a rate of 12.99 percent to pay off the other loans. She expects to pay off the personal loan by year's end.Gary, now a business development representative for MECU, says she's sharing her story because she wants others to avoid her mistakes and to know the cycle can be broken.Those having trouble paying bills should tell their mortgage lender, landlord, utility or other creditors, she advises. Creditors will likely work out a repayment plan if customers are honest about their problems."The one thing about payday loans is you can't call them and say, 'I'm going to be a little short on my paycheck this week,'" she says. "Payday-loan companies want their money, and they are going to get their money" when they have access to your account.Consumers also can turn to nonprofits, social service agencies and credit unions for help, Gary says. MECU, for instance, offers a free credit repair workshop to the public. Gary will be speaking about payday loans at this month's workshop. Gary still hears from payday lenders. Recently, one sent her a text message, calling her a "priority platinum" customer and inviting her to take out a loan. Despite what she went through, Gary is sometimes tempted. "It's an addictive thing," like drinking or gambling, she says. But each time she gets the urge, she puts the amount of the payday loan fee into her bank account instead, slowly building up a cash cushion."It was the most terrible thing I could ever have gone through," she says. "I went through it. I came out of it. I'm flying. I'm happy." Payday loan traps.
A hedge fund is a private investment fund charging a performance fee and typically open to only a limited range of qualified investors. In the United States, hedge funds are open to accredited investors only. Because of this restriction, they are usually exempt from any direct regulation by regulatory bodies. Hedge funds are credited to Alfred Winslow Jones for their invention in 1949.
As a hedge fund's investment activities are limited only by the contracts governing the particular fund, it can make greater use of complex investment strategies such as short selling, entering into futures, swaps and other derivative contracts and leverage.
As their name implies, hedge funds often seek to offset potential losses in the principal markets they invest in by hedging via any number of methods. However, the term "hedge fund" has come in modern parlance to be overused and inappropriately applied to any absolute-return fund – many of these so-called "hedge funds" do not actually hedge their investments.
Hedge funds have acquired a reputation for secrecy. Unlike open-to-the-public "retail" funds (e.g., U.S. mutual funds) which market freely to the public, in most countries, hedge funds are specifically prohibited from marketing to investors who are not professional investors or individuals with sufficient private wealth. This limits the information a hedge fund can legally release. Additionally, divulging a hedge fund's methods could unreasonably compromise their business interests; this limits the information a hedge fund would want to release.
Since hedge fund assets can run into many billions of dollars and will usually be multiplied by leverage, their sway over markets, whether they succeed or fail, is potentially substantial and there is a continuing debate over whether they should be more thoroughly regulated.
Hedge fund risk
Investing in a hedge fund is considered to be a riskier proposition than investing in a regulated fund, despite the traditional notion of a "hedge" being a means of reducing the risk of a bet or investment. The following are some of the primary reasons for the increased risk:
Leverage - in addition to putting money into the fund by investors, a hedge fund will typically borrow money, with certain funds borrowing sums many times greater than the initial investment. Where a hedge fund has borrowed $9 for every $1 invested, a loss of only 10% of the value of the investments of the hedge fund will wipe out 100% of the value of the investor's stake in the fund, once the creditors have called in their loans. At the beginning of 1998, shortly before its collapse, Long Term Capital Management had borrowed over $26 for each $1 invested.
Short selling - due to the nature of short selling, the losses that can be incurred on a losing bet are theoretically limitless, unless the short position directly hedges a corresponding long position. Therefore, where a hedge fund uses short selling as an investment strategy rather than as a hedging strategy it can suffer very high losses if the market turns against it. Appetite
for risk - hedge funds are culturally more likely than other types of funds to take on underlying investments that carry high degrees of risk, such as high yield bonds, distressed securities and collateralised debt obligations based on sub-prime mortgages. Lack of transparency - hedge funds are secretive entities. It can therefore be difficult for an investor to assess trading strategies, diversification of the portfolio and other factors relevant to an investment decision.
Lack of regulation - hedge funds are not subject to as much oversight from financial regulators, and therefore some may carry undisclosed structural risks. Investors in hedge funds are willing to take these risks because of the corresponding rewards. Leverage amplifies profits as well as
losses; short selling opens up new investment opportunities; riskier investments typically provide higher returns; secrecy helps to prevent imitation by competitors; and being unregulated reduces costs and allows the investment manager more freedom to make decisions on a purely commercial basis.
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