Finance Roll

Have you decided to buy a classic car or collector car? If so, you are probably looking for information on how to finance that purchase. This article will explain how to make the process easier to eliminate the problems many borrowers can face when financing a classic car or collector car purchase.

If there is only one thing you get out of this article, it is that you understand to compare specialty classic car and collector car lenders. Purchasing a classic car is not the same as purchasing your new daily commuter vehicle, and financing through your bank. A typical new car value can easily be determined by looking it up in a price guide, and easily calculated with depreciation due to miles and age. A classic car or collector car is quite different, and the value can be determined by many factors including how rare it is, the options on the vehicle, has it been restored or is it all original parts, etc. A typical lender may not know how to go about properly evaluating the true value, causing problems in the loan process, or making you pay higher interest rates since they don't understand the true value of the car being purchased.

As is with any loan, it is dependent on your credit score. A score below 600 and you will probably be turned down by any lender. 600 to 700 may be good enough for a loan, but be prepared for higher interest rates. A score above 700 and you will sail through the loan process and receive the best interest rates. Most lenders will require 20% down on the car, so be prepared for this. If the cars value is hard to determine, such as most hot rods and other one of a kind models, 30% down may be required. Knowing this beforehand is important. The last thing you want to do is go through the loan process and fall in love with the car you are ready to buy, only to find that you do not have the initial down payment.

Classic car lenders will not expect you to have the car you want to buy found when you start the loan process. They understand that customers may be looking for a truly rare model or a specific car, option, color, etc. You will not be going to your local car lot to test drive whatever is there. Keeping this in mind, you will probably only have 30 to 60 days after being approved for a loan before you will have to reapply. The length of the loan through a specialty lender can be extended as well. Whereas a typical auto loan will be from 3 to 6 years, a specialty car lender may extend it from 12 to 15 years, depending on the loan amount. Be prepared for higher interest rates the longer the loan is.

You may choose to have your car inspected by a certified collector car inspector before purchasing it. More than likely the lender will also require an inspection before purchase, and they usually require you to choose one of their certified inspectors. Make sure you find what inspectors they suggest before going out on your own finding one, so you do not have to have two inspections. Inspections can be a bit pricey, depending on where the car is and what is being inspected.

When determining the loan amount, do not forget about extra money you may need. If you find the car you want out of state, you will probably want to see the car before purchasing it. There will be travel costs involved with that. If the car is far enough away, or is not in drivable condition, you will need to pay for transportation costs of the vehicle back. Sometimes insurance companies will not let you drive the car too far, even to get it home after the purchase. All this could add up to thousands of dollars, and can usually be rolled into the loan. Check with the lending officer for more details on this if required.

Financing your classic car purchase should not be a painful experience if you shop around with specialty lenders. I am not affiliated with any lender so I will not name any names of lenders to contact, but a simple search online brings up many reputable companies. Visit some classic car forums and ask some questions regarding certain lenders. More than likely someone has dealt with them, and forum members are more than willing to lend a hand to a new classic car owner. A smooth loan process will make the enjoyment of driving around town in your new classic car so much more enjoyable.

As the owner of a unique restaurant, you have no doubt ascertained that there are occasions when you require a bit of money for an unexpected issue. Acquiring restaurant finance is especially difficult because of the conception that restaurants are more prone to fold than other corporations. While the data actually illustrate that this isn't the reality, it can still be exceedingly tough to obtain a bank loan when you want to acquire necessary equipment or expand your restaurant.

The monetary recession hasn't made this issue any easier. Financial institutions which haven't folded continue to hold on to their capital tightly, rather than risk losing their capital to any endeavor that is less than guaranteed.

Cash is Available

You'll be relieved to hear that capital is certainly obtainable, if you know where to look. Banks might loan you cash, at their discretion and if the circumstances are just right, but your restaurant finance professional is likely to be a better and more convenient resource.

Restaurant finance brokers are the professionals who can help you acquire merchant loans based on your monthly credit card receipts, lines of credit, or short term restaurant finance. Because they use your past sales history as a primary factor when calculating the amount you can afford to assume and how long it will require you to repay it.

These arrangements among you and your finance company are called a factoring agreement. You essentially sell, at a reduction, estimated credit card revenue to the finance company in exchange for required money given right now.

An additional asset is that the repayment stipulations are directly correlated to your credit card income, as a percentage, not a fixed sum. No matter how the month went, that percentage will remain consistent. So when you experience a low month, you pay back less, and on a high month, you pay a little more.

The Procedure is Effortless

A fast application, regularly accessible online, is all it takes to get the ball rolling. If you have a reasonable credit score, a proven history of credit card sales, and a signed lease, your chances of getting the capital you need are excellent. The advance is repaid over the next four to 12 months as a portion of your credit card income.

Ideally, you won't wait until the final possible instant to start examining at the possibility of attaining money this way. Do the research early, not when you need the cash. Placing a call to a restaurant finance provider in order to find out what forms of options are obtainable to you is a great idea. Still, when acquiring restaurant finance is important and you must have a response rapidly, a merchant loan agreement may just be the best thing going.

College students often find themselves paying only the monthly minimum payment on each of their credit cards due to limited funds. It is not uncommon however, paying only the minimum payment can lead to outrageous interest accumulation which can cause you to owe much more than you originally charged. Of course, this is what many credit card companies want. It is how they make their billions. Since you are a college student and you are about to enter the real world, you can be smart right now and think about using credit card consolidation to pay down those large balances.

How Does Credit Card Consolidation Benefit You?

The main benefit to credit card consolidation is lowering your monthly payment. All of your credit card debt is rolled up into one payment, which is most often lower than what you had been responsible for paying before with all of your payments combined. Credit card consolidation helps you to lower your amount of debt faster and can also save you money over time. And with your monthly payment lowered, you have more spending money throughout the month to use towards other college related expenses such as rent, books, or even a new computer to use for school assignments. Credit card consolidation is a wise choice for college students who want to enter the real world debt free.

How to Choose A Credit Card Consolidation Lender

There are several choices in lenders when it comes to credit card consolidation. A quick online search reveals about 814,000 results when you search for 'credit card consolidation lenders'. Your first choice should be to speak to your personal bank. If you have good credit and a bank account, you might be able to obtain a personal loan to use to consolidate your credit cards. This option allows you to keep your credit accounts open, which is the best choice. Closing your credit card accounts does not look good on your credit report. The longer you have kept a credit card account open and in good standing, the better your overall credit score will be. If you choose to use a personal loan to pay off your credit cards, be sure to watch out for high interest rates on the loan which could defeat the purpose of credit card consolidation. You can choose to use a debt consolidation company to help you with your credit card consolidation, but you will likely be asked to close your credit accounts. If you have a tremendous amount of credit card debt that you can't possibly pay off without help however, a debt consolidation company may be the best choice for you.

Be Smart About Consolidating Your Credit

If you are going to take the initiative to consolidate your credit cards, be sure to stick to your plan. That means you cannot rack up your credit card bills again just because you have zero balances. Additionally, you must be sure to make your monthly payments on time to keep your credit in good standing. As a college student, credit card consolidation can be a wise choice if you do it the right way and for the right reasons.

Many celebrities confess to having a love of cars and driving; some even spend a considerable amount of time and money building up collections of cars for their own personal garage. So, what are some of the vehicles driven by the rich and famous?

Footballers, it seems, are in the top bracket when it comes to exotic cars, with many of the top earners in the game having what appears to be an obsession with owning the world's most exclusive and expensive cars. Manchester United star Wayne Rooney, for example, can count such vehicles as the Lamborghini Gallardo, Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin Vanquish and BMW M6 among his collection.

Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele is another footballer whose garage is full of hot wheels; a Mercedes McLaren SLR, Ferrari F360 and a Mercedes SL65 AMG convertible are among the cars owned by the Dutchman. Meanwhile Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard can boast a Porsche 911 Turbo, Mercedes SLK, Aston Martin Vanquish and BMW X5 as part of his fleet of motoring muscle. Cristiano Ronaldo has owned an Audi R8, BMW X5 and Ferrari 360 among his cars, and his name features on a waiting list for perhaps the world's ultimate car - the Bugatti Veyron.

However, perhaps the ultimate car fanatic from the footballing world is David Beckham. Having spent in excess of £2million on a host of vehicles, Beckham's garage counts the likes of the Ferrari 575 and F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, two Bentley Arnages and a Rolls Royce Phantom among others. Beckham also has an armour-plated BMW X5 and once owned an Aston Martin DB7, with the registration plate 'DB7'. Cars such as these are all a far cry from Beckham's first entry into the motoring world - the humble Ford Escort.

Fame doesn't necessarily give rise to the need to spend lavishly on top-of-the-range cars, however. At the peak of the Spice Girls' fame, band member Melanie Chisholm - also known as 'Sporty Spice' - shelled out on a 1998 Audi A3 which she used to drive herself around as she and the band rose to international stardom, clocking up 79,000 miles in the process. With the Spice Girls going on to become one of the biggest girl groups of all time, it was unlikely that Sporty Spice needed Audi car finance to make her purchase and later the car was sold on the motoring website, Autotrader, having amassed 110,000 miles and a full service history, for a bargain price of £2,995.

Film and TV stars aren't immune to owning top-of-the-range vehicles either. American actor Ben Affleck has owned an Aston Martin DB7 and Dodge RAM, while Brad Pitt can claim to have driven the Mercedes G55 AMG. More modest cars owned by film and TV stars include the David 'The Hoff' Hasselhoff's BMW Mini and Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe's Fiat Punto.

However, no celebrity car is complete without a personalised registration plate. Recently, Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton reportedly paid £200,000 on the personalised registration LEW 1S; but the driver won't be putting the registration onto his Mercedes SLR or McLaren F1, however, with the plate destined to be attached to his Mercedes GL420 4x4 off-roader. Other famous registration plates include magician Paul Daniels' MAG 1C, singer Englebert Humperdinck's EH 1 and business tycoon Sir Alan Sugar's AMS 1 which is regularly seen in the opening sequence of the show 'The Apprentice'.

The "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" was established by Anne Beiler in the year 1988. It is head quartered in the Lancaster city, Pennsylvania. The idea of going into baking business occurred to her while she was working at a concession stand in Maryland. The pretzel was the most popular food item and it became a huge hit when she started to hand-roll the pretzels in front of the customer. Eventually the business prospect of pretzel led her to establish her own shop and as the saying goes, "the rest is history".

The "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" stores and kiosks can be found in the shopping centers, railway stations and airport across US, UK, Asia, Venezuela and Middle East. The companies stores not only serve varieties of yummy pretzels, but also numerous tasty dipping sauces and drinks. "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" is a privately held company with an employee head count of one hundred and fifty.

The Franchisees of Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels

The "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" started franchising in the year 1989. As per the records of 2009, "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" has 792 franchisees throughout USA, a staggering 211 franchisees in the foreign countries and 2 franchises at Canada. "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" is looking for franchisees at domestic as well as the foreign market. To encourage marketing and growth in sales, "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" organizes franchise contest. As special programs, "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" sponsor golf tournament as fund raiser for "Children's Miracle Network".

The Cost And Fees For The Franchise

The franchise fee, collected is $30,000. The ongoing royalty fee is fixed at flat seven percent. The terms of agreement are valid for twenty years and it is renewable. To set up a franchise will cost a minimum of $1,97,875 to a maximum of $4,39,100. The company offers its franchisees the option of setting up an Express shop or a kiosk. The franchise fee, startup cost, equipment cost, Inventory cost, receivable accounts costs and payroll costs are financed by the company in case of third party. However, none of the in house costs are financed by the company.

The Desired Qualification And Operations For Setting Up A Franchise

The potential candidate should have adequate industry experience and sales skill to take up the mantle of running the franchise. The net worth for taking up a franchise should be $300,000 as per location. Interestingly, fifty percent of the franchisees hold more than one unit. The absentee ownership of the franchise is not permitted. The number of employee requirement is set at 9 to 12 for all franchised unit.

Training And Ongoing Support

The training is organized at the head quarter for two weeks, followed by five day training at the franchisee's location. The ongoing support is provided in the form of news letter, meetings, toll free phone line, internet etc.

The food industry will never be out of circulation. The demand in the food industry always remains for new entrants. The "Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels" is a well accepted brand name. It is most certainly encouraged to take up a franchise with the pretzel company.

As pimps would say, "money makes the world go round." Well, coming from a business perspective, it actually does. And I declare this without any bias or corruption. Moreover, I can confidently say that everyone who knows this turn out to be rich entrepreneurs.

See, money makes businesses. Businesses circulate money. This circulation boosts economies. Economies keep the world running. And when our economies are running well, there are more opportunities to create more money. It's that simple.

Any elemental absence in this cycle would put a halt to everything in the world. Well, may be seas will still roll and trees will still grow. But my point is: everything we are, everything that we do, everything that we will be, every dream we have, will all be meaningless in the face of crisis. Crisis, in simple terms, is the mismanagement of money.

So it goes without saying that in order to become successful and rich entrepreneurs, those who aspire are expected to have a certain appreciation for money. But to emphasize, this appreciation should not be adulterated by greed. Otherwise, you are bound to fail. See, greed only compels you to hoard. When you hoard, there's mismanagement of finances, and in the end, crisis. So in addition, successful entrepreneurs should also have a certain finesse for handling money.

Now, if you think you don't and you are aspiring to be an entrepreneur, then you have got to start learning. You can't survive in the field of business without any knowledge, whatsoever, in finances. To get you on your way, here are some tips you can refer to:

• Keep a good tally of your financial activities - what money goes in, what money goes out.
You can't maintain a business if your expenditures cost more than your returns. If you have a record of the things you do with your money, you'll be able to gauge whether or not you have the capacity to operate at normal standards, or tone down your cash outflows.

• Secure financial statements such as balance sheets and income statements
You can't run a business without considering your assets and liabilities. A balance sheet will reflect your gains and losses for the business period. One thing that entrepreneurs should remember is that both assets and liabilities should be balanced. If not, it would imply that there is an anomaly in fund handling.

• Review previous financial statements and prepare budget plans for every accounting year.
This is done to avoid overspending. If there are still inventories left over from the previous accounting year that's usable, you might as well cut down on your inventory budget. If certain equipments have broken down before, you can allocate money for the repair or purchase of new equipment. Just remember that you have to establish a budget on the premise of your previous expenditure, give a bit of allowance for emergencies and stick to it all throughout the year.

Rich entrepreneurs know how to handle finances. If you want to become one, then you have to begin involvement.

You recently bought a lot to build your dream house on and your plans are ready. Now it is time to start applying for a construction loan. The Bank Manager was very cooperative, both of you filled out the necessary papers to get things rolling. The Bank Manager said it would take several weeks for them to look at the plans and make up their mind if they will loan you the money for the Construction loan.

Building your own home is a lot smarter than buying a house that is in a Home Owners Association that is already built. The smart thing about building your own home is that you do not end up settling. You actually get everything you want in a home. If you buy a used home, the house has already been lived in. This is why people like to build their own home that has everything that you want and need. The positive side is, it is brand new and made just for you.

Credit is important when seeking a construction loan to build your own dream house. Bad credit can be a real disaster when seek financing. Banks and Mortgages Companies won't trust you like they do their good customers. This can really put a damper on your plans. Because of this, you probably think that you will never be able to qualify for a construction loan. That's actually not true. In fact, there banks that will provide bad credit financing for your home under special programs. The odds are you will pay a premium for the loan with possible restrictions, but the financing is possible. I did a search on Google, guess what, there were five firms that are willing to finance your new home financing. Your dream could come true and you will not to settle for that small apartment. You can build your own house for your family instead!

This type of financing can get complicated. They are not as simple as a regular mortgage. There are inspections on the as-builds that will be required by the banks or mortgage company. I remember when we built our first house. It took a month to get approval. Then we started by subcontracting out parts of the job. When we got to 50%, they would inspect and OK the release of additional funds. Then 80% and then 100%. It depends upon the lender. It is a great feeling to build what you want. Go for it if you feel comfortable.

In conclusion, getting a construction loan with a poor credit score is possible with the right lender. When the project is complete, there will be great satisfaction in what you have accomplished knowing that you built this house. Financing is a little more complicated than a regular mortgage and will require periodic inspections by the lender. If you feel comfortable building your own house, go for it.

Everyone always says ''I want to be rich''. Fair enough, but how does one go about getting rich? If it were so easy we would all be millionaires. Your goal should be financial freedom that ultimately leads to personal freedom, which is what all people want, regardless of where they are in this world. It is the tie that binds all of humanity. The great thing is even if you aren't rich, you can still be financially free. It requires a lot of discipline and will obviously depend on your standard of living. That being said there are numerous things you can do to achieve this goal and it can be attained before you are too old to enjoy it. Obviously it will not come without a solid plan, focus, and sacrifice.

Take action now to secure your finances because nobody will do it for you. Unfortunately financial smarts are not taught in school like other subjects and I feel this is a terrible mistake. We would not be in this debt-ridden society with an economy in tatters if people understood money better, and didn't fall into the trap of living beyond their means because glossy magazines tell us what material things we must buy, and the banking elite are there, lying wait, ready to pounce. There is nothing wrong with wanting nice things. We all want to live comfortably. The important thing is to not overextend and bite off more you can chew with the multitude of financial products/services that bankers dangle before you on a stick. The entire sub-prime mortgage debacle in the US was built on this premise and totally run amuck.

Considering we spend a good chunk of our lives earning an income to support our family and lifestyle then you might want to consider getting your financial health to where it needs to be. With the cost of living always on the rise, it would be a shame to look at your life in a few years and be struggling to stay afloat

Here are some useful tips to improve your financial health.

1. Live within your means. If you can't afford to pay for something that is not essential (essentials being food, rent/mortgage, utilities, etc...) don't buy it. Simple as that. Too many waste necessary funds on luxury items that they have no business buying. If you absolutely need to make the purchase, do so in cash so you know you can genuinely afford it, and feel the loss of that money immediately and re-assess your budget. Using credit cards unless you are absolutely sure you can make your payment in full within 30 days is risky. Not only will it make your purchase ''out of sight, out of mind'' but when the balance is due you may not have anticipated it and begin the devil's dance of paying high interest on your card.

2. Pay off your debt. If you have enough money to pay for everything out of pocket, or have great discipline with paying your credit cards in full each month you are among a very select few. For those who are not, you can't possibly improve your financial health if you are loaded with debt. Prioritize your debts as both good and bad. Good debts are those that are ultimately helping you acquire assets (mortgage for a property, loans for investments, etc...); bad debts are those that you have incurred to purchase liabilities (car, computer, entertainment costs, etc...). Try to get rid of bad debt first and attack the ones with the highest interest rates.

If you can't pay the full amounts, you will have to figure out what monthly payments will be necessary while still having enough cash-flow to cover your current expenses. Some financial advisors suggest paying off your smallest debt balance first. This way not only have you got one less creditor to worry about but it will also give you a victory that will encourage you to keep on with the plan. Negotiate better rates on your credit cards. If you have multiple credit cards you need to consolidate your debt by transferring the balances to one and cutting up the rest. The next step to getting your credit cards in order is to just call your credit card provider and ask them for a reduction in the interest rate. You will be surprised at how accommodating they will be if you threaten to switch to another provider with a better rate.

You may also consider getting a line of credit from the bank and pay off all your credit cards with it, because then owing the balance on the line of credit at 7-10% is much better than at 19.5% on your card(s). Remember to cut up your credit cards once you finish paying them off. It is wise to only have one and use it only when necessary. Also make sure it is a rewards card that gives you points like Air Miles, or points for gas, groceries, or retail store purchase points so you get something small back for using the card. Do not, however, overuse the card just to earn more points, which is a trap many fall into.

3. Collect and save your change. You would be surprised as to how much you can actually save up in a year. Let's say you save a minimum of $1 per day in coins, in a year that would be $365. Get the habit of paying everything with notes. When you get the change set it aside each day and save it. You can either roll up these coins and put them in the bank or get the cash equivalent from the bank and spend it on useful things like groceries, gas for your car, and if there is enough leftover, treat yourself to a nice night out with your partner or friends/family.

4. Cut down on non-essentials. Minimize going to restaurants and having coffee every chance you get. You'd be surprised at how much the average person (who is in debt) spends daily on coffee, lunch, dinner, snacks etc... If the average coffee and lunch once daily costs you $8/day. Multiplied by 5 times a week becomes $40/week. When you add up your lunches and coffees over a full year it can be enormous. You would be better off making your own lunch and bringing your own coffee/drinks in a thermos. If you smoke...quit! It's bad enough you're burning money to sustain this terrible habit, but you are in essence paying to raise your risk of cancer!!!

Cut down on going to bars, movies, etc. No one says you have to cut all the fun out of your life, just but be frugal. You can still have fun and save money by having people over rather than going out. If you can carpool to work, or take public transportation do it. There are so many other little things that you could cut out of your lifestyle: unused newspaper/magazine subscriptions, home landline, cable/satellite TV, etc... the list goes on and on.

5. Start a savings/retirement plan. Once you have debt under control and your spending in check you need to start a savings plan that will help you save for both the short-term as well as for your retirement. The simplest savings plan is just to open up an account that gives you a higher interest rate than an ordinary chequing/savings account. What you should do is have the bank automatically debit a small amount of each of your pay cheques and deposit it into your high interest savings account. This way you don't have to worry about doing it and you ''pay yourself first''. If you decide to debit 10% of each pay cheque, this amount will safely be in your high interest savings account each time without you accidentally spending it beforehand.

You will force yourself to live off whatever remains in your everyday account balance for bills and living expenses. After a while you won't even notice the money that is taken out for your savings. You don't miss what you don't see right? This is a great way to save up for your future financial health and when the account gets large enough you can think about putting it towards any number of investment vehicles like ''Buy and hold'' Real Estate, Rent To Own Homes, House Flipping, Tax Lien Certificates, Tax Deeds, Precious Metals, acquiring businesses, or other. Just be sure to seek professional financial advice as well as your own research before making any big decisions. Happy financial planning!

Understanding the World of Credit Scores

Most people are not aware that most credit scores sold online are not the same credit scores that lenders use in making lending decisions. The score used by lenders is called the FICO score and it is the only score that counts. Unfortunately, the companies that sell non-FICO scores do not make it clear that these scores may vary widely from real FICO scores. Worse yet, the three credit bureaus that provide FICO scores to lenders are among the worse offenders in selling non-FICO scores to consumers!

One Score Three Names

The FICO score has been re-branded by each of the three bureaus for their own marketing, hence you will hear of three scores, although they are all driven by the same software. Equifax calls it a BEACON score, TransUnion calls it an EMPIRICA score, and Experian calls it the EXPERIAN/Fair Isaac Risk Model. The scores may be different because each bureau gathers information from a slightly different mix of creditors. If you look at your three reports you will notice that some accounts are missing on each bureau. Timing also plays a roll. A recent change in your credit may be picked up sooner at one bureau than another. You can purchase your real FICO score at MyFico.com.

Improve Your Credit Score Fast

So what makes your FICO score tick? And what can you do about it? Here are a few strategies that everyone involved in the credit repair process should know.

Check Your High Credit Limits

The relationship between your current balance and the available credit limit on your revolving accounts has a major impact on your credit score. Every revolving account on your report should be examined. If the high credit limit is understated send a dispute letter to each of the three credit bureaus asking them to update the information. If you have extra cash, pay down those balances and watch your score go up!

Increase Your High Credit Limits

There is one additional course of action that you should consider that can also reduce the ratio of your current balance to your high credit limit. Call each and every credit card company and ask them to increase your limit. They may or may not agree, but you might be surprised. Please keep in mind that you are doing this to improve your credit. Having a higher credit limit does not mean that you should use it.

Check the Age of Your Accounts

New accounts count against your credit score. Conversely, the credit bureaus will reward you for the accounts that you have maintained over time. When reviewing your three credit reports be sure to look carefully at the initial reporting date for each revolving and installment account. If the age of the account is incorrect on your credit reports send dispute letters to the bureaus. This is a great credit repair trick and well worth the effort.

Resurrect an Old Account

It is not unusual to discover an account on your credit report that you forgot about years ago. If you don't have much credit please don't cancel the account. If you no longer have the card in your possession I suggest that you call the company and obtain a replacement card. When you get it you should make a small purchase. The exact algorithm used in the FICO score is a secret, but based on our observations it is best to have some occasional activity on a credit card.

Double Trouble! Eliminate Duplicates

Look at your credit reports carefully. If you see the same account more than once it is probably hurting your score unless it is over three years old with a perfect history and a low balance. If it does not meet these criteria get rid of it now! Collection agencies are notorious for causing duplicate reporting errors. Only one collection agency can own a debt at a time. Essential credit repair tip! If a collection agency no longer owns the debt they are not allowed to report it. That's the law!

Post Bankruptcy Cleanup

If you have had a bankruptcy you should take action to clean up your credit with all three bureaus immediately upon receiving your discharge. If you don't feel up to the task of dealing with the paperwork I suggest that you hire a reputable credit repair company. A reputable credit repair company will be inexpensive and be able to do this for you very quickly. If you don't take action to clean up your credit report it will not happen by itself. A comprehensive post bankruptcy clean up can have a dramatic impact on your credit scores within as little a sixty days after your discharge.

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

The number one question from all new real estate investors is "Where do I get the Money"? Here are 7 resources used by investors across the country in their businesses everyday and very successfully.

1. Owner Financing - Using the present owner to finance your purchase will give you the best opportunity to make big profits. With owner holding the first mortgage you may be able to get a no interest or very low interest loan with no payments until some future date or when you sell the property.

2. Subject To - Taking over the existing financing (not assuming the loan) making the payments current and keeping them current with your tenant buyer in the house making monthly payments including some profit for you.

3. Private Financing - Private lenders, friends, family, acquaintances, professionals Doctors or Attorneys, neighbors. These people must have investment cash that is currently earning low interest in CD's money or market accounts. You can offer a first mortgage with 60 to 70% LTV on your investment properties 2, 3 or 5 years at 10% to 15% interest with no payments until the end of the term or interest only payments at a lower rate during the term.

4. Self Directed IRA's - Yours, a relative or any of the investors from your private financing group. A self directed Roth IRA allows you to invest in many areas including real estate. Your children's self directed educational IRA can also be used to purchase real estate. All profits from the purchase and sale go directly back into the IRA. Imagine sending your kids to college TAX FREE by using a self directed IRA.

5. Hard Money Lenders - The property is the qualifier, loans based on 60% to 65% of the ARV. You pay 2 to 5 points rolled into the loan, at a higher interest rate 13% to 18% and all the normal fees (appraisal, survey, insurance, closing attorney). Based on the sale price and the condition of the property you may end up bring cash to the closing.

6. Flip the Property - Sell or assign this property to your buyer before you close on the deal or hold a simultaneous closing where you don't take ownership but you do profit in the transaction. You can make a quick profit without any investment on your part.

7. Buyer Financing Your Purchase - Having your buyers down payment cover your out of pocket costs of purchase. Use this on a subject to or owner financing deal where cash is needed (not your cash) to close. When your buyer qualifies for a permanent mortgage complete the sale payoff the subject to mortgage or owner financing and take your profits.

Notice we didn't go to the bank or mortgage company for any of this money. Each can be used by any investor for their real estate purchases and wealth building. Real Estate investing is an on going learning process of new and old techniques that will grow your wealth faster than any other type investment.

America is a land of opportunity. According to the United States Census Bureau, recent data indicates over six million new businesses were created in 2003, the latest year for which data is available. It appears that for every business that was created another business met its demise. Does this mean these business enterprises failed?

Not necessarily. The United States Census Bureau records closures of companies with employees, but they do not look further into the specific circumstances for the closure. When a business closes its doors, there can be many reasons for what's statistically a "failure," including a sale or merger, which may actually be a sign of robust financial health or good prospects. When a business closes, it may be because the investors have lost their investments or because they have sold out profitably.

Selling out profitably is known as an exit strategy; it is also known as "cashing out". If you have a business that manufactures or distributes a product that suddenly becomes very popular, you may be presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity. Here are two examples.

An inventor of a device that permits parents to regulate the time that their children can watch television wins best of show in a commercial competition for innovative products. Commercial interest in purchasing the product is intense, but funds to manufacture are insufficient. Another company manufactures a device that is related to pets. For twenty years they struggle. They pitch it to a "Big Box" store and sign a proposal to test market it in fifty stores; if successful, it will be rolled out to 200 to 300 stores with wholesale purchase orders for $1000 per week per store. If the product sales meet expectations, how will the manufacturer afford to pay to produce the immense quantity of product required?

Both of these situations are in need of a bridge over troubled water called purchase order financing. Purchase order financing can be complicated and complex in details, but the concept is simple.

When a manufacturer or distributor has a large purchase order from a creditworthy customer, a commercial finance company will issue a Letter of Credit to guarantee that a factory producing the product will be paid. When the goods are shipped and delivered to the customer (i.e. the big box store) the commercial finance company pays the factory. The customer is invoiced for the product. An account receivable is created, which will be paid to the commercial financing company that provided the letter of credit. Purchase order financing is the bridge that makes the deal possible. Accounts receivable financing, or factoring, is the back end financing that guarantees payment to all concerned. This may involve one company on both sides of the transaction, or two companies- a purchase order financing company and an accounts receivable financing company with an intercreditor agreement to contractually obligate all parties to be repaid.

The Free Dictionary defines bridge as a verb, - .to make a bridge across; "bridge a river"
To bring together, join- cause to become joined or linked; "join these two parts so that they fit together".
Simon and Garfunkel were an extremely popular band staring Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They became famous in 1965 with their hit single "The Sound of Silence". Their music was featured on the academy award winning film, The Graduate. They were well known for their close harmonies and sometimes unstable relationship. Their last album was called "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which featured a single with the same title. They broke up in 1970. In 1981 they reunited for one more concert called: "The Concert in Central Park" which attracted 500,000 people.

The lyrics to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" are:

When youre weary, feeling small,

When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;

I'm on your side. when times get rough

And friends just can't be found,

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down.

When you're down and out,

When you're on the street,

When evening falls so hard

I will comfort you.

I'll take your part.

When darkness comes

And pains is all around,

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will lay me down.

Sail on silvergirl,

Sail on by.

Your time has come to shine.

All your dreams are on their way.

See how they shine.

If you need a friend

I'm sailing right behind.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind.

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind."

The bottom line: Simon and Garfunkel were right. Like a bridge over troubled water, purchase order financing combined with accounts receivable financing will "ease your mind" and help you overcome "troubled waters" when a huge sales opportunities are on the table and exponential growth and financing are necessary to your success.

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

Here's 10 questions and statements that I've heard over the years from customers, that will leave the finance manager of a dealership, speechless. Buying a car with bad credit is tricky... remember to be polite and have a nice, serious smile on your face if you choose to use these on your own!

1) Does that car come with air bags? 'Cause I'd beat my head into the steering wheel every morning if I knew I was paying that much interest for a car loan.

2) There must be some confusion here... the stupid customer just left. Now, what are the real numbers?

3) You're playing a joke on me, right? Ok, I'll laugh. What's the real interest rate, anyway?

4) There must be a charge in here for air for the a/c, because this can't be the real figures.

5) Are you Howie Mandel? No? Is this Candid Camera or Howe Do It? These numbers can't be real.

6) How many points are you adding to the interest rate for your commission? Do I get a cut?

7) At that interest rate, I think I'm going to do like Michael Jackson and beat it, 'cause no one wants to be defeated.

8) Well, Mr. Finance Manager, I have to tell you, that salesman gave me an awful price on this car and I was hoping with you being the big man with the power, that you would be a nice enough person to give me a good price. Do you have the power to do that?

9) Is there anything on my credit report that indicated to you that I don't know what paying too much is?

10) I know you guys used to roll back odometers. Can't you roll back an interest rate?

FICO, the Score that Counts

There are many credit scores available, but the FICO score is the one that matters. FICO, by the way, is an acronym for Fair Isaac & Company, the creator of the scoring model. Virtually all lenders use FICO scores to make loan decisions. If you are in a credit repair program, any score you monitor is fine for measuring progress. But if you are planning to apply for a loan the FICO score is the one to watch.

FICO and Your Lender

When you apply for a loan, the lender orders your credit report from one (or more) of the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each credit bureau report comes with a FICO score. If you speak with your lender about your credit, they are likely to refer to each of your scores using the specific credit bureau name.

The Credit Bureau Illusion

Given the constant association of FICO scores with the three credit bureaus, you might assume they have some proprietary claim on the scores. You might also assume that if you purchased your scores from the credit bureaus, you would get the same FICO scores the bureaus sold to your lender. You would not be alone. In the credit repair business, we find most of our customers make the same assumptions. The assumptions are wrong.

Credit Score Re-Branding

As an aside, I should mention that the three bureaus have re-branded the FICO scores they sell to lenders. Equifax calls it a Beacon score, TransUnion calls it an Empirica score, and Experian calls it an Experian Score. Different names, but they are all FICO scores. Our credit repair customers often ask about numeric differences in the scores. Numeric differences arise because each bureau gets information from a slightly different mix of creditors. Timing also plays a roll in score variance; a recent change in your credit may be picked up sooner at one bureau than another.

The Business of Credit Scores

As it happens, the credit bureaus don't own the FICO scores, nor do they sell them directly to consumers. Fair Isaac & Company owns the scoring model and licenses it to the credit bureaus. The credit bureaus use the model to score the data they have on file for consumers. Then they bundle the scores with consumer credit reports and sell them to lenders. Fair Isaac collects royalties from the credit bureaus for these sales.

Putting Credit Scores to Use

If you are planning to apply for a loan, you might want to purchase your FICO scores beforehand. You would want your real scores, not "estimated" scores that might vary widely from the ones the lender will use. Yet "estimated" scores are exactly what millions of consumers get every year when they visit the credit bureau's websites. Many of these consumers go on to apply for a loan, and are disappointed when the lender tells them that their scores are lower than they were led to believe. We hear this story almost every day from people starting up their credit repair effort.

Estimated Scores

Fair Isaac would have been happy to have the credit bureaus sell FICO scores directly to consumers. The credit bureaus, however, seeing the opportunity, developed their own "estimated" credit scores rather than paying royalties to Fair Isaac. Equifax, the exception, offers a FICO score to consumers, which provides an economical way for consumers, or anyone in a credit repair program, to monitor their score, but on its own does not provide a complete solution.

Experian's PLUS Score

Experian sells a credit score at their website called the "PLUS Score". Here is the small print from their website, "Your PLUS Score is formulated using the information in your credit file. It is modeled after the hundreds of commercial credit scores that help potential lenders, landlords, and employers quickly gauge your credit history and decide what kind of a risk they might be taking if they approve your application."

TransUnion's TrueCredit Score

TransUnion sells a credit score called the "TrueCredit" score. Here is the small print from their website. "TrueCredit" is not connected in any way with Fair, Isaac and Company; the credit score provided here is not a so-called FICO score. The credit scores of TransUnion may not be identical in every respect to any consumer credit scores produced by any other company."

Equifax FICO Score

Equifax, as mentioned, makes a FICO score available to consumers. If you are in a credit repair program, or planning to apply for a loan, this is the most economical way of seeing a real FICO score. But it is important to know that many lenders, and almost all mortgage companies, look at all three of your FICO scores, and base their decision on the value of your middle score. One score is simply not enough.

Myfico.com the FICO Source

So, if you want to know where you stand prior to applying for a loan, or to monitor your credit repair efforts for each credit bureau, you will need to see all three FICO scores. These are available at myfico.com, The Fair Isaac website.

Copyright © 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Agonizing displays of poor theatrics failed to entertain my mind one recent Saturday evening. I scrolled across several television channels hoping for an engaging program. Finally, one particular concert intrigued my senses. There on the stage performed one of rock and roll's most expressive singers.

With every bit of his legendary convulsive style, Joe Cocker belted out each song with passion and enthusiasm. A solitary man represented by a dull silhouette and expressions of life's complicated sorrows braided through words of reassuring simplicity. The foggy stage complimented his smoky voice as his lyrics invited every listener to share his soul. He was an elder musician with lessons to teach.

The English born Cocker, now in his early sixties, has been delivering the same spasmodic "air-guitar" performance for decades. His music has endured critics, fads, and lifestyle changes. Who can resist the tunes of "Heard It Through the Grapevine" or "Up Where We Belong?"

Perhaps some people mock his unique musical delivery, but his melodies speak to the soul.

At times, his twitching becomes somewhat distracting, yet in the end, his concert is a magical blend of R&B influences, solid rock and roll, and rhythmic gospel.

In the end, this diversified musician has prevailed through the good times and the bad.

Well, it must be Joe Cocker's Market.

At times, the current stock market is intolerable and difficult to watch. Like Cocker, it sometimes seems contorted and out of control. The ups and downs can be disturbing, yet in the long run, the concert delivers tunes of delight. When the show finally concludes, the audience cheers for an encore.

As an investor, you may be cheering for an encore. Interest rates seem undesirable and the stock market volatility may have you curious about the future.

Keep your focus on a pre-determined game plan. Ignore short-term distractions and learn to invest in range bound markets. Do not allow the ups and downs to discourage you and by all means avoid making judgments by sight alone. Know your positions and the reason for inclusion in the portfolio. Longevity is the key and your risk tolerances, time horizons and/or goals must be prioritized. Together, you and the market may live in harmony.

What the lenders will want to know

When applying for any loan or credit the lender will determine the level of risk that the lender is exposed to as a result of lending the money to the loan / credit applicant (consumer or business).

The lenders do not have standardized (universal) criteria on which the applicant is assessed, the sector or institute  to which you are applying will have their own algorithm or process for determining the ideal customer for which they would wish to lend too, therefore ranking the applicant in terms of risk (I.e. high to low).

Whilst there is no "magic list" that the credit companies check to automatically qualify or disqualify you from your application, your credit rating is interpreted differently by each company and compared against their ideal customer criteria.

What they will know about you is held by credit reference agencies like Experian, Equifax etc... so the extra questions such as earnings etc... will be for the benefit of the company trying to build up a profile of you.

Ultimately the lenders want to know is how financially attractive you are! What one lender considers attractive is not necessarily what the another lender would consider attractive so don't assume that because you have bee turned down by one lender that you will instantly be turned down by another

Improving your Credit Rating (Attractiveness)

Prior detailing how you can improve your credit rating I cant emphasis enough that "universal" credit ratings or "black lists" do not exist! Its all about profiling!

Another key point that I should make that whilst I use the rm risk to the lender this actually means how much money are we doing to make form this loan or credit applicant, because "if the juice ain't worth the squeeze" they simply wont accept your application.

Now as mentioned there is no 100% guarantee of securing credit through improving your credit score [http://www.loanrunner.co.uk/credit-check] however by improving it you will improve your attractiveness to lenders.

1. Electoral roll information - Ensure you are listed as the main credit agencies hold this data and supply it upon application to the institution to which you are applying, so ensure it its current and that you have been listed on it at previous addresses. Contact your local council to check your status.
2. Court records such as CCJ's are a hindrance and instantaneously show poor ability to repay finance. Whilst there is no quick solution to removing them, check to see if they are genuine as there are many instances where people have had them placed on their file accidentally - so do check for them!
3. Ensure your addresses with other lenders all align as if you have various addresses with different credit accounts an accurate picture of your finances can not be obtained and assessed.
4. Never miss a payment - even if this means just paying the minimum amount owed. Credit companies actually like to see you making just the minimum payments as it means they are making money - some actually suggest that this improves your credit score as it make you more attractive due to the money they can make from you.
5. Timing your applications is key, lots of applications in short spaces of time will hurt your score so spread them out.
6. Repair any previous credit problems. Using expensive credit cards and paying them off instantly can show that you are capable of repaying higher risk loans easily. Also prepaid cards are a good form of building up your credit, whilst slightly expensive they are worth it.
7. Where possible get a quotation search and not a credit search so no extra checks go against your file.

What is Car Gap Insurance For?

If you have purchased a new or used car with a loan, you probably owe more than the book value of the car for the first several months you pay on your loan. If you did not put down a large down payment or if you rolled over a loan from your old car, you may owe quite a bit more than your car's value. You are probably willing to accept this fact because you are really just making car payments, have a car you like, and know that you will get the car paid off in time. But the fact is, most cars lose 20% of their value the minute you drive them off of the car lot.

If you buy a $20,000 car, the actual value of that car may drop to $16,000 very quickly. You have just taken the 20% hit. However, accidents happen. If you have an accident, or your car is stolen, you may be asked to settle for the book value. That means, you still owe $4,000 more on a car you cannot use!

Car Gap Insurance closes the gap between a car's value and your loan. You normal car insurance will still pay off the car's value. The auto gap insurance policy will make up the difference. Now some comprehensive auto policies may pay the financed value, but most do not. Be sure to look at your policy or ask your agent to make sure.

Where do you Buy Car Gap Insurance?

When you buy a car, your dealer will offer you a car gap insurance policy. He or she may even offer to roll the price into your loan. However they will charge you a premium price. Some people choose to purchase auto gap insurance this way because it is simple, or because they don't realize they even have an option!

However, you do have a choice. You do not need to pay $700 or $800 for car gap insurance from a car dealership. You can buy the same policy online, directly from the insurance company. Online car gap insurance policies ill cost less than half as much as car gap insurance from the dealer. You could pay $399 instead of $700 to $800!

Your other choice is to find a comprehensive car insurance policy that will cover your car's financed value. You can call around, but it is easier to use an online quoting system. Look for an insurance quoting system that is BBB approved and has a stated privacy policy.

How long will it take before holiday expenses catch up to your bank account and you are back applying for a payday loan? That is the hard part about depending on credit cards to pay for all the extras. It's so convenient to spend using plastic and even easier to lose track of how much money gets spent.

How many credit card statements will creep in with full balances spent, maybe a few with over limit charges or interest increased because of the new debt load? Monthly minimum limits will definitely be larger no matter what costs are subject to an individuals' situation. For those who live paycheck to paycheck, the extra monthly demand will press harder on previously struggling budgets. It will also take some of the cushion out of those budgets which carried a little extra. Savings accounts are always the first to be adversely affected by extra money demands.

How does one continue to pay off regular monthly expenses, squeeze in the extra holiday costs and keep money heading into the savings account? If you are not bringing in extra income, many folks will be lining up at the payday loan store to keep the budgets rolling through a few more pay periods. One area that many people avoid is cutting back.

Attack the food budget to quickly cut back on expenses. A PEW study last year presented the findings that people would rather apply for a payday loan than cut back on their monthly expenses. Replace the upscale coffees and applying the $20 or $30 dollars a month on credit cards is a much cheaper solution than a payday loan. Pack your own lunches and avoid dinners out for a few weeks while you catch up or pay down towards the extra bills. You would be amazed at the savings to be had, and that is before the grocery list gets some cutbacks.

Are all of these inconvenient to a person's lifestyle? Sure they are. Many people live their daily lives on the go and do not stop to make food from scratch or actually brew a morning coffee. These conveniences carry a high price when payday loan fees and reoccurring monthly credit card costs keep any extra money from feeding into your savings account. There is a price to pay for convenience.

A short-term loan charges a fee for their money. It's another example of paying for convenience. Fast money with no credit check will help many keep up with any extra impending costs. The long-term options tend to be much less cost effective than its counterpart. Credit card debt and the affects it has on a credit score is often times a reason why someone would be seeking a low cost loan in the first place.

When you have overspent and it is time to juggle your income in order to fit the over-scaled budget, a payday loan is one option to turn to. A person looking out for their financial future will shop around and find the best solution with a responsible lending company to bring relief to a financial crunch; but a payday loan will not solve a debt problem.

One thing that most web aggregator sites do, is generate huge amount of web traffic. Mainly, this is down to search engine optimization techniques and paid for web advertising such as Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing.

However, there is a third way, which tends to sit under the radar yet drives a huge amount of traffic to these comparison sites. Most of the major players will offer a white labeled version of their online facilities and a revenue share opportunity. Just looking around some of the bigger sites out there, you will find an aggregator of some description powering the money or finance sections.

So how does this help me?

While you may not have a facility such as an online quote and buy engine, you could still provide a white labeled money / insurance or investment sections to a large number of sites.

Sites such as:

• Local interest sites or local information directories.
• Clubs and Associations
• Local Charities and Groups.
• Other local companies - Accountants, Lawyers, Business Services and the like

You could very well have relationships with these organizations already but using the web to do it, means that it is easier to track and shows you very quickly what is working and what isn't.

The advantages

Most referral business is done on trust between two partners and it has always been a difficult thing to manage as far as a paper trail goes. Now with using the Internet, you can have an online tracking system, and depending how big it grows there are tools that will allow partners to login and check stats and commission due, all without your involvement.

If you haven't done so already, provide your current partners with their own landing pages so they can promote these pages to their members. After all it is in their best interest as they will earn more revenues. You can even make the landing page look like a page on their website.

A Win-Win

Their site gets more content, as well as, additional revenue streams and you get more business with an easy to manage solution.

Provide marketing materials such email shots, web copy or even issue a joint press release promoting the new service or partnership (You could have a template of something built in advance.).

Make sure you mention these partnership opportunities at your networking events, so not only are you promoting your business but also offering a business opportunity. Even add it to your business card. Have a page on your site with more information about your partnership program.

This is a great way to dominate a local marketplace. Just like the aggregators have tied up most of the major online portals, you could be doing the same at a local level.

Summary

There is still large number of untapped groups and sites out there that will benefit from a relationship with an IFA, insurance or mortgage broker. Promoting and running an online partnership program is a good way to drive more business and build new revenue streams. The beauty is that the work you do once in building the system (the content, the advice for promotional and the marketing materials) can then be rolled out to any new partnership arrangement quickly. You can even have this in a password protected area on your website so it can be automated entirely.

A Single's Game of Real Estate

(Getting started in your twenties)

Due to the fact that most of us grow up in either a rented apartment or our parent's single family home, it stands to reason that most people, when beginning to ask themselves the question of purchasing their own dwelling, will come to the conclusion that a condo or small house is probably the way to go. That's a result of conditioning and it's a hard mindset to break! After taking the time to talk to or personally guide a respectable number of people in their twenties, I have come to find that firm, direct and accurate information can really adjust the reality of how real estate can be acquired and used to their best advantage starting with property that sets the tone for a much more profitable and rewarding future.

Everyone understands the concept of paying rent, so to begin with a great opening question to our real estate student is, "How would you like to collect that rent as opposed to pay it!" Naturally this question gets their attention and we can begin to open the door of enlightenment. I like to use the duplex example to illustrate the two homes under one roof concept. Some people are unfamiliar with what exactly a duplex is and how it works, so I simply state that quite often you find duplexes composed of one building that has two bedrooms and one bath on each side, all under one roof, some larger, some smaller.

These are as easy to finance as a single family home and in many cases allow you to qualify for a larger loan amount which leads to using leverage and more of other people's money to get ahead faster in life. Using an example lets say you find a duplex for $150,000 (California is higher), your loans interest rate is 6% that would cost $899.33 a month to pay principle and interest back on a 30 year loan. They would have to insure it, so we use an average of $5 per $1000 of home value to average insurance costs. So $5.00 x $150.00 = $750.00 a year for insurance. We divide that by 12 months to get a figure of $62.50 a month for insurance. We also have annual taxes that are based on what the home is worth multiplied by a millage, or mill rate. Let's use a tax rate of $11.00 per $1,000 of the homes assessed value: $11.00 x 150 = $1,650.00 a year. Now divide that by 12 months to get a monthly tax of $137.50 and by adding principle, interest, taxes and insurance (P.I.T.I), we get a total monthly mortgage payment of $1099.33.

Now when you rent one side out for (in many cases, approximately $750.00 a month) you are left to pay only $349.33 out of your own pocket every month. When I get this point firmly affixed to the gray matter of their brain, it becomes clear that this amount is much lower than the amount of rent they are now paying to live under someone else's roof and rules. Now the questions start coming in the following order. Well? How do I buy something like this? The answer most often begins with, "By getting pre-qualified for a loan," and I go on to say you will need to gather and bring the following things to the bank loan officer to get started:

1. Copies of three years of tax returns for first time buyers + schedules and W2 forms

2. Copies of most recent pay stubs within the last 30 days

3. Copies of your most recent three months of bank statements

4. A list of all creditors with name, address and account numbers

With these initial documents the lender can begin to process your application for a loan. They will determine your assets and liabilities (net worth) as well as verify where you live now, your credit history and a host of other information that begins to validate your existence and ability to borrow money now and in the future.

Once they've had a chance to review and verify your information they can pre-approve you for a certain loan amount. Once your approved you can begin your search for a home of your own, typically as a first time home buyer you will find that there are programs that let you put as little as 3-5% percent down in order to buy a home that satisfies the lender's guidelines according to its value and conformity. Now on a $150,000 loan the down payment can be anywhere from $4500.00 - $7500.00.

There are ways to lower these costs and a great place to start is by attending a first time home buyer's class. These classes introduce you to the basics and give you further information on programs that are currently available that may offer you the opportunity to buy with nothing down! So with that said, the next step is to get to a free class and get familiar with the process. Often I recommend going to the class before going to see a lender so you don't appear so green and unprepared upon your initial introduction.

Since I usually find these poor souls wondering and wandering in the land of the lost, the next frown I see come over them is the realization that they just don't have the money required to start. So the question comes up as to where to get it. I usually ask about savings, whether parents or grandparents can help, if they can sell valuable possessions or take second jobs, get grants, gifts, use trust funds, personal loans or co-signers, or a combination of these alternatives with a complimentary loan program usually gets the ball rolling. Options and hard money lenders usually come later as alternative funding and acquisition sources, so I won't confuse any one with those now.

The bottom line is this: If someone wants something bad enough there is always a way!
The nice thing about duplexes is that the lender will take into account the fact that 75% of the rental income from the other side of the property can be used to offset your qualifying ratios, so in this case they can use 75% of the rentals $750.00 income to reduce the amount you must earn to qualify for what appears to be an unaffordable loan. Seventy-five percent of $750.00 equals $562.50. Now subtracting that amount from the original mortgage payment of $1099.33 leaves you with a payment of $536.83 which the bank says you must be able to repay every month out of your own pocket. You can do this!

Can you begin to see how with a little information, effort and belief you can actually own something and pay less than what you are currently paying in rent?

Let's continue on with the way things begin to unfold once you begin the journey. Starting with the day you close the deal and become the new owner you will see that you now have just created a passive income stream that gives you an extra $750.00 a month without you having to punch a clock or trade a certain amount of hours to earn the money. Your new asset works for you day in and day out constantly generating income for you while you go and do other things. This is leveraging your time and money in a very beneficial way!

You also will notice that at the closing of your purchase that the old owners who sold you this property had to prorate or give you a share of the rents due and any security deposits that the tenants had given to them. Now add to that the likelihood that your first house payment won't come due until about a month and a half after you move in and you find yourself with, low and behold, extra money, probably for the first time in quite a while!

Let's calculate it using simple math. Assuming you close on the 15th of the month, you will have 45 days before your first payment comes due, you will be credited with 15 days of rent, you will receive all security deposits of the tenant and you will receive another month's rent on the first of the month from your tenant and you yourself will have no rent or house payment of your own to make for another whole month. What does all that add up to? Let's break it down:

1. Fifteen days of rent equal to $375.00

2. A half month's rent as a security deposit equal to $375.00

3. A full month's rent in another 15 days equal to $750.00

4. No payment to the bank for another 30 days and you're not paying rent to anyone any longer, so you keep whatever you normally would have had to give to someone else as rent that month (let's say that was $500.00).

5. Another payment to you for $750.00 from your tenant as well as you having to make your first mortgage payment of $1099.33 on the 1st of the month which comes 45 days later.

Side note: If you decided to rent your second bedroom to a roommate, they would pay $500.00 a month and half your utilities as well, thus your basically living and owning this property for free. Say goodbye to all those student loans as you divert all these freed up funds to pay off loans instead of a landlord!

Adding these up, we get $375.00 + $375.00 + $750.00 + $750.00 + 500.00 not paid to your old landlord. That equals $2,750.00 that you will now have as a result of your first month and a half of ownership. Now subtract your mortgage payment of $1099.33 and you are left with a reserve fund of $1,650.67 in your account. Take your parents out to a steak dinner and celebrate - you've earned it!

Let's review: You decided to buy your own home, you made the choice early to offset expenses by looking at a multiple income property, you went to the homebuyer's class, you went to see a lender and got pre-approved for a loan, you saved or arranged to have the necessary amount required to buy and you hunted, searched and analyzed more than a few properties in order to find a good one that would satisfy your criteria.

Your next phase is to begin to realize that you are now responsible for the welfare of another family or person due to your willingness to become a landlord. Your tenants pay rent and expect you to take care of their housing needs. If you chose a good property by carefully looking at plumbing, heating & A/C, electrical, foundation, structure, roof, location and price, then you should be well positioned to be able to successfully manage these duties. Often, you as the new owner will begin to make improvements to the property such as painting, installing new carpet and doing some inexpensive landscaping and repairs. These are the things that add value to your property and keep your tenants happy while at the same time not breaking the bank!

With $1,650.67 in your bank account, you're not exactly Donald Trump just yet, but you're getting there! Smart landlords establish 6 month reserve accounts and/or contingency funds, which protect them in times of vacancies or when expensive unforeseen repair bills pop up in addition to regular planned-for maintenance items. What I'm saying is don't spend your reserves frivolously. In my case, a steak dinner is a tradition but the major portion of your funds should only be used to build, protect and enhance your asset's ability to produce and sustain income generation.

By taking on responsibility in the housing market at such a young age, you will have some added benefits and opportunities coming to you. Let's look at what starts happening: the first thing is you have overcome fear and lack of understanding by acquiring your first property. In addition, you have begun to offset expenses while saving more money, you are establishing excellent credit while building assets, and you're gaining tax advantages while getting management, home buying and repair education at an early age. These are outstanding life skills that you can employ for the rest of your life and the longer the period of time that you have to use them, the further the compounding effects will help you to go.

This type of initial home-buying strategy can and does lead to further opportunities to grow and achieve further benefits besides those already mentioned. Individuals who learn to accept responsibility early will by nature grow more mature throughout the process and in effect create for themselves a higher status in the minds of others by being looked upon as a current homeowner and landlord. Once established, you will become known for what you can do. If you were single when you undertook these challenges, then you will appear and become more self-sufficient to the opposite sex.

What do I mean by that? What I'm saying is when you meet someone who may become your spouse in the future, they will recognize your ability to provide for their safety and protection and they won't question or complain about your fooling around with wild ideas of becoming educated in real estate now. They will accept that this is something you do and will respect your ability to manage this part of your life.

As time passes on and you find this love of your life and the eventual marriage proposal ensues, the time will come when you're going to want to separate business from pleasure. As a young couple the time will come when you may want to start a family or at least separate yourself from your tenants while moving up to a nicer single family home that suits your changing needs more appropriately. Perfect, because now is the time to consider renting out both sides of the duplex while you begin to investigate your new single family home.

How does this phase work? Hold on, I'm getting there! Okay, let's assume its two years later and you have been living in and improving your duplex all along. Now taking into account that you bought a decent property in a good neighborhood and inflation and appreciation has been adding value in addition to your improvements, your $150,000 duplex should command a new appraised value of $175,000. Let me explain how the value grows: 3% annual inflation multiplied by $150,000 equals $4500.00 the first year. Let's also say that appreciation due to demand also adds 5%, so 5% x $150,000 equals $7500.00. Now $150,000 + $7500 + $4500 = $162,000, which represents the new value for year one. The second year we do the same math on $162,000 and we get $12,960 for year two. Adding that to $162,000 equals $174,960. Okay, I was off by $40.00. Don't forget any improvements and that you may have bought it at a discount because the old owners where motivated and you might find its worth even more.

Now over those two years you have also been paying that old mortgage of $1099.33 each month and the principle amount that you owe on your loan has been reduced by an additional $3,965.96, leaving you with a loan balance of $146,034.04. The difference between the new appraised value of $175,000 and the current amount of $146,034.04 which you owe equals $28,965.96. This number represents the equity, or value, that you currently own in the home. Knowing this, it is entirely possible to apply for and receive a home equity line of credit up to the full value of the new appraisal! If you haven't gone overboard on buying cars, boats and running up other revolving debt while at the same time your significant other or spouse-to-be has a job and good credit with manageable debt, than the bank is going to approve this line of owner-occupied credit.

Now what you have done is set up a line of credit which can be used to buy a $145,000 single family home with a 20% down payment. This allows you to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), thereby creating a very affordable new mortgage on your new family residence.

NOTE: Do not confuse homeowner's insurance with private mortgage insurance. PMI protects the lender while homeowner's insurance protects you. When you put down 20% of value on a home's purchase in the form of a down payment, you are in effect protecting the lender from yourself because if they foreclosed on you for non-payment, they could sell the home fast for less than full value and still be paid in full.

Don't pay for private mortgage insurance if you can avoid it!

Let's not forget that as the value of your duplex has risen the rents should also be increasing along the same lines. Now instead of $750.00, you should reasonably expect to get $800.00 per month, per side, which now delivers $1600.00 a month to your bank account. Unfortunately you still have to pay for 28 more years on the original loan amount, so you will make that good old $1099.33 payment as usual. That leaves you with $500.67 left over to pay that new equity line back with. Your new $29,000 equity line which you used as a down payment on your new home costs you $336.71 @ 7% for 10 years. Now $500.36 minus $336.71 leaves you with $163.96 left over to maintain a nice little reserve account for vacancies and maintenance/repairs. This is a good example of how to transition to a secure lifestyle while using your existing asset base to buy more.

Review:

1. Break the mold and look at multiple income property to start.

2. Go to a first time home buyer class to get ready.

3. Go to a lender prepared to qualify for an affordable loan amount.

4. Focus your effort on learning how real estate works.

5. Realize the sooner you start, the better off you will be.

6. Offset expenses by renting to others.

7. Manage tenants, deposits and property responsibly.

8. Plan for the future using assets and equity lines to start.

9. Keep reading and learning how to do new things with real estate.

10. Find mentors and use knowledgeable people to help you along the way.

I hope this little plan of entering into homeownership has given you some ideas in your quest for independence. Wishing you all the best! Your investment pal, Dan

Credit card usage is often demonised in the media because this is an attention getter. There have been many people who have damaged their credit ratings and credit history by irresponsible use of credit or just through a plain lack of understanding about how credit and credit scoring works. When is the last time you tried to rent a car or motel room, make a reservation, purchase something online or even apply for something simple like a cell phone plan without being asked for a credit card? It is very hard to function in our world without at least one credit card, and if you can use it responsibly, it will have a tremendously positive impact on your life!

This is why knowledge about credit card basics is so important!

What exactly is a credit card?

A credit card is a plastic card issued to a line of revolving credit. The reason it is called a revolving line of credit is because your credit limit rolls over from month to month. Let's say you applied for a credit card and were accepted for an initial $1000.00 line of credit. You use your card to pay a bill or make a purchase for $250.00 and you are sent a statement showing the $250.00 purchases after the grace period along with an "available credit" in the amount of $750.00 You could choose to pay the balance off in full or pay less than the full amount. If you pay less than the full amount, you will be charged interest on the outstanding balance.

Interest and finance charges.

Let's say you paid $50.00 of your outstanding balance. Once your card issuer has received your payment, your new available credit limit will be $800.00 less your finance charge.These finance charges would be based on the Annual Interest Rate, often called the APR, of your unpaid balance. If your annual interest rate or APR were 19% for example, then the monthly equivalent of 19% would be applied to the outstanding balance. In this case that would be $200.00, 19% of which is $38.00. This does not mean you have a finance charge of $38.00! Divide this number by 12 and you get $3.16! Remember, this is an ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE!

It's important to tell you that if you pay the balance off in full during the grace period, then no finance charge will be due. This is like getting an interest free loan every month! What is a grace period? A grace period, stated simply, is the amount of time you have to pay off your entire balance before your charged any interest. In most cases this is about 25 days, but every card issuer can have different plans. This means if you pay your balance in the 25 day period, you get to use someone else's money interest free!

What should you consider when applying for a credit card?

First of all, you should be looking for an annual fee. If you pay off your balance each month, then the interest rate is less important, but an annual fee will be charged to you no matter what! Many credit cards have no annual fee except those starter cards tailored to those with a checkered or limited credit history. These cards can have annual fees ranging from $19 to $79 or more per year depending on your credit worthiness. Once you begin to build a solid credit history, you will see these fees come off and you will get other credit offers as well.

Second, you should consider the interest rate or finance charge. Many cards have a low introductory interest rate for 3 months to a year as an enticement. Again, if you pay your balance in full, this is not that important, but if you need to carry a balance and you can qualify for a low interest rate, carrying a small balance could be a wise financial decision when it becomes necessary.

Third, you must be aware of the other fees associated with your credit card. For example what is the fee for exceeding your credit limit or having a payment come in late or missed altogether? No one plans on having this happen, but sometimes we are influenced by circumstances beyond our control.

Credit card ownership can open many doors and make your life easier, but it can also lead to financial ruin if you make poor decisions about your credit. The best way to overcome this is to be the most knowledgeable consumer that you can be and learn all you can. Stay tuned for more of my articles on responsible credit usage and visit my website to sign up for my newsletter! I will help guide you through the basics of credit knowledge and into the advanced methods and strategies for getting the most out of your credit!

In these tough times it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain prime motor finance for people with a less than perfect credit history. A lot of the lenders have increased their scorecard and abandoned their rate for risk practices. This basically means that they have increased the credit score required to get credit approval. Before companies would advertise an attractive headline APR (annual percentage rate) but depending on your credit score they would decide if you would be offered that rate or a less attractive APR (annual percentage rate).

In the sub prime motor finance sector the credit crunch has had damaging effect on the market. As a result of which, several of the major players have ceased trading or no longer approving new business. This has impacted on the mortgage, personal loans, in fact all the sub prime finance markets. It is probably more important than ever to know what your credit rating is and what personal information the credit reference agencies are holding. Once you know this information you can start to address the situation.

The first thing you need to understand is what is a credit score? Some time this is known as credit rating. A credit score is a figure that finance companies and other lending institutions use to make lending decisions. They obtain all this information from credit reference agencies.

The 3 main credit reference agencies used in the UK are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. These agencies share information with finance companies providing the finance companies share account information with them. Such as if payments are being made on the due date or whether they are late or missed altogether. Credit reference agencies also hold electoral roll information such as county court judgments, bankruptcy and IVAs. They record previous searches information such as the number of times you apply for finance, what name you used and who you applied with. In a nutshell these credit reference agencies provide all the lending institutions with a comprehensive amount of information to enable them to make an informed lending decision. These institutions then set their own score based on that information and the information you supply in your application. There are anomalies however; the credit reference agencies do not share the information with each other. This means that not all information is recorded with all the agencies.

If you do not have any problems getting finance this means you have a good credit score and you are known by the credit industry as a good credit risk or termed as a prime finance customer. If however you do have trouble and have been turned down you are a bad credit risk and are termed as a sub prime customer. This applies if you want to buy a sofa, contract mobile or a car. In fact anything you get declined credit for.

A sub prime motor finance company is a finance company which provides car finance for people who have been turned down previously by the prime finance companies. Although you may want to buy or need a new car you should find out how bad your credit history really is. If your credit history is not really that bad you will still be able to get more favourable rates although a little higher than the mainstream prime finance rates. If on the other you have a bad credit history you still need to find out how bad your credit history really is to enable you to understand why you are regarded as a bad credit risk and therefore being charged at a higher rate. Once you have the all the information you need you should contact a sub prime motor finance specialist with a full range of sub prime motor finance lenders to discuss your individual circumstances in confidence.

Last night the National Capital Financial Bloggers Association met, and we did what we normally do, swap stories and ideas about finances and the like (see the N.C.F.B.A. blog roll in the side bar for the sites authored by this group).

During these discussions the topic of time share condominiums came up and that led me to tell this story. The Worst Financial Advice I Ever Gave Most of you know that I am very unlikely to give you direct advice in any financial area, and this story is one of the reasons why.

My wife, myself and some friends went on a vacation to Florida (this was about 17 years ago). My Father In Law had told me about how if you go to a Timeshare Condominium sales pitch, you can get free tickets to some of the sites around Orlando, which sounded good to me (Free is always a good price). We found that at the Motel we were staying there was an entire courtesy desk filled with Timeshares offering this deal, so we signed up for a "sales demonstration".

Off we went to this sales pitch, and it was hilarious,and surreal. I must mention one of my friends on this trip was Michael James on Money himself and his wife, so we were sure we weren't going to buy. The salesman (who we nicknamed "Ray Don Bob Ron Don", don't ask why, but it was funny), tried all the sales pitches:

• Slow playing us to see if the condo would sell itself (it didn't)
• Pandering to our wives about how there was little or no housework (they laughed)
• Telling the men they could rent whenever they wanted (I asked if we could get to stay during Daytona 500 week, he said yes, I laughed)
• How much money we'd save (we in turn figured out how much money they were making per building on the initial sale, and then how much they were going to make per year on their service fees).
• Finally asking, "Would you buy this place for nothing?", and then saying, "OK your price is between FREE and our selling price", which always makes me chuckle.

I must admit that we played along and acted very much out of character (worrying my wife a great deal), but at the end, there was no sale, we got our free tickets and we left (our salesmen grumbling about how we were, "... too analytical...". I was struck by how the people at the sales pitch "closing" room looked like deer in headlights while paying for their time share with their Credit Cards, a very disturbing site.

Fast forward a few months and a dear friend was off to Orlando with his new wife, so I told him the story about getting free tickets for a theme park and all you had to do was sit through a timeshare sales pitch. He said he'd think about doing that, and nothing much more was said.

My friend returned from Orlando a week later, picked me up to go to work and he told me all about his trip. I asked had he gone to the timeshare sales pitch, and he confirmed that he had. I then railed about how pathetic the sales pitch was, and what kind of an imbecile would buy one of those things, etc., etc., etc., for about 5 minutes.

Once I finished, my friend said in a very small voice, "We bought one..."

The car ride to work was very quiet that morning.

From that day, I always shy away from giving anyone any financial advice directly, I will tell them what has worked for me, and let them decide for themselves.

Citizens of our great and prosperous nation are proud to be living the "American Lifestyle" right? Well let's take a closer look and examine the truth about this desired lifestyle.

Lifestyle defined: A person's pattern of living as expressed by their interests, motivations, activities, desired experiences, and beliefs.

Americans have a commonly known divorce rate that is reaching nearly 60%, yet there is no class in our school system that prepares us for marriage. Family dysfunction is expected, yet again, not prepared for.

Our citizens work harder on their jobs then they do on their family, sacrificing necessary time and attention in order to be the model employee (in order to keep their job). The media exposes our youth to adult content as early as possible in order to condition their minds, control their judgment and thinking patterns and thus control their spending dollars at earlier ages. The American youth is finding it more and more difficult to emulate role models in the family and look outside the family for direction.

The roll of the Father figure is increasingly diminished and the traditional role of the Mother is laughed at by the media. TV has become a hypodermic needle for the media to inject its family destroying messages, as a huge number of Americans, by the tens of millions, are addicted to TV like a drug. The media has become the catalyst for exercising our emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, joy, etc) as we place more importance and value on the make-believe situations of TV programs then the reality of our personal lives. With the help of the media, we are losing control of our time, our agenda, our priorities, out morals, and losing the will to TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR LIVES!

Americans are constantly encouraged to consume food that is killing them! Especially children, when you consider the garbage offered to them through marketing and media. HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS has become a pestering reminder that we are indeed supposed to take responsibility for our health, what we eat, and frequency of exercise. Convenience and cost has become the priority in determining what we eat to satisfy the hunger of our one and only vessel, the human body, which keeps us fit to survive in our environment, however, convenience and cost is also the clever way to keep the truth hidden from us.

There is an alarming increasing rate of overweight, under nourished, unhealthy, uneducated (on the subject of nutrition) citizens in our country. Most American citizens are completely blind to the correlation between what you put in your mouth and what impact it has on you physically and mentally. There is an increasing rate of health related diseases as we are dying younger and turn to pharmaceuticals, not nutrition, to keep us alive. WE ARE DYING FROM WHAT WE PUT IN OUR MOUTHS!

Our citizens are scarcely taught financial fundamentals and therefore poorly plan for a secure financial future. By the age of 65 most of us will be flat broke! With the many superficial distractions that take our attention away from the significance of focusing on our personal prosperity, it's no wonder that from the time we enter the work force until the time we leave it, we have not found out how to become financially secure in the most prosperous nation there ever was! Americans are stressed out, maxed out, and pimped out.

We are encouraged to spend our money on doodads and lifestyle, rather than save our money for retirement. Most of the types of plans commonly used for savings are insufficient to sustain a quality of life in retirement. Americans earn and have more today then they did in the previous generations, but also have more debt and stress then the previous generations. With the never ending necessity to commit most of our waking hours to working in order to pay bills, credit cards, and maintain this American Lifestyle, is it any wonder why we are losing our families, our health, and or peace of mind.

This downward spiral of self destruction that many American prescribe to is perpetually ingrained in to the psyche of our citizens. Though the solutions to changing this paradigm are complicated we must first raise the awareness of these patterns of existence in hopes that Americans will wake up to see the TRUTH of their behavior, actions and philosophies.

We must get our priorities in order so we can make better decisions and use better judgment with regard to what is really important in life. Family, health, and finances are some of the major areas in life that we have to apply a laser focus, for if we loose site of these areas then a miserable life will surely be achieved. Once we raise this awareness, we can then start on the journey of changing from the life we settle for to the life of unlimited possibilities.