Finance

• Check Your Credit Before Shopping For That Home Loan

  Too many consumers get frustrated when a ding on their credit score delays the process of closing on a mortgage or completing a home equity loan. Before you start shopping for financing, understand these four important tips.

• Keep An Eye On Your Mortgage Payments

  Recent changes in accounting practices at banks could have a chilling effect on some mortgage holders, especially those that use payment coupon books to keep track of their loans.

• Credit Advice For Home Buyers: Don’t Pay Off Credit Cards

  Credit needed for real estate mortgage financing differs from credit needed for consumer loans. If you need help getting a home mortgage, these credit tips will help you.

• Traditional Versus Interest Only Home Loans

  Once only a tiny percentage of the mortgage market; interest only mortgages consist of about 10% of the current market. And mortgage companies seem to advertise them quite a bit these days.

• How To Refinance

  When you refinance a home loan, it means you take out a new loan and use the proceeds from that new loan to “close out” an existing home loan. The reason a homeowner would refinance is that oftentimes, the new home loan will have a better interest rate than the current home loan. This lowers the monthly payments allowing you to pay off your loan sooner by lowering the payments each and every month.

• College Savings Reward Plans – Making Them Work For You

  You are probably well aware that college costs are soaring and that the need for parents to build college savings has never been greater. You may also be aware of various loyalty reward programs (such as Upromise and BabyMint) that pledge to help build your college savings by paying back a small percentage of the amount you spend using their credit card and/or buying certain products. Companies offer these programs because, in the aggregate, they know they will lead to higher spending on their products or services. Smart consumers learn to maximize earned rewards without altering their spending habits.

• 5 Tips For Savvy Use Of Your Home Equity Line Of Credit

  Tapping your home’s equity to pay college expenses, consolidate credit card debt or even to buy a new car or boat is common place. Many economists attribute the additional buying power afforded consumers through home equity debt as a primary reason the nation’s economy has been able to emerge from the recent recession.

• 10 Things To Look For In A Home-Equity Line Of Credit

  If you are a homeowner, you’ve probably received offers to apply for a home-equity line of credit (HELOC) loan. Handled with care, HELOC loans can be an excellent way to improve financial flexibility, provide readily available cash reserves for emergencies, or pay for large expenses (like college tuition or home improvements) that have irregular payment schedules. But be aware that not all home-equity credit lines are created equal.