4 Doctor Mortgage Loan

After the housing bubble burst, securing a mortgage loan became a difficult task. Many people no longer qualify for the mortgage loans they desire without putting money down or offering proof of adequate income. In recent years, however, some banks have begun to tap into a new corner of the mortgage loan market: doctors. With several thousand doctors graduating from medical school and residency each year, banks have begun looking to this section of the population for offering mortgage loans.

Doctors begin with lofty debts, no income, and nothing to offer for a down payment. However, with the high future potential of their earnings and a very low risk of default as compared with the general population, doctors have become a notable resource for banks to do business with. Despite the lack of income when doctors begin practicing medicine, banks realize that the future potential of doctors' earnings represents not only opportunities for mortgage loans, but also for doctors doing other business with banks in the future, such as investing.

A doctor's loan is made to new resident doctors or doctors a few years out of residency, although such loans may be made to specialized doctors, dentists, and veterinarians as well. The loan typically requires very little money down since new doctors have little money to spare, and the doctor's potential future earnings are considered when the loan is made. Additionally, the doctor's student loans are not calculated into the loan-to-income ratio. In exchange for not needing a down payment for the loan, the interest rate tends to be higher than that of a typical loan.

The loans are typically tailored for use in purchasing single occupant homes, such as garden homes or town homes. As part of the deal, the doctor often must open an account at the bank, as the bank hopes for the doctor's continued business and referrals in the future.

Well known banks, such as Bank of America, Regions Bank, Compass Bank, and Suntrust Bank are among the increasing number of banks to offer special loans for doctors, and the loans are available in many of the fifty states. Banks that offer doctor loans do not always advertise these services, so it is advised to check with each bank to make sure whether or not this type of loan is available.

For doctors considering these special loans, there are many aspects of mortgages and home-ownership to consider. A doctor in residency will not make as much as a doctor who is established and practicing. Therefore, a higher interest loan may not be in a new doctor's best interest. As a doctor's income rises over the years, the prospect of staying in small beginner's home may not be very appealing. Homes require maintenance, which will cost time and money that a new doctor may not have. Taking out a doctor loan bigger than one needs and then investing the difference could also yield some financial benefit.

An alternative to a doctor loan is to save up for a down-payment of twenty percent or so and then taking out a normal loan so as not to incur higher interest. Renting a home or an apartment is another alternative. A doctor loan is best for doctors who are serious about home ownership or doctors who are most likely to stay in the area, especially after their residency is finished. 

1 Paying for College on the House

College is financially challenging as the price of tuition keeps on increasing. Luckily, there are several ways students and parents may consider to support college education. From scholarships to Federal and State Grants to Federal loans and Private student loans, these are options for students who really want to take into the next step of education. Another option, which needs careful thinking is the use of the equity of the home to support finances. Parents may consider using home equity loan if they feel there are no other way to support their children's education.

Taking the equity of the home may be beneficial for the following reasons:

• Getting a fund through the equity might be faster if you have at least 80–85% equity in your home.

• Interest is often tax-deductible.

• Interest rates compared to other types of loans are much more in favor.

• Repayment terms are flexible, with a maximum of 30 years to pay back the loan.

Looking at these advantages, you might consider taking this loan. Perhaps, looking at the downsides would help you create better decision:

• You are taking the equity of your home and you are setting your home as the collateral. There is a tendency you will lose your home once you fail to repay your lender.

• Once payment is delayed or deferred or  forgiven in times of economic downturn, you will probably lose your home.

You may still consider college student loans considering that the interest rate of student loans is pretty reasonable compared with home equity loans. The interest is also tax-deductible up to $ 2,500 per year. Graduates can also get deferrals of up to three years on repayment of their federally guaranteed loans.

With regard to some disadvantages of college student loans, considering the recent news about the rise of student loan debt, you might want to think again.  In fact, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, the average college student graduates with more than $27,000 in loan debt. There are even others who have in excess of $ 50,000 in college debt. Regardless if there is awating job after graduation, most students in debt would not be able to afford comfort and financial stability due to financial crisis. Taking to the next path can be a huge burden with debt issues from the past.

It is better to review both the advantages and drawbacks of other ways to fund college. This will help you create better financial and education decision.

0 How to Cut Your Insurance Costs?

There are many factors involved in getting the least expensive car insurance.  Much of it depends on your own driving record, but other factors go in to the insurance company’s final decision on pricing.  Besides keeping down your accident rate, there are other ways to lower the cost of your insurance.  Here are five ways to keep down your insurance costs to get the best deal on your auto insurance.

1.      Determine the Car With Lowest Insurance Rate

Each year a list is released with the cars that have the lowest insurance costs.  These cars are determined by their cost to repair, drivers statistics, theft statistics, and more.  This year the list was filled mostly with SUV’s, the Ford Edge topping the list.  (the rest of the list can be found at http://www.carinsuranceguidebook.com/the-ten-cheapest-cars-to-insure-in-2013-2).  If you are thinking of purchasing a new car and hoping to keep insurance rates down, looking in to what cars will cut your insurance cost is an important part of your search.  While the list has the average for cars that will cut your cost, it is best to check in with your prospective insurance companies. 

2.      Insure More Than One Car/Driver

When multiple cars and drivers are listed under the same insurance policy, companies often lower the auto insurance cost for each car/driver.  In this case, if you are wanting your college age driver to start paying their own insurance, it may be better to have them pay you in order to keep them and their car under your insurance policy.  The insurance company will be making more money from you while you save more from them.

3.      Driving Course

Some insurance companies will lower your insurance rate if you take a defensive driving course.  Completion of this course can also help lower incidentals from your driving record.  To find out the appropriate course to take and how much it will end up lowering your insurance cost it is best to ask and agent from your insurance company.  The classes cost money to take and it is important to ensure the cost of the class will end up positively effecting the cost of your insurance.

4.      The Less You Drive the More You Save

This is not true only of gas money but also of money you can save on insurance.  Insurance companies ask you questions such as how many miles you drive to work each day and if you take public transportation or ride a bike, you can cut down significantly on your insurance costs (along with helping out the environment).

5.      Lower Costs for Good Grades

For drivers in high school and college, insurance costs are often much higher as they don’t have a driving record to speak of yet and younger drivers statistically get in more in accidents.  It is a good idea to inquire with your insurance company about lower costs for drivers with good grades.  Since younger drivers are usually the most costly, this option with insurance companies can be extremely helpful in cutting costs.

For more information on how to cut your insurance costs visit www.carinsuranceguidebook.com.

0 What is a British ISA?

Saving has been an issue not just for me but probably for everyone else whose only goal is to live debt free and invest in something such as a house, car or a business. There have been several ways promoted to persuade people in saving. Back in April of 1999, the British government introduced ISA to promote saving to its citizens.

What is an ISA?                    

Individual Savings Account otherwise known an ISA is a British tradition created to promote saving in the UK. Basically, it is a tax-free account where a person could place their money or shares.

British residents use ISA for the primary purpose of avoiding paying taxes, thus promoting a better way of saving and keeping money. Not only cash can be put in an ISA but stocks and shares as well, ISAs help save tax on your savings and investments therefore increases returns.

If you are thinking that the concept of an ISA is complicated, here is a simple elaboration of what it is:

Imagine you have a pie (cash and shares). You have a friend (tax collector) who regularly keeps on asking for some piece of that pie. This is where the ISA comes in; your ISA acts as a wrapper (tax-wrapper) which protects anything that you put inside it from your friend (the tax collector). So if you want to save that slice of pie from your friend, you just put it in that wrapper. In this way, whatever is placed in your ISA may it be cash or stocks/shares, it is tax-proofed.

Why should you have an ISA?

If you are planning to buy a car or a house for example, cash ISA is a tax-efficient tool that ensures you to save a bit of money each year to pay for your goal. Even if you are putting a small amount in your ISA the rates you will get within an ISA will likely be much better than the rates you would receive outside an ISA.

                       

There are many other pros and cons in having an ISA but I’m not really in the position to discuss them as ISAs are not implemented here in the US, it would be awesome if our government would somehow introduce this program here as well though. This article is just a basic guide on what ISA is all about, if you have any inputs or any other queries regarding ISAs, feel free to speak up through the comment box.

0 Foreclosure Man

Since the very beginning of the real estate crisis, there has been a glut of bank-owned homes on the market in Michigan. Although that spells bad news for the people who lost them, it can be a veritable gold mine for people who have the means to buy them. Under normal circumstances, a real estate investor might pick and choose a handful of foreclosed properties, renovate them and flip them for a profit. The other popular option is to rent them out to tenants. One Michigan man has made a real splash: He bought a whopping 650 foreclosures at one time.

Just Call Him the Foreclosure Man

71-year-old Bill McMachen is far from an experienced real estate investor. Until 2001, he'd never purchased a foreclosed property in his life. On a whim, he decided to buy a bank-owned property for $12,000. Shortly thereafter, he sold it for a cool $18,000. Inspired by the quick and easy nature of the transaction, McMachen started thinking. The more foreclosed properties he bought, the more he stood to make. Unlike many would-be investors, McMachen had a decent amount of money at his disposal. He decided to find a way to put it to good use.

A New Way to Make Money

McMachen earned his fortune by selling yachts. Not surprisingly, the yacht industry hasn't fared very well since the economy took a nosedive. Instead of accepting the situation, McMachen had found a new way to make money. Clearly, a higher volume was going to be needed to make the venture as profitable as possible. When he saw an advertisement for a bank-owned property auction by Macomb County, he couldn't resist. The auction was to include 650 tax-foreclosed properties. McMachen was in, but he just had one question: Could he just buy all of them?

An Auction to Remember

Although county officials had never seen it happen, they told McMachen that there was no reason that he couldn't just buy the entire lot of foreclosed homes. The asking price, $4.8 million, was the total of the amount of back taxes that were owed on all of the properties in question. At an average price of just over $7,300 per property, McMachen would be getting them for an absolute steal. Instead of drag the process out, he went ahead and bought the entire lot in one fell swoop.

What's Next?

The properties that McMachen snapped up at the Macomb County auction included 403 single-family homes, 120 residential lots, 14 condominiums, nine commercial buildings and some undeveloped land. Not surprisingly, people were immediate curious about how McMachen was going to handle all of those properties. From the very start, his plan was to sell them to investors for a profit. However, he wanted to give back to the community too, so he plans to donate some of the homes to needy families. Unlike when buying foreclosed homes at an auction, however, he's going to give investors the opportunity to inspect them and see the property for themselves to find the perfect house that suits them before buying them.

Properties are Flying off the Shelves

As overwhelming as suddenly coming into 650 properties may sound, McMachen has handled it gracefully. In fact, he unloaded 181 in one week and another 150 in another week. According to him, all of the properties should be off his hands shortly. As it happens, people are hungry for investment properties. Of course, people who want to buy and live in them can do so as well. With the right mortgage loan, it's possible to become a homeowner for very little money. There's no word on whether McMachen will buy another batch of properties, but it's clear he's discovered a new career.

0 Save Yourself from the Credit Card Bills Scare

If you’re looking to do something beneficial for your finances, then one of the first steps remains getting your debt under control and for that you should take care to reduce and ultimately get rid of your debt. Credit card debt amongst these happens to constitute one of the most vital constituents of the complete debt scenario and saving money on it would be a rather beneficial step on your part. There are undoubtedly quite a few ways in which you can get help for paying off multiple plastic cards; however the first step on your part should be to save money on it. You might say that saving money on credit card debt is a daunting task, given the high rates of interest and minimum payments involved. Read on to find out how you can still achieve that end.
5 Strategies to help you save money on credit card bills
Before anything else you should acquaint yourself with the fact that it’s not going to be a daunting task if you practice some strict discipline when it comes to your credit card bills. Follow the simple strategies discussed below and save money on your credit card bills easily.

1.      Put together all the information: The first thing you should do is compile and put together all the relevant information regarding your credit card debt. Now, for this you might have to gather all your credit card statements and that too for each card you’ve got. Once that’s done, take care to determine the interest rate, if there’s any available credit on the credit cards plus the current balance that you happen to owe. The idea is to essentially know where you stand.

2.      Get in touch with credit card companies: Once you’ve done the above, then it’s time for you to get in touch with each of your credit card companies. You’ve simply got to ask them to reduce the rate of interest on your cards. This can be possible for you’ve got to understand that there are several credit card companies out there which offer interest rates ranging from low to high. So you might as well negotiate knowing that there are other credit card companies waiting for you out there. If any representative doesn’t offer you a lower rate of interest, then you can easily inform them that you’re switching over to a company that’s offering you a better deal.

                             

3.      Use extra income to pay down balance: Next, you must make proper use of any extra income that you generate to pay down your balance. Unexpected or bonus income should always be used for this purpose. Moreover, you shouldn’t forget the fact that more the balance, higher will be the rate of interest. So lowering your balance is bound to prove effective. Simple steps like selling items you no longer need will help you generate extra cash easily.

4.      Check for the card with maximum credit: You should also check your credit card statements and determine which of your cards have got the maximum available credit and the lowest rate of interest. This is important for you can then use this particular card to pay off balances on other high interest cards.

5.      Keep a definite track of your progress: Saving money on your credit card bills not only requires effective action on your part, but also a proper track of your progress. You should evaluate what you’re doing and how effective things are proving down the line.

Keep in mind the 5 strategies that have been discussed above and take steps accordingly. Once you practice enough discipline and take action effectively, then saving money on your credit card bills won’t be a daunting task anymore.

Author Bio: This article has been put together by Barbara Delinsky. She’s associated with a number of financial websites and she’s known to write on credit card debt related topics. Her articles are widely read and many have found it worthwhile.