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Mortgage arrears and repossessions set to rise

Written on December 17, 2011 – 6:13 pm | by Adam Gomez

Rising unemployment and increased pressure on household budgets will lead to more borrowers falling behind on their mortgages and getting repossessed in 2012, mortgage lenders have forecast.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said 45,000 homes could be repossessed during the year, up 20% from an estimated 37,000 in 2011, as job losses took their toll on family finances. The number of property sales and total mortgage lending are also expected to fall.

An increase in repossessions would reverse much of the fall seen over the past couple of years, but the CML stressed numbers would remain far lower than in the downturn of the 1990s, when unemployment was at a similar level, as low interest rates had weakened the link between job loss and mortgage arrears.

The number of borrowers falling behind on mortgage repayments is also expected to increase following two years in which arrears levels were lower than lenders had expected.

“Some of our earlier pessimism stemmed from the emphasis we gave to the likely cumulative pressure on household finances from the higher cost of living and modest growth in incomes.

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Tags: Mortgage, Mortgage Arrears

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Here’s Why You Should NOT Buy a Home Right Now

Written on December 15, 2011 – 8:37 pm | by Nicole Gutierrez

Inexpensive debt is still debt! – Incredibly low mortgage interest rates are not a reason to buy a home.  What if I told you that I could get you an interest rate on your credit card of 3.95%?  Would that be an incentive to go out and get into credit card debt?  Of course it wouldn’t.  But, many people are suggesting that cheap mortgage money is a reason to get into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

Even the smartest loan options, the 15-year and 30-year fixed loans, will cost you at least half to over 100% of your purchase price in interest over the term of the loan.  So, let’s not get too excited about those microscopic rates.  Buying that home is still going to cost you an arm and a leg, albeit not both legs.  Buy a house because you’re tired of being a renter or you love the school district.  That’s a much better reason than “cheap money.”

Are we at the bottom – What if you bought a house today and 24 months from now it’s worth 30% less than you paid for it?  5 years ago we didn’t know home values could ever drop like they did from 2007 until now.  Well, now we know they can drop like a rock and it’s completely out of our control.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you try to time the real estate market and buy at the absolute floor of property value.  That’s simply impossible and nobody should do that.  What Im suggesting is that there hasn’t been good news in the mortgage market in over 3 years and nobody is predicting anything good for years to come, unless you consider more foreclosures a good thing.  According to the website Zillow some 28% of homeowners are under water on their home loans.  You don’t want to become one of them.  Having negative equity in your home is a bad position because you have limited refinancing and “sales” options.

Unemployment Rate – Can you guarantee that you’ll have a job in 1, 5, or 10 years?  Nobody has a read on the employment market like that.  But, I guarantee you that in 1, 5 or 10 years you’re still going to have a mortgage payment if you buy a house today.  I realize this is conservative but we’re still very shell shocked right now and being conservative isn’t necessarily a bad idea.

 

Tags: Home, Home Right

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Is it a good idea to choose the local financial planners?

Written on December 15, 2011 – 4:08 pm | by admin

The persons needing financial planning services usually prefer the services of the local companies, not knowing that the online financial planners offering services are sometimes better. Let us see the advantages of using the services of the online sites, compared with the advantages of using the local financial planners.

Wile the local planner will give you a brochure containing the services offered by the company, and you might need a few days to understand the different concepts and services offered there, the online sites will make a comparison of the different companies offering such services online. You only need to send an email to the respective online company, telling them about your needs and aspirations. A representative of the company will contact you as soon as possible to establish the details, and once the contract is signed, you will benefit of the services of the respective company directly online.

The online planners are able to compare the rates of interest offered by the different companies, to find the best investment plan for you. Read more…

Tags: financial planners

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Ink Bold Rewards Offer Faster Way To Earn Points

Written on December 10, 2011 – 6:06 am | by Adam Gomez

Ink from Chase business cards are already an attractive prospect for most business users, but now there is even more to entice customers with the introduction of a new credit card rewards program Ink Bold.

The Ink Bold credit card rewards program is offering a new way for consumers to earn reward points much faster. The program claims to offer a rapid accumulation of points customized for the small business owner. The program offers five reward points for every dollar which is spent on office supplies, telecommunication services and cable services. Fuel purchases and hotel expenses will earn two reward points per dollar spent.

Ink bold is the pay in full business credit card from Chase which is designed to provide small business owners with purchase power and an adjustable spending capacity. The card features no interest charges and is specially developed to meet the constantly changing needs of a small business.

This is reflected in the associated Ink Bold Rewards Program.

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Tags: Rewards, Rewards Offer

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Children of welfare incur debts of parents

Written on December 9, 2011 – 2:16 am | by Nicole Gutierrez

SAN FRANCISCO — In 2008, when Jamie Hartley was 16 years old, her family was overpaid a total of $766 in welfare benefits.

But now Riverside County is demanding that Hartley repay the debt and it intends to “intercept” her next state income tax refund to get the money.

California welfare regulations for years have allowed, and even required, counties to go after minors for the debts of their parents, state officials told the Associated Press.

Attorneys for a Hartley and a Fresno man who filed suit Nov. 23 to try to stop the practice say they believe thousands of young people throughout the state are being unfairly required to repay millions of dollars in welfare money that mistakenly or fraudulently was obtained by caregivers or guardians.

Officials at the California Department of Social Services, which administers the welfare program called CalWORKS, said they do not track the number of children required to make such payments. The state’s 58 counties recouped $61.5 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. The counties reported $133 million in overpayments for the same time period.

“The department is sensitive to this overpayment collection issue. However,

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Tags: Welfare, Welfare Incur

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Why You Should Avoid Store Credit Cards This Holiday Season

Written on December 7, 2011 – 12:38 pm | by Alicia Ross

“Would you like to apply for a (insert relevant store) credit card? You’ll save 10 percent on today’s purchase.”

Have you ever heard some form of that sales pitch before? Chances are that you have on multiple occasions and may have even thought about just abandoning your items at the cash register if the employee was persistent. You’ll probably hear it again this holiday season, which is why you should be ready to respond with an affirmative “No” to the employee. Let’s take a look at why this is the case and what some better options are.

Reasons to Avoid Store Credit Cards

Store credit cards are generally easier to get than those that are offered by banks and other financial institutions. You may even be approved right on the spot for such a card and they’ll often offer savings on your purchases. What’s not to like?

The cashier probably won’t tell you this, but the average store credit card carries an APR of 24 percent. That is 9 points higher than those found on traditional credit cards. If you bite off more

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Tags: Credit, Credit Cards

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