How To Get Home loans

By Susan Renolds

House shopping is great fun. It is easy to get carried away with fantasies of the perfect home in the perfect location. Perhaps you've even found it, driven by, and counted the number of windows and planned your furniture arrangement.

Now, a dash of cold reality. Did you look at the price? Do you know if you can get financing for this perfect home you've already fallen in love with?

Save yourself the heartache and get prequalified for your home loan financing before you begin your house hunt. It's free and simple, and accomplishes several things for you as a buyer.

First, how do you go about it? Prequalification can be handled by your property finance consultant. You'll need to give him your ID number and consent to a credit check. All information is treated confidentially. With confirmation of a clear credit record, you will receive a prequalification certificate that is valid for three months. This certificate will give you a clear idea of your budget range as you begin your search as it is an indication of the loan amount you should qualify for based on your salary and earnings.

Keep in mind that certified prequalification is not an absolute guarantee of financing. Rather it provides financing options a potential buyer has as long as he or she meets the bank's requirements. Most prequalified clients are granted a bond once they make their formal application, providing peace of mind for both buyer and seller.

In addition to outlining your house hunting budget, the advantages of prequalification for buyers are numerous. First, it serves as an introduction to the process of applying for a home loan, which is particularly useful for first-time homebuyers. With this less formal process, they get a clear indication of what the bank will look for in the final application, perhaps making them more comfortable as that process begins. Once they buyers have found the house they wish to purchase, the formal application and origination process is quicker for prequalified clients because most of the information is already on file.

To a seller, a prequalification certificate indicates a serious buyer and assures them of the buyer's ability to secure funding. The seller also knows a prequalified buyer will be likely to receive financing quickly, and the buyer will qualify for the amount being offered.

If a seller accepts an offer to buy from a prequalified buyer, he avoids the problems that can arise when dealing with a buyer who must secure financing once he has been locked into the sale. If the buyer's loan is not approved, the seller has likely missed out on the serious buyers, and must now start again from square one.

Prequalification is a simple step you can take as a buyer that will give you an edge. Your prequalification certificate will help your offer rise above the clutter of speculative offers and not-so-serious buyers and might just be the thing that clinches the deal that will bring you and your perfect home together.

About the Author:

Susan is the marketing director for Homeloans-southafrica.co.za. South Arica's leading Home-loans portal.

A Short Discussion On Home Loans

By Graham McKenzie

Buying a home is one of the most important purchases that most people make. Getting the best deal on financing is something that is imperative in regards to making the most out of a purchase. That's why researching home loans and finding the one that is best for you should be the one of the first steps that a prospective homeowner takes. There are many different types of home loans and also numerous factors that determine which loan would work in a particular situation.

First of all, credit score is an important indicator of what type of loan that you will be able to secure. Having a high credit score can enable you to get a lower interest rate or a higher loan amount. A lower credit score can seriously impact both your interest rate and the amount of money that you will be able to borrow.

Job stability is another item that lenders look at. Steady employment with verifiable income is an important factor in the eyes of most lenders. Often lenders will require bank account statements, paycheck stubs and W-2's before they will approve someone for a home loan.

There are many stipulations to getting a home loan. Many times, the bank will offer a second mortgage that will have a higher interest rate and is generally shorter than the standard 30 year contract. Many people will do this if the current interest rate is lower than it was when the home was purchased.

For people that are in strong financial positions but do not have a big enough down payment then the possibility of securing two different loans from the bank or mortgage company might be an option. Be sure to read the fine print, because some time the second mortgage (which is the smaller of the two) will not be the standard 30 year time span, it can be any where from 5 to 15 years depending on the lender and the circumstances. A higher interest rate is usually applied to the second mortgage as well.

There are a couple other types of loans that are frequently offered to buyers. One of them is known as an Adjustable rate mortgage which has an interest rate that fluctuates with the market. It causes the mortgage payment to vary each month. Another offer that most banks and lenders are known as an interest only loans. This is when the buyer pays only on the interest for a contracted amount of time. After that period of time, they are paying on the home.

Obtaining the best deal on home loans is something that homebuyers should strive for. Keeping track of your credit score and current financial situation can put you in a favorable position with lenders. Be sure to compare rates and products from various lenders before you sign any paperwork, because one lender might be able to get you a better deal in the long run.

About the Author:

Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a leading South African leading Homeloans and Bond Origination portal which provides access to FNB Homeloans.

Tips on How to Save Money on Your Monthly Alarm Monitoring.

By Robert Long

An alarm monitoring system is an important investment in safe guarding your home, family or your business, but there is no reason to overpay for the alarm monitoring. If you're like most Americans with an alarm system at their home or business, you paid a small setup fee and agreed to enter into a long term contract paying $35 or more per month for alarm monitoring. What you probably don't know is that after your contract has expired, you're free to switch to any alarm monitoring company you choose and start saving immediately. Save without Sacrificing Quality. You can make the switch from one of the national alarm companies without sacrificing the quality of service you receive if you do a bit of homework and checking into the company before you switch. We've put together several tips on things to look to help make your decision.

UL Listed Monitoring Center Check to make sure that the monitoring center of any alarm company is UL Listed. This means that the monitoring center continues to meet the strict requirements set forth by the Underwriters Laboratory (U.L.), which is the primary certification body in the United States.

Customer Testimonials and Reviews What are other people saying about the alarm company? Customer testimonials and reviews are critical to figure out the good from the bad, who has quality customer service and responds well to alarm conditions. While testimonials given on the company's website are often true and accurate, be sure to also Google to find 3rd party reviews and testimonials.

Check the Fine Print Many alarm companies will "lock you in" to purchasing services for an extended period of time with contracts. You should thoroughly review the terms of service and the contract prior to purchasing alarm monitoring services, not doing so could lock you into multiyear service agreements at a fixed cost.

Bottom line: You can save hundreds of dollars per year by switching to a discount alarm monitoring provider. Switching your alarm monitoring center is a safe, easy process of reprogramming your alarm panel or installing a device to divert your alarm signals to the new monitoring center. If you do your research and ask the right questions, you'll save money without having the headaches of making the wrong decision.

About the Author:

Want more more tips and tricks on finding quality, discount alarm monitoring companies or to ask more general questions about Alarm Monitoring please contact us today.

Ways to Transfer Money to Brazil

By Lisa Rain

There are numerous ways to transfer funds from the US to Brazil. One of the simplest ways to do this is to develop a relationship with a US bank that is well represented in Brazil, such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo or Citibank.

If the receiver of the monies has an account with one of these banks, it is a great idea to open an account locally as well with the same bank, seeing as how account transfers within the same bank are repeatedly processed at a sooner rate and with little or no added cost. Bank transfers between two different banks are also relatively simple; however, transferring funds from one bank to another can require a waiting phase of up to 5 business days with significantly higher processing costs.

Fees can be very high for international wire transfers. If, however, the funds needs to arrive rapidly, this is the best viable option.

Other than the bank transfer, another way to send money to Brazil is through the pre-paid debit card. In an emergency this may not be the best method, since it takes some time for the card to physically be sent to the person in need of funds; but for those who possibly often send money to family in Brazil, the ATM debit card is a terrific alternative.

Upon activation, sending a debit card with the PLUS or CIRRUS logo on the back will certify that funds can be withdrawn from a immense and far-reaching system of ATMS located throughout Brazil and all over the world. If choosing to use an ATM card, you need to be certain that the cardholder is not accessing money without prior consent, for these are not pre-paid and hold no definite limit.

A pre-paid debit card is loaded with a fixed amount and cannot be overdrawn, making it a very protected option. If more money is needed at a later date, the card can be reloaded as many times as required.

In addition to these methods, online payment services are becoming the most popular way to send funds overseas. This method moves the funds quickly and the fees are quite low, however, the receiver must have a banking history in Brazil in order to access the money.

One benefit of sending money this way is that the money can be used to purchase goods and services electronically without ever needing to convert the sent funds into actual cash. On the other hand, if the recipient does wish to turn these electronic funds into cash, it is more difficult than with other proven methods, due to processing rules.

With whichever method you choose, fund transfer between the US and Brazil is now an easy process. Be it via bank transfer, ATM debit card or online transfer, funds can be transferred faster than ever.

About the Author:

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