Home Equity Loan – With a Reverse Mortgage, Your Home Pays You!Written by Charles Essmeier
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a traditional home equity loan:
Your options of receiving money from loan include a monthly payout, although you may also elect to receive a lump sum or a credit line. A monthly payout would effectively provide you with a regular “income” during remainder of your time in your home.
The loan isn’t due until you move, sell home, or die. There is no repayment schedule, as with regular installment loans. At time of your death or when you sell house, loan must be repaid with interest.
The amount you have to repay cannot exceed value of your home. With this feature, you are protected should your home decline in value. The lender cannot force you to pay more than value of home.
Due to age restrictions on reverse mortgages, they are not for everyone. But if you qualify, it could provide an excellent opportunity to have an income during your retirement years.
©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including http://www.End-Your-Debt.com/ and http://www.HomeEquityHelp.net/
| | Beware Paying the Credit Card Minimum PaymentWritten by Johann Erickson
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RateMonthsYearsInterest 9%635.8$258.46 12%69 5.75$389.16 15% 796.58$579.48 18%998.25$987.05 24%42635.50$7,521.85
By time you zero out a card with 18% interest, going rate today, you’ve added more than 50% of total you spent on purchase in interest charges during eight plus years it took to repay.
So what, you got a low rate? Perhaps you were offered a low rate of six or nine percent during a card issuer’s promotional period. Naturally you used card to charge items until you reached your set credit limit. After a specified period, maybe six months, that promotional rate will end and your interest rate will increase to 12% or more.
And heaven help you if you incur any late charges. This year almost all credit card companies have raised their late fees to $35 from $29 in 2004. But that’s not all they will do. If you’re late on any card that you use, expect to see that rate increase dramatically. Up to 24% or higher depending upon area in which you live. Unbelievable? It can happen faster than you can blink.
Unsecured cards are bad enough. Secured cards targeting those with credit problems are worse, usually starting at 24%! Add late, overlimit and credit line increase fees, and you can see what a masterful trap credit can be. All of fees add up quickly and interest is charged on everything.
So before you reach for your card and make that impulse buy, think again. Pay cash. Cash makes you live within your means. Buy when stuff is on sale. Avoid minimums. If you use credit, pay amounts above minimum to shorten your repayment time and lower your costs. For more credit repair tips, please visit us at Helpful Home Ideas.
Johann Erickson is the owner of Online Discount Mart and TV Products 4 Less. He is also a contributing writer for sites such as Helpful Home Ideas. Please include an active link to our site if you'd like to reprint this article.
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