Finance: Avoiding The Bi-Weekly Payment Scam

Avoiding The Bi-Weekly Payment Scam

Written by Dave Czach

Avoiding The Bi-Weekly Payment Scam by Dave Czach

On repparttar surface, repparttar 112575 Bi-Weekly Mortgage Reduction Plan seems great. You divide your mortgage payment in half and pay it every two weeks into a large escrow account. The escrow service company then pays your payment every month on your behalf. The amount they pay is equal to your regular payment plus 1/12 of one payment. The extra 1/12 is applied directly towards your principle balance - not interest. Thus, shaving approximately 9.1 years off a 30 year mortgage loan and saving you tens of thousands of dollars in interest. Now here's repparttar 112576 flaws with this system. First, repparttar 112577 escrow company usually charges a set up fee in repparttar 112578 neighborhood of $200 or more. Second, repparttar 112579 escrow company charges you around 2% of your new payment amount every month. Third, you sign a contract to authorize repparttar 112580 escrow company to make your loan payments on your behalf. Fourth, your credit rating is now in repparttar 112581 hands of strangers. The good news is you can do this on your own without fees or sleepless nights. There are two methods for do-it-yourself mortgage reduction. First, simply send two checks each month to pay your loan. One check for repparttar 112582 full regular amount. One check for 1/12 of your regular payment with repparttar 112583 memo section highlighted and stating "Apply directly to principle reduction only." At repparttar 112584 beginning of each quarter, send a certified letter to your lender requesting your account balance history over repparttar 112585 past three months. Double-check to see if your 1/12 payment was applied directly to your principle. If not, send a certified letter to repparttar 112586 manager with copies of your checks to settle repparttar 112587 dispute.

Ten steps to building a good credit history

Written by Drahcir Semaj

Ten steps to building a good credit history

By Drahcir Semaj

Are you thinking of buying a house? Do you want to buy a new car to replace that old wreck? Trying to get insurance on you home, auto, or life? In each of these situations, what's on your credit report will determine if you can get a loan or insurance and what rates you'll have to pay.

If you're trying to build or repair your credit history, you have a daunting but not impossible task in front of you. Lots of people have been where you are and today they have good credit. With time, discipline, hard work, and by taking repparttar proper steps, you'll be able to build a good credit history too.

To build or rebuild your credit history you need to take certain steps:

1.Develop a budget and live by it. Whether your building credit for repparttar 112574 first time or rebuilding credit, you need to know how much money you have coming in each month and how you're spending it.

Start by listing your income from all sources. Next list all fixed expenses (rent, mortgage, car payments...). Finally list all of your variable expenses (entertainment, recreation, clothing...) no matter how small they are.

Writing down and tracking your expenses will help you to understand your spending patterns and you'll be able to see where you can save money by making lifestyle changes. 2.Open a checking account and use it responsibly. Lenders want to know that you have a relationship with a financial institution and that you have a checking account available to pay your bills. Don't overdraw your bank account; in addition to possible damaging your credit record, you'll be charged fees.

3. Pay your current bills on-time and pay them in full. Paying your bill on-time puts positive information on your credit record. Late payments or missed payments count against you.

4. Review your credit report annually. Contact Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union to get copies of your credit report. You should get a copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies because some creditors don't report to all three agencies. If you're a member of a credit union, check to see if your credit union offers discounted credit report ordering for its members.

5. Fix any errors on your credit report. If you find errors on your credit report, contact repparttar 112575 credit reporting agency and repparttar 112576 creditor (in writing) to get repparttar 112577 errors fixed. Check your credit report to make sure that negative information like late payments, delinquencies, liens, and judgments against you have been removed after 7 years; bankruptcies should be removed after ten years.

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