Procedures in Selecting the Best Home Loan

A home is made of hearts. Inside the strong compound of bricks and cement, a home narrates a story- the story of past, present and probable future. It is where one finds pleasure, hides sorrow and dreams for the incessantly moving seconds. It is contentment when a home becomes a reality.

John Payne said, “Mid pleasures and palaces though we roam, be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.” This explains the significance of a home, the place where one finds his real self. A home is something that gives everything.

To possess a home of our own there are various processes that has to undergo. It is not that simple. It is an after effect of a long process of planning, execution and proper administration of various factors. Sometimes, you get the best home with nice surroundings and favorable situations. Or otherwise, you might get a beautiful plot to make a home of your choice at affordable rates. The next step would be necessarily to go straight and buy it. But disturbances happen and hurdles come in the way blocking your dreams. The main threat would usually be finance.

To tackle the problem effectively and easily, there are so many home loans available. Depending upon the priority and need, one can select the loan to finance your home. A lot of brainstorming and perfect planning is necessary before taking the right decision for choosing the loan for your home.

There are different steps that include in the process of buying a loan-
Purpose of buying the loan
Usually loans are provided by banks and Housing Finance Companies. They give loans for various reasons. They are:
Purchase of property
Construction of property
Extension of property
Repairs of property and
Site loans
How much can you afford

Once the purpose of applying for the loan is clear, the next step would be analyzing your ability and present financial status to go for the type of loan you can borrow. It is mere foolishness to go for a loan that gives you exorbitant amount you cannot afford. So it is always advisable to go for an amount you are confident that you can pay back. Basically, the affordability scale can be put in to different points.
How much you can afford to pay back every month?
The evaluated value of the property
Your credit history
How much money you have for down payment
The type of loan you choose

Home loans are of various types. Understanding the benefits and the nature of loans, the selection can be done. You can also consider your expectations regarding the financial conditions, and how long you want to keep your house. Various types of loans are given below.
Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRM)
Fixed rate mortgages have higher rates. They usually have terms lasting 15 or 30 years. Throughout those years, the interest rate and principal will never change. There are also mortgages, which shorten the loan by calling for half the monthly payment every two weeks. Fixed rate mortgages can be considered if you plan to stay at home for more than five years. This is because as the interest rate increases, the monthly rate payment on this type of loan decreases.
Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM)
The interest rate for ARM in the beginning is less than the Fixed Rate Mortgages. But here the rates change at specified interval of time. Thus the monthly payment increases or decreases. Even then you can go for higher amount for your loan prices as the monthly payment will be comparatively lower. ARM is a good choice if you are looking for a way to consolidate debt or if you are going for an investment, you need immediate cash from. Thus each ARM has four basic components Initial interest rate is lower than that of most fixed rate mortgages. This is all the more tied to certain economic indicators that dictate in part what the monthly payments will be. Adjustment interval is the time between changes in the monthly interest rate and payment happens. Index, against which the lenders measure the difference between the profit they make in the mortgage and other types of investments. Margin is the additional rate the lender adds to the index to establish the adjusted interest rate on an adjustable interest rate.
Seller Assisted Mortgages
Here the seller of the home helps with the financing by underwriting all or part of the loan. This holds a lower interest rate with lower monthly payments. But the previous homeowner may hold the deed of trust and thus if the loan trusts call for certain payment schedules, the buyer may have to seek an altogether new financing.
Balloon mortgage
These are short-term mortgages with almost the similar feature as of the Fixed Rate Mortgage. Balloon loans have different types of maturity periods, but most have a term of 5-7 years. Balloon loans can be considered if you prefer to live in an appreciating house and for a short period with less payment.
Graduated Payment mortgage
This is an alternative to the Adjustable rate Mortgage. GPM has a fixed note rate and payment schedule. Like the ARM this also gives the customer the ability to avoid the negative amortization and pay the additional principal. The note rate of a GPM is .5% to .75% higher than fixed rate mortgage. GPM is useful in market a market with rapid growth and appreciation.
Combination Rate Mortgage
Combination Rate Mortgages is a combination of ARM and FRM. They are also referred to as hybrid loans by the lenders. The interest rate is fixed for the first three years were the monthly payment also remains the same. The interest rate varies in the next years and is also adjustable.
The best way to find the mortgage or loan type that suits you is to consider the opinion of a mortgage professional.

Applying for a loan

Once you are determined about the type of loan you are going to buy, then the next step would be applying for it with a written loan proposal. Filling up the necessary information, you can apply it in a local branch. Now there are also facilities to apply it online and over the phone. The applied form will be then processed, reviewed and evaluated.
Closing stage

Closing your loan happens when you finish the paper works and pay closing costs and procure ownership of the property or home. Here a closing agent will review the settlement sheet with you and loan documents will be signed which include mortgage, deed of trust and note.
Once all the formalities are finished, you are given the ownership of the home with dealings and procedures written on a paper. All the closing documents will also be given.

The banks, which lend money, will consider certain things before giving you the eligibility to go for a loan. They are divided basically in to 3 different things.

Capability
This is the most important criteria in lending a loan to the buyer. The capacity of the loan applicant to repay the amount will be taken in to consideration along with the payment history or credit history of the person. They evaluate the credit history by three different ways- grading, scoring and automated underwriting. Usually other mortgage lenders than the banks consider the credit scoring.
Collateral security
The bank necessarily wants to know an alternate way of repayment. Collateral security is the additional form of security you can provide a lender. Both personal and business assets are considered sources of collateral security for the bank. A guarantee is a document some one else signs expressing the willingness to repay the amount if you don’t pay.
Character
This is completely on the personal impression you make on the lender. The educational background and importance of references you make is also determined.
A home is an important place. You can make it a heaven by building dreams in bright colors. You can also make it a hell without prior planning, improper administration and bad financial plan. Every minute detail that deals with the construction or purchase of a house should be taken in to consideration for a hazard free life.

How to Find Great Live Auctions for Resale Items

Hi, my name is Walt. I’m an auctioneer with 25 years of experience in the auction business and licensed in the state of MA. I own Quick Auction Service, a company that specializes in building and running custom auctions, I’m also the webmaster of my own site and have been on eBay for 8 years. Besides eBay, the types of auctions I run most frequently are antiques and on-site estate auctions, although I’ve run everything from business overstock auctions to charity & special event auctions.

I enjoy sharing my knowledge and stories of the auction business. My goal for article is to help folks get the absolute most out of their auction experience.

Whether your fresh out of the package or a seasoned dealer I think I can offer something in this article to help you with your auciton adventures.

There may be as many reasons to attend auctions as there are types of auctions to attend. Maybe you want to attend an auction to buy items for re-sale on eBay, or some other market. Maybe you want to furnish your home with wonderful antiques, or you want to furnish your home as inexpensively without sacrificing quality.Some folks are just looking for a fun night out. With a little perseverance all these things are possible.

There are antiques and estate auctions, auto auctions, overstock auctions, absolute and no reserve auctions, real estate auctions, specialty auctions where only one genre of items are sold, tailgate auctions, live auctions, online auctions, sealed bid auctions, silent auctions, charity and fund raising auctions and many more.

Can you really buy for pennies on the dollar at an auction? You bet! Many times I’ve seen folks buy and re-sell at the same auction on the same night for a good profit, although be advised, this should only be done after the auction is over.

There are a lot of ways to find an auction, but here are some tips on how to find and attend the best ones.

Visit the genre of shops in the area that apply to the type of auction you want to attend. IE: If your looking for a good antique auction to attend, stop in the local antiques shops and ask for what there are for good auctions in the area. Sounds obvious right? But listen to what they don’t say as well as what they do say. Oftentimes when a dealer speaks poorly about an auction he or she attends, it may be likely that they are trying to keep a good thing secret. Think for a moment, why would a dealer keep attending a lousy auction?

Newspaper ads: I personally like to find ads in the classified ad section rather than flashy display ads. Flashy ads are usually indicative of an auction that will be high priced, may have reserves, (a set price on an item), and usually an enormous crowd. While any auction can be profitable to attend, it is usually best to steer clear of the glitzy ones, at least for the beginner.

Here’s the minimum you want to find out before you go. If there is a phone number in the ad, call and ask for the terms of the sale. What forms of payment do they accept? Is it an absolute auction? An absolute auction is one that has no minimum or reserve bids on items. These are the best auctions to attend! Is there a buyers premium? A buyers premium is like a tax that everyone who makes purchases at that auction must pay above the winning bid price. Most auctions these days do charge a buyers premium, 10% is not unreasonable but I feel much more than that is greedy, and the auctioneer that charges over 10% is counting on most bidders not doing the extra math as the bids quicken in pace.

A fair auction will have ample time to inspect the merchandise, usually at least 2 or 3 hours. Find out when inspection starts and make sure to attend! Never attend an auction if you can’t make the inspection, not unless your prepared to gamble. Most auctioneers sell at a rate of about 100 items per hour, which is why they sell “as is”. They simply don’t have the time to give a detailed description of all the items. Since almost all items at auction are sold AS IS, there are sure to be some damaged, refinished, fake and incomplete items at any given auction. Beware of any auctions that offer very little or no inspection time.

Good auctions will usually have 150 to 400 lots. A lot may be one item or a group of items. The exception to this are specialty auctions, auto auctions, real estate auctions etc.

When you attend your first sale, take note of the 1/2 dozen or so dealers that buy the most often. See if you can find out about other area auctions they attend.

When you do find an excellent auction, attend it as often as possible. By frequenting good sales, you help increase the bottom line of that business. It’s difficult for many auctioneers to keep the quality of merchandise consistent, so good attendance certainly helps. And when an auctioneer gets to know you as a buyer, he/she will go out of the way to accommodate you, to keep you coming back.

Work-Life Balance Tips for Small Businesses

People involved in small business get a bad rap for their workaholic ways. You know because you either know someone who is involved in small business or you are that person. Let’s look at some facts about small businesses in San Diego and then ways people involved in small business everywhere can a better create work-life balance.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 99.9-percent of the 27.5 million businesses in the United States are considered small firms with fewer than 500 employees*. According to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the majority of companies in San Diego County are small businesses with 50 employees or less. One out of every five small businesses in San Diego County are in the business services segment which includes consulting, engineering, accounting, research and management. The additional types of business segments in descending size order are wholesale trade, manufacturing / repair, transportation, consumer services, specialty construction, builders, retail, finance/real estate/insurance and an “other” segment (the unclassified small businesses in the county). In San Diego County, the average number of people employed by a small business is 7.3 people.

Everyone related to small business – the owners, the employees, the people who cater to and support small businesses – here are three tips for more balance in your life:

1. Schedule time off. Small business owners value the importance of sticking to a schedule and deadlines. Decide how much time you can schedule to relax, be social or spend time with family in the next week and also how much time you would ideally like to have for such activities in the future. Then, schedule time away from work. Maybe this upcoming week you can only dedicate one hour away from everything work related; block out that hour on your calendar immediately. Knowing that your ideal amount of time is two full weekdays per month, a small business owner can set aside those specific dates in February now. Once those days are on the schedule, they must be respected as if they are meetings with the most valuable client. Commit to taking the time off for the things that matter most outside of business and protect that scheduled time.

2. Turn off the cell phone. This goes for small business owners and anyone who has ever thought about work outside of the workplace. Especially when spending time with others outside of working hours, turn off the distractions of business. By removing the distractions of phone calls, text messages, instant messages, e-mails and phone alerts for a short time, you can truly relish in your time away from the office.

Do you (or the small business owner you know) feel anxiety rise up inside of you when you merely consider turning off your phone? What if you took up the challenge of turning your phone off for one hour next week? Maybe it’s turning off the phone for the hour you’ve scheduled for yourself and your family. Maybe you turn off your phone before you fall asleep or leave it off while you get ready in the morning. Another suggestion is to shut off your phone during your commute if you drive. Since you shouldn’t be on it if you are driving, turn it off and turn up your favorite tunes. Whenever you decide to turn off your phone, you are claiming that time for yourself, which is a crucial piece of the work-life balance equation.

Once you’ve turned on your phone again and realized that your business or work hasn’t imploded or exploded, your anxiety will be less the next time you cut off this type of communication. And what if your business does start to implode or explode? If you are not the sole person in your business, then someone will get ahold of you through your significant other, neighbor, friend, coworker or someone will show up where you are to tell you. If you are the sole person in your business, find another business owner in the same situation and work out a trade where you ensure each other’s businesses don’t go awry. Which brings us to the next point.

3. Appoint a second-in-command for when you are inaccessible. You will take time off whether it’s an hour next week or a full month next year, and you don’t want to worry about your work during that time. That would eliminate the balance. Select a second-in-command and let the person know in what circumstance they will be in charge and how to reach you if a true emergency arises. (You may want to clarify what you consider an emergency with this person.) Let everyone in your company and important vendors know who is in charge in your absence moving forward. That way if something comes up in the hour you are in a business meeting or at your child’s play or in the month you are on vacation abroad, all employees and important vendors will know who to go to. Your second-in-command acts like the gatekeeper to your time away and assesses when he or she needs to contact you. Finally, when setting up your away messages with the times and dates you will be out of pocket, list your second-in-command’s contact information. Your away message may be on your website, in your social media messages, in an e-mail bounce-back message, on your store’s door, and on the phones in your business. If you’d like that breath of fresh air without the worry, then take the steps needed to prevent work from finding you unnecessarily while you are claiming more life in your work-life balance.

With the majority of businesses in United States and in San Diego County operating as small businesses, work-life balance is necessary to continue and grow. By scheduling time off, turning off the cell phone and choosing a second-in-command, you can protect and freely enjoy your time away from the small business you run, work for or support. Here’s to work-life balance in small businesses everywhere!

* The U.S. Small Business Administration sources data from the Office of Advocacy estimates based on data from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Census Bureau, and trends from the U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Business Employment Dynamics.