Use Your Home’s Equity With Equity Loans

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Considering the huge investment you have made here, it is ideal that you use this asset when you need money to meet some large, unavoidable expenses such as home improvement or education. You can do this by taking out a homeowner loan.There are different kinds of homeowner loans but the ones you commonly hear of are home equity loans and HELOCs. HELOCs are not actually loans although in common parlance they are referred to in this way. A HELOC is a line of credit that you avail of, with an upper limit that is based on the home’s value. Home equity loans are loans that you take based on your equity holding in the property. These are most often second mortgages taken out by the borrower.How to Use Home Equity LoansAs homeowner loans make a substantial sum of money available, they can be used in many different ways as follows:Debt consolidation- Home equity is often used to consolidate various smaller debts held by the borrower. By taking a home equity consolidation loan you can pay back all your smaller loans and end up with just one single large loan that is easier to manage and keep track of. By making tracking easy you also ensure that there are no missed payments or late payments on this loan.
Home improvements- It makes good sense to use the investment to make improvements to the asset’s current value. This why many borrowers take a home equity loan when they have renovations or additions to make to the house. Once these improvements are completed, the resale value of the property is higher than before. This means that the loan is now a smaller percentage of the home’s actual value.
To make up for bad credit- If you are a bad credit borrower you will find it difficult to get an unsecured loan at reasonable rates. Using your home as security to get a home equity loan lets you make up for the poor credit score. Since the house property has a high resale value, lenders will be quite willing to offer low interest loans based on house property.Home Equity Loan vs. Unsecured LoanAlthough a home equity loan creates a risk on your home, it is still a good option when you compare it with unsecured loans. The home equity loan may actually be processed faster than unsecured loans because the former does not require an extensive credit check.Also, it is difficult to get access to a large sum of money when you are looking for unsecured loans. With a homeowner loan the total loan amount is based on the amount of equity you own in this expensive asset. Given that your largest investment has gone into your home, you can avail of a large loan against this source as collateral.

Benefits of a Nursing Degree – Online School

Today, more than any other time is an excellent time to become a nurse because of the numerous programs available. This is as a result of the huge number of prospective students that are not able to enroll into the conventional school program.The nursing profession has developed over the years; the obvious reason for serious nursing scarcity can be related to the decrease in the number of students completing nursing school. It has caused a critical consequence that is confronting the health care industry today. An online degree program provides the solution to this problem.The study course is divided into two. Firstly, the non-clinical aspect of the course work is done online, various schools put up their lecture materials online and these materials can be assessed by any registered student. Tests are also arranged by the school and suitable locations near the residence of the student are listed as venues where the test can be taken. The second part, which is the clinical aspect, is usually done in a medical facility nearby. It is impossible to carry out the clinical aspect of this program online.The advantages of a nursing degree online are evident as many working students are unable to create extra time to attend normal classes in institutions which have fixed hours for courses and a stiff timetable. An online degree saves travel time which is very useful for students who cannot afford to leave their places of residence to go to school due to their nature of work and family responsibilities.It is wise to know that the cost of a nursing degree online program varies from school to school, but they all fall within a range of a $ 100-$300 per credit. One would need to have good scores in SAT, a minimum GPA of 2.0-3.5 to qualify for entry into an online nursing program. Considering its advantages, this program is a sure way of achieving ones goals of becoming a nurse.

Let Us Help You Spring Clean Your Finances!

Since spring has sprung we are taking every opportunity to open our windows and let the fresh air in. Most of us start cleaning out the garage, clean off the outdoor furniture and pack up our old clothes to donate to charity. Why should spring cleaning end with your home? This is the perfect time to tidy up your personal finances as well. Consider these recommendations to “clean” up your finances.

Contribute to your 401(k). Make sure you contribute enough to your 401(k) to qualify for maximum matching funds. Your employer is willing to give you this free money so don’t leave it on the table.

Open and IRA. If you own your own business or work for a company with no retirement plan, open an IRA. You can get big tax breaks from opening this type of retirement plan. If you don’t know which IRA is right for you, you can search “Types of Retirement Plans” at irs.gov.

Rate check your credit cards. The interest rates on your credit cards can have an impact on your balances and have the potential of adding up over time. If your interest rate is increasing your card balances, it’s time to shop around to find a lower rate. Other items that are options for rate checks are mortgage loans, auto loans and even your checking and savings accounts. For a real feeling of gratification, pay off the balance that costs you the high interest. If you want to zero our your balance by the end of the year, divide the amount owed by 7 and pay that amount every month. Can’t bite off that much every month? Move the balance to another card with an introductory rate and pay it off before the deal runs out. Make sure there are no high transfer fees.

Open a savings account. Follow these three steps when opening your savings account:
1. Set a financial goal and timeline.
2. Decide how much to save each month to help you reach your goal.
3. Setup automatic transfers into your savings plan from your checking account. This way the transfer is done for you and you won’t miss the money.

Review your credit report. Make sure your credit reports are free of mistakes. Remember, you are able to order one free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus. You can get one free of charge from annualcreditreport.com.

Organize or discard old financial documents. Sort through all your bank statements, invoices, bills and other financial records and keep those that are only necessary. Be aware you need to keep tax returns, canceled checks, receipts and any supporting paperwork for your taxes for at least six years. Make sure you don’t just trash your important documents in the trash without shredding them. You don’t want them to be picked up by an identity thief.

Set up automatic bill pay. Spring-cleaning just isn’t about de-cluttering. It’s about making your financial life more efficient. Set up automatic bill pay and link it to your checking account in an effort to eliminate any chance of missing a payment and paying late fees.

Review your budget. Take a close look at your current budget and decide if you need to make any changes.

Pay off as much debt as possible. Spring is a good time to review your outstanding debts and which loans or credit cards you could pay off. If nothing else, develop a stricter payoff plan. Cleaning up your outstanding debt quickly will put you in a much better financial position for the rest of the year.

Record your financial passwords and store all your records in a secure place. Make sure you’re not using the same password for all your financial accounts. Protect yourself against identity theft by protecting your passwords and other financial documents in an online secure vault.

Be a community steward. Try and make a difference in your community. Believe it or not, giving of yourself to others will make you feel a lot wealthier.