Thursday, May 21, 2009

President Obama’s loan modification program

Many homeowners will be thinking who will qualify for the President’s loan modification program in the current recession period? The Affordability and Stability Plan will allocate $75 billion dollars to help the borrowers and save them from possible foreclosure. The question is who will actually qualify for this program since it is not everyone and also because all the lenders are not participating in it.

The goal of the new home loan modification plan is to help 7 – 9 million borrowers stay in their homes. This program is voluntary and each lender will determine which borrower will actually qualify for this plan. The federal government will offer incentives to lenders who participate, but the final decision is up to the bank whether to participate in this plan or not. The homeowners will have to show certain documents and complete the loan modification forms that will be reviewed for eligibility. Here are some basic guidelines on how to qualify for the Affordability and Stability plan

You must live in the home as your primary residence
Not available on second mortgages
You must be able to prove your income
Your current house payment must equal 31% or more of your gross monthly income
You do not have to be delinquent to apply for this loan modification program
No charge to apply-Free loan modification program
Interested homeowners will start collecting the required paperwork and complete the necessary forms. Borrowers will have to prove their financial hardship, provide their income and expense details in order to be considered as a potential candidate for the mentioned plan.

The program is on a voluntary basis and the banks will decide whether to participate in it or not. Since the federal government is offering the incentives, so most banks are willing to offer this plan to the borrowers who qualify.

Successful borrowers will also be given a financial incentive for keeping their new modified loan current. The incentives will keep on increasing each month so that the borrowers do not default in the repayments, with a possible $5000 bonus that will be applied directly to their mortgage balance at the end of 5 years. The financially strapped borrowers can begin learning more about how to qualify in this plan and submit their paperwork for approval.

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Logical spending with your cash

Turning your finances around is a logical game. It needs a lot of great effort to be able to do this. The most important step is to pay off your existing debts and become debt free. When you are going through this emotional ride of paying for a debt, you will have this in your mind and you will never make this kind of mistake again that led you reach to this point.

Presently, due to the recession, it will be a dream comes true if you manage to come out of debts. Take the time to think if you were not contributing a portion of your budget for the debt payments. What happens to that extra money if you did not have any debts? What will you do with the extra time if you do not devote it towards some part time job and earn money to pay off some of your bills?

If you have a huge amount of debt, paying high interests on the principal amount will never let you rest in peace. Besides, constant calls from the credit card companies asking for payments will be highly annoying. Have you ever realized why this is all happening?

Spending excessive amount of money for designer clothes seems logical. If you have been stressful at work for the whole week, then you will definitely need some therapeutic shopping. After a month, the bills will come and you realize that you don’t have the money to pay it back. Is that true stress reliever?

You should have a total control on your spending habits. If you are earning $1000, you should not be spending more than that amount, otherwise you will fall in debts. And the fact is that most people do not realize this and they make this mistake. It is easier to swipe a credit card and make the purchase, but paying the amount back in the due date is a different story

Protect yourself from spending haphazardly with your credit cards. If you can’t use your credit cards properly, then you should throw it away. You should instead live on cash or a debit card.
When you are in the process of getting out of debts, be in your control and use the strict regimen of “buy as needed”. Monitor your bills regularly and don’t spend on things that you don’t need at all. For example, a gym membership that you hardly attend to or that expensive cable TV package.

By keeping it up with the effort to revolutionize your spending habits in your pursuit for a debt-free life, you will soon be rewarded with the life without the hassles from debt paying. Only by having the relief of living a life debt-free, will you get more out of life.