Micro lending – which involves loans of small amounts – got its start as a research project meant to study the possibility of designing a credit delivery system targeted to the rural poor. In 1983 the project – created by Professor Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, India – was transformed into the Grameen Bank.
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FICO – an almost universally used credit scoring system that was invented and is calculated by the Fair Isaac company and then sold as valuable information to financial services companies – is changing this year. As a result, many consumers will have their credit scores evaluated differently, and they may wind up with worse credit than they anticipated.
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Most of us overlook the obvious ways to save, as evidenced by the fact that the average savings rate in the USA had dipped into negative territory for the first time since the Great Depression. That means that most Americans spend more than they earn each month while not saving a penny. To turn that trend around, here are three simple savings ideas:
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Saving money on gasoline has become more critical than ever, as millions of Americans try to cut back on expenses and deal with the unexpectedly high prices of fuel.
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The wait is finally over and the iPhone 3G is out in a few days. So you’ve saved up on the cash (thankfully it’s not as steep as the original iPhone) but what about the credit check? The only thing that has made the iPhone price come down is the 2 year contract. But for the 2 year contract AT&T needs to make sure that you’ll keep your word on it and pay on time for the 2 years.
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There are two types of credit that you can apply for: Installment credit and Revolving Credit. In an installment credit you get a loan for pre-determined period of time at a pre-determined interest rate with pre-determined payments. A good example of an installment credit would be your home mortgage. (more…)
Full Doc, No Doc, Stated/Verified… Sometimes the documentation requirements for a loan can be very confusing. What these basically mean is the type of documents required by the lender to apply for a loan.
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ING Direct, one of the high yield saving accounts have dropped their interest rates a second time in 10 days to 3.40% APY. This is down from 4.20% APY in November, 2007. The two interest rate drops seem to be in proportion with the Federal rate cut which means a lot of other high yield savings accounts will be following suit or have already reduced their interest rates.
Update: 3/19/08 rate drops again to 3.00% (Did anyone say we are near a recession?)
On the surface, condos may appear to be no different than other homes or apartments. But the legal definition of a condominium is significantly different from that of a typical single-family home, and buyers should be aware of these differences before buying a condo.
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In the wake of the worst mortgage crisis in USA history, lawmakers and consumer rights groups are forging ahead with proposals to more tightly regulate America’s mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers are different from traditional loan officers because rather than simply working for a single bank or lending company they represent numerous lenders. Their job is to help find the best rates and loans for their customers by doing the background research and comparison shopping required to find those loans, and the best mortgage brokers work with a reliable network of lenders that are capable of providing competitive loan packages and interest rates.
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