Saturday, January 17, 2009

Bad Credit House Loans

With a bad credit home loan, you can get the best option in loans in spite of a bad credit rating but just spending a little time in comparing what various lenders are offering. Bad credit home loans have become a good option for those who suffer from bad credit but want to refinance their mortgage or go in for a new home equity loan. Here's how it works: the mortgage loans themselves are structured in such a way that it helps these bad credit home loan borrowers to do a quick debt consolidation with affordable monthly payments. This generally does away with the need to produce a clean credit record.

Facts about Bad Credit Home Loans

You can get a bad credit home loan if you bear the following points in mind:

• Interest rate: with a bad credit home loan, your 
interest rates will be higher than if you had good credit. But there are lenders from whom you can get a low interest home loan. Shop around for a vendor that gives you the best rates.

• Loan fees: Here again, you have to look at many lenders before you find one that offers you the lowest loan fees since this amount can be sizeable.

• Type of loan: You need to know the amount of loan that will go up in a variable interest scenario. Variable interest always looks like its low in the long run, but you must look at what you will be paying back eventually.

• Low interest rates may just be offered for a specific time. Get the complete lowdown on your bad credit home loan before you can apply for it so that you get a good deal

Bad credit and Your Home Loan

It is great to have a good credit rating, simply because it matters so much at various stages in life. When you want to apply for a home loan, your creditor study your financial reports and payment history to know whether your payments have been regular, whether you have 
filed for bankruptcy and various other criteria before they decide to grant you the loan. And suppose they feel that your credit is not good enough for their usual terms, they may negotiate for a higher initial payment or a bigger interest rate for your bad credit home loan.

There is a choice between cash out refinancing where you can get a fresh mortgage on your existing one for extra cash, which can then be used to settle all those loans that charge you the highest interest. It is necessary to be cautious here and realize that by getting a loan against your home, you are actually allowing yourself to loosen your financial hold on your home. You can also go in for a second mortgage or a home equity loan when you are looking for a bad credit home loan. With your home as security, you receive the loan as a single amount with fixed interest rates. Home equity loans are useful to clear off
unsecured personal loans like college fees, credit card overdue bills, auto loans etc. So the good news is you can get bad credit home loans even if your credit rating is not up to the desired mark.

Consolidate Your Student Loans

Personal loans are tricky - you never can quite make out whether it is absolutely necessary or if it is just a luxury you will be paying back for the next few years. That new computer, or that credit card outstanding, or the house refurnishing...the need for personal loans is never ending. We give you the best tips and knowledge on personal loans here; we also believe that you are better off knowing that there are other options out there - loan against property or car refinance spring to mind.


That done, you will find all you need to avail a personal loan in this section. How to apply for one, repayment options, charges applicable, documentation required, all these aspects are covered in this section.

A personal loan can make a real positive difference in your life. It can also make a real difference in your finances. Apnaloan.com gives you all the expertise we have so that you have the maximum of the former and the minimum of the latter.


The irony of the situation here is that every borrower seeks a loan with lowest interest rate whereas every lender with highest interest rate. Risk perception is different in case of different borrowers and ideally is determined from their credit history. Till now we noticed that banks had only their own experiences with customers to fall back on for their assessment. But this is changing now with the entry of agencies that assess the creditworthiness of people.
Need for credit score?
Credit score provides a speedy and objective way to assess risk. This way, financial institutions, lenders and banks can analyze a loan or a credit card application in a speedy manner without having to make complex calculations each time. Instead they have scales that ponder the applicant's standing with several predefined loan or card models and they define the product's variables by matching the rank to the models. Hence, they can easily state in a matter of minutes how much you can borrow, for how long and at which rate, etc.

Credit Score: What is it?
Credit Score comprises of factors like payment history (including any late payments or missed payments that will affect your score negatively), credit card balances (that will be taken into account when the loan amount is determined), bank accounts (including savings and checking accounts) and any other form of credit including all outstanding personal loans, mortgage loans, store cards, etc.
Credit score is simply a number, it is not standardized and each lender, financial institution, risk analyst, etc. can have its own. This number reflects a level of risk that defines whether it is advisable or not to lend money to someone and thus, how much interest should one charge in order to compensate for that risk. The number is created based on inputs from the credit report. Entries from past will be pondered and assigned a value, the summing or deductions of those points will define the credit score.

Even though there is no standardized model of scoring, usually there are many similarities between the models of lenders that deal with the same type of loans, a mortgage lender and a car lender will probably use different scoring models because the risks associated with these two transactions are significantly different.

Your credit score will fluctuate according to the inputs on your debt history that are reflected in the report. Each timely payment will be recorded as a positive input, while late payments or missed payments will impact negatively on the records thus reducing the score count. Though each lender will calculate the grade in different ways the source of information that they will use is the same and thus, one should manage to keep credit report clean, then grade will surely remain in a good stance regardless of the lender.
Some banks give 100 per cent finance on car loans. The truth is that this interest rate is only available to people with perfect credit score. Most people with average to low credit score will have to pay higher interest rates.
Which agency is doing this job of maintaining your credit score?
Now lending banks can source your credit score from Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), to supplement the information you furnish in your loan application.
Say if you default on a loan from one bank, it will bring down the credit score, which any other bank that you go to will also be privy to. It will determine not only whether you can get a loan, but also the rate of interest you pay on it. So it is important to learn how to keep the credit score high.
Nevertheless, always watch credit score closely and avoid damaging credit history with late or missing payments, too many outstanding loans and too many loan requests. Credit score is the indication of financial health and even when sometimes it can't get a better credit score, if it drops too much the application could be declined.

Both federal student loan consolidation and private student loan consolidation offer the benefit of a significantly lower monthly payment and simplified finances. If you want to consolidate student loans, begin with your federal Stafford, Parent PLUS, Perkins, and all Federal FFELP andFederal Direct Loans that were taken out for your education. Private student loan consolidation is a separate program that allows you to refinance all non-federal, education related debt.
Even if you can make the monthly payments from your original school loans, you may still want to consider consolidating to lower your payments and free up money for bills with higher interest rates. These include credit cards and personal loans, neither of which have tax-deductible interest.

Borrowers Currently Enrolled in school can no longer Consolidate Their Loans

The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 eliminated the provision that allowed a FFEL or Direct Loan borrower who is enrolled in school on at least a half-time basis to request to enter repayment early on his or her Stafford Loans if the lender approves. Repayment is now defined as not beginning until 6 months and one day after the date the student ceases to carry at least one-half the normal full- time academic workload, as determined by the school. Therefore, a FFEL or Direct Loan borrower who is still enrolled in school at least half-time may no longer request to enter repayment early to apply for a FFEL or Direct Consolidation Loan.
To apply for a Direct Loan Consolidation or an FFEL Consolidation the borrower must contact the lender and complete an application.  Most lenders provide borrowers with the ability to apply on-line or request an application over the telephone.  Once an application is completed and submitted, the lender will request information from the borrower’s other lenders or from its own system to determine the amounts outstanding on the borrowers loans.  The borrower will then receive notification about the consolidation loan, normal consumer disclosures, the amount owed, and if appropriate, where to make payments.
FFEL Consolidation Loan Weighted Average Interest Rate
Consolidation loans have fixed interest rates that are based on the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated. A lender can provide a new consolidation loan borrower with the lowest statutory weighted average interest rate for loans by using the lower of the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated as of July 1 or the date the lender received the borrower's consolidation loan application. The lender should apply a consistent method of determining when an application is received.
Most federal education loans are eligible for consolidation, including subsidized and unsubsidized Direct and FFEL Stafford Loans, SLS, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Nursing Loans, and Health Education Assistance Loans. PLUS Loan borrowers (parent and graduate/professional degree students) can also consolidate their loans. Private education loans are not eligible for consolidation.


Personal Loan

Personal loans are tricky - you never can quite make out whether it is absolutely necessary or if it is just a luxury you will be paying back for the next few years. That new computer, or that credit card outstanding, or the house refurnishing...the need for personal loans is never ending. We give you the best tips and knowledge on personal loans here; we also believe that you are better off knowing that there are other options out there - loan against property or car refinance spring to mind.


That done, you will find all you need to avail a personal loan in this section. How to apply for one, repayment options, charges applicable, documentation required, all these aspects are covered in this section.

A personal loan can make a real positive difference in your life. It can also make a real difference in your finances. Apnaloan.com gives you all the expertise we have so that you have the maximum of the former and the minimum of the latter.

The irony of the situation here is that every borrower seeks a loan with lowest interest rate whereas every lender with highest interest rate. Risk perception is different in case of different borrowers and ideally is determined from their credit history. Till now we noticed that banks had only their own experiences with customers to fall back on for their assessment. But this is changing now with the entry of agencies that assess the creditworthiness of people.
Need for credit score?
Credit score provides a speedy and objective way to assess risk. This way, financial institutions, lenders and banks can analyze a loan or a credit card application in a speedy manner without having to make complex calculations each time. Instead they have scales that ponder the applicant's standing with several predefined loan or card models and they define the product's variables by matching the rank to the models. Hence, they can easily state in a matter of minutes how much you can borrow, for how long and at which rate, etc.

Credit Score: What is it?
Credit Score comprises of factors like payment history (including any late payments or missed payments that will affect your score negatively), credit card balances (that will be taken into account when the loan amount is determined), bank accounts (including savings and checking accounts) and any other form of credit including all outstanding personal loans, mortgage loans, store cards, etc.
Credit score is simply a number, it is not standardized and each lender, financial institution, risk analyst, etc. can have its own. This number reflects a level of risk that defines whether it is advisable or not to lend money to someone and thus, how much interest should one charge in order to compensate for that risk. The number is created based on inputs from the credit report. Entries from past will be pondered and assigned a value, the summing or deductions of those points will define the credit score.

Even though there is no standardized model of scoring, usually there are many similarities between the models of lenders that deal with the same type of loans, a mortgage lender and a car lender will probably use different scoring models because the risks associated with these two transactions are significantly different.
Your credit score will fluctuate according to the inputs on your debt history that are reflected in the report. Each timely payment will be recorded as a positive input, while late payments or missed payments will impact negatively on the records thus reducing the score count. Though each lender will calculate the grade in different ways the source of information that they will use is the same and thus, one should manage to keep credit report clean, then grade will surely remain in a good stance regardless of the lender. 
Some banks give 100 per cent finance on car loans. The truth is that this interest rate is only available to people with perfect credit score. Most people with average to low credit score will have to pay higher interest rates.
Which agency is doing this job of maintaining your credit score?
Now lending banks can source your credit score from Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), to supplement the information you furnish in your loan application.
Say if you default on a loan from one bank, it will bring down the credit score, which any other bank that you go to will also be privy to. It will determine not only whether you can get a loan, but also the rate of interest you pay on it. So it is important to learn how to keep the credit score high.
Nevertheless, always watch credit score closely and avoid damaging credit history with late or missing payments, too many outstanding loans and too many loan requests. Credit score is the indication of financial health and even when sometimes it can't get a better credit score, if it drops too much the application could be declined.



Credit Cards


Credit Card: Overview

Carrying cash can be cumbersome and a little dangerous at times. Plastic cash, or credit cards to give it its rightful name, are simple, space saving, and let's face it, a lot more cool. Typically, these cards can be swiped at almost any establishment around the globe. You can also withdraw cash on your credit card. Credit cards are fun; but you might do worse that having a credit card best practices list at hand to ensure that you do not abuse your own privileges.
Apnaloan.com could act as your best practices list. Our credit cards section will give you tips on how to use your credit cards wisely, what to do AND what not to do where you credit cards are concerned.
Before using a credit card - either to spend on it or to withdraw cash - it is absolutely essential to be well educated about it. It is seen in many cases - people, after getting a credit card, tend to spend more and get themselves in deep financial trouble. 
The credit that you use isn't yours - it has to be paid back to the lender. As customers develop bad or uncontrollable spending habits on their credit cards, cases are increasingly coming up at banks where customers enter into a settlement agreement. That is, they negotiate paying an amount lower than what is due on their credit cards as they are unable to pay the entire amount. Customers think they have gotten away cheaply in such cases. On the contrary, entering into such settlements can worsen your situation and give rise to more financial problems in future. It is like adding insult to injury.
When you go in for a settlement, banks can and will legally report you as a defaulter - to the extent of the dues foregone by them - at the credit bureau. All details concerning your default stay at the credit bureau for 7 years. In this period, anytime you apply for a home loan,personal loan or a credit card the details of your default will show up during the verification process and it becomes highly unlikely that any lender will lend you credit.
If you are unable to pay your credit card dues at one go, ensure that you always pay at least the minimum due amount, generally 5 % of your outstanding. In the meantime, find a concrete solution. You have various options - you could apply for a loan against property, stocks, insurance policy or jewelry. Or you could take a personal loan and pay off the credit card outstanding. Just remember that the rate of interest for a personal loan is higher than all the other mentioned options.
Whatever you do, under no circumstances should you seek to make temporary gains and ask the bank to forego their legitimate dues. Remember, although the banks may agree to the compromise to enable them to at least recover whatever they can, such settlements could come back to haunt you in the future, when you need credit - such as when planning to buy a house or a car.
With a credit card you can borrow money for nearly two months without having to pay interest on it. If you were to use your cash wisely in that period you could make money during the borrowed period. 
Let us understand credit free period and method to calculate it:
The credit free period could be as long as 50-60 days. Let's take an example to understand better what credit free period is and how we can calculate the credit free period. Just, if you know your billing date and due date through which you can easily know your minimum as well as maximum credit free period. The benefit of knowing your credit free period is, it helps you to know exactly when you have to make your payment or in other words helps you to make most of your credit free period.
Assume that your billing date is 5th of January and your due date is 25th of January. Here, from 6th till 25th is the minimum credit free period that accounts to 20 days. Know if you make any purchase on 6th of January than your due date will not 25th of January it will be 25th of February as the days between 5th and 25th comes under minimum credit free period. So know if you calculate the days from 6th of January to 25 of February it accounts to 50 days. These 50 days is known as the maximum credit free period. 
Why what are you waiting for...
Get yourself credit card empowered, but before doing that you should check for two things, first it should have the maximum grace period and second the interest charges should be low.
Credit card companies do try to get everything sorted out in less than a fortnight, which starts with filling your application form and your signature. 
Whatever anyone may say about credit cards, the fact remains that all of us want to possess them. Today cards have become 'Must Have' in every household. These are witnessed as empowerment tools which lend you great power to splurge or modestly speaking provide you easy access to cash in trying times. 
So don't delay and get the things going!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Banking and Health


Banking On Health

The USAID-funded Banking on Health project increases access to financing for the private health sector in developing and emerging economies worldwide. We work with a variety of financial institutions and private health sector businesses. We work with financial institutions to increase health sector lending. We can provide bank training, develop health sector loan products, conduct market research and structure loan or portfolio guarantees. We work with private health sector businesses to improve their ability to obtain financing. We can provide technical assistance and training to improve business planning skills and financial management. We can assist in loan packaging and bank referrals. The ultimate objective of Banking on Health is to improve health with a focus on family planning and reproductive health. We work with private health sector businesses that are interested in expanding these important services.
Contact: Meaghan Smith

Why Banking on Health?

Credit is an engine of growth, driving private sector development. Financing is an essential input that assists the private sector to expand the range and types of services, enter new markets and improve services. In many countries in the developing world, the private health sector is not able to access financing from commercial banks. Many banks are not comfortable with this sector and believe that it is risky. Many private providers do not have the business skills that are needed to develop a bankable business plan.

How We Work

The Banking on Health project takes a two-pronged approach to increasing access to financing by:

  • Working with local financial institutions to promote health sector lending.
  • Improving credit-readiness among private providers.

Promoting Health Sector Lending

The Banking on Health project works with a variety of financial institutions to promote health sector lending. These include commercial banks, microfinance institutions, leasing companies, credit unions and cooperatives and investment funds. We train the management and loan officers of financial institutions in health sector lending and analyzing the healthcare market. We work with bank staff to develop loan products that meet the financing needs of the health sector. We can assist a financial institution to enter this new market by providing market research and borrower referrals. We also work closely with USAID’s Development Credit Authority (DCA) guarantee program. If needed, we can structure a loan or portfolio guarantee to lower a bank’s risk in entering this new market.

Improving Credit Readiness of Private Health Sector Businesses

The Banking on Health project provides training and technical assistance to the private health sector. We work with a variety of private entities, including health service providers, product distributors and manufacturers, insurance schemes and non-governmental organizations. We work with the whole range of private health sector businesses, from small-scale micro providers, such as midwives and drug shops, to large health networks and hospital groups. We support business development services to improve the private health sector’s ability to access financing. This includes training in business skills, business planning, packaging loans and post loan care. In exchange for our assistance, private providers agree to promote the delivery of family planning and other reproductive health services in a financially sustainable manner.

Health Impact

The ultimate objective of Banking on Health is to achieve positive health impact. By improving access to financing we:

  • Improved financial viability of private health service providers.
  • Expand the range of services offered by private providers to include RH/FP service.
  • Extend private services to underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
  • Increase quality of care provided through improvements in facility, capacity, or commodity supply.

Banking on Health is Funded by USAID

Banking on Health is funded by USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health. This is Task Order 2 under USAID’s Private Sector Program (PSP) Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC).

Our Partners

The Banking on Health Project is implemented by Abt Associates in association with its partners Banyan Global, ACDI/VOCA, Britan & Asociados, and IntraHealth International. Abt Associates Inc. works to strengthen health systems locally, regionally, and globally, in partnership with many private and public organizations. Abt Associates helps formulate policy, design and implement on-the-ground programs, train partners, and lead practical research and analysis that guide system improvements. As the prime contractor, Abt is responsible for oversight of the Banking on Health Project and provides technical assistance in NGO sustainability, health financing and business skills training.
www.abtassociates.com Banyan Global, formerly GMI, is a small, women-owned consulting company that specializes in innovative market approaches to development. Banyan Global's practice areas include microfinance, small and medium enterprise development, financial markets and health sector development. Banyan Global draws on its expertise in development financing, bank training, business development services and health provider training to provide key technical assistance to the project.
www.banyanglobal.com


ACDI/VOCA is a not-for-profit organization with experience in rural financial and business development services. ACDI/VOCA will assist the Banking on Health Project with bank and provider training and will work on strategies to reach underserved communities.
www.acdivoca.org


Bitran & Asociados is an international consulting firm specializing in health sector reform. Bitran will support the Banking on Health Project by tailoring provider and bank training courses to cover health reform, contracting out, and health financing.
www.bitran.cl


IntraHealth International has worked with private providers and NGOs since 1979 to improve access to, increase the range, and strengthen the quality of primary healthcare services. IntraHealth will be supporting the Banking on Health Project by providing technical assistance to ensure quality reproductive health/family planning outcomes.