NEW YORK (AP) — The malaise in the mortgage market is starting to spread to credit-card and auto loans in what one analyst has dubbed consumer credit “contagion.” It’s an ominous warning signal for the economy. Many of the nation’s big banks and credit-card companies have begun acknowledging that they are seeing a shift in consumer behavior, including more people unable pay off their debts.

Things are unraveling faster than expected for some like Capital One Financial Corp., which on Tuesday boosted its estimates for credit losses next year to potentially above $5 billion in part because of elevated delinquencies on its cards.

No one is calling this problem the next debt-related land mine yet, but it is still important to watch what happens, especially as the holiday shopping season gets under way.

Much attention has been paid in recent months to the collapse in housing prices and the upheaval in the mortgage market. The initial trigger was people with shaky credit — known as subprime borrowers — increasingly defaulting on their home loans.

An added complication was that many Americans used their homes as piggy banks in recent years. When debt was cheap and easy to get and the value of their homes was surging, they borrowed against them. People used part of that cash to pay off other debts, but mostly to fuel a spending surge on everything from flat-screen TVs to new cars to vacation homes. (more…)

Closing costs are the actual expenses that the lender incurs in the origination of a new home loan. Some of the costs are related to your loan application, such as the expense of a credit report on all applicants. Other fees are related to the house itself, such as the property appraisal.

Others are payment to the lender for processing your application, such as the loan origination fee.

Unless the seller offers to pay them for you, these expenses are charged to the buyer and often runs between 2 and 3 percent of the amount being borrowed. Because different states have different fees and taxes that are a part of these costs, it’s impossible to generalize nationwide.

Common closing costs can include processing and underwriting fee, mortgage insurance premium, appraisal fee, the cost of a credit report, tax service fee, application, commitment, wire transfer fee, etc… (more…)

Debt is a burden most consumers struggle with on a daily basis. The approach we take in dealing with this burden is what separates us as individuals. Choosing the correct way is a personal choice involving, among other things; family discussion, best interest rate research, and visitation with a debt management or debt consolidation professional. There are two distinct ways to deal with consumer debt.

First, you may want to consider reducing the principal balance on a current loan, or even take this step with multiple loans. Paying a bit more than the minimum required and having that amount applied to the principal is one small way to reduce debt in the long run. It may be wise to look into the specific loans you have, take a close look at your budget, then see if there are ways to reduce the amounts owed on the various loans. (more…)

When it comes to finding low cost secured loans then you have the most valuable tool sat on your desk, your home computer and a connection to the internet can save you a huge amount of money and time when it comes to getting the best deal and the cheapest rates of interest. Low cost secured loans can be found, there are many lenders who specialise in just trading online and this is where you can make the best savings.

A secured loan means that you put up something of value such as your home and in return for this you get the cheapest rates of interest and the best deal, you should bear in mind though that your home is at risk if you don’t keep up the repayments. (more…)

It just is not any fun having a lot of debt. It does not take long before you get tired of not having enough money each month, and the bills just do not stop. Perhaps the collection agencies are already calling. When any of this starts to happen, it is time for you to consider consolidating your debts. Here are a few options that you have available.

A New Balance Transfer Credit Card

This kind of credit card will be useful to you if your overall debt is not very large. By getting a new balance transfer credit card, you can put balances on other credit cards on to the new one. You will want to find one with an introductory offer of 0% APR interest, which means you pay no interest for the length of the introductory offer. Some of these credit card offers last up to 15 months. You will need good credit to be able to get the lowest interest rates. Be careful not to make any late payments, or you may find that your introductory offer ends immediately. (more…)

Bad financial management and bacteria have one thing in common: they flourish and mutate upon discovery. As soon as you realize you have committed bad money management, your error transforms itself into something else that looks too good to resist.

So how do you prevent yourself from making the worst money mistakes possible in this lifetime? Know your enemies! Study the worst possible money moves you can make. This way, you can recognize bad money management when you see it, even if it sports a striped tie and a toothy smile.

1. Never buy too much house. Know that mortgage lenders will not always give you advice that serve your best financial interests. In fact, many mortgage lenders might even push you to buy too much house. Too much house refers to a home that is more than what you need, or could reasonably pay for. (more…)

What is usually thought of as a modular house is two or more three-sided structures that are shrink-wrapped at the factory and shipped by truck or train to the building site where each is lifted by crane on to a prepared foundation then joined together. The modules are usually shipped with windows, doors, cabinets, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems in place and take very little time to finish on site.

Some modular homes look, from the outside, very much like manufactured housing except for the foundation that links them to the land and enables them to be deeded with the land. However, modular building has advanced to a state that enables the building of elegant two (or more) story homes in virtually any architectural style and with interesting design features that make them indistinguishable from their stick-built neighbors. (more…)

Yes, this is possible. Sometimes you don’t know where your money is. So you could be busy with your mortgage calculations, using various mortgage calculators on the websites, and forget to count in some of your funds/money.

How is that possible? Well, that is possible if you have your money lying all over the place and you don’t know where all that money is parked. (more…)