Mountain Top Loan Services

Helping You Find The Loan You Need

Disadvantages of Reverse Mortgages

July 2nd, 2008 by fhop29

Reverse mortgages are becoming more popular as more seniors are discovering their benefits and as companies like Senior Lending Network are out there spreading the word. There are a few cons that you need to take into consideration before getting this type of loan:

  • Reverse mortgages cost more than regular loan especially when you consider that the loan balance increases over time. The unpaid interest is tacked on to the original loan amount each month each month so the end amount owed increases dramatically over time as the interest compounds.
  • Because the loan amount increases over time, it will decrease the equity that would otherwise pass to the homeowner or their heirs.
  • Interest on reverse mortgages isn’t deductible on your tax returns until the loan is paid off.

There are many other things to consider with reverse mortgages so feel free to get a free DVD from Senior Lending Network.

Also, check out these videos on reverse mortgage.

Lou on Suze Orman Show 11-17-07

Fox News - Reverse Mortgages - Interview with RMS, Inc

PBS 39 Tempo - Show 452 - Seg 1 - Reverse Mortgage

Tags: reverse mortgages, cons of reverse mortgages, disadvantages of reverse mortgages, mortgage, loan

Category: Mortgages | No Comments »

Subrime Mortgage Crisis: A Comedy?

May 10th, 2008 by fhop29

I just came across this video from the folks over at Portland Real Estate. It should give you a bit of a laugh despite all of the craziness out there. Check it out:

Are you wondering if this will ever let up? If you have any opinion, leave a comment below. Also, take a look at a few other articles on the subprime crisis:

Tags: subprime, mortgage, bad credit, economic recession

Category: Bad Credit Mortgages | No Comments »

Internet Mortgage Lead Generation

March 9th, 2008 by fhop29

During this time of upheaval in the mortgage industry seeing hundreds of companies go out of business, it is ever important to keep your pipeline fresh and full of leads. What that usually means is going out and beating the bushes hoping to drum up business or relying on shady companies that sell leads to dozens of other loan officers.

I have been down each of those roads and neither of them are very fun! You need to have a mechanism to generate business on your own so that the leads are exclusive to you and only you. Now there is a learning curve to doing this and it took me a couple of years to figure it out and now I’ve decided to set these systems up for other loan officers (as long as they are competing with me directly). I won’t go into a lot of detail here but head over to www.ebrandsunlimitedllc.com and check it out for yourself. . .

Tags: lead generation, lead generation services, internet mortgage lead generation, cell phone ringtones verizon,ringtones for verizon phone,download cell phone ringtones verizoncaller digi ringtones tamil,caller ringtones,free caller ringtonesfree midi ringtonesdownload pc ringtonesfree mp3 ringtones converter1600 nokia ringtonesfree motorola ringtones tracfone100 mobile ringtones virgin,100 virgin mobile ringtonesfree motorola tracfone ringtonesunlimited music ringtones,music ringtones unlimitedfax instant loan no paydaycash til payday loanpayday loan torontocost loan low paydayno fax payday cash advanceadvance cash net payday usapayday loan calculatorloan payday say until wordpress,loan payday until,loan until paydayadvance cash loan payday software? ?cheap payday loanbad credit payday personal loan,bad credit payday loan,bad credit payday loan loanquick low interest payday loan,quick pay payday loan,loan payday quickadvance loan payday software? ?cashpayday loan 1000how to start payday loan company,best payday loan company,company loan paydaycash america payday loan,america cash loan paydayadvance cash fast loan paydayeasy payday loanbest payday loancash fast loan online payday search,fast loan payday,auto fast loan paydaydefault loan paydayaccount loan payday savings,no teletrack payday loan with savings account,payday loan in savings account30 day loan payday,30 day payday loanyahoo payday loanez payday loanno faxing needed payday loanonline no fax payday loancash advance payday loan softwareaccount bank loan no paydayfast online payday loanemergency payday loaninternet payday loancash international loan payday servicespayday loan paycheck advancepayday loan onlinecheck loan no payday teletrack,no teletrack payday loan,1000 loan no payday teletrackcash loan payday quickfee loan low paydayno credit check payday loanbank loan no payday statement mortgage leads

Category: Mortgages | No Comments »

Facing Foreclosure? Bailout Loan Or Let It Go?

December 22nd, 2007 by fhop29

This current version of the subprime home mortgage fallout has been interesting to track. Now that we are facing an election year, the politicians are coming out of the woodwork with promises to help ailing home owners.

With billions of dollars in mortgages set to adjust in 2008, many people are in panic mode trying to figure out what to do. Many will be able to refinance with fixed rates since they are still relatively low. Others, who aren’t as fortunate, will be facing some tough options if the government doesn’t come to the rescue.

Those options are brought on if you don’t have the credit to get favorable refinancing terms and/or if you are currently behind on your mortgage. They are:

  • Foreclosure - This means you have given up on the house and will let the lender pretty much have it. There are circumstances where, financially, this may be the best option. Emotionally this is a very difficult option.
  • Get a Foreclosure Bailout Loan - This option comes with it’s own set of problems and given the problems in subprime mortgages, the most difficult to pull off.
  • Sell the house - If you have enough equity, you may be able to sell the house via traditional methods. You also need to have the time if you are currently behind. The other way would be to have an investor negotiate a short sale on your behalf.

All 3 of these options have there own pitfalls and benefits so make sure you look at your financial situation closely to determine if you will keep your home or if circumstances require that you let it go.

Tags: foreclosure, foreclosure bailout loan, short sale, subprime

Category: Bad Credit Mortgages | No Comments »

Congrats Class Of 07! Now, About Those School Loans. . .

December 15th, 2007 by fhop29

Student LoansIt’s that time of year! congratulations to all the mid year college graduates! That’s a helluva Christmas gift to give to yourself. You’ve earned it, finally.

After the euphoria has gone many of you have the realization that you have a crap load of student loans to pay back. It’s a bit of a shocker sometimes especially if you haven’t gotten a job yet.

School loans can weigh you down like a lead necklace especially if you have a bunch of them. One of the first things you should do is consolidate them in to one payment.

Fortunately, school loan consolidation is a pretty simple process. Typically no credit report is needed and no longer will you need mom and dad to cosign for you.

You are able to get lower interest rates and you have some flexibility in payment terms. For instance, when I consolidated my student loans, I chose a graduated payment plan. This lets you make a smaller payment at first, when your income is low, and a gradually increasing payment over time.

Now, I mention the scenario with folks graduating this semester but it doesn’t matter if you’ve been out of school for 3, 5, or even 10 years. You should still consolidate those loans!

Tags: student loan consolidation, school loan consolidation, college loan consolidation

Category: Student Loans | No Comments »

Auto Loans Are Pretty Straight Forward, Unless. . .

November 25th, 2007 by fhop29

New Car LoanFinancing a car can be pretty straight forward, that is unless you are getting it from the dealer. I am not going to bash car dealers here but most people can get a better deal getting their financing before stepping on a lot.

This also takes away one of the dealers bargaining chips. They know they can get you a slighly better price on the car if they are increasing your interest rate. It may seem like you got over but you end up paying more for the price break over the life of the loan.

There are a few different variations of car loans, in the vast majority of situations. Most loans are fixed over a period of 2-6 years depending on how much you are financing. If you are lucky enough to be able to buy a Ferrari, you may be able to get 30 year financing, but you probably paid for it in cash anyway. Sorry, I digress.

Now, you can also get variable rates and balloon loans for cars but I can’t think of many, if any, situations where they are useful. You may argue that a lease is a balloon but I am talking about getting a loan to actually own you vehicle not rent it (although there are some benefits to leasing that I’ll go into in a separate post).

The main things you want to be concerned with are:

  • Your budget
  • Amount Financed
  • Loan Term
  • Interest Rate

Notice that I did not emphasize payment. Your budget takes that into account, obviously, but focusing on payment is a dealer sales trick. Why do they ask you what kind of payment you can afford? Well, because they can hide a lot of stuff in the payment when that’s the primary focus. Stuff like extended warranties, higher rates, and all kind of stuff you probably don’t want that they make extra profit from. All the more reason to get your financing separately from places like E-Loan
or WeGiveAutoLoans.com.

For more information on auto financing options, please visit our car loan page.

Tags: car loan, auto loans, car financing, auto financing

Category: Auto Loans | No Comments »

Investment Property Loans - Financing Options for the Real Estate Investor

October 31st, 2007 by fhop29

By know you have all heard about the meltdown in subprime mortgages. Foreclosures are on the rise and home prices have dropped in many areas across the country. The number of real estate investors in the market have fallen considerably as many of them have lost their shirt buying homes at the top of the market hoping the prices would keep going up.

Now there is a new sheriff in town, so to speak. All of the novice investors are gone leaving room for the seasoned vets to play the market again. Being a bit contrarian in nature, I see lots of buying opportunities out there IF you know what you are doing. Many markets are also seeing increased rents as would be buyers put off that home purchase and people that have lost their homes are subsequently renting.

This makes for an interesting buy and hold opportunity for the right properties. Part of determining the right opportunity is the type of financing you have in place. There are still a lot of options for real estate investor loans despite the fact that mortgage companies have tightened up their credit policy.

Real estate investor financing options include:

  • 95-100% Financing - This option has almost completely disappeared due to the amount of foreclosures that resulted from it but it is still available in limited situations.
  • Investor Pay Option Arms - Here is another loan program that has gone into hiding that allowed investors to double or triple their cash flows.
  • Investor Rehab Loans (Hard Money Loans) - This little darling of a program is meant for all you that enjoy flipping houses. The underwriting guidelines are more flexible and fundings are much quicker. Hey you could eventually get your own TV show if you do enough of them! LOL

This is not a complete list by any stretch of the imagination but I also didn’t see the point of listing 101 variations of investment property loans when they fall under a few general categories. Next time I’ll dig a little deeper into specific guidelines such as how to get a loan with no title seasoning, etc. I will also go over some examples of how the financing can, and should, play in the decision of whether you should buy a property or not. Stay tuned.

Later

Tags: Investment Property Financing, Real Estate Investor Loans, Hard Money Loans, Investor Rehab Loans

Category: Investment Property Financing | 5 Comments »

LifeLock Review - Putting Your Life Information On Lock Down

October 27th, 2007 by fhop29

Identity theft is a serious crime that is getting worse every day. If you are a victim you could spend months, even years, trying to fix your damaged credit. Ruined credit can hurt your chances of getting a job, loans, insurance, etc. People have been arrested for a crimes they didn’t commit because someone else had used their identity for criminal activity!

Unfortunately, some of the tactics these thugs use to steal personal information is beyond your control to prevent. Although it’s rare, store clerks have been known to use their position to collect and pass along information to identity thieves. There are things you can do, however, that will make it much more difficult for a thief to steal and use your personal information.

Destroy Documents That Contain Sensitive Personal Information

Go to your local office supply store and buy a shredder and use it to destroy paperwork that contains personal information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, phone numbers and dates of birth that you would otherwise just toss. Dumpster diving is a quick an dirty way that identity thieves use to find valuable personal information that can help them get credit in your name. Make sure the banks and financial institutions practice this as well. Think of how much personal information that they throw away each day (and it’s the law).

Identity Theft Protection from LifeLock

There is a new tool that takes identity theft prevention to an extreme called LifeLock. It’s like giving your credit is own special operations force dedicated to protect and serve it. Life Lock will do the following for you:

  • Completely block your credit so only you can use it.
  • Back you up with a $1 million guarantee. If your identity is ever stolen, they’ll fix the problem. No matter what it takes and reimburse up to $1,000,000 in financial losses.
  • Stop pre-approved credit offers.
  • Drastically reduce the amount of junk mail to your home.
  • Provide free annual credit reports.
  • They are the only company that prevents your children’s identities from being stolen!
  • Most importantly, they put alerts on your credit reports with all major credit bureaus. These alerts ensure that if anyone tries to do anything with your credit report, get new credit, change your address, expand credit lines, open a checking account, get insurance or utilities, or whatever, you will be called directly for approval before anything happens.

If you are currently a victim of identity theft, make sure you take these crucial steps immediately:

  • Contact your credit card companies, close your accounts and ask to have new cards issued to you.
  • Place a fraud alert on your file with the three major credit bureaus; Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
  • File a police report. You may need it to show to creditors as proof of the crime.
  • File a complaint with the FTC, which maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for their investigations.

Again, you definitely want to prevent this from happening altogether. The passing of the FACT Act a few years ago has allowed companies like LifeLock to provide innovative tools and technology to keep your personal information safe. It’s like having insurance for your credit.

Tags: lifelock, life lock, identity theft, lifelock review, life lock review

Category: Identity Theft | No Comments »

Payday Cash Advance Loans, Use Them As A Last Resort

October 24th, 2007 by fhop29

Mention payday loans to anybody an you are bound to get a wide variety of responses anywhere from outright rage to mild admiration to blank stares. It all depends on what you what you know about them and if you’ve gotten and advance based on your upcoming paycheck.

Payday loans, also known as a payday cash advance, can be a bit controversial because of the amount of fees that can be charged on the loan, especially if you don’t pay it back on time. There are consumer groups that are up in arms, outraged that these loans even exist! Despite all of the hoopla, there are distinct uses for them.

We all, ok most of us, have had situations where there was an emergency need for cash. Whether the car broke down, the electric bill was twice as high as normal because the kids keep messing with the a/c setting, or whatever. Many of us have credit cards, caring friends and family with some spare change, or a sock drawer full of coins saved up over the years that will help us get through the temporary cash crunch. There are some folks that don’t have that luxury.

An option exists with pay day loans albeit a potentially dangerous option if not used properly. The danger comes when it is used unnecessarily for frivolous purchases or not planning for how you will pay back the advance. The fees are pretty high to begin with and skyrocket when the loan isn’t paid back on time. In some circumstances, the fees could nearly equal the advance so be very careful. Payday cash advances should be used ONLY if there are absolutely no other viable options including selling unwanted household items.

Here are a few other reasons why people gravitate toward payday loans:

  • Usually there is no credit check,

  • Approval is instant and you can usually get up to $1,000-$1,500 the same day,

  • There is no hassle in getting the loan (just if you don’t pay it back!)

So if your back is against the wall it is an option, albeit a tough one. But a good choice if it means keeping the lights on.

Here are a couple of companies for you to choose from if you are in need of a quick cash solution:

  • Payday Loan Yes - Not available in New York, Georgia, Kansas, Delaware, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Montana

  • Team Quick Cash - Get up to $500 with NO credit check and instant approvals.

Just make sure you pay them back by the next pay period to avoid the extra fees.

For more information on pay day loans, please check out these resources:

  • Com Bad Credit Loan Payday
  • - Everyone needs extra cash now and then for unforeseen events but how many people want to go through the process of arranging a loan for something that is very short term. One answer to this short term cash flow situation is a ‘payday …

  • Be Careful When Commiting To Cash Advance Payday Lenders With Your …
  • - It is wise to use pay day loans responsibly. If you apply for a loan, think ahead to be sure you are able to repay it when it needs to be paid. A lot of loan businesses will allow you to set up the loan, but then there is usually an …

 

Tags: payday loan, payday cash advance, no credit check payday loan, no faxing payday loan

Category: Payday Loans | No Comments »

Lawsuit Loans - Getting Even With The Insurance Companies

October 10th, 2007 by fhop29

Lawsuit Cash AdvanceTo be honest, my initial impression was this this was some sort of scam. Just a bunch of lawyers flush with cash, going around trying to take more money out of your pocket if you win a lawsuit. Doesn’t it seem like attorneys get more money than the people who had been the victims?

I had to be careful not to let this natural distrust cloud my view of this service so I went out to do a little research. First, I wanted to know what exactly legal finance is and how is it best used. To give you a idea of what this is, let me tell you a story of what is currently happening to my brother (well at least until I told him about lawsuit loans).

My brother and his friend were recently in a car accident that was completely at the fault of the other driver. They got the police report saying this, and firefighters testimony who directly witnessed the accident and the confession of the other driver. My brother incurred some medical bills in the process, as well as his friend. Given the amount of information in his favor you’d think this was an open and close deal? WRONG!

The insurance company stopped all negotiations and pretty much said ’sue me’. My brother is now in a dilemma because he doesn’t have the money to pay an attorney to get this started and the insurance company knows it. So despite the fact that their customer is clearly at fault in the accident, they aren’t going to do anything. Who said that the insurance companies are “responsible”? Oh yeah, their tv commercials.

Anyway, by the insurance company drawing a line in the sand, they know that most people would stop there not having the money to afford obtaining justice. This is where legal finance and lawsuit loans come into play. Companies that provide this service will review your case to determine the likelihood of you winning and if it looks good, they will advance the funds needed to pay the prosecuting attorney as well as part of your projected winnings. So if you lost time at work, missed a few mortgage payments, or whatever, you can get some of that back ahead of time. Am I the only person that knows people that got hurt, couldn’t work, couldn’t pay their home loan and lost their house because of insurance companies dragging their feet?

The best part of it is that if for some strange reason, they review your case, see that it should be a winner and you subsequently lose, you don’t owe them the money that they advanced you. It is completely forgiven! It that regard it really isn’t a loan at all and you don’t make any payments.

Now you are probably wondering how they get paid and I would say, good question. They are not philanthropists in doing this and they do make good money from taking a portion of the proceeds of the lawsuit. It could be as high as 15% of that amount! That on top of your attorney taking the customary 33% adds up to over half of the money you win!

Before you go ape about this, consider what you would have received otherwise. . .ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I had a car accident 8 years ago where the other driver was determined 90% at fault. Their insurance company squeezed and I couldn’t do anything because I didn’t have the money to take the case further. They fixed my car paid some of my hospital bills but in the end it cost me money and time that I was never able to recover. I wish this was available then!

The moral of the story is now that this services are becoming more prominent, you don’t have to get bullied my the insurance companies anymore. Oh yeah, my brother now owes me a fishing trip for telling him about this!

Tags: lawsuit loans, legal finance, cash advance, loan, insurance

Category: Other Loans | No Comments »