Friday, December 10, 2010

Ways to Ensure You Pay Low Interest Rates on Your Home Loan

The purchase of a new or used home is generally a very exciting one, especially for individuals and couples that are first-time buyers. It is also a purchase that can become frustrating and overwhelming for those that are not familiar with steps that should be taken to ensure they receive the lowest possible interest rates.
The overall amount that you plan to borrow against a home is one of the biggest factors that go into the process of figuring the rate of interest you will be responsible for. However, there are a few steps that you can take to ensure you pay low interest rates on your home loan.
The amount of money that you plan to use as a down payment can help a great deal in the way of reducing rates of interest. The larger amount used as a down payment, the lower the amount of interest that will be applied to the home loan. The specific type of loan that you secure is another major factor that determines the rate of interest on home loans.
A secured home loan is one that allows individuals and families to place collateral down on the loan, resulting in benefits for both the lender and the borrower. As collateral generally used is the home a person is borrowing funds against, it assures the lending firm that in the event the borrower defaults on the loan, they can then assume ownership of the home. For the borrower, it means that they are able to take advantage of a much lower rate of interest on the home loan they secure.
An unsecured home loan does not give homeowners the option of using their home as a form of collateral on a mortgage loan. Because of the fact that it results in a higher risk for the lending firm, people using this type of home loan can expect to pay higher interest rates.
If you are left with no other option than choosing an unsecured home loan to purchase the house of your dreams, there is still another option that can help decrease interest rates you are offered. Although opting for a home loan that has a much shorter term to repay the loan does result in a higher monthly payment, it is an option that can greatly decrease the overall amount of interest that you end up paying. Longer terms do mean a much lower monthly house payment, but it is also an option that will add more interest to the balance of your home loan.

Tips to Help You Obtain Low Rates of Interest on Auto Loans

There is much more to applying for a car loan than merely walking into the first bank you see and filling out an application. Several other factors are involved and should always be taken into consideration before an individual tries to secure a car loan.
There are several types of lending institutions that offer loans for new and used cars, which include credit unions, banks and other types of lending companies. One of the biggest differences that you will find is that many of these lending firms offer rates of interest that can vary a great deal from one to the next. For this reason, it is very important to browse around and make comparisons between several different lenders before deciding where you should apply for a car loan. You may be pleasantly surprised at how much money a person can save, just by sticking to this one simple step.
The condition of your credit history is another factor that will be used to determine the rate of interest that you'll end up paying on a car loan. A person with an excellent credit score can secure car loans with much lower rates of interest, than those that are obtained from people with a poor credit history. In the event that the report is in very poor condition, it may be like pulling teeth trying to find a dealership that will even approve a car loan.
If your credit score leaves a little to be desired, it could be well worth the effort to find the problems causing black marks on your credit and correct them. In many cases, individuals have been able to raise their credit score significantly just from correcting errors that were found on their credit report. Once errors have been corrected, it is time to start paying off debt. If the debts staring back at you are overwhelming, just take it one step at a time. Find debts on your credit report that have the lowest balances and begin paying on them first. Before you know it, you will be wiping black marks of bad credit completely off of your credit report.
Another factor that can cause the rates of interest to climb higher on car loans is the amount of money you choose to put down on the vehicle. If the interest rates you are being offered are too high, you may want to consider placing a higher down payment on the loan.