| Bad Credit and Home Refinance
(ARA) - Mortgage rates are at historic lows, and it seems like everyone's jumping on the refinance bandwagon these days. But is it really a good idea for people with bad credit?Well, if your credit was better when you took out the original loan and helped you qualify for a low rate, refinancing when your credit is worse makes little sense. If your credit is better now, but still not great, you should analyze how much you could really save by refinancing now as opposed to waiting until you have time to improve your credit even more. If your credit is at about the same level now as it was originally, trends in the market will have more to do with how much you can or cannot save by refinancing your home. Of course there are other considerations, such as whether your current home loan requires you to pay mortgage insurance that refinancing could alleviate; the type of loan you have; an introductory "pre-pay" period that may be about to expire; and additional factors that your loan officer or financial planner can explain. Once you decide that refinancing makes sense for you, you have two options: try to repair your credit before applying for a loan, or apply for a loan right away without attempting any credit improvements.
Morrow gets assist from state
Morrow will get free help to eliminate the village's debt after being declared in fiscal watch by the state. "When a local government is experiencing financial difficulty, we want to provide assistance to help them improve their situation and restore financial stability as soon as possible," State Auditor Mary Taylor said. Taylor declared the village in fiscal watch last Thursday after the Local Government Services Section analyzed the village's financial condition. Council requested the Chapter 118 analysis when it believed the village had a deficit of nearly $96,000 in the general fund — figures from a December 2006 checkbook. However, Mayor Bob Brown said that, as of September, the deficit is down to $36,000 after countless hours of village officials working on the finances.
Playing the credit card benefits game
Michael Cheng and his wife, Nicole, each have four credit cards in their wallets. A Post-it note on the top left corner of each card lets them know which one to use for what. The Chase rewards card is for groceries, gasoline and drugstore purchases. The Chase business card is for gas stations, home improvement and office-supply stores and restaurants. The Discover card is for restaurants and movies. The Farm Bureau Bank card is for everything else. In return for their purchases, they get checks or gift cards: 5 percent cash back from the Chase rewards card, 3 percent from Chase business, 5 percent from Discover and an amount equal to 1 percent from the Farm Bureau. The Chengs, who have a stack of other cards, keep track of the cash rewards on a spreadsheet: They made $1,121 in 2006 and $1,093 so far this year.
Software blocks unauthorised card use
Security software that will prevent unauthorised online use of credit and debit cards has been developed to deal with the growing problem of domestic fraud. So Protect Me is essentially a payment blocker that needs card holder authorisation before any online transactions can take place. There are also some parental control features built in to block access to gaming and gambling sites or prevent children using online retailers or auction sites. The software was developed to deal with the rarely reported problem of domestic fraud. Although stories of online fraud by organised criminals grab headline news, a survey by Yougov shows one in five people have found themselves victims of domestic fraud. Yet although five in 10 people do not trust co-habitees - be these family members of flatmates - not to use their cards without permission, they do little to protect themselves; two in 10 will reveal card details such as PINs to others and one in three leave cards where they are easy to find.
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