What to Look For In a Used Car Loan

Many young people could not afford their first car if it weren’t for the availability of used car financing. They just don’t have the cash to buy the car outright. Fortunately, obtaining such financing at very reasonable interest rates is not difficult. You just need to do your research and follow these simple steps.

As you’re paging through the used car ads you’re bound to come across what looks like absolutely fantastic car loan availability from the car dealers themselves. You’ll see zero percent offers, low payment offers that seem too good to be true. Of course, they are! These ads are meant to mislead you, make you come in and apply, and end up getting a loan at 10 to 18 percent over the standard rates! Yes, interest-free offers are available, but only if you have perfect credit. Most used car buyers do not fall into this category. In general, used car loan interest rates exceed those of new cars by several percentage points on average.

One way to mitigate this cost is to get your loan through a dedicated finance company rather than through the car dealership or your normal bank. These institutions generally have more liberal lending policies. Any lender, however, will require proof of the value of the car, and a 20 percent down payment. This is normal and should not be regarded as a suspicious request. Both these regulations are designed to give the lender a safety margin, should the loan go into default. If that happens, the lender’s only recourse is in the collateral, which is the car. Therefore, they naturally have a vested interest in knowing that you did not pay too much for the car, and that at least 20 percent of its value holds even if the default happens immediately. This is actually an advantage to you, as well. There is someone looking over your shoulder at the transaction, making sure it is a respectable deal and price for the vehicle in its current state and condition.

Before you apply for your financing, run a credit check on yourself. This will help you determine what you should be able to afford and should be offered. Sometimes you may realize before you really get started that a used car loan isn’t affordable for you. This could be because of a low credit score, inability to meet the down payment requirements, or insurance concerns. Knowing this going in is important, because online institutions will tempt you with one-day offers. Don’t fall for it! Despite their dire warnings of offer expiration, these lenders will be there tomorrow with another fantastic offer for you! Wait until you are comfortable with the amount and the terms. It is not worth the devastation a loan default can play on your credit history to take it now when you’re unsure you can repay it as required.

Another caution with car loans and any other financial transactions – keep all your paperwork in good order. If you’ve obtained the loan online, print out a copy of everything and store it in a safe place. Never sign anything you don’t understand completely. Ask questions until you understand. Talk to a third-party professional to get a different point of view. It’s your responsibility to protect your own interests. Don’t expect the lender to do it for you. This is the kind of thinking that led to the current mortgage crisis in the United States.

One final piece of advice: As soon as you get your used car loan, look into refinancing it, especially if you weren’t able to get a zero to three percent interest rate. Refinancing sites will usually have calculators on them so you can calculate your total savings. If you can get a percentage point under your current contract, it’s worth it.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Interest Rates [http://interest-rate-guides.com/]

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Daryn Weatherman

Debt Settlement - The Better Alternative For Financial Relief

Debt settlement is a process of providing your creditors with a one time lump sum payment to pay off the debt in total. If you are struggling to make ends meet, this could be one of the best options you have to pay down creditors once and for all. Debt settlement is often called debt negotiation or debt reduction. What can this process offer to you? When you work with a debt settlement company, you may see a much as a 50 percent decrease in the debt you owe to your creditors over the long term.

Debt settlement is a good solution for many people. Here, a debt is negotiated by skilled professionals working on your behalf. They work with the creditors to determine the best way to pay off the debt quickly. For example, perhaps you have a credit card with a company you are behind on. You owe them $5000. Making minimum payments, it may take 20 years or more for you to pay off this debt and that will cost you dearly in the interest payments. Instead, you work with a settlement company. They direct you to make payments to them and they then negotiate with your lenders. Finally, the client agrees to accept a payment of $2800, for example, to pay off the debt in full. The remaining amount is no longer your responsibility to pay.

Debt settlement does hurt your credit score, but before you begin to worry about that, consider the alternatives. Many of those considering a debt reduction program are on the verge of bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will place a black mark on your credit report that will remain there for the next ten years, limiting your ability to apply for loans and purchase property because of the huge drop in your credit score. While debt reduction programs do put a negative mark on your credit, it is a less drastic and harmful problem. And, in many situations, you are likely to see much less of a drop in your credit score than you would with bankruptcy.

Even debt consolidation companies also cause this drop to happen. If you are struggling to pay your debts and you just need a fresh start, settling those debts may be the best option available to you. Many people are not sure if this is right for them. If this is where you currently stand, keep in mind a few of the options you have.

While debt consolidation may be an option to consider, be aware of the fact that a debt consolidation loan is not the same as a debt consolidation program. The first is simply a loan where you are essentially borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and is going to get you nowhere out of your financial problem. On the other hand, a debt consolidation program works in a manner that is very similar to debt settlement, and in fact, both may be handled by the same financial company you would work with.

Speak with a debt negotiator about your situation. Talk to them about the amount of debt you have, the type of debt you have and your ability to pay it off right now. If you are unable to pay off your debt in the next 12 to 36 months in full, it may be time to speak with a professional about these options. Debt settlement is an option, fully legal and acceptable, to getting your debt paid off fully. Not everyone will qualify, but for many, it is the best option possible under the current circumstances. Prior to making a decision, contact a settlement company to find out more about your options.

For more insights and additional information about Debt Settlement as well as finding a variety of resources to gets tips on debt settlement options and companies, please visit our web site at http://www.mybloginfosource.com/debt-settlement

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Daryn Weatherman

Reasons Why American Job Seekers Are Less Competitive

It’s not simply the economy. There are calculated reasons why some American job seekers are not getting the jobs they want and the pay that they feel they deserve. Many of the reasons for lack of success are deeper than a resume that is not 100% or lack of ability to negotiate salary. It has to do with American society as a whole. Here are some of the variables that make the young American job seeker less competitive by the day:

1. Education - The later they graduate college, the worse their writing skills are. Judging by the hundreds of resumes that come into KAS Placement every day, it seems that poor grammar and a lack of ability to express oneself clearly is not reserved for the graduates of lower-tier schools.

Instead, some of the most reputable colleges are letting students graduate without merit (but, with payment, of course) which is diluting our country’s talent pool. Mainly, this is due to colleges feeling they need to spend tremendous amounts of advertising dollars to compete with online schools, then filling this deficit with students who can barely read, but can definitely pay.

2. Impulsive Behavior - Younger Americans have become more impulsive than ever and seem to need everything right this moment – a characteristic that hinders many upon searching for a job.

When dealing with younger job seekers, our recruiters have more difficulty explaining to them that things may not happen the instant they want them to and not to act on that frustration.

While our recruiting firm explicitly explains to job seekers that their resume submissions will be read, but we can’t contact everybody right away, we still see emails in our inbox demanding that we read a resume submitted three hours ago. These types of actions instantly force our recruiters to blacklist the individual because we can’t have that type of behavior going on with our clients.

Since 2005, the aforemetioned behavior among young job seekers has probably increased about 7 to 8x (this is factoring in increased resume submissions year over year).

3. Loss of Entrepreneurial Spirit - Many of today’s younger generation has just about every technological advantage over the older job seeker, but only a tenth of the research and creativity of job seekers with 5+ years experience.

KAS Placement’s website has a section dedicated to recent college graduates. As a test about a year ago, I switched the tone of the main page telling recent graduates that recruiters could not do everything for them, but instead offered them advice on how to find a great job. Visitors rarely returned and frequently exited the page without visiting these “recommended pages.”

The problem is that young job seekers from overseas are willing to do the research it takes to find the right position, as their custom applications and ways to get in touch with decision makers are more unique than going directly to a website and applying. This is making it very tempting for some companies to start sponsoring young job seekers from the U.K. and Western Europe.

The Positive Takeaway

The positive takeaway for many younger American job seekers is that many companies are not going to sponsor overseas workers, thus the competition for great jobs is going to continue to stay domestic, as it were. If a job seeker begins to seriously look at his or her defaults, a simple correction can spawn a great career.

Ken Sundheim is the Founder and President of KAS Placement Recruiters San Francisco Headhunters a sales and marketing staffing agency that helps both U.S. and International firms recruit all levels of sales and marketing experts throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The staffing professionals at KAS Sales and Marketing Finance Headhunters have been around since 2005.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Sundheim

Daryn Weatherman