Industrial Process

Archive for January, 2010

Home Equity Loan Refinancing

If you have lived in your home for more than two years it has probably appreciated which means that you have built up equity. What is home equity? Home equity is the difference between the value of your home and the amount of all that you owe on your home. If your home has an appraised value of 200000 and all of the outstanding liens against it total 150000 then your home equity equals 50000. Often times when a home has accumulated value the homeowner decides to take some of that value out in cash. Sometimes the cash is used to pay off bills for home improvements or for a childs education. One of the best ways to tap the money available from your property is to refinance it with a home equity loan.

When considering a home equity loan there are several steps you should take to ensure you choose the refinancing package that is right for you.

The current market for home equity loan refinancing is crowded and very competitive. As a homeowner you probably receive solicitations for loans almost daily via the telephone or the mail or the Internet. Be wary of accepting any of these solicitations without thoroughly investigating them. The best course of action might be to initiate your own independent search for a financial institution or mortgage broker. Also be aware of the fact that a mortgage broker in any loan situation is not automatically working to get you the best deal. You are the person who should take responsibility for making sure that the final loan product is the one you need. The Better Business Bureau the yellow pages the Internet and references from friends are all good places to start your search for refinancing your loan.

You will need a certified appraisal for the actual loan. However it is wise to have an idea of the value of your home before you begin the process of refinancing. There are many online services that will give you an estimate of your homes value. Many times home sales are listed in the newspaper. Watch these listings for homes in your neighborhood that are similar to yours in size and condition. Note their prices.

Know your credit score. By law you are allowed one free credit report a year. The credit reporting agencies that supply the report generally will also offer your FICO score for a small additional fee. There are other factors that influence your ability to obtain a home equity loan but your credit report and FICO score are good places to start.

Once you have identified several possible sources for refinancing your loan have the lenders explain the different loan products they offer. Dont be afraid to ask specific questions and dont be hypnotized by a low interest rate. A low interest rate alone is not sufficient reason to accept a loan proposal. Ask about the term of the loan and the closing costs. Make sure the lender explains any terms you may not fully understand such as points.

Let the lenders know they are competing for your refinancing business. Sometimes a lender will sweeten your deal if there is the possibility the it might be lost otherwise.

Have all proposals submitted in writing. Take the time to compare them and always make sure you are comparing the same types of things. For instance dont just look at the bottom line number on the closing costs see what each lender is including in the closing costs.

Be alert to potential scams. Dont be intimidated by your refinancing lender into signing anything that isnt absolutely true. Dont sign anything that has blanks or that you havent read.

Know your rights. There is generally a three day penalty free right to cancel when you refinance your loan. If something doesnt seem correct to you dont shy from invoking that right.

Refinancing your loan in order to access your home equity can be a wise financial move. Your home however is probably the largest portion of your net worth so proceed with caution and knowledge.

About the writer:

Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com an informational website about various types of loans.

View her recommended http://www.abcloanguide.com/refinancehomeequityloan.shtml lenders.

Why Your Best Employees Dont Deserve To Be Managers

You’d think we’d know by now just because someone is fantastic at doing something… doesn’t mean they’re equally as good at managing others to do that same thing.

After all the skill set required to practice a specific profession whether it’s plumbing hairdressing engineering selling teaching accounting or whatever is entirely different from the skill set required to manage people.

Yet businesses persist in promoting “doers” into management roles. These promotions come with bettersounding titles more money more perquisites more prestige and… more responsibility.

And they involve doing less perhaps none of the “technical” work that the manager did previously and more (or all) of the work of managing others.

In one sense it’s logical a manager who used to do the work himself or herself should understand what his staff need to do the work now. And yes there are many managers who are just as good if not better at managing others as they are performing the actual work. In fact many managers prefer to manage rather than do.

But as indicated above there’s no reason to assume that a good doer will make automatically make a good manager!

Now this isn’t to say that a pyramidal organizational structure where the many are managed by the few is necessarily a bad thing. As a delegation or management structure it works fine for many companies.

But when getting more pay and other rewards is contingent on becoming a manager it’s inevitable that people will try to get and will get promoted into management roles regardless of whether they have the talent or passion to manage.

The result? Plenty of unhappy and ineffective managers. Plenty of frustrated people working for ineffective managers. And an organization that isn’t performing at its optimum.

Doesn’t it make more sense for people to do the work they enjoy and are good at? To reward them for getting better and better at that work rather than only paying them more if they step “up” to management… where they may generate less value for the organization?

Isn’t a top salesman better off staying in the field selling… than floundering in the office struggling to organize and motivate his staff?

Doesn’t a hairdresser do more for her clients herself and the salon by cutting and styling people’s hair than spending her time doing paperwork and trying to manage other hairdressers?

Fortunately some organizations have seen the light. They do tie greater rewards to greater responsibilities and greater performances within the same role. In fact some companies like investment banks are renown for paying traders and sales people much much more than the people who manage them simply because in the eyes of the bank the traders and sales people generate more value.

Of course as a “manager’s advocate” I would never suggest that managers shouldn’t be compensated well especially given the challenges of managing people.

But to be as productive and profitable as possible businesses should tie greater pay and rewards to greater responsibilities and performances whatever the role. That way they’ll have people doing and being their best.

So if you’re responsible for “promoting” people I urge you to think twice before promoting your best people into management roles… and out of the jobs they love and do well at.

Instead consider whether you can enlarge or give them more challenges in their current role?

Or if they’ve performed exceptionally well can you give them a bonus or some other special reward to recognize their efforts?

Of course if you work for someone else you may be limited in terms of what you can do… but if that’s the case and you’re committed to staying with your current employer… it may be time to start a revolution!

About the writer:

Anna Johnson is the author of the How To Manage People System which includes her controversial new book How To Manage People (Even If You’re A Control Freak!) (ISBN 0977517500). For invaluable advice on employee management claim your copy of Anna’s FREE 12page report How To Be An Outstanding Manager The 8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively: www.howtomanagepeople.com

Knowing Your Credit Rights

There is an old statement that holds true when trying to restore your credit rating and the statement is knowing is half the battle. This statement exemplifies what consumers who have had past credit problems should do and that is to learn everything they can about credit repair. Repairing or rebuilding your credit is not a simple task and knowing what laws protects the consumer and how to use them is the first step in this process.

The Federal Trade Commission has established a set of laws to protect the consumer from abuses by credit reporting agencies. These laws are designed to make sure that the consumers credit file is accurate and uptodate; this law is commonly known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The F.C.R.A. is the strongest tool the consumer has to ensure that what is reported by credit reporting agencies truly reflects what is contained in their credit file.

Before these laws were enacted the consumer was at the mercy of the credit reporting agency not to say that there were abuses but finding out what was contained on your credit file was almost impossible. This is why under these laws the consumer has the right to request a copy of there credit file at anytime they choose also there is a new law that requires credit reporting agencies to provide a free annual credit report to consumers in certain states.

The importance of knowing what is contained on your credit is that you have an opportunity to correct any inaccuracies contained in the credit file. The most common of the inaccuracies is out of date information including incorrect address employment and repayment history. This information can decrease your credit score dramatically and have a negative impact when viewed by credit grantors so knowing what is contained on your credit file is a major benefit provided by this act.

Now that you know what is contained on your credit file it is time to repair some of the negative comments contained in the file. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives the consumer the ability to dispute inaccurate information contained within the report and this can include entries that are not yours entries that are past the time limit and entries that have been corrected but not reported.

You as a consumer have the right to repair your own credit but as stated before this is not a simple task and will require a lot of time and patience. That is why there are agencies that are willing to help you repair your credit and these agencies are also regulated by a federal law call the Credit Repair Organizations Act this act provides safeguards to protect the consumer when dealing with credit repair companies. To find a credit repair company to assist you to repair your credit just do a search on your favorite search engine a recommended repair organization is Millennium Credit Service their website address is http://www.millenniumcredit.com.

Another important act passed by the Federal Trade Commission concerns what actions are legal for debt collectors and collection agencies. This act known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was created to stop harassment by debt collectors it outlines when and at what time collectors can contact the consumer. It also covers what actions can be taken by the consumer if they feel they are being harassed by collection agencies and how report harassment if it occurs.

These two acts the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act are intended to protect the consumer against abuses but if you are unaware of these acts then they will not be able to benefit you in restoring or rebuilding your credit. To find out more information on these acts visit the Federal Trade Commissions website at http://www.ftc.gov. Once you are familiar with what rights you have under the law you will be able to take control over what is contained in your credit file and if necessary dispute any inaccuracies contained in the file.

About the writer:

T.B. Collins is the president of Millennium Credit Service and has been offering credit repair advice for over 10 years. To find out more visit http://www.millenniumcredit.com