Zillow Lender Review iPad Sweepstakes

Zillow Lender Review iPad Sweepstakes

Click HERE to review Truerate Partners on Zillow and WIN!

ZILLOW® "2013 Lender Review" Sweepstakes Official Rules

Please read these Official Rules before entering this promotion (the "Promotion").   By participating in the Promotion, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and represent that you satisfy all of the eligibility requirements below.

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS PROMOTION.

Eligibility:  The Promotion is open only to individuals, who are legal residents of the 50 United States or District of Columbia, age 18 or older (or the age of majority in entrant's state of residence), and who submitted a review during the Promotion Period (defined in the next paragraph) on a mortgage lender participating in Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. If you do not meet any of these requirements, or any other eligibility requirements in these Official Rules, you are not eligible to win a prize, and Zillow, Inc. ("Sponsor") reserves the right not to award prizes to you.  Directors, officers, and employees of Sponsor and Sponsor's advertising and promotion agencies, and their respective immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each, are not eligible to win. Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

Promotion Period:  There will be four (4) Promotion Periods (unless the Promotion is amended or terminated at Sponsor's sole discretion) as follows:
(1)    From 12:00 a.m. (all times Pacific Time) on January 1, 2013 until 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2013;
(2)    From 12:00 a.m. (all times Pacific Time) on April 1, 2013 until 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2013;
(3)    From 12:00 a.m. (all times Pacific Time) on July 1, 2013 until 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2013; and
(4)    From 12:00 a.m. (all times Pacific Time) on October 1, 2013 until 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2013.
(each, individually a "Promotion Period").  Except as otherwise expressly stated below (for mail-in entries), all entries must be received during the Promotion Period to be eligible to win the respective prize.

Entry:  Visit the Zillow website, located at www.zillow.com, and complete and submit a review form relating to your experience with a mortgage lender who has an account on Zillow. Note that reviews are subject to the Zillow Good Neighbor Policy and the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace Code of Conduct. If your review does not comply with these policies, or any other Zillow policies, Zillow may choose not to post your review, in which case you will not be entered into the Promotion. Alternatively, to enter without submitting a review on Zillow, clearly hand-print your full name, Zillow.com user screen name, mailing address, e-mail address, and daytime phone number on a 3" x 5" card, and mail that card in a hand-addressed envelope to Sponsor at: Zillow "2013 Lender Review " Sweepstakes, Zillow, Inc., 1301 Second Avenue, Floor 31, Seattle, WA 98101, Attn: Andrea Smolin. Mail-in entries must be postmarked no later than the last day of a Promotion Period and received within seven (7) days after the last day of such Promotion Period to be eligible during that Promotion Period. Ten (10) entries per person per Promotion Period. Entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned.

Prize:  One (1) winner from each Promotion Period will receive an Apple® iPad® (specific model and features selected at sole discretion of Sponsor) with an approximate estimated retail value of less than $500.00. Teleconnectivity not included. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in its sole discretion. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.

Random Drawing: A winner will be selected in a random drawing from all eligible entries to be held no later than two (2) weeks after the last day of each Promotion Period.  The winner will be notified by U.S. mail and/or email within four (4) weeks after the last day of the respective Promotion Period. To claim a prize, the winner should follow the directions in winner's notification.  The prize winner may be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release within seven (7) days following the date of attempted notification. The prize will be awarded within thirty (30) days after winner verification. If a prize notification is returned as undeliverable, it will result in disqualification, and the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner in a separate random drawing. Prizes are not assignable or transferable, except to a surviving spouse. 

The prize is awarded "AS IS" and WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied (including, without limitation, any implied warranty of merchant-ability or fitness for a particular purpose), except that the prize will be subject to its manufacturer's standard warranty (if any). No substitutions or exchanges (including for cash) of any prize will be permitted, except that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value. The winner is responsible for all federal, state, local, sales and income taxes associated with receipt and/or use of any prize. Entry and acceptance of any prize constitutes permission to use winner's name, prize won, office affiliation, hometown and likeness for online posting and promotional purposes without further compensation, except where prohibited by law. Unless prohibited by law, winner will be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, liability release, publicity release, tax forms, and other reasonable documentation provided by Sponsor before being awarded a prize.  If winner does not execute such documentation upon request, their prize will be forfeited and the prize will be awarded to an alternate winner.  The prize is guaranteed to be awarded. 

General: Sponsor will not be responsible for late, lost, illegible, incomplete, damaged or misdirected entries and accepts no responsibility for any injury, loss or damage of any kind resulting from an entrant's participation in the Promotion.  By entering the Promotion, each entrant agrees to these Official Rules and waives, and releases Sponsor and Sponsor's parents, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, and all other businesses involved in this Promotion, as well as the employees, officers, directors and agents of each, from, all claims, costs, injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Promotion or delivery, misdelivery, acceptance, possession, use of or inability to use the prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses and damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to or destruction of property, whether intentional or unintentional), whether under a theory of contract, tort (including negligence), warranty or other theory.  Sponsor reserves the right to amend these Official Rules or to terminate this Promotion.  Any provision of these Official Rules deemed unenforceable will be enforced to the extent permissible, and the remainder of these Official Rules will remain in effect.  Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of any Promotion materials, administration of the Promotion or in the announcement of any prize.  The Promotion and these Official Rules will be governed, construed and interpreted under the laws of the state of Washington.  Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of Sponsor, which are final and binding in all respects.

Winner List; Rules Request:  For a winner list, visit http://www.zillow.com/wikipages/Lender-Review-iPad-Sweepstakes/ or send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope anytime between four (4) weeks after the last day of a Promotion Period and one (1) year after the last day after a Promotion Period, to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: Zillow "2013 Lender Review " Sweepstakes Winner List (Andrea Smolin).  To obtain a copy of these Official Rules, visit http://www.zillow.com/wikipages/Lender-Review-iPad-Sweepstakes/ or send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to Sponsor at the address listed below, Attn: Zillow "2013 Lender Review" Sweepstakes Rules Request (Andrea Smolin).  Residents of WA and VT may omit return postage.

Sponsor:  ZILLOW, INC., 1301 Second Avenue, Floor 31, Seattle, WA 98101

Confidentiality:  Information provided by you to participate in this Promotion is subject to Sponsor's privacy policy at http://www.zillow.com/corp/Privacy.htm.

*****

Sweepstakes winners: Ted Montague, Krish Lakshminarayanan and Allyson Edwards.

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

Click to Call me Direct!

www.trueratepartners.com

Glad you found us, Now SHOP US AROUND to be SURE!

Compare our Loan Proposal to the competition.

Now that you have found us, we ask that you do one thing… 

Compare our Loan Proposal to the competition.

Whether you are a first-time home buyer, refinancing your home or financing your third investment property, we strongly suggest that you compare our Loan Proposal with proposals from other mortgage providers.  After comparing our proposal to the competition.
The following information will help you compare loan proposals:
 Timing…
Interest Rates  are constantly changing;  to effectively compare interest rate and fee structures between two or more loan proposals you have to make sure they are created on the same day (preferably within one or two hours of each other).
Critical Information that impacts your interest rate and closing costs…
The following information have a significant impact on the interest rate and fee structure of your loan so it is important that the following terms be the same in each proposal:

• Loan Amount & Purchase Price (or Appraised Value in the case of a refinance)
• Lock Period (how long the interest rate is locked, e.g. 30, 45, 60 days)
• Whether or not you will be required to escrow for property taxes and insurance
• Loan Type (e.g. 30 year fixed rate, 3 or 5 year adjustable rate or interest only)
• Credit Score of all borrowers
• Property Type (SFR (Single Family Residence), Condominium, Town House) 

Accuracy and our guarantee…
We have created a four step process that guarantees the accuracy of our Initial Loan Proposal.

1. We provide a detailed Initial Loan Proposal
2. We encourage you to compare our Loan Proposal to others  you have received
3. We lock your interest rate and provide you with a Final Loan Proposal
4. We compare the Final Loan Proposal to your HUD-1 Settlement Statement.  We will make an adjustment if there is a discrepancy which  negatively impacts YOU.

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

Click to Call me Direct!

www.trueratepartners.com

Focus on Possible Government Shutdown: 5 Things to Know for the Week

The threat of a government shutdown looms as lawmakers reconvene Monday afternoon. Late Sunday, Congress showed no signs of an agreeable measure to thwart off a shutdown, possibly the first such occasion since 1996.

• On Monday, AIG Bank will cease operations for retail deposit accounts. All existing accounts will be closed automatically. The bank had notified customers of the move in late July and all account transactions were no longer processed starting Sept. 13, in preparation of the account closures. AIG Bank is undergoing a transition from a traditional savings bank to a trust-only thrift.
• As the last quarter of the year arrives, certain cash back credit cards will begin offering bonus cash back on new categories. Chase Freedom, Citi Dividend, Discover It and U.S. Bank Cash+ card members will have to enroll for the quarter’s new categories that earn 5% cash back.
• For the government, the fiscal year begins Oct. 1, when the government may shut down because of divided policies on spending. A House bill was passed last week that would prevent a government shutdown, but it would delay the activation of the Affordable Care Act by one year. The Senate is likely to reject that bill. If there is a government shutdown, Americans can expect national parks and museums to close but postal service will be unaffected.
• On Tuesday, each state’s health insurance exchange will go live as part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Through March 2014, people can begin signing up for health care coverage. The Obama administration does not expect a major flood of enrollments in the initial weeks of availability. The President said that the exchanges will open, even in the event of a government shutdown.
• The U.S. Bureaus of Labor Statistics will release the next jobs report on Friday. In recent months, the unemployment rate has dropped steadily to 7.3 percent in August. Since the Federal Reserve is using the jobless rate as the economic indicator to determine when it’ll raise interest rates, a decline rate is a good sign for savers. The central bank plans to hike rates when the unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent.
• Steven Banass
  Director of Quality Control
  truerate partners
  350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062
  Click to Call me Direct!
  www.trueratepartners.com

Mortgage Rates Fall to New 2-Month Lows

Mortgage Rates Fall to New 2-Month Lows

September 24, 2013

Mortgage rates were lower yet again, making for an astonishing 10th consecutive day without rates moving higher.  In the 13 days of rate sheets since the September 6th jobs report, rates have only risen once.  After only being able to claim 6-week lows yesterday, today's rate sheets are the best in at least 2 months (very close to 3 months).   Conforming, 30yr Fixed rates are now down to 4.375% for most efficient combination of closing costs and rate (best-execution) though several lenders have attractive buydowns to 4.25%.

With each passing day, we have more and more confirmation that the FOMC announcement and most recent Employment Situation Report marked and confirmed at least a short term turning point for interest rates.  This is the consolidation/correction that we'd been hoping for, and we're now a day or two into it. 

The future path of rates is fairly uncomplicated at the moment.  Markets are comfortable treating early September rates as near term highs as long as the economic data doesn't surprise to the upside.  That means that the fate of rates is tied to the economic reports that come out most mornings.  Stronger data will gradually persuade investors that the Fed will reduce the pace of bond buying sooner than later.

On some small scale, that was a risk this morning, but Consumer Confidence came in slightly weaker than forecast, and rates continued to improve. We'll face similar risks with tomorrow's data, but it will  either take a concerted effort from several reports or a strong Employment Situation report on Oct 4 to completely dash the dreams of this low-rate rebellion.  Between now and then we'll likely see some ups and downs, as opposed to the exclusively flat-to-sideways bias we've had since Sep 6th

Contact me today!

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

Click to Call me Direct!

www.trueratepartners.com

To Rent or Buy? There’s More to It Than Money

After you have thoroughly researched the financial issues of the rent-versus-buy decision, let’s look at the issue from a different perspective, one involving emotional factors and personal preferences that collectively determine the impact of your decision on your quality of life. These “non-financial” issues are based on your personality, abilities and values.

They require careful consideration, beginning with this question: what attributes about the place you live in are most important to you? (If you haven’t yet researched the rent-vs-buy decision, see To Rent or Buy? The Financial Issues – Part 1.)

Environment: City Vs. Suburbs

The environment you choose to reside in plays a major role in your quality of life. Consider your personality. Do you like the character of the city, with its nightlife, quaint cafés and diverse cultures, or do you prefer the safety, conformity, green space and free parking in suburbia? Do you prefer to walk to work, take the subway or ride the train? How important is privacy, and how far do you like to live from your neighbors?

If you can afford only those properties in environments that do not fit your preferences, you need to think about whether you are willing to forgo these preferences for the sake of owning a place.

Amenities versus Customization

Dollar for dollar, renting generally offers a substantially greater number and variety of amenities than buying. Consider, for example, the number of homes that come with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, basketball court and on-site gym. If you’re looking to have these amenities in your private residence, get ready to spend a lot of money. Upscale apartment buildings, found in nearly every city, offer such options at a comparatively lower monthly rent than a mortgage for a property with the same attributes. On the other side of coin, there are affordable homes with private outdoor spaces that you can customize to your liking. There aren’t many apartment buildings that come with acres of property in the country that will let you do your own landscaping, keep horses or grow a garden.

Flexibility Vs. Stability

Renting a place to live gives you significantly more freedom to get up and go at a moment’s notice. The financial consequences of breaking a lease are minimal and can be addressed by simply writing a check. Homeowners wanting to leave their current residence face the much more complicated process of selling their property. The mortgage still needs to be paid and the grass still needs to get cut while you are waiting to find a buyer. Unless money is no object, the transition to a new place of residence is likely to take months, not days. On the other hand, with the flexibility of renting comes also some instability. The landlord can always raise the rent or ask you to move before you are ready to do so. If you own a house and make the payments, you can stay as long as you desire.

Personalized Aesthetics Vs. Less Work

Buying a house gives you the opportunity to choose a unique and distinct architectural style and to personalize it. But this freedom comes with the responsibility of keeping up with maintenance and repairs. Homeowners simply can’t avoid the need to cut the grass and fix leaky faucets. If you prefer to spend your weekends relaxing in the park instead of wandering the aisles at the local hardware store, you might want to think twice about buying a home – unless of course you can budget a substantial amount of money to hire some help.

Although renting gives you no control over exterior aesthetics, you don’t have to worry about dealing with wear and tear on your residence or problems resulting from bad construction. Renting still gives you plenty of opportunity to choose furnishings and decorate your interior environment in a manner that suits your style. And, as a renter, all you have to do when something goes wrong is notify your landlord.

Emotional Satisfaction Vs. Less Worry

Homeownership is often called “the American dream“. There’s just something emotionally appealing about putting down roots, getting involved in the community and having a place to call your own. Of course, homeowners also need to worry about the long-term character of the neighborhood and keep up with maintenance in order to sustain property values. If you’re simply looking for a place to rest between days at work and nights hitting the town, renting may be the perfect answer. Just keep paying the rent and let somebody else do all the worrying.

A Personal Decision

Unlike the financial aspects of homeownership, the aspects that have a bearing on your lifestyle and values cannot be calculated online with some mathematical formula. If you can make the rent payments or qualify for the mortgage, you can live anywhere that you want to live. But buying a home is a decision you should take some time to consider, determining how its location, amenities and need for repairs will affect your lifestyle and general emotional satisfaction.

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

DIRECT:  (224)-374-1470www.trueratepartners.com

10 Must-Know Money Moves for 30-Somethings

Your thirties… it’s a time when the stresses of life become real. You’re probably dealing with a new family, balancing a career, while memories of your partying days are fading fast.

It’s unavoidable that certain financial responsibilities come with this next chapter in your life, and we’ve highlighted ten of the most important.

1. Understand the retirement vehicles

While many twenty-somethings may have overlooked socking money away for retirement (as they’ll never get that old!), it’s extremely important to start thinking of your golden years in your thirties. Most Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement, and starting early is the surefire way to grow your nest egg.

Knowing the different retirements accounts(e.g., traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), etc.) at your disposal will help to maximize how you save for your future.

2. Forget spontaneous spending

Remember the time you booked a flight to Mexico on a whim? Most likely, you didn’t save for the trip and it cost you a pretty penny.

It’s time to hunker down and create savings goals (see number three below), instead of putting everything on your credit card and worrying about paying it off later.

3. Maximize the savings

Growing up with a passbook savings account as a child was a great way to start learning to save at a young age. As a 20-something, the savings account did not get much attention because the active lifestyle left little to be saved in the first place. But now, as the savings start to accumulate, you’ll see that the big bank isn’t paying much interest on your deposits.

It’s time to look at online savings accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and other deposits accounts to grow your savings. Don’t forget strategies such as CD ladders to put these deposit vehicles to greater use.

4. Realize debt is a big deal

By this time, if you haven’t paid off your college loans, it’s time to increase your payments. Paying just enough to cover the interest is not an option anymore, as you have many other financial responsibilities to think about.

Paying more than the minimum payment is a requirement to eliminating credit card debt. For larger loans such as student loans, car loans and mortgages, you’ll be surprised how much an extra payment per year can reduce the lifetime cost of the loans.

5. Identify the money leaks

You’ve heard it before from financial experts on TV and online: create a budget! There’s a reason why this advice is so strongly advocated — tracking where you are spending your money is extremely important, as it can pinpoint spending problems.

Cutting back on certain expenses, like eating out or clothes shopping, can help curve spending. The goal is to find the problem areas and fix it, so you can save more. Withpersonal financial management tools, you don’t have to do much work to keep a close eye on your spending habits.

6. Investment-portfolio rebalancing

If you were reluctant to open an investment account in your twenties, now is the time to start one. Time is the one important factor in building a nest egg, so the earlier you start, the better.

Over time, your investments will rise and fall in value, causing a change in the risk of your overall portfolio. If stocks were doing well recently, you’ll find that stocks will make up a larger percentage of your portfolio. You’ll want to rebalance that risk by selling some stocks and buying more bonds.

Take a look at your portfolio every quarter or every six months to see if you need to rebalance. You can eliminate this financial task by investing in target-date (or life cycle) funds, which automatically rebalances themselves.

7. Minimize unnecessary fees

Fees on financial accounts can add up over the long term, and if you’re in your thirties, paying for unnecessary fees should be a thing of the past. Overdraft fees, late fees, brokerage fees, mutual fund fees and ATM fees are just some of the costs that can be avoided by creating account alerts, looking for account alternatives and automating payments.

Review each fee that you incur and research the available options to mitigate or eliminate that fee.

8. Create an emergency fund

As life gets more hectic, it also gets more expensive. Not saving for an emergency fundcan really hurt you financially. Even if you only put aside $100 a month, be sure you’re making this a priority.

Many Americans are left to deal with a mountain of debt after being hit with an unforeseen accident, emergency or tragedy.

9. Think about ways you can make more money

Whether it’s supplementing your income, or being savvy enough to ask for a raise — it’s time to think about how you can increase your take-home pay.

When it comes to a choice between cutting out the things you love (your daily cup of coffee, those expensive haircuts), most people would probably rather increase their income.

10. Learn how to negotiate

Whether it’s negotiating lower closing costs for your first home, a higher salary or your cable TV subscription, brush up on this important skill.

Most people accept the fact that they must pay a certain price for items, when in fact you can just about negotiate anything. Someone responding with a strong “no” is probably the worst that can happen.

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

DIRECT:  (224)-374-1470

www.trueratepartners.com

Keep this Hand Guide to Mortgage Types - Truerate Partners Northbrook, Il

Keep this Hand Guide to Mortgage Types, and call me when you are READY! - Steve@truerate.us

Loan type/terms	Fixed rate mortgage 30 years	Fixed rate mortgage 15 years Fixed rate mortgage 20 years	Hybrid ARM	Traditional ARM	Balloon Mortgage
Rate changes	Never; fully fixed for entire term	Never; fully fixed for entire term	Usually after fixed period of 3, 5, 7 or 10 years, then annual change typical	Fully variable, typically changing at one-year intervals; some have shorter change intervals	Never; fully fixed for entire term
Benefits	Low, stable payment; usually easiest qualification	Stable payments; builds equity faster; lower total interest costs than 30-year term	Lower rates than fully fixed-rate mortgage; can sometimes borrow larger loan amount for same income	Can have lowest interest rates, but qualification may not depend upon today's interest rate	Often has lower interest rate/monthly payment over balloon period than fixed rate; similar to hybrid ARM
Drawbacks/Risks	Can have highest total interest cost over time; user may "buy" more rate stability than actually needed, increasing cost	Requires higher income to qualify; less affordable monthly payment; funds commited to payment cannot be used elsewhere	Stable payment for a number of years, then unpredictable; rates can jump by as much as 6 percentage points at first adjustment	Payments fluctuate at each rate change; unpredictable, rates can change as much as 2 percentage points at each adjustment	Loan fully due and payable when balloon period ends; must be paid off or refinanced in unknown market conditions
Alternative strategy	Consider Hybrid ARM with appropriate fixed period	Consider 30-year term and prepaying loan to preserve cash-flow flexibility	Consider Fixed rate mortgage or longest possible fixed period, if loan hold period not known	Consider Hybrid ARM to ameliorate rate and payment risks for a given period	Consider Hybrid ARM to ensure continued loan availability
These may be useful for…	Purchasing a home; first-time homebuyers; refinancing to improve cash flow/lower payment	Refinancing to lower total interest cost; retiring mortgage more quickly; building or rebuilding equity more quickly	Purchasing or refinancing when time horizon is seven years or shorter, and where borrower can handle increase in monthly payments	Purchasing or refinancing when interest rates are near top of cycle, and are likely to fall, or sale or refinance is anticipated within three years	Purchasing or refinancing when time horizon is three years or longer and home will be sold prior to end of balloon period
Consider if	Buying or refinancing a home and planning on owning for longer than 10 years	Buying second home; refinancing to build equity; paying off mortgage before life event (retirement, etc)	Buying a home and expect to move before fixed period ends, or know income will rise to offset payment risk, even in worst-case scenario	Buying or refinancing when income can handle frequent payment changes and worst-case scenario for rates over a four-year period	Buying a home and expect to move before balloon period ends, or have resources to pay off mortgage if refinance not available
When shopping, ask about	"Full cost" vs. "No cost" refinances, prepaying loan to shorten term if desired	If 20-year term makes payment too high, whether 25-year term is available	Interest rate caps, for first and subsequent adjustments, worst-case scenario	A history of the Index the loan is keyed off, margin and caps	Whether or not there is any built-in refinancing option when the balloon period ends

BBB Complaint Free Award for TrueRate Partners Northbrook, IL. A Mortgage Company You should know!

A Picture is worth a THOUSAND Words !

Try our Truerate Partners Illinois Dream Home Search Engine - FREE!

The Truerate Partners Illinois Dream Home Search Engine - FREE

                                           ---> Start Here <---

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

DIRECT:  (224)-374-1470

www.trueratepartners.com

Consequences of Maxing Out Your Credit Card

There are over 600 million credit cards held by U.S. consumers and the average credit card debt per household averages about $16,000 according to CreditCards.com.

Just because your card company offers you a $5,000 limit, doesn’t mean that you have to come close or exceed this amount.

Some of this debt can be a reflection of carrying a high credit card balance or maxing out on credit card purchases. With the average credit card holder owning 3.5 cards, it’s important to manage and keep track of purchases made with your card, so you don’t go over your credit card limit or cap.

Consequences

If for some reason you are nearing your credit card limit or if you go over your limit, there are dire consequences. You should be aware and prepared for the penalties and fees that will incur. When you max out on your card, you owe a debt to the credit card company and you’re expected to pay it.

There are various reasons why you shouldn’t max out your credit card. First off, you won’t be able to use your card at any time once you push your card to the limit. You will need to pay off a portion of the balance in order for you to use the card again. Some companies will close or put a freeze on the account all together, requiring you to pay the entire amount in full in order to use the card again.

You can bet on the fact that your credit score will be affected and will drop. The majority of you credit score is based on how much “available” credit you use.

Thirty percent of an individual’s FICO score is affected by what happens on the card. If you had good credit before you applied for the card, that will surely change the course of things, when you max out your card.

If you try to refinance a mortgage loan, apply for educational loans or attain additional credit, the maxed out card will show up on your credit report which look bad on your part and can determine if you are a risk or not.

At the lender’s discretion, they can charge a default rate if you max out. These rates can vary depending on the company and can rise as high as 30% or more depending on the balance, which could spell disaster for your repayment plans.

Depending on your credit cap, if you’re paying the minimum balance, the repayment can take up to a few years. The balance can include finance and interest charges that accrue along with over-limit fees which can balloon your balance. Don’t miss any payments or pay late under any circumstances.  This may increase your minimum payment amount and the lender can raise your interest rates which will affect your overall credit score.

What you can do

You can always choose to pay the balance in full; again this is depending on how much the balance is.

The best way to prevent going over your credit card limit is to stop the spending and create a budget in advance and establish where and when you want to spend your money. You can also sign up for email or text alerts to tell you when you’re about to go over your limit.

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

DIRECT:  (224)-374-1470

www.trueratepartners.com

College Grads: How to Manage Your Finances This Summer

Congratulations, you’ve graduated from college! As a college grad, there are many transitions you’ll be making into the “real world,” now that you’re done with 16 years of schooling. (Sixteen!)

Whether you have something lined up immediately or you plan on exploring options, it’s important to understand your finances now that you’re finished with undergraduate studies. You’re a college grad, you have no excuse not to!

For those going to grad school

If you have student loans, you won’t need to starting repayment until you’re done with grad school. However, if you plan on taking out new loans for grad school, consider your options. If you took out loans for undergraduate studies and you didn’t pick the best loans (read: they had high interest rates), now is the time to really learn more about the loans you’re taking out. It’s in your best interest to find loans with the lowest interest rates and how you can qualify for them.

Keep in mind, graduate school programs offer less financial aid than undergraduate ones. Perkins loans, for example, are available for grad students and they’re government-backed loans, usually one of the best options because it has the lowest interest rate at 5%. However, only those who demonstrate serious financial need will qualify for these loans and how many Perkins dollars are available to you depends on the school you attend, which goes for all federally-backed loans. So if financial aid is a priority, make sure you do research on the kinds of loan amounts available to you from the schools you’re interested in attending.

Find more information on the different kinds of student loans available in our Guides.

For those still looking for a job

Don’t panic. The economy is still in bad shape, and despite it being less horrible than it was 5 years ago, it’s still recovering at a very sluggish pace. Finding a job is not the same process as it was years ago, and it’ll take perseverance and patience. Don’t beat yourself up for not being a nab a job as fast as you’d like, and don’t compare yourself incessantly with others who have.

If money is tight, absolutely consider moving home while you get it all figured out. If possible, get a job that gives you flexibility to look for others, so you can earn some money in the meantime. Also, consider doing odds-and-ends on the side to earn extra money, like picking up work on Elance.com or decluttering and selling your items. (Don’t take the “Arrested Development” route of earning side money though!)

While it may be harder to figure out a budget when your financial circumstances can change day-to-day, budget anyway. Figure out how much you earn with your paying job, and how much side income you can also earn. Make goals for yourself to stay motivated.

If you have student loans, look into deferment options or income-based repayment plans. For certain plans, you may qualify for $0 monthly payments if your income is low enough.

Update your LinkedIn, post your resume on Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed.com, and give Craigslist a browse. Attend networking events, career panels, and reach out to people for coffee to learn more about their career processes. Most importantly, stay productive and positive.

For those starting their first full-time jobs

Congratulations are in order again! You’re going to start on another chapter of your life and if you have been lucky enough not to have to deal with money or finances outside of maintaining a part-time job during college, now is the time when you will.

Now that you’ll be starting your first job, you have no excuse not to learn about how to manage your finances. Have you set up a bank account? Do you have credit cards? Do you plan on contributing to savings? Retirement?

While it may be overwhelming, we’re here to help. If you didn’t have a bank account while you were in college, set one up now. Consider what you want out of your bank — online checking, robust mobile banking, no-fee ATMs — and narrow down a list of options. Look up a bank and check out our bank report card pages for an overview on how well banks are doing, and read some of the comments from bank customers.

Now that you’re hired and you know how much you’ll be earning, figure out your living expenses. Even if budgeting is not your thing, list out all your anticipated costs (rent, utilities, food) and plan for the payments you’ll be making (credit card? student loans?). Set some savings goals and contribute as much as you can. Even if you’re only working with rough figures, once you have all those figures on your list, you’ll be able to see how much money you’ll have left over, month to month. The first few months of working with a budget might be tough, but after you have a better sense of your working lifestyle, managing your money will be much easier.

If you haven’t used a credit card throughout college (bravo, my friend), it might be a good time to apply for one, just so you can build your credit history. Think about your lifestyle and get a card that fits what you like to do: do you eat out a lot? Get a card that has better reward options for dining out. Thinking of traveling a lot? Earn points towards travel. Check out our credit cards section to compare some of the best cards on the market.

“If you live in bigger cities like Los Angeles, New York City or Chicago, it’s actually cheaper to own a home than to rent,”

If you’re in the market for buying a new house to call your humble abode, now may be the best time to get in. With rates as low as 3.5% for first time home buyers  coupled with other programs which can assist in offsetting the cost of a down payment, buyers can find their way towards the American dream.

According to a recent survey conducted by the MacArthur Foundation, surprisingly 57% of respondents felt that buying a home is not as popular as renting. With that being said, the path to homeownership can still save you more money when looking at the long-term outlook.

In a regular housing market, a homeowner can expect to build equity over time as they invest money into their house. “For first time home buyers there are a lot of programs out there to help them. The best program out right now is the NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) purchase program that is better than any bank because it’s doubling back so they get lower rates than what banks can offer.”“Ninety percent of the time owning a home is cheaper than renting when you look at the amount of money you’re spending,” said Jaron, an employee for Bank of America who works in the mortgage/foreclosure department. “Right now we’re in a down market and one of the reasons home ownership is better is because of the tax write off,” he adds.

NACA is a non-profit organization committed to building strong communities through affordable housing. There is no down payment, closing costs, fees and no requirement for perfect credit. “If you live in bigger cities like Los Angeles, New York City or Chicago, it’s actually cheaper to own a home than to rent,” he concludes.

There are other industry experts in the real estate sector who strongly believe and push for the idea of homeownership. “If you want to see your money work for you, I would definitely recommend buying a home,” said Mike Jones, licensed real estate salesperson for Rapid Realty.

“Let’s look at it like this; if it’s a 2-bedroom apartment for $2,400 that you don’t own, in twelve months you’re looking at spending at least $27,000 a year which you will never get back. In five years that’s about $100,000, and times that by another five years, that’s almost $500,000. That amount will go into someone else’s pockets, that could go towards your mortgage.

“Down the line you could own your own home and have some assets.”  he continued.

Even though renting is still the bottom line for many consumers, many still opt out of idea of owning a home for several reasons. “The reason why  renting is so popular is because people are too scared to take the risk of getting loans from banks or they feel they might not be qualified due to credit or income issues. Buyers should get in now because in a couple of years it may be harder to buy a house

Steven Banass

Director of Quality Control

truerate partners

350 Pfingsten Suite 103 l Northbrook, IL l 60062

DIRECT:  (224)-374-1470

www.trueratepartners.com

Truerate Partners Northbrook, Illinois and Chicago B.B.B. Shred it and Forget it day

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU®
NEWS RELEASE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Joyce, Better Business Bureau Serving Chicago & Northern Illinois, 312.245.2643; tjoyce@chicago.bbb.org

Better Business Bureau Free 'Shred It & Forget It' Event in Rockford and Chicago

Chicago, IL - April 11, 2013 - The Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois (BBB), in conjunction with various government agencies, invites consumers and businesses to protect their identities by shredding unwanted personal, financial or confidential documents for FREE at the annual "Shred It and Forget It" Shredder Day.

Chicago Event:

Saturday, June 22, 2013,

United Center

1901 W. Madison Street Lot E
Chicago, IL 60612
NEW TIME!!! 9:00am- 1:00pm (Gates close at 12:45pm)

Hosts of the annual event include the Better Business Bureau along with the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department, FBI, FTC, Illinois Attorney General's Office, and United States Postal Inspection Service. Shredding and recycling services will be provided by Acme Document Destruction, Beaver Shredding Inc., Chicago Shred Authority, Cintas Document Management, Shred-It, Inc., and Vintage Tech Recyclers.

As of January 1, 2012 the Electronic Products Recycling & Reuse Act requires people to recycle their electronic devices including televisions, monitors, printers and computers, rather than allow them to be disposed of in a landfill.

TVs, monitors, laptops, PCs, servers, data storage devices, printers, fax/copy machines, cell phones, VCRs, DVD players, video cameras and game consoles are among the types of electronic equipment that will be collected for recycling at the event. To learn more about the electronics you can recycle at this event, visit www.chicagoshreds.com      

Participants are asked to limit the material they want shred to 10 boxes of documents per vehicle. There will also be free home shredders given away during the event every 30 minutes. You can register online to win a free shredder at www.chicagoshreds.com

 

Representatives from the participating organizations will be available at "Shred It and Forget It" on June 22rd to offer guidelines for shredding documents and to answer questions about how to keep your personal information safe.     

Here are some suggestions for deciding how long to keep personal financial information:  

• A good rule of thumb is to keep all tax returns and supporting documentation for seven years. The IRS has three years from your tax-filing date to audit, and has six years to challenge a claim.
• Keep credit card statements for seven years if tax related expenses are documented.
• Keep paycheck stubs for one year. Be sure to cross reference the paycheck stub to the W-2 form.
• Be sure to keep bank statements and canceled checks for at least one year.
• Bills should be kept for one year or until the canceled check has been returned. Receipts for large ticket items should be kept for insurance purposes.
• Home improvement receipts should be kept for six years or permanently.
• Items such as birth certificates, social security cards, insurance policies, titles or wills should be kept permanently in a safety deposit box.
• If you are going to dispose of documents with sensitive information, be sure to SHRED!

More information about the "Shred It and Forget It" Shredder Day event can be found at www.chicagoshreds.com 

For more information on how to protect your identity, visit www.bbb.org