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Every year, misinformed homebuyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. Below you’ll find the top ten ways to avoid becoming a victim yourself.

1.Take your time and shop around. You should be able to compare prices and houses. If a lender or broker tells you they are your only chance to get a loan or owning a home, don’t do business with them.

2.Do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.

3.Be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to.

4.Do not be talked into lying about lie about your income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.

5.Watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.

6.Be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases.

7.Don’t strip your home’s equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you.

8.Beware of false appraisals.

9.Do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.

10.Get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you’re being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin.

David Brumbaugh is the owner and operator of EZandFree.com. EZandFree.com provides consumers with online tools for easily obtaining free competitive Mortgage and Loan Quotes. It also serves as a mechanism by which Mortgage Brokers can obtain legitimate qualified leads from people who need their services.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Student Loan consolidation can be the best friend of any student who has just completed their course and graduated from their college or university. Most students who just come out of their college and universities find it very hard to maintain their monthly expenses as they have a bigger burden to repay their student loans taken out during their academic years and for those students who had relied on these loans heavily, consolidation can be an even better option.

Private loans normally have huge interest rates compared to that of federal loans and given the fact that a private loan repayment is hanging over your head when you are about to complete your graduation can be much more worrisome. Though a student can consolidate their private loan through a federal loan but that is somewhat impossible to get for the majority of students. However reducing the amount of monthly loan repayments can be a huge relief if the student acts accordingly to get the loan amount reduced or repayments period gets increased significantly by the lender company.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Millions of Americans out there have paid off significant credit card debt. Now it’s your turn. In short, your get-out-of-debt goal is to assess, organize, attack, and then lather, rinse, repeat until those balances are down to $0.

Don’t worry; we’re with you every step of the way.

Here’s your six-step action plan for getting your debt under control. To help you, we’ve borrowed several worksheets from the Fool’s old personal finance service, TMF Green Light. As you’ll see, most of the steps have corresponding worksheets to guide you through the finish line. Take it at your own pace, and check off each step with a thick-line Sharpie when you’re done. (Trust us, it’s satisfying.)

1. Stop using your cards.
The last thing you want to do with credit card debt is add to it. Take all your credit cards out of your wallet or purse and leave them at home - safely out-of-reach behind a major appliance, or trapped in an ice block in your freezer. (You may want to keep one for emergencies. And no, a really great sandal sale or a cool new Bluetooth-enabled gadget does not qualify as an emergency.) Continue Reading →

Popularity: 33% [?]

A typical scenario for someone who is interested in consolidating their credit cards is someone who has spent foolishly and developed financially poor habits and wants someone to bail them out. And when you search online, you will find tons of ads and offers promising that they can help you consolidate your debt and save anywhere from 40-60% and lower your interest rates. Make sure you do your research before you sign on the dotted line. This article will provide tips on how to find the best ways to consolidate your credit card debt. Continue Reading →

Popularity: 34% [?]

You need to do some homework before you shop around to get a debt consolidation loan:

1. Gather the most recent copy of all of the bills which you are considering to consolidate.
2. Note down the minimum monthly payment, the interest rate, the monthly finance charges, the due dates, the total balance due, and your credit limits.
3. Add up your total balance due among all of your cards. Add up your total minimum monthly payments. Add up your total available credit (if applicable).

Now that you are armed with this information, you can shop around to get a debt consolidation loan. When shopping around for one, try to get the answers to the following questions, to see whether what they offer you will be beneficial to you or not:

1. How much is their fee for their service?
2. By how much of a percentage or how much of a dollar amount will your total monthly payments go down?
3. What is your overall interest rate going to be for your new monthly payment?
4. How will getting a debt consolidation loan impact your credit score?
5. How long will it take to pay off your debt compared to how long it would have taken if you were to just continue on the path you are now?
6. How soon will you be able to apply for new credit in the future?
7. Will your accounts with your current creditors be closed?
8. What happens if you default on your debt consolidation loan payments?
9. Can you renegotiate the terms of your consolidation loan agreement at a later time?

Need expert advice for your specific debt-situation? Get a free, no-obligation debt consolidation consultation today and you can soon be on your way to enjoying peace of mind once again.

By Hyder Khan

Popularity: 34% [?]