According to Wikipedia, a web based free encyclopedia, a Mortgage Calculator is “an automated tool that enables the user to quickly determine the financial implications of changes in one or more variables in a mortgage financing arrangement. The major variables include: loan principal balance, periodic interest rate, compound interest, number of payments per year, total number of payments and the regular payment amount”.

A mortgage calculator can be a very practical tool when buying a house. It’s not your typical calculator where you can resolve some mathematical equations. A mortgage calculator can give quick and reliable answers to the most savvy buyer. With this tool you can compare interest rates, costs, payment schedules and even play with the numbers, meaning, you can find out how much your monthly payment would be when you do a down payment/principal ratio equation and change the length of the loan by adding more dollars to your monthly payment.

How does a Mortgage Calculator work?

The equation to come up with numbers is not simple. I can write about it and try to explain, I’ve tried to understand it myself, and believe me it’s not an easy task. Why complicate yourself trying to come up with the numbers you need to make a decision on whether you can or you cannot afford the house you like? A mortgage calculator does all the work for you. The input information is key to determine your monthly payment. Mortgage calculators vary by manufacturer but most of them have a common denominator: the information you will need to provide, to come up with the results you are looking for.

For example: you will need to have a loan amount, an interest rate, the length of the mortgage and the home value. Added information that is also necessary is the following: annual taxes, annual insurance and annual PMI, short for private mortgage insurance. Now all of this information is very relevant when using a Mortgage calculator but the information that is essential in this process is the interest rate and the length of the loan. When you change this two variables, meaning you input a lower interest rate, then you will get a lower monthly payment. How much lower? well, that really depends on the amount of the loan.

I hope this information about Mortgage calculators is useful for you. Now the next question is, do you as a home buyer really need to have one or is this a tool more oriented to Real Estate Agents and Loan officers. Personally, I think the latter.

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You owe $50,000
Home value is : $100,000

50,000 / 100,000 = 50% LOAN TO VALUE (LTV)

Why will the bank take the risk to lend you the money?

First of all, we all know that the only reason banks are in business is because people need money. So banks are in the business to lend money and not just to protect your money in a bank account.
Think about it: if you have a bank account all you get in return for depositing your money there is 1.5%. In most cases the bank will not even charge anything to keep your account active. Have you ever wonder why banks don’t charge you for this service? Financial institutions will not charge because they are using your money to lend other people for a much higher interest rate. For example: You deposited in your bank account $10,000 and the bank offered you 1.5% APR (Annual Percentage Rate) that is $150 that you have made in a year to have your money in their bank. Now the bank will take your $10,000 and will lend it to your neighbor across the street for an APR of 14% to 29%. In dollars we are looking at the bank profiting from your money anywhere from $1,400 to $2,900 a year. What do you think, are banks in the wrong business?

How do mortgage lenders qualify homeowners to a home equity loan, HELOC?

First of all, we already know that the banks will calculate the LTV (loan to value) and make sure the LTV is as low as it can get, the lower the LTV the better deal it is for the mortgage lender.
The second step the bank will take is to look at your credit. Since home equity loans have higher risk for the banks because they are in second position they would want to make sure that you intent to pay the loan back and not default on the loan eventually. Good credit for banks is not necessarily 750 and above Fico score, you can have a lower fico score such as 680 or 650 and sill qualify for a home equity loan. Mortgage lenders are looking for stability in payments and spending. If you have good history in spending and paying back creditors and mortgage lenders you will qualify.
Alsothe interest rate that you get will depend on your credit score. The third step, in my opinion, is the most important one, which is that the main requisite to get approved for any loan is your income. Mortgage lenders want to know that you will pay back the loan and the interest. So if your income is high enough to pay back the loan and pay some other debt you might have, plus some expenses, then you will qualify for a home equity loan.

How do mortgage lenders calculate if your income is good enough to qualify?

In order for mortgage lenders to qualify your income to support the loan they will calculate the Debt to income ratio also known as (DTI). Mortgage lenders will look at all your expenses and divide it by your income then they will know if you can qualify for the home equity loan. For example: Your expenses are $2,000 every month, including credit cards debt, home mortgage, auto loan, personal loan and some other expenses you have. Your total income is $6,000 a month. What they do is: they take your expenses $2,000 and divided it by your income $6,000.

Monthly debt is $2,000
Monthly Income is $6,000

$2.000 / $6,000 = 33% (DTI)

I believe that 33% is a good deal to the bank, they know that you have enough cushion to repay their home equity loan so you are fine. Most mortgage lenders will require at least 45% DTI.
Why you should consider a Home equity Loan, HELOC?

I think that I should ask you the same question. You are a homeowner and there was a reason why you chose to become own a home. Yes owning a home is what society sees as the “American Dream” but also to invest in yourself rather than paying someone else’s investments. Now that you’re a homeowner you really don’t need to have many credit cards just to have some spending money. Credit cards interest rates are too high and they will lead you to a much bigger debt than you even know. Credit cards interest rates are as high as 33% and your home equity loan will not exceed 8% these days. For example: you used your credit card and spend $5,000 with an interest rate of 33% and on your neighbor accross the street took a loan for the same amount of money, but he used his home by getting a home equity loan with an interest rate of 8%.
Here are the two scenarios: you will have to pay back $5,000 + $1,650 (33%) = $6,650 in total and your neighbor will pay back $5,000 + $400 (8%) = $5,400. Your neighbor saved $1,250 because he used his home to get the money at a lower interest rate. If you want to save money and enjoy your home equity do it, but always remember to get a good interest rate and not settle for less then what you desrve.

Scenario No 1.

Loan Amount $5,000
Interest Rate 33% (1,650)
Total Payback Amount $6.650

Scenario No. 2

Loan Amount $5,000
Interest Rate 8% (400)
Total Payback Amount $5,400

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Purchase Order Finance summary:

Availability of funds. You get the funds necessary to execute the order and thereby honor your commitment. Your cash flow improves dramatically.

Various facilities. Many finance companies provide a receivables funding facility, which is linked to the purchase order finance facility. Funds are usually provided by making direct payments to your supplier, or by issuing a letter of credit, or by providing a supplier guarantee.

Direct payments to suppliers. Your suppliers are paid directly by the finance company. Typically up to 80% of the confirmed purchase cost can be paid. The remaining 20% minus the fees of the finance company are paid when your customer pays your invoice.

Issuing a Letter of Credit. Based on the provisions and governed by the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce, finance companies or Banks back the commitment of payment to the supplier by issuing a Letter of Credit.

Supplier Guarantee. Leading financial companies provide a commitment of payment to suppliers. This supplier guarantee is grounded in the availability of funds generated from the accounts receivables facility.

Single or Multiple transactions can be made. Once you deliver the goods, which are accepted by your customer, and proof thereof has been obtained, then typically up to 85% of the amount of the invoice can be advanced to you immediately. This funding can facilitate the execution of other transactions. Thus multiple transactions can be made with confidence.

Local reach. The buyer or the supplier may be located anywhere in the United States of America. For local purchase order finance, some finance companies give up to 80% of the amount of the PO order.

Global reach. Leading finance companies have a global reach and they can also fund overseas purchase orders. For overseas PO financing, usually a Letter of Credit is opened. The PO finance is generally obtained from the funds that are generated from the financing of the accounts receivables.

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Do you have clients that take 30 or more days to pay their invoices? Or, if you are a distributor, do you have clients that have placed large orders, depleting your capital resources? There are two trade finance tools that can help you in these instances. The first tool is called factoring financing. The second one is called purchase order financing.

Factoring Financing

Factoring is an ideal financing tool for companies that can’t afford to wait up to 60 days to get paid by clients. A factoring company can provide you with an advance of up to 85% on your slow paying receivables, providing you with working capital to pay employees and business expenses. Factoring is quick and can provide you with a payment within a day or so after invoicing.

Purchase Order Financing

PO financing is ideal for companies that resell goods to government or commercial clients. It can provide you with financing you need to deliver on your large orders. Purchase order funding works by providing you with funds to pay suppliers, enabling you to close more and larger sales. The transaction is settled once your customer pays for the goods.

Conclusion

Companies that need either domestic or import export financing can benefit from factoring and purchase order financing. And as opposed to traditional bank financing, both are relatively easy to obtain and can be set up in a few days.

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It’s all about attitude, enthusiasm and point of view regarding how to conduct your business. Can you make your own rules regarding how banks, commercial finance companies and other financial entities operate? Of course not. Can you make your own rules regarding how you utilize the financial recourses that are available to finance your business? Absolutely!

Here are three examples how to harness the power of accounts receivable financing sometimes with other types of financing to grow your B2B business.

Case Study One:

A Solar Energy Company that designed and supervised the installation of renewable energy systems was unable to obtain bank financing. They were one of the area’s lowest cost providers of solar panels, system design and supervision. One of their biggest assets was State Solar Tax Credits that are paid to homeowners who install the solar energy systems. An obligation from a State to a consumer is not within the definition of an account receivable. In other words, it could not be financed because it was not an obligation to a business. Using the art of possibility, the homeowners were persuaded to assign their solar tax credits to the Solar Energy Company. This transformed a consumer receivable into a commercial accounts receivable. Voila! The Solar Energy Company received accounts receivable financing it needed to grow.

Case Study Two:

An individual purchased an Importing Company that had been financed with a bank’s SBA loan. As collateral for the loan, the bank placed a UCC1 filing on the accounts receivable and inventory of the business. UCC refers to the Uniform Commercial Code in effect throughout the United States of America. In some respects, it simplifies the process of lending, selling and borrowing nationally. In other ways it is very complex. A UCC1 filing by a bank usually prevents any further financing because there is no collateral left to be financed. It is similar to a first mortgage loan on a house. If you have a 95% loan on your house, no other financing is available on the house because there is no equity to lend on. Using the art of possibility, the Importing Company was successful in convincing the bank to subordinate their UCC1 filing to another commercial lender’s UCC1. The Importing Company convinced the bank that it would be mutually beneficial to lower the bank’s UCC1 lien to a secondary position to allow a commercial finance company to offer new accounts receivable financing and inventory financing. Voila! The Importing business has a new credit line available for growth. It is now more profitable and the bank is more likely to be repaid. This is a win-win situation.

Case Study Three:

A start-up Clothing Company involved in manufacturing, distributing and designing T-shirts landed a substantial purchase order for their product. The product was to be made in China, and the Clothing Company lacked sufficient funds to pay for the costs of manufacture and distribution. Using the art of possibility, the Clothing Company obtained a letter of credit to guarantee the Chinese factory of payment, purchase order financing to pay for the T- shirts upon delivery, and accounts receivable financing to pay the purchase order company upon delivery of the goods to the customer in the US.

Accounts receivable financing can help your B2B business realize the art of possibility for growth and profits. Voila!

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

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If you have taken credit to buy a new home or car, or personal loan, then it is necessary for you to check the interest rate on regular basis. If at some point of time you find that the loan rate is getting cheaper, then it is wiser to get the exiting loan refinanced. Some of the advantages of getting your existing mortgage refinanced are:

* Lower Interest rate/ Mortgage rate relief: If you have, plans to stay in your existing home for years, then refinancing will help you lower monthly mortgage payment.

* Many homeowners choose to go in for short-term mortgagee. This will help them in paying the principal amount only. Hence, you save money and by the time you retire, you get more savings.

* With the help of cash out refinance you can tap the equity accumulated in your home. This can be used for paying other debts, pay for your college fees, make home improvements, or pay for other credits you have taken.

* Refinancing helps to save dollars in long term

* Here with the increasing interest rates you can convert your adjustable rate mortgage to fixed one. This will help you to save money and have peace of mind.

But before refinancing your needs, it is wiser to look at the other side of the coin. When you get loan refinanced, then you might have to incur certain expenses ( like fees for making the documents, etc.) If you have the motive to pay low monthly payment for loan, then see that some saving also takes palce. This will help you to overcome refinancing cost well.

Second thing you should consider is taxes. When you pay interest on mortgage, some tax is deducted. Hence, consult a tax advisor before you plan for refinancing. For more information about the same you can visit mortgage loan refinancing services provider as well.

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I have been advising business owners for over 25 years, and I have encountered many business financing situations which have involved commercial lenders that I would not recommend as a result. These problematic situations have especially involved commercial mortgage loans, business cash advance situations and unsecured working capital loans. As a direct result of these experiences and daily conversations with other commercial loan professionals, I do in fact believe that there are a number of commercial lenders that should be avoided. This conclusion is typically based on more than one negative experience or an obvious pattern of lending abuses.

I have published many commercial loan articles which are designed to assist commercial borrowers in avoiding business loan problems. One of the most serious business financing situations is a commercial lender that causes business loan problems for their commercial borrowers on a recurring basis. It is particularly this type of commercial lender which prudent commercial borrowers should be prepared to avoid unless viable alternative business financing options do not realistically exist.

Here are a few examples of why certain commercial lenders should be avoided.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 1 – Yes or No?

I have published an article which discusses the tendency of many banks to say “YES” when they mean “NO”. Such banks will typically attach onerous business financing conditions to commercial loans instead of simply declining the loan. Business owners should explore other commercial loan alternatives before accepting business financing terms that put them at a competitive disadvantage.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 2 – The Commercial Appraisal Process

For commercial real estate loans, commercial appraisals are an unavoidable part of the commercial loan underwriting process. The commercial appraisal process is lengthy and expensive, so avoiding commercial lenders which have displayed a pattern of problems and abuses in this area will benefit the commercial borrower by saving them both time and money.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 3 – Think Outside the Bank

In smaller metropolitan markets, it is not unusual for a dominant commercial lender to impose harsher commercial loan terms than would typically be seen in a more competitive commercial financing market. Such commercial lenders routinely take advantage of a relative lack of other commercial lenders in their local market. An appropriate response by commercial borrowers is to seek out non-bank business financing options. It is neither necessary nor wise for commercial borrowers to depend only upon local traditional banks for working capital and business cash advance solutions. For most business financing situations, a non-local and non-bank commercial lender is likely to provide improved commercial financing terms because they are accustomed to competing aggressively with other commercial lenders.

BUSINESS FINANCING STRATEGIES AND COMMERCIAL LENDERS TO AVOID EXAMPLE NUMBER 4 – Meaningless Pre-approvals

Commercial borrowers frequently want a commercial lender to approve their commercial loan at the earliest possible point. The assumed benefit to this early business loan approval is that it will enable the commercial borrower to make other business plans which depend on the business financing being finalized.

Because an ethical commercial lender will treat any form of an approval very seriously, commercial borrowers should expect that a meaningful version of such an approval will not be realistically possible in just two or three days. Nevertheless there are commercial lenders who provide their own special version of a pre-approval within just a few days of receiving preliminary application information. Because this abbreviated approach to pre-approvals almost always produces unexpected surprises for the commercial borrower as the business financing process goes forward, commercial borrowers need to be extremely wary of any commercial lenders that take this approach.

Why do some commercial lenders provide such meaningless pre-approvals? There are two likely reasons. (1) To motivate the commercial borrower to stop considering other potential commercial lenders. (2) To provide a pre-approval that is similar to a structure prevalent with residential mortgage loans. Since many business loans are arranged by residential mortgage brokers who are frequently unfamiliar with common business financing procedures, this reason will be especially applicable when dealing with commercial lenders that specialize in dealing with residential mortgage brokers.

Copyright 2005-2007 AEX Commercial Financing Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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As of February 20th, 2007, the maximum amount for this “conforming” loan is $417,000 for a single unit property, $533,850 for a 2-unit property, $645,300 for a 3-unit property and $801,950 for a 4-unit property. The conventional limit for second loans is $208,500 and all loan limits are 50% higher for properties in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These limits change periodically with the real estate market.

Most lenders are willing to lend over and above these conforming amounts, but the larger jumbo loan amount translates into a larger risk for the lender should you default on the loan. Simply stated, the more the bank lends, the more it stands to lose if something goes wrong and they need to foreclose on that property.

Because the lender is taking an increase in risk with the size of the loan, they will typically charge a higher interest rate than they would on a loan that is within the “conventional” loan limits. All lenders vary in the premium they add for jumbo loans, but a good rule of thumb is to expect to pay an interest rate about 0.5% higher than you would for an otherwise identical conforming loan.

With conventional lenders, these jumbo loan amounts are set in stone, particularly if they are backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In other words, a mortgage for $417,000 from one lender at 6% will almost always be about 6.5% for a loan of $417,001 from the same lender.

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We live in the land of opportunity. You do not need a college degree or pedigree to become an entrepreneur. All you need is the ability to organize, manage, and assume the risks of a business with a sufficient amount of cash to fund the business.

Borrowing money is the American paradigm for success for individuals and for businesses. According the American Heritage Dictionary, a “paradigm is:

1. One that serves as a pattern or model.

2. A set or list of all the inflectional forms of a word or of one of its grammatical categories: the paradigm of an irregular verb.

3. A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline.

Usage Note: Paradigm first appeared in English in the 15th century, meaning “an example or pattern,” and it still bears this meaning today: Their company is a paradigm of the small high-tech firms that have recently sprung up in this area. For nearly 400 years paradigm has also been applied to the patterns of inflections that are used to sort the verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech of a language into groups that are more easily studied. Since the 1960s, paradigm has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework, as when Nobel Laureate David Baltimore cited the work of two colleagues that “really established a new paradigm for our understanding of the causation of cancer.” Thereafter, researchers in many different fields, including sociology and literary criticism, often saw themselves as working in or trying to break out of paradigms. Applications of the term in other contexts show that it can sometimes be used more loosely to mean “the prevailing view of things.” The Usage Panel splits down the middle on these nonscientific uses of paradigm. Fifty-two percent disapprove of the sentence The paradigm governing international competition and competitiveness has shifted dramatically in the last three decades.”

For more dictionary information please see: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

What does this have to do with accounts receivable financing?

Banks exist primarily to loan money to people and businesses, on a safe and sound basis according to federal banking regulations. The banking paradigm for businesses involves offering checking and savings accounts to take money in, and offering various types of business and personal loans to “get the money out”. Their goal is to make a profit on your cash for the bank. To qualify for these loans you have to prove, to the bank’s satisfaction, that you have the clear and present ability to repay these loans. If you are a startup company, a company that is growing very rapidly, or an established company that is affected by a sudden negative event, the banking paradigm may not work for you. Perhaps, you need to think differently; perhaps your perspective is “inside the banking paradigm box” and you need an alternative.

What is inside the box thinking? According to ‘Thinking Outside the Box’? By Ed Bernacki Published April 2002:

“Thinking inside the box means accepting the status quo. For example, Charles H. Duell, Director of the US Patent Office, said, “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” That was in 1899: clearly he was in the box!

In-the-box thinkers find it difficult to recognize the quality of an idea. An idea is an idea. A solution is a solution. In fact, they can be quite pigheaded when it comes to valuing an idea. They rarely invest time to turn a mediocre solution into a great solution.”

Mr. Bernacki distinguishes “inside the box” thinking vs. “thinking outside the box” as follows:

“Outside the Box

Thinking outside the box requires different attributes that include:

• Willingness to take new perspectives to day-to-day work.

• Openness to do different things and to do things differently.

• Focusing on the value of finding new ideas and acting on them.

• Striving to create value in new ways.

• Listening to others.

• Supporting and respecting others when they come up with new ideas.

Out-of-the box thinking requires openness to new ways of seeing the world and a willingness to explore. Out-of-the box thinkers know that new ideas need nurturing and support. They also know that having an idea is good but acting on it is more important. Results are what count.”

If your B2B business does not have enough bank credit to expand at the rate you need, or if your B2B business cannot take advantage of growth opportunities because of lack of funds, you may need to think differently: think outside the box. Think of using the virtually unlimited financing that is available from accounts receivable financing.

To think differently, you may need to overcome the two most common “inside the box” concerns regarding accounts receivable financing.

Objection: “Our customers will not want do business with our company if they know we are dealing with a commercial financing company to finance our accounts receivable”.

Think Differently: Accounts receivable financing allows you to offer credit terms, like the bank. Many businesses prefer to resell your products or services and earn a profit before they have to pay you for your product or service. Accounts receivable financing generally involves notification to your customers of the arrangement to “manage” your receivables; and verification from your customers that your product or services were “satisfactory”. From your customer’s point of view, someone in their account’s payable department is changing the “pay to” portion of their check to the address of a commercial finance company. Usually the check is cut payable to you and sent to a P.O. Box of the commercial finance company. In certain situations, notification may not be required at all; this is called non-notification factoring.

Objection: “Accounts receivable financing is too costly”.

Think Differently: Accounts receivable financing is a paradigm for success; you will have the necessary working capital you need to fulfill larger orders by accelerating your cash flow. You will need a gross margin of 20% or more, in general, for this type of financing to make economic sense. There is an inverse relationship between the cost of financing and the size of your credit facility: the larger the credit facility, the lower the cost. In other words, the fees and rates will be less for $500,000 per month than for $25,000 per month.

The bottom line: Accounts Receivable Financing- Think Differently! is intended to help you think “outside the box” and become more profitable. One tried and true paradigm for achieving this result as an entrepreneur with a B2B business is accounts receivable financing.

Copyright © 2007 Gregg Financial Services

www.greggfinancialservices.com

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Once you have submitted your income proof, your lender will verify your income and also your assets, both movable and immovable. For this, you need to submit a list of all bank account details, account statements, list of stocks, investments, and saving bonds, etc.

To judge your eligibility for a mortgage loan, your lender will also verify your credit history. For this you need to submit copies of credit card statements for the past six months, a list of all consumer debts, which includes furniture, student loans, car loans, and other installment loans with the creditor’s contact numbers and addresses. Other than these, you also need to show evidences or copies of rental payments or mortgage.

Have these documents ready and get your home mortgage loan at the earliest. You should, however, keep the fact in mind that requirement for documents that you need to submit might vary from lender to lender. Hence, ask your lender well in advance about what document take into account that different lenders may have different information requirements. For this reason, ask your lender well in advance about what document you would have to produce.

Myself webmaster of www.castlemortgagegroup.com dealing in all type of mortgage loans in Florida, Georgia & Alabama with home equity loans, Florida Home Loans, refinance loans, constructions loans.

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