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Rents seen rising next year as vacancies fall, economy improves

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:12:10 +0000

(Source: By Jim Gallagher, St. Louis Post-Dispatch) –Apartment rents are going up and vacancy rates going down, making for happy landlords in St. Louis, and not-so-happy tenants.

The local apartment business, which took only a minor hit during the Great Recession, is back on the upswing.

Rents in the St. Louis area are 6 percent above the level of four years ago, at the recession’s start. Vacancy rates are lower: an estimated 6.2 percent in December as opposed to 6.8 percent in December 2007,

Buying Here : What sold or didn’t around Pittsburgh in 2011?

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:00:10 +0000

(Source: By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) –In the midst of this sluggish housing market, it was far from a runaway year for people trying to sell a home in the Pittsburgh area. Of the 53 properties featured for sale in the PG’s real estate section in 2011, about a quarter — 13 — ended up with a successful sales contract.

We have revisited six of the most interesting properties to see what has been snapped up, what has been taken off the market and what’s still wearing a “For Sale” sign. Next Sunday, we will look at six more, for an even dozen.

2012 Real Estate and Mortgage Predictions

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:52:26 +0000

As we come to the end of yet another year, one thing is for certain, NOTHING is for certain.

For we live in uncertain times where instability and chaos rules the human landscape we know as our world. A canvas of man made illusions that we try to make sense of with many of us never understanding that what may seem to make no sense to us personally in all reality makes perfect sense in the grand scheme of the great work.

Where To Start?

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:50:33 +0000

Greetings...

I have scanned the boards, and if I have missed the answer to this question I am sorry for repeating it.

My question is...What is the process when one has decided to walk away? Specifically in regards to notification of lender, utilities, and what to do with the house itself?

What is the difference between a secured and unsecured loan?

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:37:29 +0000

Secured loan

An secured loan enables homeowners to borrow money from lenders by using their property as security.

Pros
Because the loan is secured against your home, the interest rate is normally cheaper than an unsecured loan and you are normally able to borrow more. Typically you can borrow anything from £3,000 to £50,000 although some lenders provide finance up to £100,000.

Also you can borrow the money over a longer repayment term which means you can reduce your monthly payments to an affordable amount by stretching the loan over a longer period.

Pros and cons of debt consolidation loans

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:35:49 +0000

Debt consolidation is a process whereby a consumer takes out a loan in order to pay off two or more existing debts. The idea is to simply amalgamate what we owe on credit cards, HP, bank loans etc by getting a new loan which will pay off all current outstanding debts and cost less each month in repayments.

Taking out a loan for debt consolidation is very popular. A study by the Office of Fair Trading found that in 2002, up to a half of secured personal loans and up to 40% of unsecured loans were taken out with debt consolidation as the reason. They estimate that, in 2002, £32 billion of unsecured lending and £8.8 billion of secured personal lending was used for debt consolidation.

Loans for people with bad credit rating

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:34:42 +0000

If you believe you have a bad credit rating and fear that your poor credit history will affect your chances of getting a loan, don't despair as things might not be as bad as you think.

Credit Scoring
Most lenders base their decision on whether or not to offer you a loan following a process known as credit scoring. The lender will give you a credit score on the basis of the information you provide on the application form such as your age, employment status, postcode, income etc. In addition information on your credit file will provide details as to whether you have any existing loans, the number of other credit applications you may have made, whether you have missed repayments on previous loan arrangements, have any CCJs registered against you and whether you have ever been declared bankrupt.

How do you rate for credit ? Take our self test !!

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:33:32 +0000

Maybe you are among the one in four would-be borrowers who can't get credit at a competitive price because of your "adverse" credit record. There are steps you can take to improve your rating and land a better deal.

When you apply for a personal loan, lenders will check your details with credit reference agencies to see whether you have defaulted on previous credit agreements such as loans, mortgages and credit cards. They also use a "scoring" system based on information you provide when you apply for loan. They use the information gathered from the credit reference agency and their credit scoring to decide whether to lend to you and, in some cases, at what interest rate. You need to score highly to be accepted.

Drive away the best car finance deals

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:32:13 +0000

Buying a car is the usually the second most costly purchase a person makes during their life, however too many drivers fail to get the most competitive rates for car finance.

While most prospective buyers will spend an average of three months choosing a car by studying magazines, visiting showrooms and taking test drives, research from What Car? magazine suggests that many will give no thought at all to getting the best car finance deal. Too many consumers get roped in to showroom deals because they are offered a big discount on the car. But the likelihood is you could probably get that discount anyway if you bargained hard enough.

Loan Directory - Compare secured and unsecured loans to see who offers the best rates

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:29:19 +0000

This website is designed to help you find some of the best secured homeowner and unsecured personal loan offers on the Internet.

In recent years competition in the UK loans market has become more fierce with lenders fighting each other to appear at the top of the best buy tables. Not so long ago rates of around 15% were commonplace, today rates around 7% are the norm.