Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Is it possible to buy a home after foreclosure?

If you have faced foreclosure, it is not that you stop dreaming about a house in future. There are many who have faced foreclosure but with proper credit repair techniques were able to take out a mortgage after foreclosure.

Be regular with your bill payments
Once you have faced foreclosure, avoid committing the same mistakes that has landed you in such a situation. Try and be regular with your bill payments. Falling behind on payments is something you should avoid by all means.

Apply for a credit card
You can apply for a fresh credit card and strive hard to remain current with your payments this time. It will have a positive impact on your credit rating and you will stand a better chance to get a mortgage after foreclosure.

Budget your finances
Work out a budget. Make note of all your expenses and how much you are earning each month. Assign your cash to expenses according to priority and make sure you make your payments on time, every time.

Save enough for down payment
Try to put aside enough cash so that you can build a fund for making a hefty down payment. The more money you have for a down payment, the size of the mortgage you take out can be of a smaller size. This will ensure that you have lower mortgage amount to repay.

Check your affordability from time to time
Make use of mortgage calculators so that you are able to find out whether you are eligible to take out a mortgage after foreclosure. The time should be ripe for you to take out a mortgage after foreclosure in terms of affordability, repayment capacity etc. You can plan out your finances accordingly.

Find out a good lender willing to offer favorable rates
Once your credit has looked up to some extent, try to work out with a lender who is willing to give you favorable rates.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

5 Gas Saving Tips

With fuel prices skyrocketing, here are 5 easy tips to help you conserve gas and ultimately money:


1) Lighten up!

Aerodynamics can become quite significant at highway speeds. Carrying luggage on the roof of your car or towing equipment can be costly.  Any time you do something like that, your fuel economy is going to tank.
When ski season ends, take the rack off your car.  Racks produce a lot more aerodynamic drag, so your car has to work harder to slip through the air.
Weight is the biggest pitfall when it comes to maximizing a car’s fuel efficiency.  The more weight the car has to move, the harder the engine has to work. If you are carrying around stacks of National Geographic magazines in your trunk, take them to the recycling center.  All that extra weight is costing you miles per gallon.

2) There is no magic bullet

When gas prices spike, products claiming to boost fuel efficiency pop up. Avoid them, experts say.
Companies come out of the woodwork and try to sell you gizmos to add to your car to add fuel economy.  If there was a magic bullet, then the car companies would use them. When gas prices go up, people prey on greed and fear. Don’t fall prey.

3) Plan your trips

To save on gas, try to run all of your errands in one trip and avoid backtracking.  If you take four trips with a cold engine, that takes more gas than when you try to do it all at once with a warm engine.
Drivers can also plan to use gas stations with cheaper prices. There are some great Smart Phone Apps that can help you find cheap gas in your neighborhood such as www.GasBuddy.com

4) Turn on the air conditioning

Drivers with modern cars that recirculate cooled air shouldn’t be afraid to run the air conditioning.  When you roll down the windows, you start messing with the aerodynamics of the vehicle, you are not going to get maximum fuel efficiency because it creates new drag.

5) Keep your vehicle maintained

Popular gas-saving advice calls for drivers to mind the speed limit, use cruise control and avoid too much idling.  Careful drivers should also make sure to get their engine tuned, check their air filters and use the right motor oil.
Properly inflated tires will somewhat improve fuel economy, and this maintenance is easily accomplished. Check your tires once per month.  Underinflated tires compromise your car’s handling and braking, and they also wear faster.  If your tires are underinflated, there’s a lot more rolling resistance and the car will have to work harder to roll down the road.