People across America are increasingly being faced with a homeowner’s worst nightmare: Foreclosure. The possibility of losing your home to the bank is very real, and it’s very normal to be scared and confused as the process moves along. What’s important is to keep a cool head, don’t panic, and evaluate your options as early in the process as possible. Many people who are approaching or are currently in a foreclosure do not realize that they may be qualified to refinance while in foreclosure and save their home, mainly because by this point in the process they have experienced rejection and denial by their own lender and often several others. But if you have Equity in your home, you can refinance in foreclosure and get back on track to improving your credit.

Refinancing in foreclosure is not like normal refinancing. When you apply for a regular, or conventional mortgage refinance, the most important thing a lender looks at when deciding whether or not to approve the loan is your credit and mortgage payment history. If you have not been more than 90 days late or behind on your mortgage payments, and your FICO credit score is above 500, conventional lenders will look at your refinance application and consider it. They may not approve it, but you’ll at least get looked at. When you go beyond 90 days late on your mortgage payments, no conventional lender will review your application, no matter how much money you make or how much better your situation is now than when you fell behind. Once you are considered 120 days late or behind on the mortgage, or your credit score falls below 500, the conventional lending industry simply cannot take the risks of lending to you anymore. If you’ve been rejected for a loan during the foreclosure process, even before the notice of default was recorded, it is usually because you are over 90 to 120 days late or your credit score is under 500, or both.

You are now in a special situation, and banks don’t like “special”. They just aren’t set up for “outside the box” financing, no matter how much sense it makes, so their response is to either deny your application, or in the case of the lender who holds the mortgage on your home which has fallen behind, they do the only thing they can, foreclose on the home and force its sale at auction to the highest bidder.

In order to handle special situations like this, you need a lender who specializes in refinancing foreclosures. There are only a few out there, but you’ll know one when you find one, because the first question they will ask you is “If you had to sell your home quickly, how much would it sell for?”, followed quickly by “And how much do you owe on your first mortgage”. This is because they are trying to establish how much Equity you have in the property. Equity for these purposes can be calculated easily:

A) Just subtract the Balance of your first mortgage from the Value of your home.
B) Take that Number and divide it by your property Value (there’s that word again),
C) Multiply by 100 and you’ve got your gross Equity percentage.

Because your credit and mortgage history cannot be considered for the purpose of qualifying you for a foreclosure loan, foreclosure refinancing is all about Equity. Lenders specializing in foreclosure refinancing will routinely request that you order an appraisal and an additional appraisal review performed by a realtor, commonly referred to as a BPO or Broker Price Opinion.

Here’s a general guideline: If you have 35% or more Equity in your property, and your property is Valued at $200,000 or more, you are probably qualified for a foreclosure refinance, and you can save your home from the auction block if you act quickly. Again, this is a rule of thumb. Sometimes, you may be able to get away with having a little bit less Equity, or a little bit less Value, and in some states you will need much more Equity and a much higher Value to qualify for a refinance in a foreclosure scenario.

If you have two mortgages, a first and second, you still may be eligible for a foreclosure refinance if you meet one or more of the following conditions:
1. The Balances of your 1st and 2nd mortgages added together amounts to less than 70% of the Value of your home.
2. Your 2nd mortgage can be “subordinated”, or kept in place while you refinance the 1st mortgage.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of acting as quickly as possible to save your home through a foreclosure refinance. The foreclosure clock starts ticking from the day on which you receive a notice of default or on which you become 120 days past due on your mortgage payments, and it can move very quickly. While most foreclosures don’t get to the stage of a property auction, sherrif’s sale or trustee sale in which you will lose your home until about 120 days from the recording of the NOD ( Notice Of Default ), in many states this can happen much more quickly, as fast as 60 days. While you delay, your mortgage company’s payoff balance, the mount required to cure the default and prevent foreclosure, will increase as legal fees and interest pile up, eating away at your Equity and robbing you of the ability to refinance out of the foreclosure. It’s easy to feel lost, almost paralyzed by the shock and fear of losing your home, but if you are serious about saving your home from foreclosure, get on the phone and find a foreclosure refinancing specialist as quickly as possible.

Don’t forget, your first priority is to save your home, and a foreclosure refinance is considered a short term loan, usually with a fixed rate for 2 or 3 years. This gives you enough time to get your credit back together and refinance at the end of the fixed period into a much lower payment. Because you have shown your current lender, as well as the credit reporting agencies and by association every other lender in the country that you could not make the mortgage payments in accordance with the terms of the loan which is in foreclosure, it’s understandable that the lender providing the foreclosure refinance is taking a substantial risk in lending you the money to prevent the foreclosure, and the financing will not be at a very low rate. However, in most cases, the foreclosure refinance loan’s payments are Interest Only, and will be lower than the payments on most forbearance, or payment agreements, which your lender may have proposed or enrolled you in prior to filing for foreclosure. And if you consolidate high interest debts like credit cards and personal loans, payoff judgments, and clear away liens, you can potentially free up a lot of cash flow from your monthly budget and begin improving your credit score with a clean slate.

Don’t waste time talking to lenders and brokers who don’t know the foreclosure refinance process inside out, there are simply too many out there who will just waste your time and money trying to learn how to get your foreclosure refinanced while you slide closer and closer to a sale date and the real possibility of losing your home. On the other hand, the right lender can help you lay out other options to save the equity in your home even if you don’t qualify for a foreclosure refinance. Find a special lender for your special situation, and you will have a fighting chance of refinancing in foreclosure and saving your home.

Review
There are plenty of heavily pedigreed personal-finance experts dishing out good advice, but not many who know what it’s like to have to eat ramen all month to make a car payment. On the other hand, there’s Mary Hunt, a recovered credit card addict whose free-spending ways landed her family in the middle of $100,000 of unsecured debt in the early 1980s. Pulling herself out of that morass gave Hunt the courage to strike out on her own as a writer, motivational speaker, …
Buy Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free at Amazon

Many personal finance articles have been written on the issue of money.  Can’t say I have been moved to action by many.  First I’d like to say it is ok that you feel down about the current situation about your personal finances.  I give you permission to feel your feeling for the next 24 hours and then pull yourself by your boot straps and let’s what we can do.

There exist many a definition, I want to share with you  my personal finance definition:

Financial freedom is not an event, it is a skill.

I bet right now with the current economic situation you are saying to yourself, “I just wish I could the lotto!”  Boy don’t we all and yet statistics and personal finance facts show that the majority of people who win the lottery, end up broke and worse off before their winnings! Imagine that.  You among the many seeking wealth, riches, fame few people realize that money isn’t the solution to their problems;  the way you think about money is the problem and the solution.

I can almost see you going oh yeah, give me the money and I’ll show you change in mindset!

My favorite entrepreneur of all times, Henry Ford was once asked, “What if you lost everything you own?” He responded without missing a beat: “I’d have it all back and more within 5 years.”

Being a master of your own personal finance is not about what is in the bank; it’s about the ability to acquire the skill that will show you how to produce new streams of income and wealth based on your knowledge and experience.

So before we go any further on this issue let us tackle the real problem here that is impeding your personal finance for good!  Why you might ask?  Well without the mastery of these 5 steps, your desire for your goal for financial success and financial freedom is highly unlikely!  This is why big players in any industry have coaches, Oprah has a life coach, football players and basketball players have coaches and mentors.  Tiger woods after every bad game will go in for coaching and training.  Why?  Those who achieve great financial success do not go it alone.  They always have a team.  Those who achieve great poverty have the do it yourself mentality!

Why is it important to plan personal finances?

5 Steps That Will Guarantee You Become Master Your Personal Finances

1. How do you think about money? Say you come up with an idea to do something. Do you think that will never work?  Are you afraid to follow through?  Are you scared of loosing money or do you see every dollar spent as an investment?

2. How do you manage and invest your time?  The average man has at his disposal  6 discretionary hours.  This is time they can do whatever they want.  No work, no chores etc.  Many will watch T.V., attend pricey sports events, spend money on meals at a restaurant and movies, see where I am going with this? Do you do personal finance budgeting?

3. How do you leverage the talents and life experiences you ALREADY POSSESS?
Most people see their experiences as failures.  They only talk of how they tried to do something as failed.  Thomas Edison failed more than I care to count, and yet he persisted to light the whole world. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison

4. Do you have a mentor and/or coach with a proven personal finance curriculum? This is the true measure of your desire for financial freedom.  This is where you literally put your money where your mouth is, can’t afford a mentor you say?  Well what was the last book you read? Gossip magazines do not count as literature sorry ?!

5. What do you think is “risky,” and what do you think is “safe and secure”?  Most people never break into the realm of the 5% wealthy group who own 95% of  the worlds resources because they want to play it safe.  They want the money, the fame, the accolades but they feel they should not have to go through the process of creating this wealth.  No wonder the internet and other places are full of scams and get rich quick opportunities.  Remember this success does not  happen overnight, but one night success does happen.  Someone once said to me, it takes 3 years to be an overnight success!

By.-  http://www.MomentumStockTrading.com

The stock market should present you with a wide variety of NEW hot stocks in 2009. Many of them are going to be new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, financial, energy, healthcare & communications sectors.

Most of them might seem promising, but the truth is that a good number of these trading & investing opportunities could be extremely risky, while others are simply not as good as they look. That’s why it’s very important to know how to choose among the best especially if you want to day trade them.

When you know how to pick and approach the best hot stock trading opportunities, you are able to generate a consistent and respectable amount of money in a very short period of time.

Experienced day traders recognize that trading hot stocks on momentum can be the fastest way to make money in the stock market, especially on uncertain times like these.

You don’t necessarily have to trade momentum hot stocks all the time. But you can learn how to take advantage of them when you encounter the best opportunities for going long or for shorting them to make money when they are poised to fall down.

If You decide to day trade stocks just keep always in mind that for a trader to survive and be consistently profitable, its necessary to keep things as simple as possible. To much confusion and technical indicators will most of the time make you slow in your decisions and froze you up when a good opportunity is right in front of your screen.

In the end, stock market day trading is all about picking the best daily stock opportunities and following your buy and sell signals with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to produce consistent profitable results.

The first thing you need to do in order to improve your credit score is to find out what information the credit companies have in your account. Once you have all the information you can devise a plan on what to do to increase your score. There is no better place to find out the information from the credit companies than www.creditscoremonster.com.

There is no sure fire way to increase your score quickly but there are things that you can start doing immediately that will help in the long run. One of the main things that you need to do to increase your score is to start paying your bills on time, every time. Remember that some companies have grace periods but they vary and they may report a late payment even though it was only a day late. This is why it is critical to get your payments there on time.

Keeping your account balances low will also help increase your score. One trick that you can do is to move your balances around and spread the debit among all your credit cards. It does not help to have one card almost maxed out and several cards with no balance at all. Evening out your usage is beneficial when calculating your credit score. You are not spending less just spreading the debit out.

There are some common sense ways to improve your credit score. One for instance is to pay down your debt. This does not mean closing out accounts. You do not want to close your accounts, just pay them down. When the score is calculated it looks at how much available credit do you have compared to how much credit you are carrying. If you close accounts it reduces the amount of available credit to you so the same amount of debt effects the calculations differently.

Fix the errors you have found on your credit reports. Look for accounts that aren’t yours, late payments that are not late and debts that you have paid off that were not removed from your account. Some companies are quick to report deficiencies to the credit companies but take their time removing bad marks from your record. It is up to you to watch this and ensure that your information is kept up to date and clean. You do not need to hire a company to help remove bad items from your accounts. Credit Score Monster has links available to start the process of contesting items on your reports.

Remember the first thing you have to do in order to clean up your credit reports is to get that information in your hand. Without know what your scores are there really is no sense in trying to clean up your records. Purchase your three credit reports from Credit Score Monster to get you on your way of increasing your credit scores and ultimately saving you thousands of dollars on your next major purchase.

If you are considering a home refinance there are some things you should be aware that should be avoided. Here are the 10 top mistakes people make when refinancing a home:Drawing On Your Home Credit Line Before Doing A Home Refinance

Many lenders have “cash out” waiting requirements or “seasoning” as it is referred to in the industry. That means they want to see a set period of time elapse once you have withdrawn equity from your home prior to issuing a new loan. Cash-out followed by refinancing may indicate a pattern of irresponsible credit use; a red flag for a lender. This could lead to stricter requirements and possibly a rejection of your loan. The typical waiting requirement is six months.
Taking On A Second Mortgage Before Refinancing On Your First Mortgage

A lot of mortgage companies look at the combined loan amounts (i.e., the sum of the first and second loans) even when you’re only doing a home refinancing your first mortgage. Don’t be surprised if your first mortgage lender requires you to pay off both your first and second mortgages. Check with your lender to see if having a second loan will impact your refinancing.

In some instances lenders may allow you to keep your existing second mortgage while refinancing only the first. This is done by obtaining a “subordination agreement” from the lender who provided you with your second mortgage.
Paying For An Appraisal When You Think The Appraised Value May Be Too Low

Don’t pay for a formal appraisal if you think the home has a low appraised value. Home value is determined by many things, including the home’s location. Both lenders and Realtors use a market analysis based on the value of homes in your area to determine value. Paying for an appraisal shouldn’t be necessary.

Their comparable rate comparison should allow them to determine if your home is within the expected parameters of the financing you have requested. Especially in today’s market where home prices have stabilized or even declined a little, it pays to save your hard earned cash.
Not Doing A Break Even Analysis

Evaluate the money you will spend in getting the home refinance loan to determine if it is cost effective. It’s important to compare the total loan costs with how much you will save each month by lowering your monthly payment. Very simply, just divide the transaction costs by your anticipated monthly savings to figure the number of months you will have to stay in the loan to recoup your refinancing costs.

For example, if the costs of the home refinance total $2,000, and your monthly savings are $50, your break-even point is 2,000/50 = 40 months. In this case you should only refinance if you plan to stay with this new financing for at least 40 months.
Failing To Choose The Best Home Refinance Loan

There is more than one home refinance loan out there. There are fixed-rate loans, adjustable rate refinance loans, etc. While we at 1-800BadCredit don’t recommend the adjustable rate mortgages (ARM), there are people who insist on them. The loan that is best for you depends on your situation. We don’t recommend them because many people have been caught in a squeeze situation with ARM loans and have been unable to qualify to refinance.
For example, in some cases a 15-year term is better than a 30-year term and vise-versa. Think about your long and short term goals before you refinance and choose the loan program that fits those goals best.
Paying Too Much For Mortgage Insurance

Mortgage insurance, or PMI, is what you pay on your home in case you default on your mortgage. PMI adds a lot to your mortgage payment, but you don’t have to pay PMI if you have an 80% equity stake in your home. If you refinance at less than 80% then you could wind up paying too much for PMI.
Using Your Current Lender When Doing A Home Refinance

Although you may have an excellent history with your current lender, you may not always get the best deal when considering a home refinance. That’s the reason why we give you so many choices.

Your original lender will need the same documentation as any other lender. Each time you refinance your financial picture has to be re-verified. You will be subject to re-qualification, even if you have developed a relationship with your lender. So you might as well shop around and get a couple quotes just to make sure you’re getting the best rates and fees.
Not Getting A Good Faith Estimate

You always want a written Good Faith Estimate (GFE) when securing a home refinance loan. Within three working days after receipt of your completed loan application, your mortgage company is required to provide you with a written GFE of closing costs. However don’t make the mistake of shopping for your mortgage via a simple GFE.

In fact, if the GFE has a substantial portion of the fees marked zero may be a warning sign that not all fees are being disclosed up front. Be sure to ask if all the fees are accurately reflected on the document.
NOTE: if you are considering a “no cost” home refinance many of the fees may be blank. Be sure to ask.
Not Getting Your Rate Lock In Writing

Know the length of time the rate lock is in effect and check all particulars, such as APR, closing costs and any other fees that are listed. A loan officer can tell you verbally that the rate is a certain amount and the interest rate can change radically within the next few hours based on the economic rates that are always in flux. When a mortgage company tells you they will give you the home refinance loan for a certain amount, get a written statement to that effect, the length of time it’s guaranteed and any other particulars about the loan. This information is readily available by a Rate Lock Commitment. Request a copy for your records.
Signing Documents Without Reading Them

Never sign documents in a hurry. And don’t expect to read them at the time of signing. Sitting in front of the escrow company’s desk having form after form thrust at you for signing is intimidating and can make reading them thoroughly difficult.

As soon as possible, request a copy of the home refinance loan documents in order to review what you will be signing at the close of escrow. This way you can read them at your leisure and get any questions answered ahead of time.

Make sure you understand what you are signing! Don’t be afraid to ask questions because you are entering into a long-term relationship. Be sure to bring your Good Faith Estimate when you go to sign the final papers.

Credit Card Debt Consolidation

Credit Card Debt Consolidation services can make it happen, and there’s no doubt about it. There’s no reason to delay and nothing to lose. Credit card debt consolidation can also help you avoid creditor harassment , one of the main elements that trigger stress induced health problems. Credit card debt consolidation usually makes the combined balance more manageable especially if a lower interest rate is provided. But, if there are multiple other accounts involved that were not part of the consolidating effort, it may take some time to get them all reduced to a manageable level.

Typically, when a customer buys a product with his card or uses his card as an alternative for hard cash, he is offered an interest free credit period. The customer has to make a payment for the credit used on the card before the credit period ends. Typically, debt consolidation programs are debt repayment programs. They can consolidate most types of unsecured debts from major credit cards to personal and student loans. Typically the interest on a debt consolidation loan is approximately 17-23%. That?s a hefty amount of interest that may actually be more than you are currently paying on your debt.

Bad credit debt consolidation is helpful if you want to reduce your debt burden. It is an effective technique for improving your credit scores. Bad credit and excessive debt does not make you a horrible person. With a little help from us, you will be able to get your credit and finances in top shape again. Bad Credit Personal Loans – Our company’s mission is to help people obtain the bad credit personal loans they so desperately need. We’ve helped thousands of people with credit problems find the right personal loan that meets their needs.

Credit Card debt consolidation is a short term answer to a much broader problem. Credit card debt consolidation is an agenda where the debt settlement company directs the debtors in reducing their debts through a monthly compensation of a fixed amount. Debt elimination is not similar to a loan program. Credit card debt consolidation gives you an opportunity to reduce your debts under single lower monthly payments. Thus you get rid of all high rate credit card debts and replace them with the new low monthly payments.

If you’re paying too much on your existing auto loan, an auto refinance loan may be the solution. But, is auto refinancing right for you? Ask yourself three basic questions:

1. Did you obtain the original rate from your dealer who, at the time, offered auto refinance loans?
2. Is it possible that another lender, possibly a bank, may have offered a lower rate on your auto refinance loan?
3. Are you interested in increasing the equity of your car, reversing the “upside-down” trend of your car’s value depreciating faster than you pay off the auto refinance loan?

If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of the questions above, then auto refinancing may make a lot of sense. And cents. With auto refinance loans, consumers everywhere are literally saving thousands of dollars over their loan terms. Consider this example:

You borrow $20,000 at a rate of 13.4% over a period of 5 years, and then refinance after four months to a new, lower rate of 9.1%. You save $2,350 over the remainder of the auto refinance loan term.

If you financed your car at a dealership, you probably paid an interest surcharge called Rate Participation. Dealers who offer auto refinance loans will generally make money on the interest you’re charged by marking up the rate lenders provide. Sometimes this rate hike can be 3% greater than what a bank would have quoted you otherwise. In these cases, your current credit rating already qualifies you for a lower auto refinance loan rate, one that would have equated to lower monthly payments.

Fortunately, auto refinance loans involve a simple application, and can be completed online in a matter of minutes. This is followed by a phone call from a loan agent who verifies your auto refinance application and gets you a credit decision. The new lender then simply pays off your old auto refinance loan, and opens your new auto refinance loan at a reduced rate and payment. In the meantime, you’ll receive some paperwork via post mail for your signature. The best auto refinance loans have no application fee, pre-payment penalties or hidden charges – what is commonly referred to as “no-obligation”.

But the financial world is not easy to navigate and obtaining the right auto refinance loan can be difficult. The easiest way to find companies offering the best auto refinance loans (and service) is to utilize the Internet. Look for sites that offer vast resources, including advice, tips, and general information about financing, as well as tools that make auto refinancing easy. These companies are usually the most qualified to meet all your unique financial needs.

Like your need to save money. Or, at least, to stop spending it where it doesn’t have to be spent. Auto refinance is a great way to do that, and the checklist below can help. You’ll not only save money, you’ll save time, something just as valuable as your cash. In just a few minutes, you’ll learn how to save hundreds – possibly thousands – of dollars over the life of your auto refinance loan. If have a high APR and want to lower your payments, this is an oversimplified process to do it.

Auto refinance loans can be broken down into five easy steps:

Step One – Begin with the auto refinance application
A typical auto refinancing online application is short, easy to fill out, and only takes a few minutes. Never fill out an application that isn’t advertised as “secure.” This will ensure that the information you submit is protected.

In most cases, if you submit your auto refinance application during regular business hours, a designated auto refinancing loan specialist will contact you with a decision promptly. However, if it is submitted at any other time, for example on the weekend, it may take a slightly longer before you hear back.

Step Two – The nuts and bolts of auto refinancing
Once your auto refinance loan application is approved, have the following information readily available:
• Name(s) on auto refinance loan
• Name(s) on car title
• Year, Make, Model, Class
• VIN#
• Exact Mileage
• Current Lien Holder
• Account Number
• Lien Holder Phone #
• Additional equipment in the vehicle (Auto refinance terms are affected by factors such as transmission type, 2/4-door, short/long-bed, CD player/changer, running boards, cruise control, power windows/door locks/mirrors/seats, rack, tilt wheel, etc.)

Step Three – Speeding the auto refinance process up
To expedite the auto refinancing process, have a copy of your driver’s license, 3 personal references, car insurance, car registration, and/or original lease contract (if applicable), ready to fax to the auto refinancing loan specialist.

Step Four – Signing your auto refinance contract
Then, after speaking with a specialist, you’ll be sent documents that must be returned with your signature. Once these documents are received by the lender, a payoff check will be sent to your existing lien holder.

Step Five – Closing the auto refinance deal
Finally, once the check clears and title is received, the auto refinance process is complete.

Auto refinance allows you to keep the car you love and get rid of the payments you don’t. Just follow these five steps to a better auto loan. So, start saving money, or lower your payments now.

Bankruptcy is the last step for most people who are undergoing tough financial times. Many people fear that by declaring bankruptcy they will ruin their credit for the rest of their lives, but they find that they are able to begin rebuilding credit immediately after the bankruptcy becomes final.

Get Your Debt under Control

Bankruptcy offers you the opportunity for a fresh slate with your finances. Your old debt will be wiped clean; however, any years of established credit are gone as well. Bankruptcy can be a real stress relief if you are in a desperate situation, but it is important to realize what has brought you to that point. If you declare bankruptcy and then continue without changing your spending habits, you are destined to end up in a similar situation again. The best way to use bankruptcy is as a learning tool. Know where you lost control of your spending, and be ready to move on from there.

Lower Your Expenses

One of the best ways to lower your expenses is to refinance your home mortgage. You may think that finding a lender to refinance your home mortgage following bankruptcy will be nearly impossible, but that is not so. Depending on your situation you may be able to walk into a bank the day after your debts are discharged by the bankruptcy court and refinance your home mortgage. If you have a good deal of equity in your home, you will find it much easier to refinance following a bankruptcy.

Even if you do not have a good deal of equity, you should be able to refinance your home mortgage within six months to one year from the final date of your bankruptcy. While you are waiting to refinance your home there are several steps that you can take to make yourself more attractive to lenders.
Pay all of your bills on time. This includes your current mortgage as well as any utility, student loan, or other bills that you have following the bankruptcy.
Do not attempt to open other lines of credit, such as new credit cards or lines of credit at stores. While credit is important, if your number one goal is to refinance your mortgage after a bankruptcy, you do not want to appear to the bank that you are in danger of falling into the same credit trap that you found yourself in prior to your initial bankruptcy.

Why Refinance Your Home Mortgage After a Bankruptcy?

What are the benefits of refinancing your home mortgage after a bankruptcy? There are many benefits to this actually. By refinancing your mortgage you can lower your monthly payments in a variety of ways. You can extend the length of the loan or refinance at a lower interest rate, both of which will lower your monthly payment. While you will be considered a higher risk loan, and will not receive the lowest interest rate available, it is still possible that your interest rate may be lower than when you initially closed on your mortgage.

Another reason to consider refinancing your home mortgage after a bankruptcy is that this will automatically start you on the path to repairing your credit. The refinance will show up as a new loan. The older loan, which due to the financial problems that brought about your bankruptcy may have had late payments or missed payments, is closed. The new loan will show no late payments or penalties.

Where to Refinance

Too often, people feel that the black mark left by bankruptcy is an obstacle that they cannot overcome. Rather than shopping for a mortgage, they go directly to a sub prime lender, or worse, a lender who involves themselves in predatory loan practices. While sub prime lenders do have their place, they should not be your first choice. Lenders who involve themselves in predatory practices, such as excessively high interest rates, or interest compounded on an irregular schedule should be avoided at all costs. They will not help you.

Sub prime lenders are not likely to provide you with as low of an interest rate as you can receive from a traditional lending institution. Following a bankruptcy, your first stop in refinancing your home should be the lender that holds your mortgage currently. Not only do they know your payment history, and the home, they may also save you some money in closing costs by keeping the loan “in house”. If they are not willing to refinance your mortgage, ask them what you should do to make yourself more attractive. If they recommend that you come back after three to six months, which is probably the best advice. If they are not interested in refinancing your mortgage, don’t let it discourage you, shop mortgages at other traditional lenders.