Credit
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 31, 2012
Opinion polling released today shows 90 percent of small business owners see the availability of credit as a problem for small business, and they strongly support increasing the lending authority of community banks and credit unions. Small business owners also support current proposals being debated in Congress that aim to boost the economy and create jobs.
Small business lending has become such an issue that 90 percent of small employers support community banks and credit unions being able to lend more to small businesses, and 82 percent support more stringent credit card regulations, such as clearer identification of terms and interest rate caps, according to the poll released by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority. Additionally, 61 percent say it?s harder now than it was four years ago to get a loan.
The poll also asked respondents about proposals in the president?s American Jobs Act. The vast majority, or 69 percent of small business owners support committing $ 50 billion to new and existing infrastructure projects that would generate jobs?such as making improvements to road, bridge and water systems. Another 59 percent favor creating a nationwide wireless network and improving the accessibility of high-speed wireless services. Read the Access to Credit Poll Report findings at the Small Business Majority.
?Loans that will help small businesses grow and create jobs are harder and harder to come by,? said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. ?With banks? lending portfolios shrinking and small businesses? dependence on credit cards growing, lawmakers need to look for smart ways to revamp the credit landscape.?
?Small businesses create 65 percent of the net new private sector jobs in America,? said David Brodwin, co-founder and board member of ASBC. ?Our deregulated, damaged banking system isn?t providing the credit they need, and they are calling for change.?
?Small business owners want action from Congress to boost the economy,? said Kelly Conklin, owner of Foley-Waite Associates in Bloomfield, New Jersey and a leader with the Main Street Alliance. ?Invest in infrastructure to build the foundation for business success. Take serious steps to deal with the mortgage crisis and restore consumer purchasing power. Put teachers and firefighters back on the job serving our communities and boosting local economies. That?s what small businesses need.?
Additional findings in the report include:
52 percent of those surveyed have turned to credit cards to finance their business
6 in 10 small business owners support making loans more accessible by reducing collateral requirements
77 percent support creating incentives for community banks to lend more
By a 2:1 margin, small businesses support increasing credit unions? lending cap from 12.25 percent to 27.5 percent
73 percent of small employers believe their business has been hurt to some degree by the drop in consumer demand resulting from the housing and mortgage crisis
57% of respondents agree reducing the principal on underwater mortgages to the current market value would boost consumer spending, helping small businesses regain their vigor through increased profits.
Poll results represent findings from an Internet survey of 500 small business owners nationwide, commissioned by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority and conducted by Lake Research Partners. The survey was conducted between December 8, 2011 and January 4, 2012. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.4%.
Small Business Majority is a national nonpartisan small business advocacy organization founded and run by small business owners and focused on solving the biggest problems facing America?s 28 million small businesses. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with small business owners, policy experts and elected officials nationwide to bring small business voices to the public policy table. Follow Small Business Majority on Twitter or visit Small Business Majority’s Facebook page.
The American Sustainable Business Council is a network of business organizations representing over 100,000 companies and 200,000 business leaders. ASBC advocates for public policies that meet the realities of the 21st century global economy including strategic investments in workforce and infrastructure; standards and safeguards that promote innovation, prevent abuse and protect critical resources; and a new sustainable economic model that fosters a growing, economically-secure middle class.
The Main Street Alliance is a national network of state-based small business coalitions. MSA creates opportunities for small business owners to speak for themselves on issues that impact their businesses and local economies.
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Category : Mortgage
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) November 05, 2011
In a October 2011 study, GoBankingRates.com revealed that more than 3 out of 10 consumers will switch from a national bank to a local credit union on Bank Transfer Day in response to the big banks raising debit card fees.
http://www.GoBankingRates.com enlisted a focus group of its website visitors to vote in a one-question poll about their intentions to switch from a national bank to a local credit union. The poll respondents? answers were primarily divided between current credit union members and those whose votes demonstrated the power of increased national bank fees to provoke consumers to switch to credit unions.
GoBankingRates.com? poll asked consumers to cast a vote in response to the question, ?Are You Switching to a Credit Union?? The majority of GoBankingRates.com poll respondents (37%) claim they already belong to a credit union and love it. Not far behind in second place, 34% of respondents agreed they are tired of bank fees and impersonal service and they will be switching to a credit union on November 5, 2011. Still, 14% of GoBankingRates.com? polled voters plan on staying with their existing national bank.
http://www.GoBankingRates.com reaches millions of consumers each month through their extensive network of local, geo-targeted sites, such as http://www.LosAngelesBankingRates.com and http://www.HoustonBankingRates.com. The consumers on these sites are interested in finding new banking products, including deposit and loan offers, from financial institutions in their community. In light of the recent national bank fee increases, consumers? have a heightened interest in joining a credit union or local bank.
Many of these institutions are turning to GoBankingRates.com to increase their local web presence, gaining new consumer traffic and boosting their search engine rankings. GoBankingRates.com currently features hundreds of community financial institutions on their 750 local sites.
From the month of September to October 2011, http://www.GoBankingRates.com has seen a 58% lift in credit union related searches on their sites. Some of the top searched phrases include location-based searches for ?credit union list? or ?credit union locations?. In addition, GoBankingRates.com is projecting a 59% increase in overall traffic led by a 15% increase in their local city-and-state site traffic.
Surges in traffic as it relates to the Bank Transfer Day are especially evident in social media outlets. Big bank protestors even created a Facebook event page for Bank Transfer Day on November 5, 2011. As of November 1st, more than 65,000 consumers have RSVP-ed with their intent to transfer. In recent CUNA news, the Credit Union Times reported that nearly 650,000 consumers have already become credit union members.
Place your vote now about your switching intentions at http://www.gobankingrates.com/banking/international-credit-union-day-making-switch-poll/.
About GoBankingRates.com
GoBankingRates.com connects banks and credit unions to local consumers through their extensive web community, which includes more than 750 local city and state websites and receives more than 2 million monthly visits.
http://www.GoBankingRates.com.com is one of many finance-related websites owned by ConsumerTrack, Inc. The company was founded in 2004 and drives traffic to clients through online advertising in the personal finance industries, including: banking, insurance, credit, and real estate. For more information, please visit ConsumerTrack.com.
GoBankingRates.com is part of the GoMediaNetwork (http://www.GoMediaNetwork.com) and is owned by ConsumerTrack Inc.
For more information on GoBankingRates.com.com, please email Valerie Youman, Marketing Manager at Valerie(at)GoBankingRates(dot)com.
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Category : Real Estate Market
(PRWEB) February 12, 2004
The secret of getting a home loan with bad credit is to try. Most people report that because they cannot qualify for a credit card or car loan because of bad credit, they presume they will be declined for a home loan because of bad credit. We find that this is untrue, in fact the opposite is true: it is easier to qualify for a home loan with bad credit than car loan or major credit card.
The top 3 reasons people with bad credit believe they will not qualify for a home loan:
1 The amount of the loan. If they cannot even be approved for a $ 5,000 credit card, how can they be approved for a $ 250,000 home mortgage?
2 The application process is complex. If the simple credit card application that requires no documentation results in disqualification, how can the complex home mortgage application possibly be approved?
3 The emotional nature of the purchase. The purchase of a home represents a huge emotional step for many people and the prospect of rejection keeps many people from even attempting to qualify.
Ironically these are the very three reasons people with bad credit qualify for home loans.
Home loans are secured by real estate: Real Estate is considered very secure collateral. Because of this, mortgage lenders are more comfortable making home loans to people with bad credit then unsecured credit lines, credit cards, or a vehicle that depreciates every day. Because of the size of the loan there are thousands of institutions that can make money servicing the loan and investors seek real estate based security resulting in a competitive marketplace that contains thousands of home loan programs attempting to meet the needs of every potential borrower.
The complex home loan application enables lenders to look beyond the individual’s credit rating and take into account factors such as your job security, debt to income ratio, value of the property and ability to make the monthly payment. The consumer credit report represents a lesser role in mortgage approval.
The emotional nature of the collateral adds security to the lender. The mortgage payment is proven to be the first priority when it comes to making monthly payments. Statistics show that people will beg and borrow to keep their home as opposed to unsecured credit cards that once delinquent have a relatively high likelihood of being charged off.
With the variety of home loan programs available to consumers, we find that if a consumer wants to purchase or refinance a home they should contact a lender or broker that specializes in bad credit home loans. The professionals we consulted were extremely knowledgeable and more than willing to explain the process. Those people who did not qualify for home loan left with a clear understanding of what they could do over the next few months to qualify for a home loan that meets their needs.
For more information: http://www.iGlobalFinancial.com
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Category : Top Real Estate Articles
You can’t turn around without someone telling you this or that about the importance of your credit score. Unfortunately, they’re all correct. You credit score has the power to help you get a small loan for your business, or a mortgage for a house, but only if you’ve managed your finances in such a way that your credit score is favorable. So you want to do everything in your power to keep your financial record clean. Many different factors go into your credit score, but these are some of the biggest mistakes you won’t want to take to the bank. Don’t max out your credit card. Easier said than done, you might say, but it’s essential. If you’re using the majority of your available limit on any given card, or on more than one card, it tells banks and lenders that you’re living off of your credit cards, and unlikely to be able to pay them back. Ideally, you should never carry more than 30% of your available limit on any credit card. Don’t make late payments. Again, easier said than done, but promptness counts big on your credit score. Not only can late payment allow your credit card company to jack up your APR and slap you with penalty fees, but it also puts your financial responsibility in question. Future lenders don’t want to take a gamble on someone who has a history of missing payments. Keep on top of your payments, and you will be establishing yourself as a financially responsible person who they will feel confident lending to when it matters. Don’t give up on your credit score. People sometimes think that once they’ve missed a payment on their credit card, their credit score is already toast, so they may as well just keep missing them, or worse, not pay them back at all. They couldn’t be more wrong. When it comes to late payments, the details matter. People who will be evaluating your credit care how frequently your payments were late, and how long you let them go. Missing a payment by two days once is different from missing it by two days every month, and missing your payment by a week is different from not paying it for two months. And even if you have a blemish like this on your credit history, all hope isn’t lost. If you can practice good money-management for an extended period of time after your payment hiccup, lenders will look more favorably on you. They care the most about the last two years, so don’t mope around thinking that a missed payment from a decade ago is going to lose you your mortgage. Don’t use a card that doesn’t report to the credit bureaus. Many people don’t realize it, but not all lenders report to the institutions tallying up your credit score. You might think this would be a good thing—after all, if they aren’t reporting, any bad behavior with this card won’t be factored into your credit score, right? Wrong. Even though these cards won’t report any card practices that would work in your favor, any problems that go to collections will work against you. This is the worst of both worlds. These credit cards can harm your credit score, but they will never improve it, not matter how responsibly you use it. Whenever you sign up for a new credit card, read the fine print and find out whether or not your lender reports to the credit bureaus. If you aren’t sure, simply ask one of the lender’s employees.
Category : Top Real Estate Articles
The following tips are basic principles about obtaining and using credit cards that can save you some serious cash and keep you out of debt.
1. Never, EVER Miss a Payment – This is the absolute worse thing you can do with a credit card. Not only will you incur a late fee, but your interest rate will also skyrocket. In addition it will be a negative blemish on your credit report which can cause the rate on any other loans or credit cards you have to increase as well as insurance rates. It also makes you less likely to get approved for future credit.
2. Do not get a Cash Advance – This is the second worse thing you can do with a credit card, short of missing a payment is getting a cash advance. The cash advances usually come with a very high interest rate. What makes it worse is the fact that with most companies this higher rate credit will not get paid off first, or even in the order that you took it out. They will apply your payments towards all the lower rate purchases and will only begin paying off your high interest cash advance will all other items on that credit card have been paid off.
3. Work with Retention Department – If you ever feel you are being treated unjustly by your credit card issuer, a simple threat to leave will get you transferred to the retention department. This department will be MUCH more helpful to you and will usually do whatever it takes within reason to get you to stay.
4. Pay Off Full Balance Every Month – All credit cards have high interest rates compared to other types of loans. You should never plan to carry a balance on a credit card. If you must make a large purchase that you do not have the money for at the time, obtain a loan or a revolving line of credit from your bank. You will save a bundle on interest rates.
5. Ask for a Better Rate – Once you have been a credit card customer for a few months call them and ask for a better rate. They won’t laugh at you, they get hundreds of these calls every day and if you’ve been a good customer it usually will work. Credit card companies work hard to obtain you as a customer and they will work hard to retain you.
6. Read the Terms – The terms and conditions are the equivalent of the disclaimer you hear on car lot commercials. It cuts through the hype and reveals the true terms of the credit card such as what happens when you miss a payment and what you’re really getting from the rewards. Most terms are not that long, usually around one full page, it’s worth your time to read them.
7. Shop Around – Don’t apply for the first “pre-approved” offer you receive in the mail or any for that matter. Do the research for yourself. There are plenty of sites such as CreditorWeb.com that allow you to compare hundreds of credit card offers with a simple search. You’ll get the best deal by shopping around.
8. Have Two Credit Cards – If you do plan to take advantage of rewards, we recommend you carry two credit cards. The rewards card for making your daily expenses that you will pay off in full each month and a second card with the lowest possible interest rate to cover any emergency expenses when you won’t be able to pay off the balance in full by the end of the month.
9. Rewards are not so Rewarding – Rewards can be a good thing, but only if used correctly. Rewards cards typically have a higher interest rate than regular credit cards, with the value of the rewards justifying the extra expense. The rewards are not usually as valuable as you may think. Typically the value of the reward is around 1 cent per dollar charged and often the rewards expire at the end of the year if you don’t use them. If you pay off your balance in full each month and charge a lot they can be worth while, otherwise you’re better off with a non-rewards card.
10. Have at Least One Credit Card for Emergencies – While we highly recommend having a rainy day fund for emergencies rather than relying strictly on credit cards, having a credit card with a low interest rate “just incase” is a good idea.
Category : Top Real Estate Articles
