Friday, January 21, 2011

Top 10 Ways to Avoid Loan Fraud

Every year, misinformed homebuyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. Below you'll find the top ten ways to avoid becoming a victim yourself.
1. Take your time and shop around. You should be able to compare prices and houses. If a lender or broker tells you they are your only chance to get a loan or owning a home, don't do business with them.

2. Do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.

3. Be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to.

4. Do not be talked into lying about (or choose to lie) about your income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.

5. Watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.

6. Be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases.

7. Don't strip your home's equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you.

8. Beware of false appraisals.

9. Do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.

10. Get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you're being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin.

Best Buy Gift Card

Free $1000 Best Buy gift cards are now being offered by online research companies. This card can be used to go shopping for electronics, computers and many other accessories. If you like shopping at Best Buy and would like to receive a free shopping spree, read this article and I will show you how to obtain a free gift card.

What do I have to do?

Anyone is eligible for this offer. When I first heard of freebies online I thought it was a complete scam. It just did not seem possible. I mean who in their right mind would give away $1000 so I could go shopping for free? To my surprise, I found out that this offer was actually legit and did require some tedious but simple work.

This is how it works. There are sponsors that are willing to cover the expense for the free $1000 Best Buy gift card by you filling out surveys and trying out products for free. Why would companies do this? Well, this gives them new customers for their products and is an easy way to advertise. This method has been more effective than spending thousands on magazine ads and TV commercials that doesn't promise return on their investments. You get to try offers for free and get compensated.

What offers are available?

The beauty of it all is that you get to choose which trial offer you want. They got everything from credit cards, movie rental service, home appliances, game consoles and even stamps. You choose what interests you most. This is a win/win situation for the promoter and the consumer.

Some of these free trial offers require your credit card information. You have two weeks to cancel your free trial before you are charged. My best advice is to keep track of how long you been using your free trial to avoid losing money. If you don't have a credit card don't get discouraged, there are free trials that don't require this information.

These offers in a way are not actually free. You have to dedicate a few minutes and participate in order to complete. You know the saying "time is money."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_J._Eagle