Credit Cards Plus

Banks and other lenders have been doing lots of foot dragging since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis. But now they are being more aggressively urged by government regulators to do loan modifications for homeowners, as the Obama Administration presses lenders to do more to stop foreclosures. One of the programs involves doing a trial loan modification. Loan modification is a process that gives the borrower more lenient and flexible terms for repaying their debt. A typical loan modification might result in lower monthly payments, for example, or a cheaper interest rate or longer repayment period.

During a trial loan modification phase the homeowner is given a chance to prove that they can make payments in a timely fashion. Read article…

Apply for a loan with a low score and you run the risk of being denied – or being approved for a loan with higher interest and steeper fees and charges. So smart consumers plan ahead and take steps to clear up blemishes on their credit reports before they ever apply for a loan. By doing things to improve their FICO score ahead of time, they can dramatically enhance their chances of getting a more attractive loan.

One recommendation often given to those trying to improve their credit is that they carry a manageable loan balance on one or more credit cards. The logic behind this advice is that consumers can prove how responsible they are by carrying a balance and then paying it off – including the interest charges – in a timely fashion.
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These days it is common for couples who are not legally married to live together, buy property together, and live the same kind of life that traditional married couples do. But they should be aware that they do not have the same legal protections as legally married couples. That’s because most tax laws, legislation regarding inheritance of estates, and many real estate laws favor legally married couples while they fail to recognize unmarried couples in the same way. You can live with your partner as an unmarried couple for decades, for example, but if one of you dies the surviving partner may have absolutely no legal claims to the house or other assets that you have shared together as a couple.

That is why unmarried couples should seek out a qualified attorney and draw up special documents that clearly state each person’s intentions, possessions, and financial responsibilities and obligations. A s Read article…

Chase has announced rolling out two new free mobile banking features: “customers now can receive a text message the moment their checking account balance falls below a pre-selected amount – and then instantly transfer funds by sending a text-message reply as short as four keystrokes.” Chase says it is currently sending out 725,000 low-balance alerts each week.

“The new features make it easier for customers to manage their accounts, and avoid making purchases that could overdraw their accounts,” said Charles Scharf, head of Retail Financial Services at Chase. “Cust

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Most Americans have no idea that the US Treasury Department, which is the government agency that prints and issues money, goes to great lengths to help people whose money has been partially destroyed. If you have a house fire, for example, and your paper money gets burned, the US Treasury may be able to exchange some of that damaged money for new bills.

You might accidentally rip up some money by dropping your wallet underneath the lawn mower. Perhaps you wind up washing some old delicate bills in the washing machine by mistake and are disappointed to learn that they fell apart during the spin cycle. You can’t take that money to the store and expect anyone to accept it, and chances are you just consider it lost for good. B Read article…