Debt settlement company » Minimum Payment

Debt Settlement Loan – Is it Possible Without Home Equity?

admin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:36:31 +0000

Debt settlement loans can give you a new lease on life. Such loans can help you pay off your debts, streamline your bills, and help you manage your debt. Just stopping the bill collectors from calling can be a great relief for most people. It is more than possible to apply for and receive such a loan without having any form of home equity at all. In fact, you may not even own a home and still be able to get such a vital one. The following are some of the things to expect from this kind of program.

First off, you should know that the worse your credit is, the higher your interest rates will be. This does not mean that a settling loan is a bad thing or a scam, but that you should be aware of this when you apply for such loans. Even if interest rates are high, this form of debt management is still beneficial. After all, you will go from having many interest rates to only having one. This streamlining can end up saving you quite a bit of money over time.

Next, you should really think about how much you can afford to pay each month. You do not want to use this one to pay off your debtors only to realize you can not pay the minimum payment on it. If you need a large loan but small monthly payments, this is possible. You will just need to realize that you may have this kind of credit for quite some time. Still, if you are rebuilding your credit, a debt settlement loan really will help you save quite a bit of money. In the long run, investing in such a loan really will give you peace of mind and make managing your finances that much easier.

By: Hector Milla

Taking a Look Into Debt Settlement Companies

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:34:57 +0000

Debt settlement companies are growing enormously in popularity and they are doing so for good reason. Many people are in a situation where their debt is completely out of their control and they need a reliable means of paying off their amassed debt. Paying the minimum payment every month simply will not get a person out of debt. It will only delay the payoff until it becomes impossible. That is why companies that offer a means of being able to settle debts are so helpful. They can allow a debtor to close out an account and put an end to such piles of delinquency notices.

But, what does a debt settlement entail? It is a rather simple process that is not even very complicated to engage in. Basically, a debt settlement program offers a lump sum payment with the intention of closing out an account. That means if you owe $4,000 on a credit card, an upfront, lump sum payment of $2,000 could be offered and once the credit card company received the payment, the bill would be considered paid in full. The credit card balance would be zeroed out and no more payments would be required for the debt. Yes, debt settlement companies can push such a deal through on your behalf and this will certainly allow you to get your financial accounts in order.

Some may wonder why the credit card companies would accept such a deal. The reason is simple. This is the best option they will have to acquiring a payment since a person who is headed into an out of control debt situation will surely present a potential default threat. If the person goes into default, the credit card company will have a very difficult time collecting anything on what is owed.

Also, when someone is heavily in debt, the possibility of filing for bankruptcy will rear its head. This can be a nightmare scenario for both the lender and the borrower. For the lender, bankruptcy could mean they will receive next to nothing as a payment on the money owed. The credit cards would have to rely on a judge’s decision in terms of what they will collect and this is not a good scenario. Hence, they would be much more open to what the debt settlement companies are willing to offer.

For the borrower, a debt settlement is a much more painless process than dealing with the complexity of bankruptcy court. Debt settlement is less involved and is much more immediate. As such, it is a much better plan to engage in than walking into the trap of bankruptcy court which can take weeks and even months to get worked out.

Of course, it is also important to select the right service to handle your debt settlement offer. While most debt settlement companies are top of the line, there are a number of scams out there. That is why it is best to perform a little due diligence research on any company you opt to deal with. This way, you can avoid being taking advantage of when you seek to close out your credit card debts.

By: Jon Arnold

Consumer Credit Card Debt Relief Scams! Are They Real?

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:12:30 +0000

I have been in the credit card debt relief industry for just about 10 years now and have been in the financial industry for over 20 years. The point of this article is to give people a heads up on debt relief companies also known as debt settlement or debt negotiation companies. I will give you the pro’s and con’s of this process and what to watch out for when interviewing a company to help you get out of debt. Before I go on I want to let you know that this will be a rather long article and by the end of it my goal is to have you understand how the debt negotiation/settlement process works in case you don’t already know and I would like you to understand the tactics of companies out there that do not truly have your best interest at heart.

First I would like to state that the process of debt negotiation as your means of consumer debt relief is not for everyone, some people are better suited for bankruptcy and others do not have the correct mindset to go through this process.

I would like you to first understand what debt negotiation is and how it works. The goal of a debt negotiator is to obtain a debt settlement for you on the current debt amount you owe your creditor. So for example you may owe one particular creditor $10,000 so the goal of the negotiator would be to have you end up paying back say $6,000. The two main benefits of going through this process are to save money on what you currently owe your creditors and to save time. By just paying the minimum payment with even a modest interest rate you will be looking at 30 or more years to become debt free, with a sound debt negotiation program you will be out of debt within 2-3 years or sooner depending on your current financial situation.

Now you must understand these are great benefits but as with anything in life there are drawbacks, nothing is perfect and this consumer debt relief procedure is no different. For starters your creditors will not be willing to negotiate a debt settlement at all if you are current with your monthly minimum payments. They would prefer you to stay on their credit treadmill for the next thirty years and pay them back over four times the balance in interest alone. So you must fall behind on your payments to put the creditors into a position where they will be willing to settle. Once you stop paying them the ball game changes completely and they will then be willing to talk in terms of negotiating a settlement.

So obviously for some people the beginning of this process will have a negative effect on their credit score. For those who are already falling behind then the negative effect will be no different than it already is. Unfortunately for some people this will be the deterring factor that keeps them from going into debt settlement making them a slave to their creditors for the next thirty years. The good news is that this negative effect does not last forever, in fact once the settlements start coming through your credit score will begin to rebound and go back up. The reason being over 30% of your credit score according to MyFICO is based on how much debt you owe. But if you are stuck in a bad debt situation even if you are current with your payments your score is probably not all that good in the first place, and besides when stuck deep in debt your focus should be on how to get out of debt as quickly as possible, not on your ability to accrue future debt.

Now by falling behind on your debts you must understand that these creditors are just not going to roll over and play dead, they will be calling to try and collect the debt. For some this is not a problem at all, for others it is, that is why I stated above this process is not for everyone and the consumer must be in the correct mind set. From my years of helping people there is no rhyme or reason to how many calls you will receive some clients of mine barely get calls while others get them almost everyday. Something to keep in mind too is that no company has the power to legally stop the calls, so any company that tells you they can is flat out lying.

As you can see like I said earlier there are pro’s and con’s, but if you can accept the con’s you will be quickly on the road to financial freedom and will save a lot of money in the process. Now to get to the meat of the matter and why I named this article “consumer credit card debt relief scams”.

We here in America over the past couple of years have been experiencing a very negative downturn in our economy. Thus putting many consumers in a compromising position financially, leaving boat loads of people stuck in credit card debt. So naturally this opened up a much larger market for debt negotiation. Many fly by night companies have been popping up all over the country, many of which are ex mortgage brokers who sold people bad loans and helped them get into this sticky position in the first place. Now I use the word scam which can take on a few meanings, while yes there are some companies out there that are flat out scams and have no intent on doing any work for you at all, most of the times that is not the case. Instead many companies simply do not give people all the facts on how debt negotiation works nor do they truly put them on a plan for success, which I will explain in a minute.

One common issue that most consumers have with debt settlement companies is they do not fully tell them about how the process works, instead they sugar coat things and just preach about the great benefits. I have spoken to countless amounts of people who have signed up with companies and were under the impression that they were going to stay current with their creditors and will never receive any calls. So needless to say this became a huge problem once they began.

Another major problem a lot of these companies have is deceiving people into the kind of savings they will be getting on their debts. Some companies will say they will save you 70% of what you owe. Now while they may get settlements that low what their opting not to tell you is how much you will be saving after you have A) paid them their fees, and B) paid back the creditors. Honest companies will tell you what your true savings will be. If you will save somewhere between 40-50% of what you owe including their fees and paying the creditors than that is pretty darn good. Plus many of these companies will try and guarantee a certain amount of savings, if you hear this run for the hills. NO one in this industry can guarantee a certain amount that is why it is called DEBT NEGOTIATION! They are negotiating to get a settlement for as low as they can get.

Then there are the companies who will let you pay whatever you can to get on their program. These are the worst because they do not truly have your interest at heart and know they are setting you up to fail and not succeed. You must understand to achieve the type of savings I stated above this process should take no more than three years, preferably two or less. And the bottom line is some people simply cannot get it done in that time frame and should realistically be looking into bankruptcy. What these unscrupulous consumer debt relief companies will do is put you on a program for 4 or more years and basically accepts whatever payment you can afford. Knowing full well you are not going to be saving much of anything and will more than likely fail off the program, all they care about is getting the fees and that is it. An honest company will diligently review your budget with you and make sure this is something that you can manage, as well as fully explain to you both the benefits and drawbacks of doing this. And let you make the conscience decision as to whether this is the best consumer debt relief method for your situation.

Another very good way to evaluate a company is to make sure they are registered with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and that they are in good standings with very few complaints. And if there are complaints make sure they were resolved to the clients liking.

By: Stephen Bis

Reducing Debt: Secrets Credit Card Companies Don’t Want You to Know

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:20:10 +0000

Do you want to know how to go about reducing debt? Well, we all do. Reducing debt is the key to gaining financial freedom and building wealth. And without debt, no matter how much we make, we can all build our way to financial freedom.

Credit card debts are the main source of debts that trouble Americans. There are a number of ways to go about reducing debts. Here are three simple ways:

Pay double the minimum payment Set up automatic payments with your bank Pay more frequently than once per month Let me talk briefly about each of these methods:

Pay double the minimum payment

When you’re really struggling with credit card debts, this sounds painful. But it’s key to reducing debts. By paying double the minimum payment, you will reduce (in the long run) the interest you pay and you will have less cash available to yourself (that’s the hard part!) so you will be likely to spend less. This all adds up to you spending less money and reducing debts.

Set up automatic payments with your bank

This is a great method for reducing your debt because once it’s set up, you don’t even have to do anything. Set it up with your bank — you can usually do this online — so that a certain amount is sent to pay your credit card debts immediately after you are paid. This gets you in the habit of reducing debt.

Pay more frequently than once per month

This is rarely talked about, but it is an effective strategy. If you pay $100 on a credit card each month, pay $50 of it in the middle of the month and the other $50 at the end of the month. This will help you to reduce the interest that accrues on the account (because the average balance on the card will be lower for half of a month. In the long run, this adds up and help you in reducing debt and eliminating your credit card debts.

Credit card debts don’t have to control your life. You should control your credit cards. These three tips will help you with reducing debt. If you want to eliminate all of your credit card debts, you need more than just those three tips. You need to stay on top of your finances, set a budget, and have a plan. Find a program that you can follow and learn as much as you can about finances.

By: Michael M Thomas

What Happens If You Do Not Pay Credit Card Debt?

admin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:04:05 +0000

What happens if you do not pay credit card debt seems be a question that many people are asking during today’s economy. This question will not be answered the same depending on what you plan to do about not being able to make your credit card payments.

If you fall behind on credit card payments and become paralyzed to the point where you ignore the situation you are in, you are going to have problems. You will get collection calls from your credit card company for about six months. After that time, your credit card company may sell your account to a third party collection agency. They can be very harassing and down right nasty.

With the economy being what it is, more and more credit card companies and collection agencies are taking legal action. They will place a judgment on your credit report and in many cases will garnish you wages for the outstanding balance on your account. This is something you want to avoid at all cost. So, the sooner you face reality and begin to deal with your situation the better off you will be.

It is best to work with your lender and see what type of hardship programs they offer. Credit counseling may also be an option for you, but you will still have to make a 2 percent payment each month. Your collection calls will stop, your unsecured debt will be consolidated into one monthly payment, your fees will stop and your interest rates will be reduced significantly. But not everyone is able to make a minimum payment.

Debt settlement is growing in popularity as many people are being faced with bankruptcy. This is an alternative that can have you debt free in 12-36 months. Debt settlement is a debt help option where your credit card balances are reduced through negotiation.

By: Marjorie Salada

How Come Debt Settlement Services Have Such Different Program Terms?

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:10:51 +0000

Amongst the many things you need to be leery about when signing up with debt a settlement service, one of the largest problems, is the actual program term. Since the program term will determine, not only the total amount you end up paying, but it also will determine your monthly payment.

Some companies will stretch their monthly term to 48 or 60 months, we have even heard of a company that offers an 80 month term.

You have to be careful with those types of companies. Since programs like that will most-likely get the client sued by the creditor, and they are most likely a scam debt settlement service. The company plans on the client being sued and take their fees from you long before it happens.

A debt settlement or debt negotiation program should not be over 36 months. And if you have under $70,000 in debt your program term should much shorter.

Since the faster the creditor gets paid, the less negatives can happen against you. First negative being, less late payments on your credit report and second being, less chance of being sued by your creditor.

Can you be sued? Yes, and don’t let any company tell you otherwise.

Is it likely you will be sued for a judgment and income garnishments? It will all depend on your situation, and whether it is “cost efficient” for the creditor.

So if your term is short like 12 to 30 months, your minimizing the risk, by paying them back faster. Plus it gets you out of debt faster too!!

The best way to go, is a term under 36 months with “No Pre-Payment Penalty” then you are in control of the term and you can pay more when you can afford to and the minimum payment other months. This way you are still assured the program in done in under 3 years but it could be much faster depending on your settlement amount and how much you pay each month.

By: Jeff T Forman

Debt Settlement In Florida

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:57:52 +0000

Thousands of people across the country are faced with overwhelming debts on a daily basis. Many of these people feel that filing for bankruptcy is the only viable option to remove themselves from debt. Fortunately, debt settlement, which is also known as debt reduction or debt negotiation, exists. It is a way of reducing debts that does not involve completely destroying a credit score.

Debt settlement is a new way of dealing with debt and credit problems. It involves negotiating a debt settlement problem with a creditor. Typically, a debt counselor will help in the negotiation of the plan to remove debts. This whole concept is a legitimate solution for consumers whose credit card debt is overwhelming. The concept is equally useful for people who have fallen behind on payments as it is for people who are barely able to afford the minimum payment.

Unfortunately, no solution to debt is completely free from potential downsides. Debt settlement, like other options, will have a negative effect on a person’s credit rating. Fortunately, this will be less drastic than if an individual files for bankruptcy. There is also the possibility that the creditor will take legal action to collect the full amount owed to them. The final potential downside is that creditors will continue to call until the debt is settled.

The potential for negative consequences is diminished in Florida due to the state’s favorable debtor laws. Florida provides its citizens with numerous rights and protections concerning past due amounts on unsecured accounts such as medical bills, credit cards, repossessions, and personal loans.

All states have laws that require collection agencies to stop contacting a consumer if the consumer sends a Cease and Desist letter or a Power of Attorney letter which tells the collection agency that a third party is responsible for handling all communications with the creditor. Florida protects its citizens more by limiting the harassment from collection agencies as well as the original creditor (this is the bank or credit card company). The same laws which regulate and restrict what a collection agency can do also restrict the harassment abilities of original creditors.

In addition, Florida has set up laws that frequently completely protect a debtor’s wages and homes. Wages are protected by the state’s wage garnishment laws. This legal structure gives a creditor more of an incentive to settle.

Many cases, despite all of these protections, do end up in court. This is because creditors always have the right to sue a debtor as a means of collecting a past due amount. This is true regardless of whether the consumer has taken any action to resolve outstanding debt.

By: Joseph Devine