Archive for April, 2009

Cheap Home Loan

Cheap Home Loans: What is an APR?

“APR” is one of the most misunderstood terms in the world of home mortgages. While you might know that it means “Annual Percentage Rate”, you may not know that it includes more than the interest rate. APR is a figure used to determine the yearly cost of a new home loan including all other fees like points, origination fees, and lending fees. A lot see this as something hidden yet it is a clear amount being paid on mortgage.

Years ago, it was hard to determine the total cost of a home mortgage without reading all of the fine print or using a sophisticated mortgage calculator. While one lender might offer you a 7.50% interest rate and another offers you 6.00%, the better deal isn’t so obvious. Overall, the 6.00% loan could be much more expensive with all of additional fees.

The federal government requires lenders to quote APR because loans frequently are offered on different terms. To extend the inevitable fruit analogy, differing loan terms from different lenders can make it hard to figure out which offer is a sour persimmon and which is a real peach. APR helps you identify the peaches.

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Car Loan – Tips Can Help Drive Smart Loan Deals

But a less-publicized automotive trend – rising interest rates – will make 0-percent car loans a rare breed in 2006. Increasingly, consumers will need to comparison shop for their car loans before they go to buy, just as they do for the vehicles themselves.

According to Bankrate.com, interest rates on new car loans rose steadily throughout 2005 and the pattern is expected to continue into 2006. The difference of just two percentage points on your APR can either save or cost you more than $1,400 over the life of a typical loan.

“Many consumers do not realize that they have other options for financing their car, outside of the dealership,” said Brian Reed, vice president of Capital One Auto Finance. “There are some great options for consumers to finance their car on a direct basis, versus relying on the dealer to provide that service for you.”

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