Finance

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When money is an issue, and you need funds to expand your business, pay your debts, or buy equipment, anyone offering cash looks attractive. Unfortunately, some loan provider websites are not legitimate, while others like, Fast Capital 360, are valid businesses. But in today’s internet-focused world, the number of scammers continues to increase. These defrauders take advantage of people and rip them off by getting access to their personal information and money. If you don’t want to be the next victim, be aware of anything that seems too good to be true. Stay alert of unwelcome phone calls, emails, mails, or advertisements. Be very careful with who you are sharing your financial information with.

Here are a few red flags that can help you identify a scam lender.

They Ask for Upfront Fees

Legitimate lenders never ask for fees before you apply for a loan, or before it has been approved. Most lenders charge fees from the money you are borrowing, and do not guarantee loan approval in exchange of fees. So, if a lender asks for upfront fees in order to secure a loan, then know he or she is a scammer.

They do not Require a Credit Check or Business Plan

The first thing an authentic lender looks at in your loan application is your credit history. If you do not have a good credit score, then you do not qualify for the loan. The same goes for business plans; the lender looks at a company’s capital and their capacity to make sure they can pay back the loan in time. If a lender is not interested in your credit score or your business plan, then immediately run away from them. It is the first visible red flag, who does not care about your credit, but only wants your personal and financial information. Most entrepreneurs have a poor credit history making these offers that don’t require credit checks attractive. Fortunately, there are legal programs that offer short-term loans to individuals with a poor credit history. So, make sure the person you are dealing with is doing things legally and not just ripping you off.

The Lender is not Registered in Your State

Every state requires lenders to register and have a license, so sure your loan provider is registered in your state. Even if they show you an out-of-state license, it is advised that you not respond to their lending inspection. There is a significant number of fraudulent online businesses that offer loans while operating without a license.

They do not have an Address or Phone on their Website

A scammer would never list accurate contact information like an address or a phone number, so you have no way of following up with them. Many even provide domestic addresses, but that does not offer a guarantee of the lender being authentic. So, if you come across such websites where there is no valid registered address or number, know that it is not right.

If it says ‘Your offer expires soon, you must act now’

If you come across an offer that requires immediate action, then the chances are 99.9% that it is a scam. These scammers want to use high-pressure techniques, so applicants react quickly and do not have the time to spot their scam. Authentic lenders take your process smoothly and don’t make you rush into things.

They Guarantee Approval

There is no such thing as guaranteed loan approval. A legitimate lender first verifies your personal and financial information and checks your credit history, and then moves forward with your loan application. If you find a lender that is giving you a guaranteed approval, then they are a fraud, who’s only trying to take money from you.

They take Payments in Form of Gift Cards

Paying someone with a gift card means that once the money has been used, there is no way of tracing it back. That is why scammers often use this technique and say that they accept gift cards in the form of payments. An authentic lender would never do such a thing, so if you come across someone who’s asking for a gift card payment, know they are scamming you.

These are some of the red flags that are most common among loan scammers, be wary of them and keep yourself protected. We have listed down a few things that you can and must do to keep yourself secured from such scamming issues.

Always Research the Lender

When you get in contact with a prospective lender, research and conduct background checks on them to know how authentic he or she is. Check for their customer reviews, ratings, and complaint history. Go online and research and see if you find anything about them or the company you are dealing with. Get in touch with other business owners who might have worked with the same lender. Visit their website, social media platforms, and check how legit their contact information is.

Check for Clear Loan Terms

Lenders follow a straightforward loan procedure and highlight all the necessary items to complete your application. These include the loan amount, interest fees, final cost of your loan, and any possible penalty fees. A legit lender will give you all the details about your loan and payment options. Look online or ask around what all things are stated in an authentic loan form. If you do not find all those terms in a loan form offered by your lender, then do not sign it.

Make sure there are No Upfront Fees

Legitimate lenders never take fees prior to approving a loan. Nor do they deduct any amount from your loan amount without informing you. So, if a lender asks for upfront fees before your loan application is approved, know they are a scammer.

Always Read the Fine Print

Before you sign any contract or submit anything online, make sure you read all the terms and conditions stated. Because once you have signed the document, it will be very difficult for you to step away from it. Read about the amount of loan you’ll be getting, the fees you’ll be paying, the interest rate, total repayment amount, and final cost.

Keep your Personal and Business Information Secure

Unless you are entirely familiar with the lender, never share your business or personal financial information. Not over the phone, not over the internet, you cannot trust anyone with such delicate info.

Monitor your Banking Accounts Carefully

Once a scammer gets hold of your financial information, they will try to make unauthorized withdrawals from your bank account. To stay safe, keep a close eye on your bank account and check your statements regularly. If you find something shady, inform the bank right away.

 

Owning a home is a beautiful thing — but it’s an expensive one, too! When you make the choice to buy your first home, you alter the course of your financial future. The good news is that, generally speaking, buying a home can help your financial situation in the long run: Instead of wasting money on rent, you’ll be putting equity into a valuable asset. But whether and how much a home purchase improves your financial future depends, to a large degree, on your decision-making and how well you handle the opportunities and challenges that come with owning your own home. Here is everything that you need to know in order to maximize your wealth as a homeowner.

Maximizing your tax savings

Buying a home changes a lot about your life. Some of those ways are obvious in the ways in which they affect your daily reality. Others are things that you’ll be less likely to think about. One significant difference between your pre- and post-home ownership life will be your tax situation.

Unless you’re an accountant or an auditor, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about taxes. After you buy a home, though, you should pay attention — and should probably hire a tax expert to help you navigate your new tax situation, at least for the first year. You want to be sure that you’re maximizing your home-related deductions and not giving Uncle Sam a penny more than you’re legally obligated to!

Mortgages and refinancing

You almost certainly didn’t pay cash for your home, which means that you have a mortgage to pay every month. Be sure to pay your mortgage on time every month in order to keep the debt financially healthy! Do that over and over for years, and you’ll eventually own your home free and clear.

At some point, though, you may want to consider taking a second look at the mortgage you’re paying every month. Depending on the interest rates and your long-term plans, you could be better off refinancing.

The benefits of refinancing a home loan are obvious: Refinancing at the right time will lower your interest rate (it can also give you access to the equity that you’ve already put into your home loan). However, there is an up-front cost to refinancing, so it will only be worth it if you stay in your home (and, therefore, keep paying off the loan) for long enough for the savings you gained from the lower interest rate to outweigh what you paid in refinancing costs.

Maintenance and long-term value

Eventually, you may want to sell your home. Even if you don’t, you’ll certainly want it to be as beautiful and as function (not to mention as valuable) as possible. But that takes work!

Whether you’re a new homeowner or have lived in your house for years, you need to remember that maintenance is crucial. A home’s value can deteriorate fast if its owner doesn’t stay on top of seasonal maintenance chores and move quickly to address repair needs.

Energy upgrades

Your home is packed with essential appliance systems that maintain your comfort. Your electricity, your plumbing, your heat — these all help make a house a home. But these systems cost money to use.

How much you pay in energy in your home will depend, to a great extent, on your home itself. If you invest in attic insulation, new windows, and other improvements that keep inside air in and outside air out, then you’ll pay less for your HVAC system each month. Maintenance and repair to your electrical and plumbing systems, as well as efficiency improvements like fluorescent light bulbs and low-flow toilets, can make a huge difference in your bottom line.

To read more on topics like this, check out the finance category.

 

If keeping on top of your finances is important to you, you’ve come to the right place. Simply continue reading in order to discover 7 new finance tips to try out.

7 New finance tips to try out:

1. Start planning for your retirement as soon as possible. The earlier you start planning for your retirement, the earlier you’ll be able to retire. Many individuals make the mistake of putting all their retirement savings into their government-run retirement account or savings account. However, if you want your money to double or triple in value, over a 10 year period, you’ll need to invest part of the money, which you allocated for your retirement. As your returns from your investments will be far higher than the interest which you’ll receive on your savings accounts.

2. Choose a savings account which offers a high-interest rate. In order to increase the amount of interest that your savings account will earn you, it’s important to select a savings account which offers a competitive interest rate. If you’re unsure of what your current interest rate is, it’s well worth looking it up and comparing it with the interest rates of other banks, that you could see yourself banking with.

3. Aim to invest a predefined percentage of your monthly income.  As it can be easy to make plans to invest and harder to part with your hard-earned money, it’s a great idea to decide on a specific percentage, which you’re comfortable investing each month. As an example, you may want to start off by committing to invest 20% of your monthly income.

4. Use a debit card to pay for your monthly expenses instead of a credit card. If you want to enjoy all the benefits of owning a credit card but are not thrilled about the idea of paying interest on the money which you spend, you’re far better off signing up for a debit card. As a debit card allows you to use your own income to pay for items.

5. Adjust your budget from month to month. As your expenses are likely to remain the same from month to month, if you’re the type of individual who believes in budgeting, you may want to tweak your budget from month to month. As an example, one month you may have less disposable income as a result of going on vacation or paying for your car to be repaired. Also, remember to budget for any miscellaneous items which you may have to pay for such as birthday gifts.

6. Cut down on the amount of money which you spend on dining out. You’ll be surprised by just how much money you can save by simply cutting down on the number of times which you eat out each month.

7. Aim to purchase big-ticket items on sale. Another way to save thousands of dollars each year is to shop around and to purchase big-ticket items such as electronics and household appliances on sale. As in some cases, you may be able to purchase a brand name product at a fraction of its original price.

So if being in control of your personal finances is important to you, it’s a great idea to use the 7 finance tips listed above to your advantage!