Posted on | March 22, 2010 | No Comments
Refinance home loan rates have been very attractive to almost all homeowners. If you are looking to find the lowest mortgage rates for your situation you will need to make certain that you understand how much home equity you have and what your credit score is.
If you do not know the answer to these issues then you need to find out immediately. Getting a credit score can be very quick and easy as there are many websites that offer your credit score for less than $20. The hard part will be finding out how much home equity you have.
In all reality, the only way you will know how much home equity you have is to get your home appraised and then find out how much money you have paid towards the principal. This might be a little difficult as getting a home appraised is not an exact science.
If you know you are not underwater in your home then there is a very good chance that you can refinance to a low home rate with a good credit score. If you have a very bad credit score and very little home equity than you are going to find it very difficult to qualify for a low home loan rate.
Author: Mike Garner
Source
Friday, April 2, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Today’s Lowest Mortgage Interest Rates – Home Mortgage Loan Rates at 4.75%
Posted on | March 24, 2010 | No Comments
Today’s lowest mortgage interest rates are around 4.75% for the 30 year fixed mortgage. With home loan rates continuing to move lower in the month of March many homeowners have had the opportunity to refinance to a lower mortgage interest rate.
Some of these homeowners are seeing several hundred dollars of savings when it comes to their monthly mortgage payment. If you have considered refinancing in the past it might be a wise decision to do it sooner rather than later. There are many mortgage lenders that will be more than willing to help you.
It is important to know that you will need a significant amount of equity in your home and a very impressive credit score to have any ability to refinance under 5%. If your credit score is below 740 and you have little home-equity you can almost forget about refinancing to a low mortgage interest rate.
If the opposite is true and you have made very strong financial decisions over the last few years then you will save money by refinancing today. There are many mortgage lenders that will allow you to go through a preapproval process where you can find out what mortgage rate you will likely qualify for.
Author: Mike Garner
Source
=====================
Decision regarding your home loan equity will depends if it will benefit you or not.
Today’s lowest mortgage interest rates are around 4.75% for the 30 year fixed mortgage. With home loan rates continuing to move lower in the month of March many homeowners have had the opportunity to refinance to a lower mortgage interest rate.
Some of these homeowners are seeing several hundred dollars of savings when it comes to their monthly mortgage payment. If you have considered refinancing in the past it might be a wise decision to do it sooner rather than later. There are many mortgage lenders that will be more than willing to help you.
It is important to know that you will need a significant amount of equity in your home and a very impressive credit score to have any ability to refinance under 5%. If your credit score is below 740 and you have little home-equity you can almost forget about refinancing to a low mortgage interest rate.
If the opposite is true and you have made very strong financial decisions over the last few years then you will save money by refinancing today. There are many mortgage lenders that will allow you to go through a preapproval process where you can find out what mortgage rate you will likely qualify for.
Author: Mike Garner
Source
=====================
Decision regarding your home loan equity will depends if it will benefit you or not.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Refinance Home Loan Rates – Save Money with Low Mortgage Refinance Rates
Posted on | March 15, 2010 | No Comments
Refinance home loan rates have been near all-time lows for over 15 months. Many homeowners have had the ability to save money by refinancing but there are still many homeowners who are looking to save that extra dollar with the current low refinance rates.
Luckily, there are many mortgage lenders who are currently offering low rates. It is important to understand that not everyone will qualify for a mortgage rate around the advertise low levels of 4.75%. If you have a significant amount of equity in your home and a good credit score you have a very good opportunity.
If your credit score is above 740 and you have a large amount of home equity there is little doubt that you can qualify for low mortgage rate in the current interest-rate environment. Unfortunately, if the opposite is true then you are going to find it nearly impossible to get a mortgage rate near 5%.
Even if you cannot get the lowest possible mortgage rate it may still benefit you to refinance today. If you can save one full percentage point on your home loan rate and you will likely save money by completing the mortgage refinance process.
Author: Heather Best
Source
=========================
Nice info on getting the lowest home loan rates.
Refinance home loan rates have been near all-time lows for over 15 months. Many homeowners have had the ability to save money by refinancing but there are still many homeowners who are looking to save that extra dollar with the current low refinance rates.
Luckily, there are many mortgage lenders who are currently offering low rates. It is important to understand that not everyone will qualify for a mortgage rate around the advertise low levels of 4.75%. If you have a significant amount of equity in your home and a good credit score you have a very good opportunity.
If your credit score is above 740 and you have a large amount of home equity there is little doubt that you can qualify for low mortgage rate in the current interest-rate environment. Unfortunately, if the opposite is true then you are going to find it nearly impossible to get a mortgage rate near 5%.
Even if you cannot get the lowest possible mortgage rate it may still benefit you to refinance today. If you can save one full percentage point on your home loan rate and you will likely save money by completing the mortgage refinance process.
Author: Heather Best
Source
=========================
Nice info on getting the lowest home loan rates.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Black entrepreneurs in Richmond face new challenges
MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS AND EMILY C. DOOLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
Published: March 21, 2010
Updated: March 21, 2010
On April 3, 1889, -- 24 years to the day after Richmond fell to Union troops -- the first chartered black bank in the nation opened in the Jackson Ward residence of former slave William Washington Browne.
The following year, Browne's organization, Grand Fountain of the United Order of True Reformers, moved the bank out of his home into a new three-story edifice on Second Street.
"Four millions cut loose from bondage and sent upon the world absolute paupers, without one cent of money, now the owners of a great building and directors of a bank," a Browne biographer wrote. "What a marvelous change! One of the mottoes well said, '1865, Slaves; 1890, Bankers.'"
Jackson Ward, referred to locally as "The Cradle of Black Capitalism," would give birth to six black-owned banks during its zenith.
Today, Richmond has none.
Black enterprise -- a proud symbol of self-sufficiency after emancipation -- has struggled in Richmond and beyond since its segregation-era heyday.
The reasons offered include lingering racism, barriers to raising capital, lack of business experience, high unemployment, limited networking and desegregation: Black consumers now have the option to shop places previously off-limits.
"There was a circulation of the dollar within the African-American community before it left," says developer Kelvin Hanson, who is working to revitalize Jackson Ward and other neighborhoods.
"When desegregation happened, I think the African-American community, on both the entrepreneur and consumer side, lost sight of that purchase power and circulation of wealth in the community. As a result of that, business fell."
Now, at a time when most businesses are feeling the pain of the worst recession since the Great Depression, black entrepreneurs are particularly squeezed.
"Black businesses have less access to capital and therefore have a greater difficulty in general economic stress," said Oliver R. Singleton, president and CEO of the 400-member Metropolitan Business League, a Jackson Ward-based agency that promotes small and minority businesses.
"A lot of them are suffering more than their peers because capital access is the lifeblood of business," said Singleton, a former stockbroker just named 2010 Virginia Minority Small Business Champion of the Year by the Small Business Administration.
"You can't finance inventory, jobs and projects without capital. You can't expand."
Researchers say leveling the playing field for minorities might have helped to blunt the current economic malaise.
If the percentage of minority businesses had matched the minority adult population, they could have generated up to 11 million more jobs nationwide, says a January report by the U.S. Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency.
This recession is hitting minority businesses hard, it says. "Unless immediate action is taken, minority communities will continue to lag behind their nonminority counterparts, undermining the ability of the nation to quickly regain its economic footing."
Why the larger community should care about the plight of the black entrepreneur comes down to what kind of community it wants to live in, said Stacy Burrs, who has been head of minority business enterprise for both Richmond and the state.
"We spend a lot time talking about how to get rid of poverty," Burrs said, "but we don't spend a lot of time talking about how to build wealth in a community."
Burrs asks: Do Richmonders want to live in fear of certain communities or do they want wealth to spread its benefits in a positive way?
. . .
It takes money to make money, and African-Americans often lack enough capital to start or sustain a business.
The median (halfway between the high and low point) net worth for black families is $6,000, compared with a median of $70,000 for white families, said Robert W. Fairlie, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"This is not averaging in Bill Gates or anything. This is the median," said Fairlie, co-author of the 2008 book "Race and Entrepreneurial Success" with Alicia M. Robb.
Black businesses have lower sales, lower profits, fewer employees and higher closure rates. African-Americans in general are paid less, are more likely to be unemployed, have smaller inheritances and possess less home equity. The rate of home ownership is 73 percent for whites, 47 percent for blacks, Fairlie said.
In January, the black unemployment rate of 16.5 percent was nearly double that for whites and Asians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And Fairlie -- who with Robb penned the Commerce Department's January report -- cited this key difference: Among black business owners, 13 percent worked in a parent's business, compared with 23 percent of white business owners. "That's where you acquire business experience," he said.
. . .
"Starting and maintaining a successful business requires access to capital and net worth," Burrs said. "The former has been stymied by lender discrimination; the latter, by a lack of personal wealth."
Minorities are less likely to receive loans than nonminorities. If they do receive money, it is often less than what their white counterparts receive, the Commerce Department report said.
The denial rate for minority firms is more than double that of nonminority firms, according to the Commerce Department report.
Forty-two percent of minority firms with gross receipts under $500,000 were denied loans, compared with 17 percent of nonminority firms. Minority firms paid 7.8 percent in interest on average for loans, compared with 6.4 percent for nonminority firms.
"The credit decision is often a subjective decision," Singleton said. "And in my experience, black businesses have found themselves on the short end of the stick in those circumstances."
Collateral, the strength of a business plan and whether a bank will invest in emerging businesses, often factor into a lender's decision.
Asked about reports citing lender bias against black entrepreneurs, Jim Strader, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, responded:
"The Federal Reserve takes reports and allegations of unfair lending practices very seriously. . . . During our examination process, we do look for possible discrimination in small-business lending. If discrimination is identified during an exam, those cases are referred to the Department of Justice."
When asked Thursday about the number of complaints the Fed sees, he advised a reporter to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The Richmond Times-Dispatch filed the request for information on Friday.
Sometimes traditional lending isn't the route minority business owners go.
Last year, Lester Johnson Jr. and Johnathan Mayo got a loan -- under $50,000 -- for their marketing agency, Avail Marketing. It came from REDC Community Capital Group Inc., which provides money and credit to small businesses in the Richmond metro area.
The nonprofit partners with local and federal governments, as well as commercial banks.
"That was huge for us," Mayo said. "None of the banks would give us a loan."
Since REDC began lending money in 1996, it has helped finance 713 businesses, including 480 African Americanor women-owned firms that received a total of $17.6 million, or 58 percent of the money loaned to date, according to a written statement from Stephen J. Schley, REDC's president and CEO.
Most businesses REDC lends money to "lack access or are unable to qualify for traditional bank financing and/or have a need for a public subsidy" to make the project doable, he wrote.
Avail is next door to Mama J's restaurant, which Johnson and Mayo just opened with Johnson's mother, Velma Johnson.
. . .
Despite the challenges obtaining capital, there are positive signs.
The growth rate for black businesses exceeded that of any other group from 1997 to 2002, says Thomas Boston, a professor of economics at Georgia Tech and CEO of EuQuant, an economic consulting company.
During that period, the number of black-owned businesses increased 51 percent. That surpassed the 39 percent increase by Hispanics, 22 percent by Asian/Pacific Islanders, 11 percent by subcontinental Asians and about 8 percent by whites, he said, citing the most current census data available.
Boston acknowledges that some of his colleagues discount those numbers because many of those new black businesses were one-person outfits. Still, "It's relevant because that's the way people start businesses," he said.
But Boston acknowledges the limitations of such growth.
The biggest hurdle is not increasing the number of black businesses but "building businesses of skill and capacity," he said.
One noteworthy black business in the Richmond area is doing just that.
Richmond-based Astyra Corp., a technology and business consulting firm, had its best year last year.
Inc. Magazine recognized Astyra as one of America's fastest-growing privately held companies.
Astyra's success story dramatizes the struggle some black entrepreneurs face.
In 1991, when Astyra's Sam Young and Ken Ampy started their first business, Automation Concepts, they had no financing. They worked full-time jobs while building computers, writing applications and doing desktop publishing for their fledgling business.
"We started with nothing," Young said. "And so what we ended up doing is putting ourselves out on assignment. We didn't pay ourselves."
Every bit of money earned went back into the company.
In 1997, the two changed their focus to information-technology staffing and rebranded the company Astyra. At times, they were told they were "unbankable," but the two managed to get a line of credit to float payroll. The financing options grew with the company, which has 18 full-time employees and between 150 to 200 contract employees.
In 2009, Astyra's revenue was $14 million, up from $10 million the year prior. This year's goal is to grow 20 percent to $17 million or $18 million.
Young and Ampy also mentor businesses that are Metropolitan Business League members. "We definitely want to be businessmen first, but we're very proud to be black businessmen," Young said.
Still, some of the most successful black entrepreneurs are more comfortable keeping a low racial profile.
"Many businesses would prefer that their product or service speak for them rather than the ethnicity of the ownership. And I applaud that," said MBL's Singleton. "Race neutrality insulates you from the occasional negative perceptions that some people assign to black businesses."
. . .
Those negative perceptions are the consequences of a 150-year assault on the image of African-Americans that persists even today, Burrs said.
"We've never cracked the racial divide economically," laments Richard Waller Jr. of Waller & Company Jewelers, a family business that dates back to 1900.
"I still don't get enough people of the other race to just come in and shop with me," said Waller, whose business once was in Jackson Ward but is now near First and Broad streets.
During Jackson Ward's heyday, "You couldn't buy anywhere else," Burrs said. "We seem to have lost the motivation to think in those terms when you look at the buying habits of other ethnic groups."
What was viewed as an indisputable sign of progress is now viewed in some quarters with ambivalence.
"When desegregation allowed the black middle class other alternatives, they chose those alternatives," Singleton said. "At the end of the day, the black middle class decided, 'Hey, I'm going to move to Chesterfield County and I'm not going to bank with [the then-black-owned] Consolidated anymore. I'm going to bank with Wachovia.'"
With that freedom to shop, work and learn came an erosion of the self-reliance that built communities such as Jackson Ward.
Dr. William Ferguson Reid, who in 1967 became the first black elected to the General Assembly in the 20th century, says the trade-off -- freedom to chose -- was worth Jackson Ward's decline.
"Jobs are the key to economics, and more people have gotten into jobs that were closed to them . . . than the businesses we have lost" since desegregation, Reid said.
"The businesses that we have lost were not competitive."
Astyra's Young, who sits on the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, said being lumped in with other minorities can make it tough to compete. The black experience is different from that faced by Asian and Latinos, but many opportunities, such as a set-aside for minority contracts, came about because of the efforts by black entrepreneurs, he said.
"That's why these conversations are so tough," Young said. "If you give your opinion, you almost sound like a racist. But at the end of the day, you would hope everyone cares about their race . . . I want to make sure I'm looking out for the next black entrepreneur."
Today, the likelihood of a person's worth being determined by talent rather than pigment is higher than at any point in U.S. history, Burrs said. But it's up to black entrepreneurs to close the deal.
"The business first of all has to focus on excellence in what it's providing," Burrs said. "It does not help a business to focus on victimology."
Source
==================================
This could give us a great message about equality in entrepreneurship like in making a loan with a low rate.
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS
Published: March 21, 2010
Updated: March 21, 2010
On April 3, 1889, -- 24 years to the day after Richmond fell to Union troops -- the first chartered black bank in the nation opened in the Jackson Ward residence of former slave William Washington Browne.
The following year, Browne's organization, Grand Fountain of the United Order of True Reformers, moved the bank out of his home into a new three-story edifice on Second Street.
"Four millions cut loose from bondage and sent upon the world absolute paupers, without one cent of money, now the owners of a great building and directors of a bank," a Browne biographer wrote. "What a marvelous change! One of the mottoes well said, '1865, Slaves; 1890, Bankers.'"
Jackson Ward, referred to locally as "The Cradle of Black Capitalism," would give birth to six black-owned banks during its zenith.
Today, Richmond has none.
Black enterprise -- a proud symbol of self-sufficiency after emancipation -- has struggled in Richmond and beyond since its segregation-era heyday.
The reasons offered include lingering racism, barriers to raising capital, lack of business experience, high unemployment, limited networking and desegregation: Black consumers now have the option to shop places previously off-limits.
"There was a circulation of the dollar within the African-American community before it left," says developer Kelvin Hanson, who is working to revitalize Jackson Ward and other neighborhoods.
"When desegregation happened, I think the African-American community, on both the entrepreneur and consumer side, lost sight of that purchase power and circulation of wealth in the community. As a result of that, business fell."
Now, at a time when most businesses are feeling the pain of the worst recession since the Great Depression, black entrepreneurs are particularly squeezed.
"Black businesses have less access to capital and therefore have a greater difficulty in general economic stress," said Oliver R. Singleton, president and CEO of the 400-member Metropolitan Business League, a Jackson Ward-based agency that promotes small and minority businesses.
"A lot of them are suffering more than their peers because capital access is the lifeblood of business," said Singleton, a former stockbroker just named 2010 Virginia Minority Small Business Champion of the Year by the Small Business Administration.
"You can't finance inventory, jobs and projects without capital. You can't expand."
Researchers say leveling the playing field for minorities might have helped to blunt the current economic malaise.
If the percentage of minority businesses had matched the minority adult population, they could have generated up to 11 million more jobs nationwide, says a January report by the U.S. Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency.
This recession is hitting minority businesses hard, it says. "Unless immediate action is taken, minority communities will continue to lag behind their nonminority counterparts, undermining the ability of the nation to quickly regain its economic footing."
Why the larger community should care about the plight of the black entrepreneur comes down to what kind of community it wants to live in, said Stacy Burrs, who has been head of minority business enterprise for both Richmond and the state.
"We spend a lot time talking about how to get rid of poverty," Burrs said, "but we don't spend a lot of time talking about how to build wealth in a community."
Burrs asks: Do Richmonders want to live in fear of certain communities or do they want wealth to spread its benefits in a positive way?
. . .
It takes money to make money, and African-Americans often lack enough capital to start or sustain a business.
The median (halfway between the high and low point) net worth for black families is $6,000, compared with a median of $70,000 for white families, said Robert W. Fairlie, a professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
"This is not averaging in Bill Gates or anything. This is the median," said Fairlie, co-author of the 2008 book "Race and Entrepreneurial Success" with Alicia M. Robb.
Black businesses have lower sales, lower profits, fewer employees and higher closure rates. African-Americans in general are paid less, are more likely to be unemployed, have smaller inheritances and possess less home equity. The rate of home ownership is 73 percent for whites, 47 percent for blacks, Fairlie said.
In January, the black unemployment rate of 16.5 percent was nearly double that for whites and Asians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And Fairlie -- who with Robb penned the Commerce Department's January report -- cited this key difference: Among black business owners, 13 percent worked in a parent's business, compared with 23 percent of white business owners. "That's where you acquire business experience," he said.
. . .
"Starting and maintaining a successful business requires access to capital and net worth," Burrs said. "The former has been stymied by lender discrimination; the latter, by a lack of personal wealth."
Minorities are less likely to receive loans than nonminorities. If they do receive money, it is often less than what their white counterparts receive, the Commerce Department report said.
The denial rate for minority firms is more than double that of nonminority firms, according to the Commerce Department report.
Forty-two percent of minority firms with gross receipts under $500,000 were denied loans, compared with 17 percent of nonminority firms. Minority firms paid 7.8 percent in interest on average for loans, compared with 6.4 percent for nonminority firms.
"The credit decision is often a subjective decision," Singleton said. "And in my experience, black businesses have found themselves on the short end of the stick in those circumstances."
Collateral, the strength of a business plan and whether a bank will invest in emerging businesses, often factor into a lender's decision.
Asked about reports citing lender bias against black entrepreneurs, Jim Strader, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, responded:
"The Federal Reserve takes reports and allegations of unfair lending practices very seriously. . . . During our examination process, we do look for possible discrimination in small-business lending. If discrimination is identified during an exam, those cases are referred to the Department of Justice."
When asked Thursday about the number of complaints the Fed sees, he advised a reporter to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The Richmond Times-Dispatch filed the request for information on Friday.
Sometimes traditional lending isn't the route minority business owners go.
Last year, Lester Johnson Jr. and Johnathan Mayo got a loan -- under $50,000 -- for their marketing agency, Avail Marketing. It came from REDC Community Capital Group Inc., which provides money and credit to small businesses in the Richmond metro area.
The nonprofit partners with local and federal governments, as well as commercial banks.
"That was huge for us," Mayo said. "None of the banks would give us a loan."
Since REDC began lending money in 1996, it has helped finance 713 businesses, including 480 African Americanor women-owned firms that received a total of $17.6 million, or 58 percent of the money loaned to date, according to a written statement from Stephen J. Schley, REDC's president and CEO.
Most businesses REDC lends money to "lack access or are unable to qualify for traditional bank financing and/or have a need for a public subsidy" to make the project doable, he wrote.
Avail is next door to Mama J's restaurant, which Johnson and Mayo just opened with Johnson's mother, Velma Johnson.
. . .
Despite the challenges obtaining capital, there are positive signs.
The growth rate for black businesses exceeded that of any other group from 1997 to 2002, says Thomas Boston, a professor of economics at Georgia Tech and CEO of EuQuant, an economic consulting company.
During that period, the number of black-owned businesses increased 51 percent. That surpassed the 39 percent increase by Hispanics, 22 percent by Asian/Pacific Islanders, 11 percent by subcontinental Asians and about 8 percent by whites, he said, citing the most current census data available.
Boston acknowledges that some of his colleagues discount those numbers because many of those new black businesses were one-person outfits. Still, "It's relevant because that's the way people start businesses," he said.
But Boston acknowledges the limitations of such growth.
The biggest hurdle is not increasing the number of black businesses but "building businesses of skill and capacity," he said.
One noteworthy black business in the Richmond area is doing just that.
Richmond-based Astyra Corp., a technology and business consulting firm, had its best year last year.
Inc. Magazine recognized Astyra as one of America's fastest-growing privately held companies.
Astyra's success story dramatizes the struggle some black entrepreneurs face.
In 1991, when Astyra's Sam Young and Ken Ampy started their first business, Automation Concepts, they had no financing. They worked full-time jobs while building computers, writing applications and doing desktop publishing for their fledgling business.
"We started with nothing," Young said. "And so what we ended up doing is putting ourselves out on assignment. We didn't pay ourselves."
Every bit of money earned went back into the company.
In 1997, the two changed their focus to information-technology staffing and rebranded the company Astyra. At times, they were told they were "unbankable," but the two managed to get a line of credit to float payroll. The financing options grew with the company, which has 18 full-time employees and between 150 to 200 contract employees.
In 2009, Astyra's revenue was $14 million, up from $10 million the year prior. This year's goal is to grow 20 percent to $17 million or $18 million.
Young and Ampy also mentor businesses that are Metropolitan Business League members. "We definitely want to be businessmen first, but we're very proud to be black businessmen," Young said.
Still, some of the most successful black entrepreneurs are more comfortable keeping a low racial profile.
"Many businesses would prefer that their product or service speak for them rather than the ethnicity of the ownership. And I applaud that," said MBL's Singleton. "Race neutrality insulates you from the occasional negative perceptions that some people assign to black businesses."
. . .
Those negative perceptions are the consequences of a 150-year assault on the image of African-Americans that persists even today, Burrs said.
"We've never cracked the racial divide economically," laments Richard Waller Jr. of Waller & Company Jewelers, a family business that dates back to 1900.
"I still don't get enough people of the other race to just come in and shop with me," said Waller, whose business once was in Jackson Ward but is now near First and Broad streets.
During Jackson Ward's heyday, "You couldn't buy anywhere else," Burrs said. "We seem to have lost the motivation to think in those terms when you look at the buying habits of other ethnic groups."
What was viewed as an indisputable sign of progress is now viewed in some quarters with ambivalence.
"When desegregation allowed the black middle class other alternatives, they chose those alternatives," Singleton said. "At the end of the day, the black middle class decided, 'Hey, I'm going to move to Chesterfield County and I'm not going to bank with [the then-black-owned] Consolidated anymore. I'm going to bank with Wachovia.'"
With that freedom to shop, work and learn came an erosion of the self-reliance that built communities such as Jackson Ward.
Dr. William Ferguson Reid, who in 1967 became the first black elected to the General Assembly in the 20th century, says the trade-off -- freedom to chose -- was worth Jackson Ward's decline.
"Jobs are the key to economics, and more people have gotten into jobs that were closed to them . . . than the businesses we have lost" since desegregation, Reid said.
"The businesses that we have lost were not competitive."
Astyra's Young, who sits on the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, said being lumped in with other minorities can make it tough to compete. The black experience is different from that faced by Asian and Latinos, but many opportunities, such as a set-aside for minority contracts, came about because of the efforts by black entrepreneurs, he said.
"That's why these conversations are so tough," Young said. "If you give your opinion, you almost sound like a racist. But at the end of the day, you would hope everyone cares about their race . . . I want to make sure I'm looking out for the next black entrepreneur."
Today, the likelihood of a person's worth being determined by talent rather than pigment is higher than at any point in U.S. history, Burrs said. But it's up to black entrepreneurs to close the deal.
"The business first of all has to focus on excellence in what it's providing," Burrs said. "It does not help a business to focus on victimology."
Source
==================================
This could give us a great message about equality in entrepreneurship like in making a loan with a low rate.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
3 Common Mistakes Home Owners Make when Getting a Home Equity Loan
Many homeowners getting home equity loan information from lenders end up making mistakes along the way. Home equity loans can be a great tool to use when you use them correctly. However, there are several common mistakes that home owners make when getting this type of loan. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid.
1. Not Shopping Around
Not shopping around for your home equity loan is going to be one of the biggest mistakes that you could make. When you need a home equity loan, you should look online as well as in your local market. If you just walk into your favorite local bank and agree to a home equity loan, you have no idea how much you should be paying for it. The interest rate might be higher as well as the closing costs. By shopping around, you can get estimates and use them to negotiate with. Despite what many think, closing costs can be negotiable. Therefore, you should shop around with a few different lenders before making a decision.
2. Not Reading the Fine Print
Another common mistake that home owners make is that they rush through the loan process and do not read the fine print. For example, many of us receive promotional materials from lenders in the mail frequently. These promotional materials have offers for home equity loans that make unbelievable claims. It may promise you a large home equity loan for a very low interest rate. If all you do is focus on the rate that they quote you on the promotional, you could be in for some trouble. Many of these companies use promotional rates for their home equity products. Therefore, you might only be paying 2% interest for the first six months of the loan. After that it jumps up to 9%. However, all you saw was the 2% figure on the promotional material. Be aware of what kind of loan you are signing and if there is any promotional material.
3. Taking the Loan for Inappropriate Reasons
One big mistake that people make is to take out a home equity loan for inappropriate reasons. We are inundated with home equity loan offers and before long we start mentally spending our equity. Then we start shopping for a home equity loan without really thinking about the consequences first.
Many people will take out a home equity loan to purchase a vacation or to buy a home theater system. Uses that will not provide you with some type of long term benefit are usually not in your best interests. If you take out a home equity loan to consolidate debt, then that is a legitimate use of the funds. If you take out the money to upgrade or add on to your property, then this is another potentially good reason to borrow the equity. Just keep in mind that your equity was very difficult to accumulate. Therefore, you should not spend it frivolously.
SOURCE
============================================================
We all wants to get the lowest home equity loans as much as possible but there were some conditions to consider to avoid some mistakes and not just go to every home equity loan that is available.
1. Not Shopping Around
Not shopping around for your home equity loan is going to be one of the biggest mistakes that you could make. When you need a home equity loan, you should look online as well as in your local market. If you just walk into your favorite local bank and agree to a home equity loan, you have no idea how much you should be paying for it. The interest rate might be higher as well as the closing costs. By shopping around, you can get estimates and use them to negotiate with. Despite what many think, closing costs can be negotiable. Therefore, you should shop around with a few different lenders before making a decision.
2. Not Reading the Fine Print
Another common mistake that home owners make is that they rush through the loan process and do not read the fine print. For example, many of us receive promotional materials from lenders in the mail frequently. These promotional materials have offers for home equity loans that make unbelievable claims. It may promise you a large home equity loan for a very low interest rate. If all you do is focus on the rate that they quote you on the promotional, you could be in for some trouble. Many of these companies use promotional rates for their home equity products. Therefore, you might only be paying 2% interest for the first six months of the loan. After that it jumps up to 9%. However, all you saw was the 2% figure on the promotional material. Be aware of what kind of loan you are signing and if there is any promotional material.
3. Taking the Loan for Inappropriate Reasons
One big mistake that people make is to take out a home equity loan for inappropriate reasons. We are inundated with home equity loan offers and before long we start mentally spending our equity. Then we start shopping for a home equity loan without really thinking about the consequences first.
Many people will take out a home equity loan to purchase a vacation or to buy a home theater system. Uses that will not provide you with some type of long term benefit are usually not in your best interests. If you take out a home equity loan to consolidate debt, then that is a legitimate use of the funds. If you take out the money to upgrade or add on to your property, then this is another potentially good reason to borrow the equity. Just keep in mind that your equity was very difficult to accumulate. Therefore, you should not spend it frivolously.
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We all wants to get the lowest home equity loans as much as possible but there were some conditions to consider to avoid some mistakes and not just go to every home equity loan that is available.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Who Gets the Home Equity Loans with the Lowest Rates?
The lowest home equity loan rates are available to the most qualified borrowers. Qualified borrowers are those people with good credit scores, a high income and a low debt to asset ratio.
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Many people wants to get home equity loan at the lowest rates possible and this info gave us one of the first step in finding the lowest home equity loan rates by knowing if we are qualified to get this loans.
- Credit Score
- Income Requirements
- Debt to Asset Ratio
SOURCE
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Many people wants to get home equity loan at the lowest rates possible and this info gave us one of the first step in finding the lowest home equity loan rates by knowing if we are qualified to get this loans.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
How To Get The Lowest Home Equity Loan Rates
Here are some ways to get those low interest rates and great terms.
Don’t simply accept the terms that a lender offers you as final. You may be able to shorten the term of the loan in exchange for a better interest rate, or make other “deals.”
Remember that lenders who make incredible claims may not be able to honor those claims. Look for reputable lenders, such as those represented here. You may find that you qualify for better loan terms and interest rates than you expected. It only takes a few minutes to fill out our online application to find out.
P.S. Go to the source to make some comparison of different home loan rates in different states in the U.S. and hopefully find the lowest home equity loan rates for you.
SOURCE
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These were really great ways to get more benefits from your loan and hopefully find the lowest home equity loan rates.
- Pay Attention To Your Credit Report
- Pay Attention To Your Credit
- Shop For A Loan
- Negotiate
Don’t simply accept the terms that a lender offers you as final. You may be able to shorten the term of the loan in exchange for a better interest rate, or make other “deals.”
Remember that lenders who make incredible claims may not be able to honor those claims. Look for reputable lenders, such as those represented here. You may find that you qualify for better loan terms and interest rates than you expected. It only takes a few minutes to fill out our online application to find out.
P.S. Go to the source to make some comparison of different home loan rates in different states in the U.S. and hopefully find the lowest home equity loan rates for you.
SOURCE
===================================================
These were really great ways to get more benefits from your loan and hopefully find the lowest home equity loan rates.
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