Archive for April, 2010
Mortgage Brokers Rise From Deregulation
April 29th, 2010 | 
Author: Competition setbacks in the banking industry have lifted rates because they have allowed the major four banks to dominate the market, driving out smaller players. These include Westpac’s takeover of St George and CBA’s takeover of BankWest.
Also, due to the credit squeeze, the major four banks have almost entirely pushed all other players out of the home lending market. But there were still 13,690 finance intermediaries in Australia – 13,690 people and organisations, other than banks, who arrange mortgages in June 2008 (Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia figures). Of those, 10,000 were individuals.
Now the Federal Government is pumping an extra $8 billion into the mortgage market to “support competition”. How and why does this work?
Non banks (mortgage managers) entered the mortgage market with interest rates well below those being offered by banks and eventually established a market share of about 15%. Banks reduced their interest rates in order to compete and commenced internal operational reviews, which resulted in some 2,000 branches being closed and many mortgage lending officers/bank managers being retrenched. Entrepreneurial and consumer centric operators sensed the pent up demand of consumers for nimble businesses which could best represent their borrowing interests. Thus ‘mortgage brokers’ as we now know them, established themselves.
Mortgage lenders in Australia rarely deal with brokers that cannot submit a high volume of successful home loan applications each month. For example, a particular bank or non-bank lending institution might refuse to deal with an entity that cannot close at least one million dollars worth of mortgages with them on a monthly basis.
For most mortgage brokers this may not seem like a daunting task. One million dollars worth or home loans may constitute anywhere between one and five successful applications. Most brokers would be able to close at least that much business each month and would therefore be able to do business with the particular lender.
Brokers are in business to offer choice to their customers. In Australia, brokers offer mortgage products to their clients from up to around thirty different lenders.
Despite the credit crunch, you can’t lump all non-bank lenders into one category. For example, Wizard Home Loans are part of General Electric. Wizard does not fund through the capital markets using securitisation and has not increased interest rates outside the normal RBA cycle due to solid funding. Meridian is funded by Challenger who raises funds through the securitisation process. The largest portion of Resi’s book is also funded by Challenger, with Macquarie also a contributor of funding.
Most mortgage brokers receive their income by way of commissions awarded by lenders for successful home loan applications. If they use a wholesaler (aggregator) rather than approaching a non-bank lender or bank directly they surrender part of their commission in return for the benefit of using an aggregator. There may be additional franchise fees payable if the broker is a franchisee, although this arrangement will vary from franchise to franchise.
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Beat Time Management – The Time Management Myth
Think you can manage time better? Well you can’t! Time is time, and that is a fact. Time management is a myth. What you can do is manage yourself in time better! Here’s how…
1) Manage Your Physical and Mental Energy:
-Physical energy is important for producing at your peak. Ever feel so tired that you can’t even think about starting to work or execute? Or a headache that does the same? Well you have to put yourself first. This means working out regularly, eating right, getting enough sleep, etc. I know I know, this sounds like some 1st grade stuff here, but adults all too often overlook it. Every notice how top producing, energetic people are also fit and stick to strict regimens like this?
-Mental energy is equally important to peak performance and doing better with yourself in the time you have available. Focus your energy on the dedicated task. Do not be reactive! This is key. Be in control of your activities in your time you have set aside for this activity. Have something to show for your time and efforts at the end of the day, so you aren’t asking yourself “what happened to those 8 hours, and what did I do?” And be sure to plan every day.
2) Tackle Overwhelm:
-To start, overwhelm is better than underwhelm. Overwhelm means growth. Underwhelm means stagnation. Remember this the next time you are panicking with lots to do or too much information being thrown your way. It takes this feeling of overwhelm to grow and achieve, so get used to it and tackle it. To do so, you must schedule time to manage information, such as studying and learning. Again plan. Set appointments like you would any other appointment. You wouldn’t miss a doctor appointment or a dinner meeting would you? Also, when managing your information, disconnect from distractions such as your phone, email, instant messenger, twitter, and even family. It is imperative to have creative days to focus and think and manage this new information. It can not be a small 10 minutes on the run between meetings. Plan and set aside time for this and overwhelm won’t seem so overwhelming!
3) Know What Steals Your Time:
-As mentioned, be aware of distractions taking you away from working at peak performance. This means cutting out actions that do not align with your goals and objectives. Ask yourself, “is this a high yield benefit of my time?” And be sure to set up rules and boundaries when you are working. Again shut off the phone and email if you have to write a sales letter or create a presentation. Then schedule time for distractions! Yes, that’s right. But do that at the end of the day. Schedule your most important tasks in the morning and the distractions or less important things at the end. You will accomplish more by noon than most do all day by planning!
4) Importance of Your Environment
-Your environment sets the stage for productivity. A certain cramped table or office can significantly reduce your efficiency and creativity. Find different environments for different activities even! Get on the computer in one room, and be creative or write in another. Or work in your home office for some, and go to a quiet local coffee shop for others. Just know that if you are in a rut, change your environment and it may surprise you!
5) How to Place a Dollar Value on Your Time
-Lastly, and most importantly, place value on your time. This formula was originally from Dan Kennedy and his explanation that you might be doing too much. If you knew what your time was worth, you may stop doing all of the lesser revenue producing activities and outsource them so you can focus on the creative, high-yield tasks. The formula works like this:
a) How much do you make (or want to make) this year? for our example let’s say $250,000
b) There are 365 days/year, but let’s reduce that to 250 working days/year
c) How many hours/day do you work? for our example we’ll use 8 hours, which comes to 2,000 hours/year
d) Your time is then worth $125/hour. BUT studies show only about 3 hours of those 8 are profit producing hours (so really that is only 750 hours of revenue producing per year). So your actual time is worth $333/hour!! (3 X what you originally thought).
Once you see this, you won’t want to waste time and/or procrastinate nearly as much as before. Go ahead put a dollar value on your time.
In summary, using these 5 steps will allow you to much more effectively manage yourself in time and beat the time management myth. You will be not only more productive, but more successful. And you should also grow with new time to do the activities you have continually put on the back burner in the wake of the day to day business and distractions you have put up with.
Discovering the Beauty of Debt Consolidation
Are you trying to discover a great and resourceful alternative to bankruptcy and are left scratching your head at the end of the day? Why not discover the beauty of one of the most popular and for good reasons realities of escaping credit card and all other forms of bad billing payments this year?
Getting Serious with Personal Finances
In this report about the industry that is changing the landscape of American consumerism, we will have a look at the beauty of debt relief. Now we fully understand that debt alleviation is not really pretty or handsome but the feeling that one receives post-debt relief program, is stunningly beautiful. The reduction of debt process allows a debtor to reduce the amount currently owed on an unsecured debt in order to completely clear the original balance. A $10,000 debt load compared to a 100,000 download factorization could be the same dependent upon the viewpoint and the perspective of the owners of that debt. It is all about the perspective.
Handle a Few Only?
Before we get off on a tangent about debt consolidation please understand that you do not need to add more stress to your life and make it seem like we are confused about get debt relief and the other debt management systems, such as credit counseling services or budgets. There are many companies out there today that offer debt reduction and this is not debt consolidation as the term-phrase applied to a reduction of debt and not the elimination of debt. If you only want to handle a couple credit cards then debt reduction is a fine process into which you can get started right away on a variety of sites. What we are talking about here is getting rid of all of the credit card and other lines of credit debt once and for all. The starting block of a debt relief program is the initial consultation.
Handle Them All!
What happens in the first few days of a debt consolidation journey is that you will become acquainted with the debt professional that will be the liaison of sorts for you through this entire process. Credit counselors and debt consolidation employees-individuals that are well-educated and well-versed in all aspects of debt management and credit counseling are there to help you. How wonderful is that! You are blessed with not only one professional tackling this enormous issue and debt problem but two possible three or more!
Internet Marketing Mentors – Your Best Choice For Networking Success
You are planning to or have already attempted an internet marketing business/MLM. What most newbies and even seasoned marketers do not realize is that an education is not only recommended first, regarding this internet marketing industry, but it is a necessity. Although working on the internet involves risk, receiving the proper education for your online venture will make your successes more natural and profitable.
It is true, working from home is an available and close-at-hand business; however, it does involve receiving a certain amount of education on your part. Not only will you suffer a lack of success but those you bring into your organization will also suffer because of a lack of proper internet marketing skills. Your business prospects can suffer a big setback. A Mentor can provide you with all of the skills concerning your network marketing business. A Mentor will help you dive into the reasons for your lack of success and help you analyze those problems and help you design an efficient business plan.
Learning these skills can be a little overwhelming and alarming at first. An industry specific mentor will provide you with the proper guidance and help you make an impressive start to your online marketing opportunity. This mentoring will etch in you many important skills for your success and help you start from scratch or bring new realizations to those who have struggled for many years. A Mentor will educate you on how to make solid decisions about choosing a network marketing company, and how to stay away from the many scams and schemes that are around every corner on the internet. You will also learn the importance of reading and understanding your Policies and Procedures, your contract with your company. Further, you will also finally be able to analyze your compensation plan. You will be able to know just how hard you will have to work to make a walk away residual income of say $10,000.00 a month from your efforts. What you have to realize here is that actually making this kind of residual income is NOT exactly how you have been shown in the marketing video presentation of the company you have chosen.
The important thing to remember as a network marketer is not that you have a product that YOU love, but one that the masses will be stumbling over to purchase. Remember that you chose to become a network marketer because you wanted to make money. Therefore, the importance of a good compensation plan is even more important than the actual product. Do not settle on a product that speaks to you, but look at the income possibilities for you which you will see while analyzing the compensation plan. In my opinion settling on a company that is only willing to pay you pennies on the dollar of revenue brought to the company is ridiculous. Especially when there are companies that are paying 20% to 53% commissions.
There is a group of professional network marketers who are addressing teaching and training internet topics, with hands on mentoring, while effectively using the internet marketing tools that show you how to enhance your business.
We have stumbled upon such a group of mentors who will also tell you about all of the popular and effective internet marketing techniques for free.
There are over 55,000 people turning to the internet, unfortunately few of them will actually succeed. Why? Because most never educate themselves for success in this industry. Prevention of mistakes is paramount for your success. Avoid making mistakes by finding a mentor to hold your hand and show you the ropes, if you want your business to succeed. Again a mentor will provide you with detailed skills about the common mistakes most online marketers make, and the ways to avoid them.
The biggest mistake or assumption of all is that most internet marketers neglect to find themselves a training and mentoring program. However, if you want profitability and success without falling prey to any stumbling blocks, it is imperative that you join a good mentoring, training and self-development course that will prepare you for online marketing success.
Apply For a Secured Loan Or a Remortgage to Always Have Cash at Hand
Most people do require to borrow if the purchase they want to make is going to cost a lot of money. The above are not events that suddenly pop up without any warning, as we normally think about home improvements, the cost of carrying them out and the best way to pay for them for some time.
We generally do not simply waken up one morning and completely out of the blue decide that we absolutely must install a swimming pool, build a conservatory or fit a new kitchen there and then. In the same way our twenty fifth wedding anniversary does not happen out of the blue, as we have obviously been aware for twenty five years, since out wedding day itself, that this special event to celebrate would arrive and exactly when it would arrive could not possibly come as a surprise.
With these events there is no need for fast cash as you will have had plenty of time to take out a loan if like most people there is a shortage of money. However there are other times when we could really do with additional money and need the said cash in a hurry, and as we all know obtaining fast cash is not easy. Therefore it is advisable to obtain readily available money to use as and when needed, as there is nothing worse than really wanting to buy something and not having sufficient funds to do so.
You sometimes see great buys of things for your home at very low prices, but these prices only hold good for a few days. There can also be occasions when a travel agent has had a cancellation for an exotic tropical holiday and is selling the flight and luxury accommodation for half price, and you can afford that but could never afford to pay the full amount for such a dream vacation.
Loans may of course be available but they take too long to arrange and the sale will be over. Taking out a home loan will enable you to always have money available as and when it is needed. For homeowners, at the moment, cheap funds are available by either a remortgage or a secured loan which will mean that you always have enough funds at your disposal when required at any time in the future.
Remortgages and secured loans are worth taking out at the moment as their rates are very low. When arranging the remortgage or the secured loan you should borrow enough to carry out debt consolidation which will effectively mean that the acquisitions cost you very little.
Product Development Consulting – Why Hire a Consultant?
Alot of corporations are trying to develop new products every now and then to ensure that they’ll be able to address the growing needs of their client base. Most of them are seriously thinking about hiring product development consultant who can bring in expertise and the much-needed experience.
Some of my clients think that this is just a waste of money. Some even feel that their leadership team or management staff is capable of handling the task. Well, let me tell you one thing; I know a lot of managers who sincerely want to produce the right product for the right market. However, realistically speaking, they can only devote about 5 percent of their time as they need to carry out other tasks. This can lead to unnecessary delay if not total failure in the long run.
This is the reason why it’s highly recommended to hire someone from the outside who is fully dedicated to improving the products to be created. Most of these people have developed a lot of products in the past so you can be assured that they know exactly what they’re doing – meaning, you can expect them to offer you with the kind of results that you’re looking for. Also, as these people usually take just one project at a time, they’ll most likely to speed up the whole process. This is beneficial to any corporation as this would mean having and launching their new product in as little time as possible. That would mean more sales and revenue in a very short time.
Metro Bank UK Product Review – Changing the Face of British Banking
Blink and you’ll miss it. The business pages of the broadsheets this week-end carried reminders about the opening of the first new bank for a 100 years. The Metro Bank is opening its first branch in London on July 29th. Since they exist to “eliminate every stupid bank rule we can find”, here’s my product review of the retailer bank out to change the face of British banking.
One of the more interesting aspect of the new banking philosophy is the idea that as retailers, their first priority is to put the customer firmly in the centre of the business. In this product review, here are some of the differences you can expect to see at Metro Bank:
* Being open when people need to bank – the banking industry may finally have entered the 21st Century with new opening hours of 8am-8pm five days a week and differing hours for Saturdays and Sundays. In fact, the only times the store will close will be Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Good Friday.
* A better customer ‘experience’ – Metro Bank provides toilets as well as treats for pets and children. They also promise to answer all telephone calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* As a retailer bank, there are some very practical changes in their open-door approach. In the lobby you will be greeted with a light and airy space, no glass security panels and free coin-counting machines. Apart from this, there has been very little real information about the services and products on offer.
whilst all this is very nice, it can seem a bit gimmicky unless you understand the reasoning behind it. The Co-founders believe that if the customers are given a great banking experience, they will be prepared to do business for a longer period of time and be willing to hand over more of their deposits.
However, for all the ‘experience’, customers will want to know that their money is safe, that they get the best possible return on their deposit and that Metro is taken seriously as a bank and not just a shop.
Changing the face of British banking does not come free. One of the first things new customers will note is that the interest rates are around 1/2% lower than the other banks. Practically speaking, that means anyone with £5,000 deposited would be paying roughly £25 per year to be able to bank at more convenient hours.
Tenant Loans – An Excellent Source of Financial Aid
A person who does not posses a residence of his own is called a tenant. They reside on a temporary basis. They do not own any property in their own name to offer as security. Hence, it becomes difficult for them to obtain funds to satisfy their requirements. Thus tenant loans are designed to help such people.
The advance sanctioned ranges from £1,000 to £25,000. The advance lent has to be repaid within 10years. It can be used for any purpose the borrower wishes, such as to pay for emergency expenses and to pay medical bills.
Due to the absence of any security the lender is skeptical in granting advances. Thus the interest rate charged is slightly high. The lender first decides the amount to be lent depending upon the financial standing and credibility of the applicant. If he is not convinced of the same, he will not grant the advance. The lender must be assured that his money will be returned to him. No lender wants his bad debts to add up.
The eligibility criteria for tenant loans are as follows;
1. The applicant must be 18 years of age or more.
2. He must be a UK citizen.
3. He must have full time employment.
4. His monthly income must be over £1000 per month.
5. He must have an active bank account.
Tenant loans can be applied for by using the online mode of application. He can thus avail of finances while sitting in the comfort of his home. The borrower would be required to furnish certain personal details on the online application form such as his name, residence, contact number and other such information. Once, this information is verified by the online lender, he may approve the application and sanction the amount to the account of the borrower.
Credit Repair Opportunity in Your Mailbox
Collection Letters and Credit Repair
So you got a collection letter. It can be tempting to stick it in the drawer and forget about it, or even throw it in the trash without taking a peek. But to ignore that collection letter can cause you to miss several potential credit repair opportunities than just might protect your credit, save your money, and preserve your peace of mind.
A Strange Statistic
Collectors, by law, must send you a collection letter prior to reporting the account to the credit bureaus. A strange fact, but a huge percentage of active collections are for complete erroneous debts; debts that belong to another person, have already been paid by you or an insurance company, and debts beyond both the statute of limitation and the reporting period limit. You simply have to open that envelope.
Reading the Letter is a Must Do
If you do not recognize a collection the first line of credit repair defense is to send the collector a debt validation letter. Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a collector must prove the validity of a collection if you ask within 30 days of receiving your dunning letter. If they cannot do so they must stop their collection efforts and not report to the bureaus. Can you afford not to read the letter?
Do the Research
If you open the letter and recognize the debt there are still some great credit repair opportunities available. Right away you must investigate the statute of limitation for the debt. The statute of limitation is not the same as the seven year reporting limit, it is almost always far shorter. If the debt is beyond the statute of limitation it means that the collector has no legal leverage; if they sue you the case will be thrown out if you proffer the statute of limitation defense.
Go For the Gold
If you let a collector know that you are aware of the statute of limitation they should become very pliable. Now is the time to negotiate. There are a few credit repair tricks. Make your offer towards the end of a month. Collectors are like car salesman; generally they need to hit the numbers by month-end for the deal to be included in their paycheck. If they play hardball and do not want to deal just hang up. Try again later. They are of no threat, so go for the gold.
One More Try
If the debt is within the statute of limitation and you do not have the money to pay in full, you can still try to negotiate. The same end-of-month strategy applies, but if you cannot make a deal for a reduced balance, you can try for a payment plan. You must do this very carefully and make sure that you are comfortable with the terms and are able to make the payments, as your payment plan will create a new debt with a new reporting period and statute of limitation so be cautious.
Retirement Invesment Tips Before And After You Retire
Retirement shouldn’t be considered the end of a person’s life. There are plenty of things someone can do after retirement. Things like taking a course in something of interest, being active in your community or maybe learning a new skill. Staying active helps sharpen your mental development and gives a sense of importance.
Most people find out that money is very much a necessity after retirement as it is used for paying bills and other expenses instead of using it for the things you planed for after retirement. You shouldn’t be waiting around for retirement benefits to kick in, instead here are some tips you can use to keep it growing.
1. Don’t wait until retirement to start saving. You could start saving at an early age by creating a detailed plan. Some insurance companies and financial institutions have good rates which, in the long run, might possibly even double the money that you have invested, if its in for a couple of years.
2. Bonds is another form of investment you could use. Bonds mature over a period of time and usually have a good growth percentage.
3. Since business tend to grow in profit earnings on a quarterly basis and sometimes acquisitions and other type of deals increase the values of shares in a company, stocks are also a good option to look into.
4. A lot of folks purchase real estate as a form of investment. Unlike automobiles that depreciate in value the moment it is driven off the lot, the price of properties tend to go up ( most of the time ). There are other options you could do with a property such as holding it for a few years and selling it for a higher profit, you could also flip the property.
5. You could always start your own business if you are up for the challenge. It could be into a working related field, something you have a certain level of experience in.
6. You could get a IRA ( investment retirement account ). There are several types available that come with earning promises and are also good tax advantages.
There are many ways to invest a little in the begining to get a good sound return later. The idea is to look into the many options available either through your own research or the help of a financial advisor, you can start taking charge of your financial future. It’s really up to you to decide.