Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Specific Features of Loan Institutions


The last ones are the most appealing from the consumer's point of view, as they offer quite nonstandard terms, compared to the traditional banks. The differences between these institutions are enormous. Generally speaking, the following specific features of the services they offer can be sorted out in the following way:


Amount of the loan

Depending on what amount of money you need to borrow, you should think of the choice of a loan institution. Traditional banks offer big amount, while smaller companies are limited to a small size of the loan portfolio. It seldom exceeds $300 000 in total for all the borrowers.

Terms of lending

Banks themselves are quite a steady business. They plan their activities for many years ahead. Long-term loans for up to 5 years (including physical persons) are quite a regular practice for such institutions. Small loan companies offer much shorter terms of lending in exchange for expeditious processing of your application. Let's study this question in greater detail.

Terms of processing applications

Banks are famous for their cautiousness in regards to a big quantity of official papers a borrower has to collect. These include a statement of earnings and a property certificate (not for the purpose of the mortgage.) And we do not even mention some cases when a borrower has to look for guarantors or complete the formalities for a mortgage. The last task may take a whole week. In this case one should apply to a lower rank institution.

Companies, working in the field of consumer micro credit, bring forward the minimal terms of application processing as their major advantage. The decisions are taken practically in your presence that is an unquestionable advantage of addressing to such institutions.

Interest rate

They say a consumer is always pursuing a low service fee. As for a charge in the given context, it suggests an interest rate that is a consumer's fee for using a loan. Here we see basic conformity to the previous categories - the longer the possible terms are, the bigger the credit amount is, the longer your application is being processed and the lower interest rate you get. As for the positive decision, it's usually taken there, where you are least checked. In exchange you are only asked to provide your passport/ID information.

The choice of credit products

Different people search for different credit products. If you apply to a regular bank, you will be offered a wide range of services, depending on your needs. 
Smaller companies practise much smaller assortment of credit services. As a rule they are:

- short-term loans for vacations 
- make loans to people until they get monthly payment 
- loans for urgent needs

Before you sign a credit contract, be sure you have studied not only all its terms but also the terms that competitors offer. Get acquainted with responses about the given loan institution from your acquaintances or the Internet. If you don't want to get into debtors' prison and acquire a low credit score forever, think twice before taking a consumer loan.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Chase +1 Student MasterCard: Why It Is the Best Student Card Available


Credit cards have already been held responsible for getting many consumers into financial hot water. The truth is that it comes down to their management of their cards, rather than the cards themselves. But cards also provide a golden opportunity to rebuild financial reputations. A Chase +1 Student MasterCard is a perfect example in this regard.

Specially designed to guide students away from financial problems, the whole idea of student credit card approval might seem counter productive. After all, are students not more likely to waste their finances rather than be mature in their attitude? Actually, statistics show that most students are very mature in their money management.

The risk for those who take out a Chase credit card is real, of course, but the Chase +1 card comes with a veritable infrastructure designed to make life easier to manage and keep the cardholder out of trouble. That way, they can rebuild their credit history and keep it strong.

What Makes the Chase +1 Different?

The Chase +1 Student MasterCard is not a mysterious credit card that promises perfection to all users. In fact, it is the frankness of the card policy that makes it so different. Students do not need temptation to drag them into a worse financial situation, but they do need something with which to learn the intricacies of money management.

With this student credit card, approval brings with it a range of incentives, from an excellent credit line to no annual fee. It also comes with an introductory rate of 0% APR for the first 3 months. Once the introductory period ends, then a rate of around 14.99% is charged. Avoiding this large interest rate can be done by repaying the balance each month on time and not allowing the balance to build up.

As a Chase credit card, there are of course plenty of incentives, but the biggest one is to manage the card balance in good time, and avoid overspending. When that is accomplished, then the steady improvement in credit history can be significant.

Re-Building Credit Reputation

The task of rebuilding a credit reputation might not seem very likely for students, who have little or no history in repayments and money management. But everyone begins with a low credit rating - it is because there is no history to suggest that the repayment habit is good. The Chase +1 Student MasterCard fits into this condition perfectly.

With student credit card approval, students are given a place on the bottom rung of the credit ladder, and from there have a chance to build their own credit reputation. The card itself is a debit card in effect, with no credit actually provided. This protects the user, as much as the issuer, against the risk of credit debt.

But unlike many other Chase credit cards, this card comes with access to advice and information to help the cardholder to properly manage their spending. Remember, that APR reaches between 14.44% and 19.99%, so poor management will prove very costly indeed.

Value of Good Advice

The availability of advice to cardholders is a new development in the credit card industry, with users usually left to their own devices and either sinking or swimming in the process. But the Chase +1 Student MasterCard is an investment in consumers of the future, so helping them to get it right can only benefit the card issuer and the economy at large.

And there is no doubt that students are the consumers of the future, so by granting student credit card approval, it gives them ample opportunity to master the skills needed to properly use a credit card. And once that it done, better Chase credit cards are available to graduate to, with the certainty that card debt can be avoided.