Leadpile's Blog» Homes

Payday Loans. . .Good or Evil?

Jolene Phipps — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:39:49 +0000

When you hear the words “Payday Loan” what comes to your mind?

Do you think of an industry out there taking advantage of consumers?
Or, do you think about an industry providing people with relief and peace of mind during this financial crisis?

Most people would say answer a. But is that true or do we need to educate ourselves regarding this part of the financial industry? Who are the people that need these payday loans and do they have other options?

According to www.census.gov the official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, which was up from 14.3 percent in 2009. In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, which was up from 43.6 million in 2009.

Those are staggering numbers. People are having a hard time making ends meet. From 2009 to 2010 an additional 2.6 million people were at poverty level. Where did they come from? Middle Class families? Low Income families? Who is out there helping them get back on their feet? The banks? With the foreclosures on homes, the increased account fees, overdraft fees and high credit guidelines… what do you think?

What sort of monthly expenses do all of us face? Rent/Mortgage, utility bills, insurance, car payment, food allowance just to name a few. If you are running out of money at the end of the month what would you sacrifice? Your electric bill? Your rent? Your car loan? Or just overdraft your bank account? All of those choices involve late fees or overdraft fees and may incur being harassed by credit agencies or having your electricity turned off, being kicked out of your home or having your vehicle repossessed. None of those sound like viable solutions to me.

According to www.wikipedia.org the definition for a payday loan is “a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower’s expenses until his or her next payday.” That is truly what a payday loan is there for. Many times you will hear payday opponents talk about high interest fees, but when you research these fees in comparison to bank charges and late fees of missing necessary payments and/or possible repossessions/foreclosures/losing electricity, going hungry etc. – which sounds better to you?

So before we judge the financial institutions giving payday loans or the people receiving such loans – let’s make sure that we look at the situation from all angles, and form an educated decision.

Home Prices Still Falling?

Mari Woods Holt — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:39:24 +0000

Many of us wonder at what point will the economy start heading in a positive direction again? One big indicator of this will be with the housing market. Unfortunately, reports are showing that this summer there was actually an increase in the number of homes that went up for sale. This is not a good sign when the potential number of home buyers went down. NPR is reporting there are 4 million homes up for sale right now and an additional 600,000 or so homes that the banks have not put on the market yet to sell. This is astounding, but why are there so many homes just “sitting” there and not being put on the market to sell by the banks?
It seems that banks have a few reasons that they would be holding off on flooding the housing market with additional homes for sale. One reason is that banks are just having a hard time keeping up with all the foreclosures they are having to process AND they don’t want to inundate the housing market with all these homes for sales, which will in turn create lower sale prices. Supply and demand will create even more drops in the sale prices these homes are going for. This is not something the banks want to experience. So I guess the bottom line is, if you have not recently taken advantage the homes that are out there for sale at a reduced price, now might be a good time because there might be even more homes being put on the market to sell. When will this end????

VVRROOOOMMMM

Christina — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:28:03 +0000

Could pickup truck sales predict economic recovery? Americans bought 151,000 pickup trucks last month, up 19% from more than a year ago. Many of these truck purchases are accredited to construction businesses. Now that more and more people feel the economy is beginning to turn they are more confident in replacing their old water heater or landscaping their backyard. Many weekend haulers also gravitate towards trucks even though cars get better gas mileage.

In 2009 automakers sold 1.1 million trucks, the lowest level in 18 years. Americans bought 11% more then they did in the first 5 months of this year and this pace seems to continue to accelerate. Hopefully these numbers continue to grow as consumers feel more confident in their larger purchases.

Leadpile specializes in Lead Generation for Auto Financing and Home Construction, contact Leadpile today to start earning commissions!

Sad News For Home Buyer Tax Credit

Natasha Aronov — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:31:09 +0000

The home buyer credit which was expected to boost sales and encourage buying with an incentive of a $6,500 tax credit, is not performing like had been expected.
The tax credit which offered up to $8,000 for people who had not owned a home for three years, had increased sales in the summer and fall of 2009. This credit was extended past it’s initial limited time with a slightly lower credit of $6,500 in hopes of keeping the buying momentum going. Unfortunately, the new credit is not boosting sales as it was hoped to with the unemployment rate still high and the economy still uncertain. Many potential buyers also face the dilemma of selling the home they are currently in before being able to purchase a new home… and for many selling a home where they owe more on it than it is currently worth, this is not an option.
To qualify for the $6,500 credit:
*Buyers must have owned and lived in the same home for five consecutive years out of the past eight.
*Buyer must sign a contract by April 30, and close before June 30.
*The home’s purchase price can’t exceed $800,000 and it must be used as a main residence. *The income limit for single taxpayers is $125,000 and for a married couple $225,000.

Is It Time To Refinance?

Mari Woods Holt — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:30:41 +0000

Interest rates have gone down, and now many are wondering if it is really that time to refinance their home. The answer is YES. Not all situations are ideal to do a refinance, however there are things to look at with regards to entertaining the idea of refinancing your home right now.

According to ABC news, here are some common questions consumers might want to know before trying to refinance their home.

1. How much will a refinance cost?
2. Will a refinance save you money?
3. What kinds of loans are out there?
4. What are some common pitfalls?
5. What is the difference between a loan modification and a refinance?
6. If I have a prepayment penalty, should I still refinance?
7. If everyone wants to refinance, is the lending industry able to handle this rush?

Leadpile Lead Exchange generates a large volume of refinance (homeowner), loan modification, debt and home purchase leads. These are all consumers that are in this process of trying to determine what their best option is. No matter what the decision is, asking questions is key to knowing what is the best option for you and YOUR situation.

Advertising Effectively To Reach Women

Mari Woods Holt — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:22:37 +0000

In today’s world there are many things that have changed in a advertising sense. One of the largest changes that has happened is in the way in which advertisers advertise towards women. There are more women in the career role, running a business and buying high priced items for their home. I found this article on Phoenix Business Journal very interesting. For instance, they stated:

*Women business owners spend $1.5 trillion on business purchases.
*In today’s world, age is less important than life stage, e.g., 60-year-old women are dating, 50-year-olds are starting new careers and 40-year-olds are having children.
*Women purchase (or influence the purchase of) 85 percent of all consumer goods including automobiles, investments and computers, which were traditionally viewed as male-domain items.
*Advertising that makes a woman feel uncomfortable about her looks or health will have a hard time reaching an audience willing to purchase its product.

More businesses are realizing these facts and starting to adjust how they market their products online, through television, and print media. In previous years, selling your product or service was something you had to appeal to a man, however as we can see things are changing.
With the Leadpile Lead Exchange we deal with all sorts of lead types and all sorts of demographics of consumers and advertisers. The key for our marketplace to be effective is not only diversify what lead types we are working with, but also understand that publishers doing effective marketing to generate the leads is really important. To do effective lead generation, you must know details about the product and service you are generating leads for, AND you must understand who are the potential people you need to attract in this market.

Home Sells For $1.75 on Ebay!

Mari Woods Holt — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:24:52 +0000

I could not believe my eyes when I saw this article on Yahoo. According to the Associated Press, a Michigan home sold to a women for $1.75 on Ebay. There were 8 others that had a bid on this home, however this Chicago women won out with her under $2.00 bid. It appears there is some work to be done on the home and some back taxes, however no matter how you look at it, it is a GREAT deal.
The sad thing in all this is that someone lived in this home and unfortunately lost their home. The women that purchased the home has not even seen the home, and has no intentions on living there. With what is happening in today’s economy, this is bound to be happening more. At one point or another hopefully Ebay will be more known for it’s bid environment on products, not homes. Time shall tell.
Leadpile Lead Exchange is also a bid environment where we match the buyers and sellers of leads. Fortunately, we will not be matching up someone who lost their home to a buyer for $1.75.

LO’s Are Moving Into Credit Repair

Mari Woods Holt — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:25:05 +0000

I have had multiple calls these last few weeks, and one of the things I observed was that Loan Officers’ main focus is becoming the “credit repair”. LO’s are looking at different avenues to assist their clients in need. We all know that a large percentage of consumers are having credit problems. Unless you have good or excellent credit, you won’t qualify to refinance your home. After Loan Officers are attempting fixing your credit, they are assisting the client to refinance their homes.

That’s a smart move for LO’s. First they charge to fix your credit, then they help you refinance. Realistically speaking I think its a brilliant idea. It’s not coming fast, but do we have other options? Adapt to the new situations, look for what the consumers need, and you will be able to succeed, even in this market.

The demand for credit repair in these last few days have gone up. Finding new ways to make a living and to survive even when the economy is struggling is fabulous.

Any thoughts on this?

Search engines: not the ONLY place to get information!

Mari Woods Holt — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:01:12 +0000

According to CNBC there is a great new website being rolled out by the same company that owns Lending Tree and Ask.com- LIFE123.com.

We all use the internet as a source for information no matter what the topic is. Searching for information on the internet has truly become something we are “addicted” to. Well, there are a lot of resources available to search for information, besides just the search engines.
This great new website is a source for information that you will want to know more about. This site could be compared to such sites as About.com or chacha.com (which I did a previous post on).

What is Life123.com?
Life123 is the place to start when you need some answers to some questions you have about pretty much anything. The web site is full of experts that can help people quickly find information on a wide range of life topics.

Why Life123?
More and more, people are using search engines, however we are not always getting the information we need. According to the life123 website, roughly 75% of Americans experience search engine fatigue. Everyone has spent hours looking for information without finding what they really need.

What does Life123 cover?
Life123 covers 11 life categories: Beauty; Style, Celebrations, Food; Drink, Health; Wellness, Home; Garden, Money, Parenting; Family, Relationships, Technology, Travel; Leisure, and Work.

Enjoy LIFE!

Housing Rescue Bill

Mari Woods Holt — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:46:26 +0000

I just finished reading that The House is expected to pass a $300 billion housing rescue bill aimed at aiding homeowners in trouble and help them avoid foreclosure and supporting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If the Senate passes the bill and Bush signs it, thousands of borrowers will be able to refinance their unaffordable old mortgages into new, low-cost fixed-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that 400,000 borrowers with $68 billion in loans may benefit from the program. The bill will only allow as many as 1 through 2 million borrowers to participate in the program.

Some of the qualifications for these loans are as followed:

Prior loan issued during Jan 2005 – Jun 2007
Have an up to date mortgage or in default
Once loan is reissued you will not be able to take home equity from your home for 5 years unless used to pay for up keeps on home.

This will definitely help the mortgage industry. More loans officers will start focusing on purchasing mortgage leads from lead exchanges as they will now be able to help the consumer.