Leadpile’s Blog

A new bill has passed in Virginia setting new guidelines for car title loans. This bill will enforce caps on interest rates and loan terms which is something that has not been done before. Similar to a law in Tennessee the loans are restricted to a year in length, restrict the loan amount to half of the car’s value in addition to preventing new interest being added onto the loan once the car has been repossessed. A tiered interest rate cap will be put into effect, running from 22 percent per month for a loan smaller than $700, to a maximum 15 percent for loans higher than $1,400.
Car title loans are a topic of controversy lately in a similar way to payday loans. The loans both help consumers who are in need and would not have other options, but can be at times tricky for consumers to understand if they are not taking the time to read the terms. The consumer needs to always be aware of the terms of the loan and the interest rate they will be paying. If applying for a loan, being as educated as possible can help the consumer know all options available and prepare/make a plan to use the loan responsibly.

In recent news the Fair Isaac Corporation is rolling out an updated FICO score.  A FICO score was created back in 1989 to help consumers and businesses determine consumer’s credit worthiness.    All 3 credit reporting agencies (Transunion, Equifax, and Experian) will be implementing this new scoring.  

Some things that are changing with the newly updated FICO score:

1.  Ignoring of small collection accounts

2.  One credit problem forgiven

3.  Changes to authorized users and how it affects your credit score

Things you will want to now pay attention to with regards to your score:

1.  The more credit you use in regards to your balances versus credit limits will affect you more now.

2.  Don’t close $0 balance accounts now.  Keep them open and don’t use them.

3.  You will be penalized if the lenders close your accounts.  To prevent this, charge one time per month to keep activity going if you want to keep the account.

4.  Diversify what credit accounts you have active.  For instance, have some installment accounts (IE- CAR loans etc) AND revolving credit.  This shows you are able to maintain both types of credit.

Fair Isaac is hoping these changes will help with getting a better depiction of credit worthiness.  Lenders will like it more because there is going to be a more precise score of their credit.  Consumers will like it more because if that score is higher, that makes the cost to get more money (loans and new credit) cheaper.  The better your FICO score is, the more credit you have available and the lower your rates will potentially be to borrow money.  This seems to be a win win situation for consumers and businesses.

Leadpile Lead Exchange wants to help consumers and businesses to be connected with regards to any financial matter.  This new FICO score will most likely promote more consumers to want to take a deeper look at their scores and how they can maybe get them higher.  Credit repair companies are probably a really good option to look at to help do that.

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.

Did you hear?  The Fed cut a key interest rate today to 1%.  This is the second time in 3 weeks that the feds have done this.  So how is it going to affect the average consumer?   The immediate answer is there is not going to be an immediate affect on consumers.  However, there is some potential to see this benefit you in some way (maybe indirectly or down the road).

The problem is not necessarily that the rates are too high, however a lot of the issue is consumers who just don’t know if they can pay back the loan.  This is a concern of the consumer and also for the lenders. At some point or another money has to start flowing through to consumers for loans and lenders have to lend it. Where does the waterfall effect begin so the economy can start heading in the right direction? I am not sure anyone knows the answer, but in the meantime Leadpile Lead Exchange will generate those leads of people looking for various financial assistance.
Stay tuned……………..