Education loans

From www.surfindia.com

Education loans are term loans offered to deserving students pursuing higher education either in India or abroad. All employment generating courses are eligible for education loans.
Eligible Courses:

Graduation/ Post graduation/Professional course in any stream Any other course approved by Government.
Maximum Amount of Student Education Loans:

The amount of educational loans varies in different banks. Generally the maximum educational loans granted is Rs. 10 lacs for studying in India and a maximum of Rs. 20 Lakhs for studying abroad.
Expenses Of Education Loans:

Banks and other institutions may have different criteria for selecting as to what constitutes the education expenses.

A few common expenses covered under education loans are as follows :
Tuition fee payable to college/school
Examination/library/hostel charges
Travel expenses
Purchase of books/equipment/uniform
Cost of two wheeler (Optional) Repayment of the loans can be done by Equated Monthly Installments EMI

It generally commences after one year of the completion of course or six months after securing the job. The time period can vary depending on the policies of individual banks.
Interest on Education Loans:

The interest on education loans varies from bank to bank and also the prevailing market rate. The rate of interest can increase or decrease with respect to the amount of loans required.
Process Of Obtaining Education Loans:

Education loans forms are available at bank premises. Online forms are also available for ease of the clients. Generally no processing fee is charged. A deposit can however required sometimes, which is adjusted later on.
Documents Required for Education Loans:
Completed Education Loans Application Form
Original mark sheets of last qualifying examination
Proof of admission scholarship, studentship etc
Prospectus of the institute containing schedule of expenses for the specified course
Passport size photographs
Borrower's Bank account statement for the last six months
In case the borrower in an income tax payee, Income tax assessment order, of last 2 years
Brief statement of assets and liabilities, of the Co-borrower , if any
Proof of Income (i.e. Salary slips/ Form 16 etc) , if any

List of Some of Public/Private Sector Banks Providing Education Loans:
Allahabad Bank - Allahabad Educational Scheme
Bank of Baroda - Baroda Gyan
State Bank of India - Expenses For Education
United Bank of India - Education Expenses Covered
Bank of India - Star Education Scheme
Oriental Bank of Commerce - Education in India
Indian Bank - Convenient Study
UCO Bank - Pursuing Higher Education
Dena Bank - Dena Vidya Laxmi Loan Scheme
HSBC Bank - Comprehensive Education Coverage
State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur - IBA Model Scheme For Education
PNB Bank - Vidyalakshyapurti
Maharashtra Bank - Loan Amount For Study

Student Loans

From www.surfindia.com/

Students loans is one of the fastest growing retail banking product. Almost all public and private sector banks are offering student loans at attractive rates for meritorious and needy students for studying both in India as well as abroad. Loans are available for graduate/postgraduate/technical courses; banks are increasing the flexibility of this loan in terms of payback period to attract more students. Students loans cover the tuition fee, hostel fee, library charges, administrative charges etc.

Refinancing

From www.mortgageloan.com

Refinancing is when you apply for a secured loan in order to pay off another different loan secured against the same assets, property etc. If this original loan had a fixed interest rate mortgage which has now declined considerably, then you would like to avail of a new loan at a more favorable interest rate.
When is Refinancing an Option
Typically home refinancing is done when you have a mortgage on your home and apply for a second loan to pay off the first one. While taking the decision to go for the home refinancing option, it is important to first determine whether the amount you save on interests balances the amount of fees payable during refinancing.
Benefits of Home Refinancing
Imagine a scenario where you can have access to extra cash, while simultaneously lowering your monthly mortgage payment. This dream can become a reality through mortgage refinancing.
A house is the largest asset you may ever own. Likewise, your mortgage payment may be the largest expense you'll have in your monthly budget. Wouldn't it be great to use this asset to reduce your monthly payment and put extra cash in your pocket? When you refinance your mortgage, you can take advantage of the equity in your home and enable this to take place.
Lower Refinance Rate, Lower Payments
When you purchased your dream home, the financial environment dictated interest rates. While certain factors, like your credit rating and the amount of the down payment that you were able to afford, influenced your interest rate, the single most important factor was the prevailing rates at that moment. However, interest rates fluctuate. When the Federal Reserve enters a rate-cutting period, the prevailing rates may become significantly lower than when you originally purchased your home.
By refinancing your mortgage when interest rates are lower, you can exchange a higher interest rate for a lower one, which, in turn, will lower your monthly payment.
Shorten the Length of Your Mortgage when Refinancing
Another advantage of home refinancing is that you can shorten the term of your mortgage. Let's say, for example, that you originally had a 30-year mortgage and have been paying it for eight years. Thanks to mortgage refinancing, you can switch to a shorter term of either 10, 15 or 20 years. This can save you thousands of dollars of interest. Also, if the refinance rate is lower, but you maintain the same monthly payment, you will build up equity in your home more quickly, because more of your payment will be going towards principal.
Exchange an Adjustable Rate for a Fixed Refinance Rate
When interest rates are low, adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are the housing market's darlings. However, as interest rates increase, that adjustable rate may not look as sweet. It's also possible that you opted for an ARM because your financial future was less secure, or you weren't sure how long you'd stay in your home. If, however, you've become financially stable and know that you'll be staying in your home for several years, it may be beneficial to swap that fluctuating adjustable rate for a fixed one. You'll have more security knowing that your monthly payment will remain steady, regardless of the current market environment.
Access to Extra Cash - Cash-out refinancing
One way to put more money in your pocket is to tap into the equity you've built in your home and do a "cash-out" refinancing. In this scenario, you can refinance for an amount higher than your current principal balance and take the extra funds as cash. This can provide money for remodeling your home, paying off high-interest rate bills, or sending your kids to college.
Bye, Bye PMI
If you were unable to make a down payment of 20 percent when you purchased your home, you may have been required to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). If your house has appreciated since then, and you've steadily paid down your mortgage, your equity may now be more than 20 percent. If you refinance, you will no longer need PMI.
In many ways, your house is like a cash cow. If you have discipline and knowledge of the benefits of refinancing, you can tap into its milk for years to come.
To find the best refinance loan offers complete our short form. You will find lenders and brokers that offer home refinance loans in California, Florida and all other states.

Equity Loans

From www.ftc.gov

Home Equity Loans: Borrowers Beware!
Do you own your home? If so, it's likely to be your greatest single asset. Unfortunately, if you agree to a loan that's based on the equity you have in your home, you may be putting your most valuable asset at risk.
Homeowners-particularly elderly, minority and those with low incomes or poor credit-should be careful when borrowing money based on their home equity. Why? Certain abusive or exploitative lenders target these borrowers, who unwittingly may be putting their home on the line.
Abusive lending practices range from equity stripping and loan flipping to hiding loan terms and packing a loan with extra charges. The Federal Trade Commission urges you to be aware of these loan practices to avoid losing your home.
The Practices
Equity Stripping
You need money. You don't have much income coming in each month. You have built up equity in your home. A lender tells you that you could get a loan, even though you know your income is just not enough to keep up with the monthly payments. The lender encourages you to "pad" your income on your application form to help get the loan approved.
This lender may be out to steal the equity you have built up in your home. The lender doesn't care if you can't keep up with the monthly payments. As soon as you don't, the lender will foreclose-taking your home and stripping you of the equity you have spent years building. If you take out a loan but don't have enough income to make the monthly payments, you are being set up. You probably will lose your home.
Hidden Loan Terms: The Balloon Payment
You've fallen behind in your mortgage payments and may face foreclosure. Another lender offers to save you from foreclosure by refinancing your mortgage and lowering your monthly payments. Look carefully at the loan terms. The payments may be lower because the lender is offering a loan on which you repay only the interest each month. At the end of the loan term, the principal-that is, the entire amount that you borrowed-is due in one lump sum called a balloon payment. If you can't make the balloon payment or refinance, you face foreclosure and the loss of your home.
Loan Flipping
Suppose you've had your mortgage for years. The interest rate is low and the monthly payments fit nicely into your budget, but you could use some extra money. A lender calls to talk about refinancing, and using the availability of extra cash as bait, claims it's time the equity in your home started "working" for you. You agree to refinance your loan. After you've made a few payments on the loan, the lender calls to offer you a bigger loan for, say, a vacation. If you accept the offer, the lender refinances your original loan and then lends you additional money. In this practice-often called "flipping"-the lender charges you high points and fees each time you refinance, and may increase your interest rate as well. If the loan has a prepayment penalty, you will have to pay that penalty each time you take out a new loan.
You now have some extra money and a lot more debt, stretched out over a longer time. The extra cash you receive may be less than the additional costs and fees you were charged for the refinancing. And what's worse, you are now paying interest on those extra fees charged in each refinancing. Long story short? With each refinancing, you've increased your debt and probably are paying a very high price for some extra cash. After a while, if you get in over your head and can't pay, you could lose your home.
The "Home Improvement" Loan
A contractor calls or knocks on your door and offers to install a new roof or remodel your kitchen at a price that sounds reasonable. You tell him you're interested, but can't afford it. He tells you it's no problem-he can arrange financing through a lender he knows. You agree to the project, and the contractor begins work. At some point after the contractor begins, you are asked to sign a lot of papers. The papers may be blank or the lender may rush you to sign before you have time to read what you've been given. The contractor threatens to leave the work on your house unfinished if you don't sign. You sign the papers. Only later, you realize that the papers you signed are a home equity loan. The interest rate, points and fees seem very high. To make matters worse, the work on your home isn't done right or hasn't been completed, and the contractor, who may have been paid by the lender, has little interest in completing the work to your satisfaction.
Credit Insurance Packing
You've just agreed to a mortgage on terms you think you can afford. At closing, the lender gives you papers to sign that include charges for credit insurance or other "benefits" that you did not ask for and do not want. The lender hopes you don't notice this, and that you just sign the loan papers where you are asked to sign. The lender doesn't explain exactly how much extra money this will cost you each month on your loan. If you do notice, you're afraid that if you ask questions or object, you might not get the loan. The lender may tell you that this insurance comes with the loan, making you think that it comes at no additional cost. Or, if you object, the lender may even tell you that if you want the loan without the insurance, the loan papers will have to be rewritten, that it could take several days, and that the manager may reconsider the loan altogether. If you agree to buy the insurance, you really are paying extra for the loan by buying a product you may not want or need.
Mortgage Servicing Abuses
After you get a mortgage, you receive a letter from your lender saying that your monthly payments will be higher than you expected. The lender says that your payments include escrow for taxes and insurance even though you arranged to pay those items yourself with the lender's okay. Later, a message from the lender says you are being charged late fees. But you know your payments were on time. Or, you may receive a message saying that you failed to maintain required property insurance and the lender is buying more costly insurance at your expense. Other charges that you don't understand-like legal fees-are added to the amount you owe, increasing your monthly payments or the amount you owe at the end of the loan term. The lender doesn't provide you with an accurate or complete account of these charges. You ask for a payoff statement to refinance with another lender and receive a statement that's inaccurate or incomplete. The lender's actions make it almost impossible to determine how much you've paid or how much you owe. You may pay more than you owe.
Signing Over Your Deed
If you are having trouble paying your mortgage and the lender has threatened to foreclose and take your home, you may feel desperate. Another "lender" may contact you with an offer to help you find new financing. Before he can help you, he asks you to deed your property to him, claiming that it's a temporary measure to prevent foreclosure. The promised refinancing that would let you save your home never comes through.
Once the lender has the deed to your property, he starts to treat it as his own. He may borrow against it (for his benefit, not yours) or even sell it to someone else. Because you don't own the home any more, you won't get any money when the property is sold. The lender will treat you as a tenant and your mortgage payments as rent. If your "rent" payments are late, you can be evicted from your home.
Protecting Yourself
You can protect yourself against losing your home to inappropriate lending practices. Here's how:
Don't:
1.Agree to a home equity loan if you don't have enough income to make the monthly payments.
2.Sign any document you haven't read or any document that has blank spaces to be filled in after you sign.
3.Let anyone pressure you into signing any document.
4.Agree to a loan that includes credit insurance or extra products you don't want.
5.Let the promise of extra cash or lower monthly payments get in the way of your good judgment about whether the cost you will pay for the loan is really worth it.
Deed your property to anyone. First consult an attorney, a knowledgeable family member, or someone else you trust.
Do:
1.Ask specifically if credit insurance is required as a condition of the loan. If it isn't, and a charge is included in your loan and you don't want the insurance, ask that the charge be removed from the loan documents. If you want the added security of credit insurance, shop around for the best rates.
2.Keep careful records of what you've paid, including billing statements and canceled checks. Challenge any charge you think is inaccurate.
3.Check contractors' references when it is time to have work done in your home. Get more than one estimate.
4.Read all items carefully. If you need an explanation of any terms or conditions, talk to someone you can trust, such as a knowledgeable family member or an attorney. Consider all the costs of financing before you agree to a loan.

Mortgage Loans

From www.mortgageloan.com

The mortgage market can be a complex place to do business, especially for those who don't understand its basic structure. There are three major sectors of the market; understanding them can help you better understand the gigantic industry that they compromise.
Institutional and Private Lenders

Lenders are either of the private or institutional stripe. Commercial banks, savings and loans, and credit unions are all institutional lenders. When you borrow from them, you'll be qualified according to industry guidelines, and the mortgage will be based on factors that include your credit score, income, and household expenses.
Private lenders are individuals or corporations who aren't obligated to follow federal government guidelines. Their loans are not government-insured, and they often lend money in such a way that doesn't reflect the guidelines of institutional lenders.
Primary and Secondary Markets

When you go to your bank and apply for a typical retail mortgage, you're participating in the "primary" market. The "points" you pay at closing are where the primary lender makes money.
They later sell their mortgages to investors, who make money on the interest you pay over time. These investors are part of the so-called "secondary" market.
The biggest players in this secondary market are the Federal National Mortgage Association("Fannie Mae"), the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae"), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac").
Conforming and Non-Conforming

Conventional loans are generally broken into two categories: "conforming" and "non-conforming." A conforming loan adheres to strict Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan guidelines, including an analysis of your gross income to ensure that you can pay your monthly mortgage. This reduces the risk to the lender, and allows the loan to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
"Non-conforming" loans are riskier for the lender, and may carry higher interest rates for consumers. On the plus side, they often have less restrictive criteria for mortgage applicants. If you're denied a conforming loan, the relaxed requirements of the non-conforming variety may make it easier for you to obtain one.
Once you know where to begin your search for the fundamental types of mortgage loans, you can narrow down the search based on rates, fees, and what type of mortgage terms you prefer. You'll find that mortgages will no longer be a mystery.