Archive for April 13th, 2008

Apr
13

Mortgages and the credit crunch

Posted by Chris Clare
by Chris Clare

The onset of the credit crunch is making it ever more difficult to get a mortgage and you may have found that the credit score that you achieved last year does not lead to you instantly obtaining the best market rates this year.

To explain this you first need to understand the reasons affecting your attempts to get the best rates possible from the lenders in this sector. There are two main factors that that need to be taken into account. The first is the credit crunch itself and the second is to do with the methods used by the lenders when assessing your credit score.

The credit crunch is not just affecting UK markets. Although it is affecting the UK in particular, it has ramefications the world over.In a nutshell, the money lenders are having difficulty in acquiring the money which they subsequently lend on to you, the borrower. Lenders get their money reserves from the money markets in the US. However, poor returns in the US money markets and bad investments have meant that the lenders are reluctant to lend out any more as the risks are too great.

Mortgage lenders can still get money but currently they can only get it if they commit to vetting borrowers a lot more strictly than they have been in the past. This has resulted in the second reason why you may find it harder to get a loan and that is credit scoring.

Lenders assess the credit score by way of a computerised system which calculates the borrowers ability to obtain credit. Basically, the higher the score the less the borrower is seen as being a liability.The lower the score the higher the interest rate to cover the loan. This is known as sub prime lending.

There are a lot of different ways in which your score is calculated, most of which you will not be told about as you may be seen to be able to manipulate the answers to your advantage. Having said that, there are tricks to making sure that your credit profile looks as healthy as possible. First of all, it is advantageous to have a stable address history. If your contact address has changed several times in the last 6 years, it can make you look financially unattractive.

Being on the electoral roll is also a plus. The fact that you have voted from the same location for several years gives lenders confidence that you have stayed put and therefore stable for a significant length of time. This will give you more points.

Having a landline phone is also a must, it has to be said this does not have a huge effect but it is better than just having a mobile phone. Having a stable employment history is also a must again lenders do not want to see people changing jobs every couple of months this spells trouble and they feel it could leave you without a job in the future and them without mortgage payments.

Most importantly it is imperitive to have credit in some shape or form and also to make sure that you don’t miss any payments due. If the system does not detect credit then it has no basis to assess you on. But a healthy credit background with regular monthly repayments lets the lender know that you will be less of a liability as far as their money is concerned.

So as you can see if you follow some simple steps can take a lot of the trial and error out of obtaining the best deal for you as the credit crunch takes hold. And always bear in mind that mortgage brokers deal with these scenarios on a daily basis and so who better to go to for the best advice for your financial needs.

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Apr
13

Guide on how to choose cleaning products

Posted by Alice Sy
by Alice Sy

Cleaning products are available everywhere. Different brands of cleaning products are advertised to attract loyal consumers. But what makes cleaning products different from each other? How do we determine which cleaning product to use?

Identifying which item to clean is the first step. Specific materials require different cleaning solutions. We need to clean surfaces like woods, glass, tiles, fabrics etc. with specific solutions. Using the wrong product may produce adverse effect on the surface we are cleaning. It is very important to know what item to clean and which solution to use.

Using the right cleaning product for the specific surface is essential. Although, there are cleaning products which are multi-purpose, you can observe that those solutions can clean surfaces differently. It may be effective in cleaning plastic materials, but not so much the wooden ones. But experts would always advise to use glass cleaner for glasses and tile cleaner for tiles. Using the right cleaning material brings out the maximum shining effect in a material.

After identifying which cleaning product to use, the next step is to apply it on small surface to test its effectiveness. Trial application makes it easier for us to decide whether the cleaning product is good or harmful to the item. Applying it on small portion only allows us to control the damage should the cleaning product proved to be ineffective and harmful to use.

Effectiveness of cleaning products are also measured through continuous application over time. Consistent use of cleaning products should maintain the quality of the surface being cleaned. Strong chemicals contained in some cleaning products tend to damage the surface of the items being cleaned. In this case, this is not the right cleaning product to use.

We also have to consider our personal safety in using cleaning products. We should be aware of harmful substances used in manufacturing cleaning products. It is important to read instructions on how to use cleaning products properly, and be aware of what adverse effect they have in our health. Whenever possible, refrain from, or at least minimize, using such cleaning products.

It also helps to choose cleaning products which are environment-friendly. Substances which are organic, biodegradable or non-biodegradable are contained in all cleaning products. So we have to decide which one we prefer to use.

Product knowledge is the key element in choosing cleaning products. Choose the best cleaning product not because others said so, but because you have proven so. And trial is the best way to measure the effectiveness of the product.

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