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Real estate appraisals are powerful, particularly in today’s nervous market as loan underwriters take a more skeptical approach to approving mortgages for buyers and homeowners have more trouble qualifying for home equity loans. The appraised value of a home is, after all, the benchmark banks use to calculate collateral, so it directly affects sales prices. Even if a buyer offers a higher price the sale will not go through – unless it is a cash sale not involving a mortgage – until the lender’s appraisal supports and validates the offering price. When the appraisal report comes in too low, for instance, the loan is denied and the buyer either walks away or the homeowner agrees to sell at the lower price.

Guest Author: MIKE SELVON

Many people who have been foreclosed upon hire a credit counselor to help mop up that messy credit report. Not only are all the missed payments tarnishing your record, but there's a "Notice of Trust Sale" and a "Trust Deed Sale" sitting ugly as well. Chances are, there is more than one area you are struggling with, so prioritizing with a counselor can definitely help. It's good to have someone working with you to improve your situation and increase the bad credit scores you've suffered. 
 
While the full impact of a foreclosure isn't likely to go away over the next year, you needn't suffer mercilessly for the next seven. Remember that the last 12 months factor most prevalently on your credit score, so a quick rebound is your best chance at regaining financial freedom once again.

Guest Author: John Grant

Debt management is a very important subject to discuss because many people today experience problems regarding the appropriate management of their finances. It is through debt management that you can get your finances under control.
 
With the development of credit cards, problems concerning debts continue to increase. The use of credit cards also affects business establishments, especially in situations where business owners stop their operations because of their inability to handle debts effectively. To help businesses manage their finances, here are some important points to consider about credit and debt management.

Each year we choose our Gay Ghetto Top 10 by cross-analyzing demographics against real estate sales data to discover those especially prized metropolitan areas throughout the USA that are most in vogue with the diverse GLBT community. When the number crunching is over, we usually have 10 distinct winners, individually ranked by virtue of their popularity. But for 2008 we have some unique and special surprises – including three 2-way ties and a 3-way tie. Our top 10 are so outstanding, in other words, that they rate higher than ever.

The word “candidate” derives from the word “candid”, and politicians running for office this year have learned that voters prefer frank talk, not a sales pitch. The same is true for homeowners shopping for a mortgage. As we prepare for springtime – which is historically the best time to buy a home – it is appropriate to talk about ways to weed out the hype about exotic residential mortgages in favor of old-fashioned fixed rate loans.

Guest Author: Robert

Whichever way you look at it, American families are suffering unprecedented financial hardships. The collapse of the subprime mortgage market is forcing homeowners into foreclosure and is having a ripple effect on other borrowers, who are finding themselves in dire straits or in bankruptcy court. "Although people desperately want to gain control of their finances and build wealth, there has been an overwhelming trend in the opposite direction," says Lakeycia Jefferson, a consultant with Wealth Masters International (www.wmitoday.com/wealthtransfer).

Guest Author: Tom Tessin

In today's world, most of America is in debt. If you don't want to be a part of this crowd, it's important that you start to save your money as soon as possible to get out of that negative hole. If you're already on a budget plan, that's great. If not, it's time that you jot down these helpful tips and start working on them. 
 

Guest Author: Bernard Pragides

Over nine million people each year report that they are the victim of some type of identity theft. As criminals continue to find new ways of committing fraud, we must also continue to remain diligent about protecting our personal information.
 
As more and more people use credit cards and debit cards to shop or pay bills, it's getting easier for thieves to steal sensitive information as well as completely assuming someone's identity. Here are four simple ways to protect your identity and your hard earned money...

A recent survey of a random selection of people from across the US consisting of about 5000 people resulted in a very surprising discovery – almost half of those surveyed had no idea of what their credit score is or even what range it fell into.  Even more surprising was the discovery that more than a third of those surveyed said that it had been more than five years since they had even seen a copy of their credit report.

Such news is both surprising as well as showing that there is a distinct lack of knowledge amongst most consumers as to why knowing one's credit score is important information.  A significant number of those surveyed admitted that they had NEVER requested nor seen a copy of their credit report and had absolutely no idea what data it contained about them.

PlanetOut Inc. , the leading media and entertainment company exclusively focused on the gay and lesbian market, today announced that following the receipt of stockholder approval for a reverse stock split at the special meeting of stockholders held on August 29, 2007, its board of directors set the ratio of the reverse stock split of PlanetOut common stock at one-for-ten. The reverse stock split is expected to become effective on or about October 1, 2007, when PlanetOut files an amendment to its certificate of incorporation with the State of Delaware.

As a result of the reverse stock split, every ten shares of common stock of PlanetOut will be combined into one share of common stock. The number of shares subject to PlanetOut's outstanding options and warrants will be reduced in the same ratio as the reduction in the outstanding shares, and the per share exercise price of those options and warrants will be increased in direct proportion to the reverse stock split ratio.

With the real estate bubble having burst and the financial system in a tizzy over the attending fallout in the mortgage markets, bankers, investors, homeowners, and CEOs are calling on the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to cut the federal funds rate in an effort to avert a financial meltdown.  However, the Federal Reserve should see through these self-serving calls and hold rates steady for the time being...

You have the right to ask that nationwide consumer credit reporting companies place "fraud alerts" in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you. It also may delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two, which then also must place fraud alerts in your file.
     

Financial planning is the process of wisely managing one’s finances to achieve certain goals and dreams, while at the same time helping negotiate the financial barriers that inevitably arise in every stage of life. The financial planning profession exists to help people make those financial decisions and achieve their life goals.

A Financial Planner or Personal Financial Planner is a practicing professional who helps people to deal with various personal financial issues through proper planning, which includes but not limited to these major areas: tertiary education planning, retirement planning, investment planning, risk management and insurance planning, tax planning, estate planning and business succession planning (for business owners). The work engaged in by this professional is commonly known as personal financial planning. In carrying out the planning function, he or she is guided by the financial planning process to create a detailed strategy tailored to a client's specific situation, for meeting a client's specific goals.

Andrew Martin feels strongly that it is critically important for gay and lesbian couples to choose a CPA who is both sensitive to and experienced in handling their needs because the tax and financial issues they face are radically different from those of married heterosexuals.

Martin is the managing partner of Martin & Wall, P.C., a CPA firm founded in 1994, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, dedicated to helping gay and lesbian couples as well as entrepreneurs navigate through complex tax matters, wealth management, and financial decisions. The firm's three partners each have 15-20 years of professional experience, multiple licenses, and certifications.

A Debt Management Plan (DMP) is a method used in various countries for paying personal unsecured debts (which typically have gotten out of control in the sense of payments due taking too large a portion of income, or even exceeding it) that involves cataloguing all the debts, assessing income and budget, and re-negotiating interest rates and payments with the lenders, based upon evidence that the result will be a higher likelihood of collection by the lenders.

A DMP is typically managed by a third party group. There are two types of DMPs. The first type is a fair disbursement of available funds from the debtor to their creditors based on a percentage of debt.