Dealing with unexpected bills

No matter how diligent you might be when it comes to your finances, the risk of an unexpected bill is ever-present in the background. Perhaps you moved home many years ago and there was an error when settling a cable account but you’ve not received the correspondence. Or maybe you’ve been hit by an unexpected need to replace an essential item, such as a phone or a laptop, following accidental damage that cannot be repaired.

Whatever the root cause of your new-found unexpected bill, it’s vital that you respond to it and make sure it doesn’t morph into a more pressing concern. But how can you do that if you haven’t planned for the expense? This article will share some top tips on how to help tackle a financial curveball as it comes your way.

Reduce your outgoings

The simplest way to open up more cash is to reduce the amount that you’re currently spending. In some cases, this might be simple yet painful. If you now spend a significant amount of cash on eating out or picking up lunch while on the go, for example, you could consider cutting out this luxury and replacing it by taking a meal from home. You could then put the cash you will save towards paying off an unexpected bill.

Depending on your circumstances, however, this could require a more creative approach. If you are already in a situation where your outgoings are extensive, but your income is tight, it may feel like there is no room to deal with an unexpected bill. If you can, it may be worth considering some frugality tips – such as batch cooking meals, splitting dishwasher tablets into two or three to make them last longer, or turning off the heating during colder spells and wearing more clothes instead. Measures like that can seem extreme at first, but often they are what is needed to help tide you over when an unexpected expense occurs.

More time on offer?

Depending on the nature of the bill, it may well be that you can get extra time to pay it off. It’s certainly worth calling up the institution in question if you can and asking them to consider giving you a payment holiday or at least developing a payment plan that can help both parties. After all: it’s in their interests to ensure that customers pay up eventually, and if they have room in their cash flow to allow for this, then they might well permit it. There are no guarantees, but it’s worth trying just in case.

Ask for a raise

In some cases, it makes more sense to look for the money you need to save by working with what you’ve got. And that’s especially true if you’re currently in work and have a paycheck landing in your bank account every week, fortnight or month. Depending on where you work, there might be no obligation for your employer to provide you with a pay rise. But there’s rarely anything to lose by occasionally and politely asking for a raise – and if they say yes, it could well solve your worries about the unexpected new outgoing.

Making money online

Some people also look into making money online, too. It can be a helpful way of raising income if your usual job does not offer much in the way of salary progression, and it can be done flexibly around childcare and other commitments. If you have skills in finance, say, you could look into online trading – although be sure to learn from experienced traders by taking some courses. Alternatively, those with marketing skills could look into flexible work like content creation or copywriting. Whatever you can do, there is likely to be some flexible work that suits you available online – and as a temporary stopgap to deal with that pesky new outgoing, it could make all the difference between financially surviving or going under.

Overall, there are many different options available for somebody who needs to contend with a bill they did not expect. As well as asking your creditor to extend your repayment terms, it’s also possible to focus either on cutting your current spending or increasing your current income. Not all methods work for all people, though – so it’s important to carefully assess your options and ensure that you choose a mode of money management that works for you and for the nature of the unexpected bill you have to pay. 

How To Find Bad Credit Mortgage Lenders

Bad credit mortgage lenders are in more demand than ever before, yet the there don't seem to be any mortgages available for the millions of people in America who want to buy a home with bad credit.

The Mortgage Lending Crunch

I get it. The economy tanked, wallstreet crumbled, jobs were lost for millions, and a lot of good people like me and you had to choose between paying loan bill on time or putting food on the table for our family. During these rocky times, many were humiliated and kicked out of their home, veritably shutting the door on the American dream of home ownership.

Things are still tough, but if you are one of the lucky few who learned from past financial misteps and have righted your financial situation back to a healthy one, you must be eager to take advantage of record low real estate prices and buy a home again to return to home owner status.

Eager and full of hope you, looking to finance a home you are running into a brick wall trying to find bad credit mortgage lenders for your dream home. Bad credit mortgage lending just ain't what it used to be...

Finding a mortgage lenders willing to work with bad credit people is almost impossible presently. As sub-prime borrowers there are relatively few loans available, and the banks that claim they offer bad credit mortgages are in actuality only loaning out money to 'less than good credit', but true a true bad credit history will be denied outright.

You may have a good paying capacity but the credit markets simply don't have the money to risk on higher risk bad credit loans.

Is All Hope Lost?

I wouldn't recommend giving up your search for a mortgage, so if you wish to tenaciously pursue a mortgage option, I would like to provide you some places to start.

First, begin your search with a mortgage broker who will look for a lender that is willing to offer their money in spite of your credit limitations as a borrower. Mortgage brokers typically will have a stable of lenders that they can shop your mortgage stats to in order to find a good fit.

Generally, as a middle man your mortgage broker will receive be paid a fee equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount. The benefits of using a mortgage broker to look for lenders is that they will do all the leg work for you, presenting your credit details in the hopes of finding a lending institution that can squeeze out an approval for you.

It is important to keep in mind that each mortgage broker can have different lenders that they work with, so just because one broker says they cannot get you a mortgage because of your bad credit, keep trying. Some brokers work with private lenders that can have unique approval requirements for the money they are lending.

Prepare ahead of time for the review that you encounter, as you will only save yourself time. Get yourself a copy of your credit reports from the three bureaus, bring them with you, and bring reference letters and additionally letters explaining the situation behind the bad credit occurrances that brought down your scores.

You do not want multiple banks and brokers pulling your credit over and over as it will only lower your scores further if you acquire too many credit inquiries in a short time. At this point in the game we need every leg up we can to get your mortgage approved.

Additionally, it would not be a bad thing to bring a budget list that indicates the money you receive monthly and your expenses. The stronger a financial picture you can paint, without stretching the truth, can help tip the scales in favor of a bad credit mortgage approval. As you can imagine convincing the pontential mortgage lender evidence of how you can pay the loan will not hurt.

Another option to get a bad credit mortgage lender to approve you is to offer a larger down payment more than the usual 3%, 10% or 20%. This is another mortgage strategy to show the lender the willingness and ability as a borrower to save and pay on your obligation. The increased equity acts as additional security for your loan protecting the mortgage lenders interest in the loan. As an added bonus you will reduce your monthly payments.

Understandably, not everyone has the ability to increase the down payment...

What to do if you cannot get a bad credit mortgage lender to approve your loan?

If you try time and again and feel you have exhausted all your options to get a bad credit mortgage, then it might be time to try creative mortgage alternative home buying strategies.

We have developed a quick guide to getting a mortgage with bad credit that outlines creative mortgage alternatives. Check out our guide on how to buy a house with bad credit to learn more about home buying alternatives to mortgage loans.

A brief run down of your options would be to pursue owner finances or private lenders. If the seller of a home owns the real estate outright, there is almost no end to the flexibility with which you can structure a purchase contract and agreement.

The idea, of course, is to create a win win solution that solves the home sellers need to sell and meets your inability to get a traditional mortgage financed.

The purchase can be arranged in a manner that the seller becomes the bank effectively providing a bad credit mortgage to you on his or her qualification standards whatever they may be. In many cases it could be determined by the steady look in your eye and a handshake.

Additionally, a sad result of the economic down turn is there are a number of desperate sellers that cannot meet the payments of their own mortgage and face foreclosure and eviction. In these cases it is often possible to create what is known as a 'subject to' home purchase.

Essentially, in lieu of your acquiring your own bad credit mortgage, you take over in a manner the mortgage of the current home occupant. It is an advanced home buying technique for bad credit people that your title company can help you structure.

The other option is to wait out the current economic slump and mortgage crunch. If one thing is certain, times, both good and bad are cyclical. With time mortgage lenders pockets will get flush with cash again and they will return to being desperate for borrowers with both good and bad credit. If you continue saving while you wait for their return, you will be more than capable of qualifying for whatever the more flexible bad credit mortgage lender requirements may be.

Which Mortgage Lenders Loan to Bad Credit

It's impossible to know which lenders will offer mortgages to bad credit people, but the following is a review of mortgage lenders most likely to based on what we know today.

Citigroup Mortgages
One of the well-known mortgage lenders is the American-based company Citigroup. This is the first company a borrower with a bad credit history will likely try. They provide adjustable and fixed rates. For a 15-year mortgage, they offer the lowest interest rates. Citigroup is found in 54 countries outside of America. In the past they have helped people with a bad credit borrow mortgage loans.

In the current climate people are using adjustable rate mortgages especially those who have bad debts and are looking for a little short term relief. After they pay off the debts, the idea is to switch to a fixed rate to lock in historically low rates. Quite frankly, with the tumultous financial health of America and the international community, I do not recommned any adjustable rate mortgages presently. The risk of sky rocketing interest is just too great in these unstable times.

Bank of America
Bank of America usually offers a number of subprime bad credit mortgages. Aside from providing home mortgages, they have had a spotty record of helping clients facing financial difficulties and have earned a reputation as a tough lender. Bank of America is the third largest bank in America at the time of this writing.

Wells Fargo
Another mortgage lender is Wells Fargo. They have existed since the stage coach days and they have over 1000 branches in America. As a mortgage lender, Wells Fargo offers a number of online tools that have empowered the borrower. They have a good record of embracing technology to stay with the times and provide you additional benefits as a customer. They also provide loans with a fixed rate and low interest specifically designed for people with a bad credit history. In the past they have offered mortgage loan packages that allow borrowers to purchase a house and to make home improvements at the same time if they want to undergo renovation as simultaneous with their purchase.

Other mortgage lenders include Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., First Magnus Financial Corporation, GMAC Mortgage LLC, Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc., Bank of America Na Charlotte, Ark-la-tex Financial Services LLC, Premiere Mortgage Funding, Inc., First Horizon Home Loan Corporation and American Home Mortgage Corporation, each with their own benefits and negatives.

For further information check out our guide on how to get a mortgage approved with bad credit.

Undoubtedly, with bad credit you must expect any mortgage approvals to have a higher interest rate and service fees. They will also impose additional charges for late payments.

The bad credit mortgage lenders may be scarce today, but the time will come when they will return, and we will be sure to update our site with the mortgage offers as soon as they hit the market.