Have a look at the financial tips for the second week of January 2013.

Tip no 1: Hire a well experienced and certified short-sale agent when trying to avoid a foreclosure.

Short-sale is a very complex process. An experienced and certified short-sale agent has vast experience in the short-sale process.  He can guide you to conduct the short-sale transaction quite easily and within time. In addition to that, a short-sale agent knows how the industry works. He knows the loopholes. As such, the short-sale agent can help you sale your property while saving money and time simultaneously. He knows the modus operandi of the banks. So, he can navigate the process without any hurdle.

Tip no 2: Eliminating other debts through bankruptcy could free up money to cover up your mortgage payments.

Bankruptcy helps you get rid of debt through a small amount of money. Believe it or not, you can get out of debt by paying as little as $2000. You can free up cash and use it to repay your mortgage. You may not include mortgage in bankruptcy. You can rather reaffirm it and use the money saved through bankruptcy to pay off mortgage. This will help you protect your home and avoid foreclosure.

You can include mortgage in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In this type of bankruptcy, the lender will have to accept the court monitored repayment plan. The payment plan will be devised as per your financial health. You can cover up the missed payments gradually.

Tip no 3: Keep your body warm and lower thermostat to save on heating bill.

Wear socks in the winter to keep your body warm. Remember, if your feet is cold,  then your whole body will shiver. So, wear socks even when you’re in home. This will help you to remain warm amidst the chilly winter. Wear a sweater in the house.  Use a blanket while sleeping during the winter. Drink coffee or hot milk with honey to be steady. Don’t try to crank up the heat through thermostat. This’ll just make you land up with a huge heating bill.

Tip no 4: Administrative wage garnishments do not need a court order to proceed but borrowers must be notified before the process begins.

Administrative garnishment is the process wherein the federal government can garnish the wage of a person to collect non-tax debt without securing a court order. The federal government can garnish as much as 15 percent of the person’s pay scale. However, the person should be notified about it. The person has the right to challenge the repayment term or the debt amount. The federal government can’t go forward with the garnishment if the person requests for a hearing within 30 days of obtaining the notice. If the person wins the hearing, then the federal government has to stop garnishment.  

Tip no 5: If you have any charge-offs on your credit reports, your ability to obtain credit will be seriously impaired, and you must actively work to rehabilitate your credit.

Creditors hate to see charged-off accounts on the credit report of the consumers. Accounts are normally charged-off when you don’t make payments on the accounts for approximately 180 days. No creditor would want to give a loan to the borrower who has not made payments on his/her accounts for 6 months. So, if you’ve a charge off account on your credit report, then it’ll be it very difficult to qualify for a loan. Take concrete steps to rejuvenate your credit gradually. Acquire knowledge about the credit repair steps and implement them in your life. This will help you qualify for any line of credit.