Author: James Hendrickson

Home Improvement Loan Application Checklist

painter-2247395_640Are you on the verge of making major home improvements? If so, it’s possible you’re looking at many different financing options. In this scenario, you would greatly benefit from a home renovation loan since you obviously want better interest rates, greater flexibility, and better options when compared to paying for home renovations with a credit card.

You’ll gain a wide range of benefits by choosing a home improvement loan paid back in installments as opposed to using a credit card. Additionally, you’ll get the benefits of receiving higher loan amounts, longer and better terms, and interest rates that are much more competitive than the credit card interest! Even if you wanted to pay for your renovations with a credit card, many home improvement contractors do not accept them. They need to get paid by check or cash to perform your much-needed restorations.

With that said, we want our readers to be prepared when they begin applying for home renovation loans. So, we’ll provide a checklist that everyone should use to get ready for the loan application process.

While we’re at it, don’t forget to use the internet to your advantage. Use an online comparison tool that will compare numerous home renovation loans based on your specifications.

Getting Ready to Apply for Home Improvement Loans

Before beginning the home loan comparison process, you have to be prepared for the inevitable. You must have all your ducks in a row before you prepare any documentation for potential lenders. Some of the main things lenders look for are as follows:

Income Proof

You’re never going to qualify for a home renovation loan, or any other loan for that matter, if you cannot prove your income. This makes sense because financial institutions are only going to loan money to people they know can pay it back over time based on the terms of the loan. Even though lenders loosened their qualifications prior to the housing market crash in the mid-2000s, they’ve since tightened their criteria and now thoroughly scrutinize every potential borrower and look at their financial history, employment history, and more under a microscope.

It’s relatively easy to prove your income. Just provide potential lenders with copies of your pay stubs, any investment income you may have, or other paperwork regarding income you generate throughout the year. By having this information gathered and prepared ahead of time, you’ll be able to immediately provide documentation proving how much money you make.

Lower Your Debt to Income Ratio

If your debt to income ratio is high, you’ll have a difficult time getting financial institutions to lend you money. If you have $2000 worth of expenses every month and currently owe $20,000 worth of credit cards and you only make $25,000 a year, lenders will not provide you with a renovation loan.

In this scenario, you’d have to significantly pay down your credit card debt before any lender considers giving you a home improvement loan. So keep your debt to income ratio in mind, lower it when necessary, and you’ll have a much better chance of qualifying for a low interest loan.

How’s Your Credit Score?

Finally, lenders are going to look long and hard at your current credit score. If it’s low because you’ve been late with payments or stopped paying certain bills altogether, you will not appear to be a safe bet to lending institutions. So do everything you can to clean up your credit report and raise your credit score. Otherwise you’ll have a tough time getting a home improvement loan.

Conclusion

Please pay close attention to these guidelines when applying for home improvement loans. Work on fixing your credit and debt to income ratio to have a better chance at qualifying for financing. You’ll have your dream kitchen in no time.

Why White Sapphire Engagement Rings Are so Popular

bride-2607219_640When you buy an engagement ring for your better half, you are purchasing something that she is never going to forget about for the rest of her life. It’s a ring that’s going to stay on her left hand ring finger for the duration of your marriage, so you have to get her something special or she is going to end up being really upset with you if you drop the ball on this purchase.

Because of this line of thinking, some people are actually afraid to buy white sapphire engagement rings. They think they have to absolutely buy a diamond ring because it’s considered the only option by many. But they would be wrong since white sapphires are unique, durable, rare, and the more economical choice.

At the end of the day, guys always have to factor in money when it comes to buying an engagement ring. If you are on a strict budget, you’ll be happy to know that you can buy a very large white sapphire as opposed to a tiny diamond and still end up spending less money. So your ring is going to look bigger, more attractive, and it’s going to cost less because you decided to go with a white sapphire as opposed to a diamond ring.

With that said, there are a few other reasons why White Sapphire engagement rings are so popular. We’ll take a deeper look at those reasons right now.

The Durability of White Sapphires Is Second to None

The great thing about owning a white sapphire engagement ring is you do not have to worry about accidentally damaging it if you’re prone to dropping things or stepping on them or otherwise bumping into things. Your ring is not going to experience any damage whatsoever because it’s a very strong gemstone that’s really tough to break.

So, if you’re worried that you’re going to accidentally drop your white sapphire engagement ring on the floor, step on it, and watch the stone shatter into a billion pieces, you have nothing to fear because that will never happen. This strong gemstone is durable and can withstand just about any beating you might throw its way. So, those prone to destroying things are the perfect people to own white sapphire engagement rings since they are built to withstand the test of time and so much worse.

White Sapphire Engagement Rings Are an Incredible Investment

As far as investments go, buying white sapphires is definitely the right choice as opposed to diamonds. Typically, you can buy a diamond engagement ring and it will lose value if you were to try to sell it on the open market.

On the other hand, white sapphires are currently having the opposite effect. People are buying them and since it’s a rarer choice than a diamond, they are actually going up in value instead of losing their worth. So if you want your engagement ring to gain value, choosing a white Sapphire is the better option.

Conclusion

Clearly, white sapphire engagement rings are very popular right now. Take advantage and get one for your better half today.

Living a Debt-Free Life

save more cashIt is an amazing experience to live a debt-free life, and it will help you in moving around without stress and getting the experience you deserve. Many people think that they can take loans and since it is not difficult to get a loan, this should keep getting loans one after another. Yes, this is the mentality you’re following, let me tell you that you’re actually falling into a big trap and it will not be easy for you to get out of it. Many people think that loans can have a considerable impact on the life and the impact will be positive. However, this is not true since you’re not making constant efforts to live your life to the fullest.

In this post, let us look at some of the reasons because of which living without loans will help you in living a satisfied life.

 1. There is no stress about anything

With loans, there are many things to be kept in mind, and we do not focus on the important ones while living a stressful life. Stress is one of your biggest enemies, and you should make it a point to get yourself out of the stress shown as soon as possible. One of the best ways in which you can get rid of stress is by simply looking at the possibilities you have and find the possible solutions at the earliest.

2. Getting rid of unnecessary responsibilities and assets

Let’s assume that you have an additional house that is not really used by you at regular intervals. On the other hand, you might have loans to your name. And this case, you can consider the option to sell house fast and get rid of unnecessary responsibilities at the earliest. This is important because the asset is not really contributing to your daily routine and you can always consider using it to get tired of unnecessary responsibilities that are making your life miserable.

3. It helps you do what you want to do

With so many things to do in this world, we stick to the basics because we do not have any other option. However, there are right things that can be done in this life, and we shouldn’t be wasting it by thinking of loans all the time. It will not help us in any way, and so we should consider the option of satisfying ourselves with things we should be doing instead of things you’ll be forced to do. With loans, you’ll be forced to do things, and without loans, you’ll be in a position to do what you want to do.