Finance Questions

Posts Tagged ‘home finance software’

Question: How long after purchasing a home can One Finance a car?

My husband and I desperately need a new vehicle, but we are in the middle of purchasing our first home. I need to know how long we have to wait before being able to Finance A Car. Thank you for your help!

Answer: It is, of course, advisable to finish the transaction with the home first, and lenders love to see one year of payments made on time.

However, depending upon your income and credit rating, there may be no need to wait for any length of time after the closing of the house.

Credit ratings may be obtained free once a year from all three of the credit agencies—Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. You can request all three of them online at:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com

The person handling your mortgage loan probably already has them and you may request a copy. They also may have your credit score, which is a number indicating how good or bad of a risk you are for a loan. Ask your mortgage loan officer if she has that also. Otherwise, you may purchase your score from each of the agencies at:

Equifax - www.equifax.com
Experian - www.experian.com
TransUnion - www.transunion.com

Personally, I pay $9.49 a month through Costco to have continual access to my credit records online at any time, and also monitor for identity theft, as well as other services. It is well worth it for the peace of mind.

A banker will use a standardized formula for determining if you can qualify for a car loan. It used to be that all of your loan payments could not exceed 33% of your income. That percentage may have changed. Ask your banker what the formula is currently, and he can help you can figure out if an additional loan is within your salary.

Remember, banks are in business to make money on loans, so if your credit ratings and credit score are good, your banker should be able to tell you exactly how much you would qualify for with a car loan. Pre-qualifying also helps you to be able to shop within your means.

Additionally, credit unions are usually easier to get a loan from rather than from a bank.

Good Luck and Blessings!

Dealing with Chase Home Finance's Recovery Department

Question: Software for Personal Finance?

I am using Microsoft Money Plus Home & Business Trial version whcih has just expired. I do not want to purchase it. I need free/open source software to manange Personal Finance. I have already created money file which contain enough information. Hence I also wish to import money file to new software. Which is the best software?

Answer: I suggest you go to mint.com for your personal finances, although I am not sure whether you can import some of the data directly from MS Money.

Other than that, there are some sites available that let you run your budget for free, but I don't know of any good software that offers all of its components entirely free.

(Free Budget Software) - DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE