car loan Archives - The Fearless Factor

Weâre all looking for ways to cut down on expenses â especially fixed expenses that lock us into a contracted bill month after month. One common way to spare your budget is to decrease your living expenses, including your house…

Full Story

The post How Long Does It Take to Refinance a House (+ 5 Ways to Speed Up the Process) appeared first on MintLife Blog.

January 12, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, Auto Loans, budget, car loan

Why Itâs Harder to Get Credit When Youâre Self-Employed

Credit 101

12 min
1 year ago

Around 6.1% of employed Americans worked for themselves in 2019, yet the ranks of the self-employed might increase among certain professions more than others. By 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that self-employment will rise by nearly 8%. Some self-employed professionals experience high pay in addition to increased flexibility. Dentists, for example, are […]

The post Why Itâs Harder to Get Credit When Youâre Self-Employed appeared first on Good Financial CentsÂ®.

January 12, 2021

Tagged All, build credit, building, Buying, car loan

Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit?

Credit 101

9 min
1 year ago
2

Before you make any big financial decision, it’s crucial to learn how it may affect your credit score. If youâre looking to refinance, itâs natural to wonder if it might hurt your credit. Typically, your credit health will not be…

Full Story

The post Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit? appeared first on MintLife Blog.

January 12, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, car loan, closing, Credit

Before you make any big financial decision, it’s crucial to learn how it may affect your credit score. If youâre looking to refinance, itâs natural to wonder if it might hurt your credit.

Typically, your credit health will not be strongly affected by refinancing, but the answer isnât always black and white. Whether youâre still considering your options or already made your choice, weâve outlined what you need to know about refinancing below.

What Is Refinancing?

Refinancing is defined by taking on a new loan to pay off the balance of your existing loan balance. How you approach a refinancing decision depends on whether itâs for a home, car, student loan, or personal loan. Since refinancing is essentially replacing an existing debt obligation with another debt obligation under different terms, itâs not a decision to take lightly.

If youâre worried about how refinancing will affect your credit health, remember that there are multiple factors that play into whether or not it hurts your credit score, but the top three factors are:

1) Having a Solid Credit Score

You wonât be in a strong position to negotiate refinancing terms without decent credit.

2) Earning Sufficient Income

If you canât prove that you can keep up with loan payments after refinancing, it wonât be possible.

3) Proving Sufficient Equity

Youâll also need to provide assurance that the payments will still be made if your income canât cover the cost. Itâs recommended that you should have at least a 20 percent equity in a property when refinancing a home.

criteria-for-being-able-to-refinance-successfully

How Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit?

Refinancing might seem like a good option, but exactly how does refinancing hurt your credit? In short, refinancing may temporarily lower your credit score. As a reminder, the main loan-related factors that affect credit scores are credit inquiries and changes to loan balances and terms.

Credit Inquiries

Whenever you refinance, lenders run a hard credit inquiry to verify your credit score. Hard credit inquiries typically lower your credit scores by a few points. Try to avoid incurring several new inquiries by using smart rate shopping tactics. It also helps to get all your applications in during a 14â45 day window.

Keep in mind that credit inquiries made during a 14â45 day period could count as one inquiry when your scores are calculated, depending on the type of loan and its scoring model. Regardless, your credit wonât be permanently damaged because the impact of a hard inquiry on your credit decreases over time anyway.

Changes to Loan Balances and Terms

How much your credit score is impacted by changes to loan balances and terms depends on whether your refinanced loan is reported to the credit bureaus. Lenders may report it as the same loan with changes or as an entirely new loan with a new open date.

If your loan from refinancing is reported as a new loan, your credit score could be more prominently affected. This is because a new or recent open date usually means that it is a new credit obligation, therefore influencing the score more than if the terms of the existing loan are simply changed.

How Do Common Types of Refinancing Affect Your Credit?

Refinancing could help you pay off your loans quicker, which could actually improve your credit. However, there are multiple factors to keep in mind when refinancing different types of loans.

main-types-of-refinancing-that-can-affect-your-credit

Refinancing a Mortgage

Refinancing a mortgage has the biggest potential impact on your credit health, and it can definitely affect your FICO score. How can you prevent refinancing from hurting your credit too much? Try concentrating your credit inquiries when you shop mortgage rates to a 14â45 day window â this will help prevent multiple hard inquiries. Also, you can work with your lenders to avoid having them all run your credit, which could risk lowering your credit score.

If youâre unsure about when to refinance your mortgage, do your research to capitalize on the best timing. For example, refinancing your mortgage while rates are low could be a viable option for you â but it depends on your situation. Keep in mind that losing your record of paying an old mortgage on time could be harmful to your credit score. A cash-out refinance could be detrimental, too.

Refinancing an Auto Loan

As you figure out if refinancing your auto loan is worth it, be sure to do your due diligence. When refinancing an auto loan, youâre taking out a second loan to pay off your existing car debt. In some cases, refinancing a car loan could be a wise move that could reduce your interest rate or monthly payments. For example, if youâre dealing with an upside-down auto loan, you might consider refinancing.

However, there are many factors to consider before making an auto loan refinancing decision. If the loan with a lower monthly payment has a longer term agreement, will you be comfortable with that? After all, the longer it takes to pay off your car, the more likely it is to depreciate in value.

Refinancing Student Loans

When it comes to student loan refinancing, a lower interest rate could lead to major savings. Whether youâve built up your own strong credit history or benefit from a cosigner, refinancing can be rewarding.

Usually, you can refinance both your federal and private student loans. Generally speaking, refinancing your student loans shouldnât be detrimental in the grand scheme of your financial future. However, be aware that refinancing from a federal loan to a private loan will have an impact on the repayment options available to you. Since federal loans can offer significantly better repayment options than private loans, keep that in mind before making your decision.

Pros	Cons
If the cost of borrowing is low, securing a lower interest rate is possible	Credit scores can drop due to credit checks from lenders
If your credit score greatly improved, you can refinance to get a better rate	Credit history can be negatively affected by closing a previous loan to refinance
Refinancing a loan can help you lower expenses in both the short term and long term	Refinancing can involve fees, so be sure to do a cost-benefit analysis

How to Prevent Refinancing from Hurting Your Credit

By planning ahead, you can put yourself in a position to not let refinancing negatively affect your credit and overall financial health.

Try to prepare by reading your credit reports closely, making sure there are no errors that could keep your credit application from being approved at the best possible rate. Stay one step ahead of any errors so you still have time to dispute them. As long as you take preventative measures in the refinancing process to save yourself time and money, you shouldnât find yourself struggling with the refinancing.

If refinancing makes sense for your situation, you shouldnât be concerned about it hurting your credit. It might not be the most ideal situation, but itâs extremely common and typically relatively easy for your credit score to bounce back.

If you notice that your new loan from refinancing causes alarming changes when you check your credit score, be sure to reach out to your creditor or consider filing a dispute. As long as youâre prioritizing your overall financial health through smart decision making and budgeting, refinancing shouldnât adversely hurt your credit in the long run.

The post Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit? appeared first on MintLife Blog.

Source: mint.intuit.com

4 Tips for Handling Finances After a Pay Cut

Building Wealth

Money

9 min
1 year ago
10

woman sitting on the floor doing work on her computer

Millions of Americans faced pay cuts as the coronavirus pandemic affected industries. While many workers were laid off, some were furloughed, and others kept their jobs but at lower salaries as businesses struggled to stay afloat. Some workers are reexamining their budgets to cut some of their expenses until they get another job or their […]

The post 4 Tips for Handling Finances After a Pay Cut appeared first on SoFi.

January 12, 2021

Tagged 401(k), All, Auto, budget, Budgeting & Goals

What to Do Before You Lease a Car

Auto Loans

Credit Repair

Home Mortgage

6 min
1 year ago
3

Getting a new car is a big decision, and you should choose your next vehicle carefully. But if you think finding the right car is difficult, deciding whether to lease or buy can be even more overwhelming. Start the process right by understanding the minimum credit score to lease a car and determining whether this… Read More

The post What to Do Before You Lease a Car appeared first on Credit.com.

January 12, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, Auto Loans, Buy, Buying

The Lenders Giving Borrowers Second Chance Loans

Tax & Legal Tips

9 min
1 year ago
2

Brenda Woods didn’t want to move and leave the garden she had tended for 40 years. But the roof was falling in. And her bank wouldn’t give her and her husband Larry a loan to buy a replacement home. Brendaâs still tending her garden, though, thanks to a second-chance loan from the New Hampshire Community… Read More

The post The Lenders Giving Borrowers Second Chance Loans appeared first on Credit.com.

January 11, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, Buy, car loan, Credit

How Much Life Insurance Do I Really Need?

Insurance

Photography

19 min
1 year ago

Since it doesnât have an immediate benefit â like health or auto insurance â life insurance may be the most underestimated insurance type there is. But if you die, life insurance will likely be the single most important policy type youâve ever purchased. And thatâs why you have to get it right. Not only do […]

The post How Much Life Insurance Do I Really Need? appeared first on Good Financial CentsÂ®.

January 11, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, budget, Buy, Buying

Credit card balances are crippling households across the United States, giving them insurmountable debts that just keep on growing and never seem to go away. But there is some good news, as this problem has spawned a multitude of debt relief options, one of which is a credit card balance transfer. Balance transfers are a […]

Credit Card Balance Transfers is a post from Pocket Your Dollars.

January 11, 2021

Tagged All, Buy, Buying, car loan, Cash Back

I Was Denied an Auto Loan. Now What?

Auto Loans

Home Mortgage

10 min
1 year ago
3

Youâre in the market for a new car but youâve been denied an auto loan. Now what? Hereâs what you need to know about why you may have been denied and what to do to make sure it doesnât happen again. Why Do I Keep Getting Denied for Auto Loans? Unfortunately, there are many reasons… Read More

The post I Was Denied an Auto Loan. Now What? appeared first on Credit.com.

January 10, 2021

Tagged All, Auto, Auto Loans, car loan, credit score