As 99% of you know, a Line of Credit (either a Home Equity Line, Personal Line or Business Line will do) is required in order for the Money Merge Account Program to work. Because of the decline in the housing market and many lenders tightening their lending guidelines, Lines of Credit are becoming harder for some to obtain. Well, United First Financial has come up with a temporary fix to this problem.
As of April 2, 2008 a Credit Card can now be used with the United First Financial Money Merge Account as an alternative to a Line of Credit. If you really think of it for a moment, this makes complete sense since a Credit Card is nothing more then a Line of Credit. Granted the rates, fees and credit limit vary greatly, but this is a great way for a client to get started on the Money Merge Account Program and build some equity in their property. Later, they can then apply for a Line of Credit at a major bank and utilize it instead of the Credit Card.
Now, most United First Financial Agents are telling their clients about the Credit Card option instead of having them try to obtain a Line of Credit from a bank. I don't really think this is the right way to go as the rates and fees on Credit Cards are very high. Instead, the Credit Card option should be a last resort for a client to utilize the United First Financial Money Merge Account and it should be know that is only a temporary fix. The client's main goal should be to get a Line of Credit as soon as they can.
It should also be noted that United First Financial WILL NOT GUARANTEE the client's results on the Credit Card option UNTIL Version 4 of the Money Merge Account Software is released in June of this year. Client can still start using the Credit Card option and then once Version 4 of the Money Merge Account Software is released, United First Financial will re-run the client's Money Merge Account Analysis and give them the GUARANTEE. So, I client doesn't have to worry about them not getting a guarantee from United First Financial, since it will happening later, but it in the meantime, they can get started on the program to help paydown their mortgage.
Now, in order for a client to utilize this program, there are a couple of items they need to check with their Credit Card company about. They are as follows:
1) Are they able to write checks from their Credit Card or does their company have an online bill-pay system.
2) If the Credit Card company will allow you to write checks, is there a fee for the checks.
3) What is the interest rate they will charge you if you write a check or do an online bill-pay from your Credit Card. Remember, some Credit Card companies count this as a Cash-Advanced Transaction and the rate and fees are higher.
4) When do they apply payments.
5) Are there any Annual Fees.
6) What is the Credit Limit.
I recently heard from another United First Financial Agent that American Express has a Credit Card which works perfectly. You might want to check them out.
Anyway, I'm sorry it took so long to post this information, but I wanted to make sure the kinks were worked out and all the information I am providing is correct before I posted it.
REMEMBER: THIS IS A LAST OPTION AND A TEMPORARY FIX TO GET YOU STARTED ON THE UNITED FIRST FINANCIAL MONEY MERGE ACCOUNT! YOU SHOULD TRY TO OBTAIN A LINE OF CREDIT AS SOON AS YOU CAN AND THEN CONTACT UNITED FIRST FINANCIAL SO THEY CAN SWITCH YOUR MONEY MERGE ACCOUNT SOFTWARE TO WORK WITH THE LINE OF CREDIT INSTEAD OF THE CREDIT CARD.
April 30, 2008
United First Financial Money Merge Account Credit Card Option
March 24, 2008
United First Financial Money Merge Account Canadian Expansion
This news came down the pipeline the other day to all United First Financial Agents. It seems that we can now recruit Agents in Canada! Thank goodness because I get many people contacting me from Canada and want to offer the United First Financial Money Merge Account there.
Before everyone from Canada starts contacting me again, I do want to make sure you read this little tid-bit about selling the United First Financial Money Merge Account in Canada:
"Sales of the Money Merge Account system in Canada will not be open until May 1st, 2008 and will be limited to clients with a mortgage and line of credit in the following provinces only: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan."
So, please be sure you are from those provinces before contacting me about becoming a United First Financial Agent.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
March 7, 2008
Frozen HELOCs and the United First Financial Money Merge Account
One of biggest concerns for many Clients and Agents of the United First Financial Money Merge Account has been the issue of frozen HELOCs. I'm sure you have heard the news of a number of banks freezing the HELOCs of their clients because of the decline in the housing market. Banks are literally preventing homeowners from taking money from their HELOCs since they feel people will borrow more then their properties are worth.
The biggest problem is the banks aren't looking at individual situations. They are looking at which areas are labeled a declining market and then freezing the HELOCs of all their clients in those areas. So, even if a client has a $0 balance on the HELOC or made all payments on time, they can still fall pray to having their HELOC frozen and not being able to access their money.
Since a HELOC is the number one Line of Credit used for the United First Financial Money Merge Account this is a big concern, however, don't fear as there is a way around it.
In a recent post, I explained that clients in Texas cannot get a HELOC, so they have to get a Personal Line of Credit. A Personal Line of Credit is becoming the best way for clients on the United First Financial Money Merge Account to ensure they won't fall pray to freezing of HELOCs by banks.
A Personal Line of Credit works exactly the same way as a HELOC, expect the Personal Line of Credit is based off the credit of the individual NOT the equity in their property. Therefore, even if their property is in a declining area, they don't have to worry about the bank freezing their line. The only drawback is the interest on the Personal Line of Credit is not tax deductable, but the interest you would be charged is so minimal that I don't see this a major concern.
Therefore, if you are considering becoming a client of the United First Financial Money Merge Account or if you are an Agent, then I would suggest looking into a Personal Line of Credit. Here is that list again of banks currently offering a Personal Line of Credit:
US Bank
866-307-3219 ext. 2522
CA, UT, OR, CO, FL
Wells Fargo
888-667-5250
50 States
America One Funding
800-809-0993
50 States
Bank Of America
888-457-2543
50 States
Chase
866-466-8962
50 States
National City
800-622-4036
50 States
Key Bank
800-539-3253
AK, CO, CT, ID, IN, KY, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, UT, VT, WA
Regions Bank
800-588-1267
AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, SC,
TN, TX, VA
Nationwide Unsecured
877-777-9933
50 States
If you have a question regarding this, please call me at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com. I will be happy to answer your questions.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
February 16, 2008
United First Financial Money Merge Account in Texas
I was browsing the Internet looking at the many different websites on the United First Financial Money Merge Account and came across a couple on why the United First Financial Money Merge Account won't work on a property in Texas. Basically, people think if you live in Texas that you won't qualify for the United First Financial Money Merge Account. Well, I'm here to solve your problems.
In a previous post, I explained that you could use other Lines of Credit for the United First Financial Money Merge Account such as a Business Line of Credit or a Personal Line of Credit. Well, by using one of these others Lines of Credit, a person who lives in Texas can qualify for the United First Financial Money Merge Account. Also, if that person happens to own other property in another state (say Florida), they can get a Line of Credit on that property and use it to payoff their mortgage on the property in Texas.
Great, so where can you get these other Lines of Credit? Well, here are some of those places:
US Bank
866-307-3219 ext. 2522
CA, UT, OR, CO, FL
Wells Fargo
888-667-5250
50 States
America One Funding
800-809-0993
50 States
Bank Of America
888-457-2543
50 States
Chase
866-466-8962
50 States
National City
800-622-4036
50 States
Key Bank
800-539-3253
AK, CO, CT, ID, IN, KY, ME, MI, NY, OH, OR, UT, VT, WA
Regions Bank
800-588-1267
AL, AR, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, SC,
TN, TX, VA
Nationwide Unsecured
877-777-9933
50 States
I hope this information helps some of the potential clients and Agents of the United First Financial Money Merge Account.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
January 25, 2008
United First Financial Money Merge Account Restructuring Fees
Some of the questions I've been asked about the United First Financial Money Merge Account are about fees associated with the following situations:
1) What would happen if a person on the United First Financial Money Merge Account were to sell their home
2) After they paid off their home if they can transfer the United First Financial Money Merge Account to another property.
Well, a couple of days ago, all Agents received a notice from United First Financial Corporate addressing the restructuring and transfer fees of the Money Merge Account. I thought it would be a good idea to post them here this way your know exactly what they are.
a) If you refinance your First Mortgage or HELOC on the subject property, then the fee to restructure is $100
b) If you sell your current home and the mortgage WASN'T completely paid off yet with the United First Financial Money Merge Account, then you can transfer the United First Financial Money Merge Account to your new property and pay down that mortgage for a fee of $100
c) If you sell your current home and the mortgage WAS completely paid off with the United First Financial Money Merge Account, then you can transfer the United First Financial Money Merge Account to your new property and pay down that mortgage for a fee of $500
d) After your subject property's mortgage is paid off with the United First Financial Money Merge Account, you can transfer it to another property (like a second home or investment property) and payoff that mortgage for a fee of $500
This is great news since many people think that once they paid off their mortgage on one property, they would have to pay the full fee again for the next property they want to payoff. As you can see, this is not the case.
I hope this information clears up a lot of the debate on the United First Financial Money Merge Account and if you have any other questions, feel free to call or email me.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
January 21, 2008
Why Can't You Have Your HELOC Payments Automatically Taken From Your Checking Account on the United First Financial Money Merge Account?
I have been getting a lot of emails and calls recently concerning the question of why can't you have your HELOC payments automatically taken from your checking account when you are the United First Financial Money Merge Account. Well, I thought I would address this as a post since it seems it is a hot topic.
It is true that most banks will give you a lower rate on your HELOC if you elect to have payments for the HELOC automatically withdrawn from your checking account. The interest rate savings varies from each bank as is usually about .25% to .50%. So, instead if getting a 8.00% rate on your HELOC, you could get a 7.75% to 7.50% rate. Sounds good, but wait.
The main reason why I tell clients not to elect for the automatic payments is because you run into two problems:
1) Increasing your payoff time on the United First Financial Money Merge Account
2) Running the risk of overdraft charges
Let me address both these issues.
1) In order for the United First Financial Money Merge Account to work the best, you should never have money sitting in your checking/savings account and it should all be in your HELOC. Therefore, you should always have a $0 balance in your checking/savings account.
When you elect to have automatic payments on your HELOC, the bank will take the payment on the HELOC from your checking account. Therefore, you will have to transfer funds from your HELOC to your checking account or not transfer all the money in your checking account to your HELOC to make sure you have the funds available to make the payment.
Yes, your funds transfer from your checking account to your HELOC should count as a payment, so you shouldn't owe a payment to the HELOC, but some banks have a minimum financial charge or fee for the automated payments. This minimum finance charge or fee will be taken from your checking even if you tranfer your funds from your checking to HELOC.
2) If the bank tries to take money from your checking account for the payment and there isn't enough there, then they could charge you an overdraft fee. I have seen these fee as high as $50 for each occurance. Therefore, to safeguard yourself, you will have to keep money in your checking account instead of keeping in your HELOC.
So, you can see why having the automatic payments on your HELOC is a problem when you are on the United First Financial Money Merge Account. My advice is don't worry about the saving on your HELOC rate as the potential problem of overdraft fees and increasing your payoff time is a bigger problem then a .25% to .50% savings on your HELOC rate.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
January 18, 2008
Need Help Repairing Credit For The United First Financial Money Merge Account
I have been getting some emails recently from potential clients whos credit is preventing them from getting a Home Equity Line of Credit for the United First Financial Money Merge Account. So, to help out I decide to provide a Credit Repair Guide which was sent to me showing how to repair your credit. The Credit Repair Guide goes over step-by-step how to repair your credit and even has some sample letters to send the Credit Reporting Agencies.
You are more then welcome to download and use the Credit Repair Guide to help repair your credit on your own, but I am not responsible for anything that should happen by you using this guide. Also, if you don't have time to repair your credit on your own or have trouble, you might want to hire a company that does this for you. One good company to contact is Credit Financial Solutions, Inc. Here is their info:
Credit Financial Solutions, Inc.
John Grimm
4403 1st Ave. SE, Suite L3
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402
319-294-6651
877-294-6651 (toll free)
jgrimm@creditfinancialsolutions.com
www.creditfinancialsolutions.com
They can help get your credit repaired and then you are on your way to getting your HELOC for the United First Financial Money Merge Account. Hope this helps!
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
January 4, 2008
Thank You Rebeca G.!!!
I just wanted to say "Thank you" to Rebeca G. She is an Agent with United First Financial who is not part of my team, just someone who read my blog on the Money Merge Account.
She wasn't getting the support she needed from her team, so she wanted to know if I could help her out. Even though she wasn't on my team I gave her the advice she needed. She called me again about a month later and again I helped her out.
I know my experience in the mortgage industry helps a lot with some of the questions clients and agents have with the Money Merge Account. I just feel that helping people out is the right thing to do.
Anyway, I was away for the holidays and she left me the sweetest voice message expressing her gratitude for my help. It really made me happy! Just thought I would share that with you all.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
Can't Get A HELOC for the United First Financial Money Merge Account? Try These Other Loans...
There are many people who want to get going with the United First Financial Money Merge Account, but have trouble getting a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). The main reason why people don't qualify is they don't have equity in the property you want to payoff.
I wrote in an earlier post (Money Merge: Account Use a HELOC from any property to pay down your mortgage) how you can use a HELOC from another property if you don't have equity in the one you want to pay down. But, what if you don't own another property or the other properties you own also don't have equity? Well, you can also use two different Lines of Credit which will work with the United First Financial Money Merge Account. They are:
1) Business Line of Credit
2) Personal Line of Credit
As long as the above Lines of Credit have the required features in order to utilize them with the United First Financial Money Merge Account then you are good to go. Here are the Line of Credit requirements again so you don't have to go digging for them:
The HELOC must have the following features:
a. Has to be a variable loan
b. Has to have interest only payments
c. Has to apply payments daily
d. Has to have check writing/debit capabilities
e. CANNOT have automatic payments taken from your checking account
I hope this information is helpful for those of you wanting to get started on the United First Financial Money Merge Account. If you have a question, give me a call at 561.756.4279.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279 or email me at xavier687@yahoo.com
December 4, 2007
Update: Will Not Escrowing Payoff your Mortgage Faster with the United First Financial Money Merge Account?
In my last post, I was telling everyone how my brother and I were talking on the phone and he told me he was escrowing for his taxes. I told him to remove them since it would payoff his loan faster with the Money Merge Account. Anyway, he ran a scenario for my in his Money Merge Account Software and it said it would lower his payoff time from 5.75 years to 5.25 years.
Well, I have to appologize to everyone who reads this blog, all the United First Financial Agents, their customers and the people at United First Financial. Yes, my brother's payoff time was completely wrong once he called Countrywide and got the escrows removed (he did this yesterday) and then was able to truely update the Money Merge Account Software. The payoff time went down it 4.8 years!!!
Here is what he wrote to me tonight:
=======================
Charles,
Just wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me on letting the MMA system handle the paying of my real estate taxes by removing the escrow payment from my mortgage.
Here are the results:
Before my mortgage payment was 526.91 with an escrow payment of 372.04 for a total payment of 898.95. At that point I had 5.7 years left to pay off my mortgage.
I removed the escrow payment and now have the MMA handling my tax payment by adding a $2200.00 yearly expense for taxes like you told me.
By just doing this, my years left went down to 4.8 years!
So I knocked 9 months off by doing basically nothing and just letting the MMA manage my real estate taxes.
I can’t even begin to image how much in interest on my mortgage that is going to save me. This system is definitely worth every penny.
=======================
There you have it, the true power of the Money Merge Account. You now can see that without my brother making any more money, just putting it to better use for him, he is able to knock 9 months off his mortgage.
Get Your Free Money Merge Account Analysis Today!
Become a United First Financial Agent and offer the Money Merge Account
Got a Question? Call Charles at 561.756.4279.