Applying for a parent-student loan? Here’s what you need to know Student loan from a bank or a lender is usually the best way to plan and start your career. Student loans are taken by aspiring college students for their bright future. It eases them from their financial trouble and helps them focus on their academics more. There is another type of loan that is different from a student loan, and it’s called a PLUS loan. It is a student loan that is taken by the parents or student loan for parents. It is also known as the parent-student loan. What is the eligibility criteria to apply for a parent-student loan? These loans are financed by the U.S. Department of Education. Here are certain requirements to be eligible for the loan. FAFSA application – You need to fill the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and depending on the information that you provide, your appeal will be evaluated. Decent to good credit history – Just like any other loan, even parent-student loans are given after your credit history has been checked. The credit score plays an important role here and only upon checking that the loan is given (or not).

All you need to know when looking for houses for rent by owner Who said house hunting was easy? It takes days and sometimes months to find a perfect place you can call your home. Whether you have decided to buy an apartment or rent one, there is nothing that can save you from sleepless nights and the endless errands of house hunting. What makes the entire experience even more taxing is the concept of broker and paying brokerage. However, we are lucky that today we have the option of skipping the middleman and directly deal with the seller. This is applicable both for buying and renting apartments. Don’t know how it is done? Here is a brief overview on directly buying houses for rent by owners directly: What do you need to keep in mind when you are house hunting? A lot of foreseeing and planning is required when you search for an apartment to rent. You need to consider factors like the location, space, and most importantly, your budget. The best thing to do is to be sure about these factors before you go to visit the owner and see the place up for rent. What are the benefits of buying houses for rent by owners?

How to find free information on properties using free property records Property records is a system for recording legal instruments that is exclusively meant for public documentation of land titles and interests. Free property records are different from land registration systems, as land registration does not determine who is the owner of the title or interest. What instruments are recorded in a free property record? The instruments that are usually entitled to be recorded include: Deed Mortgages Leases (that usually have long term varieties) Easements (which gives the right to cross or use someone else’s land for a specific purpose) Court orders It also lists technical requirements which state whether acknowledgements are required before a notary public. What is a property deed search? Property deed search is a type of free property record that contains information on property transfers, ownership deed, and other legal documents. This is known as a registrar’s deed or recorder’s office. The recorder’s office is usually located in the country’s courthouse; it might also be located in the city hall or any other department. For instance, the deed recorder for San Francisco is situated in the city hall. You can either get access to the free property records by visiting the nearest recorder’s office, checking online websites, or through various public terminals of research.

A brief overview of free credit score The credit score determines the financial status, such as whether you qualify for credit or a loan and most importantly, the interest rate that you pay on your loan. Any financial organization requires to know about your credit score. This helps them in determining if you are a safe customer to carry out transactions with. Your credit score has a major impact on the decisions that you make and the offers you avail because even a landlord can turn you down if your credit score does not measure up to the minimum requirements. The credit card score reflects how well you are able to manage your debt. If you are looking to improve your credit score, free credit score is the answer. One can apply for free credit through different services to monitor the progress of your credit. Here are factors that you should understand about credit scores and free credit score: Which are the key factors that influence credit score? Timely-payments can greatly impact your credit score. It proves to lenders how reliable you are. Even a few payments that are made late can significantly affect your score. Thus, paying all your bills on time is essential for the good health of your credit.

Everything you need to know about credit cards with no foreign transaction fee Are you planning to travel to a foreign country? Whether you are planning to travel abroad for a holiday or for your work, you need to take care of various things to make your journey and stay hassle-free. For instance, you should have your visa, travel permits, and passport in order. You should also consider the financial aspects, such as converted currency and traveler’s checks. However, traveler’s checks are slowly becoming redundant due to the prevalent use of plastic payment cards such as debit card and credit cards. Apart from convenience, these cards are also more secure compared to cash and checks that can be stolen or lost. With debit cards and credit cards, you can easily cancel the card with one call to the customer service center. Although using credit cards is simpler and safer, they can cost a lot if you use your national credit cards. This is because when you use your credit card or debit card in any foreign country, a foreign transaction fee will be charged whenever you swipe your card. To avoid additional charges, you can opt for credit cards with no transaction fees.

A brief overview of business finance “Watch your finances like a hawk.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. When it comes to business, we all are slaves of money and funds. Admit it, you might be an amazing entrepreneur, who has a brilliant ground-breaking idea for business, but if you don’t have enough finance, your business dream will remain a dream. A business flourishes only when you have mastered the art of finance management. For a successful business, you need to learn how to meticulously research and plan your financial needs, keeping in mind your investments and assets. Following are some questions related to the basics of business finance and how to raise money for your business. What is business finance? Business finance is a broad concept, which focuses on the management of your finances with respect to your business. Business finance covers topics like asset management, budget analyses, foreseeing the financial risks, and so on. Without understanding the concept of finance, you cannot plan on gaining profits and achieving success in your business. What are the characteristics of business finance? You cannot skip having a business finance irrespective of whether you have a small organization with only a handful of employees or you own a big corporate business.

4 frequently asked questions for choosing the best franchises to own in the US A franchise is a type of license that a party, known as the franchisee acquires in order to allow them to have access to the franchiser’s (a business’) proprietary knowledge, trademarks, and processes to allow the franchisee to sell a product or provide a service under the established business’ name. The franchisee pays the franchisor initial start-up and annual licensing fee. Choosing the best franchises to own in the US can be a tricky business. Here are some questions that you should ask before owning a franchise. What is the ideal budget when choosing the best franchises to own? The cost of a franchise depends on the industry and the business model. There are some business models that have an upfront fee of $10,000, while others can go up to $1 million. Before deciding to own a franchise, the prospective franchisees should consider the initial investment that would be required to own the franchise and how much returns should be expected from the business. The franchisee should consider their own lifestyle, wealth, income, and equity when choosing from the best franchises to own. What are the basic business skills required for own the best franchise?

Points to consider before choosing the best financial adviser for your investments A financial adviser is one who creates financial plans for and sells financial products to their clients. They provide insights on savings and investments to their clients and provides advices investments, insurance, estate planning, taxes, retirement, and other financial decisions. What are the types of services provided by financial advisers? To find some of the best financial advisers, you first need to understand the types of services offered by them. Financial advisers provide three main types of services: Financial planning helps you in managing financial aspects such as savings, types, and insurance that will provide you maximum returns. The investment advisory services focuses on investment management that helps deciding what investments to own. Investments are a part of any ongoing financial process. One of the main services offered by financial advisers is the retirement income planning. It focuses on how to coordinate social security taxes, investments, pensions, and other retirement planning. The main aim is to align these investments that will eventually help in delivering paychecks in the form returns in the future. How are financial advisers compensated? The objective of the best financial advisers is to charge for the fees strictly on the services that they provide you.

Manage your credit card debts with balance transfer credit cards The perks of using a credit card are that you have funds at your disposal whenever you want, you can build up your credit score, and take advantages of cash back and other rewards. In spite of these benefits, credit cards may lead to an accumulation of debts if you do not pay the balances before the due date. You can manage the debt or debit balance accumulated on your credit card by transferring the debt of one card to another card. These cards into which your debts are transferred are called balance transfer credit cards; no-fee balance transfer cards are one of the popular ways to save money. You do not have to pay additional fees when you transfer balances from your credit cards to balance transfer credit cards with no fee. When you transfer your credit balances from a high-interest credit card to a one with lower interest rate, your debt comes down considerably. Also, you can slow down the repayment period as the due date gets extended with the new card. Here are a few basic things you need to know before applying for a balance transfer credit card.

Your guide to investing in certificate of deposits Savings banks accounts are the most popular and secure way of building your nest egg to be used in the future. The amount deposited in a savings bank account will generate a reasonable rate of return in the form of periodic interest during the tenure of the account. Also, the amount deposited into savings can be withdrawn from time to time without any limit on the number of withdrawals. A certificate of deposit (CD), on the other hand, is a type of savings account but provides a higher rate of return on your investment. However, amounts once deposited in a CD account cannot be withdrawn during the tenure of the CD, which ranges anywhere from three months to five years. Also, longer the tenure of the certificate of deposit, higher will be the rate of return on your investment. Here are a few points to consider while investing in a CD. What do you mean by the term variable rate certificate of deposit? The variable interest rate will change depending on financial factors and influences like prime interest rate, treasury bills, the market index rate among many others. Long-term benefit of opening a variable certificate of deposit account includes a better rate of interest anticipating future gains from the various influences.