You’ve heard it all before; buying a house is the biggest investment that you’ll ever make. This statement is usually followed by tips on what to look for in a house, how to get it assessed and how to choose a good neighbourhood. All of which is very important, but what about tips on how not to mess up your mortgage? You’d be surprised at the number of ways in which your mortgage can go wrong, from unwittingly locking yourself into high interest rates to scuppering your approval chances before you even begin your search.

Here are four common mistakes people make when applying for mortgages – and how to avoid them:

1)     Job-hopping

Our grandparents and parents might recoil in horror at the frequency with which we now change our jobs, but job-hopping is the norm these days. Unfortunately, while society deems it perfectly acceptable, lenders do not. They like to see a little stability before they put hundreds of thousands of dollars at risk. According to MSN Real Estate, lenders will consider you a bigger risk if you swop your industry for another (for example, if you go from mining engineering to freelance graphic design), than if you simply change companies. However, even this simple move is best deferred until all the documents have been signed, sealed and delivered.

2)     Skipping the pre-approval process

Pre-approval is not a guarantee that you will get a mortgage; but it does significantly improve your chances. Pre-approval is better than pre-qualification because your finances are vetted more thoroughly (Mike Sheridan – realtor.com). Pre-approval considers your credit record, employment history, debt, and assets. If you don’t meet pre-approval requirements you can bet that you won’t meet mortgage approval requirements. If you are pre-approved, you are also more likely to close a sale because sellers will know that you’re not just wasting their time and that the chances of you not qualifying for finance are slim.

3)     Going with the first lender that comes your way

You wouldn’t buy the very first house you see without comparing it to several others, would you? So why would you choose the first lender you visit without comparing it against others? While lenders have to operate within certain regulations, their services still differ widely. You should visit three to five lenders and get quotes so that you can compare everything from interest rates to closing costs.

4)     Not locking in your mortgage rate

Mortgage rates fluctuate on a daily base; a favourable rate today might rise to an unfavourable rate tomorrow. You can wait about and gamble on locking in at the right time, but if you dither long enough you risk losing everything.

In an article for Fox Business, Kayleigh Kulp cites mortgage expert Polyana da Costa, who says that different lenders have different relock policies, which is another reason you need to shop around before you commit. Basically, the favourability of your rate could depend on you choosing the right lender.

Buying a home certainly is a major financial commitment, so it makes sense to do all that you can to ensure that you get the best financing possible. This requires research on your part, and perhaps a little advice from a home loan expert.

Sandy Cosser writes for a South African-based personal financial services provider that specialises in home loans, pre-approvals, bond calculators and second bonds.

Travelling by sea has evolved from being a means of getting from one land mass to another to become vehicles of leisure and travelling. Buying a boat is expensive and can take you a long time before you save enough. There are many financing options that can provide you with boat finance but you need to consider some things before picking on a lender who will give you a loan at the best rates and terms.

Do Some Research

Before you go for boat finance, you need to know how much money you will need. To do this, you need to know how much the boat you desire costs and how much you have saved so far. You can easily go online and research about the different types of boats and the asking price. Decide whether you want a new boat or a second hand one.

Many public and private companies out there will extend loans to at an interest. Each institution has its own rates and repayment terms that you need to find out and compare. Having an idea of what each lender provides is important because you will get to enjoy the best deal. The interest you pay on the initial amount will depend with the period of the loan, type of boat you are planning to buy, your credit status, collateral and more.

Nowadays financing institutions provide 24-hour customer support. If you feel that you need more information on a given product, you can access the helpline at any time of day and night, making it convenient for you. Ask the representative to give you more information about the advantages and disadvantages of various packages and whether the loan rate is static or it changes with time.

Come Up With an Estimate

Using the online loan finance repayment calculator, you can come up with the total amount of money you need to pay back. This is determined by the amount borrowed, the repayment period and the rate of interest. Calculation is easy because it can be done online at the click of a button.

Know Your Financial Status

The most important thing you need to keep in mind when looking for boat finance is your financial status. The lending organization will look into your repayment history to find out whether they can trust you with their cash. Having a source of income or a stable job gives you an upper hand. Take out a loan that will meet your requirements as well as allow you to repay the loan and interest without draining your earnings.

From this discussion, it is now clear that applying for boat finance needs to be done with careful preparation in order to get the best deal. Make sure you get a company that is trustworthy and has a good reputation.

If you have a business that relies on a variety of heavy-duty equipment to carry out day-to-day activities, then you will not want to have them break down. Purchasing most of the business equipment is not cheap and many businesses usually end up folding when they find themselves in this predicament. You should however, be aware that there is hope in form of equipment financing options that exist in the world today. It is necessary for you to make sure that you access an equipment finance option that is right for your needs if you are to avoid making mistakes that may cost you your livelihood.

Below are some of the factors that you should consider before selecting equipment financing option for your business:

Affordability

Each equipment finance company that you contact will give you a quote that is unique depending on the products and services you are going to get. Business equipment is never cheap but with research, you can access a company that will provide you with competitively priced financing options. Getting great value for your money in the long term should be your ultimate goal. As long as you will have access to the equipment your business needs to make money, paying it off should not be a problem if the prices are fair.

Types of Equipment Provided

The service provider you select should provide you with the type of equipment you will need. Different industries have different equipment requirements and getting a leading service provider will assure you of the best deals available. The education, medical, construction, energy, and mining industries are just an example of the sectors that require heavy equipment and having a company that provides for a wide range of these options should be your aim. This way you can purchase all the products you need from one supplier, which may end up being cheaper in the long term.

Range of Financing Options Available

It is important for you to ensure you have some wiggle room as far as the equipment finance options are concerned. Leading financing companies allow for flexibility when it comes to financial payment arrangements to ensure that majority of their clients can pay for their equipment they obtain from them. Some of these include lease purchases, fixed loans, floating term loans, lease lines of credit and so on. Having flexible financing options ensures that you will not default on payments and lose your business.

Terms of Payments

When it comes to doing business, never work with an equipment finance company that does not have transparent dealings. Ensure that you select a service provider who gives you clear terms regarding your expected payment period, interest rates, monthly payments, sell and lease conditions etc. At the end of the day, it is your business on the line, so you must practice caution.

One of the many things we do as we work each day is consider what our retirement will be like. Do you have yours planned?

I know that I want to build myself a little house near the water in a sunny and warm area, maybe somewhere in Africa or along the Spanish coastline. All my years of hard work will pay off and my retirement will be my time; a time to relax, explore things I haven’t explored yet and visit areas that are still on my “to-do” list.

Enjoy an around the World Cruise

One of the ideas I had once my pension pays out is to take some of the money and book myself on an around the world cruise. Travel in style and luxury, enjoy the on-board food and entertainment and discover countries and sights that I haven’t seen before.

The advantage to waiting until retirement before you take an around the world cruise, is that you have nowhere to be in a hurry. Your days of juggling work and home, getting the children off to school and working full-time are over, it’s your time to shine and enjoy your well-earned break. Do a pension review and ensure that you will have enough money to live comfortably after retirement while enjoying some new experiences such as an around the world cruise.

Try Something New

My idea when I retire is to try something new; maybe take an arts class and learn how to spend my days sitting on the beach front, the sun on my back with a paint brush in my hand.

Another great way to spend time is to explore new countries and try all the foods I’ve been too scared to try before. Have a crocodile steak in Africa or try the spicy delights of Morocco.

Once you retire it’s your time to shine, why not try new things. Write up a list of all the things you want to do when you have the time and spend your time crossing items off the list.

Explore New Countries

I’ve always had an urge to visit Tunisia, I hear there are some fantastic historical ruins there, some of which put the Colosseum in Rome to shame. This isn’t a possibility now, I work full time and manage my children and family, and there isn’t much time to do anything else. But once I retire, have done my pension review and know how much money I have to travel, experience new things and try something different, this will be on my list.

The advantage of travelling when retired is you don’t have a deadline, you don’t have to rush home to get back to work and you can enjoy your holiday at your own leisure. What a pleasure. I hate having to rush home from a holiday, only to start work the very next day and when you have travelled overseas, work is gruelling as you struggle with jet lag. In your retirement there are no deadlines; you simply do everything at your own pace which means holidays will become more enjoyable.

Plan Your Finances

Planning your retirement is exciting and I’ve been dreaming of retirement since I was young as working seven days a week for years on end, I deserve to retire to a wonderful beach house where I can travel on a whim without deadlines. But I need a pension review to ensure I have enough money to live on for many years without working and extra money to travel, try new things and go on my cruise around the world.

It’s really important to start planning early on, save up what you can and add to your pension wherever possible to ensure a comfortable lifestyle in your older years.

Kay Brown is a writer who is passionate about finances, being prepared for the future and travel. With a pension review in place, your retirement can be a pleasant experience where you are in complete control.

Looks like everything is going to be fine, after nine awkward months of unemployment, you finally land a job. It is more than twenty miles away but it’s a job, and it pays a living wage. After more than a year you feel that both you and your partner can breathe, start to live, and start to pay back the loans that helped to start your new found family life, but before the future beckons  let’s look back.

Before It Came Crashing Down

It may not have been a whirlwind romance, but more of a steady, progressive and eventual marriage, where you both wanted it, and it just happened.  The wedding might have took place in 2006 just one year before the financial crash, where mortgage loans were cheap and plentiful and taking out a 130% mortgage (full cost of the flat, plus 30% for the wedding and holiday), was all the rage.

Both you and your partner may have decided on a brand spanking new flat and furniture. Those two months of choosing and buying might well have been some of the most blissful times you ever had. Not fully understanding the intricate and confusing world of loans it would have been easy to buy and buy more. You were both working you and could afford it. What first started out as an anxious application for a loan application, with the fear of rejection, soon becomes your right to have more credit and loans.

Creditors make this first and most dangerous mistake. When any loan becomes a right, the granting of finance becomes more important than the object you need and your long-term financial situation. Here is how the banks (used to and now) decide to grant you an application.

Banks, Finance Companies and Your Loans

Some members of society still hold a very old fashion view of banks, finance companies and loans in general. Many people have a picture in their mind of the loans clerk reading and sorting out loan applications that come in by post, the clerk deciding the simple ones and passing the more difficult to senior staff. Well a long time ago this is what happened, but not now. In the computer age, when you or your partner applies for loans, it is very rare for any human interaction to occur in the bank’s decision to grant one.

Deciding to Grant You a Loan

The financial companies have all developed computer models. The computer models, not people decide who is approved and for how much. One of their most important tools are the credit reference agencies, they keep a record of all the loans and utilities that the public apply for and how they use those loans, they then share this information with the lender. Since the credit crisis, their searches (as referred to) can have frightening outcomes. If information is wrong, it can say you have defaulted on a loan, when you have not, then it becomes very difficult to obtain credit. To understand how this can affect people, check out the book by Frank Kafka “The Trial” (when the authorities hold all the power). However, the opposite happens when the computers say yes to your loan application, you suddenly have a good credit standing and everyone wants to give you loans. For most of us, as long as we keep in employment and our circumstances do not radically change, it can be fine to take out a loan, as you will more likely be able to pay it back. However, if you have the bad luck to lose your job, the time until a new one arrives can be very harsh. In this case, loans can help dramatically in the short term, though like anything they are best to adopt with moderation.

Wendy Derbyshire is freelance finance writer and guru. She has a deep understanding of the credit market and believes when used sparingly, loans can help propel people to financial stability.