The Rent-to-Own Scam (financial services coach)
No commentsBy Barton Simmons
If you had the opportunity to buy a television or a sofa at a price that was three times the suggested retail price, would you do it? That scenario may seem ridiculous, but thousands of people do just that every day when they sign an agreement at a rent-to-own store. Rent-to-own, or RTO for short, is a system that allows consumers with little or no credit to acquire furniture, electronics or appliances by renting them by the week or by the month. At the end of the rental agreement, the renter gets to keep the merchandise. The renter may also agree simply to rent the merchandise for an agreed-upon period of time.
While furniture or appliance rental may be suitable for someone who needs them for only a month or so, it represents an expensive way to buy for someone who intends to keep them. A television may seem inexpensive at only $10 per week, but if the agreement requires eighteen months of rental before the customer owns it, the total amount paid will be $780. That would be fine if the television were valued at anywhere near that amount, but in most cases, that $780 will provide a television that sells for only $250 or so at electronics stores. The additional $530 goes to the rental company in the form of profit. Expressed as an annual interest rate, some rental fees can exceed 400% annually.
In addition to the rental charges, the customer will also likely have to pay sales tax, delivery charges and possibly return charges if he or she elects not to keep the merchandise. Late payments may also incur a late fee, provided that the rental company doesn’t elect to terminate the agreement and take the merchandise back altogether. In that case, the customer has nothing to show for the money invested.
Rental companies point out that for those who have no credit cards, the RTO concept provides an opportunity to “have it now.” That is true, but consumers who have little money would be better off either saving that $10 per week and buying the television in six months’ time. Alternatively, the consumer could put the television on layaway at a retailer and pay it off over time. Either way, the consumer would save hundreds of dollars in rental fees.
A consumer who needs furniture or appliances for a short time, such as someone on a temporary assignment to another city, might find an RTO agreement useful in order to avoid living in an empty apartment. But anyone who wants to buy furniture, electronics, or appliances might be better served by simply saving their money until they have enough to buy the merchandise outright.
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Getting Out of Debt Easily
By Barton Simmons
A person opts for a loan when he doesn’t have sufficient finances to meet his necessities. There are a number of people who are poor at handling the finances. Over a period of time if the debts are not repaid it leads to the accumulation of debts. To avoid such a situation one should always repay any loans taken on time. If calculated properly one would get to know the high rates of interest and the huge late payment fees that are associated with any loan amount.
One should try to avoid such a situation, but if one is already going through such a situation the best way out is the debt consolidation loan.
If a person accumulates a huge amount of debt, then he is required to pay the debts at a very high rate of interest. Most people keep accumulating the debts by not paying the bills at the right time. The bill amount keeps appreciating due to the heavy interest that is levied on it and finally a financial crisis is reached. Thus to help such people get over the debts, the financial institutions have introduced the new loan schemes known as the debt consolidation loan.
The main advantage of the debt consolidation loan is the low rate of interest that is charged as compared to the very high interest that a borrower is required to pay at the huge debts. The debt consolidation is very important because if the debt amount is not repaid on time the amount of debt keeps increasing and a person is never able to repay back the debt.
There are various debt consolidation plans that have been introduced lately to help people recover from the bad credit. The main problem with bad credit is that a person carrying a bad credit history is never allowed to take a loan. Every financial institution enquires about the credit history of a person before lending the money.
Under these conditions an individual should think over the debt consolidation. Debt consolidation includes the techniques to get rid of the debts accumulated over the number off years; the best way to get over the debt is to raise money to consolidate it.
Also the earnings are considered for deciding the loan amount that can be issued to a person. Thus one can never get any loan unless the debts are consolidated. The debt consolidation is the only solution to help you recover from the accumulated debts.
One must try to repay the debts as soon as possible by opting for the debt consolidation plans. It might sound silly if a person takes a loan to pay of the previous payments, but a profound thinking would lead to the truth. Generally the outstanding debts are charged heavy interests and also a huge amount of late payment fess is added, thus by opting for the loans which are provided at a lower rate of interest one can save some money. Thus it is the best way of getting out of debts.
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GREGG MARCUS ARE YOU LIVING YOUR DREAMS ?
By Robert Haulfer
Owning a home means that your monthly housing expense is similar to a savings plan, while renters only support the savings plans of their landlords. Homes appreciate in value over time; just as your retirement accounts earn interest on monies BEFORE the taxes come out, so does real estate, and so will your home. Houses come in many shapes and varieties, as do people who rent them or those smarter people who own them. Owning the space you live in is the key to capturing this benefit. Whether you choose to buy a single family residence, or a multi family home that allows you to rent out part of the house, or a condo or a coop, getting out of the renter group and into the owner group makes financial sense.
You may think that this all sounds great, but you are wondering how the magical increase in your take home pay comes about. Well, when you took your job your employer had you complete an IRS form which set the number of dependents upon which taxes would be withdrawn from your paycheck. Your account can assist you in calculating just how many extra dependents you can claim to receive the income tax savings benefit each week instead of waiting until the end of the year for a refund. By this simple act of completing a form with the assistance of your accountant, you can see the tax savings benefit of your new home purchase immediately, from the very first paycheck you receive after the closing.
There is another pleasant surprise you get when you buy a home - the closing costs that you pay when purchasing your home also have tax savings benefits. You have to have an answer for the friend or relative who tells you all about the joys of getting that big refund check when you file your taxes. Just remind them that the IRS does not pay interest on your money when you overpay your taxes every week and get a refund in the beginning of the next year when you file your taxes. After all, it is YOUR money to begin with, so why should the government get to hold and use your money for free all year?
Today you can buy a home without any down payment, and you can finance your home in hundreds of ways. Find a reputable lender to open your eyes to the possibilities, check with your tax advisor about the advantages and potential savings, and take that first step in living the American dream!
Owning a home means that your monthly housing expense is similar to a savings plan, while renters only support the savings plans of their landlords. Homes appreciate in value over time; just as your retirement accounts earn interest on monies BEFORE the taxes come out, so does real estate, and so will your home. Houses come in many shapes and varieties, as do people who rent them or those smarter people who own them. Owning the space you live in is the key to capturing this benefit. Whether you choose to buy a single family residence, or a multi family home that allows you to rent out part of the house, or a condo or a coop, getting out of the renter group and into the owner group makes financial sense.
You may think that this all sounds great, but you are wondering how the magical increase in your take home pay comes about. Well, when you took your job your employer had you complete an IRS form which set the number of dependents upon which taxes would be withdrawn from your paycheck. Your account can assist you in calculating just how many extra dependents you can claim to receive the income tax savings benefit each week instead of waiting until the end of the year for a refund. By this simple act of completing a form with the assistance of your accountant, you can see the tax savings benefit of your new home purchase immediately, from the very first paycheck you receive after the closing.
There is another pleasant surprise you get when you buy a home - the closing costs that you pay when purchasing your home also have tax savings benefits. You have to have an answer for the friend or relative who tells you all about the joys of getting that big refund check when you file your taxes. Just remind them that the IRS does not pay interest on your money when you overpay your taxes every week and get a refund in the beginning of the next year when you file your taxes. After all, it is YOUR money to begin with, so why should the government get to hold and use your money for free all year?
Today you can buy a home without any down payment, and you can finance your home in hundreds of ways. Find a reputable lender to open your eyes to the possibilities, check with your tax advisor about the advantages and potential savings, and take that first step in living the American dream!
Saturday, January 30th, 2010 at 8:15 am and is filed under finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
