Comparing Related Financial Services - In addition to the credit card company advertisers listed below, Debtconsolidationloan.com offers a wide variety of consumer finance program listings to assist you with controlling your debts and other money management needs. Consolidate credit card bills with debt consolidation loans or use a credit counseling service for help with your getting your monthly budget under control.
- Debt Settlement Help - If you have too many credit cards and other small debts and are unable to make your payments, this form of debt negotiation may be right for you.
- Debt Consolidation Service - Learn about the debt consolidation process and review detailed listings for lenders and services offering to help consolidate your debts.
- Credit Debt Management - Too many debts and payments to be able to keep up? Compare different debt management services that may be able to help you get control of your bills.
Home Loans
How to Keep Costs from Going Through the Roof
26. Consider a fixed-rate loan even if adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) carry a lower initial interest rate. A fixed-rate loan adds certainty and stability to a big part of your loan payment, which can provide peace of mind, especially given that other housing costs — such as real estate taxes, insurance and home upkeep — are likely to rise in the future. ARMs generally start with a lower interest rate, but remember that an ARM rate can go up, sometimes significantly. It may be worth shopping around because you may be able to obtain a fixed-rate mortgage with payments comparable to an ARM and not have to worry about future rate increases.
"If you are thinking about an ARM, make sure you know how much and how often the interest rate and payment could go up before you sign on, and be comfortable that you can meet those higher monthly payments," cautioned Janet Kincaid, FDIC Senior Consumer Affairs Officer. "Don't let a low teaser rate lure you in; you may be surprised later."
FDIC Consumer News is published by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
FDIC Consumer News is produced quarterly by the FDIC Office of Public Affairs in cooperation with other Divisions and Offices. It is intended to present information in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal interpretation of FDIC or other government regulations and policies. Mention of a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement.
Find current and past issues of FDIC Consumer News at http://www.fdic.gov/consumernews. Refer to this same index to locate the issues that are specially formatted for being reprinted in any quantity.
To receive an e-mail notice about each new issue of FDIC Consumer News posted on the FDIC Web site, with links to stories, follow instructions posted at www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.
Last updated on 8/10/2007