Category Archives: Home Mortgage
Homeowner loans – Capitalize on your existing resources
Taking credit is not new to the human race. It probably started with the advent of money. Besides its economic functions and capacities, money has social and psychological influences too. Due to its power to enhance self-esteem and status, people have always been borrowing money for various reasons. Previously, in the absence of an organised loan market, money was usually borrowed for critical financial needs.
However, as desires increased, the need to take credit also increased, and people started negotiating for better deals. Consequently, the lenders and the regulatory authorities had to sit-up and workout deals and policies in favour of all. Now a borrower is a usual consumer in a usual market. People take credit not only for major financial requirements but for routine expenses and convenience too. By and large, the decisive factors are the interest rates, repayment terms and loan clauses.
It is a well-known fact that a home or property owner can easily get a loan application approved by taking advantage of his worthy assets. By offering something substantial as collateral, one can gain maximum benefits – lower interest rates (APR) and comfortable repayment terms along with grace period or payment holidays or early pay offs. For this reason, homeowner loans are progressing fast on the priority list of both the borrowers and lenders.
Being a homeowner greatly reduces the risks involved in any financial transaction. Whether or not an asset or assets are used as collateral for a particular loan, homeowner status unofficially guarantees repayment. There are legal processes other than repossession that can force the borrower to sell his property to repay the loan in the event of default.
Homeowner loans are most appropriate when one needs a large amount of money, is facing difficulty in getting an unsecured loan, or has a poor credit record. Besides the usual secured, unsecured and bad credit categorisations, the homeowner loans cater specific needs too – First time homeowner loans; Personal homeowner loans; Construction homeowner loans; Debt consolidation homeowner loans and many more. Homeowner loans are also worth considering for a business start-up, property purchase, new car and holiday. One must remember that homeowner loans take longer to approve, as the lender needs to evaluate the asset.
As we all face unexpected expenditures time and again, choosing wisely becomes imperative. These days, the market offers a wide range of loan options to choose from. But, if you are looking for the most simple loan type then homeowner loans is the option to examine.
Venture Capital 101 (Page 1 of 6)
I. WHAT IS VENTURE CAPITAL?
Venture capital is money provided by an outside investor to finance a new, growing, or troubled business. The venture capitalist provides the funding knowing that theres a significant risk associated with the companys future profits and cash flow. Capital is invested in exchange for an equity stake in the business rather than given as a loan, and the investor hopes the investment will yield a better-than-average return.
Venture capital is an important source of funding for start-up and other companies that have a limited operating history and dont have access to capital markets. A venture capital firm (VC) typically looks for new and small businesses with a perceived long-term growth potential that will result in a large payout for investors.
A venture capitalist is not necessarily just one wealthy financier. Most VCs are limited partnerships that have a fund of pooled investment capital with which to invest in a number of companies. They vary in size from firms that manage just a few million dollars worth of investments to much larger VCs that may have billions of dollars invested in companies all over the world. VCs may be a small group of investors or an affiliate or subsidiary of a large commercial bank, investment bank, or insurance company that makes investments on behalf clients of the parent company or outside investors. In any case, the VC aims to use its business knowledge, experience and expertise to fund and nurture companies that will yield a substantial return on the VCs investment, generally within three to seven years.
Not all VC investments pay off. The failure rate can be quite high, and in fact, anywhere from 20 percent to 90 percent of portfolio companies may fail to return on the VCs investment. On the other hand, if a VC does well, a fund can offer returns of 300 to 1,000 percent.
In additional to a portion of the equity, a VC expects to have a say in how its portfolio company operates. Ideally, the VC fosters growth at the company through its involvement in managerial, strategic, and planning decisions. To do this, the VC relies on the expertise of its general partners who may be former CEOs, bankers, or experts in a particular industry. In most cases, one or more general partners of the VC take Board of Director positions at a portfolio company. They may also help recruit key executives to the portfolio company.
Its important to do your homework before approaching a VC for funding, to make sure youre targeting the right potential partner for your business needs. Not all VCs invest in start-ups. While some may invest small amounts of seed capital for very early ventures, many focus on early or expansion funding (see section III. Types of Funding), while still others may invest at the end of the business cycle, specializing in buyouts, turnarounds, or recapitalizations.
VCs may be generalists that invest in a variety of industries and locations. More typically, they specialize in a particular industry. Make sure your company falls within the VCs target industry before you make your pitch a VC thats focused on biotechnology start-ups will not consider your request for later-stage funding for expansion of your semiconductor firm. You can often gain insight into a VCs investment preferences by reviewing its website.