Tag Archives: income

Debt to Income Ratio Crisis in Canada – How to Deal with Debt and Protect Your Assets

February 20, 2018   Personal Loan

While the recession in Canada may have subsided, debt continues to cripple Canadians. So many Canadians struggle with debt for a myriad of different reasons. Many families who find themselves drowning in debt didn’t have it occur simply because of overspending. Those who lost employment or income during the recent recession represent a large group of individuals who have been trying to figure out how to deal with debt. Other reasons that people run into problems with debt include divorce, disability or other major life changes that create an immediate impact on one’s ability to pay his or her debts.

The Globe and Mail has reported extensively on the “debt to income ratio crisis in Canada”. An individuals’ debt to income ratio represents the amount of debt an individual has measured against his or her income. In 2010, the Globe and Mail reported that the debt to income ratio of Canadians has surpassed the debt to income ratio to our American counterparts.

In 2012, the Globe and Mail reported that the debt to income ratio report from Statistics Canada revealed that as of the third quarter of 2011, the average Canadian’s debt-to-personal-disposable-income ratio was 153 percent. That’s up from 150.6 percent in the previous quarter and higher than 148.3 percent a year ago. It seems that the debt that Canadians carry is ever increasing.

One reason for this trend we surmise has to do with how Canadians families cope with loss of income. When a major breadwinner in the household loses income, one natural solution may be to use credit cards to bridge the gap until that income might be coming in again. Another reason for this trend is because of banks and finance companies over-lending to people based on their household income so when one person suffers a loss of income the payments become unmanageable for the family to continue to maintain.

When a financial crisis emerges, naturally people begin to worry and wonder “what will happen to my home?”, “what will happen to my car?” and how to deal with their debt while protecting their assets. Most people want to pay their debt and don’t want to end up bankrupt. You can deal with debt and protect your assets and without filing for bankruptcy.

There are many programs available to help Canadians to deal with debt without going into bankruptcy. These programs are also quite effective at enabling people to deal with their debt while keeping their home and vehicle. They are also able to stop enforcement action like wage garnishments.

If your debt to income ratio is through the roof and you want to deal with your debt and protect your assets, you must act before things spiral out of control. Financial and debt consultants are a good option to help you not only deal with your debt but work through your budget and other financial affairs to help you get back onto a firm footing. Unlike bankruptcy trustees, financial and debt consultants represent you, not your creditors, and offer many more options than bankruptcy to deal with a financial crisis.

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Applying For A Bank Loan

February 9, 2018   Fast Loan

If you’ve never applied for a bank loan before odds are you have no idea what to expect from the process.

There are different ways to apply for a bank loan. Often it is the TYPE of loan you are applying for that determines the approach. For example, if you are applying for a car loan you may be filling out the application at the auto dealership.

If you are applying for something like a signature loan, mortgage loan or business loan you may be applying directly with the bank or through online applications.

Talk with A Professional

Make an appointment with a loan officer at your bank. Sit down with them and discuss the type of loan you are seeking, what your goals are and a bit about your financial situation. The loan officer may be able to give you guidance and offer options you had not considered. You may be able to get a realistic estimate of the chances your loan will be approved.

Provide Your Information

One of the first things you will be asked to do is fill out a credit application. The application is the banks method of gathering demographic, income and credit history information about your.

Be prepared to give information such as:

· Name
· Address and Phone Number
· Date of Birth and Social Security Number
· Employment Information such as name of employer and length of employment

There may be other questions depending on the institution’s internal policy and the type of loan.

The Bank Analyzes Your Information

Using your applications a baseline the bank proceeds to investigate and determine how much of a risk would be involved in loaning to you. Their procedures may look something like this:

· With your name, date of birth, address, and social security number a credit report and/or credit score is requested from the credit bureau(s).

· The bank reviews the credit report to see how long you have had credit. If you have no prior credit it is difficult for a bank to assess the level of risk in loaning to you so it may be denied. The longer the length of credit the more ability the bank has to see how you have handled repayment of credit over time.

· Your credit score is based on a formula that meshes’ lots of data about you and creates a number that immediately tells the bank how much of a risk you are. Know your credit score.

· The credit report lists ‘inquires’ from companies you have applied for credit with. Lots of inquires are a bad indication, as it appears you are constantly shopping for credit.

· If your credit report shows slow payments, late payments, unpaid collection items and so forth you will be considered a very high risk.

· Your length of time on the job is a consideration because the bank wants to feel you have a reliable source of income to pay debts with.

· The bank will look at your ‘debt-to-income ratio’. They want to know what percent of your income is already committed to paying debt. This is a good indication of whether you can afford the loan. Know your on debt-to-income ratio.

· How long have you lived at your place of residence? The bank wants to know if you are fairly stable or do you move around a lot.

The bank completes its assessment and takes one of the following actions.

· Notifies you that the loan has been approved. In this situation you will be required to sign certain loan documents that set forth all terms and conditions of the loan. You will then receive the loan proceeds (money) or the asset obtained with the loan.

· Notifies you that the loan request will be taken to the next loan committee meeting. The ‘loan committee’ is usually made up of bank officers who meet periodically to hear presentation of loan requests that are either marginal, must go before the committee due to the size of the loan, the loan amount exceeds the loan officers cap for approval, or various other reasons. The committee hears the loan requests and votes to approve or deny.

· Notifies you that the loan request has been denied. In this case you should receive a document called a Notice of Adverse Action that will provide further information about the denial.

Do your homework before applying for a loan. You should be able to get a fairly accurate idea of whether you will qualify or not.

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