Consumer Corner
Things to Look for When Considering an Auto Secured Loan
Many Americans continue to feel pressure from rising everyday expenses. Some are turning to credit cards and other expensive options like unsecured loans to cover surprise bills, manage a temporary gap in cash flow or even pay for basics like groceries and gas. For these people, an auto secured loan may offer another option for borrowers who own a vehicle and are looking for a more affordable way to access funds.
(Feature Impact) Many Americans continue to feel pressure from rising everyday expenses. Some are turning to credit cards and other expensive options like unsecured loans to cover surprise bills, manage a temporary gap in cash flow or even pay for basics like groceries and gas.
For these people, an auto secured loan may offer another option for borrowers who own a vehicle and are looking for a more affordable way to access funds.
Unlike an unsecured personal loan, an auto secured loan uses a vehicle as collateral. This can help borrowers qualify for higher loan amounts at better interest rates and with more flexible repayment terms.
Not all loans are created equal, however. If you’re considering an auto secured loan, here are six features that responsible lender Oportun suggests borrowers prioritize when evaluating their options.
1. Transparent, Easy-to-Understand Terms
A responsible lender will clearly explain the loan’s annual percentage rate (APR), monthly payment amount, repayment schedule, fees and total cost over time.
Borrowers should also understand what happens if a payment is missed and what options may be available if financial circumstances change. Clear information helps consumers make confident, informed decisions.
2. Affordable and Predictable Payments
The best loan is one that fits comfortably within your budget. Look for fixed monthly payments, reasonable repayment terms and the ability to pay off the loan early without penalties. Be cautious of products that rely on repeated refinancing or loan rollovers that can increase costs over time.
3. Lower-Cost Alternatives to Payday
When unexpected expenses arise, some consumers turn to high-cost forms of credit, such as payday loans, because they are often marketed as fast and easy to secure.
A responsible auto secured loan may offer a more affordable alternative with lower rates and repayment terms designed to help borrowers successfully repay what they borrow rather than become trapped in a cycle of debt. Be sure to shop rates across loan types and lenders.
4. Flexibility and Strong Customer Support
Life doesn’t always go according to plan. Borrowers should look for lenders that offer convenient account management tools, flexible payment options and access to knowledgeable customer support representatives. The ability to get help when it’s needed can make a meaningful difference over the life of your loan.
5. Credit Building Opportunities
A loan can do more than just solve an immediate financial need. Many responsible lenders report payment activity to the major credit bureaus, allowing borrowers to build or strengthen their credit history through consistent, on-time payments. Over time, a stronger credit profile can open the door to additional financial opportunities.
6. Responsible Collateral Practices
Before taking out an auto secured loan, it’s important to understand how a lender approaches collateral. Responsible lenders use a vehicle to help expand access to credit. They do not offer credit as a shortcut to taking ownership of your vehicle. Look for lenders that offer hardship assistance and work with borrowers facing financial setbacks before pursuing collection actions. Repossession should always be a last resort.
Choosing the Right Lending Partner
If you’re considering an auto secured loan, make sure the lender you choose supports these six practices. Responsible lenders design their products to help people both access funds for short-term needs and improve their long-term financial health.
For example, Oportun offers clearly priced auto secured personal loans designed to help members access affordable credit and repay them on time so they can build a stronger financial future. Since its founding, the lender has provided more than $22 billion in responsible and affordable credit, helped more than 1.3 million people establish a credit history and saved its members more than $2.5 billion in interest and fees.
By focusing on lenders that prioritize transparency, affordability, flexibility and successful repayment outcomes, borrowers can find an auto secured loan that meets their current and future financial needs. Discover more information by visiting Oportun.com.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
SOURCE:
Oportun
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Consumer Corner
10 Tips to Vacation-Proof Your Home While You’re Away
Vacation-Proof Your Home: Whether you’re headed toward the beach, the mountains, a new city or your favorite quaint small town, it’s exciting to look forward to a vacation. Use these 10 steps as a pre-vacation checklist so you can enjoy a worry-free trip.
10 Tips to Vacation-Proof Your Home While You’re Away
(Feature Impact) Whether you’re headed toward the beach, the mountains, a new city or your favorite quaint small town, it’s exciting to look forward to a vacation. Making sure all the logistics are planned, prepped and ready before your departure is the tough part, but it’s well worth putting in the effort now to save yourself stress later. That includes taking precautions to protect your home from break-ins, water damage and other unpleasant surprises you’d rather not return to.
“A vacation should end with great memories, not an unexpected repair bill,” said Larry Anderson, director of underwriting operations for Mercury Insurance. “Taking a few simple steps before you leave can help protect your home, reduce unnecessary stress and give you greater peace of mind while you’re away.”
Use these 10 steps as a pre-vacation checklist so you can enjoy a worry-free trip.
Lock Doors, Gates and Windows
You probably won’t forget to lock the front door before you leave, but other entry points can be easier to forget. Check all your windows, sliding glass doors, side entrances and gates. If you have any outbuildings like a shed or detached garage, secure them before you leave as well.
Automate Lights for a Lived-In Look
Although you don’t have to go full “Home Alone,” a home that appears occupied is less of a target for burglars. Use timers or automated smart devices to turn lights on and off throughout the day, ideally varying the schedules in different rooms.
Hold Mail and Packages
Beyond being easy prey for porch pirates, stacks of packages and overflowing mail signal no one is home to collect them. Contact your post office to place a hold on deliveries or arrange for a trusted neighbor to get the mail for you.
Consider Shutting Off the Water
A small leak can quickly become a big problem when there’s nobody home to notice. If practical, shutting off your home’s main water supply can help prevent major plumbing issues – and at the very least, be good for your peace of mind.
Set the Thermostat
It’s important to maintain a safe indoor temperature in your home while you’re away. The usual wisdom is to set the thermostat at 55-60 F during the winter to prevent pipes from freezing, and about 85 F during the summer to reduce energy use while protecting the home from excessive heat and humidity. Smart thermostats allow you to monitor and control temperatures remotely if the weather changes unexpectedly.
Test Smoke Alarms and Other Devices
Make sure your emergency alert systems are ready to do their jobs while you’re gone. Test smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and any leak sensors, smart devices or security systems. If needed, replace batteries and confirm your monitoring apps are set up to get notifications promptly.
Ask a Trusted Person to Check In
Neighbors, friends or family members will often keep an eye on the place during your vacation (especially if you return the favor during theirs). It’s up to you whether you want to give them a key to check things out inside; otherwise, a quick walk around the property can identify external damage or signs of forced entry.
Be Social-Media Savvy
Even if you trust everyone on your online friends list, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Save the vacation photos to post once you’re safely back so you don’t unintentionally advertise that nobody’s home.
Tidy Up Outdoor Spaces
Well-maintained landscaping gives the impression someone is home and cares about the property. An afternoon of yardwork before you leave can keep things looking fresh for a while.
Review Your Homeowners Insurance
No matter how well you prepare, it’s smart to have a fallback plan in case something goes wrong. Before your trip, review your homeowners policy to make sure you know what it covers and how to reach your insurance company in the event of any incidents.
For more information about homeowners insurance coverage and ways to help protect your home year-round, visit MercuryInsurance.com.
Photos courtesy of Shutterstock
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Consumer Corner
5 Simple Snake Prevention Tips
Check out these snake prevention tips to reduce the possibility of unwanted reptilian encounters on your property.
5 Simple Snake Prevention Tips
(Feature Impact) Summer is peak snake season, so if you’ve recently gotten jump-scared while gardening or walking up your porch steps, you’re not alone. Typically, snakes aren’t slithering around looking for someone to bite – they’re often searching for food, water and shelter, and the vast majority (97% in the U.S.) aren’t venomous. Even if the risks of any real danger are low, though, you probably have no desire to share your shelter or yard with any slithering housemates.
Check out these snake prevention tips to reduce the possibility of unwanted reptilian encounters on your property.
Tidy Up Your Yard
If there’s one thing snakes love, it’s overgrown vegetation. Tall grass, piles of leaves and unkempt landscaping offer cool, sheltered hiding places for snakes and other pests. By keeping your lawn mowed, shrubs trimmed and garden weeded, you immediately make your yard less attractive to snakes and other pests.
Seal Exterior Cracks and Gaps
Seeing a snake outside your home is one thing but inside is a whole new level of startling. Conduct a thorough inspection of your house’s foundation to look for holes or cracks where uninvited guests may be able to infiltrate. Batten down the hatches by sealing these up and installing sturdy mesh over other openings like vents and crawl spaces.
Control Rodent Populations
Households with a mice or rat problem are also susceptible to predators that like to eat rodents. Addressing the first issue removes a major food source for snakes around your property and makes them less likely to hang around.
Don’t Leave Food Around
Speaking of food sources, if you have bird feeders or have other animals you feed outdoors, store your supplies in sealed containers. When you host outdoor gatherings, clean up promptly so crumbs and spills don’t attract insects and rodents (and in turn, snakes). Promptly gather any fallen fruit from trees on your property as well.
Practice Snake Safety
It never hurts to exercise a little extra caution when you’re spending time in places where you might encounter snakes. Stay alert when pulling equipment out of sheds, going elbow-deep in garden weeds, walking around in the dark or moving piles of wood, rocks or debris. Educate family members, especially kids, on what to do if they see a snake: stay calm, don’t provoke it, give it space and tell someone.
If you’re experiencing recurring snake sightings or issues on your property, it might be worth calling a professional. A wildlife removal or pest control specialist can look around your home and give you more specialized guidance on how to keep your spaces safe and snake-free. Visit eLivingtoday.com for additional home and garden guidance.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
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home improvement
Ducted or Ductless: Improve Home Comfort with an All-Climate Heat Pump
Making your home a comfortable, welcoming place starts with the choices you make about heating and cooling it. To figure out what factors you should take into account while planning your HVAC system revamp, consider this guidance. All-Climate Heat Pump?
Ducted or Ductless: Improve Home Comfort with an All-Climate Heat Pump
(Feature Impact) Making your home a comfortable, welcoming place starts with the choices you make about heating and cooling it.
If you’re looking to upgrade your system, it may not require a complete overhaul of your existing HVAC setup to add a modern heat pump. Ducted heat pumps can often be installed using a home’s existing ducts – and in some cases, it might make sense to combine ducted and ductless equipment. It all depends on the needs of your space.
To figure out what factors you should take into account while planning your HVAC system revamp, consider this guidance from the heating and cooling experts at Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS), leading providers of all-electric, all-climate heat pumps in the U.S.
How Heat Pumps Can Work with Existing Ductwork
Similar to traditional HVAC systems, ducted heat pumps are designed to distribute conditioned air through ductwork. Therefore, if your home is already set up with a usable duct system, adding a heat pump and air handler could allow you to heat and cool your home more efficiently and comfortably. Depending on the condition, size and layout of your ductwork, you may just need minor modifications during the installation process.
Getting a professional home assessment with a qualified HVAC contractor can help you evaluate your options. Because no two spaces are the same, they will assess the design and condition of your existing system, evaluate whether it can support a modern heat pump and identify other potential opportunities for improvement.
Why You Can’t Use the Same HVAC Approach for Every Home
Every home is different, so there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all HVAC solution. If you have certain rooms that consistently make you shiver or sweat when you walk into them – no matter how comfortable the rest of the house is – that’s probably a space your ducted system isn’t equipped to reach on its own.
Commonly, these are additions that weren’t included in the original HVAC design, rooms at the end of long duct runs or areas of the home with different airflow and insulation conditions. Finished basements, for instance, often stay naturally colder than the rest of the home since heat rises and basement walls are cooled by the surrounding earth. Converted attics or bonus rooms above garages, meanwhile, can become extra hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Sunrooms and rooms with large amounts of glass are typically less insulated and experience extreme temperature shifts.
When to Combine Ducted and Ductless Systems
A combined approach may make sense when you have spaces with different heating and cooling needs. By leveraging existing ductwork in the main areas of your home, you can install a ducted heat pump to keep your most-used living spaces comfortable without extensively reconfiguring your HVAC setup.
Spaces outside the main zones can be more difficult to keep climate-controlled using ducted systems alone. Additions, sunrooms, finished basements and converted attics or garages are good places to add ductless indoor units to help manage temperatures.
Combine ducted and ductless solutions in a sustainable way by choosing energy-efficient models like Mitsubishi Electric’s all-electric, all-climate heat pumps. Integrate a ducted air handler into your existing whole-home system to control the bulk of heating and cooling then install wall-mounted ductless units as needed to provide targeted, on-demand comfort in areas that are more difficult to heat or cool. The heat pumps are designed for high performance in a wide range of temperatures and conditions while remaining quiet, adaptable and energy efficient.
Benefits of Combining HVAC System Types
If you have a house where it feels like some rooms are always too hot or too cold, a combined ducted and ductless system can help you maintain more consistent temperatures throughout your home. They also give you more control over temperatures in different spaces, since you can adjust individual units rather than changing a single thermostat. Plus, if you know your home needs HVAC upgrades, choosing a combined system means you can make those changes with minimal disruptions to your existing setup, saving you time and money.
Learn more about all-electric ducted and ductless heat pump systems at MitsubishiComfort.com.
SOURCE:
Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US
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