• Refinance: If you get a better interest rate, you should consider refinancing your auto loan. You should avoid extending the tenure of the loan lower the monthly payments as it incurs higher interest rates.

• Research: You should evaluate the different loan amounts, tenures and interest rates offered to get the most affordable auto loan. You can consider a credit union to get the best interest rates and easy approval for the loan.

• Additional payments: If possible, you can consider making additional payment for your auto loan. This will shorten the overall loan tenure and subsequently lower the amount of interest that needs to be paid.  

• Do not skip a payment: It is imperative that you make the payment before or on its due date to avoid any late fees. Delaying a payment incurs more interest and increases the cost of the loan.

• Credit score: You should maintain a clean credit record to ensure a lower interest rate. Previous loans, bank accounts and all other financial transactions should be genuine. The agent will conduct a complete credit check to ensure that you will be able to pay back the loan amount and interest rate.

• Read the terms: It is advisable to read the terms and conditions carefully to ensure that you are getting the best deal. You should be acquainted with the exact loan amount, interest rate, monthly due dates and any other clauses that may affect your loan amount.

• Negotiate: You can consider discussing your budget and requirements with the agent to get the best deal. You can also inquire about any factors that can assist in reducing interest rates for the loan amount.

Before considering applying for a home loan, there are a few things that need to be understood to get the loan you want. Carefully thinking about what might adversely affect your home loan can save you from a lot of hassles like irregularities in payment of installments, unpaid balance on credit cards etc.  Applying for a loan for home can be very stressing and therefore, after carefully analyzing your financial position and credit history should one consider applying for a home loan. Below are some of the do's and don'ts that must be followed to make the home loan process smoother.

Dos

• All the loan and debt payments should be made on time to keep your credit history clean. Not adhering to this rule deliberately reduces the credit score. This credit score determines what amount of home loan you will get if you manage to get one.
• Credit card payments can be missed but payments of installments of other mortgages like auto loan should be prioritized. It shows that you pay installments on time. After looking at the performance of similar mortgage loans, the credit scoring system will assign you the score. Credit card payments can be made later as they have fluctuating balances.
• To avoid raising any red flag, your credit card transactions should be normal like before and should not be stopped immediately.
• Any inconsistencies, inaccuracy and missing information should be removed from the credit reports to make it clean of negative data.
• Unpaid balance in credit cards should be paid off to the point that  balance ratio becomes less than 30%.

Don'ts

• Loan approval process can be impacted by your job stability. If you are constantly changing jobs and changing positioning in a company it might hurt the approval of your home loan.
• Any major purchases like car, lines of credit for furniture, expensive gadgets should be avoided. This also impacts your credit score and hamper your chances to get your loan approved.
• Purchase of clothes for family should be limited. Instead of buying clothes at every occasion, they can be bought at one or two occasions.
• A new credit card should not be opened. New credit card adds additional inquiry into your credit score which kills chances of getting a home loan.
• Previous credit card accounts should not be closed either. It has a negative impact on your credit score.
• Some people get a new loan while applying for a home loan. It looks bad with the underwriters and must be avoided.

Home loans applications can be rejected if the borrower doesn't comply with some of the tips mentioned above. No change in number, accounts, address should be made to avoid getting the applications rejected.

We, at Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union, offer home loans at very low interest rates. Interested individuals can contact us at (254)-690-2274 for more information or visit us at 3305 E. Elms Rd., Killeen, TX  76542.