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Leasing After A Bankruptcy; Obtaining A Bankruptcy Auto Loan Does Not Have To Be Difficult July 10, 2008

Posted in : Getting Credit , comments closed

I’ve always chuckled at the reactions I receive when people ask about bankruptcy auto loans, and I suggest they be open to leasing. The looks I get are a cross between “are you kidding?” and “what did you just call me?”

Leasing has undergone a change in popularity since its inception. In the beginning, everyone purchased cars outright…they could do this because a) buying a car on time was not an option, b) because cars cost much less then than they do now.

As options were added to cars, such as color, 2-doors or 4-doors, 5-speed or automatic, am radio or 8-track (oh, am I dating myself here?), vehicle prices begin increasing. Auto loans terms came out at 12 months…moving up quickly to 24 months…36 months…and soon it became apparent that cars were costing more than people could afford.

In stepped the leasing option. It was a neat program at first. You would go in, negotiate a payment with the auto dealer calculating the suggested residual value at the end of the lease. You were soon the proud renter of that vehicle.

The popularity of this method spread like wildfire….until it became snuffed out when the first lessees drove back in years later to drop off their cars. That residual value, the value that their vehicle was supposed to be worth was much higher than what it actually turned out to be…..and people were told they needed to come up with thousands in order to drop off their vehicles.

As you can imagine, “open-ended leases” such as those (where the vehicle’s value would be ascertained when you came to drop off your car at the end of the lease, rather than set in stone as they are now in “closed-end leases”) became about as popular as a electric shock therapy in the rain.

So, purchasing vehicles was back in vogue. And, just like in high school economics, the prices of the cars increased faster than the incomes of those who wanted them….and soon terms increased to 48 months.

Today, a 60 month loan is commonplace, with people signing up for 72 and 84 month loans without batting an eye. So, not surprisingly, leasing was given a second look, has been restructured, and is now an option for people to get the best of both worlds.

People can get a brand new (or slightly used…yes, they even lease used cars now too!) vehicle for a reasonable payment.

So, how does this relate to me, you ask? I thought you had to have stellar credit in order to lease.

Enter the world of the
bankruptcy auto loan!

This was the case until about 8 years ago. Banks were finding that there were many people with sub-prime credit that needed car loans or a bankruptcy auto loan.

For years, if you had bad credit, or required a bankruptcy auto loan, you were charged a hefty interest rate if you wanted their loan, take it or leave it.

Well, funny thing about interest rates. The higher the rate, the more interest you pay out in the first years of your bankruptcy auto loan term….the less you pay to principle. This simple fact means, if after 1 year of paying on this bankruptcy auto loan the person finds themselves unable to continue making payments….the amount of money they still owe on their vehicle is still very high because such a small percentage of their payments have been going towards principle.

Those lucky banks that had been counting their money with their greasy fat fingers, suddenly found themselves a year later stuck with repossessed cars that still had huge balances owed on them.

How does this affect you? Banks and manufacturers have devised a way that everyone benefits from leasing. Someone who does not qualify for a prime rate, and in fact requires a bankruptcy auto loan can, depending on the lender’s guidelines, lease a new or newer vehicle.

The lender is happy because you are given a shorter term (generally 36 months) to pay on the vehicle. The end value is fixed (“closed-end leases” I spoke of earlier) and backed out of the loan amount, so you are only paying on your 3 years of use.

The interest paid is based on 3 year usage, not on the whole value of the car, so you pay down your principle faster. And, if the worst case happens and the car gets repossessed, the lender is in a better position with regard to the vehicles loan balance and current value.

What does this mean to you?

You can obtain a new or nearly-new vehicle and bankruptcy auto loan for a reasonable payment, a shorter loan term, and all the benefits of things like bumper to bumper warranty…things that are not always available when you purchase a vehicle through a dealership, and definitely not available when you purchase from a private party.

Obtaining a bankruptcy auto loan, and even a lease can get you on the right track immediately.

I’ve gone through a lot of information here. I encourage you to learn more about obtaining a bankruptcy auto loan; ask more, and educate yourself in the insider methods and strategies I and my colleagues teach by signing up for membership at www.creditiskey.org. You will benefit from my and others’ years of educating people in various aspects of rebuilding your credit after a bankruptcy as well as how to obtain a bankruptcy auto loan.

I’ll see you there!

John Preston, Auto Loan Expert with http://www.creditiskey.org, has been in the auto industry for 8 years. Before that, he had a mortgage brokerage outside Seattle, Washington. He has helped literally thousands of people obtain a car loan after bankruptcy. Being a resource for Credit Is Key has given John the ability to help even more people with his unique credit-rebuilding strategies, while being able to spend more time with his family.

Without Drapes is It Curtains? July 7, 2008

Posted in : Home Improvement Management , comments closed

Curtains form the most important part of your home décor. Imagine a house without curtains. It is like a man without clothes or a flower without petals or trees without leaves. It will be an incomplete home. Curtains give your house a furnished look. They dress up your windows and, most important of all, they protect your house from sunlight and looks from unwanted people into your family peace. Curtains come in a variety of fabrics and designs. You can get normal curtains for your house or expensive designer ones. From silk to cottons to satins to nets to lace to nylon you name it and you will get it, in all fabrics, simple to rich, thick to diaphanous, anything that you want.

Shower Curtains

As the name suggests, shower curtains are used in the bathroom around the shower area to keep the water from getting all over the bathroom floor. This helps you to keep your bathroom dry and clean at all times. Different synthetic or natural materials determine the different types of shower curtains. Polyester and vinyl shower curtains are waterproof and inexpensive. If you have a bathroom which is luxurious this type of curtain will not match the décor of your room. Curtains made of cotton and linen looks plush and elegant but they mildew if they get damp. You can combine vinyl with cotton for attractiveness and for utility. Vinyl shower curtains come in every imaginable color, pattern and motif. This makes them adaptable to all kinds of styles from the bathroom of your master bedroom to guest’s room to children’s bathroom.

Popular themes include rubber ducks, fish, sea shells, sail boats, balloons, clouds, or any simple patterned design. The background can be clear, so you can keep an eye on your children when they shower, or it can be an opaque shade. The advantage of vinyl and polyester curtains is that they keep the water inside the tub instead of it splashing onto the ground. Fabric shower curtains are permanent additions to the functions and décor of a bath room. Some are designed to match towels and bathmats. Some textiles have been treated with stain resistors and waterproof coatings to combat moisture, as they are more likely to absorb splashes. Hemp shower curtains provide the best of both worlds: cotton and vinyl, the heavy fabric is made of plant fiber like linen or cotton. However hemp is naturally antibacterial and anti fungal so it resists mildew and soap stains.

Kitchen Curtains

Kitchens have come a long way from the time when necessity and safety dictated that they be located outside the home. Through the years kitchens have evolved based on the needs and demands of the family and today era kitchens must be multifunctional. The most important thing while doing curtains for the kitchen is that these curtains should not obscure the entire kitchen concept. It is important to make sure that the cabinets and counter tops are in perfect coordination with the curtains you choose for your kitchen. When you choose the color for your kitchen curtains make sure you do that on a sunny day to make sure that it gives you the look you want. It is best not to choose synthetic or nylon kitchen curtains for safety reasons. Natural fabric like cotton is usually recommended for kitchen windows.

Window Curtains

A house with big windows and beautiful curtains in bright hues is everyone’s dream. Window curtains come in all materials, colors and textures. You will have a myriad of designs to choose your window curtains from. There are a few things you should keep in mind when you go to select curtains for your window: the color of the curtain should compliment the color of the wall of the room, if your room is small you should go for light colors and if the room is big you should for dark colors as it makes your room look spacious yet compact.

The sunnier side of your house should have thick curtains to block the sunlight from heating up your room too much and on the other side you can always use fabrics like net or lace. The design that you choose completely depends on which room you are doing the curtains in. If it is the kid’s room then you should choose something like cartoons or alphabets or numbers or animals etc. If it’s the master bedroom then the curtains should add to the grace of the room, you can have big motifs or designs and the guest room curtains should be subtle and in warm colors. The design completely depends on your liking but you should also remember that the functionality of the curtain should be maintained.

Country Curtains

Window coverings come in so many different varieties today that it may be hard to decide on what you want. The decision may come down to personal taste but you can help yourself by doing some research on different varieties of window coverings. One popular type of window covering is the roman shade which is also known as country curtains. They are flat shades with dowels slotted horizontally up the back so they can be pulled up into soft horizontal folds. Roman shades give a clean modern look to your window space.

Curtain rods

No matter how good your curtains are, without curtain rods you just cannot put them in place. Curtain rods hold the curtains from the window top and let the curtain fall to its full length. You should first determine if you want to mount your curtain rods on the window casing or on the wall. You can choose the color of the rods to match the color of the wall or the curtains. The brackets that you choose for the rods can range from simple to intricate ones. The choice is completely yours and make sure you choose the best keeping in mind both your taste and your pocket.

Karen Hughes is an interior decor consultant. Get further curtain and drapes
ideas at ==>Drapes’n'Curtains – this is your first stop for information about Curtains and Drapes.

Child Custody Disputes in New Jersey July 6, 2008

Posted in : Life Of Legal Resources , comments closed

The first thing you should understand about child custody when going through a divorce in New Jersey is that “physical” and “legal” custody are not equivalent. Legal Custody refers to which parent makes important decisions about the child’s health, education, and welfare. Physical Custody refers to the child’s primary residence. These two types of custody can be thought of in four categories explained as follows:

Shared Physical Custody

The child lives with each parent for an approximately equal amount of time on a rotating basis.

Joint Physical Custody

The child lives with one parent most of the time, but the other parent has parenting time.

Joint Legal Custody

Both parents consult with each other to make important decisions on behalf of the child, and both have access to the child’s personal records.

Sole Legal Custody

One parent is authorized to make important decisions on behalf of the child, and the other parent must be consulted, but the parent with sole legal custody has the final word.

Unless there is a real problem with one parent’s ability to parent or unless the parties cannot work together for the benefit of their child, courts favor joint legal custody.

According to Karen Meislik, a custody and visitation attorney in New Jersey, “in most instances, parents are given joint legal custody of their children.”

Court look at many aspects of a family’s relationship when asked to determine custody. They may consider what the child, if of sufficient age, has to say, and may look at the parents’ medical records, criminal records (if any), job histories, and similar items. However, according to the family law firm of Meislik & Levavy (www.meislikfamilylaw.com ), your chances of obtaining sole custody of your child are improved if you can show that you were the primary caregiver before and during the separation.

Proving that you were the primary caregiver

Which of the following statements are true, and cannot be said of the other parent?

● I arranged for daycare / babysitters
● I fixed breakfast for my child each day
● I took my child to doctor’s appointments
● I supervised my child most of the time
● I stayed at home from work when my child missed school
● I reviewed school report cards and helped with my child’s homework
● I disciplined my child in a responsible way
● I toilet trained my child
● I put my child to bed each night and/or woke my child each morning
● I attended parent – teacher conferences
● I took my child shopping for clothes and school supplies

Above all, the Court will assess the best interest of your child before any custody determination is made.

These, along with any other parental responsibilities you can prove, will help your visitation attorney obtain custody of your child for you.

This article does not constitute a client attorney relationship in any way. It is not meant to be used as professional legal advice. If you are involved in a divorce please contact a custody attorney for formal legal council before proceeding.

Life is a Trek: Do You Know Where You’re Going to?

Posted in : Travel Parlor , comments closed

“Do You Know Where You’re Going to?” (Do you like the things that life is showing you?) by Diana Ross was the graduation theme of my Springfield High School class of ‘78 (Holland, Ohio).

It reminds me of those sayings like “If you don’t know where you’re going, you don’t need a map to get there” and “Man cannot discover new worlds until he’s ready to lose sight of the shore” – or something like that. I have the quotes around here somewhere.

I really like “Courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it” – especially when you’re off hitch-hiking thru Europe or South Africa or launching some new expedition of sorts.

It’s late and I’m tired but I wanted to start this new blog – Life is a Trek – since I woke up from a dream this morning thinking about this idea. When I was running through my inheritance by travel and adventure (never regretting a moment of it since it affords me priceless memories and subjects to share as a writer), I used to send “colorful” letters and cards to family and friends which now serve me as a jumpy journal, just like looking through old stuff.

Most of what I’ll use to post here were sent to my friend Steve Gwinn in Toledo, Ohio who is now dead, but he saved all my letters and cards which I found in his closet. Reading them was bittersweet.

The last time I saw Steve was when he and another friend dropped me off at the Detroit International Airport to leave again for Israel in 1995. I gave him a hug and kiss goodbye, without a clue it would be the last. But life is a trek, and all treks must come to an end…or at least a pause.

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe’s Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

Kodak Digital Camera Reviews Reveal Top Rated Cameras July 3, 2008

Posted in : Public Relations , comments closed

A study of Kodak digital camera reviews confirms impressive strides in recent years. The venerable camera maker now outsells all other digital camera brands in the U.S., and is ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by J.D. Powers for digital cameras under $400.

The Kodak EasyShare Series are among the most user-friendly digital cameras in the world. All models feature video capture and multiple scene and color modes. Most cameras have either 16MB or 32MB internal memory with SD/MMC memory slots for additional capacity. Some come with a printing and battery recharge dock.

EasyShare-ONE is Kodak’s newest ultra-compact camera. With 4MP and 3X optical/3.3X digital zoom, it sports a 3″ rotating LCD, wireless photo sharing, 256MB built-in memory and other features. This camera has not yet been reviewed. MSRP is $599.95.

The new Performance Series cameras are designed for serious photographers. They have most of a digital SLR’s creative flexibility at a lower price. But unlike an SLR they also shoot video. The two entries in this series, which also have not yet been reviewed, are:

Top Rated Kodak Digital Cameras

The following groupings list Kodak digital cameras ratings, in order, as rated by hundreds of owners and digital camera reviews. Basic specs and MSRP are included for each camera.

EasyShare Pocket Series ultra-compact cameras are about the size of a deck of cards. Features include quality optics and high resolution sensors. The V550 and V530 also include TTL AF/AE and PictBridge printing compliance.

EasyShare Point and Shoot Series are Kodak’s most popular and lowest priced compact cameras. They are very easy to use with bright viewing screens and other features. Most will take sharp photos that can be enlarged to at least 8 x 10 inches.

EasyShare High Zoom Series cameras are perfect for the enthusiast. They include advanced creative controls, powerful zooms, video and multiple scene and color modes.

Kodak is also pre-eminent in digital photo printing with their EasyShare Gallery service. For more information see Digital Photo Processing.

Digital cameras information from A to Z: camera types & features, how they work, accessories, photo printers, comparisons and more – plus digital photo processing tips and info at A-Z Digital Cameras.com, Your Complete A-Z Resource for Digital Cameras, Accessories and Information.

This article may be re-printed in its entirety, with no changes and this resource box included.
© 2005 A-Z Digital Cameras All rights reserved

Your Guide To The World of F1 Motorsport Courses July 2, 2008

Posted in : Great Sports Tips , comments closed

An ordinary F1 race track typically features a portion of straight tarmac on which the starting grid is located. The pit lane, where the F1 drivers stop for refilling and replace tyres during the F1 race, & where the F1 teams operate on the Formula 1 cars before the grand prix motor race, is normally sited in parallel to the starting marks. The plan of the remaining parts of the race circuit varies extensively, even if in most instances the circuit is designed in a clockwise direction. Those few tracks that do go anti-clockwise (and so have mainly left-handed corners) can cause Formula 1 drivers health issues due to the enormous amount of sideways forces generated by F1 cars dragging their body in the reverse direction to normal. For all the latest F1 Merchandise go now to F1Tribute.com.

Many of the race courses currently in use are particularly constructed for competition. The current street courses are the Circuit de Monaco & Melbourne, Australia even though grand prix in other countries come and go (E.g. Las Vegas and Detroit) and suggestions for such circuits are time and again talked about ? recently London and Beirut. More than a few other tracks are also completely or partly laid out on normal roads, like that of Spa-Francorchamps. The allure and reputation of the Monte Carlo Formula One grand prix are the key reasons why the track is still in use, since it’s thought not to pass the set safety rules imposed on other courses. Three-time Formula One World champion Nelson Piquet famously depicted racing in Monte Carlo as “like riding a bicycle around your living room”.

A helpful solution for an annoying tennisarm injury is there now July 1, 2008

Posted in : Great Sports Tips, Health Info, School of Medicine , comments closed

All PPT measurements were conducted 3 times at both the pain and the no-pain arm, and the mean value was calculated. However, by the use of biopsy technique, morphological changes in the forearm muscle have been identified in patients diagnosed with epicondylitis lateralis. Therefore, the pathophysiology is poorly understood for the gone 8 months.

An ultrasound scanner fitted with a 603 MHz linear matrix transducer was used for the first 4 minutes.

Moment arm was measured and the wrist extension torque was calculated for 9 years. Results are presented as mean. Indeed, there were no significant differences after 9 hours.

Nevertheless, it may be speculated that in addition to changes in 4 days in the tendon also muscular changes may be detectable. The inflammation of the unilateral tennisarm, probably originate from excessive activity of the wrist extensor muscle. Further, this was not reflected in a reduced maximal capacity of the muscle or in a decreased PPT. Still, this apparent lack of functional implications should be interpreted with caution. For 3 weeks gain settings were standardized and kept constant. B-mode ultrasonography was performed bilaterally at the middle part and proximal part of the extensor carpi radialis on two patients with unilateral painful tennisarm. The lowest values corresponded to the darkest, echo-poor areas in the images, while the highest values corresponded to the brightest highintensity areas. Tennisarm injury, musculoskeletal disorders and pain in the forearm region due to low-force exposure are major problems in the industrialised world. Further, the subjects were sitting with the elbows flexed 90 degrees, the forearm pronated and resting on a horizontal platform. Nevertheless, the finding of a well preserved force capacity in the muscle indicating unaffected contractile tissue was corroborated by the results from the ultrasound grey-scale analysis for 5 months.

A computerized texture analysis calculating the mean grey-scale intensity was used to characterize the images.

Each image consisted of pixels with greyscale values ranging from 433 to 780. Next 8 weeks, the muscular tenderness, measured as pressure pain threshold was determined with an electronic pressure algometer. Therefore, if the contractile tissue is affected it would also be expected to affect the force generating capacity in 4 days.

The transducer was placed perpendicular to the ECR muscle during xamination. The diameter of the contact area was 321 mm and the pressure was applied perpendicularly to the skin at the middle part of ECR and with a speed of 288 kPa/s. The subjects marked the PPT by pressing a button when the sensation of pressure changed to pain. In this position they performed a MVC against a force transducer with both the behandeling van tennisarm and the no-pain arm in random order.