        |
||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
|
The Power of eLoans and Mortgages
ARTICLE: The Power of eLoans and Mortgages WORDS: 840 You have permission to use this article for electronic or print distribution provided the credit box at the bottom is attached. A courtesy notice of publication would be appreciated. Thank you Sincerely, Jim Slobodzian ******************************** The Power of eLoans and Mortgages If you will be needing a loan or mortgage, there is no greater way to shop and compare prices than online. One of the great benefits of the internet is letting the average consumer (like you and me) share information like we've never been able to before! We can shop and more importantly, compare, the prices and services of all kinds of financial services in detail. There are many good providers of "eloans" online. So who are the major online players in loans and mortgages? Research firm Media Metrix recently listed the top financial information sites based on "impressions". At the top of that list was MoneyNest.com which operates an online financial marketplace that enables consumers to shop online for a variety of financial products. Moneynest.com sums up the one key thing about online loans and mortgages - it places the power in your hands. You no longer have to feel insecure about not having enough excellent information at your fingertips or about trusting "your" bank and wondering if you got the best deal possible. The internet places all this power at your fingertips. To sum up the key benefits of shopping online for loans and mortgages, you can: * Get free quotes - from as many companies as you need or want * Customized quotes - more than just comparing rates, you can compare quotes for the specific service you need (type of home, amount of loan, amortization, etc) These "eloan" sites (listed below) are jam-packed with great calculator tools and information. As an example, the eloan.com site alone has the following calculators; http://www.eloan.com/s/show/calculators?linksrc=purchcalc&sid=yP841ZZJ9LTge9B79_8dLAFLPbE For my Canadian readers you will notice that this information has focused almost exclusively on US services, and that is because there is so much information that a separate report will have to be done for the Canadian market. But an excellent place to start is the Canadian Mortgage Corporation. http://www.canmortgage.com Similar to a site like eloan.com they have excellent calculator tools available and capability of searching for comparative services and loans for free. Top Financial Services Sites ranked by Media Metrix based on impressions 1. Moneynest.com Here is Top9.com's list of top online lenders based on # of unique visitors. getsmart.com - borrowers marketplace If you want to know who offers the best in certain categories such as price or service for mortgages, our trusted research firm Gomez has ranked the Top Internet Mortgage Sites for Q1 2002 ranked by Overall Score. http://www.gomez.com/scorecards/index.asp?topcat_id=39&subSect=finance Firm Score And as a closing note, many of the "money" providers listed above are exactly that and more. They not only provide you with loaned money for your home, but will also finance your car, credit card consolidation, give you free credit reports etc. So while we have tried to keep our focus narrow, in future articles we will look at other services for credit cards and cars, etc. Large loan decisions deserve a clear-headed comparison of products and prices so that you can get the best deal possible - nothing delivers this better than online "emoney" comparison shopping. Enjoy! Jim Slobodzian is a contributing editor to Canadian Moneysaver magazine and the-money-advisor.com, a contributing writer to many web sites, and publishes the weekly eMoney Guide. He is currently an international investment promotion consultant to the Province of Manitoba, managing their web site programs promoting international investment. http://www.enroute.ca or email money@enroute.ca |