March 21, 2008

Homeowners find foreclosure relief through structured settlements.

Homeowners seek creative and new ways to tap into available resources to save their home and stop foreclosure. Structured settlement purchasers report that they are seeing more and more people using their structured settlement payments to bring their mortgages and home loans current and out of active or pre-foreclosure.

Companies who buy structured settlements such as Woodbridge Investments LLC, offer individuals large lump sum payoffs for future payments from structured settlements such as those from a personal injury, lottery or annuity.

Bargain hunting investors looking to cash in on other peoples misfortunes solicit homeowners routinely by offering to buy their home quickly to save them from a foreclosure at just little above the principle loan amount. The drawback to this option is the fact that you no longer have a home. You will not have a foreclosure on your credit record, but you will no longer own your home either.

For some younger couples, families or individuals this can be a welcome relief. They are young enough to rebuild any negative impact delinquency may have had on their credit. They have learned that upkeep, cost, and maintenance of a home is a series of unexpected expenses and labor they previously never dealt with living in or owning a condo, apartment, or town-home.

What about the retired or established families that have owned their home for years? What of the senior citizens that have invested years of their life planning to remain in their home, or families that have devoted countless hours and money renovating, rebuilding, or upgrading their home hoping to remain in their home indefinitely?

For these families, loss of their home to avoid foreclosure is not an option. Selling some or all of their future payments from a structure settlement can provide them with the large lump sum they need to save their home, and in many cases, are able to retain a portion of their payments to supplement their income.

The choice to sell structured settlement or annuity payments is a personal one. Each person and family's situation is as unique as they are. A proper and thorough evaluation of immediate and long term needs should be done before you decide which path is right for you.

Many of the companies who buy structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments are able to give an almost immediate quote based on some very simple information. You will need to provide proof of your benefits, how much your periodic payments are, how often your payments are received, and how many are left.

The size of the lump sum you will receive from the sale of your future payments will be determined by how many payments you sell and which ones. For example if you decide to sell the the last 10 years worth of payments as opposed to the first ten years, you may end up with a lesser amount of money. The reason for this is a mathematical deduction of the interest not yet earned on payments you have not received called factoring.

Inflation and increased costs of living all work together to diminish the value of your future payments. The payments you are currently receiving are worth more today than those you would receive later on in coming years.

When you decide that selling structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments is right for you, you will need to make sure you are getting the largest lump sum possible. Get as many quotes as you can. Your quote should be free, and should only take a few minutes. Once you have found the best offer, take also into consideration the length of time needed to process you transaction and the quality of service you will receive.

There are many companies to choose from. Industry leaders Woodbridge Investments, JG Wentworth, and Peachtree have consistently provided competitive and innovative solutions that are catered to meet your specific goals and needs. For more information on how to sell your payments click here, and chat live with a representative or call 1-866-865-7044 toll free today.

March 17, 2008

9 Things You Might Not Know About Your Lottery Winnings


  1. Most U.S. lotteries take out 28 percent from the winnings to pay federal taxes But, if your winnings were in the millions of dollars, you would be paying closer to 39.6 percent (the highest tax bracket) in federal taxes when tax time comes. Add state and local taxes, and you might end up with only half of your winnings when you are done paying taxes.


  2. If you opt for the lump sum prize in a $10 million lottery, the prize would be about $5 million. After federal and state taxes, you'd be left with about $2.5 million.


  3. Most people take the lump sum because they figure that they can invest the money and do a little bit better than the approximate 5-percent interest that the bonds would earn.


  4. In some instances, when a lottery prize is payable in installments, the lottery may purchase a bond or an annuity, and a portion of each annual installment may be designated as interest on the unpaid balance.


  5. Many lottery contestants, however, do not give careful consideration to the tax and financial implications of either a lump-sum distribution or annuity. The Tax and Trade Relief Extension Act of 1998 affords some relief in this regard. Newly enacted Section 451(h) provides that a lottery winner may be able to elect (subject to the state's adopting the necessary legislation or regulations), within 60 days after winning the lottery, to receive a lump-sum distribution or an annuity
  6. .


  7. Lottery winners who receive the payment of a lottery prize as an annuity may wish to sell the right to receive a future income stream of annuity payments in exchange for a lump sum.


  8. In the event a lottery winner decides to give a portion of the winnings to another person, the transfer will be subject to gift tax.



  9. Winners who are receiving their lottery prize as an annuity should consider some form of liquidity planning to ensure that estate taxes can be paid.



  10. Companies like Woodbridge Investments LLC can purchase a lottery winner's future installment payments in exchange for a lump sum.