Archive for May 23rd, 2008

What Credit Rating Scores Tell a Potential Lender

Friday, May 23rd, 2008
by Courtney Jaden

Do are all those credit card companies intent on filling your mailbox with a bunch of credit card offers? There are so many companies who want to benefit from your spending that it has become somewhat easy to apply for a new card.

However, while they’re quick to make the offer, getting approved is another ball game. Credit card companies may be liberal with their invitations, but their requirements are very strict. Good credit rating scores are one of the requirements you have to meet.

If you don’t have good credit rating scores, you can still improve them. However, it won’t happen immediately. Like anything else, you have to work at it if you really want to improve your scores. Once you have a good credit score built up, you’ll find it easier to get approvals for your applications.

There’s no way around it: It’s a must if you want a credit card. Now you may be wondering, how can you improve your credit rating scores? You can do at least three things to get things started.

Pay your bills on time; that’s the first thing you need to do. When you pay all of your bills on time and never get a late fee, you’ll keep your credit rating scores stable, and you’ll eventually be approved for a credit card.

If you ever happen to pay late one month it is not like the world will come to an end. There is still hope for you to get a credit card as long as those late payments do not become a trend. When you are able to consistently pay your bills on time over several months, your credit rating scores will go up.

You may be tempted, or have been tempted, to cancel old credit cards. That may seem like the logical thing to do, but it is really unwise. Any credit card in your credit history will contribute to your credit score. This tells lenders that you don’t automatically run up any credit card that you get your hands on because you have available credit that is being unused.

So your second tip: Keep all your credit cards, even the ones you don’t use and are still paying on. By paying all your bills on time, your score will improve, which in turn makes it a lot easier for you to get approved for a new card.

One last thing to remember: Don’t max out your credit card limit. It’s a bad practice no matter how you look at it. If you use up more than fifty percent of your limit, your score will probably drop as a result.

Staying below 50% will not only help you maintain a higher credit score, it will also help you maintain bills. Hopefully, these few tips have helped you understand how your credit rating scores affect your eligibility for a new credit card. Now go out there and get that credit score up.

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Tips for Buying a Log Cabin for your Garden

Friday, May 23rd, 2008
by Spencer Wilkins

The actual price that you pay for having log cabins built will not only depend on its size, but also the logs used to build it. Some cabins will be constructed using handcrafted logs and can prove to be extremely expensive. Whilst if you are looking for a cheaper alternative then select one that is made using hand milled logs instead.

It is important therefore before you actually decide on getting such a cabin built you know the difference between milled and handcrafted logs. Generally, those that are milled have been prepared using either a sawmill, a lathe or a planer. This then ensures that each log will be cut to a specific profile or shape. As you will soon discover milled logs have a far more uniformed shape and size to them compared to handcrafted ones.

Logs, which are milled to help extract moisture from them, will either be allowed to dry in the air or be placed in a kiln. The time it takes for the exact amounts of moisture to be removed depends on the size of the log and the method of drying used. But by extracting moisture from the wood helps to prevent too much shrinkage occurring once, the cabin has been constructed.

Because the wood will have been either planed, sawn or lathed the surface of the logs will be smooth. Plus in many cases, they will also have a tongue and groove joints so actually putting the logs together is much easier. This means that building the cabin is a lot easier and will often take a lot less time to complete. However, if you want to retain that rustic look to your cabin the outer face of the log can retain its rough bark coating.

Generally, the wood that is used for milled log cabins comes from trees such as cedars, pines or spruces as well as firs. The least expensive type of milled log cabin is one that has been made using either pine or spruce. Whereas if you are willing to pay more then the option is to go for one made from cedar.

As for handcrafted logs, these will have been prepared by being hand peeled using either a drawknife or through the use of water. The actual logs themselves when being prepared are green and will only have been cut and hauled a few days or weeks before. Unlike milled logs these are allowed to air dry only as kiln drying is a very expensive process, as these need to be dried whilst they are still their full lengths after cutting.

The types of trees that are most favoured for handcrafted log cabins are the Douglas fir, Pine and Spruce. However, there are some log cabin companies who prefer to use woods such as Oak, Juniper, Cyprus and Alpine Fir (also known as True Firs).

We mentioned previously that what you pay for having log cabins built not only depends on the types of logs used. But will also depend on the size of the cabin that is being built. A much larger cabin will cost far more simply because it needs to have more time spent built constructing it, plus more logs will also need to build it. If you do intend to have a large log cabin built, then go for milled rather than handcrafted logs if you also want to save money.

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