There are many different types of grants. The United States Government offers over 1,000 grants and a total amount of $500 billion dollars is available for these grants. Grants are awarded to people who have demonstrated that there is a public benefit for their project or research.

There are twenty one different categories that government grants fall into. There are environmental grants, educational grants, energy grants and many others. For a full list of the categories, you can go to www.grants.gov.

Grants are available to companies or organizations and to individuals. There are more grants available to organizations than there are to individuals. The government website lists 27 grants for individuals and hundreds of grants available for organizations.

One example of a grant for individuals is offered by the United States National Fish and Wildlife Service. They want to promote interest in conservation, and ecology. There is $5,000,000 available to be awarded for this project and they will give 40 awards out. The highest amount awarded can be up to $500,000 and the lowest amount awarded will be $1,000. So what does this grant require you to do?

They are looking for people interested in natural resource careers and would like to provide individuals with guidance and training by professionals. You will be working in wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries, and ecological services offices as an intern. You will be assigned seasonal work sometime between June 1 and Sept. 30. Award recipients need to be willing to administer a program for identifying and recruiting people for assignments at various stations in the United States.

After you have found a grant that fits your expertise and interest, you will need to go through an online application procedure at www.grants.gov. There are multiple steps involved in applying,  however there are videos to help you walk through the entire process.

You first will need to register with the website and then you need to apply for the grant you want. This procedure can take time to do, so plan on several weeks for this process.

Writing a successful grant proposal can be very challenging and competitive. You have several options. One is that you can hire someone to write it for you or you can train yourself to write a good proposal. There are classes you can take that can prepare you for this.

If you are going to write the grant yourself, you will need to summarize your project in two or three paragraphs. You will need to communicate important information about your organization that shows that you can be trusted to use their funds wisely. You’ll need to state what your organization’s track record is with similar achievements. One  thing to remember when writing your proposal is to describe the problem you are attempting to solve with the same magnitude as the solution you provide.

Although the procedure for applying is lengthy and requires you to write a very good proposal, you should try your best and see if you qualify. A federal grant could be just what you need.

To apply for a home loan, banks normally check the applicant’s background, whether they have a good, steady job or some other stable source of income. Credit line is also checked, whether the applicant has been responsibly paying his/her debts well. An applicant must also have collateral as financial back up, as an assurance that the applicant will be paying back the loan in full.

Do some research on how much you can ask from lenders.  This will give a general idea in figures of how much you can borrow, how much of your income is needed for the down payment as well as for the succeeding payments. Evaluate how much you can afford to spend for the house loan, in consideration with other existing monthly payments. It is recommended that less than a third of the applicant’s monthly income be spent on the payments for the loan and property.

Start saving money for the purchasing of the house before attempting to apply for a home loan. Possible ways of saving for the home loan and property purchase include taking a second job or reducing unnecessary expenses. This initial investment is a good demonstration to the lender of the applicant’s good intent in purchasing a house. There are also other options to be considered in obtaining financial support when purchasing a house such as the Veteran’s Administration loan for veterans. Consult with your real estate agent regarding other financial support options.

As a result of the recent development in the economy, banks are becoming more stringent in assessing applications. However, there are ways of improving chances when applying for a home loan. In order to prepare for qualifying for a home loan, it is recommended that the applicant obtain a copy of their credit report from a qualified agency. There are services which can send a report annually or directly contact the agencies for an immediate copy. Take note of outstanding or unpaid credit, as this is an important aspect that banks check for. Pay back all debts. If this is not completely possible, then make it as low as possible. This is important as it sends a note to the lender of the applicant’s reliability in paying back the loan.

Banks normally ask for collateral as an assurance that the applicant will pay back his/her loan. Other properties in real estate or investments in the stock market are possible sources of collateral.

There are no definite rules that can assure the applicant will obtain the home loan. Loans are approved on a case to case basis. However, following these tips increases the chances of getting the home loan. Do not despair if you are denied a home loan but see it as a sign that there may be areas in your application that need improving.

Mortgage loans are in the news today as two of the largest mortgage companies in the United States, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, lost nearly half of their stock value during the week of July 11, 2008.  They own over one half of all the mortgages in the United States, with a total value of $5.2 trillion dollars.  They have posted $11 billion in losses. 

For the average Joe, those numbers are barely imaginable. But wait…let’s see what $5.2 trillion looks like…$5,200,000,000,000.00.  So if they’ve lost $11,000,000,000.00 what is left? Try $5,189,000,000,000.00.

So what percentage of their assets did they lose?  I believe that would be .002. Please correct me if I’m wrong. To relate that to everyday living, if your monthly take home pay was $3,000 and you lost .002 percent of that, how much would that be?  $6.00. 

Is that why Senate Banking Committee chair Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)  called the mortgage giants sound, saying they are being unfairly punished by Wall Street?

Having the advice of someone who is an economist from Quicken loans, is probably a little better than the advice I can get through my local connections.

So Bob Walters, from Quicken loans, if you say that “Homebuyers and homeowners looking for a new mortgage need to navigate this uncertain market carefully,” I will take heed. I’m not really looking for a new mortgage but for those of you that are, well…proceed with caution.

Richard DeKaser, chief economist for National City Corp., tells us that we as consumers should avoid that telemarketer offering refinancing. He says we should stick with known performers, so ask your friends for referrals.

He is also predicting, 30-year-fixed interest rates to grow from 6.25 percent to 6.75 percent over the next year, so if you have a “risky mortgage” now is the time to refinance, but not with that pesky telemarketer.

What do you think?
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