News and Tips on structured settlement transfers.

Cash

June, 2011


2
Jun 11

Selling Your Structured Settlement: Haste Makes Waste

Most often when you have come the decision to sell your structured settlement payments it is because you have run into some specific financial need that must to be attended to immediately but can not be handled by your payment amounts. The moment when you have decided to sell is the exact moment when you are most vulnerable to shady business practices, low rates of return, and commission hungry sales people. Pause for a moment and consider how you will protect yourself from the traps laid out for you by some companies wanting to buy your settlement payments. Let’s review things to be wary of when selling.

While this is not to be thought of as a complete list of all the dangers, thinking on these topics before going into negotiations can help you make the right choice on selecting an agency that will treat you fairly. The simple fact of it is that if nobody was going to make money on the purchase of your settlement then no agency would buy it. However, you can find companies to sell to that will treat you well while working on an ethical profit margin for themselves. While discussing the sale, watch for these warning signs that you may be dealing with the wrong company.

  • An unwillingness to give full disclosure.  This is your money we are talking about here. Any company that shies away from fully disclosing all information and explaining the fine points to you is probably trying to hide something from you. These smooth talking “used car salesmen” of the finance world will try to misdirect you while adding hidden costs, unnecessary fees, and even list separate percentage fees under different categories to give you the impression that you’re getting more of your money than you really are.
  • Anyone that offers to get you cash in weeks or even days. Often you will hear terms like “rapid fund release”, “expedited returns”, or “fast funding”. In this case they will tell you that only their company can offer such quick cash when really they have no real control over how long the process will take. They just want you to sign. As tempting as it is to hear you can have your money in days when you are facing financial hardships, it is simply not possible. The process of selling your structured settlement must go through court approval. It is true that with accurate filing and good preparation you can make this process as painless as possible, but you can count on it taking at least 45 to 90 days to complete.
  • Poor customer service. Remember! The companies you are talking to want what you have for sale. They are working for you! The easiest way to test the service is to ask questions- a lot of questions. Your sales representative should be right there with an answer to most every question you can think of, and if they can’t answer on the spot you should receive a reply back quite quickly. Quality customer service is a basic principal. If the company you are looking at can not even provide this then ask yourself how well will they handle your court petitions? How many errors will they make resulting in the courts denying your request and further delaying the day you get your money? This is a good sign it is time to walk away and find another company that cares about the sale.

Obviously, finding the company that best fits you for the sale of your structured settlement is going to take some time. Just remember; going slow in the beginning will save yourself many headaches down the road.

If you need help selling your structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments,
contact us today. We are here to answer your questions and help you obtain the
highest possible price for your payments.


1
Jun 11

Selling Your Structured Settlement: How to have your cake and eat it too

For this article I will be assuming that you have already sought out sound financial advice, explored other options to raise ready funds to meet what ever immediate need you may be facing, and have come to the conclusion that it is time to sell your structured settlement.

Often when people consider selling their structured settlement they are under the assumption that it is an all or nothing deal. This is, quite simply, not the case. For those that have received such a settlement; part of the reason is to insure a continuous source of income over a long period of time to enable the recipient to handle long term living expenses, on going medical bills, or for some other long term recurring expense. While it is tempting, especially when facing a short term financial crisis, to cash in on your long term safety net for a short term large cash sum the worry is still there about what you will do when your large sum is gone? Let’s talk about a number of options that will allow you to have your cake and eat it too.

As I mentioned previously, just because you have decided to sell your structured settlement does not mean you have to sell all of the settlement’s value. We will discuss, in simple terms, the two most commonly available options that allow you to retain some of that value for later use. These options are something you will want to discuss with the agencies you are considering selling to during your shopping around step of the sale. First let’s touch on my preferred option. You may sell your settlement in such a fashion that you receive a smaller portion as a lump sum to satisfy your immediate need while the company you have chosen for the sale will then begin taking a portion of your regular payments for the remainder of the term of your settlement. In this case you get the lump sum to take care of what ever reason made you choose to sell your settlement in the beginning, while also continuing to receive some amount in payment for the future.

Another option that follows a similar tact is to, once again, sell just a portion of your settlement so you can receive the lump sum you need and you allow your chosen company for the sale to collect all your payments until a predetermined time has passed by. Here, your needs are quickly met yet you have the peace of mind of knowing that at a future date you will once again begin receiving your regular payments in their full amounts.

It is up to you to determine what method suits your needs the best, however by using either of these simple sale modifications you are able to take care of immediate needs while still reserving some portion of your settlement for future security. Another good point to mention for your consideration is that, obviously, the less you sell the less you loose in fees and costs for selling part of your settlement; meaning more money stays with you where it belongs.

If you need help selling your structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments,
contact us today. We are here to answer your questions and help you obtain the
highest possible price for your payments.

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