OnPath Credit Union

Yes – while construction loans are typically used for new builds, you can apply for a construction loan for a house flip. That said, you may not want to. While traditional construction loans have their benefits, there are other factors that may pose challenges for certain individuals or projects.

Equipment and inventory financing can help ensure a business is able to fulfill consumer demands or meet attainable company goals without falling short due to supply shortages or a lack of production capabilities. However, approval for equipment and inventory loans isn’t a sure thing. Whether you’ll successfully receive financing will depend on your business’s credit history, current standing and risk profile as well as the strength of your application.

If your business is struggling to meet high demand or if you’ve been consistently yielding high revenue, you may be emboldened to consider expansion, if you haven’t already started doing so. Even if things are going phenomenally well, you may not have the cash flow or liquid capital to take a leap without generous financing to support your growth. This makes the success of your business expansion loan application a high-stakes venture.

Businesses seeking financing for new construction or full gut renovations, or even those that just need a loan to renovate their current building, can face difficulties during the application process. Business construction loans offer financing for both the acquisition and renovation costs, offer flexible payment schedules designed around certain milestones to avoid overspending and only require interest payments during the construction phase.

The real value of checking and savings accounts from an investment perspective is their ability to provide liquidity. Having liquid funds is important for everyone, including people seeking to grow their money through investments.

You don’t need to have a large amount of cash to implement smart savings strategies to grow your money. While it is true that some of the highest interest savings options have high minimum deposit or balance requirements and limited accessibility, there are some high-yield accounts that require no minimum balance.

Some banking customers assume that they must sacrifice yield for the sake of liquidity. The good news is that high-yield checking accounts exist, and they don’t always require large opening deposits or high balances.

The yields on savings accounts, share certificates, certificates of deposit, money market accounts and checking accounts are not chosen arbitrarily by banks and credit unions. A number of variables play into the calculation, including the latest Federal Reserve policies, the rates offered by other banks and credit unions, economic conditions, the bank’s profit targets and inflation.

There can be some important differences between credit unions, although the overall mission of most credit unions is similar. While most typically offer comparable services, there can be notable differences in membership eligibility, size, technology, rates, fees and customer service.

While private investment in commercial real estate is less common than residential rental properties, some individuals do pursue commercial property investment opportunities. Many businesses also reach a point where they must decide between leasing commercial property or buying. The right choice for businesses can vary depending on a host of operational and market factors, as well as the commercial loans available to them.

There are a variety of ways you can verify the financial stability of a credit union you are considering joining as a member. While the financial statements of credit unions are typically published online, these may not always be enlightening to the average banking customer. What typically matters most is:

• The bank’s insurance status
• Its reputation for customer service
• The quality of its products
• Its financial stability

Many small- to medium-sized business owners, sole proprietors, independent contractors and freelancers accumulate business debt when starting, operating or expanding their business. Business debt is not an inherently bad thing. Commercial loans are often vital for continued expansion and business growth.

Today’s auto dealerships aggressively push financing. As a car shopper, it can sometimes feel like they care just as much or more about selling you an auto loan. There are several reasons why auto dealerships have embraced auto loans as a key aspect of their business model, and multiple reasons why it may be in your best interest to obtain auto financing pre-approval from your local credit union rather than relying on dealership financing.

Underwriting is the process by which financial institutions, insurance companies and some other financial entities evaluate risk. It essentially means determining whether the party being analyzed will have a positive or negative impact on the business or organization.

The basic purpose of a debt consolidation loan is to pay off all your outstanding debt with one personal loan. Doing so consolidates a borrower’s debt into a single loan, which only requires a single monthly payment. Additionally, the interest rates on debt consolidation loans are often much lower than the rates on the borrower’s other outstanding debts, like credit card debt, medical bills or other personal loans.

The primary difference between a secured loan and an unsecured loan is that the secured loan requires collateral. Unsecured loans do not require collateral. There are other common differences between the two loan types, but they typically extend from that key difference.

Many people have both secured and unsecured loans without recognizing the difference. From a borrower’s perspective, they operate in essentially the same way. 

Bank accounts can potentially be flagged for a variety of potential reasons. Some account behaviors are associated with criminal activity or activity that violates the terms of the account. In other instances, a bank or credit union may receive instruction from law enforcement, regulators or another government agency that a banking customer is in violation of local or federal statutes or that the account is associated with illegal activity and needs to be placed on a watchlist or frozen.

Whether credit unions charge a monthly fee for your checking account typically depends on your balance and the balance requirements stipulated for free checking in your contract. They waive or charge fees based on some important operational considerations as well as a desire to remain competitive with other banking and financial institutions.

Yes – any purchase you can make with a debit card can be made with a second chance checking account. Although you don’t receive physical checks with a second chance checking account, you are issued a debit card and, if needed, can request a cashier’s check from an OnPath Federal Credit Union branch location if a payment or purchase must be made with a check.

Although the ease with which you can open a second chance checking account does vary based on the institution and the process by which they approve these accounts, credit unions are typically more flexible.

ChexSystems is a consumer reporting agency that tracks the behavior of banking customers. They do this in partnership with banks and credit unions, who report certain types of account activity to ChexSystems and similar reporting agencies.

No –simply closing a bank account doesn’t negatively impact your rating with any of the bank history reporting agencies, including ChexSystems, Early Warning Services (EWS), TeleCheck or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Having a poor checking account history, which can follow customers from bank to bank, means the customer violated the terms of their account, failed to pay owed fees or debts or used their account in a way banks view as irresponsible.

Yes – and not just banks. Anyone who can order a credit report on you can see how much debt you owe and to whom. However, not just anyone can order a credit report on you. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), only certain people, businesses, government agencies or organizations can order credit reports on individuals, and only under a strict set of circumstances.

There are many reasons why a checking or savings account may be closed. Certain frowned-upon behaviors can result in a bank or credit union choosing to close a customer’s account. These types of actions can follow customers to different banks via a bank history report, similar to the way a credit rating is attached to every borrower.

Second chance banking accounts have a different target audience, certain account restrictions and added fees. As the name suggests, these accounts are intended for people with a bad checking account history who are ineligible to open a traditional checking account.

There are many things to consider when choosing bank accounts for storing your money. Some of the most common concerns are liquidity and accessibility, meaning how easy it is to withdraw or spend the funds. Other factors have to do with yields and how much the account will help your money grow.

Share certificates are exceptional investment tools in a variety of ways. They earn a consistently high yield compared to many other credit union or bank accounts, and they allow savers to lock in high yields for years during times when interest rates may be decreasing.

A “fixed-term” account is one where the money you deposit is locked in the account for a specific amount of time. The period of time is typically stipulated at the start, so investors know exactly how long their money will be inaccessible.

Credit unions and banks make money from interest payments on loans they provide to members or clients. One of the sources for those funds they lend out is member or client deposits. For-profit banks generate profit from the money their clients have in savings and checking accounts, while not-for-profit credit unions reinvest the funds they generate from interest payments into overhead expenses and making their products cheaper for all members (and paying higher yields on savings).

When it comes to high-yield savings accounts, customers are often drawn to the promise of higher interest rates. However, they might also encounter various fees and penalties that can diminish the account's overall benefit.

Interest rates play a crucial role in nearly every financial product, influencing everything from your monthly mortgage payments to the yield on your savings account. Judging from what you hear on the news, you might assume interest rates are determined solely by the government, or more specifically, the U.S. Federal Reserve. Reality is a bit more complicated, and there are actually a variety of factors that influence interest rates and the actions of the Fed.

Yes, but it often depends on who you are negotiating with and the effort you’re willing to invest. In most loan negotiations, your leverage will be dependent on other loan offers you receive. For example, if one lender offers you 12 percent, you can potentially go to another lender and see if they’re willing to give you 11 percent. If they are, you could go to the original lender and see if they can beat the 11 percent offer you received elsewhere.

In today’s fluctuating economic landscape, making smart money moves is more crucial than ever. One such smart move is to place your money where it can work the hardest for you. You don’t necessarily have to invest your limited funds into high-risk investments like stocks or cryptocurrency to earn a high yield on your dollars. OnPath Federal Credit Union members can earn an astonishing 7% APY* on average daily balances up to $10,000 (and 0.50% on balances above $10,000) in our OnPath Reward High-Yield Checking Accounts.

For many New Orleans banking customers, the answer is likely yes. At OnPath Federal Credit Union, we’ve recently launched an unprecedented 7% APY* high-yield checking account that gives banking customers the chance to earn exceptional interest on the funds they use for everyday expenses.

A credit report extends beyond mere digits to offer a panoramic view of your financial history. If you’re worried about your credit score, want to make sure the credit bureaus aren’t basing your score on errors or faulty data or you’re just curious to see what’s on your credit report, you should make use of one or more of your free annual credit reports.

Receiving your credit report is most useful when you understand how to decode its content. The good news is most of the report is straightforward.

Modern connectivity and technology has been a mixed bag of previously unimaginable conveniences and unpredictable risks.

Mobile banking, online shopping and credit cards are easily accessible and, in many cases, virtually free tools for consumers in the U.S. Unfortunately, there are people who have found vulnerabilities within the modern digital structure to exploit.  

Whether for good or ill, every consumer has a credit score. It’s an inescapable figure that follows you wherever you go, and there’s no switch you can flip to turn it off, on or reset it. You'll often find your credit score quietly influencing opportunities, dictating terms and either opening or limiting access to various financial products.

Building a strong credit score over time may seem straightforward. Pay your loans and credit cards in full and on time each month. Don’t keep too many lines of credit open simultaneously. Only use about a quarter of your available credit at any one time.

Whether it’s completely redoing your kitchen, installing a pool or adding a bedroom, large-scale renovation projects are inevitably pricey.

The good news is getting financing for a home renovation project is straightforward if you work with the right lender. Loans are not singular in form. There are a truly diverse array of potential borrowing options to choose from, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.