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> Leverage Your Home Equity to Enhance Your Home

> Take the Guesswork Out of Retirement Savings

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Preparing to Buy a Home to Call Your Own SBA Financing Opportunities for Your BusinessGetting on the Road to the Retirement You Want

On the Fast Track to Achievement

GATHER THE INFORMATION TO APPLY FOR A MORTGAGEUnless you have a surplus of cash at your disposal, you’ll need to secure financing in order to purchase a home. With that in mind, you should start by gathering the information you’ll need to qualify for a mortgage loan. This includes:

• Employment and Income History – with copies of recent paystubs and your W-2s and income tax returns for the past two years.

• Credit Accounts – with copies of recent account statements for any outstanding loans and credit cards.

• Savings, Checking and Investments Accounts – with copies of account statements for the past three months.

• Credit Report – since any potential lender will review your credit report, it’s a good idea to get a copy of it in advance so you can correct any errors or prepare yourself to explain any issues on your report.

SELECT A LENDERWhen you buy a home, you aren’t just investing in a house – but also in the mortgage loan that will finance your home. That’s why finding the right lender is so critical to your home-buying success and why it’s so important to talk with several lenders and shop for the best deal, including loan terms, interest rate and fees.

Just remember that while competitive rates and closing costs are important, you should look at a variety of factors before choosing a lender. You need a lender who will work with you and your real estate agent as a team and who shares your goal of closing your loan in a timely, efficient manner. You also want to deal with a strong, stable lender that will be there for you in the long haul.

GET PRE-QUALIFIED FOR A MORTGAGEYour final step before shopping for a home is to get pre-qualified for a mortgage. By doing so, you’ll save yourself time, energy and frustration, because pre-qualification allows you to:

Determine your purchasing potential

Estimate your monthly mortgage payment

Identify home-buying programs that may assist you

Strengthen any purchase offers you may make

In fact, many experienced real estate agents won’t even work with potential home buyers until they’re pre-qualified for mortgage financing. With that in mind, you’re now ready to select a real estate agent and begin your search for a home.

JUST ABOUT EVERYONE DREAMS OF HAVING A PLACE TO CALL ONE’S OWN, but purchasing a home can seem like an overwhelming endeavor to first-time buyers. By taking a step-by-step approach, you can make the process more manageable, and you soon could be holding the keys to your own house.

Simple Steps to Make Your Homeownership Dreams a Reality

PERSONAL BANKING

Employment and

Income History

Credit Accounts

Savings, Checking

and Investments

Accounts

Credit Report

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Tap into Your Home Equity

to Make Your Home More Enjoyable

With spring in the air, it’s the ideal time to carry out any home-improvement projects you’ve been considering. To finance your

home improvements, consider tapping into the equity you already have in your home to make it more enjoyable.1 Using home equity financing offers you a number of significant advantages, including:

LOWER INTEREST RATES – Rates for home equity loans and lines of credit typically are much lower than those for personal loans and credit cards.

TAX SAVINGS – Interest payments generally are tax-deductible for home equity financing. Consult your tax advisor regarding your individual situation.

CONVENIENCE – The application process is relatively simple, with many lenders able to issue preliminary decisions within a day or two.

FLEXIBILITY – Borrowers have a number of options in structuring financing terms and payment amounts to fit your specific needs.

1Credit subject to approval

Effective application documentation provides the key to securing an SBA loan for your small business. While requirements may vary among SBA lenders, the following materials are critical in evaluating your request for SBA financing:

BUSINESS PROFILE Describing the type of business, annual sales, number of employees, length of time in business and ownership.

LOAN REQUEST Detailing how the funds will be used – including the purpose, amount and type of loan.

COLLATERAL Describing the collateral offered to secure the loan, including equity in the business, borrowed funds and available cash.

BUSINESS FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Complete financial statements and tax returns for the past three years, current interim financial statements and projected financial statements for the coming year.

PERSONAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Complete financial statements and income tax returns for the past three years for all owners, partners, officers and stockholders owning 20 percent or more of the business.

Applying for an SBA Loan for

YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Loan Request

Business Financial Statements

Personal Financial Statements

Collateral

Business Profile

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PERSONAL BANKING BUSINESS BANKING

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Leveraging the Cash Flow Advantages of SBA Financing

FINANCING OPTIONS FOR VARIOUS BUSINESS NEEDS

Many for-profit small businesses are eligible for SBA financing, and SBA loans can be utilized for a wide variety of business purposes, including:

• Owner/user commercial real estate purchases, renovation or improvements.

• Business acquisitions, expansions or start-ups.

• Equipment, machinery, inventory or working capital.

• Franchise financing.

The SBA offers a number of diverse loan-guarantee programs, and your SBA lender can help you identify the program best-suited to your needs. Depending on the program you select, loan amounts range up to $4 million, repayment terms can be extended up to 25 years in certain cases and interest rates can be fixed or variable.

LOOK FOR AN SBA “PREFERRED LENDER”

The SBA has designated several highly experienced lending partners across the United States as “Preferred Lenders.” These lenders have dedicated specialists to make the SBA loan process

faster and easier for borrowers.With streamlined application procedures, Preferred Lenders can expedite the approval process.

Not all lenders are SBA Preferred Lenders, and not all SBA loan programs are available from every SBA lender. If you’re interested in exploring SBA financing opportuni-ties for your small business, start by looking for an SBA Preferred Lender that has a track record of success with the SBA loan program that fits your needs.

BUSINESS BANKING

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsors a selection of loan-guarantee programs for a wide range of credit needs. With lower down payments, longer terms and lower monthly payments, SBA loans can offer significant cash flow advantages over conventional business financing.

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The Key Benefits of SBA LoansFirst and foremost among the benefits of SBA financing, qualifying for an SBA loan generally is easier than qualifying for other types of business loans. The down payment requirement for an SBA loan typically is lower than that of a conventional loan, and collateral requirements are less stringent for SBA loans as well.

Other major cash flow advantages of SBA financing include the option for longer repayment terms than standard loans, which can reduce your monthly payments and allow you to retain more of your working capital. SBA loans also provide the benefits of no balloon payments and no prepayment penalties for terms less than 15 years.

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MAKE SAVING FOR RETIREMENT A PRIORITY The sooner you start saving for retirement, the more time your savings have to accumulate and grow. That seems simple enough, but dealing with the day-to-day pressures of life can make it difficult to maintain your focus on something that’s 20, 30 or even 40 years away – and before you know it, that day will be here. That’s why it’s so critical to make saving for retirement a priority.

PLAN TOWARD YOUR GOALS The lack of a clear plan is one of the most common mistakes that can derail your retirement prospects, and the only way to formulate an effective plan is to first identify your retire-ment goals. Start by asking yourself some key questions like, When do you want to retire? What type of lifestyle do you plan on living? How much money will you need to live that way? Once you’ve taken the time to consider these questions, you can start to get your head around the retirement planning process.

ALIGN YOURSELF WITH A PROFESSIONAL One of the key things you can do to ensure an enjoyable retirement is to align yourself with a professional financial advisor who will take the time to understand your specific situation and needs. A professional will take you through the process to determine how much you need to save to reach your goals and help you devise a savings and investment plan to keep you on track for the retirement you envision.

LEVERAGE TAX-ADVANTAGED SAVINGS PLANSWhatever your retirement goals may be, leveraging tax-advantaged savings vehicles like employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to help you meet them is a must. If your employer offers a 401(k) – and especially if matching funds are available – try to take advantage of it to the greatest extent possible. To maximize your retirement savings, you also should set up an IRA through a bank or investment firm and make regular contributions to it.

ADJUST YOUR PLAN AS NECESSARY Meeting with your financial advisor to review your progress toward your retirement savings goals at least once a year is a must. It’s not uncommon for a person’s retirement needs and goals to change over the years, so be sure to make your advisor aware of any changes in your situation so you can adjust your retirement planning accordingly. Your advisor also can help you make the necessary changes in your investment approach as you near retirement age.

Ensure a Great Tomorrow by Planning for Retirement Today

The quality of life you’ll have in the future depends on how you prepare for it in the present. Retirement offers an opportunity to do things you never had a chance to do when you were in the working world – but it’s essential to plan in advance to ensure financial security in your golden years.

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Securities and brokerage service are provided by PNC Investments LLC, member FINRA and SIPC. Annuities and other insurance products are offered by PNC Insurance Services, LLC a licensed insurance agency.

©2010 The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

This publication may provide reference to Internet sites as a convenience to our readers. While PNC endeavors to provide resources that are reputable and safe, we cannot be held responsible for the information, products or services obtained on such sites and will not be liable for any damages arising from your access to such sites. The content, accuracy, opinions expressed and links provided by these resources are not investigated, verified, monitored or endorsed by PNC.

These articles are for general information purposes only and are not intended to provide legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. PNC urges its customers to do independent research and to consult with financial and legal professionals before making any financial decisions. The opinions and views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of PNC or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor does the inclusion of the articles in this magazine constitute endorsement by the authors or PNC of any of the products or services of others reference herein.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: PNC Directions is a publication of The PNC Financial Services, Group, Inc., a highly diversified and growing financial services orga-nization offering a wide range of products and services for individuals, businesses, corporations and government entities. No matter how simple or complicated your needs, PNC is sure to have the right products, knowledge and resources to provide you with a variety of solutions.

For more information, please call 1-877-CALL-PNC, visit pnc.com or stop by any PNC location.

Pick a good date – Set a date when you can devote your full time to your sale. Saturdays and Sundays are best, but avoid holiday weekends.

Consider a group sale – You can go it alone if you have family or friends who will help with the sale, but multiple-family sales generate more traffic.

Clean out your closets – Take anything that’s no longer of use to you and put it on sale. Don’t throw anything away before trying to sell it. Remember, one’s person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Promote your sale – Advertise your sale in your local newspaper, “shopper” publications and online classified. Post signs around your neighborhood, as well.

Price to sell – Decide on prices in advance, and mark the price on each item with a small sticker. People are looking for bargains, so don’t disappoint them. Be willing to negotiate on prices, but be less flexible at the start.

Prepare your staging area – People will be more inclined to stop if you set up shop in your driveway or yard, but be prepared to use your garage in case of bad weather. In any case, place tables in a manner that will allow people to browse without feeling crowded, and display your wares attractively.

Spring is a great time to generate some extra cash – and free up space around your house – by having a garage or yard sale. A well-planned garage sale can net you hundreds of dollars, as well as allow you to dispose of unneeded possessions without adding to the mountain of garbage that heads to the nation’s landfills each day.

Garage sales are work, but the returns more than justify the effort. Here are some tips to help make your garage sale a success.

WHEN IT COMES TO SAVING FOR RETIREMENT, THERE ARE TWO SIMPLE RULES:

How Much Will You Need to

Retire Comfortably?

Estimate your income for your last full year of work:

Multiply by 80%

X .80 = Multiply by your expected lifespan after retirement. Assuming a retirement age of 65, men should expect to live for 16 years in retirement, and women should expect to live for 19 years. (If you plan to retire before age 65, adjust these figures accordingly.) X years

The estimated amount you’ll need to maintain your standard of living in retirement: =

123

4

$

$

$

Generate Some Extra Cash This Spring with a Yard Sale

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