Mistake One: Agreeing to sell to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, some brokers or structured settlement/annuity

sources will make a high offer just to get someone under

contract. Then they will start making excuses and reduce the

offer. Once you are under contract with a funding source, it is

very difficult to back out. Even if you are able to pull out, you

will have to start the whole process over again losing

valuable time.

Mistake Two: Believing the funding source when they say

they can close very quickly.

The time to close is mostly dictated by individual state laws,

both the state the insurance company has their home office

and the state where the client resides. In some states, it is

possible to close in about a month. In other states, it can take

as long as four months. With the rest, it is somewhere in

between. Don't believe it if someone says they can close in a

week or two.

Mistake Three: Not determining how much you really need

and thinking you must sell the entire remainder of the

structured settlement or annuity.

Why sell a $200,000 settlement when you only need

$30,000? If you need additional cash sometime in the future

you will be able to sell more payments or lump sums at that

time. By doing it this way, you will receive more cash over

time than if you sell all payments at once; and it allows you

options.

Mistake Four: Letting emotions or being desperate control

our decisions.

We have all gotten excited or felt desperate when faced with

various situations. We could be excited about buying a home

or starting a new career; or we could be feeling desperate

because we are about to lose our home or are facing high

medical expenses. Even though we are excited or desperate,

we really must think through our decision. Some brokers or

funding sources will try to take advantage of us and our

situation. We should discuss our situation with a trusted family

member, friend, attorney, pastor or whomever. We do not

want to ruin tomorrow's financial options by making irrational

decisions today.

Mistake Five: Not doing your due diligence on the structured

settlement/annuity purchaser.

Call the attorney general in your residence state and the state

where your funding source is located to see if there are any

complaints about that funding source. If there are a lot of

complaints against the source you are considering, take that

as a red flag and move onto the next source. Your due

diligence should be completed before agreeing to anything or

signing any agreements.

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For best results you need a professional on your side. With over a decade of experience, Louise Pointer can help you avoid the mistakes in this article as well as a few more. Click -> http://www.NationalFundingResources.com