E-Report: Save Your Credit – Save Your Life! A Take Action Plan To Protect, Improve & Maintain Strong Credit Reports and Scores

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E-Report Save Your Credit Save Your LifeIn an economy riddled with increased expenses and stringent credit standards, the businesses and households that will successfully navigate through the economic hailstorm will do so because their credit scores will get them access to credit and cash, empowering them to forge ahead and capture opportunity while those around them fold.

Great fortunes are made in times of great peril. Like no other time in the last 80 years, those with great credit will have the opportunity to capitalize on opportunity for long-term success.

How Can You Be One of the Winners?

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Credit Tip: Is It A Good Idea To Hire A Credit Repair Company?

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Credit Repair ExpertQuestion

Is it a good idea to hire a credit repair company?

Answer

If you are ready to purchase a home, or refi your existing loan, and you feel that the credit challenges you are facing are too much, and that you do not have the time to do the work or the necessary follow-up, then it is a good idea to seek professional help. Yes, there are companies out there who have given the repair industry a bad name, but just like attorneys, doctors, and many other professional industries, there are legitimate credit improvement firms that can help you. If you would like to get in touch with someone about your credit, please give me a call and I will refer you to a reputable company that I trust.

For more information about credit repair agencies, ask for our Fact Sheet: Avoid Credit Repair Scams.

Credit Tip: How Can I Maintain Good Credit?

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How Can I Maintain Good CreditQuestion

How can I maintain good credit?Answer

The first step is to have credit. Make sure you have at least 2 credit cards, and that you following the credit card rules: 1) Don’t apply for Department Store credit cards; and 2) Keep your balances under 30% of their limit at all times when you are trying to improve your credit scores and under 50% when you are trying to maintain your credit scores. If you do not have a credit card, and your scores are under 680, we suggest that you apply on line for a secured credit card at www.orchardbank.com. There are a lot of things you can do to build good credit and paying bills on time are key.

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Credit Tip: How Long Can Negative Items Remain On My Credit Reports?

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Negative Credit ItemsQuestion

How long can negative items remain on my credit reports?

Answer

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that most negative credit items be deleted from your credit bureau file in no more than seven years, except for bankruptcy, some tax liens and judgments (public records) which can be reported for up to ten years. The creditor or the credit bureau can choose to have the negative credit information deleted whenever they please. Inquiries may remain on the credit report for up to two years. Don’t let this discourage you. You can start rebuilding your credit at anytime, and if you stay current on your payments and balances, your score can get better even after a bankruptcy.

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Credit Tip: What Is Validation of Debt?

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Validation of DebtQuestion

What is validation of debt?

Answer

Validation of Debt (VOD) is the single greatest tool you can use to deal with collectors. What it means is that you have 30 days from the time a collection agency contacts you to ask that certain documentation be provided by the collection agency to validate the debt. If the agency cannot validate the debt, then it must remove the debt from your credit report. This process will buy you time; it will get collectors off your back; it will wipe out debts that are invalid and/or inaccurately reported.

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It’s Never Too Late To Improve Your Credit

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Never Too Late to Improve Your CreditMany of my clients come to me with questions abourt cleaning up their damaged credit scores even though they already own a home. They know that improving their credit scores will save them money on many things such as car insurance, automotive loans, or any other type of loan. The goal is to secure the best interest rate available and save money… It’s that simple.

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Five Factors: How You Use And Manage Your Credit Cards Makes Up 30% of Your Credit Score

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Five Factors: How to Use and Manage Your Credit CardsWhen managing your credit, you may not realize that some factors matter more than others, or, like most consumers, you may not know that there are factors involved at all. Most of us think that if we pay our bills on time that we have a handle on our credit, but this is not the case. The credit scoring system breaks your credit report down into 5 major factors, and if each factor is not understood or managed properly, you may be throwing away money by not getting the preferred rates that are only available to the most creditworthy individuals-those with the highest credit scores.

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Five Factors: How You Pay Your Bills is 35% of Your Credit Score

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Five Factors: How You Pay Your BillsYour payment history is considered to be your financial fingerprint that tells potential creditors your tendency for paying your bills and when. Payment history accounts for a whopping 35% of your overall credit score, and for good reason. It is the best indicator of credit worthiness creditors can have for determining whether or not you will pay your debts in a timely fashion, or at all. You see, creditors naturally assume that if you are late in paying your bills, you mismanage your finances and your accounts, a pattern which is more likely to lead you into a default down the road.

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Five Factors: The Truth About Credit Inquiries – Can They Really Hurt You?

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Five Factors: The Truth About Credit InquiriesWe are bombarded daily with new credit offers! It seems that everywhere we turn, someone is advertising a “special offer” for a new credit card, a new interest rate, or even a new spending limit. These days, it’s gotten so bad that we can’t go to the mall, a department store, or to our own mailboxes without someone asking us to apply for an additional line of credit. Have you seen the one that says, “YOU have been PRE-APPROVED for a $ 5000 credit card.” We all have. No matter where you live, it’s almost impossible to escape this marketing frenzy.

Regardless of the reason you respond to a credit offer – the holidays, an emergency, or a great sounding offer – you should always be aware that credit card companies will immediately run a credit inquiry which may cause you, depending on your circumstances, to lose between 5 and 30+ points from your score.

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Five Factors: Types of Credit Do Matter – It’s All in the Mix

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Five Factors of CreditThe mix of your credit accounts for 10% of your credit score. Think that’s not too much to get excited about? Think again. Sure, 10% seems to be pretty negligible when you consider that Payment History accounts for 35% and Amounts Owed counts for 30%, but frequently, just a few points can make all the difference as to whether or not you get the loan. Just like those annoying standardized tests you took in school, every single point makes a difference. Plus, if the highest credit score you can get is 850, 85 points come from this factor.

What does “mix of credit” really mean? Your mix of credit is made up of the different types of credit accounts that appear on your credit reports. Essentially, there are three different types of credit represented. They are:

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Five Factors: Length of Credit History is 15% of Your Credit Score

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When it comes to the factors that go into making up your ultimate credit score, length of credit history accounts for 15% of your score and it can add provide you with as much as 127 points of a top score of 850. That’s a big percentage and well-worth making sure you manage your credit history wisely to maximize those points.

While each of the 5 Credit Score Factors bears its own unique level of importance, this one is key because it traces your credit path all the way back to your oldest account listed on your report. Generally speaking, the longer your credit history, the higher the score for this particular factor. However, even people who have not been using credit long may get high scores, depending on how the rest of the credit report looks.

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