All Credit Reports

Every time you apply for credit or a loan, creditors obtain your credit record to verify your worthiness. But, the use of these reports has broadened. Insurance companies have begun to use them to determine premiums or deny coverage. Potential employers may even want to check out your credit worthiness. Today, a credit record is more than just a dry report on how many credit cards you have and whether you made every auto payment on time. Credit recording agencies often distill consumers’ reports into a three-digit number called a credit score — and that number alone can determine whether you get easy monthly payments or loan-shark rates. It’s not surprising that as credit scores become more important, consumers are taking more interest in these three-digit numbers. A high score saves you money, a low score costs you. This fascination with credit scores has led to more interest in repairing credit to increase scores.
Unfortunately, one of the ways that people realise that their credit score is not what it might be, and hence could do with some fixing, is when they try to buy that car, electrical item or house and get refused for credit. Often times people will be quite bemused by this, as they have no idea what the problem is with their credit score, or how exactly they can go about doing a do it yourself. The good news is that it is actually a lot easier then you might think to credit Repair Services and in fact you can dramatically raise your credit score if you take some calculated steps.

The first step is not to panic. You can turn this around and get this sorted, but you will have to have your wits about you, and take some action.

The second step is to know your rights as a consumer. You can find out your rights by going online and looking up the credit bureaus. Once you get there you can order a copy of your credit report. Equifax, Experian, and Transunion are the three credit bureaus and they can explain the scoring system and how they derive your credit score.

The third step is to be prepared to write a number of letters. As you are going to have to contact your debtors and see if you can arrange terms on any outstanding loans that you have. This is all perfectly doable, but it is by its very nature a time consuming business, so you may end up deciding that it is worth using one of the reputable online credit repair agencies to take some of the hassle from the whole process away.
Review the list of credit cards, outstanding debts, and major purchases. If you see any mistakes or questionable items, make a copy of the report and highlight the error. Next, gather any information that you have to back you up, such as bank account statements, and make copies of these as well. Write a letter to the specific credit reporting agency that shows the falsehood, whether it is Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion. Explain the mistake and include a copy of the highlighted report along with your documentation. It’s a good idea to send this letter by certified mail, and keep a copy for yourself. The reporting agency has 30 days from the receipt of your letter to respond.

If you are behind on any, get caught up as soon as you can. On-time payments are the single most important factor to your credit score, and your credit won’t improve until you can consistently pay every bill on time
The good news is this stuff is not hard to learn. Not only are there a lot of books on fixing your credit, they now have credit repair software that can do most of the work for you. The books usually show you the how and why while the software does most of the tedious tasks of derogatory item removal.
In some ways paying for the help of these agencies is also ironically the best education that you can get in repairing your credit, because these companies have now got the whole process down to a very fine art form when it comes to the steps that you need to take for a do it yourself credit repair (you can read what others made of it here) and so that means that you you can get this sorted out more easily then you might imagine.

In the current economic environment you will find that California was hit extra hard by the home foreclosure crisis. Many people are suffering and have lost their homes because of it. Some reasons California was hit so hard could have very well been avoided.

1. Banks were lending to unqualified borrowers 2. Too many builders were over building and dumping properties onto investors 3. Real estate agents were artificially inflating home prices in new subdivision through phase releases 4. Home owners had no financial reserve for a rainy day 5. Homeowners borrowed money on variable rate loans 

Had homeowners, banks, builders and real estate agents avoided these five mistakes California’s home foreclosure crises probably would have been simply a hick-up instead of a crisis. Citizens should have been looking out for each other and not relying on the government for over site. Knowing the banks, builders and real estate agents are in it for the money, we as consumers need to pay close attention to what they are telling us and insure we are not falling into a trap. Don’t get caught in the same trap. Only borrow what you can afford, save 3 – 6 months of income for emergencies and search for a good deal when buying a home.

Question by Anonymous: What percentage of Americans owe money (including mortgages)?
Please include a source such as a website if you have one. By owing money I include mortgages, loans, etc. Thanks.

100% of course i am including the fact that certain utilities bills you pay after usage so we all fall in the number!!!

Working out a debt settlement could help you save thousands of dollars in the long run. Not all creditors are willing to settle debt however, so it’s important to understand how the process works.

Debt settlement vs. debt consolidation

Debt settlement is not the same as debt consolidation. Getting a loan to combine several credit card debts into one payment is debt consolidation. Usually the goal of consolidating debt is to lower the overall monthly payment and lower the amount of interest being paid. Debt consolidation services sometimes offer counseling to help get your finances back on track. But be cautious about signing up for debt consolidation services because there are a lot of shady companies looking to profit from desperate consumers.

With a debt settlement, your creditor would agree to accept a smaller payoff amount in exchange for wiping out a debt. Depending upon the deal struck, you could end up settling for half of what is owed or even less.

Do-it-yourself debt settlement

While there is certainly no shortage of companies out there offering to negotiate a debt settlement for you, it is best to deal directly with creditors yourself. That’s because some debt settlement programs will tell you to stop making any payments on credit card debt and other bills. During that time you are encouraged to save up enough money with the firm to make a settlement offer later. But some unscrupulous debt settlement services never send any money to creditors.

Dos and don’ts of debt settlement

If you choose to pursue a debt settlement, do not work with any company that requires you to pay fees before receiving any services. Avoid working with agencies that make promises that sound too good to be true or even guarantee that they can reach a debt settlement. Finally, make sure you get all the terms and conditions in a written contract before agreeing to work with anyone. You want to have a successful settlement that ultimately allows you to save money, not end up in worse financial shape than before.

You may think it is natural to have a lot of credit card debt and other bills. That’s because it is not uncommon for many Americans to juggle multiple credit cards, mortgage loans, auto loans and other debt on middle class incomes. It can become easy to buy into the notion that “you’ll always have a car loan” or “you have to borrow money to get ahead,” among other myths.

Take a look at these 5 warning signs to see if you have too much debt:

1. You think about your credit card debt and other bills constantly. Do you have trouble focusing on your job or other tasks because debt woes are always at the forefront of your mind? Getting help with debt can help relieve some of the stress and allow you to make progress on a debt reduction plan. Look for a reputable debt counseling firm that can help.
2. It’s getting more difficult to make the minimum monthly payment on your bills. Being unable to make the minimum payments will result in late fees and probably an interest rate increase to the default rate. It will also keep you from making much progress in paying off your balance.
3. You are frequently late with bill payments. Part of what goes into determining your credit score is whether or not you are on time with monthly payments. Pay close attention to the deadlines for getting your payments to creditors. Being even an hour late will have negative repercussions.
4. You have just about maxxed out credit cards. Are you using credit to buy groceries, gas and other necessities because your income just doesn’t stretch? Wracking up credit card debt this way is a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.
5. You are afraid to total up your debt. Knowledge is power, so equip yourself with the information you need to make progress on a debt reduction plan. As shocking as your debt total may be, you need to know it to get moving in the right direction.

Get help with debt

Once you admit that you have a debt problem, commit to get help. Depending upon your situation a debt consolidation or debt settlement could help. Talk with a debt counselor to rind the right approach to your money woes.

Question by Maximo: I have a loan secured on my car that I can no longer pay – why won’t they take it as payment?
I have a loan secured against my car that I can no longer pay. I have offered for the creditor to take the car as payment for the loan but they refuse. Plus, I can’t sell the car to get them the money to pay them because they hold the title – are they allowed to do this?

Your car is collateral for the loan, which means only that they have the option of repossessing it to recover money lent to you, not that they are obligated to repossess it. The bottom line is that you owe the balance on your own. Not the balance on your loan or value of the car whichever is less. They would rather not take your car because then they have to go to the expense of paying someone to repossess it, store it, and sell it.

You can still sell the car even if they are holding the title, but in order to get the lien released to transfer title, you have to settle up with them in full. So they will only prevent the sale if you can’t pay the entire balance with the proceeds.