Showing posts with label Bad Credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bad Credit. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Why Minimum Payments On Your Credit Card Deals Are Rising?

There are several aspects that should be taken into account when people choose credit cards. When they decide what type of credit card deals they should own, they pay attention to annual fee, APR, introductory APR, rewards and cash rebate.

The Complete Credit Repair Kit (+CD-ROM)
by Brette McWhorter Sember

Learn how to keep your creditors from harassing you, reduce your monthly payments and lower your debt. Find out how to get a copy of your credit report, understand what it really says and make it read more favorably for you. Stop worrying about identity theft by teaching yourself what to do to prevent it and how to react if it happens to you.

It’s not a secret that lots of people are attracted by low payment. Many people are sure that the lower monthly payment, the more convenient credit cards. Nobody can guarantee that payment will remain the same. You must be aware of the fact that it may change. If one day you find out that your minimum payments have increased, don’t be shocked. As a matter of fact many credit cards have low monthly payment, which is very attractive for people. However, it may cause different problems. This low monthly payment is convenient, as you pay this minimum each month just because you can. But at the same time the process of paying off your credit balance will be very slow and you will lose more money.

  • How to Get Back your Good Credit Rating
    Try getting a credit card, renting an apartment, financing a large purchase, or buying a car, just to name a few, without good credit...
  • The Best Ways To Rebuild Your Credit
    A good credit score or credit rating is very important when come the time of applying credit. The better your credit score is, the better deals that have attractive low interest rate...

As a rule, lenders offer a lower monthly payment but a higher interest rate. So while choosing a credit card, examine both positive and negative sides of this type of card. It goes without saying that the program of increasing payments has both advantages and disadvantages. This change will not affect consumers who paid their balance in full each month or who paid more than their minimum payment.

So they even won’t see this increase. But this change may be devastating for those cardholders who don’t know how to make ends meet and who can afford to pay only minimum payments. Increasing monthly payments may cause new debts and at one time or another they will find themselves in over their head. But you should be conscious of the fact that it is for your own sake.

  • Do Credit Card Debt Reduction Possible?
    Everyone wants credit card debt reduction, but nobody wants to give up shopping and splurging. Such is the world of plastic! When you go out on a Friday night, all you want is to blow up a lot of money on a night full of fun...
  • How to Get Back your Good Credit Rating
    If you don't make payments to creditors on time or you miss a payment, you are reported to the credit bureau...

Credit card companies have been asked to raise the minimum payment on balances from two percent to four percent. Two percent of credit balance required by credit card companies covered only interest and other fees, so it may take people many years to pay off the principal balance. Four percent should cover interest, any fees and one percent of the principal balance. The real motive of this increase is to get out of debt faster.

Only imagine that you may pay down your credit balances in a shorter period of time and save money in interest. Increasing monthly payments gives cardholders an opportunity to reduce their balances. Another reason for increasing minimum payments is the fact that plenty of people have many credit card deals and they can’t stop spending more than they can payback. The way out for such consumers is to stop using credit cards frequently or to control their expenses. On the whole increasing minimum payment is in the interest of consumers, as it is an excellent opportunity to pay off balances in a shorter period of time and get out of debt.

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Monday, September 10, 2007

How to Get Back your Good Credit Rating

So many things we do every day are dependent on a good credit rating. Try getting a credit card, renting an apartment, financing a large purchase, or buying a car, just to name a few, without good credit, and reality will set in.

If you don't make payments to creditors on time or you miss a payment, you are reported to the credit bureau. The credit bureau, in turn, adds this to your credit report. If you are guilty of habitually being slow in making payments, or default on a loan, you will suffer a bad credit rating and a low credit score.

Many doors will be closed to you when your credit score is low. You will have a hard time getting a loan, a credit card, renting a car or doing many of the other things you have grown accustomed to. A bad credit rating might even keep you from obtaining certain jobs. For these reasons it is important that you protect your good credit rating. If unforeseen circumstances have affected your credit worthiness, you should start repairing your credit as soon as possible.

How to repair your credit rating is usually a slow process. You need to build your credit rating little by little over a long period of time. Although you might consider going to a reputable company offering credit repair services, you can repair your own credit.

A good place to start repairing your credit right away is to get your credit report from the credit bureau, and examine it carefully for errors. If you don't find any errors, you can then begin repairing your credit.

First, get a secured credit card and use it regularly but cautiously. Make your monthly payment amounts on time and in full. Secured credit cards are issued by companies that usually cater to people who have bad credit, and you are usually required to give an initial deposit equal to the card's credit limit. For example, you give the company $500 for a card with a $500 credit limit. They are authorized to use that deposit against any balance you have that remains outstanding for too long. As you can see, by doing this, the credit card company does not assume any risk because you will never owe more money than they are holding as your deposit.

Secured cards also require annual fees that most regular credit cards do not. Using secured credit cards and paying the bills on time is one of the best ways to start improving your credit rating. Your goal is to develop a history that shows lenders that you take your debts seriously, and that is the only thing lenders require from you. They want to be paid in full and on time. Paying bills on time helps you establish a good history, and it eliminates late fees and other financial penalties that make paying off your debts so difficult.

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Monday, August 27, 2007

The Best Ways To Rebuild Your Credit

A good credit score or credit rating is very important when come the time of applying credit. The better your credit score is, the better deals that have attractive low interest rate will be offered to you by many lenders, enabled you to have choices to select the best offer among the good deals. Hence, you have the responsible to maintain it and ensure it always have a high value. Actions such as default a loan, delay of credit card payment or miss payment and filing a bankruptcy can jeopardize your credit rating. If you already go through this bad phase, then, it is important for you to build your credit and get it back to order. Here are a few ways that you use to rebuild your credit and achieve a good credit score.

The Credit Repair Kit: Everything You Need to Know to Maintain, Rebuild, and Protect Your Credit
by John Ventura

A bad credit record can make it tough to get a loan or adequate insurance, find a good job, or rent an apartment. Yet, nearly half of all credit records contain serious errors. The new edition of The Credit Repair Kit provides consumers with all the information they need to order a copy of their credit record, understand what their records say about them, and deal with any problems they may find in those records.

Build Your Credit With A Secured Credit Cards
When you are in debt, many experts will advise you to put away you credit card and not to charge your credit card again, so that you won't add new debt into your current debt. They are right, because the uncontrolled use of credit card can make your debt situation worse. But, if you want to rebuild your credit, the best way is "Use Your Credit Card".

Instead of using unsecured credit card that you still own, it's better for you to apply for a secured credit card.

You probably had given up your credit cards if you had gone through a debt management program during the process of getting you debt issue resolved. And if you credit score is not good, you probably won't be able to be approved for an unsecured credit card if you apply for one now; hence, applying for a secured credit card is the only way you can get a credit card that you can use to rebuild your credit.

What is secured credit card? Why it difference from my existing credit card? If you have not owned a secured credit card before, these questions may rise in your mind. Well, a secured credit card is the same physically with any other credit cards; the only different is a secured credit card is like a pre-paid card where you need to pay first before you use. It requires you to deposit a certain amount of cash as the collateral for a credit line. And the credit limit is the same with the amount of deposit. For example, if you put $500 into the account, you will be able to charge up to $500.

You use the secured credit card to purchase items and make the monthly payment in full on time. The issuing bank will report your good payment behavior to the credit bureau, and you will be on your way to establish a good credit history over time.

Build Your Credit With A Secured Personal Loan
Besides applying for secured credit card, you can also rebuild your credit by getting a secured personal loan. Like in secured credit card, a secured personal loan required you deposit cash or other valuable asset such as automobile, boat and jewelry as the collateral for the loan. The maximum loan can up to the collateral's value, but most of time, you can only get about 80%-90% of collateral's value.

Build a good credit history by making monthly loan repayment on time so that your good payment behavior will be consistently reported to the bureau and get it recorded into your credit report.

Summary
Rebuilding your credit after it has been jeopardized need time, patient and commitment. Secured credit card and secured personal loan are among the easier ways to regain your good credit score. Make your full monthly payment consistently and you will see your credit back to order when the time comes.

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Friday, August 24, 2007

How To Get A Credit Card With No Credit

When you first turn 18 it is important that you start your credit. All you need to do first is make sure you have a source of income. You don't have to make a certain amount of money or anything like that. You just need to have some way to prove that you make money. A bank isn't going to give you a credit card if you don't have a job to pay your minimum payments with. So if you are in school the ideal thing to do is get a small part time job working at least 10 hours a week. If you plan on not having a steady income you will not want to revolve your balances on your credit cards.

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Charge on your credit cards and pay them off at the end of every month until you are working consistently. This will help you establish a payment history. This is the main factor when you go to buy any large purchase in the future they are going to look for a solid payment history to prove you are trustworthy with borrowing money. Credit cards are a financial tool. But as most of us know they can get you in trouble real quick. Do not spend money that you don't have to spend. Only buy things when you know you can pay them back within a reasonable amount of time. Hear my words of warning because most people screw this part up within the first 2 years of establishing their credit. You don't want to be one of them. So we have established payment history is the most important.

  • How The Credit Card Companies Rip You Apart?
    Bad credit can happen to anyone. The reasons could be different but the result is the same. Credit card companies see bad credit people as a good means to fill up their coffers. Without paying attention to how the person got into this grim situation, they enforce their credit card issuing norms in such a way...

Now when you have no payment history you have a different set of options. Their are only certain credit cards that you can qualify for approval. These type of cards typically will give you between $200-$500 credit limit. This is a manageable limit that can teach you to manage money responsibility. This is good especially for people who don't make a whole lot of money. Like college students for example. College students get the most benefits for people trying to start their credit. This is because the credit card companies want you to get an education so you can afford to spend more of their money in the future.

Credit cards are a business like any other. They want to to establish a payment history now so when you graduate you can qualify for cards that will give you a credit limit of a few thousand dollars. When you prove that you can be trusted to pay back a small amount of money for at least 1 year. You credit is then experienced enough to get a card with a higher spending limit. What can really help this whole process for you is if you have a car loan.

  • How to Choose a Credit Card
    When it comes to choosing a credit card, you have many options to consider as a means of achieving your goal. Ultimately you want a credit card that is the cheapest, and that gives you the most flexible terms and conditions...
  • How to Avoid Student Credit Card Debt
    Credit card debt is very common to students. Most of the youth don't pay much attention on managing their credit cards properly. To prevent credit card debt...

The credit agencies want to see different types of credit on your report as well. An auto loan is a loan that is secured by something. They like this because a car loan isn't as risky to a bank as it is to give someone a credit card. Credit cards are not secured by anything. It is just money that a bank gave you that you can make payments on. Go to the link below and find credit card offers that say you need limited credit, no credit ok, and bad credit ok.

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Monday, August 20, 2007

Avoid Cash Advances at all Cost

After receiving your online credit card approval, you sit down and wait for your credit card that offers a 0% intro APR. When you receive your credit card, you realize that it is not enough for your needs. Luckily, you can get a cash advance on your credit card if you need cash quickly. It’s an easy thing to do, and you can get cash from any ATM accredited by your credit card issuer.

Using a credit card, especially for cash advances, is very easy. However, paying it off is not. Read on and learn the reasons why you should avoid cash advances on your credit cards at all times.

The first reason why you need to avoid cash advances on your credit card is the upfront fees for getting some cash. When you withdraw cash from any ATM, you will incur two charges automatically from some of the credit card companies. The first charge will be the processing fee. This could be a percentage of the amount taken or the minimum amount set by your issuer, which ever is higher. The other charge comes from the owner of the ATM, which is another bank. When you receive your bill, it will show the amount of the charge for the transaction fee, which could be a flat fee or percentage of what you’ve taken from their ATM.

The next reason is that the interest that is applied to your cash advance is much higher than your purchase rate. Normally your credit card after the 0% intro APR will be from 12%-18%. However, the cash advance will have a rate from 20% to 25% not including the additional fees that we have previously mentioned.

Another bad thing about using cash advances with your credit card is the application of interest. Your purchase APR will take effect after a month has passed, and it will include all the interest. If you have the money, you can immediately pay off your balance with minimum interest. The interest rate on cash advances is completely different in terms of the application on the cash advance. The moment you withdraw your money from an ATM, interest will be applied to it immediately. Even if you pay it back after a day or two, you still need to pay for the interest rate.

Lastly, and maybe the most hurtful is that cash advances are on your account itself. When you pay for the balance of your purchase, the cash advances are combined on your credit card bill, and the money that you are paying will not go to the cash advance first, but to your purchased bills. This will create a big disadvantage for you since as we just indicated; the rate of your cash advance is much higher compared to your credit card purchases.

This is the most upsetting truth about cash advances. If you can get hold of cash in another way, do it. Credit card advances will cripple your finances and once you get hooked on it, it’s really hard to pay it off.

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Best Bad Credit Student Loan Options

A Bad Credit Student Loan can be sought through many different avenues. It all depends on your personal credit rating. The biggest challenge is finding one that offers the lowest interest rate.

There are various routes to explore when seeking out a bad credit student loan and I would suggest that your first port of call would be the school for which you are about to attend. You will need to fill out a FAFSA form in order to initially apply for a federal loan. Perkins loans are combined school and government funds.

A combination loan may be another alternative way of acquiring a bad credit student loan. This type of student loan enables you to consolidate any existing loans that you have whilst applying for a new tuition loan. The only drawback to this type of loan is that you may need someone to co-sign.

Another way to get a bad credit student loan is to get a co-signer. Maybe a family member with good credit would help. This way you could get loans with more attractive interest rates and terms, in spite of your bad credit.

Finally, if all else fails you will need to contact banks and financial institutions. They will more than likely be happy to lend you the money, but it will be on a higher interest rate than usual. When you have bad credit the banks will check out your personal credit score first and then offer terms based on the credit rating assessment.

Take heart, even if your bad credit student loan is set at a high interest rate, numerous student loans defer your payment until you have finished college. This in turn will allow you time to improve your credit rating and when you leave college you could then look into consolidating your bad credit student loan at a better interest rate. This will mean your monthly payments will be at a lower level and therefore more affordable.

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Sunday, August 5, 2007

Your Credit Repair: Date of Last Activity

When repairing your credit, one of the most important items on your credit report is the date of your last activity. To verify the dates of your accounts last activities, you need a copy of your credit report. Your credit report will give you all the information on past and present accounts. To get a copy of your credit report you can contact your credit bureaus and they will send you a copy of your most current credit report. There are three credit bureaus that you can contact: Equifax (800) 685-1111 www.equifax.com; Experian (888) 397-3742 www.experian.com and Trans Union (800) 916-8800 www.tuc.com

The last date of activity is when the credit bureau lists on your credit report the actual last date of any transaction that was done to your account. That date can be the actual last time you charged an item on your credit card, the last payment you made on an installment loan or when you paid off an account. The date of last activity can also be negative. It can state when an account went into collection, the date it was charged-off, the maximum delinquency date and the date when someone inquired about your credit. Your last activity date will tell you and anyone else how you handle your credit. Creditors review your last date of activity to see when you made your last payment on an account or when you paid off an account. This can help you get new credit if everything is paid on time and as agreed. If your last date of activity shows something negative like a charged-off, collection or a delinquent account, you could become a credit risk. The last activity date is guidance for good or bad credit.

To repair your credit your first step is to find out exactly what dates are on your credit report. This will tell you how bad or good your credit is. Also it will let you know if you should apply for any new credit. If your last dates of activities are all coming up negative, you will not be able to get any new credit. The date of last activity will also tell you if any of your accounts have expired. If you don’t check your credit report you won’t know what accounts have expired to be removed from your report. Keeping up with that will help repair your credit report by watching your dates to inform the credit bureau which accounts needed to be dropped off. Bankruptcies stay on your report for ten years, whereas a tax lien can stay on your report indefinitely. Collections, judgments and delinquent credit will stay on your credit report for seven years. You need to know the date these items were placed on credit report and how long it will be before they are dropped off.

The date of your last activity is very important. Those dates should be taken very seriously along with any other transactions on your credit report. You are responsible for keeping up with your activities dates and your credit information placed on your credit report.

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When To Consider Outside Help For Credit Repair

Certainly, you would like to handle all of your credit payments on your own in a timely and efficient manner, but sometimes your best bet is to consider outside help for credit repair. Here are some of those times…

When You’re Up to Your Ears in Debt
If your monthly minimum payments cannot even be satisfied by your monthly income, you need to seriously consider outside help. Many people start out with one credit card, thinking that it’s no problem, and that they’ll charge some purchases, and then pay it off in full at the end of the month.

Guess what? That often doesn’t happen. In fact, what often happens is that not only is the card maxed out, and only the minimum payments are made on it, but also new credit card offers come in and are accepted. A vicious cycle ensues – paying with credit cards for everything – and then one day you realize that you don’t make enough money to support your out-of-control spending habits. Credit cards can be very addictive.

Many college students fall victim to the allure of having multiple lines of credit even though they do not have an income yet. They assume that once they graduate from college, they will be able to pay it off. Unfortunately, that is often categorically untrue. In fact, many young people who have gotten mixed up in this credit trap find that they ruin their credit before they are even out on their own in the world, and then when they want to get out there, their bad credit severely impedes them in getting an apartment or a mortgage or a new car. If you are in more debt than you can handle, you should contact a financial planner or a debt consolidation advisor to explore your options for getting out of this debilitating debt.

When You Lose a Job
If you lose your primary source of income, you may find that you cannot juggle your bills anymore. If you had a high-paying job, you may have become accustomed to enjoying a luxurious lifestyle. You may have gotten credit accounts based on your high salary, and you could have paid them off if you hadn’t lost your job unexpectedly. Unfortunately, despite your good intentions, you cannot stop the world from being an unfair place sometimes. If you lose your job and you have to adopt a new lifestyle as a result, it is a good idea to speak with a financial planner or analyst so that you can create a plan for managing your debt until you get a new job. Once you get a new job and you know what your new salary will be, you should seek outside help again so that you can restructure your payments.

When a Straw Has Broken The Camel’s Back
Sometimes it can seem as if one unplanned financial burden can completely topple your financial house of cards. The fact of the matter is that you were probably in over your head before this unforeseen financial burden. If you have so much credit that you are “just making it,” as in you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, and one more payment will be your undoing, you need to seek outside help. Your financial plan has to cover unforeseen emergency pay-outs – because they are inevitable. Like the great saying goes: “Expect the unexpected.” Speak to a financial planner about setting up an emergency fund so that you don’t have to lose complete control over your finances when things don’t go your way.

When You Can’t Sort It Out
If you have a large quantity of accounts to tend to every month at bill-paying time, you may feel overwhelmed and confused. Even if you have enough money to cover your expenses, you may need to consider outside help so that you can get organized and under control. It may sound ridiculous – if you have money, then why would you need any help, right? Well, even wealthy people are not immune from getting bad credit scores. Having too many open accounts can make you more susceptible to accidentally missing payments or losing track of specific payment dates. Consult financial planners so that you can either consolidate some of your accounts or develop a strategic plan for managing the plethora of accounts that you have.

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Saturday, August 4, 2007

How to Establishing & Protecting Good Credit

Rich Dad's Advisors: Turn Bad Debt into Good Debt and Bad Credit into Good Credit
by Garrett Sutton

Know yourself, get your attitudes and behavior under control, and then use the author's formulas and action steps to wrestle your credit report, account by account, back into something respectable.

Many people claim they will never need to use credit in order to obtain the goods and services they need, but credit is necessary unless a person is financially well off and can pay cash for everything. The average person cannot obtain a home or a new vehicle without making monthly payments. It would be ideal to never have to pay interest in order to obtain the luxuries and necessities of life, but few are able to do so. You may think you’ll never need credit, but you may find yourself unable to buy what you want if you haven’t established and maintained a good credit history.

If you want to establish credit, one of the ways of doing so is with a credit card account. Some credit card companies are willing to take a chance on a new customer, and offer a small credit line to those who have yet to establish credit. The easiest credit cards to obtain are department store cards and service station cards. They are however not as valuable in the eyes of credit reporting agencies. Even if you always remit the required payment on time, your credit score won’t improve as much as if the major credit card companies such as Visa or MasterCard issued the cards. Try to obtain a small line of credit with one of the major credit card companies, but keep in mind that every time you apply for credit and are turned down, this information ends up on your credit report, even if you haven’t established credit. This can become a vicious circle that is sometimes difficult to break into.

Some credit cards are considered secured, which means you must maintain a savings account to secure the balance of the card in case you default on the payment. These types of cards are useful if the issuing company doesn’t inform credit-reporting agencies that the account is secure. If the card is reported as being secure, your credit score will actually become damaged instead of improved. Avoid secure credit card accounts if at all possible, or at the very least, find out what the company policy is regarding sharing information about the account.

If you are in need of new furniture, appliances, or electronics, you can begin establishing credit by shopping at a rent-to-own store. Items sold in rent-to-own stores are often more expensive than other retailers, but this is sometimes the only way people without credit can obtain items such as these. Not only will you get the items you desire; you’ll be establishing good credit when you pay the monthly amount due on time, every time.

Some stores, such as carpeting and flooring stores, offer credit accounts to their customers. Carpeting and flooring is rather expensive, so credit customers are important to the success of a business such as this. It is for this reason that this type of credit is relatively easy to obtain. Improving your home by purchasing new flooring is a great way to begin establishing credit.

Once your credit has been established, it’s of the utmost importance to maintain good credit by paying your bills on time. Everyone makes mistakes and forgets to pay a bill now and then, but if you pay a bill more than 30 days late, chances are it will be reported to the major credit bureaus. Make a habit of paying your bills late, and your credit score will take a major nosedive.

Don’t let your credit get out of control. People often make the mistake of overextending themselves, and they become buried by credit card debt. Use your credit wisely, and it will be there for you when you need it.

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Friday, August 3, 2007

Myths of Instant Credit Repair

If you are looking to buy a new house or a new car, your credit may be on your mind. Knowing your credit rating and what it means can help you decide if the time is right to buy or if you should do some credit repair first.

When you apply for credit of any sort, a company will look at your credit history to decide what interest rate to offer you, or if they want to offer you anything at all. Your FICO score is a cumulative number that represents what your credit looks like at that moment. Your FICO score will go up and down from week to week.

7 Steps To A 720 Credit Score
by Philip X. Tirone,Jocelyn Baker

Teaches you everything you ever needed to know about credit & perfect resource for people who have great credit, bad credit or no credit at all.

Depending on your past credit and your current credit standings, your FICO number will range between 300 and 850. 850 is considered perfect credit. Anything under 650 may be labeled as "risky". This varies from company to company; each set their own standards as to what is acceptable. There are three major credit reporting companies. They are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Your number or report may differ from company to company.

Debt-to-income ratio, payment history, closed unpaid accounts, up-to-date open accounts, defaults and liens are all considered when your FICO score it tallied. The number of times someone has requested your credit score can also influence this number. If there are an excessive amount of requests, this may paint you as desperate for a loan. This may make some companies think twice about offering you a loan or line of credit. Bankruptcies are also accounted for in your FICO score.

Not only are loan companies looking at your credit when you apply for a loan, so are potential employers and potential landlords. You can request your credit report to see where you stand. If you do not like what you see, there are a few things you can do to raise your credit score.

One thing to avoid is a company that claims that they can instantly "fix" your credit, wipe your credit report clean and erase all debt. Some even guarantee that they can do this. The only thing they can really guarantee is that they will take your money.

There are no quick fixes to credit problems. There are only a few things these companies can do for you, and you can easily do them for yourself. What surprises many people is that credit reports often contain errors that are lowering their credit score. You can write to the credit reporting companies to have these errors removed. Any listed debt that cannot be verified in thirty days must be removed from your report. Outdated listings (those on your report longer than seven years), can usually be removed.

Mistakes are often made about payments and the closing of accounts. You may even find someone else's listing in your report. If you find a discrepancy that might be lowering your score, you can often get this ironed out as well. One thing that you cannot change is factual information. No company can clear away valid debts. If you made your car payment three months late, there is nothing you can do to get this erased from your report. If you defaulted on a loan, that information stays on your report for 7 to 10 years. Any company that tells you that they can get rid of these types of factual listings are simply not telling you the truth.

If you find a legitimate credit counseling service, there are a few things to remember. They may be able to help you negotiate a lower payoff amount for some of your debts. However, this may not reflect well on your credit report. If the company chooses to do so, they can list the debt as “closed, but not paid-in-full.” This can hurt you, even though you think the debt is gone. It depends on the company. Some will simply mark it as “paid-in-full.”

Just as with everything else in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be careful with who you trust when it comes to credit repair, and remember that with a little work, you can do most of this yourself.

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Thursday, August 2, 2007

Credit Repair Steps

When your credit becomes damaged, the road to credit repair can seem difficult indeed. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are simple steps that you can take to start repairing your credit right away. Combine these simple steps with planning and discipline, and you are virtually guaranteed to achieve your credit repair goals.

The first step is to access your credit condition by obtaining a copy of your credit report. This can be done very easily, right online. From the comfort of your living room, you can get access your credit report from one of the three main credit reporting companies – Equifax, Trans Union, or Experian.

While a small fee is customary, there are many circumstances in which you can get your credit report for free. If you’ve been turned down for a loan, you can make a written request, within 30 days of the refusal, to receive a copy. You can also get a free credit report if you suspect that there are illegitimate purchases on your credit card, if you are job hunting or are receiving public assistance.

Once you have your credit report in hand, you can use it as a guide to map out your return to financial health. Look it over carefully, and make sure that all the information is correct. Mistakes do happen occasionally. If you find inaccurate data, you must take immediate action to correct it by contacting the creditors or lenders involved. If you have debt, craft a budget and repayment plan. Even a small amount will move you towards your goal of financial health and demonstrate your intention to resolve outstanding debt.

Use the credit that you do have wisely. Do not carry a balance or add to the one that you already have, unless it is a true emergency. If you have a balance, stick to your repayment plan. These actions will improve your credit rating by demonstrating your financial responsibility. If you have no credit, try to obtain a retail credit card, meaning a credit card from a national retail store, such as Sears. The standards for obtaining these cards tend to be lower, as do their credit limits. It is important to remember, however, that their interest rates are often higher. Use this card to demonstrate your financial abilities and responsible attitude. Treat it with respect, as this will be your opportunity to create positive input for your credit report.

Closing any open credit accounts that you do not use frequently or that are not essential will serve to improve your credit rating, as many available lines of credit can frighten potential creditors or lenders. It looks to them as though you could be a financial risk due to your ability to take on a lot of debt very quickly.

Each time your credit report is viewed by a potential creditor or lender, which is called an inquiry, this becomes a permanent part of your credit history. Frequent inquiries can appear as though you are being turned down a lot or that you are under some type of financial strain that has you in search of credit. To avoid this negative connotation, do not apply for credit or a loan more than one time in a six-week period. Only apply for credit cards that you will really use, and use wisely.

With these step in mind, guided by your realistic financial planning and determination to reach your credit repair goals, you are sure to achieve success. Don’t wait, take the steps to ensure your financial health today.

Credit Repair Kit For Dummies
by Stephen R. Bucci

Essential guide to managing your credit, from fixing mistakes on your credit report, to improving your credit going forward, to establishing manageable payment plans with creditors.

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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

1 Hour Success to Credit Card Debt Elimination

The road has been a bumpy one indeed, but realize that you are not alone in your quest for financial freedom. Most people that you meet are in the same boat as you are…They are strapped with credit card debt. Unfortunately, many people believe that their only way out is through;

  • Filing for bankruptcy
  • Living off Mac & Cheese for the next five years
  • Or finding some miracle way to earn the money needed to pay off the debts

Well guess what? It’s not about any of these. There is a simple plan for credit card debt elimination that anyone can master. I think back to when I was strapped with debt. I tried borrowing money from family and friends and even tried doing some crazy schemes where I would send a letter and believe the banks would just wipe away the debt because I said it wasn’t mine. It wasn’t until I broke down and started researching the methods that banks use to place you in debt, which I realized how easy it was to get out of debt.

The nice thing is that I didn’t need to hire lawyers or go to court at all. I applied some simple steps and was amazed. In 3 years I was debt free and I did it all with the one small job that I had and I didn’t even need to go to a high priced counselor or debt be gone boot camp. I simply mastered my own destiny and experienced my own credit card debt elimination.

More often than not people believe that they have to be stuck in a certain type of rut until enough time passes so that things naturally take care of themselves or feel that they must locate a way to raise thousands of extra dollars. Not Needed! I researched and found out that there was extraordinary software available that took care of the process of credit card debt elimination and it was free (Debt Knife). I also realized that there were free credit counselors in every major city that were not for profit.

The truth is, do NOT get depressed or feeling like there is no way out for you. By looking through free sites, gathering free software, and speaking to the right individuals, you can be debt free in 3.

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What To Do If Credit Card Debt 80k Plus

Many consumers are faced with overwhelming financial hardship and have a substantial amount of debt. I have seen debt amounts from $200 dollars all the way to $629,589 in unsecured credit card bills. There are major differences between the average person that has $15k in credit card bills to the person that has above $80,000 in credit card bills.

Once the debt amount has grown to $80k or above the chances of the consumer paying off that debt becomes bleak. On that amount of debt payments would be above the $2,000/month mark and based upon your credit score the interest rates may hover around the 20% range. The combination of the compounding interest and the extreme monthly payments is a recipe for disaster.

Most consumers accumulate high credit card debt in a few ways. The first being a medical expenses and the other being a long term job loss. For some families if an emergency occurs and medical attention is required but not covered by insurance most people will result to credit cards to solve the lack of cash or savings issue. In certain instances a job loss depending upon the field could take 12-18 months to be rehired and when that rehire takes place you have to hope that you are getting the same rate of pay as before. During the 12 months that you are off work un-employment does always cover the costs of living and credit cards can be the crutch to get through tough times.

Before things get to out of control you should look into debt relief or seek debt counseling for your debts above $10k but debts larger than $80k require immediate attention. Debt settlement programs can help to reduce the total amount of debt that you need to payback and can provide you with one lower monthly payment in order to settle your debts in a efficient time frame.

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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Doing it Yourself Credit Repair

We all know what bad credit can do to our ability to get financial help when it is needed the most. Although, it is a part of life, things do get out of hand; missing payments and piling up debts; we don't always control everything that happens to us in life. But that does not make bad credit less damaging, anyway. Bad credit could readily make a bad situation worse. It prevents you from getting loans, financial help or credit cards, or makes you pay neck-breaking interests on loans. Since we all will need credit someday, the earlier you start doing something about that bad credit, the better. It sure will be no good to pay off debts just before requesting credit, because most lenders are more interested in your financial history.

It may not be so easy to repair bad credit, but there are steps you can take to make the whole process easier. So, when you find yourself in such a situation, the following advice could be of great help.

I think the first port of call should be the credit bureaus responsible for providing credit reports in your locality or country. Each country has established credit bureaus with the task of monitoring your credit performance, as reported by financial institutions and you can always get your credit report from these bureaus, free or for a fee, depending on your country. If there is more than one established bureau, you may want to get each body's version of your report. It affords you the privilege of comparing the different versions. The reason why the reports may differ is that they are prepared based on the information supplied to the bureaus and it is possible they get different information about your accounts from different reporters.

Once you have the reports, scour them for errors. Don't be surprised to find mistakes or negative comments that are not true in your reports, it happens. You will also want to take note of credits that have been cleared but are still showing in your report, or accounts you cannot remember opening. Fraudsters do open accounts in people's names only to clear out the credit when the attached credit line gets reasonable. These are all very bad for your credit rating. You may also find scathing negative comments in your report. For a start, you will need to clear all these anomalies. Get accounts that are not yours removed from your credit report. Talk to creditors who are reporting negative comments about you or still showing bad debts that have been paid. You may be pleasantly surprised at how many creditors are willing to cooperate once you have explained your situation. The bottom line is communication. Talk to creditors; explain the situations you are facing. People can't help you if you don't tell them what you are experiencing. Besides, you can file a dispute, if you are sure some negative comments or bad debts are not supposed to be on your credit and the creditor don't want to cooperate, especially when you have documents to back up your claims.

There are times when the scathing comments on your report are indeed true. However, if your account is in a good condition now, you could still talk with the creditors and arrange to get the comments removed from your report. Your credit report will look better with fewer of those negative comments. Another factor that needs to be considered is the amount of debts hanging round your neck. Too much debt, definitely, spells pending financial crisis and a low credit rating. Lenders will be reluctant to grants loans or credit lines, if your report shows significant debts, even if you have re-paid most of the debts. Too much debt is a sign of financial recklessness, it does a heck of a lot of damage to your credit rating. The ugliest side of the story is that you will be required to pay higher interest rates for loans if your credit is bad, to cover the risk of lending you money. It is wise a idea to keep debts less than 30% of your limits and to pay off debts with the highest interests rates first.

Just as too many accounts will pull down your credit, too few accounts may also be harmful. If you don't have enough established accounts, your credit may be poorer than it should be. Adding departmental store or gas cards account that are in good standing to your credit report will surely boost your credit standing. Another idea is to get a loan or credit card and buy something you know you can pay for quickly. Re-paying debts on small loans or credit card purchases quickly will speed up your chances of repairing bad credit.

Bad credit is not a thing to get over with in a hurry. It takes time and requires patience. Take your time, clear your debts gradually beginning with those with the highest interests rates. Your seriousness in dealing with past debts could impress lenders and show them you are financially serious and reliable. Whatever you do, remember that you are affecting your financial future.

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Sunday, July 29, 2007

How to Avoid Bad Credit & Repair

Pay your bills on time to avoid getting bad credit. Research the marketplace before coming to a purchasing decision, and continue on your way to reestablishing your good credit.

Understand all applications, including credit cards, student loans, mortgages, and car loans carefully to avoid being overcharged. Make wise decisions ahead of the game as the ultimate solution to maintaining good credit. Most people are not aware of the options available to them when they take out a home mortgage loan. Many walk into the bank, fill out an application, and accept the terms & conditions when offered to them without concern for the fine print.

People are filing bankruptcy because they can’t afford their homes anymore. This is because these people did not take the time to check the marketplace for options available to them. Millions are, instead, in debt and searching for a way to repair their credit. The real solution is to avoid bad credit in the first place.

Research, invest wisely, make good decisions, and budget. Information and education are two of the best tools offered to us. Some mortgage loans offer overpayments and underpayments. These loans include vacation packages and lump sum payments to the borrowers. Other loans offer low mortgage monthly installments and low interest rates with attached insurance policies that will pay your mortgage if you are sick, unemployed, in an accident and so on. On the other hand, some mortgage loans have high interest rates, high mortgages, and balloon payments attached. When balloon payments are attached to home mortgages, it’s almost guaranteed in a few years you will be searching for a solution to repair your credit.

There are very few home lenders willing to tell you the truth about all the home loans available. Most of the lenders are making money off the loan. Your debt is their source of income. Scope out the terms & agreements carefully, and read all the fine print on any loan contract before you sign.

If you want to avoid bad credit and repair, stay on the right path. Loans are agreements that are made between two parties. Interest rates and other fees are always attached to those agreements. If you are applying for a home loan and want to avoid bad credit, learn what fees are included and how much those fees are. You will be charged fees up front any time you take out a mortgage loan. In some cases, however, you can get a home for little or no money out-of-pocket. Search the marketplace to save time and money.

Some home loans offer an “acceleration clause,” which covers missed mortgage payments. Lenders apply the clause by allowing leniency for one month, providing you make payments the following month on time. This type of loan is great for avoiding bad credit, foreclosures, and repossessions.

The marketplace is swarming with realtors and other resources that will help you get an affordable mortgage loan with benefits included. One tip to consider is painting your home and adding a little landscaping to increase curb appeal and property value.

If you are applying for a car loan, it is also important to search the marketplace carefully before agreeing to terms & conditions. Make sure that your find the best deal affordable to you. Most car dealers increase fees on cars 15%. This means if you can negotiate a price reduction with the dealer up to that amount. Stay away from credit cards that have fees attached and high interest rates. Avoid credit card offers that have upfront fees or offer a high line of credit. Consider a student loan. You may be qualified for a student grant from the government. These lower-rate options should be considered before you commit to a loan agreement.

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From Credit Repair to Credit Millionaire
by Donna L. Fox

From Credit Repair to Credit Millionaire explodes the credit myths and takes you on the journey to become a credit millionaire. Learn about credit leveraging, the most powerful tool of wealth building.

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How to Choose a Credit Card

When it comes to choosing a credit card, you have many options to consider as a means of achieving your goal. Ultimately you want a credit card that is the cheapest, and that gives you the most flexible terms and conditions. However, judging those two factors can be difficult for those of us that are not credit card experts. Before you decide for sure that you wish to get a credit card, why not consider the alternatives that are available?

The Alternatives
Debit Card – should you want a credit card as a means of ensuring that you can pay with a card, then why not consider getting a debit card instead? This will mean that you are not borrowing any money and that they money is coming out of your bank account.

Bank Overdraft – you should consider using a bank overdraft if you are wanting to borrow money over a longer period of time, as you may find that it will work out cheaper than a credit card. A bank overdraft is basically like a loan of money, however all it means is that you are allowed to have a negative balance in your bank account.

Bank Loan – a bank loan is often the best solution when you need a loan of money over a longer period of time, or if the amount you need to borrow is a larger amount than what a person would usually borrow using a credit card or a bank overdraft.

Friends & Family – if you want to borrow money, then you could consider asking your friends and family rather than asking a financial institution. Although many people are in a position where they are not able to do this; some are, and if they can, then it can often work out to be a good solution.

Factors to Consider when Choosing a Credit Card
APR – when choosing a credit card, one factor you need to look at it APR. APR is the amount of money that you will get charged for borrowing money. This amount means the interest rate that you will be charged over the course of a year, and is usually presented in percentage form.

Limit – this is the amount of money that you will be allowed to borrow. When you reach the limit on your credit card, then that is you; you are back to having no money. Despite that, limits can often work well for ensuring that you keep any debt under control.

Credit Rating – if you always pay your bills on time, then you will most likely have a good credit rating. If you manage to always pay your bills on time with a credit card, then this will also help to make you look like a person who is more than capable of sound financial management. Because it is important to keep a good credit rating, you should always do whatever it takes to keep your credit rating as good as possible.

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Dos & Don'ts of Credit Repair Services

If you're in serious debt or have a very low credit score, it may be time to look into credit repair services to help you out. Let's be honest – few of us understand the details about how your credit score is worked up, what may negatively affect your score, how long bad credit information stays on your report, etc. Good credit repair services can help you to understand the credit process and even educate you on what you can personally do to buoy your own credit. The truth is, you can do the same things a credit repair specialist can do – but it would take a very long time and a whole lot of headache. Legitimate credit repair services have had years to perfect techniques and gain knowledge on how to improve credit scores.

The first thing to realize is there is no quick fix to erasing bad credit history. It takes time, effort on your part and a strict debt repayment plan to improve your credit score. The difference is, a good credit repair service will have these steps down to a science and can help save you unnecessary aggravation in figuring out just what these credit bureaus want from you!
When shopping around for a good credit repair service, there are things you should do and things you definitely should NOT do.

The Do's of Finding Good Credit Repair Services:

  • DO shop around – have several options.
  • DO ask questions about fees – legitimate credit repair services shouldn't take all your money up front.
  • DO find out what kind of promises they make.
  • DO try and get as much in writing as possible to protect yourself.

The Don'ts of Finding Good Credit Repair Services:

  • DON'T believe claims that the service can erase any bad credit, can raise your credit score in a short period of time, etc.
  • DON'T pay a large sum up front – many scams will take your money and run.
  • DON'T sign up for any credit repair services who are unwilling to give you something in writing.
  • DON'T use a service without thoroughly researching its credentials.

By law, credit repair services must give you a copy of “Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law” before signing a contract with them. They should also spell out your rights and obligations in some sort of written contract that you should carefully review. A credit repair service cannot make false claims about their services or charge you in full until they have provided services. Your contract with them should specify details such as the company's name and address, the payment terms for the service, a detailed description of the service to be rendered, the expected time period to achieve results and any guarantees they may offer.

Not everyone who is in debt needs credit repair services, but if you have a very negative credit report, are bad at budgeting, or just lack knowledge in the area of credit and credit history, a credit repair service can be a great tool in educating you and keeping you on track with paying off debt. When it comes down to choosing credit repair services, just keep in mind: if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Mortgage loan for people with bad credit!

When a Mortgage loan for people with bad credit is taken to purchase a house, a charge needs to be created in favour of the lender. The borrower needs to mortgage the property in favour of the lender- the bank or the housing finance institution. This creates a security in favour of the bank. It enables bank to secure the repayment of the people with bad credit Mortgage loan. In case the borrower defaults on the repayment of the Mortgage loan  or the interest, the bank can enforce the security. In the case of housing loans, continuing security of the residential building mortgage to the bank is accepted, provided the value of the property is sufficient to cover the liability with the prescribed margin.

Mortgage is a form of hypothecation of the property. A Mortgage loans for people with bad credit can be secured by either an equitable mortgage, a mortgage by way of memorandum of entry, or by a registered mortgage. The type of mortgage differs from one bank to another depending on the loan amount, value of equity, customer profile etc. An equitable mortgage is created by way of deposit of title deeds. The ownership documents of the property are deposited with the bank. No formal mortgage deed is executed. This is the simplest and cheapest form of bad credit mortgage.

Registered mortgage is the safest form of mortgage. This is also referred to as English mortgage. No documents of property are required to create an English Mortgage. The borrower has to enter into a mortgage agreement with the bank. This deed is then
stamped and registered in order to make it enforceable. This is an expensive mortgage. The stamp and registration charges have to be borne by the borrower. The borrower binds himself to repay the mortgage loan amount as per an agreed schedule and transfers property absolutely to the mortgagee (lender) subject to the condition that the bank or lending institution would transfer the property back to the mortgagor on repayment dues.

In case of mortgage by way of memorandum of entry, the borrower has to sign a declaration stating that he is mortgaging the property to the lender. This declaration is entered in the memorandum of entry of mortgage which can be enforced by the bank in case the borrower defaults in the repayment of loan dues.

Once mortgaged, the borrower can neither sell nor transfer the property to anyone else without the consent of the bank. While purchasing a property, the purchaser should do a due diligence exercise and visit the registrar’s office to see if any prior encumbrances on the property proposed to be purchased by him are there.

Normally, banks prefer to have the first charge on a property. In case the purchaser has availed of a loan from more than one bank, a pari passu charge may be created in favour of the lenders. However, this usually applies to large projects. In case of a pari passu mortgage, if there is any default in repayment, all the lenders share a right on the property as per the proportion of the loan amount disbursed by them.

The charge needs to be registered with the office of the registrar. Both the lender and the borrower need to be present. The mortgage deal needs to be executed on a non-judicial stamp paper.

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