How To Improve Credit Scores

This article is okay.   To sum it up what you want to do is pay your bills on time, keep your balances down below 50% of the high credit (preferably below 30%), and don’t close accounts. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34633624/ns/business-personal_finance/ 

What’s Your Credit Score?

Many people think they know their credit scores prior to applying for a loan because they pulled it from an internet site.  Well, what we as lender’s pull can be different than what you find out online.  I recommend getting a copy of your credit report from your lender because what we pull is the most important. 

The correct credit score is from FICO.  “It you want your actual FICO score, it will cost you. A single FICO score plus a credit report is $15.95 at MyFico.com. At AnnualCreditReport.com, you can get a free credit report every 12 months from each of the credit-reporting companies. If you go through that site, Equifax will give you a FICO score for $7.95; TransUnion and Experian will provide the Vantage Score for $7.95. TransUnionCS.com sells a TransUnion credit report plus FICO score for $14.95.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126065440089389183.html?mod=rss_Money 

Getting Your Credit Score Online

The article below from The Wall Street Journal talks about the 3 different sites they tried and their results.  The 3 sites they tested were Credit.com, CreditKarma.com, and Quizzle.com.  They found all of the sites to give them a good sense of their scores because they all ended up in the same “credit tier.”  Their findings were that although all of the sites were good, AnnualCreditReport.com gives you more specifics and information. 

I have many clients who pull their score through the various sites out there and can’t understand why what I pull as a bank is so much different.  I have discussed this in the past but here it is again:

“There is variation among credit scores, depending on which scoring model is being used and which credit bureau the data are pulled from. Lenders can choose from FICO, the VantageScore—a score developed by the three credit bureaus—or from any one of the credit bureaus’ own scores. Adding to the confusion, lenders can choose from multiple versions of the same scoring model. FICO, for example, recently rolled out its latest version, FICO 08.

To gauge how easy-to-use and accurate the three new sites are, we pulled our credit scores—which may or may not be the actual scores lenders see—and compared the data with information in the credit reports and scores we obtained from AnnualCreditReport.com. (All three sites do a “soft pull” on your credit file, which they pay for, and which doesn’t hurt your score, according to the companies. In other cases, applying for new credit is considered a “hard” query, and can hurt your credit score.)”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704252004574459011384380556.html?mod=rss_PJ_Main

Credit Scores

The article below has some good information on credit scores.  The most important part of the article to me is below.  Many don’t know this or understand it.  I don’t even understand it but it is the way it is.  The bottom line is to keep your balances low, pay on time, and I recommend monitoring your credit with all of the fraud out there these days. 

 

The score I pay for or get for free is my real score.

Most free scores are not the FICO scores that lenders request. You can buy FICO scores from Equifax and TransUnion—but not Experian—on MyFico.com for $15.95 each, but even then, they may not be the exact score the lender actually sees. You can, however, see each of your three credit reports—which include all the activity that is used to determine your score, but not the score itself—for free once a year by going to AnnualCreditReport.com. Because your scores aren’t likely to vary by much, ongoing tracking services are usually unnecessary.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204348804574400700026852702.html#mod=todays_us_personal_journal

All About Credit Scores

This article is very informative. 

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30348172/

Negotiating Credit Card Payoffs & Your Credit Score

This should answer the question for most

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/05/does-negotiating-credit-card-payments-affect-credit-score.html

How To Beat The Credit Bureaus

Here is a great article on fixing your credit

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/05/how-i-beat-credit-bureaus.html

Is Bankruptcy a Good Route For Me?

Here is a great article on how bankruptcy can be a good solution.

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/05/banruptcy-solutions-for-average-americans.html

Low Mortgage Rates, Eligibility Tightens

Below is a great article that talks about the current mortgage industry.  It is so important to deal with someone who knows how to do Conforming and Government loans.  Unfortunately the underwriters in this industry have to cover their butts.  I have had 2 loans in the past month that were turned down but after I sent in the FHA guideline I was able to overturn their decision and get it approved. 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a8ta_MEhUZ9E

Cleaning Up Your Credit

Below is a helpful article about cleaning up your credit.  I also have software that can help determine what you need to do to increase your credit score.  There are a lot of new changes coming that will help the borrower.  They will be changing the way they distribute your payments when you have low interest rates such as 0% on part of the balance and a higher rate on another part.  Currently your payment is applied to the lower interest rate which is a crime in my opinion.  They are supposed to be changing it so that half of the payment goes to the lower rate and half to the higher rate.  They will also be changing how they calculate interest.  An example of this is if you have an $800 balance, you pay $750, they currently charge you interest on the full $800 and that is supposed to change to where you are only charged on $50.

 

 http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/02/clean_credit.html