Where Does My Credit Score Rank?

Author: Max  |  Category: bad credit, bad credit auto loans, bad credit loans, credit, credit bureau, credit reports

According to BankRate.com:

“…the median FICO score in the United States is 723…”

“A median of 723 means half the people fall below that score and half have scores higher. More specifically, here’s a breakdown of how scores are distributed across the population…”

300-499 = 2 percent of the population
500-549 = 5 percent
550-599 = 8 percent
600-649 = 12 percent
650-699 = 15 percent
700-749 = 18 percent
750-799 = 27 percent
over 800 = 13 percent

Even with a sub-par score and the difficult market you can still buy a car or a house.  It just may take a little more work and the help of an experienced loan officer like ours.
Go to our home page to find out how we can help you obatin a loan and rebuild your credit.

Even My Identity Was Not Safe

Author: Ryan  |  Category: bad credit, bills, credit, credit bureau, credit cards, credit fixing, credit news, credit reports, debt, identity theft, internet, internet privacy, internet security, monthly budget, online credit repair, privacy

I thought I was invincible to identity theft and credit card fraud…apparently I was wrong. Here are some things you can do to try to keep your bank accounts and your credit the way you want them.

Click to continue reading “Even My Identity Was Not Safe”

Re-establishing Your Credit After Bankruptcy

Author: Ryan  |  Category: auto financing, auto loans, bad credit auto loans, bankruptcy, chapter 13, chapter 7, credit, credit repair, file for bankruptcy, fix credit, vehicle financing

Reestablish your credit after bankruptcy. An auto loan may be the fastest way to reestablish your credit after bankruptcy.

Click to continue reading “Re-establishing Your Credit After Bankruptcy”

Trade in Your Car with Negative Equity

Author: Ryan  |  Category: Uncategorized, auto loans, bad credit, bad credit auto loans, credit, credit bureau, negative equity, upside down, upside down trade-in

Trade in your car with negative equity. These tips could help you get out of your upside down auto loan.

Click to continue reading “Trade in Your Car with Negative Equity”

How Credit Inquiries Can Affect Your Credit Score

Author: admin  |  Category: bad credit, bad credit auto loans, credit, credit bureau, credit fixing, credit repair, credit reports, debt, debt settlement

In the following article I will explain how credit report inquiries can sometimes lower your credit score, even if only slightly. Depending on the type of inquiry, your score can lower 0 - 10 points -even more with multiple inquiries. While this should not be a major credit worry, it is helpful information to keep in mind.

What is a credit inquiry?

As the name suggests, a credit inquiry is the nomenclature used when anyone pulls your credit report for review. There are two main types of inquiries: inquiries that are only seen by you, and inquiries that are seen by everyone who reviews your credit report. Only the latter affects your credit score.

While multiple inquiries make a bigger impact on your credit score, multiple inquiries of the same type (auto, mortgage, credit card, etc.) within the same 2-week period are usually only counted as one inquiry. The credit bureaus started doing this after customers started to complain that their scores were dropping 20 - 30 points in one weekend of car shopping (often when you are seeking financing for a new car, dealerships will make 20+ inquiries).

This brings forth an important tip: when you are seeking credit (filling out credit card applications, for example), do it in “bursts”. If you are going to apply for 5 credit cards, minimize the credit score impact by doing it all on the same day and then waiting a couple of months (if you have no success the first time) to do it again. Multiple credit inquiries indicates to credit bureaus that you are desperately in need of credit because you cannot honor your current obligations. This is why they lower your score.

Types of inquiries that do not affect your score

  1. Pulling your own credit report is not seen by anyone but you.
  2. Inquiries for pre-approval offers such as those “You’ve been pre-approved!” letters you get in the mail.
  3. SOME credit inquiries made by debt collectors.

Types of inquiries that do affect your score

  1. Inquiries made by creditors when you apply for credit.
  2. Inquiries made by cell phone companies when you apply for a cellphone.
  3. Car dealerships inquiries.
  4. Other misc. credit applications (such as a home loan).

We did not list every type of inquiry that can affect your credit score. Hopefully this gives you a slightly better idea as to how credit inquiries can affect your score.

Reader Question: credit report not updated after negotiation

Author: admin  |  Category: auto financing, bad credit, car buying tips, credit, credit card debt, credit fixing, credit repair, credit reports, fix credit

Hello Ryan,

I mailed your negotiation letter a couple of weeks ago through certified mail. I got the green slip on Monday, but my credit report hasn’t been updated yet. Should I be worried? I haven’t sent them any money.

Thanks

Kenny


Kenny -

You sent them a negotiation letter and you expect them to update your credit report, yet you haven’t paid them anything? Here is how negotiation works, once again Kenny: You send negotiation letter. They send you a letter back saying they are willing (or not) to negotiate. You pay them the amount agreed upon. Make sure part of the agreement is removing the item from your credit. They update your credit report AFTER you pay. This process takes time. Relax. Reader Question: credit report not updated after negotiation

Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau

Author: admin  |  Category: bad credit, credit, credit bureau, credit repair

Knowing your rights. Apply the law. Knowledge is your most effective weapon to dispute inaccurate and erroneous data from your credit bureau, thus improving your credit rating. Upon receiving your free credit reports from the Credit Bureaus, it is imperative that you write a letter immediately to any or all the creditors who have reported negative and inaccurate data to invoke your rights under the law.

For example, this letter would be an excellent format to use in disputing any inaccurate data from your credit bureau: Your firm is hereby placed on notice that the account information provided to Equifax, Experian and Trans Union is erroneous. Pursuant to section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act-as modified by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act-it is illegal for your firm to report credit data that is known to be false as well as the failure to communicate that a debt is, in fact, disputed.

Please make sure to mail letters to creditors certified return receipt mail.  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau

Know your rights and invoke the law !!!!

 Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau  Disputing Negative Data on Your Credit Bureau

What’s the Deal with Payday Loans?

Author: Ryan  |  Category: bad credit, bad credit loans, credit, payday loans

Payday Loan companies are popping up on what seems like every block these days. They are all over the Internet, they are all over the phone books, and payday loan companies are all over city streets. A lot of people ask me, how do they work? Or, how much do they charge? Maybe even, aren’t they predatory lenders?

The answer to all of those questions is the same: It Depends. All payday loan companies do things a little differently. They may have different criteria for giving you a payday loan. Each one may charge a little more, or a little less than another payday loan company. As a consumer, it is your job to decide whether or not you need a payday loan. It is your job to compare the fees charged to borrow the money. It is your job to pay the money back on time to avoid late fees, slow payments and charge-offs on your credit.

Payday loan companies lend short term cash advance loans. Usually between 0-,500. Some companies will do bigger loans over longer terms, but that always seems like a bad deal. You see, people that need payday advance loans often do not qualify for conventional unsecured loans at good interest rates. If they did, they would go down to a bank and get the money. So the payday loan companies are lending to people that have a very high chance of going delinquent on the loan. Make no mistake, the companies are in business to make money. The loans that do get repaid on time have very high loan charges over the one or two weeks that they are advancing you the money. On an annualized basis, the APR can appear to be 100%, 200%, 300% or more. Of course, you are not paying that because you are borrowing the money for a week or two, not a year. The truth in lending act requires the payday companies to disclose the annual rate even though the loans are short term.

How do you decide if a payday loan is right for you? Sometimes people make a decent amount of money every month and even though they try to sock away some cash for unexpected emergencies, it isn’t quite enough. If you have never needed a payday loan before, but something happens where a little short term cash can help you out of a really tight spot, a payday loan may work for you. If you are in a position to pay back the money on time, that is. Some common uses for payday advance loans are vehicle repairs and medical bills.

However, if you are one of those people that is getting one payday loan to payoff another payday loan, there are obviously more ongoing issues in your situation and it may require professional help from from either a debt counselor or an attorney to get out of the payday loan cycle.

Most payday loan companies do not like lending to people that have outstanding payday loans. There are exceptions though.

The normal requirements for an online payday loan are a checking or savings account (they will need the account number and routing number) and a job. The different companies have different policies on other sources of income, like SSI, Child Support, and so on.

If you qualify for another type of loan, or you have a credit card that you can use to pay an unexpected bill, do that. Payday loans are not a preferred source of money. However, for many people, payday loans can be the only way to get a lot of money in a short amount of time to pay outstanding bills. If you or someone you know are considering a payday loan, please consider all of the advantages and disadvantages of using them before you agree to their terms.

Apply for a payday loan NOW!

Ideas to Repair Your Credit

Author: Ryan  |  Category: bad credit, credit, credit bureau, credit repair

Most Americans are fond of overspending. People buy things they do not really need. Once they see something that catches their eye, they buy it - often without even thinking of how they will pay for it.

People usually do this due to lack of will power or budgeting. And lots of them use their credit cards as a reserve once they run out of cash. They tend to spend a large amount of money in order to “keep up with the Jones’” or to make them feel better about themselves. Unfortunately, this never really works, and it causes a lot of damage in the long run.

Almost everybody has a credit bureau, maintained by a credit reporting agency. Many people have poor credit items on their bureaus, such as defaults, charge-offs, repossession, and slow payment history. This means that when these people apply for loans, home loans, or credit cards, car loans or even for a simple bank account, they may be turned down.

Sometimes these people are not even aware of the negative information on their credit bureau. When this is not corrected, it causes them to have a poor credit.

Having poor credit can adversely affect virtually every aspect of your life. A low credit rating means severe financial limitations and difficulties. As if this is not enough, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of debt relief, debt consolidation, debt management, and consumer credit counseling companies that promise to “cut your payments in half”, “save you thousands”, or our personal favorite - “get you out of debt with the click of a mouse”.

If only your computer had the debt relief magic that all of those poor credit spam emails promise. Although getting out of debt cannot be done with a click of a mouse button, it is probably not as difficult as you think.

If you are in this kind of predicament, it is imperative for your financial stability that you do everything you can to repair your credit.

What is poor credit repair?

poor credit repair” is a common term often used to describe a systematic process of rehabilitating an individual’s creditworthiness, financial credit reputation, or just raising your credit rating.

You can try to repair poor credit yourself, and sometimes the steps are simple. However many people find credit repair a difficult and discouraging process.

You start by obtaining copies of your credit report, reviewing the credit report for errors, omissions, and misleading information, and requesting corrections to such information by means of a formal dispute. Often times, it can be beneficial to dispute every negative item on your credit, even if it is true. Not all of the correct negative items are always confirmed.

If you are worrying too much about your credit, conquer that feeling! No matter how bad your credit is, you can take the following steps to make it better:

1. Pay all of your bills on time. Decide if you have the income to meet all of your obligations. Remember, late payments (payments that are 30 days late or more) have a negative effect on your credit rating.

2. Reduce the number of credit cards that you have. This will reduce the tendency to overspend. Contact your creditors about your plan and perhaps close some of your newer accounts. Keep your older credit cards, and pay them off. It helps your credit to have very old accounts that are still active.

3. Avoid bankruptcy. Bankruptcies are not the end of the world but it will be with you for years. It will stay in your credit report for up to 10-years and hamper your ability to get credit in the future.

4. Request in writing that your creditors reduce the interest rates on your accounts to lower the amount of your monthly budget that goes to just interest.

5. Monitor results and stick to your plan. Review your file every few months to make sure that any errors that you have disputed have been corrected. After a period of time inquiries will not count against you provided you have not been applying for credit.

These steps can help anywone with poor credit. If you are in that situation, do not waste energy stressing about it. poor credit can almost always be improved or corrected.

  • Avoid Overspending
  • Establish a Realistic Budget
  • Build a Financial Cushion
  • Read and Understand Your Credit Report
  • Get Mistakes on Your Credit Report Fixed
  • Get Positive Information Added to Your Credit Report
  • Negotiate with Creditors
  • Set Up Your Plan and Start Now!

Boost Your Credit Score

Author: Ryan  |  Category: bad credit, bad credit auto loans, credit, credit bureau, credit fixing, credit repair, credit reports

Your credit rating is the single most important factor in determining your interest rate, and monthly payments on any loans, credit cards, or other forms of financing you may receive. Make sure your credit it in tip top shape.

Click to continue reading “Boost Your Credit Score”