Bad Credit Car Loans | WA Auto Credit

I know I speak for the rest of the auto industry when I say that I am glad to have the latter half of 2008 behind me. September through December was the worst 4-month stretch I have ever experienced. This is what the auto industry has been through:

• Dozens of lenders disappearing.
• All the remaining lenders changing their lending habbits.
• Credit Quality of customers deteriorating.
• Bailout/No Bailout in the news for 6 months.
• Gas reaches new highs.
• Repossessions of SUVs skyrocket. Lenders stop lending on SUVs.
• GM and Chrysler may still file Bankruptcy.
• Unemployment reaches new highs.
• Consumer confidence at new lows.
• Record Low market share for domestic automobiles.

Well, that was 2008. And now we are in a new year, with a new president getting ready to take over and a new congress to go with it. What does that mean for the American auto industry?

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas.

Personally, I think that consumer confidence will gradually start to build and sales will follow as people in this country will always have something to drive. Once the news on the various media outlets start to report even modestly positive news, sales will pick up. Right now, the people that can buy a vehicle and want to buy a vehicle are waiting to see what happens with the econmy in 2009.

When it comes to applying for a home loan to buy a home, lenders are on the lookout for specific criteria. While applying and qualifying for a home loan is not an insurmountable task, it is important that you rate high in many of the key areas or you are not likely to be approved. Let us take a look at these essential areas.

Job Stability

Lenders like to approve individuals who have held the same job for at least two years if not longer. Jumping from job to job or having holes in your job history will require explanation and is not advantageous in the eyes of a lender.

Owning a Business

If you own a business you must provide a solid history of the success of your business for a two year period. To do this you must either obtain a letter from your accountant that clearly states that you have been in business for a period of two years or else you must be able to show proof of a business license that will identify when your business got its start.

Two Year History

If you do not have a two year job history or have not been in business for two years then you can still apply for a home loan. If you qualify in the other categories then you are not likely to run into a problem with being approved. For those who fail to meet the two year criteria there are what is known as “No Doc” loans. If you apply for one of these types of loans, your job history does not have to be disclosed or verified. The down side however is that you will pay a higher interest rate on the home loan.

Income

The two year rule applies with income as it does with job history. The lender will need to see two years worth of W-2 forms as well as your current pay stubs. If you own a business, the lender will take a two year average of the money you have earned based on what shows on the last line of your tax return after everything else has been written off. If you earn a commission income you must be able to account for a two year history and from that the lender will take an average. If your monthly debts equal 41% or less of your gross monthly income then you should be approved for a home loan.

Down Payment

The traditional amount required for a home loan is 20% which will put you in good standing with the lender and help you get the best interest rates possible. However putting 5% or 10% down is still something a lender will be pleased to see.

Reserves

Reserves are money that remains in your bank account after you have paid all of your closing costs. Having one month of reserves looks well to a lender and that includes enough money to cover one home loan payment, your property insurance and all applicable taxes. The reserves you need are dependent upon the type of home loan you are applying for. As a general rule, having two to six months worth of reserves is considered desirable.

Credit History

Your credit history plays a significant role in whether or not you will be approved for a home loan and well as what terms will be set down. It is your “fico” score that will be closely scrutinized by the lender and will weigh heavily into the decision of whether to approve your application or not.

I just got back from the training seminar with a new lender that allows me the ability to give ANYONE that walks in our doors a WRITTEN approval on just about any vehicle. It is a great system that allows people with all sorts of credit problems the chance to buy a car and start rebuilding their credit.

Visit WashingtonAutoCredit.com for your opportunity to get a Guaranteed Credit Approval.

Must schedule appointment and visit store to receive written approval.

Stipulations will apply, just like any other loan.

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.

Badger Car Salesman

This is NOT what is like buying a car at WASHINGTON AUTO CREDIT.

There is a first for everything, and I have now seen my first bankruptcy due to gas prices going up. Here was the situation:

Our client (we’ll call him Ricky) has had the same job for several years. Ricky’s income has stayed roughly the same for the last few years, while gas prices continued to rise. Ricky has a 45-minute to 1-hour commute each way and always put his gas charges on his credit cards. Over the course of several years the credit card balances steadily increased (with gas prices) and all of a sudden, he could not afford the minimum payments on his cards anymore. Then he noticed the total balance of the credit cards…roughly $50,000.

This was not one of those unpredictable life moments that changes everything for you, your finances, and your credit. Ricky could have seen this coming, and could have done something about it. He chose not to because he could always make his minimum payment. He did not want to move, he did not want to get a car with better gas mileage (he liked his SUV), and he did not want to find a job closer to his house.

In the end, we were still able to help Ricky get a new car (which got much better gas mileage) and start re-building his credit after his bankruptcy. He has referred a couple of his friends to us because he liked how we were able to help him buy a car and not make him feel bad about his poor decision making in the past. If you, or someone you know is in a similar situation, contact Washington Auto Credit so we can help you go over your options.

Most Americans are fond of overspending. People buy things they do not really need. Once they see some thing 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 bad credit items on their bureaus, such as defaults, charge-offs, repossession, and slow payment history. This means that when these people apply for loans, mortgages, 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 bad credit.

Having bad credit can adversely affect virtually every aspect of your life. A low credit score 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 bad 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 bad credit repair?

“Bad 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 score.

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