by Megan | Apr 23, 2014 | Uncategorized
Dealing with soft or hard hits on your credit report can greatly impact your everyday life, especially if you have an interest in taking out a loan or if you want to apply for a credit card in the future. Understanding how to repair your credit is a way for you to not only find relief from the financial strain you have been experiencing in your everyday life, but also mental and emotional relief. Why is Credit Important? Credit is important if you ever have an interest in taking out a mortgage for a home or property you are investing in, along with taking out loans for potential business ideas and entities you have in mind. Additionally, credit is also important if you want to apply for store credit cards, business credit cards or even emergency credit cards for all of the members of your family to use in dire situations. The better your credit is, the more perks you will receive when you are taking out loans or applying for credit cards. Additionally, when you have a good credit score, you can also find credit cards and loans with lower overall interest rates and extended payback options. Checking Credit Reports You can check your credit reports by checking with official agencies as well as by requesting reports to check your credit right from home, online. Additionally, a credit repair specialist who works for a professional company can also guide and assist you through the process of checking different credit reports you have in your name over-the-phone or in person, depending on the service you have selected to use...
by Megan | Apr 21, 2014 | Uncategorized
A high level of personal debt continues to be a source of stress for many in today’s economy, and it often leads to a certain level of desperation among debtors who have seen their wages gradually grow stagnant. Particularly in a difficult economy, the likelihood of defaulting on regular debt payments becomes an unfortunate fact of life for those consumers who were irresponsible with previous spending. Overly high balances on credit cards and missed payments will, of course, lead to a lower credit score, thus making future purchases on credit much more difficult. In situations like these, desperation may lead to a debtor consulting with a credit repair company. What is a credit repair company? At it’s core, a credit repair company is an organization hired in order to review a person’s credit history, identify potential fraudulent charges, and dispute these charges with one of the major credit reporting firms. If some of these questionable charges are removed from a debtor’s credit history, this may lead to an improvement of their credit score. While in theory this beneficial for someone struggling with debt, in practice in results in a risk of debtors being taken advantage of by unscrupulous credit repair firms. For instance, credit repair companies often charge high fees, thus barely leaving a dent in the overall amount of debt that someone owes. Many of the services that credit repair companies provide could be pursued by the debtor themselves for free, and the Federal Trade Commission provides resources for consumers to better understand the dispute process. The most damaging strain of credit repair companies are those who offer...
by Megan | Apr 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
There are many reasons why people may find themselves in need of credit repair. Loss of a job, overwhelming medical bills or failure to properly plan for other unexpected life events can contribute to credit problems. Many people do not know what their credit score is until they try to make a big purchase such as a car or a new home. With less-than-stellar credit, the consumer may be denied a loan or be only able to get one with a high interest rate. Bad credit affects many aspects of a person’s life, causes unnecessary stress and limits the ability to live out the American dream. Being denied credit for a loan or having a prospective employer hesitate to offer you employment because of a record of poor financial responsibility sends up a red flag that your credit needs repairing. Good credit is even needed to establish utility service such as electricity, phone or cable. This is just another reason to maintain good credit or make every effort to repair bad credit at the first indication that there is a problem. Fortunately, there is a solution for those who need to repair their credit and get on with their lives. Some people take the proactive approach back to financial health and attempt a do-it-yourself process of repairing their own credit. This process requires an enormous amount of time and effort, which many people cannot afford because of employment and family demands. They may feel that they do not possess the knowledge or expertise required to meet the challenge required to fix their credit problems. For these people there are...
by Megan | Apr 16, 2014 | Uncategorized
Having a bad credit score can impact your ability to take out a loan, apply for a credit card, rent or buy a home, apply for a job, receive insurance or buy a car. Are you worried about your credit score? You’re not alone. Neither are you out of luck. First, there are the preventive measures. Consistently pay your bills on time. Pay monthly balances in full. If you borrow, keep your account balance around or below 50% of your credit limit. But what if your score is already low? It may not work if you want to immediately shift to a score of 800, but you can slowly repair your score. Here are a number of tools for improving your credit. Get your credit score. (You can find it for free in many places online.) You actually have three credit scores—one for each of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Though they’re based on the same model, they tend to differ by as much as 20 points. Mortgage lenders will pull all three. Scores change whenever your creditors report new information, like your credit card balance. You’re entitled to one free credit report from each bureau every year, so take advantage of the opportunity. Get the reports at annualcreditreport.com and look for errors like misreported late payments and excessive loan amounts. Diagnose your credit score. It’s not enough to merely know your score. Pay bills within the grace period. Lenders report late bills after 30 days. After just one delinquency, your score can fall as much as a hundred points, so use this grace period...
by Megan | Apr 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
Great credit opens doors to low interest rates, loan approvals, and better prices on things like car insurance. On the other hand, bad credit may make it impossible to get financing, and it may even influence a job search. Repairing credit is a vital project if you’re considering applying for a mortgage, thinking about buying a car, or looking at a new credit card. The process isn’t instant, and it will take consistent attention paid to credit health; however, the results will be well worth it when you get the keys to your first house or drive off in a new vehicle while enjoying terrifically low interest rates. Simple First Steps At the beginning of the credit-repair process, you’ll want to handle a few pieces of housekeeping. These small tasks will help you create a plan for long-term success. Your first step is to read your credit report, from top to bottom. Everyone knows what a credit score is yet many people never check on that number or the credit report that influences that number. You can request a free copy once a year of your credit report from each of the 3 main credit reporting agencies: TransUnion Equifax Experian If you’re trying to repair your credit, you probably already know that the report is going to be in bad shape. However, that’s not why you want to look at it. Your goal in this phase is to find errors and get them corrected. If you find mistakes on your report, you or your credit repair agency can contact creditors or the credit bureaus to get those errors removed...
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