Question

hi well ihave three credit cards and i pay on time never late and I also have a mortage and i always pay ontime never late but my credit score stays below 600 no matter what i do it never seems to up

Lisa D.

Answer

Lisa

Congrats on paying your bills on time.  This is very important for maintaining and building positive credit.

There are other factors that go into calculating your credit score.  Here a few things to check…

1) Monitor your credit.  Make sure you or no one else is pulling your credit too often.  Inquiries can lower your credit score.

2) Make sure everything on your report is accurate.  If it is not, dispute these items with each of the credit bureaus.

3) Make sure you have available credit showing on your accounts.  Having your accounts “maxed out” with lower your score.

4) Make sure that if you have old accounts on there, they are paid off.  An old collection or judgment could bring down your score.

Check on these 4 things and keep maintaining positive credit.  Your score should continue to go up over time.

Thanks

Candice

Question

I just found out my husband has bad credit and a lot of debt in his past.  The collections bills are now starting to roll in and we just had a debt collector come to our door the other night for 8000.00.  What are my options?

Blake H.

Answer

Blake

Sorry to hear about this but this is a common problem in marriages; spouses bringing in old credit history into the new marriage.  It is very important for you both to sit down, talk about your combined financial picture and work out a plan together.  Above all, keep communicating to each other!

As far as the debts go, you have a few options…

1)      Debt Acceleration.  If you get on a spending plan together, you may see you have extra money coming in each month.  If you do, start applying this extra monthly month to one of these bills.  Once you have paid off one, apply all the money that was going to the now paid off account and apply it to the next bill.  You can continue to do this until all your bills are paid off.

2)      Family and Friends.  It is getting more common now to borrow from family and friends.  If this option is available, make it official.  Sign a note with them that clearly spells out the repayment terms and the interest rate and by all means pay them back on time!

3)      Credit Counseling.  There are non-profit companies out there that can renegotiate the payment terms with your creditors.  They will draft your account once a month and handle all of the re-payment process.

4)      Debt Settlement.  There are agencies out there that can negotiate a settlement for less than full balance of what you owe.  This could be a good way to save money on some old debts.

5)      Bankruptcy.  If all else does not work, bankruptcy may be an alternative.  You would have to meet with an attorney in your state and discuss whether a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 would help in your situation.

Blake, if you would like to have a free referral to a debt specialist, give us a call @ 800-445-8540 and we can match you to a reputable partner.

Good luck.

Candice

Question

Upon paying off a collections account, will my credit score suffer if I settle in full versus paying in full? Also, upon paying off collections accounts, will the reporting collections agency remove the derogatory information or negative rating by not responding to a personal letter from me saying “this account has been paid and should not reflect a negative status, as it is affecting my ability to obtain credit”? What advice can you offer to have derogatory accounts be removed from my credit report?

Joseph D

Answer

Joseph

Great questions. 

We recommend that you always satisfy your debts in some way.  This is a great way to increase your financial health.  In the long run, this should also improve your credit score.  According to myfico.com, 30% of your credit score is made up by the amounts you owe on your debts.  So the less you owe, the greater you will score in this area.  Outstanding collections, judgments, tax liens should be satisfied in one way or another. 

Unfortunately, in the short term, paying off these accounts either in full or by a settlement, may lower your credit score.  The payment you make on these accounts will be more recent than your previous payments and will update the activity date.  Your credit score weighs new activity, usually over the last two years, more than old activity.

Unless you negotiate for a deletion with your settlement, the creditors will not remove these collections accounts from your records.  In fact, they could stay on your reports up to 7 years from the last date of activity.

As a part of your settlement negotiation, you could stipulate that the creditor delete the item in full from the bureau reports.  Often times, the creditors will ask for a higher settlement amount to accommodate this request.  If they do agree to this, it is recommended that you get the agreement in writing BEFORE you make your payment.  Monitor your credit reports in about 90 days from your settlement to make sure these items have been removed from your reports.  If they are not, mail a copy of your settlement agreement to each of the bureaus by certified mail asking them to comply with the deletion request.  If this does not work, follow up with the collection agency to have them contact the bureaus again.

Good luck.

Thanks

Candice

Question

looking for a way past due credit card consolidation company. Know any?

Taylor S.

Answer

Taylor

Creditrepair.com will match you with the most reputable debt consolidation company in the country based on your individual need.  Call us @ 800-445-8540.

Choosing a debt company will depend on the type of debts you have, the amount of debts your have, if your debts are current, behind or in charge off status and your ability to repay these debts in the future.

Let us give you a free evaluation so we can help you determine these answers and we will recommend the right company to help you become debt free!

Thanks

Question

I have a question i have collections on my credit that are not mine I don’t know how to clear them up and get them off

Thomas D.

Answer

Thomas

You are not alone!  As reported in USA TODAY June 5th, 2007 “A 2005 survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group found 79% of credit reports contained errors, and 25% contained enough mistakes to prevent the individual from obtaining credit.”

Here are ways you can go about deleting this incorrect record:

1) You can write the dispute letters yourself. Here are a couple of articles with more advice on how to do that. http://www.creditrepair.com/credit/repairing-credit-yourself.html, 

 http://www.creditrepair.com/credit/credit-report-dispute-letter.html  

2) You can get a free phone consultation from a credit repair professional. They will actually write the dispute letters on your behalf. Call us at 1-800-445-8540 and we can match you to the best partner in the country based on your situation.

Thank you and good luck.

Question

My name is James H., and my wife and I Filed chapter 7 two years ago. For some reason there is still a charge off for a 2003 Monte carlo in open status on my credit report. is there any thing we can do to fix this, It is putting a big hurt on us for buying a house.
Thanks,

James H.

Answer

James

Sometimes the credit bureau report will not be updated correctly to show all of the accounts included in bankruptcy.

You can do one of three things…

1) Contact the creditor of the Monte Carlo and ask them to update the bureau report to make this item as “Included In Bankruptcy”

2) You may dispute this item to all three credit bureaus and have them update the credit report.

Lastly, your mortgage lender could do what is called a “rapid Re-Score” and take your bankruptcy papers and work with their credit report provider to get this updated.  This would be the fastest way and could be updated within 72 hours.

Thanks and Good Luck.

Candice

Question

I need help in repairing mine and my husbands credit and getting out of a hole that unforseen circumstances got us into.  We are hard working people but got into a slump that never ended til now.  Now we are behind so far we are being threstened with forclosure and only a month behind.  Can you help us?

Emily S.

Answer

Emily

I am so sorry to hear of the hard times you and your family are going through.  It seems to be going around these days!

The number 1 thing you need to do is to save your house.  Mortgage lenders these days are willing to work with borrowers that have fallen behind.  With the rise in foreclosures, the last thing the banks want today is another vacant home on their books.

There are two programs that are common right now…

1)      Loan Modification: This is where your current lender will give you a new interest rate and new monthly payment to your current loan.

2)      Forbearance: This is where your current lender will tack the past due amount on to the end of your loan and you would stay making normal, current payments.

There are professional negotiators out there that can help you do this.  Normally, these negotiators tend to be attorneys.

If you would like a free referral to one, please do not hesitate to call us @ 800-445-8540.

Thanks and Good Luck.

Candice

Question

In 2000 I needed to file a business bankruptcy but since I was self  employeed I had to file a personal bankruptcy.  Since it has been  7-years what can I do or can the bad ding on my credit be taken off?  Thank you in advance for your responce.

J.R. H.

Answer

J.R.H.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a court record can stay on your credit bureau report for UP TO 10 years.  In the case of a chapter 7 bankruptcy, the 10 year time frame would begin at your discharge date.

So, unfortunately, you still have time until this is removed on its own.

If you feel anything on your report is misleading, unverifiable, inaccurate or obsolete, you have the right to dispute those items and they could be removed prior to the maximum time outlined by the Federal Statue.

In addition, many creditors look at the last two years of credit history.  So it is important to pay your current bills on time, keep you balances low, keep your inquiries low and have a healthy mixture of credit.

Hope this helps.

Candice

Question

i would like a credit card but right this moment i dont have no credit in my name.how can i get one of them so i can be better on it.

Megan J.

Answer

Megan

Building your credit score can take some time and effort.  But, it is important to do so and to do it correctly.

You may want to start out applying for a secured credit card.  This is a card that you put a deposit on and the line of credit either equals or exceeds the amount of your deposit.  The trick here is to make sure they report you as an unsecured credit card.  You may also want to consider applying for a gas card or an in store retail card.  These are usually easier to be approved for.

Always pay your bills on time and use your credit wisely, keep you balances low and your credit score should climb.

You can go here to find a credit card  http://www.creditrepair.com/credit-cards/

Also, read this article http://www.creditrepair.com/debt/credit-card-debt/using-credit-cards-wisely.htmlThanks,
Candice

Question

I am in the procross of trying to buy me my first home but i have a credit score of 517. I know that my score si low but do you think that i may be able to get a mortgage with a score that low. I also do not have the money to put down for a down payment so do you think that i will be able to get my first home with what i just told you.

Daniel M.

Answer

Daniel

Thanks for your question.  Unfortunately with the market change, a credit score of 517 will not be high enough to get a new mortgage loan. Now a days, you will need a 680 credit score or higher with the best rates going to those with a 720 credit score or higher.

There is good news though…you can become a home owner!

It will take time and a plan, but you can do it!

Some things to consider…first, start repairing your credit.  There are many ways to do this. 

1)    Challenge all questionable negative listings

2)    Pay off all collections, judgments and liens you may have

3)    Pay down your revolving accounts below 30% of their balance

4)    Start building positive credit with a gas credit card or an in store credit card and never be late on these!

In addition, it will take 20-25% of the purchase price of your new home as a down payment.  You may want to consider setting up a separate bank account and put as much as you can into that account each paycheck.  You may also want to ask family for some assistance.  There are also Down Payment Assistance programs out there.

Let us know if we can help you further.  Call us or fill out one of our forms on CreditRepair.com and we will match you to the most reputable partners in the country that may help you achieve your goals!

Thanks,

Candice