How To Dramatically Increase Your Credit Score

Of course, one of the obvious ways to increase your credit score is simply to pay your bills on time, which of course you need to do. However, there's a more proactive approach to raising your credit score that's easy to do and makes the process quicker!

Let's say you have a Visa card with a $1,000.00 credit limit. Starting today you can use your $1,000.00 line of credit to increase your credit score and it doesn't matter if the credit card is secured or non-secured. The only thing that matters is that your credit card payments are reported to the credit bureau.

Each month you probably pay an electric bill, phone bill, water bill, car insurance and other types of bills which are generally not reported to the credit bureau unless you have an outstanding balance and refuse to pay it. The trick is to pay all these bills each month using your credit card, which does report to the credit bureau. Remember, you can even pay your groceries and fuel purchases for your car using a credit card. As long as the bill can be paid using a credit card you're ok. The next step is to apply the same money you were going to spend for the bills directly to your credit card bringing the balance to zero each month. Each month you charge your credit card then pay it off to reflect a positive payment history and you'll increase your credit score.

If you have a credit card with a large enough credit line, you can easily pay your car payment or even a mortgage payment. Even if you don't have a large enough credit line or can't get a non-secured credit card, you can still get a secured credit card from your local bank. Once this is done, deposit the same money you were going to use to pay your bills into your secured credit card account and simply use your secured credit card to pay your bills.

When using this method you can also use two credit cards showing more accounts with positive activity, which can work in your favor. However, don't get carried away! Having too many active credit card accounts or open lines of credit will also work against you.

Note: Debit cards with the Visa logo that come directly out of your checking account don't count. The credit card you're using must be set-up as a true credit card with the payments reported to the credit bureau.



Now your bills are being paid on time and you're maximizing your credit score with every bill you pay using your credit card reflecting a positive payment history for both your bills and your credit card.

Remember, this costs you very little to accomplish. All you may end up paying is a few dollars in interest, if that. The benefits you'll receive as your credit score increases will far outweigh a few dollars per month.

THE KEY HERE IS TO ALWAYS USE THE MONEY YOU WERE GOING TO ALREADY USE TO PAY YOUR BILLS TO PAY THE CREDIT CARD YOU'RE NOW USING TO PAY YOUR BILLS, BRINGING THE BALANCE TO ZERO EACH MONTH. NEVER MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THINKING YOU HAVE ALL THIS MONEY AT THE END OF THE MONTH AND ONLY PAYING THE MINIMUM PAYMENT TO THE CREDIT CARD. PAY THE CREDIT CARD DOWN TO A VERY SMALL BALANCE EACH MONTH! I CAN'T STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THIS STEP IS. BY NOT DOING SO, YOU'LL END UP MORE AND MORE IN DEBT.

Note: The reason it is important to leave a small balance every month on your credit card is that banks like to see that you are paying interest, which helps raise your credit score. A $20 or $30 balance will work fine.

Of course, the only bills this will work on are those you can use a credit card to pay. I believe you'll find you can pay most of your bills with a credit card.

Once again let me remind you AS STATED THROUGHOUT OUR WEBSITE YOUR CREDIT HISTORY HAS NO IMPACT ON ACQUIRING REAL ESTATE WHEN YOU WORK WITH US.

This information is provided as a gift to you with no strings attached.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Learn how to Flip and Rehab

Learn how to Flip and Rehab from Armando Montelongo from the hit A&E show , Flip This House.

Internet millionaire Armando Montelongo of armandomontelongo.comlaunched a new site called Armando Montelongo.com.

This site is catered to one market,entrepreneurial people and business opportunity seekers.
"The site is there for all types of people who want tomeet with other who have some of the same business interests. It caters to any type of opportunity, investment clubs, franchises, Network opportunities, Day traders, you name it and the site caters to it.

With so many filters on the internet, even legitimate subscriberemail is getting blocked, which unfortunately rendering newsletters somewhat ineffective leaving opportunity seekersno valid or cost effective way to find or communicate with each other.

ArmandoMontelongo.com is very different in that it allows people to communicate in real time audio and video conferencingin a secure environment.

People can join free knowing that others on the site will enjoyhearing about their opportunities.
You can visit the site at http://thenoteservice.armandomontelongo.com

Sub Prime Lending

Subprime Lending

Typically, subprime loans are for persons with blemished or limited credit histories. The loans carry a higher rate of interest than prime loans to compensate for increased credit risk.
Many have questioned why minorities appear to be over-represented in the subprime lending market. Studies reveal that even in upper-income African-American neighborhoods one is one-and-a-half times as likely to have a subprime loan than persons in low-income white neighborhoods. In neighborhoods where Hispanics comprise at least 80 percent of the population, they were 1.5 times as likely than the nation as a whole to have a subprime mortgage loan.

Some allege this disparity to be attributed to subprime lenders purposefully marketing to African-American communities-what some have called reverse redlining. They allege lenders will provide loans to these communities, but at a higher cost and with less favorable conditions.

Some facts about subprime lenders:

• Home refinance loans account for higher shares of subprime lenders' total origination than prime lenders' originations
• Subprime lenders originate a larger percentage of their total originations in predominately black census tracts than prime lenders
• Subprime lenders are more likely to have terms like "consumer," "finance," and "acceptance" in their lender names

Proponents of subprime lending

Individuals who have experienced severe financial troubles are often labelled as higher risk and therefore cannot obtain conventional financing. These individuals may have had job loss, previous debt or marital problems, or unexpected medical issues. Often, these events were unforeseen and cause a major setback in finances. As a result, late payments, charge-offs, repossessions and even foreclosures may result.

Due to these previous credit problems, these individuals may be precluded from obtaining any type of loan for an automobile. To meet this demand, lenders have seen that a tiered pricing arrangement, one which allows these individuals to pay a higher interest rate, may allow loans which otherwise may not occur.

From a servicing standpoint, these loans have higher collection defaults and experience higher repossessions and charge offs. Lenders use the higher interest rate to offset these anticipated higher costs.

Provided a consumer will enter into this arrangement with the understanding that they are higher risk, and must make diligent efforts to pay, these loans do indeed serve those who would otherwise be underserved. The consumer must purchase an automobile which is well within their means, and carries a payment well within their budget.

Criticisms of subprime lending

Capital markets operate on the basic premise of risk versus reward. Investors taking a risk on stocks expect a higher rate of return than do investors in risk-free Treasury Bills, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The same goes for loans. Less creditworthy subprime borrowers represent a riskier investment, so lenders will charge them a higher interest rate than they would charge a prime borrower for the same loan.
To avoid the initial hit of higher mortgage payments, most subprime borrowers take out Adjustable-rate mortgages that give them a very low initial interest rate of around 4%. But with annual adjustments of 2% or more per year, these loans typically end up charging around 10%. So a $500,000 loan at a 4% interest rate for 30 years equates to a payment of about $2,400 a month. But the same loan at 10% for 27 years (after the adjustable period ends) equates to a payment of $4,470. A 6-percentage-point increase in the rate caused slightly more than an 85% increase in the payment.

Foreclosure Filings Still Up 87 Percent From June 2006

Foreclosure Filings Still Up 87 Percent From June 2006


A total of 164,644 foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported in June, down 7 percent from the previous month but still up 87 percent from June 2006. The national foreclosure rate for June was one foreclosure filing for every 704 U.S. households. "Foreclosure activity subsided somewhat in June after hitting a 30-month high in May," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "And the drop in activity was fairly broad, with 33 states reporting month-over-month decreases. Still, the foreclosure rates in most states remained substantially above last year's levels."

Your Options Against Foreclosure

Foreclosure may occur. This is the legal means that your lender can use to repossess (take over) your home. When this happens, you must move out of your house. If your property is worth less than the total amount you owe on your mortgage loan, a deficiency judgment could be pursued. If that happens, you not only lose your home, you also would owe HUD an additional amount.

Both foreclosures and deficiency judgments could seriously affect your ability to qualify for credit in the future. So you should avoid foreclosure if possible.

Q: What Should I Do?
DO NOT IGNORE THE LETTERS FROM YOUR LENDER. If you are having problems making your payments, call or write to your lender's Loss Mitigation Department without delay. Explain your situation. Be prepared to provide them with financial information, such as your monthly income and expenses. Without this information, they may not be able to help.
Stay in your home for now. You may not qualify for assistance if you abandon your property.
Contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Call (800) 569-4287 or TDD (800) 877-8339 for the housing counseling agency nearest you. These agencies are valuable resources. They frequently have information on services and programs offered by Government agencies as well as private and community organizations that could help you. The housing counseling agency may also offer credit counseling. These services are usually free of charge.
Q: What Are My Alternatives?
You may be considered for the following:

Special Forbearance. Your lender may be able to arrange a repayment plan based on your financial situation and may even provide for a temporary reduction or suspension of your payments. You may qualify for this if you have recently experienced a reduction in income or an increase in living expenses. You must furnish information to your lender to show that you would be able to meet the requirements of the new payment plan.

Mortgage Modification. You may be able to refinance the debt and/or extend the term of your mortgage loan. This may help you catch up by reducing the monthly payments to a more affordable level. You may qualify if you have recovered from a financial problem and can afford the new payment amount.

Partial Claim. Your lender may be able to work with you to obtain a one-time payment from the FHA-Insurance fund to bring your mortgage current.

You may qualify if:
your loan is at least 4 months delinquent but no more than 12 months delinquent;
you are able to begin making full mortgage payments.

When your lender files a Partial Claim, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will pay your lender the amount necessary to bring your mortgage current. You must execute a Promissory Note, and a Lien will be placed on your property until the Promissory Note is paid in full.

The Promissory Note is interest-free and is due when you pay off the first mortgage or when you sell the property.

Pre-foreclosure sale. This will allow you to avoid foreclosure by selling your property for an amount less than the amount necessary to pay off your mortgage loan.

You may qualify if:
the loan is at least 2 months delinquent;
you are able to sell your house within 3 to 5 months; and
a new appraisal (that your lender will obtain) shows that the value of your home meets HUD program guidelines.

Deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. As a last resort, you may be able to voluntarily "give back" your property to the lender. This won't save your house, but it is not as damaging to your credit rating as a foreclosure.

You may qualify if:
you are in default and don't qualify for any of the other options;
your attempts at selling the house before foreclosure were unsuccessful; and
you don't have another FHA mortgage in default.

For More Info, check out The Note Service

Fico Score and Credit Score - Difference?

This is a great question and one that's been a very hot topic on our FICO Forums. The reason you're seeing a discrepancy is because you purchased scores from two different scoring systems. The score you bought from TransUnion is their consumer version of your credit score, but it's not your FICO® score. Many different websites sell credit scores to consumers, but only myFICO.com and Equifax.com sell actual FICO scores to consumers. In fact, you may be surprised to know just how many different credit scores are sold to consumers – most of which are never used by lenders.

This is not to say that getting your credit scores from online vendors is a bad idea. Checking your credit scores from a trusted seller can often serve as a guide for pointing you in the right direction. If you pull your credit score from a reputable source and find that you have a very high score, then more often than not, you'll have a good FICO score as well. Just be sure to check your actual FICO score before applying for a loan – this is the best way for you to know what the lenders will base their terms on.

What does the difference in the two scores you pulled mean to you? Well, don't demand a lender's best rates based on your TransUnion credit score of 733! Your FICO score of 689 is the score you should be basing your expectations on. Generally, a FICO score above 720 will qualify you for good rates on most loans. To see how better scores translate to savings on home and auto loans, click here.

Before getting a loan for a major purchase, such as a home, you should check all three of your FICO scores. Most lenders will look at all three FICO scores – one from each major credit bureau – when evaluating your loan application. At that point, don't try to save a few dollars by buying the cheapest credit score you can find. Knowing your FICO scores can help you estimate what your monthly mortgage payments will look like and help you determine if you can truly afford a home.

We know credit scores can be confusing enough without having to figure out if you're buying a real FICO score. Many credit scores even try to mimic the FICO score range so they look very similar to FICO scores. Remember that FICO scores always say "FICO" when describing the score. We hope this helps you make sense of your credit scoring options.

Sincerely,
myFICO Team

Understanding Foreclosure - Foreclosure Scams

Bankruptcy foreclosure fraud is a growing problem that threatens the integrity of
the bankruptcy system as it takes advantage of families in distress. The United
States Trustee Program is working hard to identify bankruptcy foreclosure scams
around the country and to take appropriate action through criminal referrals and
civil suits. Be especially alert to the following:

> Equity skimming: In this type of scam, a "buyer" approaches you, offering to
get you out of financial trouble by promising to pay off your mortgage or give you a
sum of money when the property is sold. The "buyer" may suggest that you move
out quickly and deed the property to him or her. The "buyer" then collects rent for a
time, does not make any mortgage payments, and allows the lender to foreclose.
Remember, signing over your deed to someone else does not necessarily relieve
you of your obligation on your loan.

> Phony counseling agencies: Some groups calling themselves "counseling
agencies" may approach you and offer to perform certain services for a fee. These
could well be services you could do for yourself for free, such as negotiating a new
payment plan with your lender, or pursuing a pre-foreclosure sale.

> Probably the most widespread foreclosure scam involves the use of
foreclosure notices to identify individuals facing the loss of their homes. The scam
perpetrator contacts the home owner, advertising "mortgage assistance" or
"foreclosure counseling" and promising to work out the home owner's problems
with the mortgagee or to obtain refinancing for an up-front fee typically ranging
from $250 to $850. The perpetrator may direct the home owner to "fill out some
forms," including a blank bankruptcy petition. The perpetrator subsequently files a
bankruptcy petition in the home owner's name. The bankruptcy petition invokes the
automatic stay, the imminent foreclosure is postponed, and the home owner stops
receiving collection calls and letters.


In most cases, the perpetrator does not tell the home owner about the
bankruptcy petition, instead convincing the home owner that foreclosure activity
has ceased because mortgage problems have been worked out. The perpetrator
may tell the home owner that he or she might receive a notice from the court, which
should be ignored. The home owner may even be told that the perpetrator has gone
to court on the home owner's behalf. No one appears at the Section 341 meeting,
the case is dismissed, the foreclosure goes forward, and the home is lost.
The United States Trustee Program welcomes information that will help detect
bankruptcy foreclosure scams, and is indebted to those trustees, judges,
clerks, secured lenders, bankruptcy attorneys, and private citizens who
report suspicious fact patterns. They coordinate with all participants in
the bankruptcy system to eradicate this destructive form of fraud. You
can find information online about the United States Trustee Program at
http://www.usdoj.gov/ust. For Your Information Foreclosure Scams
For - Understanding Foreclosure -
Sources: Federal Citizen Information Center, HUD, VBA, USDOJ
You'll appreciate the difference!
Fidelity
National
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Credit Repair

Credit scores are sinking. College kids are getting credit cards at alarming rates, and most don't understand that it is not free money. Instead of a $200 charge being paid off, years go by, and countless other charges are added. Now that original charge has increased to thousands, and the minimum payments are still being paid. This is no way to treat your credit. Your credit is the most valuable possession you have, some say it is more important than your diploma. Your diploma cannot lower your mortgage or car payment. So build your credit, and if your credit has fallen, build it back. It is your best education. For a free guide,
http://www.thenoteservice.com/credit-repair.html
http://www.thenoteservice.com/credit-offers.html