I was remembering my favorite teachers as I wrote this.  I loved Mrs. Daniels from elementary school as she had the kindest heart and was always willing to listen, to help and to go above and beyond.  I compared every other teacher I ever had to her…

I remember Mrs. Smotherman from high school as she didn’t take any lip from anyone and yet she had a fun and creative way to teach English.  One day she dressed up in a witches costume, brought in a caldron and acted out scenes from Macbeth!  Truly one of my favorite memories…

What do you remember most about your favorite teachers?

I posted a quote today that I loved on our Facebook page that said “Teachers make other professions possible.”  This is so true, so again “Thank you for everything you do!”

10% of your credit score is determined by the number of inquiries made for your credit report. Credit inquiries are placed on your credit report each time a business requests a copy of your credit report.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires businesses to have an acceptable reason for accessing your credit report. Some of the acceptable reasons include: 

* To grant credit
* Collect a debt
* Underwrite insurance
* Employment
* License issuing by some government agencies
* Legitimate business transactions

Companies who obtain your credit report under false pretenses or those who use it improperly violate federal law.

Hard and Soft Inquiries

Not all inquiries that appear on your credit report affect your credit score. Inquiries that are made because of an application you made for credit are the ones that affect your score. These voluntary, or “hard”, inquiries are the only credit inquiries that count towards your credit score.

When you review your credit report, you might notice that several inquiries appear from businesses to which you didn’t apply for credit. Other businesses might check your credit report because they want to offer goods and services to you. For example, creditors who send “pre-approved” credit card offers have often checked your credit report first.

Credit inquiries are also made by potential employers, businesses that you already have credit with, and yourself. None of these “soft” inquiries count towards your credit score.

Your version of your credit report includes all inquiries. When lenders and creditors look at your credit report, only the voluntary inquiries appear.

How Inquiries Affect Your Score

Inquiries on your credit report can indicate your risk as a borrower. Too many inquiries might mean that you’re taking on too much debt or that you’re in some kind of financial trouble and are looking for credit to help you out. Several hard inquiries can reduce your credit score.

Depending on how much information you have in your credit report, an additional inquiry might not affect your credit score at all. On the other hand, if you have a short credit history without a lot of accounts, an additional inquiry could cause your score to drop by a few points.

Credit report inquiries will remain on your report for two years, but only those made within the last year are included in your credit score calculation. The most recent inquiries have the most effect on your score.

Inquiries and Rate Shopping

When you’re shopping around for mortgage and auto loans, you want to get the best rate. You might worry that having your credit checked by several lenders could hurt your credit score.

The good news is that most credit score calculations treat all mortgage and auto inquiries as a single inquiry, as long as the inquiries are made within a certain period of time. For the latest version of the FICO score, this period is 30 days.

Your credit affects more than you think. Here are just a few aspects of your financial life that are affected by your credit:

Employment Opportunities:
Employers in today’s market investigate your dependability along with your track record of responsibility based off of your credit. Employers look to see how you manage your personal finances and see whether they can entrust their finances with you as an employee.

Renting Instead of Owning:
The American dream is to own a home, but more importantly than having something to call your own is the financial repercussion of renting instead of owning an appreciating asset. The money that you are spending each year in rent could be going into your pocket instead of your landlords.

Interest Rates on Mortgages:
A typical home mortgage can cost hundreds of thousands more in interest if you are buying a home with less than perfect credit.

Automobile Financing:
An auto loan can cost thousands more in interest if you are buying the vehicle with less than perfect credit.

If your credit is less than perfect Southwest Credit Repair can help. We have helped thousands of people remove negative items from their credit report permanently! Call us today at 214-454-6762 for your FREE Credit Report Evaluation!

In today’s market, the opportunity to own an affordable home is has become easier for many. Falling real estate prices and low interest rates have transformed once-illusive properties into real possibilities. Despite the accommodating climate, real estate regulations have taken a more rigid form, requiring homebuyers to meet minimum lending requirements before securing a mortgage. For some, that may require that they begin some personal credit repair. Whether you are a seasoned property owner or first-time buyer, follow the steps below to pave the way toward an easier process.

Get serious about credit repair. Good credit is the most effective financial tool in your belt, so use it to your advantage. FHA-approved homes require a minimum FICO credit score of 640, while regular properties usually require a score of 720 or higher for the best interest rate. If you haven’t committed to credit repair, the time is now. Attention to unfair credit reporting, overdue accounts, exorbitant debt, and excessive credit accounts could save you thousands in mortgage interest. Obtain a copy of your credit report (free from Southwest Credit Repair & Hometown Hero’s with a credit consultation) and outline the problem areas. If you see unfair or inaccurate and are feeling overwhelmed, ask Southwest Credit Repair for help.

Save, save, save. Gone are the days of no-money-down mortgages; most lenders require a minimum down payment of 3.5 to 10 percent. After achieving success in credit repair, start saving for a future down payment. A high credit score coupled with a hefty savings account is bound to score a competitive interest rate.

Examine your income and expenses. Affordability is the defining factor of any home purchase. Before falling in love with an expensive property, sit down and determine your price range. While you may be able to afford a $2,000 per month mortgage, lenders could view your situation differently. Most allow a maximum “front-end” ratio of 31 percent. This means that your mortgage, property taxes, and insurance costs should not exceed 43 percent of your gross monthly income. Your lender will also consider revolving debt load in addition to taxes and insurance costs, also known as the “back-end” ratio. Credit repair and savings are paramount in the buying process.

 Consider the past. Established homeowners understand the importance of a well-maintained mortgage record, especially when the time to buy arises once again. Many lenders offer conditional mortgages to weed out high-risk borrowers. If your record displays a foreclosure, for example, buying a new home could be a difficult task. In the interest of full disclosure, provide potential lenders with up-front information about your real estate past. Good credit and a sizable down payment could help you overcome the stigma of past mistakes.

 Work with a qualified lender. Lenders rely on the business of homebuyers, so why not find one with your best interests in mind like VIP Lend. They provide excellent service and competitive rates.  Their lenders will also help you understand your best options and be with you throughout your home buying experience.

Buying a home is a big decision, one best made with the right tools and strategies. Take an investigative approach and look deeper into your finances and the changing market. Your efforts could make all the difference.

The FTC tells us that “No one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information from a credit report” Credit Reporting Agencies (CRA’s) are required by law to say the same thing and just about every other credit repair resource you can find agrees.  This statement is not only deceptive but it is dead wrong.

The truth is that accurate items are legally removed from credit reports every day.  In an ideal world, there would be no way to remove accurate items from your credit reports but in practice this is not the case.  The Fair Credit Reporting Act says the CRA’s must remove any item on your credit reports you dispute if after performing an investigation they are unable to prove the item should be there.  A more accurate version of the statement made by the FTC is that “no one can legally remove accurate, timely, and verified negative information from a credit report”.

Although they are typically in a position of power, the CRA’s are in a bind when it comes to investigating your disputes.  When conducting an investigation, the CRA’s have to contact the creditor or court who added the negative item to your credit reports and have them to verify the item is accurate.  If they find out the negative credit item is inaccurate, then it must be delete it from your credit report or update your credit report appropriately.  In addition, if CRA’s do not get proof the item should be on your credit reports within 30 days then they are required to remove the item completely.  This means that no matter how accurate a negative credit item is if the CRA’s does not get confirmation in 30 days, it will be removed from your credit reports.

Maybe your creditor has gone out of business.  Maybe they don’t have time to dig through their records.  Maybe their records from four years ago are in a large box in the building’s basement and they couldn’t find your information if they tried.  Maybe they are just lazy.  Regardless of the reason why a creditor wouldn’t respond to the CRA’s the end result is you have a better credit report.

Of course, the CRA’s have the right to add the negative item to your credit reports again if the creditor reports it again but this is rare and must be done in writing within seven days of the deletion or it will have to be removed.

So the next time you read that it is impossible to remove accurate information from your credit reports know that is what creditors and the CRA’s would like you to believe.  They want to think your credit score is accurate and they do not want you manipulating the system by disputing negative items you know are true.

The meaning of the term “charge off” confuses many debtors. Some individuals assume that once an outstanding bill is charged-off they no longer owe the outstanding balance. However, a charge-off status does not mean that the unpaid bill is forgotten, forgiven, disappears or is no longer collectable.

Many creditors write off delinquent and unpaid accounts after 180 from the date of last payment. The term charge off is a bookkeeping term that creditors and financial institutions use to notate that an outstanding delinquent balance will likely never be paid by the consumer. As a result, the creditor has moved an outstanding balance from an active accounts receivable status to a bad debt ledger. For the debtor, the term means that the written off status of the account will likely appear as a negative entry on their credit report and can vastly lower their overall credit score.

To maintain the highest credit rating, it is best to pay all your bills in a timely fashion. However, confusing medical bills, unexpected home repair expenses, errors in judgment and simply overlooking a financial obligation can prevent the establishment of a good credit score. Once a delinquent bill receives a charge off status, the entry will remain on your credit report for a maximum of seven years from the date of last payment.

Although it is admirable to fulfill your financial obligations, if you are trying to rebuild your credit, paying off old bills can hamper your efforts. As an unpaid bill ages, it has less of an impact on your credit history than more recent activity. When attempting to repair your credit it may be best to focus on newer outstanding bills. Delinquent debt less than four years old is sometimes the most damaging to your credit score. These types of bills should have a higher payment priority.

Surprisingly, paying on older bills could adversely affect your credit repair efforts and even cause your overall score to plummet.

Many people assume that a bad debt will drop from their credit report after seven years. However, that is not always the case. For example, if you have a bad debt that is 6-years and 11 months old and you pay the balance or even make a payment, the 7-year clock may reset with a brand new “last activity” date. In this case, the payment could extend the life of a derogatory entry on your credit report rather than working to repair your credit. Had you done nothing, the harmful information would have simply dropped off your report 7-years after the original charge-off date.

Moreover, Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that provides the credit scoring formulas behind the FICO Score that practically every lender uses to qualify new credit applications, doesn’t award a single point for paying off a collection or charged off account. Rather, fair or not, it’s the presence of such an account, without regard to its payment status, that lowers the credit score.

Regardless, it’s important to remember that the 7-year maximum credit reporting timer isn’t the only relevant “clock” to consider when deciding whether or not to pay a collection or charge off. Each state has its own statute of limitations for either collecting a debt, or bringing a civil lawsuit to court, or both. Moreover, certain mortgage brokers may require that all outstanding charged off accounts be paid before even considering an application, even before they consider the credit score. In other words, the decision to pay or not to pay may be influenced by several factors.

Finally it’s worth mentioning that a good credit repair company can leverage one or more consumer protection statutes, like the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, in order to demand that credit companies substantiate every detail of the credit reporting associated with a charge off or collection account. Even if the original debt was incurred by a consumer, if an original creditor or third-party debt collector has failed to protect a consumers lawful rights every step of the way, the associated credit reporting may be deemed invalid and must be removed.

On the conditions of the recent recession, you may want to address lingering credit report problems. South West Credit Repair can assist you with this process without further damaging your credit repair efforts. Our proven results and innovative services may help you reach your credit goals. Moreover, our services are affordable. Get started with a free credit consultation today.

First step is not to go out looking until you know for sure you can get qualified. There is no use getting your hopes up and wasting gas at $4 a gallon if you aren’t sure you can buy something.  With all the new government lending guidelines, rules, regulations and which way the wind blows, everyone needs to talk to a knowledgeable loan officer who is up to date on the new guidelines and programs, and who is willing to give it to you straight and not just tell you what you want to hear.

There are several major financial institutions that are known for saying “You are Approved” and then when push comes to shove and it is time to close they can’t fund you due to a number of things that they didn’t bother to ask or find out in the beginning.  This includes talking about all of your financial accounts, investments, credit scores, debt to income ratios, gifts of cash, random deposits, etc. so that everyone involved has a very clear understanding of what it is going to take to get preapproved before shopping for homes.  All of the agonizing front end work pays off in the end and makes closing go much more smooth and stress free.

Next time we will talk about all the things to prepare for your loan officer…

As we’ve entered 2012, many people have made resolutions to improve their credit. Unfortunately, good credit repair goes beyond just credit counseling that’s why South West Credit Repair is confronting exploitative creditors, abusive debt collectors, and erroneous credit reports so that new clients can make 2012 a much brighter year. While achieving these goals can be challenging, the potential upside is raising your credit score and paying far less in interest as a result.

Perhaps the first question that naturally emerges is, “How is my credit score generated?” To answer this, we must first understand who creates our credit scores, and why. Other posts have discussed the importance of your credit score and how your credit report is used when considering everything from what mortgage you will qualify for, what your insurance rate will be, and what interest rate you will be charged. Although there are many proprietary credit scores readily available to consumers, the most widely used score that many lenders use is known as the FICO® score.

The Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) generates a three digit number between 300 and 850 – your FICO Score – that assesses your default risk for potential lenders and insurance agents. The lower your score, the greater credit risk you present to your potential lenders. Scores that are incrementally higher represents you as less of a credit risk. Of course a number can never fully describe you as a person, but in most instances, a look at your credit report and score may be the deciding factor in any final credit decision and what interest rate you’ll pay.

While FICO is very private about how your credit score is generated, we know that it is based upon five main categories of information is that found within your credit reports: debt to credit limit ratio, the presence of new credit, your overall credit mix, your credit repayment history, and how long you’ve had credit. If you were to envision your score as a pie, you would see that new types of credit and credit mix comprise about 10% of your score each. Length of credit history controls a slightly larger portion at 15%, while your debt to credit limit ratio is a much larger slice at 30%. While you can see that all these factors weigh into your credit score and control what it will look like, it is your payment history that carries a weight of 35% of your credit score. Payment history is where so many negative credit items lurk, damaging your credit score in many instances for years on end.

With so much of your score likely depending on what if any negative items you have in your payment history, you can quickly see just how important credit repair can be for you. Here at South West Credit Repair we strive to assist you in removing the questionable negative items that appear within your credit report and work to give you guidance on controlling the credit factors that help generate your credit scores. While your goal for a better score in 2012 may at times seem difficult, we are here to help with affordable, comprehensive credit repair.

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) was designed to protect consumers against abusive practices by the debt collections industry. But when FDCPA took effect in 1978, few people could have anticipated how Facebook and Twitter would infiltrate our daily lives. In recent years, a handful of lawsuits by consumers who were allegedly contacted by collectors through social media have brought the issue to light.

One strategy collections agencies use, according to Michelle Dunn, a 24-year veteran of the debt-collection industry and author of The Guide to Getting Paid, is to set up a fake profile and try to friend someone (however, a few states have laws against online impersonation). “If you look like a really good-looking girl, a lot of people would accept a friendship even if they don’t really know the person,” she explains.

Dunn says she discourages this practice in her webinars on social media and collections. “I just tell them to use common sense,” she says. “Don’t pretend you’re someone you’re not. There shouldn’t be any interaction.”

FDCPA doesn’t explicitly forbid collectors from, say, posting on your Facebook wall or tweeting your relatives to ask about your whereabouts. But according to Craig Thor Kimmel, an Ambler, Penn.-based consumer attorney who handles collections issues, the act’s intent is clear. “A debt collector that posts about your debt on social media would be violating this statute very clearly because that privacy is compromised,” he says.

Despite this, collectors can use information found on a social network to contact you in other ways. “Right now, the normal pre-social media method would be to use the address off the loan documents and statements, but if the consumer is unwilling to respond to the contacts or is at a different location, they can certainly use social media as way of finding the consumer,” says John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com.

Experts suggest the following strategies to preempt unwanted calls or other communication from collectors:

1. Respond within 30 days of receiving a collections letter. For many people who receive a letter from a collections agency, the impulse is simply to bury their heads and ignore it. That’s a mistake, according to Ulzheimer. “You can eliminate all communication,” he says. “All you have to do is send them a letter within 30 days and tell them, ‘Do not contact me anymore through any method.’ They can still sue you for the debt, so the act of collecting doesn’t necessarily stop, but they can’t send you emails or call you anymore.”

If you actually owe the debt, he suggests offering a settlement so that it doesn’t continue to follow you. Third-party agencies who have purchased the debt “don’t have the same skin in the game as the original creditor, so you could offer some sort of reasonable settlement and be done with it as long as it hasn’t been placed on your credit report by this collection agency.”

2. Use those privacy settings. Dunn said she’s shocked by the number of consumers whose Facebook profiles are set to completely public. “Even though I’m not your friend, I can see all your pictures,” she says. Setting your profile to private reduces the likelihood that a collector could be eying your wall or photos.

3. Be selective about what you post. Social networks like Facebook can create a false sense of intimacy because you’re communicating with friends. Even with a private profile, your friends’ accounts could still get hacked or Dunn says collectors use social media profiles to “look for the address or employment information. A lot of people put what their occupation is, where they work, cell phone numbers.” For instance, when someone gets a new cell phone number, they’ll sometimes post it on Facebook so friends can reach them. “I have to say if I was somebody who owed money, I probably wouldn’t put [my cell number] online and make it public information,” adds Dunn.  Most people know not to post their Social Security or credit card numbers, but many list their birth date. “To me, that’s comical,” says Ulzheimer. “If someone walked up to you off the street and asked your birth date, would you give it on the street? But you’re gladly doing it on Facebook.”

4. Don’t accept friend requests from strangers. For reasons described earlier, don’t approve requests from people you don’t know. It could be a friend of a friend, but it could also be a collector or a spammer.

5. Skip the “like” button. Liking your bank or credit card company on Facebook may open the door to them collecting information about you that you haven’t given them. How many people actually like their bank? To the extent that you like your bank, that’s fine, but I’m not sure that you have to memorialize that by clicking that you like it on Facebook.

If despite these steps, a collector contacts you via a social media site, Kimmel suggests printing out the message or saving a screenshot to your computer to create a paper trial. “Once you have that, report the sender as spam on Facebook and file a grievance with the Federal Trade Commission,” he suggests. The consumer could be entitled to up to $1,000 plus attorney fees and actual damages “if a debt collector engages in unauthorized debt collection contact through for example, social media,” says Kimmel, “adding that a consumer attorney could help the person seek compensation.”

In spite of the FTC self-help credit repair campaign, the fact remains that there are few people capable of managing the job of credit repair on their own, at least to the extent that the full potential of the process is realized. And it is my opinion that to reach anything less than full potential is to fall far short.

 It’s About Your Life

Your credit will dictate the availability of so many financial opportunities, from low loan rates to employment opportunities, that the suggestion that a job half-done is sufficient is sadly remiss, if not altogether irresponsible. For some, those with generally good credit, credit repair may not be a necessity. And in many cases a simple dispute letter will rectify the occasional minor error, but this is too often not the case.

When a Professional is Needed

There are many analogies that could be used to describe the situational need for professional help, vs. a self–help approach. You may be able to change the oil in your car, but not rebuild the transmission. A headache may need nothing more than an aspirin, but more serious discomfort may require a doctor. Credit repair is no different.

The Cost of Omission

Many people perform an annual credit report examination, scanning for unrecognized accounts or late payments. For most people this is the full extent of their assessment. In fact, for many people, this level of examination may overlook a wide range of reporting errors that fall into the technical category of compliance violations. Without training, these errors would be neglected. And the cost may be dramatic.

The Case of Charge Offs

As an example, anyone that ever had a charged off credit card is likely to have seen their original debt sold to a third part collector. Collectors buy and sell debt regularly, often flipping their portfolios as often as twice per year. When a collection account is sold, the selling collector is required to remove their version of the account from the debtor credit report. They often do not do so; this may cost the victim significant credit score points.

Beyond the Clean Up

Professional credit repair services will conduct an in depth of examination sufficient to find all of the reporting errors, regardless of their subtlety, adding immense value to the process, a value which can be measured in FICO points. But the importance of hiring a professional may go well beyond the clean-up phase of the process.

Getting the Edge

Professional credit repair services, at least the best of those available, will provide an additional edge to those looking for the most excellent results by offering critical FICO score credit structuring advice. In many cases a careful structuring of debt, account types, and balances, in conformance with the FICO score model, can mean a major boost to your scores.

Do Not Settle

 What do you want from your credit report? If you have bad credit issues, now is the time to rise to the occasion and demand that your credit be completely free from score depressing errors. Unless you have the time and inclination to master the task on your own, consider hiring us for the job. Do not settle for a job half done.