Tips....

Subject: Keeping your credit score as high as possible

More than ever I cannot emphasize enough, get those scores as high as possible. If you have not noticed, the lending industry is going through a metamorphosis of sorts. We have subprime lenders ( those who loan money to credit challenged borrowers) dropping like flies, increasing foreclosures and underwriting guidelines getting tighter and tighter. Why? In the past, underwriting guidelines were too loose. In order to gain market share, lenders found more and more ways to get creative and loan money. Something a little more scary for you.... Most folks don't realize that if the same guidelines were in place two years ago, as they are today they would still be renting.

You have to realize there is an immense amount of opportunity. In every down market, there are those that come out way ahead of the rest. The only catch, it all starts with your credit. Think of it like this. With foreclosures increasing, and underwriting guidelines tightening, who are the lenders going to want to loan money to? High credit score borrowers! What can these "high credit score" borrowers buy? Real estate below market! Sound simple enough? You can get great deals in real estate, you just have to have good credit. If you bought enough real estate, you could literally increase your income and your net worth by hundreds of thousand of dollars with very little to nothing out of your pocket.

What do you do if you have credit issues? Get it together now! Do not delay! If you have not woken up yet, turn on the news or grab a newspaper and read an article about what's happening with the subprime lenders and how they're affecting Wall Street.  I could go into a long list of those companies that have lost more than 50-100% of their value in as little as a month, but I won't bore you. You can also go to http://www.lenderimplode.com
to see the latest lending demise.

Why should you care with what goes on with Wall Street? For starters, Wall Street affects the everyday products and services that you and I buy.  In simplified terms, think of it as a "cause and effect" theory. Our consumer behaviour affects Wall Street, just as what happens on Wall Street affects our consumer buying powers.  If you're still breathing, then whether you know it or not, you're either a "cause" or an "effect" of what's taking place on Wall Street and how it's affecting our economy, and vice versa.  Still don't get it, call me! 

Tips for increasing your score? Number one pay your bills on time. If you have collections and chargeoffs, negotiate a lower payoff of the bad debt (many times .30 for every 1.00 owed). Only pay it off if the collector agrees to give a letter of deletion. A paid collection will not help your credit score. Only if it is deleted will your scores increase. If a collector tells you any differently, hang up and call right back and ask to speak to a supervisor. Another tip. Only utilize 30% or less of your available credit limit. Go over 30% and this starts to negatively affect your score. Last but not least, if you have anything derogatory of public record, (bankruptcy, tax liens, judgments) you have to do everything possible to make certain there is never another negative (slow pay or collection) item on your report. Those with negative public records are automatically scored worse if you have a little hiccup after the public record is filed. There is a lot to how your credit score is determined. In many cases, I see tons of inaccuracies. In case you are wondering... yes, those inaccurate items do have a bearing on your score and your interest rate. Not fair? Absolutely. More than ever you need to be proactive.

Here's to paying your bills on time!

Sela Finau
Direct 817-874-3533
Email sela@finaumortgage.com

Below is a link where you can get a copy of your free annual credit report.  

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp