Posts Tagged Good Chance

Debt Settlement and Your Credit Score

Marie Megge asked:




Are you considering debt settlement, but concerned it may negatively impact your credit score? If a lower credit score is your main concern regarding debt settlement, read on for answers to some questions you may have.

First, you’ll want to check your credit score to be sure it’s as high as you think it is. You see, if you’re carrying high balances on your credit cards, with many of them being nearly “maxed out,” there’s a good chance that your credit score is only mediocre, at best. Worse yet, if you’ve made even one late payment, your credit score will be reduced, as well.

If you find that your credit score is fairly decent, and you’re worried about your credit file reflecting a lower score as a result of debt settlement, you have a legitimate concern.

Unfortunately, most creditors won’t even consider working with you until your accounts are near “charge-off” status. At that point your credit report will show that your accounts are 180-210 days delinquent, and you can expect your credit score to be significantly reduced.

How long will you need to tolerate a lower-than-normal credit score? Well, that depends on your ability to generate sufficient funds to pay the agreed-upon settlements negotiated and reached with your creditors. Generally, your score will improve when zero balances are reflected on your credit report – usually 30-90 days after a settlement has been paid in full. You can speed this process up by being proactive and sending proof of payment to the major credit reporting agencies, rather than waiting for your creditor to report the changed status. Your score will continue to improve as the debt settlement process is further behind you, and can expect a score of at least the mid-600 range within twelve months of paying your accounts off through debt settlement, provided your mortgage and installment loans do not reflect any late payments.

If you’re struggling each month to make the minimum payments on your accounts, and debt settlement seems to be your best option, a temporary reduction in your credit score probably shouldn’t influence your decision too much. Rather, peace of mind and the ability to pay your bills should be your main concern. If you take a realistic look at your finances, you may very well see that you’re in deeper than you thought. I urge you to gather all of your bills and add up your monthly expenses – including your credit card bills, and then minus your credit card bills. After you’ve made the comparison, you’ll likely understand that the benefits of debt settlement easily outweigh the few months you’ll need to deal with a reduced credit score.

Herbert

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Best Credit Report- Tips and Faqs

Mike Clover asked:


Best Credit Report-Want to know the best credit report for you, and why you should have one for your record? Have you ever applied for credit and been turned down and wondered why? This is one good reason why you should have a current copy. Have you applied for 0% interest on a car loan, only to be told your rate is higher? Have you applied for Job and been passed up, maybe because of your Credit History? Have you tried to open a checking account and been told no? Most of these mentioned are reasons why you should make sure you have the best credit report possible.

Example of bad to good credit scores:

- 780-850 – Low Risk

- 740-780 – Medium -Low Risk

- 690-740- Medium Risk

- 620-690- Medium High Risk

- 620 and Below – High Risk or “Sub-Prime

What is your credit score? Do you keep on top of it so you don’t get told no? We all need the peace of mind knowing what our credit situation is. A score of 620 to 650 could mean an opportunity lost, like a new job, or a lower interest rate etc…… As a lender I see more people out there that have bad credit than good. I think this is a huge problem. Maybe it is because people are not being taught how to manage here money properly. There is a good chance that parents did not educate you in regards to how important your credit is, and how it will affect your personal life.

Your personal Identity is important now; this is a good reason why you should have a current copy. Every 3 seconds someone’s Identity gets stolen. This is another reason to have a recent copy and have monitoring set up. The monitoring services that are offered give you e-mail alerts when critical changes take place to your credit report. This is a valuable service, when it comes to ones creditworthiness.

Inaccuracies on your file need to be watched also. Sometimes creditors will report late payments when you did not pay late. A late payment on your credit report will lower your score 50 points or more. I personally see this all the time, where items are reported incorrectly. Another problem is where a creditor will report the amount of credit granted on a card less than what they gave, and you have charged more than 30% of allowed credit, this will drop you score. Maybe you are a junior, and your dad has some derogatory credit being reported, and because your names are the same it’s showing up on your report. This is a common problem, and needs to be fixed. There are so many different variables that could affect your file.

In order to make sure you have the best credit report possible, make sure you are on top of your credit.



MARK

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