What is your New Year's Resolution for 2011? Do you want to have clean credit or pay off your credit cards? Do you want to finally put an end to those pesky collection calls? Maybe you want to become a homeowner and stop throwing away money on rent every month. Whatever your goal, HOPE wants to know!
HOPE is sponsoring a fun contest for you to share your New Year's resolutions and maybe even win a fabulous prize! Simply click here to tell us your resolutions for the upcoming year. One lucky person will win a FREE, personalized credit analysis with a HOPE credit specialist who will help show you how achieving healthier credit can become a reality for you in 2011! We can't wait to hear about your goals for the new year!
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Credit Reports and Scores
Check out our article in the December issue of At Home Magazine! You can pick up a copy of At Home Magazine at your local Harris Teeter, BP gas station, or Lowes Food Store as well.
Credit Myths Exposed! Part 2 By Michelle Black
Last month we discussed 3 very common credit myths and the impact they can have upon your credit report. Since there are so many credit myths, and since this is such an important subject, we will continue our article this month on the same theme. Misconceptions about credit and following bad advice can damage your credit score and could even cost you thousands of dollars. We encourage you to educate yourself regarding credit, take control of your financial future, and don’t let yourself fall victim to any the common credit myths listed below.
Credit Myth #1: I shouldn’t check my credit too often because too many inquiries can lower my credit score.
The Truth: You can personally check your credit report with no negative impact. You are even entitled to a free credit report every year at www.annualcreditreport.com. This is called a “soft” credit pull. A “hard” credit pull happens when a lender pulls your credit to see if you qualify for a loan. “Soft” pulls do not affect your credit score; however, “hard” pulls typically cost you 1-5 points and affect your credit score for approximately 6 months. So, while it is fine to check your own credit report often (HOPE recommends checking your credit 1-2 times per year), it can damage your score if your credit is pulled by a lender too often.
Credit Myth #2: One late payment won’t hurt my credit score.
The Truth: Payment history is actually the #1 factor used by the credit bureaus to determine your credit scores. Late payments can have a huge impact upon your credit scores. To give you an example, several years ago we had a HOPE client whom we had helped to clean up his credit report to the point where he could qualify for a great interest rate on his home loan. He was moving to North Carolina at the time. During the busyness of moving he forgot to make a $15 credit card payment. When his credit report was pulled later that month for his mortgage application his scores had dropped over 100 points! Thankfully, we were able to walk him through talking to his credit card company in order to request that the late payment date be removed due to the circumstances. Once the late was removed his scores recovered and he was still able to purchase his home.
Credit Myth #3: Once a collection account is paid the account will be erased from my credit report.
The Truth: Paying a collection account won’t automatically make the red mark on your credit report go away. In fact, a paid collection account can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years. Often times the creditor never bothers to update your credit report to reflect a $0 balance after receiving payment for a collection account. It is always best to use a professional debt negotiator, like HOPE, to make sure that your paid collection accounts are updated on your credit report properly and promptly.
Credit Myth #4: It’s best to work on cleaning my own credit report because all credit repair companies are scams.
The Truth: “Credit repair” has a bad name, for a good reason. Most credit repair programs are incomplete and, while they may help improve your credit report somewhat, they almost never help you to achieve a completely healthy credit status. It’s always best to work with a credit education program like HOPE which provides negotiations and personal credit advice in addition to the dispute services provided by your average “credit repair” company.
Also, everyone has the legal right to work on their own credit report. If you encounter a company that tries to misinform you regarding your rights, you should run the other way! Still, please keep in mind that while you are legally able to work on your own credit report it is usually best to have a professional to assist you when cleaning up past credit issues. You are legally allowed to represent yourself in a court of law as well; however, most of us would prefer to have an attorney represent us in order to ensure we receive the best result possible. Repairing your credit follows the same principle.
If you have credit issues or low credit scores which are keeping you from achieving your goals of homeownership or financial freedom please give us a call! HOPE can proudly announce that we have had over 70 graduates in the past 4 months alone to complete our program with credit scores healthy enough to qualify for a home loan! You can overcome the credit problems you are facing too and we would love to help you achieve a wonderful success story of your own! Please visit us online at www.HOPE4USA.com or call 704-499-9696 today for more information or to schedule your personal credit analysis with a HOPE Credit Specialist. We can’t wait to hear from you!
This year you can give your friends and family a Christmas gift that can dramatically improve their quality of life - the gift of clean credit! At HOPE we recommend checking your credit report at least once per year. For only $30 you or your loved one can have a full, detailed, professional credit analysis with a HOPE Credit Specialist including personalized tips on how to improve his/her credit report. Call or email today to order your gift certificates for this Christmas season! We ho-ho-hope to hear from you soon!
*Special Offer: Buy $100 worth of gift certificates during December and receive a $25 gift certificate for free!
We are happy to share that Michelle Black of the HOPE Program has a featured article in At Home Magazine this month! You can pick up a copy of At Home Magazine at your local Harris Teeter, BP gas station, or Lowes Food Store. For your convenience, see below for a copy of the article as well:
Credit Myths Exposed! By Michelle Black, Co-Owner, HOPE (www.HOPE4USA.com)
It is extremely important to know who to trust when you receive advice on how to improve or alter your credit score in any way. Just about every one of us has, at sometime in the past, followed the wrong advice when it comes to our credit. Unfortunately, following bad advice can cause your credit scores to drop, sometimes very drastically. We will discuss a few of today’s most common credit myths in this article. Hopefully, by learning from the mistakes of others, you will be able to save yourself from the potential harm this misinformation about credit can do to your credit score.
Credit Myth #1: Closing credit card accounts lowers my available credit and will boost/raisemy credit score.
The Truth: This is probably the most common, most costly mistake that I see people make when trying to improve their credit scores. Many times I will meet with someone for a credit consultation and have them tell me, “I just paid off and closed all of my credit card accounts!” While it is always a sound financial decision to pay off credit cards, it is very bad for your credit score to close current credit card accounts. In fact, closing current credit card accounts will almost certainly cause your credit score to drop, sometimes tremendously.
When a client tells me that they have closed their credit card accounts the very first thing I advise them to do is to open some new accounts (if the recently closed accounts cannot be re-opened.) Closing accounts causes your proportion of credit used to go up, making you a higher risk in the eyes of the credit bureaus. This is one of the reasons your scores drop when current accounts are closed.
Credit Myth #2: Paying my credit cards off every month hurts my credit score. It is better to leave a balance on the card.
The Truth: The best way to drive your credit scores upwards quickly is to pay off your current credit card balance to $0 and to keep them there. By showing the credit bureaus that you are financially disciplined to pay off your cards and not use 100% of your available credit limit you will typically be “rewarded” by having extra points added to your credit score. Plus, by paying off your credit cards every month, you will not be paying interest on these accounts, saving yourself a lot of money. This small tip can pay BIG dividends both financially and with regard to your credit score.
Credit Myth #3: Paying cash and carrying no debt will increase my credit scores.
The Truth: Our credit reports provide a snap shot to lenders of our credit worthiness, that is whether or not we are likely to pay pack our loans on time. FICO reports that people with no credit cards are higher risks than people who have credit cards and use them responsibly. In fact, if we have no accounts showing up on our credit report then we are likely to have low or even no credit scores at all. In order to obtain good credit scores we must have the correct balance of open accounts reporting on our credit at all times.
These are just 3 of the most common, and most costly, credit myths you may come across. Check back next month for more information on credit myths and how you can potentially save yourself from the negative effects these myths can have upon your credit scores. We know that it can be very overwhelming to try to understand the intricacies involved with credit reporting. It is often nearly impossible for an individual to straighten out credit issues on his/her own. If you have low scores on your credit report, or even if you just want to improve your “good” credit report into a “stellar” credit report we would love to give you our professional opinion and advice.
In a little over 2 and ½ months alone the HOPE Program has had over 50 graduates to complete our program with credit scores healthy enough to qualify for a home loan! We would love to show you how you can achieve your personal success story as well! Please visit us online at www.HOPE4USA.com or call 704-499-9696 today for more information or to schedule your personal credit consultation. Our caring credit specialists are looking forward to hearing from you!
According to the Charlotte Observer: North Carolina's attorney general is investigating the state's 15 largest mortgage lenders, questioning them about procedures used in foreclosure.Attorney General Roy Cooper has asked each of the lenders to stop foreclosure proceedings during the review. He wants the companies to show that their procedures comply with the law.
Cooper says the investigation began in late September amid questions about Ally Financial Inc.'s GMAC Mortgage policies.
Ally and two other banks have halted foreclosures in 23 states after evidence surfaced that their employees or outside lawyers signed documents without reading them or filed inaccurate paperwork. Numerous state and federal officials have been ramping up pressure on the mortgage industry over concerns about potential legal violations.
HOPE has had over 50 graduates in a little over 2 and 1/2 months to complete our program with credit scores healthy enough to purchase a home! Call us today at 704-499-9696 to speak with one of our caring credit specialists and find out why the HOPE Program may be just the answer that you have been looking for to help with your credit problems. Poor credit does not have to control your life for one more day! There is an answer and HOPE can help! We hope to hear from you soon.