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Whether you are Working at Home, a salaried Professional, are Older and Wiser, or at any stage of your life, your credit can be good, or bad.

No matter what you think it is, i.e. you pay your bills on time so you think it’s really good, you should know as much as you can about it and how it can affect you.

Seventy percent of Americans have never seen their own credit report or credit score.

Do you know that you have a credit score?

It’s usually referred to as a FICO score.

Being a Mortgage Consultant, Mortgage Broker, I’ve seen many credit reports and I am often surprised by the fact that my clients either don’t really know they have a credit score, or they don’t realize how much it can hurt them if they were inattentive to the numerous factors that make up a Credit Score.

The FICO score is a summary of your credit history. In other words, it’s a financial history of your life.

That score impacts a surprising cross-section of life, in fact it impacts many things you knew about. Such as;

? Lenders use it to evaluate your eligibility for mortgages.

? Landlords use it to gauge the likelihood you’ll pay the rent.

? Car dealers utilize it in arrange financing for you.

? Credit cards are, or aren’t, given to you because of it.

Now, for some things you may not have been aware of,

? Insurance companies may base your premium on it.

? Potential employers often use it to assess your character and they may base there hiring decisions on it.

The FICO score reflects hundreds of parameters in one’s financial history.

? Score 700-850 – smooth loan process; best interest rates

? Score 550-699 -medium risk; higher interest rates

? Score 300-549 -sorry, no loans or credit cards

These hundred of variables are included in the calculation of your credit score, but I only mentioned the bigger ones here.

Just paying your bills on time, as important as that is, may not rescue you from other credit pitfalls.

Bills, mortgages, your monthly rent, credit cards, long overdue or overlooked, can show up as a blotch on your credit.

? A cable, or credit card bill, that didn’t make it to your new address, or you Read more…

You might not know it, but every time you take out any kind of loan or credit or pay something back, it gets counted on your credit rating. Who keeps a record on you will vary according to where you live, but the big three credit reference agencies are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. They will provide your credit rating to any company that is thinking of lending you money.

What is Included in Your Credit Rating.

All the debts you currently have are included in your credit rating. There is a history of all the debts you’ve had in the past ten years or so, and special emphasis is put on anything that has gone wrong. Defaulting (never paying) on any debt will ruin your credit rating completely. Borrowing a lot before you start paying anything back will make you look like a very bad risk, and so will going all the way up to (or even over) your limit on a credit card.

It is also worth considering that the credit reports of anyone you live with may be linked to your report, and could reflect badly on you – your wife or husband’s credit rating is tied to yours quite closely.

How Your Credit Rating is Worked Out.

The most common method of coming up with your rating is called ‘FICO’, named after the Fair Isaac Corporation, who invented it. Your current credit status is prioritised, in this order: whether you’ve paid past debts, how much debt you currently have, your credit history, the types of debt you use, and how many times your rating has been checked recently. Things that happened more recently are given more weight than things that happened a long time ago.

Why Your Credit Rating is Important.

Any time you get turned down for a credit card or any other loan, the chances are that it was because of Read more…

Among the many innovations that emerged after World War II, credit use has become a major factor in our entire economic profile. As a result, your credit rating is the most important factor in determining your credit APR when you apply for any type of credit: credit cards, 0% APR transfer offers as well as mortgage and car loans.

What?s a credit score?

Credit reporting was created more than 100 years ago, when small retail merchants banded together to trade financial information about their customers. These merchant associations formed small credit bureaus, which later consolidated into larger organizations. By the 1960?s, consumers demanded the right to examine their credit reports and amend false or misleading credit information that had been withheld from them. In 1971, Congress enacted the Fair Credit Reporting Act, giving consumers the right to view and correct their records, as well as privacy protection as to who had access to these records.

A fair credit scoring system was needed too. In 1989, Fair, Issac and Company, in conjunction with Equifax, created a credit scoring system, called ?FICO?, this credit rating scoring system creates a summary of your credit history. Low scores mean that you may not qualify for a good rate for the credit you want. Some lending institutions may use your credit score to set the overall fees for the loan you are requesting. In the end, a good credit score can save you money.

Factors that affect your credit score

*Your payment history (35%): your score is negatively scored if you have paid bills late, had an account sent to a collection agency or if you have declared bankruptcy–the more recent the problem, the lower the score. For example, a 30-day late credit payment will hurt you more than a bankruptcy five years ago.

*Your total outstanding debt (30%): If the amount you owe on your credit card is close to the credit limit amount, the more likely it will affect your credit score negatively. A low balance on two cards is better than a high credit limit balance on just one.

*Length of your credit history (15%): The longer your credit accounts have been open, the better your score will be.

*Recent inquiries on your credit history (10%): If you have recently applied for several new accounts, it may negatively affect your score. Moreover, while you are in the ?wait? period for getting approval for that new home purchase, many loan officers will advise you to delay making ANY new credit purchases until the loan is approved.

*Types of credit used (10%): Loans from finance companies generally lower your credit score. This is especially true if you don?t have a lengthy credit Read more…

Before credit scores were developed, lenders use to physically look over each applicants credit report and credit history to determine whether or not to extend credit. This process was highly time consuming and sometimes resulted in large human errors.

As a result, Fair Isaac created the credit scoring formula to help lenders make better judgments more quickly. The credit scoring formula looks at many variables such as total debt to income ratio, types of debt, number of late payments and other variables.

One thing many people fail to realize is that depending on the type of loan you are applying for, you may find your FICO credit score differs quite drastically. The reason for this is that lenders use various versions of the Fair Isaac FICO scores. The goal of this article is to provide an understanding of the different types of credit scores you may see when applying for credit.

Classic FICO?

The Classic FICO credit score has traditionally been the most common type of credit scores used by most lenders. Each year billions of lending decisions per year are being measured using the Classic FICO score. If you are looking for a mortgage loan, car loan, motorcycle loan or other consumer loans it is likely that the lender will use a Classic FICO credit score. The Classic FICO credit score is sometimes referred to as Beacon?, FICO Risk Score?, or Empirica? depending on the credit reporting agency.

NexGen FICO? Risk Score

The NexGen FICO risk score is an off shoot of the Classic FICO credit score aimed at reducing the risk of lenders while also allowing them to increase their approval rate. The NextGen FICO looks at far more predictive variables than the Classic FICO credit score thus allowing it to be more accurate. The NextGen FICO is currently being widely adopted by lenders and is becoming increasingly popular in retail. NextGen FICO credit score, may be also be referred to the PinnacleSM, FICO? Risk Score or Advanced Risk Score.

Industry Specific FICO Score

As the name suggests certain industries have specific FICO credit scores. Normally these scores are developed from the Read more…

Credit Scores That Hurt

Is your credit score being held against you?

More and more the staples of life depend on your credit score. Your mortgage, insurance premiums,
employment opportunities and even your landlord may be using your credit score to determine your
financial future.

In some cases even the utility companies are basing the size of your deposit on your credit score.
Landlords are determining your reliability as a tenant. Insurance companies are setting the size of
your premiums based on your credit score. Many more employers are also using your score to
determine your reliability.

According to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, 25% of credit reports
which list your credit and borrowing activities, had errors serious enough to to cause a consumer
to be turned down for a loan or job.

To counteract the erronius information on your credit score you should review your FICO scores
at least once a year, or several months before applying for a Read more…

i want to refinance my home,but my broker tells me that the minumum fico score is constantly changing,so,i want to exactly know what is the minumum score to do a stated refinance mortgage deal right now?

As I am not from the US, I had no idea what FICO meant before researching it. FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, a company based in California. FICO, put simply, is a person’s credit score. A credit score can be used by a potential lender in making a judgement on whether to grant you credit or not, for example when you apply for a new credit card or home mortgage. Therefore, if you are in the US, the FICO score is very important to you.
What Does a FICO Score Do?

A FICO score places a value on the types of credit accounts you hold or have held, and your credit history in maintaining those accounts. The FICO score scale ranges from 300 to 850, with the majority of people in the United States in the 600 – 850 range.

Factors Which Affect Your FICO Credit Score

There are 5 factors in all which determine your FICO credit score:

1. Your payment history.

This counts for a very significant 35%–the most of the FICO score factors. As you would expect, paying your bills on time is gets you a good score, while paying them late on a consistent basis is will mark down your FICO score. If you have had debts referred to a collection agency, that is worse still, while declaring bankruptcy is the worst of all.

2. How much you owe.

Another obvious factor that FICO will take into account in arriving at a credit score. This accounts for another 30% of your total FICO score. It is not just what you owe already that affects your FICO score. Also taken into account is the amount of credit available to you. For example, if you have a credit line of $5000, but have so far only used $1000, that will be taken into account.

Your total amount of credit will be totalled, and compared to your annual income. So, loans such as car loans, mortgages, credit cards, store cards, will all be added together. Those who use most or all of their available credit will get a lower rating for this part of the FICO score calculation.

3. Length of credit history.

Another important factor that makes up 15% of your FICO credit score is the length of your credit history. The longer your credit history, the better for your FICO score. Additionally, though, a long history with any particular lender will be good for your credit score.

4. Type of credit mix.

The fourth factor taken into consideration is the type of credit mix that you have. For example, do you have only high risk unsecured type credit, or do you also have Read more…

The Credit Report is like your scorecard in the lending world. Every time you prepare yourself to acquire or purchase something that requires financial assistance from a lending institution, your credit report will be your ?presentation card?.

You also need to realize that other entities like employers and insurance companies often use your credit score to determine if they want to do business with you.

There are three credit bureaus where you can request a copy of your credit report (Equifax, Trans Union and Experian); and the information that you?ll get with any of these three bureaus it?s basically the same: your current and previous address, social security number, date of birth, current and previous employers and of course a list of every single open account you have with data like: credit limit, current balance, minimum payment, and your payment behavior.

Once the Credit Bureaus gather all your information, they give you a rating between 300 and 850, being 850 a perfect credit score. Each Credit Bureau makes its rating individually, and you will want to get the blended credit score at least once a year.

You can?t assume that because one of your reports is showing accurate information that the other two will Read more…

Between 15 – 20% of people in our country (UK) own there own businesses. This statistic is on the rise thanks to the incredible invention of the Internet. The staggering truth is that of these only 5% are genuinely financially free! You may well see lots of expensive cars driving on our roads and big houses inhabited by the seemingly wealthy, but these houses and cars are not yet paid for.

Never in our history has it been so easy to lend money. Banks and building societies are falling over backwards to lend us money. You can sign your life away to a 50-year mortgage these days if you choose! Banks and building societies are offering 125% mortgages to first time buyers and business is looking outwardly great.

The credit card companies also love today?s economy. You can borrow enough money on a credit card nowadays to buy a brand-new car! The loan companies are also cashing in on ignorant and naive individuals and this really concerns me. The advertisement marketplace is going wild on media adverts for consolidation loans. You know the type? ?We will help you to consolidate all of your existing loans into one affordable monthly payment? They call this type of loan a HOME OWNERS loan. Yes you can consolidate all of your existing debts into one affordable monthly loan, but what do you call affordable? People are consolidating their present debts into one huge debt and loaning the money to repay this new debt. To actually repay this debt in full will take these people years. What?s more they?ve secured this loan on their one and only ASSET – their HOME!

These unfortunate people aren?t thinking about the future and their long-term future plans, they?re thinking about the immediate and present situation. In the meantime what happens when the interest rates begin to rise? The interest rates on a consolidation loan will take years to pay off and whilst you owe money to your lender you?re not secure at all because your consolidation loan is secured on your home.

What does this mean?

If you cannot pay your loan the Loan Company will TAKE YOUR HOME as payment!

The reason it is so easy to lend money at present is because the interest rates are so low. At the time of writing this web page our present government has set the base rate of lending so low that people are dangerously getting themselves into debt through their own ignorance towards the economy. What is really happening will become all too apparent in the next few years when the tide turns and the interest rates begins to rise sharply. If you?re not financially free or in control of your assets when the tide turns you will lose everything. History always repeats itself and sooner or later a recession will hit the world trading markets and all of those people who borrowed huge amounts of money to buy their big house and their BMW or Mercedes will be in big financial trouble.

Wait, it gets worse!

SHOCK ? HORROR!

Once the tide turns the interest rates will saw and if you?re not secure your financial world will come crashing down. The mistake that people have made is to foolishly believe that their loan rates will remain the same, they won?t. Let me explain in simple terms to you my theory by giving to you a simple example:

If you have a current ?interest only? mortgage of say ?100k and the interest rate applied is ?5% your monthly payment will increase with the interest rate. What happens if the interest rate climbs to 10%? Your mortgage could double. In 1989 the interest rate sawed to 15%. If this happens (and it could) your present mortgage payments could treble! How will you survive financially?

Your mortgage payments could increase by 300% inside 12 months and any other loans you may have will also require payment. If your wage doesn?t allow sufficient funds to meet these demands than you will lose everything slowly and painfully. When the interest rates do begin to rise (and they will) the debt consolidation companies will cash in on you. Before you know it you could owe money for the rest of your life and if you can?t pay what you owe than your lender will take your car your home and the clothes off your back to meet their demands.

SO WHAT?S THE ANSWER?

My advice to you is to pay off your existing debts as quickly as possible. If you are driving around in a car that is financed by a finance company pay this loan off as quickly as possible. Contact the finance company and ask them for a final settlement figure. This way you?ll know exactly how much debt you?re in. If you can afford to settle your finance early than take advantage of this and settle immediately. This way you?ll own your car outright, you?ll have paid less in interest and you?ll have some equity if you need it. If you can?t afford to settle the finance at the present than check what interest rate you are currently paying and search around on the Internet or in the high street for a lower rate of interest. Whatever you do, don?t delay in taking control of your finances today.

Another mistake people make is to fall into the trap of ?false economy?. They begin with the right intentions by searching for a lower rate of interest for their mortgage. What this means is that their monthly payments become lower. The mistake they make is to think they?ve got more money in their pocket. In affect this is a false economy. Instead of settling for more money in your pocket and still enduring a 10 year (or whatever) term loan ,why not use this extra money to increase payment on the capital of your loan?

This simple technique is called ?Mortgage Acceleration? The Banks and Building Societies know all about Mortgage Acceleration they just don?t mention it because it loses them lots of money in interest payments!

If you increase the capital payments of your mortgage every month you?re paying off the entire loan quicker. If you can shave 2 years off your loan you?ve not only shortened your mortgage by 2 years you?ll have saved yourself a packet in interest charges. A 25-year ?50k mortgage repaid 16 years early could save you over ?60k Read more…

To own a home or rent a home? I am sure this question has been debated by many millions of potential homeowners.

It is a big decision and both sides of the coin have their advantages and disadvantages. I would like to share some of my opinions with you.

Advantages of Owning A Home

Having your own home is something many people strive for especially for those thinking of starting a family. You get a sense of freedom and security since the house is yours and you are free to do whatever you want with it. You are free to hack and decorate your house to your taste.

An advantage of owning a home is that it can be a great investment tool. Think of it as investing in real estate, only that you live in it as well. The government also has various kinds of tax rebates and deductions for home owners.

The biggest advantage of owning your own home versus renting it is that your monthly payments are not ?wasted?. What I mean is that when you own a home, your monthly home loan payment goes towards paying your home. When you rent a home, the monthly payments only help to line the homeowner?s pockets.

Another interesting thing is when you own a home, your credit rating goes up a lot as well, thus you are able to get better loans at a lower interest rate.

Disadvantages of Owning A Home

There are some disadvantages to owning a home. For example, you are liable for any accidents and injuries on your property. Getting a home insurance policy covering such cases can offset this. However, there is a cost involved.

You are also liable for any damage that is caused to your neighbor?s property if Read more…