Fundamental Specifics Relating To Your Credit Score

Money is the stuff that makes everything possible in today’s world. And believe it or not, most of the stuff you own was bought with borrowed money. Your house, your car, many of the items in your house. And one thing that can have a dramatic effect on your ability to borrow money is your credit score. That’s why it’s absolutely essential to understand this.

Naturally, your credit score isn’t only used to borrow money. Many people are shocked when they learn this simple fact. For example, if you go to a job interview and they employer really likes you and wants to hire you, they may not because of a poor credit score.

Of course, knowing the importance of your credit score is only half the battle. When you understand how your credit score is calculated, that will allow you to make some changes that can increase your score if you need to do that.

Every time you borrow money, in any way, this goes onto your credit score. It doesn’t matter if it is a car loan, or a credit card, it goes on your record. And how well you pay this off also goes on your record. If you pay if off on time, that’s a plus. If you pay if off late or not at all, this is a big negative.

One thing they look at is your debt to income ratio.This is calculated by dividing the amount you have to pay for your bills every month into the amount of your salary. If your debt to income ratio is less than thirty percent, that’s considered pretty good. Anything higher than that, and you are starting to send up some red flags.

It goes without saying that everybody wants to keep a good credit score. And the easy way to do this is to simply pay cash for as many things as you can, and only use your credit cards when it’s an emergency. And keep close tabs on your debt levels, to make sure they don’t rise above thirty percent.

Keeping a good credit report is an important thing. By paying in cash, keeping close watch on your spending, and sparsely using your credit cards, this should be easy.

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How to Improve Your Credit in 2010

Your credit rating is more important in 2010 than any other year in recent memory. There is less available credit than any other time in recent history. Credit card companies launched a massive wave of cut backs. You may have noticed your available balance was slashed overnight.

It is now even more difficult to be approved for a home mortgage. In order to be approved for a mortgage today, you must now have a minimum credit score that is 40 points higher than a few years ago and, if you are hoping for reasonable rates, you will need a minimum score in the high 600′s.

You can rest assured that it will be almost impossible to obtain new credit in 2010, especially if your credit score isn’t up to par.

What this means is that you need a plan to get your credit in top shape for the new year.

I spent several hours last weekend writing down my financial goals for 2010, which included my FICO score goal of 775.

I hope that you have decided on some financial goals for yourself. Once you have made a list of goals, you will need a plan for obtaining success. Erasing negative items from your credit report and improving your FICO score should be included in your overall strategy. A formula for achieving these goals follows:

Credit Strategy #1: Questionable Negative Items Should Be Deleted From Your Credit Reports

You should immediately attempt to remove any questionable late payment, repossession, collection, charge off, bankruptcy, or other negative item, by disputing the information.

To accomplish this, you can use the dispute form letter which you will find here.

Sometimes, items such as judgments, charge offs, and repossessions are particularly stubborn to remove from your credit report. As these items have a tendency to be a bit more “sticky,” you may require something more forceful than a standard dispute letter.

You might consider a process called “debt validation” where you demand that the original creditor validate a debt. (It’s a lot different than disputing with the bureaus – yet super effective for removing collections and charge offs.)

It is probably best not to attempt debt validation on your own. I tried to do it myself and failed miserably. In fact, I did such a poor job that the creditors just ignored my correspondence altogether.

Credit Strategy #2: Build Good Credit

The good news is that this is easy to do if you already have an unsecured account. Keep paying those accounts on time. In fact, I suggest setting up an auto payment system so you never slip up. Plus, this saves postage so you are saving twice!

However, if you don’t have an unsecured account, like a MasterCard or Visa, it can be a bit more difficult. If your credit score is in the 500 range, it will be hard to obtain an unsecured card.

Credit Strategy #3: Stay the Course

Don’t lose sight of your goal and what you want to accomplish. Rebuilding your credit will take time. The sooner you get started the better. It is wise to keep track of your credit score by maintaining a detailed log. Begin your log by noting your credit score as of today’s date and tracking it as you rebuild good credit and as questionable negative items are removed. If you are successful with your goals, your credit score should increase each month.

Don’t become down-trodden if things don’t work out the way you think they should. Different strategies may be available to tackle an issue.

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Can I Have a Judgment Deleted?

If you have lost a lawsuit involving a debt or did not show up for court and lost the case by default, the judgment against you can be vacated. To do this you would file a Motion to Vacate.

When you file a Motion to Vacate, you are in essence suspending the judgment and requesting a new hearing. If the Motion is granted, you will need to be prepared to argue for dismissing the case.

What Are the Steps I Need to Take?

The following steps will yield results if followed carefully (depending upon state law):

1. It is important that you research and master your state’s court procedural laws. When you do this, you will learn the proper way to draft a motion and for what reasons a judgment may be dismissed. It is imperative that you have a grasp of the court’s rules. By performing this research you will discover the reasons a case may be thrown out on a technicality.

2. Complete your Motion to Vacate and take it to the original court that granted the judgment. File your Motion with the court clerk and determine if any additional documents need to be completed. You will probably need to pay a filing fee. Get certified copies and mail the original to the plaintiff by certified mail, return receipt requested. Your creditor or collection agency is more than likely the plaintiff.

3. You will need to mark your calendar with the date and time of the hearing. The court clerk will schedule the hearing and likely mail the notice to you so make sure the court clerk has your correct address.

Thirty-five days are given to the plaintiff to respond to the motion. In some cases, the plaintiff may attempt to settle out of court or possibly not even appear at the hearing. You will win by default if the plaintiff does not appear in court!

You should demand that the creditor file dismissal paperwork and require that the judgment be withdrawn by the credit reporting agencies if your creditor wants to settle out of court. Be sure to commit your agreement to writing in the form of a legal agreement.

“Unpaid’ judgments are very damaging and “paid” judgments are not much better! Because of this you should do everything in your power to negotiate a complete deletion of the judgment from your credit report.

If the case does reach the hearing stage, preparation is key! You will need to be ready to prove the creditor wrong and trip him up. Because the creditor brought this case before the judge, the creditor is the party who will need to prove the merits of the case.

Some ideas moving forward include:

1. Be ready to attack the creditor’s documentation. For instance, demand that the creditor produce a copy of the original contract for the debt.

2. It is very important to review and understand your state’s statute of limitations laws. You may not have an obligation to pay the debt if the debt is outside of the statute of limitations. In this case, the matter will be dismissed.

3. If it appears that a judgment is in your future, think about employing a consumer credit attorney for advice. Consumer credit attorneys make their living handling cases just like yours and will be able to guide you through the process and offer valuable advice.

Judgments are destructive and will cause you financial woe for years to come. You should do everything in your power to avoid a judgment!

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How Can I Remove Late Payments From My Credit Report?

For many people it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet all of their financial obligations. Each month that a consumer is late on a bill, the creditor reports this information to the credit reporting agencies. The credit reporting agencies then take this information and include it on your credit report. When a lender requests a copy of your credit report, all of your late payment entries will be reported for the lender to view.

Payments received after the due date are considered late, regardless of “how late” they may have been. If your payment was received the day after the due date or 30 days following the due date, it is still late. Most creditors however will not report a late payment until it is actually 30 days past the due date. But, if your payment is past the due date, you will probably find yourself with a hefty late payment penalty.

To begin the process of removing late penalties from your credit report, you will need to request a copy of your credit report. This is easily done by getting in touch with one of the three major credit reporting agencies – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. You have the right to obtain one free copy of your credit report from these credit reporting agencies every twelve months.

Although the same kinds of information are reported on credit reports, the layout may be somewhat different. As you review your credit report, it should be fairly simple to determine how the credit reporting agency has reported late payments. In addition, the number of late payments you have made within a specific time period should also be shown on your credit report.

Although consumers understand that making late payments is not a good thing, they normally don’t understand the far-reaching consequences. Payment punctuality can count for over 30% of your total credit score. Because of this, late payments can severely affect credit applications which you submit to a lender.

The first thing you can try in order to remove late payments from your credit report is to contact the creditor directly and ask that it remove the late payments. This is often successful, however, if you habitually make late payments, it may be less likely.

If your creditor is unwilling to remove the late payments, you should contact the credit reporting agency by mail and request that they remove the late payments. Your letter should include copies of any supporting documentation that you have which corroborates your claim. You should always retain copies of any correspondence to or from the credit reporting agency. The credit reporting bureau has 30 days to verify your claim. If it cannot verify your claim within 30 days, it must remove the late payment from your credit report.

If at all possible, it is smart to keep this from happening in the first place. If you know you will be unable to make a payment on time, make a call to your creditor and explain your situation. It is often the case that creditors are more than happy to help you out by arranging a payment plan.

Did you know that late payments can be shown on your credit report for up to seven years? It’s true! This, of course, can severely damage your credit score and can cause you to be denied credit. Try to avoid late payments on your credit report by working with your creditor if you feel you will be late. You will be happy you did!

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Will a Judgment Affect Me Adversely?

If you have a debt which is subsequently sent to collections, you will drastically damage your credit score. Your credit score will be damaged even more significantly if your creditor decides to seek a judgment.

If you are served with a Notice to Appear in court with regard to an unpaid debt, your creditor is through trying to work with you to collect the debt. After receipt of the Notice, you will have 30 days to object to the filing. If you can prove that the debt is invalid, you can have the case dismissed.

Some creditors may threaten to file a law suit but are not serious. However, going to court will be the kiss of death for your credit score and, therefore, should be avoided at all costs.

An “unpaid” judgment will be shown on your credit report for 10-12 years. At the end of this 10-12 year period, if the judgment remains unpaid, it can be renewed. A paid judgment can be shown on your credit report for up to 7 years from the date paid.

You should make an effort to contact your creditor to negotiate a settlement, provided the debt is valid, you would prefer this route to letting a judge decide your fate, and the debt is still within the statute of limitations (check your state’s statute of limitations laws). Be sure to check your state’s statute of limitations laws prior to doing this. The reason for this is that if your debt is outside of the statute of limitations, you no longer have a legal obligation to pay the debt and offering to pay may start the clock ticking again for payment purposes.

If the court issues an official court order for payment of the debt, your credit score will suffer drastically. This negative mark will not show up on your credit report if you contact your creditor and negotiate a settlement prior to the entry of judgment.

Offering to negotiate a settlement is the best solution for all parties. Typically, creditors do not want to go to court and will accept a portion of the amount owed just to bring the matter to a close. If you do not have a lump sum to offer as payment, you can always attempt to negotiate a payment plan. If your creditor is not “in the mood” to consider any offers, you might think about calling the lawyer handling the case for your creditor.

Your credit report will show the debt as “legally void” if the judgment is dismissed. This is much less damaging than a “paid judgment,” which can be shown on your credit report for seven years from the date paid.

The best outcome would be to negotiate a full deletion of all negative information. If you are successful in negotiating this, make sure you get the agreement in writing and that you obtain the signatures of both parties. Keep in mind that once the court becomes involved, your chances of negotiating a settlement are next to none.

An experienced credit attorney might be a good idea. You may, in the long run, save some money and lessen the damage to your credit score by employing a seasoned consumer credit attorney.

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