CREDIT SCORES

Struggling with bad credit can be daunting and frustrating. The negative impact on your financial future can overwhelm even the most optimistic of people. Don’t lose hope; there are legal ways to get back on track and improve your credit score. Read on for some helpful information.

Are There Laws Related to Credit?

Those in the market for a new home will receive an addition to their mortgage loan applications starting Jan. 1, when lenders begin including information regarding how individual credit scores might affect mortgage interest rate quotes and terms.

This is good news for individuals looking to purchase a new home, as they will not only have a chance to compare rates and price mortgage loans, but will also have an opportunity to make changes to their credit before agreeing to a mortgage.

By Casey Bond

This is the fourth installment of our financial myth-busting series. Today, we will be targeting typical misconceptions about credit. Be sure to check out the rest of the series.

When it comes to money, it seems like everyone’s an expert. Most financial gurus you see or read about are often experts in one area or another, but they’re seldom experts in everything. That means it’s up to you to determine which advice is sound–and which advice you should ignore.

To help you out, however, here’s a list of commonly heard financial advice that ranges from illogical to downright dangerous:

One consumer struggles to build credit without dinging her credit score and Credit Karma gives some honest recommendations:

Obtaining a high credit score is an objective that was handed to consumers decades ago. In order to qualify for just about any kind of loan, including a credit card, car financing or mortgage, you need to show that you can handle the credit extended to you and pay it back on time.

The closer you are to the perfect score of 850, the better your chances are of qualifying for just about anything you want. But is it even possible obtain this score, or is the number like Big Foot–supposedly real but no one ever sees it? To get some answers, let’s explore the 850 credit score and just how possible it is to see it on your credit report.

By Casey Bond

By now, you’re probably well aware of how important your credit score is to your financial well-being and you do your best to carefully dodge all the potential threats to that precious number. Late payments, hard credit inquiries–you avoid them like the plague. It can be exhausting keeping up with it all, so is there anything at all that doesn’t affect your credit score or is every detail of your financial life fated to influence your credit in some way?

You may not be aware that the three credit bureaus are selling information in your credit report to lenders, credit card companies, insurance companies, telemarketers and direct mail marketers. You may also not be aware that this type of information gathering and selling is perfectly legal.

Whenever you receive a “pre-approved” or “pre-screened” offer of credit, this is because the bank or company who is offering credit to you has either pulled your credit information through a “soft inquiry,” or the credit bureau has sold your information to them as part of what’s called a “trigger lead” program.

Since their popularity took off in Amsterdam in the 16th century, checking accounts have been a convenient and wonderful tool to help consumers buy goods and services, or to pay off other debt. By using electronic transfers, paper checks, and your debit card to pay your way, there is no need to have to carry large amounts of cash. Everyone should have at least one checking account to their name and in some cases multiple accounts are perfectly fine. However, to ensure that all your checking accounts have no negative impact on your ability to get loans, you must take proactive measures to ensure that you manage your checking accounts accordingly.

How Your Financial Health is Determined

With very few exceptions, one of the first things a potential lender will ask you for when you apply for a mortgage loan is your permission to run a credit check.

If you have some concerns about your credit history and rating, you might want to think about what some people call a “no credit check mortgage.” There are lenders that specialize in helping people with bad credit purchase homes and acquire financing at a reasonable interest rate.

Do Mortgage Lenders Always Perform a Credit Check?