First Time Home Buyers
From the monthly archives: January 2008
Most borrowers are overwhelmed when they look at their overall debt picture and wonder how they are going to pay off all or any of their debt. The first step is figuring out which debts are influencing your credit score the most and focus on those first.
Here are the debts you want to focus on [...]
Continue Reading →Why your payment status needs to be reviewed for innacuracies and included in your dispute letter.
You should have written a dispute letter if you feel a former or current account is being reported innacurately by the credit bureau.
Items that may be corrected (dispute letter) and can help optomize your score:
1.) Correcting the payment status of accounts that should [...]
Continue Reading →Obtaining your credit report:
As a consumer you are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the big 3 credit bureaus. We recommend www.annualcreditreport.com
Make sure your credit report contains all three credit b
Continue Reading →Collections and Public Records
This includes bankruptcies, judgments, and tax liens.
You would be amazed at how many times our borrowers apply for financing only to find out a tax lien that had been discharged or released many years ago still is being reported as owed. These are one of the biggest credit score killers out [...]
Continue Reading →Reviewing Your Credit Report for accurate information
Make sure you clearly identify each item from your report that, to your knowledge, is innacurate.
Circle any errors you see in your report. What you want to review:
- Account opened dates
- Dates of last activity
- Any Invalid or unknown accounts (identity theft) [...]
Changes to your available credit
1.) Opening a new revolving account can help you. By establishing a new credit line history and keeping it in good payment status can help optomize your score. However, make sure you don’t run your new line of credit over half the available credit line and make sure you make [...]
Continue Reading →The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 631.86 points in the last three hours of trading yesterday as traders piled into equities.
Fueling the rally? The bond market.
For as much as stocks gained today, bonds lost. Including mortgage bonds. The dramatic sell-off created a huge swing in mortgage rates and erased nearly all of [...]
Continue Reading →Limiting your credit inquiries
A credit inquiry is reported any time you apply for new credit. When you go out there and apply for a number of credit items, it decreases your score because it essentially says you are trying to add more items to your credit profile that have to potential for you to default on.
This is [...]
Continue Reading →Public Safety Officer Homeownership Program
Chicago police officers, firefighters, and paramedics who purchase homes in targeted areas of Chicago may be eligible to receive $3,000 in down payment and closing costs assistance. If the purchase is located in a CHA Redevelopment Property $7,500 in assistance may be available.
The deferred loan is available per household [...]
Continue Reading →Writing your dispute letter
Your dispute letter will need to include the following:
– Your Name, Address, and Telephone number
- Your Social Security number or a clean copy of your actual credit report
- Company Name and Account number of the item you are disputing
- Brief explanation (20 words or less) [...]
