Inaccurate Credit Report, trying to qualify for mortgage

Mar 042011
 

My husband and I are attempting to fix inaccuracies on our credit report, and do the right things to improve our credit score. Well, more specifically, his, because his is better than mine and he is the income earner, while I am a student. When I reviewed his report yesterday, I noticed immediately that there are errors. We previously owned 2 homes, and when we came into hard times, one of them ended in foreclosure, and the other resulted in a short sale. We were not asked to repay deficiencies on either one as we were not financially able. HOWEVER- our credit report reflects balances and payments due on both!(multiple times because the mortgages changed hands) I have read that this could definitely be hindering his score recovery. What is the most efficient (and fastest) way to get this corrected?

 

Also, he has a total of 3 collections. 2 of them are still reporting, the other has not reported since 2009. I planned to pay the first 2, and wondered if it will make a difference if I pay in full vs settling for a lower amount… And should we even pay the one that hasn’t reported? I read here on the forum that its best to leave it alone if its no longer reporting- that paying it could actually result in a blow to the credit score…

 

Our goal score is 640 for the mid score. Right now its 608. But that’s a score pulled from another website, and my brother informed me that it may not be the “fico” score the lenders see…

 

Please advise. It will be so much appreciated!!   ;)

 

Jen

State Budget Cuts Slow U.S Economy

Feb 252011
 

 

The states are bankrupt,fees will go up,taxes are next,the states will bleed you dry,you can bet on it,75% of your income is taxed and retaxed,directly and indirectly,you have to live within a budget,why not them?

Student Loan Consolidation – What to expect from my Credit Score

Feb 232011
 

I wish to get a picture of what will happen to my credit score if I choose to consolidate my student loans.

 

After a few years of schooling I have 10 student loans amounting to around $25,000.  All are in repayment and all are in good standing – no reported issues except the months I was in the forbearance/grace period which show as “unknown”.  I have only a few months of reported repayment history built up on these.  I have low rates but that is not the topic I wish to get into because the rate I was told I would get will be a weighted average and is not much different from the current rates.  The payment will obviously drop to about 60% of what it is now too which will help some.  Also it may help to know my income to debt ratio is under 5% being that the only loans I owe anything on is these student loans.

 

I want to know what to expect from my credit score if I consolidate all these into 1 loan.  Can I expect a big jump of 50-75 pts or small bump 10-20 pts?  Also can you explain the “numerical theory” behind the change so I can understand why and how it changes?

 

Many Thanks,

 

RRinTN

Moral support needed a.k.a how can I get a consolidation?

Feb 142011
 

Hey All;

 

I’m looking for some ideas/mental support on how to manage my private student loan situation…

 

Basically between 2006-07 I took out $50,000 to finish school over 3 loans from RBS/Citizens through AES. At the time, my credit score was in the low 500′s (mistakes when I was a teenager), so my mother, who is on SSI/Disability but has a decent credit score co-signed and I received the loans no problem.

 

After school (end of ’08), I got a decent job and began repayment of around $500 per month on my private loans (and $232 on my federal ones), as well as general credit repair & paying things off, and my FICO jumped up to about 655. In October ’10 I got the “take a salary cut of about 45% or your laid off–your choice”–which put me back in the position of barely being able to pay the “essential bills” let alone a bunch of student loans.

 

I immediately put my federal loans in forbearance–no problem. The private ones are a different story, as they allow a year forbearance (looks like it will be at LEAST a year–probably more like 24 months before my income can return to normal)–but can only be taken for 3 months in any one year. So now they’re back up to full payment, and there is no way I can make those payments. AES is *no help*–they sent me a form to request another forbearance by explaining your situation–which I did, to which I got back “DENIED–RBS/Citizens only allows you to take out forbearance in blocks of 3 months each calendar year–you may request forbearance again after January, 2012″–the ironic thing is that in the application they ask you to “please explain your situation so that we can consider this in our decision”.

 

I tried to offer to make smaller payments etc. but they said NO–it would still default. The only option they offered me was to consolidate my loans, which would bring the payments down to a little over $300 a month–a little better than 500 (and when I can pay $500 it would help pay the principal down faster), and “depending on the lender” a more generous forbearance term (they said RBS is one of the worst to deal with in this regard).So I applied… and was turned down!

 

I then tried applying with my mom as a co-signer as I did before for consolidation–no dice… Because she has no income other than SSI/Disability and “with stricter standards we have in place now, we can no longer accept her income level for your loan”–this never stopped them the first time! Tried my dad… he had a bankruptcy in 2003–won’t work either!

 

This is insane… it’s as if they want me to fail! I can’t get on forbearance because of some bank policy… yet I can’t refinance/consolidate because my co-signer is no longer good enough (last she checked she had a 706, just no income), and because I can’t make full payments (I am still sending them $200 though), my FICO has dropped from a 655 to 565–and I wasn’t good enough even at 655! Any ideas? I really love my job, and this is just supposed to be temporary, so I don’t exactly want a new one–second job won’t work since I’m in management and work 50-60 hours almost as it is. The boss is saying “ride it out–18 months max and we’ll be out of this”… at least I **have** a job and am making **some** payments.A different co-signer is out of the question.

 

This is just disheartening! Any ideas on how to get some more forbearance time, or even better, a consolidation?

 

–James

Trying to clean up/establish credit

Feb 022011
 

Looking for some advice on repairing/establishing my credit.  I currently have a 468 TU score and a 460 Equi score.  Both up from around 410-420 about 2 weeks ago. 

 

Reasoning behind the low scores: The first issue being that I was married and at the time not working (due to pregnancies) however, my husband at the time had horrible credit so all bills, bank account, credit cards, etc was in my name.  He then stopped paying the bills, went to jail, etc and we got divorced.  Everything is on my report and in collections as well as 2 auto repossessions.  The other issue on my report is medical bills.  There was a period of time approx 1 1/2 years ago I did not have health insurance on my kids and myself and of course, due to emergency situation I had to take 2 of my children to the ER which in turn ran up 1000′s of medical bills. 

 

I have started paying off low balance accounts and did contact one CA which has agreed to do a settlement over 3 payments with a PFD in the end and issue a letter that it has been deleted upon reciept of the final payment.  One of the other accounts has been updated from unpaid to paid. 

 

I am now in a relationship and we are looking to buy a house.  My bf has good credit however, we need his and my income in order to qualify for a mortgage.  Obviously, with low scores I can’t qualify at this point. 

 

What are my best options to get my scores up?  Is it better to pay off the oldest collection accounts or pay of the most recent ones that were put on by the medical charges about a year ago?

 

Would it benefit at all to become an AU on his credit cards or should I just maintain my own credit and repair that first?

 

Thanks!

Getting a student loan without cosigner – help!

Jan 262011
 

I’m in the odd situation of being an adult (33) returning to school for my B.A. and unable to get a student loan without a cosigner, but I don’t have anyone to be a cosigner. Any recommendations? I’ve done the FAFSA but my income puts me just a little too high to be eligible for much based on “need.” I’ve been improving my credit for the past few years, and it recently spiked to 750+ but has recently leveled out at 695. I’ve tried applying for a mere $5,000 student loan (Sallie Mae and Wells Fargo) but on both it said I have to apply with a cosigner.

 

Any recommendations? Loans that don’t require a co-signer? Other options?

 

Thanks so much from a desparate student!

 

 

DWS High Income Opportunities Fund, Inc. and DWS Global High Income Fund, Inc. Announce Final Results of Tender Offers

Nov 262010
 

DWS High Income Opportunities Fund, Inc. and DWS Global High Income Fund, Inc. Announce Final Results of Tender Offers
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DWS High Income Opportunities Fund, Inc. (formerly, DWS Dreman Value Income Edge Fund, Inc.) (NYSE: DHG) and DWS Global High Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: LBF) (each, a “Fund”) announced today that, in accordance with their respective tender offers for up to 25% of their issued and outstanding shares of common stock, which expired at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on November 19 …
Read more on Business Wire

Leveraging Taiwanese Companies’ Strengths to Jointly Develop the Business Opportunities in the Chinese Electric …
TAIPEI, Taiwan–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leveraging Taiwanese companies’ strengths to jointly develop the business opportunities in the Chinese electric vehicle market in the new era that the ECFA agreement has ushered in
Read more on Business Wire

State of Green Business Forum 2011
The State of Green Business Forum rallies the world’s foremost innovators, thought leaders, and executives across all industries to discuss sustainability opportunities realized and challenges met in 2010. Together, they provide insight into how to leverage that knowledge to increase profitability, efficiency and generate real value in 2011. The forum brings the year to life with compelling …
Read more on GreenBiz

 Older Entries