I had the chance to interview Hudson Henley with Henley and Henley PC. He answers a lot of questions pertaining to loan modifications, debt settlement, judgments, etc. He explains in detail what to do if you’ve been served with papers due to bad debts.
He also lets us know about the title industry and what to look for. If you want more information on how to get rid of nasty judgments, click here and enter your information. You can also call me directly in the office at 877.337.2673.
Justin and I put this together for you to understand how a credit score is calculated. It starts off a little shaky so please hang in there. I think I ramble a little towards the end but seriously this is really important. We break down the entire make up of a credit score and put it into a 26 minute video with commentary. Enjoy.
This is a really informative video that I shot with Trace Sheridan. Trace works for Palisade Systems. Palisade Systems, Inc., is an industry leader in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) market. Palisade’s patented DLP product, PacketSure™, is the industry’s only all-in-one appliance that can be installed and running in less than one hour. PacketSure™ helps organizations proactively secure sensitive and proprietary intellectual property from leaving data networks, defines and enforces access to internal network resources, and enforces compliance with federal privacy and industry security regulations such as HIPAA and GLBA. Palisade Systems’ solutions scale to all verticals to protect customers who are governed by compliance regulations: healthcare, financial and insurance services, as well as education.
To find out how to clear your credit from identity theft, visit here and fill out the form on the page.
Ok…So I’m forced to write this based on a personal experience I had this morning. I received a call from a guy today that really angered me. Let me first that say that I rarely get angry. So I got angry and frankly the guy I was speaking to was surprised at my reaction. My anger #1 was based on disappointment at my other competitors and #2 the audacity they have in trying to charge outrageous fees to consumers for credit restoration or better known as credit repair.
This guy was quoted $1500.00 plus $89.00 a month for 6 months to simply dispute 9 line items on his credit report! THAT’S FREAKING RIDICULOUS! The really stupid part of this whole thing is that this guy had spent $900.00 two years ago and completely got scammed by another credit repair company.
Let me just say to anybody reading this post; If you need your credit fixed, call me directly and mention this post. I will make sure that your credit is handled in a ethical way at a great price. Example: The man above signed up for $400.00 retainer plus $57.00 a month for 6 months.
I also refer people to another affordable credit repair company called Build My Scores. Don’t pay high fees for credit restoration!
This is a really cool and inexpensive way to restore your credit if you are on a budget. It’s a direct competitor of mine but I know the owner so it’s cool.
Credit repair is 100% completely legal if done the correct way. Consumers have the right to dispute incorrect and erroneous line items on their credit reports. It is also legal to hire a credit repair organization to dispute the accounts for, or on behalf of, the consumer, as long as the disputing and tactics follow the guidelines and laws declared in the Credit Repair Organizations Act. Other different laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, and the Truth in Lending Act also allow all consumers to dispute inaccurate information on their credit reports.
If you are planning on hiring a company, make sure the company is reputable, bonded, and licensed with the Secretary of State. You should typically be able to find this information on the company’s website. Never deal with any credit doctor agencies that recommend you obtain a new social security number, attempt to create a consumer credit profile under a EIN, or create fake credit profiles by intentionally reporting false data. This is considered highly illegal and/or unethical. If one is caught doing this, it can result in significant personal liability. Do your research on the company, and make wise decisions regarding your credit. If you elevate your credit, you will elevate your life!
Your payment history is a detailed track record of your credit and every loan or line of credit you have obtained. This has the greatest effect on your FICO score, at a whopping 35%.
Three different factors are considered when reviewing payment history. First, severity is looked at. This is basically asking “How bad are the delinquiencies?” Next, recency is an issue. Depending on how long ago the consumer defaulted or paid late on an account will determine how many points the score is docked. Lastly, the frequency of the delinquencies is very important. Paying late on a line of credit over and over will absolutely crush your credit scores.
Amounts Owed
Be careful here… your balance to credit limit ratio is a HUGE factor in determining your credit score, 30% to be exact! If you have 3 credit cards that are all maxed out, your credit score is going to affected GREATLY. I will let you in on a little trick though. If you pay your accounts down to roughly 30%, you have hit the sweet spot. It shows use of your cards, but also keeps the balances at a percentage under 50% and helps your credit scores build each month, keeping your history stable.
Length of Credit History
Starting with this category, we bring down the weight percentage a little bit, but still a substantial amount at 15% of your score. As I said under “Amounts Owed”, your length of credit history DOES hurt you at first, but as the life of the loan or line of credit extends, it begins to help and build your scores. If you have a derogatory account (let’s go with a collection), then it is going to substantially weaken your score for up to 24 months. After the 24 month mark, the detriment to your scores is less, but still has an effect.
New Credit
Let’s say you go get an auto loan. You have just put a substantially large amount of debt onto your reports, showing as basically maxed out. This is going to hurt you for the first six months of the life of the loan, but after that, going forward, it will actually help you out, help build your scores, and show more good credit history and good standing, current, open accounts. Also, if you apply for any type of credit, there will be an inquiry for each one on your reports. An excessive number of inquiries labels you as a risk factor, and will typically be denied the credit. The weight of this factor is 10%.
Types of Credit Used
I have previously talked about having at least three revolving lines of credit and two installment loans. You want to mix up your accounts with credit cards, retail cards, car loans, mortgage, and so forth. A variety is a good thing… a “healthy” mix! This is also 10% of your score makeup.
Keep up the great work on maintaining great credit, and this economic crunch won’t take such a harsh toll on you and your family!
A good analogy is a great way to put real life images and situations into something a little more complicated to understand or mentally grasp. It is clarity for the ones whose forte may not be the topic of discussion. I titled this blog “The Credit Plant” to confuse you at first, because you are probably wondering what on Earth that is, but to clarify the topic by pointing out to you the following analogy (and no, it does not have to do with money growing on trees!).
We do credit restoration. We don’t do the typical “open-ended contract, $99 a month for the rest of your life, flood the bureaus with letters until they suffocate” credit restoration. We coach, teach, build relationships with our clients, and perform intense audits on the credit bureaus and creditors. If there is anything to know about credit, I will either know it off-hand, or I can find the correct answer VERY quickly. Here is one of the main coaching tips or points of view that we go over with all of our clients to really show them a good analogy in keeping their credit clean and beautiful. When I talk about “The Credit Plant”, it is a metaphor for how to grow your credit scores, credit history, and credit worthiness. So here we go…
Believe it or not, your credit IS like a plant. Let’s get visual here and go with a Tulip. You can pick whatever type of plant you wish for your credit, but I’m going with Tulips for the sake of a pretty mental image, because that’s what you want your credit to look like… pretty. So you have your plant, the Tulip, and you want to grow that plant to where everyone can see it for its beauty and purpose, or maybe you just want to add a little color to your front yard, who knows. However, you’re having a difficult time growing the tulip because of all the weeds growing around it, it’s dying of thirst, and it needs more sunlight. Well let’s begin pulling those weeds to clear out some room for your pretty Tulip. That is what we do as a company to start the credit restoration process. You have this potentially beautiful credit report, but a rough past has caused a multitude of derogatory and negative line items, the weeds, to spring up and damage your scores. We help you pull those weeds by auditing the creditors and credit bureaus. While we’re pulling those ugly weeds by the roots, we still have to give your Tulip some water and sunlight. It doesn’t matter if we help get every single negative line item off of your reports if we don’t shed some light on them to help grow that score. So how do we feed that flower water and give it some rays? We add positive trade lines. We can dispute to the bureaus and creditors all day, maybe resulting in 100% deletions of negative line items on your credit reports, but those credit scores are not going to bloom unless you add trade lines, the water and sunlight, to give your scores the most potential. Keep in mind that drowning a flower also kills it, so make sure you add a reasonable amount of credit cards and installment loans, and don’t get “application happy” while surfing the internet. As long as you have a healthy mix of credit, minimal negative line items, and the will to keep working to stay financially stable and credit worthy, then your Tulip is going to bloom with color, vibrancy, and maybe even a new boat!
This may come off as a silly analogy to many people, but it is the truth, and a great visual. There are different factors in having great credit. You have to push yourself to keep up with your payments on bills, open new trade lines if needed, and understand the concept of what I just went over. Let your Tulips bloom healthily and visually resonate all the way to your new home!
How many times have you been turned down and denied lines of credit? If you have credit challenges, then the answer is probably more than once. Quite frankly, the myth that bad credit simply goes away in time is just that,¦ a myth. Sure, if you have the time to wait years upon years for your credit to"disappear," then be my guest; but keep in mind that your scores will never be what they potentially could be. Credit restoration is a program that can be helpful for many, but definitely not for everyone.
I am not going to"sugar coat" what needs to happen. I am not going to sympathize or be sincere and personable and tell you that everything is going to be okay. This simply is not the case. You have to WANT to change your life, your habits, and your financial stability. In order to repair your credit, there are a few changes you have to make. The old ways of procrastination and irresponsible habits have to go. You would be surprised at how many people enter a credit repair program because it sounds appealing and magical, but are not willing to put forth their efforts in trying to resolve the problems in which they caused to begin with. We are simply coaches, mentors, and a helping hand to guide you in the right direction and help you become"credit worthy" once again. Now, don’t get me wrong. If I could make all of your troubles and credit challenges vanish before your eyes with the snap of my fingers while you sat back and watched, then I would be the first one to step foot on that train. However, that is not reality, nor will it ever be.
You must realize that there is a significant paradigm shift that you have to make in your mind and in your life. We’ll take the lead and guide you, but for this to work, you have to follow. I see too many consumers come into our credit repair program, claiming they have full knowledge and understanding of what has been spoken of in the full consultation, and three to six months down the road, they, unfortunately, tend to reestablish their"bad credit habits", negating the entire program, and throwing away valuable money. Now, you must be aware that our consultation is a full credit evaluation. It is thirty minutes of hardcore coaching and guidance, from how your scores are built to every specific detail of your credit reports and how it affects you. We describe SPECIFICALLY the blueprints of how we intend on getting derogatory items deleted, how it will help, and WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO HELP. That’s right,¦you DO need to help. We call it"getting it." You have to"get it." You have to"get" that paying your bills on time, paying your credit cards down, listening to our coaching, and opening brand new positive trade lines will help you in the long run, and we are not miracle workers who can delete anything and everything from your reports and get you a credit score of 850 in a week. Not in the least. We can help the ones who truly want to be helped. We can help those who are sincere about our program, about their credit, and about their financial stability.
In conclusion, I hope you consider and react positively towards what I have said. Yes, I have been straight forward, but only to help you realize the importance of your credit scores and raising them to their full potential, and to push you to"get it" and to make that change in your life,¦ that paradigm shift. I truly hope that credit repair will soon be greatly beneficial to everyone who needs it, so that we can make one more move towards escaping this economic and housing crisis.
By line: Kyle Gilbert is the Client Services Director at Global Advantage Credit Solutions. He can be reached at 877.337.2673 ext. 1008 for more information.
