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.
Wow. Check out Detective Bob Watts of the Newport Beach Police Department as he shows you the sophisticated credit card forgery operation run by Chris Aragon. Aragon made a living turning stolen credit card data into forgeries. These cards even have holograms. See for yourself.
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!
