Your Credit Score & Winning the Mortgage Game

I cannot over stress the importance of monitoring your credit  scores annually to ensure that you pay the lowest rates on home mortgages, auto loans, credit card debts, and safeguard yourself against identity theft. In times past credit scores where used most often to develop your risk profile in consideration for a loan and to set interest rates. Today, property insurance carriers and life insurance carriers consider credit scores when setting premiums and this trend is evolving into a variety of industries.

A consumer’s credit history is archived by three service providers; Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union and their databases are often consolidated into a single report by third party credit agencies. The report is generally referred to as a credit report and it includes a credit score issued by each service provider. The scores range from 350-850 and are graded based on a set of criteria which includes payment history, account balances as compared to credit limits, amount of recently accumulated credit and inquires, among others factors.

The following generally outlines how a variety of traits within your profile may affect your credit scores and risk profile: Length of Credit History 15%, Payment History 35%, Credit Balances Owed 30%, and Recently Obtained Credit 10%. According to Colorado based Advantaged Credit of Colorado an example of a consumer’s favorable profile would include two installment loans, three revolving accounts with balances, balances on revolving debt below 30% of the high credit limit, no collections, no public records (judgments or liens), no foreclosures, no late payments.

My advice would be to obtain a copy of your credit report annually. This can be done by contacting each of the three credit service providers directly, or by accessing free online resources such as http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ . Once you have obtained your report, review it carefully for discrepancies including inquires made against your credit files. Report inaccurate information directly to the associated credit service providers; keep in mind that the information retained by the three providers may vary and the data is often 30-60 days delayed, so some information such as account balances may not be accurate. The law provides consumer protection and false information must be removed by the reporting entity.

Bottom Line: To safeguard yourself against identity theft or credit fraud review your credit report annually, immediately report any discrepancy; ask your property and casualty insurance agent if you are eligible for premium discounts for high credit scores. It is also important to make lenders aware that you understand that interest rates are a reflection of risk and that your good credit should be rewarded with the appropriate interest rates. If you have legitimate credit problems, seek the advice of a qualified credit consultant and develop a strategy to restore your credit profile. Beware of anyone who promises that they can remove negative information from your report for a fee, legitimate information cannot be removed and you will be disappointed.

Resources: Here is the contact information for the three credit service providers: Equifax 1-800-685-1111 http://www.equifax.com/, Experian 1-888-397-3742 http://www.experian.com/, and Trans Union 1-877-322-8228 http://www.transunion.com/

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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Fix & Flip Program for Colorado & Arizona Investors

For investors interested in taking advantage of reduced property values by participating in renovating and re-listing properties should take a look at the great investor program we are offering our clients.

This product is specifically designed to accommodate investors who want to purchase and remodel fix-up properties in order to sell them for a gain or to refinance them under conventional terms once the property has been remodeled. The program not only works for 1 to 4 residential units, but also for commercial properties which have 5 or more units. The program is offered in metropolitan Denver, Colorado and surrounding cities, also in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona and surrounding cities. The loan term is for 180 to 360 days, depending on property type. There are NO prepayment penalties and interest only payments are due monthly.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Our investor lends up to 90% of the purchase price and additionally lends 90% of the improvements that the borrower estimates they will make to the property. The borrowers are allowed to do work to the property themselves as it is not required that contractors complete the work.
• We can use equity in other properties (known as cross-collateralization) for the down payment on the fix-and-flip property so that the borrower does not have to put cash into the transaction, provided that our loan-to-value and other guidelines are met.
• We allow the properties to be titled in the name of corporations, partnerships or limited liability companies. This is very popular with fix-and-flip investors.
• Borrowers who are self-employed find the loan quick and easy to qualify for because we have flexible income underwriting.
• We do not have a specific limit on the number of investment properties upon which the borrower has financing.
• We close these loans very quickly. We typically provide approvals within 24 hours and many closings occur within 1 (one) week of approval. Our quick closings often help the buyer get a contract over other prospective buyers.
• We do not have any prepayment penalties. Naturally, this is of great importance to fix-and-flip investors.
• We allow partial releases of multiple unit properties.

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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