Sep 29, 2008

Do-It-Yourself Credit Repair: Why it’s Not as Simple as it Seems

Looking at credit repair websites online, it’s easy to get the impression that credit repair is simple, painless, and quick. Just hand over your credit report (or in some instances, the company even pulls your credit report for you) choose which items to dispute, and sit back while the credit repair company mails a letter or two and gets the negative information off of your credit report for good. Credit repair sites can make the process look so simple that some people may wonder why they need a credit repair company at all. It’s just mailing a form letter, right?

Though you may be tempted to try to repair your credit on your own, there are some definite pitfalls to this route. Aside from the fact that most people lack the expertise to really repair their own credit effectively, there are some common pitfalls that the ‘do-it-yourself’ types often fall into when it comes to credit repair. If you decide you want to try it on your own, keep these caveats in mind:

1. Don’t Dispute Everything at Once.

Consumer reporting companies are required to respond to and investigate any dispute that is not deemed “frivolous”. There are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes a frivolous dispute, but having all of your negative credit entries in dispute at once will almost certainly cause some companies to ignore your request. This means that negative items may be even more difficult to remove – as multiple disputes over the same item can also be considered frivolous.

2. Provide Proof When You Have It.

If you have receipts that show you paid on the first of the month, but the creditors are showing the payment on the 19th, you should use this to your advantage. Make copies of the receipts and enclose them with your dispute. Is your name correct on those derogatory items? How about your address? Any legitimate reason to dispute a negative item should come along with some proof as to why the dispute is being made.

3. Keep Your Tone Professional.

Consumer reporting companies respond best to communications that are courteous, professional, and direct. Don’t’ write long-winded letters of dispute, and don’t try to obscure the facts. Make your request, present your evidence, and summarize your position on the issue. Poorly worded disputes may also be seen as frivolous, so pay careful attention to both spelling and grammar. Additionally, you may wish to use a template – but be aware that if all of your disputes read like form letters, you may not see much progress. Still, for those who want to handle the dispute from start to finish, there are form letters available online that serve as a good base to start with.

Credit repair isn’t as simple as it seems to be in the surface. The expert credit repair representatives that do a good job and operate above board provide a valuable service to those individuals who either cannot, or will not attempt to handle credit disputes themselves. This is why it is especially important to find a reputable agency to repair your credit – expertise always gets results. However, if you are one of the do-it-yourself types, following the above guidelines will help ensure that your credit repair attempts aren’t derailed from the start.

Posted in credit, credit repair companies, credit repair company, credit report dispute, credit report repair | No Comments »



Mar 20, 2008

Is Credit Repair Affordable?

Let’s play a game. It’s called “Which is More Expensive?”

Here’s how it works: I give you 2 things and you tell me which one of the 2 is more expensive. Ready? Go!

1. Buying your favorite magazine every month at Barnes & Nobles.

2. Getting a 1 year subscription to that same magazine.

Did you answer #1? If you did, you’d be correct. #1 is obviously more expensive. Getting a subscription can save you lots of money.

One of my favorite magazines is Men’s Health. It’s $4.50 an issue at the newsstand. A 1 year subscription (10 issues) is $19.97.

Let’s do some real quick math:

10 x $4.50 = $45.00
$45.00 – $19.97 = $25.03

That means if I get the subscription I save $25.03 a year!

Ok, that was a no-brainer. Here’s another one:

1. Having a credit repair service fix your credit for about $500. Then, enjoying a low interest rate of 6% on a 30 year mortgage.

2. Save the $500 by not repairing your credit. Then, get a sub prime mortgage with an interest rate of 8%. (You may pay much higher, but let’s just use 8% as an example.)

#2 would be much more expensive. Hopefully you chose to hire a credit repair service. If you’re purchasing a $100,000 house and paying 6% interest; according to my mortgage calculator you’re monthly payment would be $599.55. If you purchase the same home at an 8% rate you’re monthly payment would be $733.76.

Let’s do some real quick math.

$733.76 – $599.55 = $134.21

You’d be paying $134.21 more every month. Multiply that times 12 and you’re paying $1610.52 more per year.

Multiply that again times 30 for the life of your mortgage and now you’re paying $48,315.60 more than your neighbor paid after 30 years for the EXACT SAME HOUSE.

So, which is smarter? All of the sudden paying $500 to get your credit repaired seems quite affordable, doesn’t it?

By playing my little game, hopefully you were able to see my point. By even paying .25% more in interest on such a major purchase, you’re really throwing a lot of money away. When you up that by 2-4 percentage points, it’s disastrous.

This is just one example of what bad credit will cost you. Don’t forget about cars, credit cards, cell phones, jobs, insurance rates and everything else.

I hear it everyday, “I can’t afford that kind of money to get my credit repaired!”

Here’s the truth: If you have bad credit or even mediocre credit, you can’t afford NOT to get your credit repaired.

STOP paying higher interest rates and start reaping the benefits of a good credit score. For a one time set up fee of $99 and as low as $39/month, Lexington Law Firm will work to increase your credit score by removing negative items from your credit history.

Posted in affordable credit repair, credit, credit repair service, credit report repair, personal finance | No Comments »



Mar 6, 2008

How to Repair Your Credit

No matter how bad your credit situation is there are always steps you can take to make it better. Everyone’s situation is unique, so what might be the best thing for you right now, may not be the best thing for someone else.

To repair your bad credit, you must find a starting point. The best way to do that is to obtain a copy of your credit reports from the 3 major credit reporting agencies, also known as credit bureaus. You will also need to know what your credit scores are.

Once you have your reports, you’ll want to make sure all the information is accurate. There are mistakes in about 80% of all credit reports. If you find any accounts that you are unfamiliar with or are reporting incorrectly you should dispute them with the credit bureaus. Creditors are notorious for reporting erroneous information on your credit reports. So, even if it’s just a small error; that gives you the right to dispute it. It’s important to note that whether the account is actually yours or not makes no difference on their responsibility to verify it. If the account can’t be verified, it must be deleted.

The credit bureaus get thousands of disputes each day and many times they don’t do a very careful job of investigating items you’ve disputed. So, it may take a few rounds of letters until the credit bureaus remove the negative information. Be patient and wait at least 30-35 days before sending another round. Do not give up. It may seem like just one or two small errors that they are falsely reporting about you – no big deal, right? Wrong! Just one error can cause your credit scores to suffer immensely and could end up costing you thousands of dollars. This is very serious business. It’s extremely important to make sure everything on your credit reports is being reported correctly.

Another thing you should do is pay off the most recent past due accounts. Be careful making payments on older charged off accounts as paying them could possibly bring your scores down even further which means they can report the negative account for 7 more years. You will also want to try to get an agreement with the creditor to update it to “paid as agreed” or remove the account BEFORE you pay it. It’s much harder to get it updated or removed after you pay it because you don’t have much leverage.

Another important part of raising your credit scores is to keep your existing balances below 30-40% of your credit limit. You’ll also want to minimize the number of inquiries you make by not applying for credit unless you absolutely must. Use your inquiries wisely and sparingly, as applying for too much credit in a short amount of time can be very damaging to your credit scores.

Don’t have time to repair your credit? Let the professionals at Lexington Law Firm take care of it for you. They delete all kinds of negative credit including bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, charge offs, judgments, tax liens, collections, and more.

Posted in bad credit repair, credit, credit report repair, dispute bad credit, repair credit | No Comments »



Feb 28, 2008

The Real Cost of Bad Credit

It’s difficult to say exactly how much it will cost you to have bad credit. Each person has a unique financial situation. Depending on how long you decide to go without repairing your credit, it could cost you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over your life time. I think most people would agree that they work too hard to pay the banks that kind of money. Imagine what you could do with that money if you saved it or invested it instead of giving it to the banks in the form or late fees and high interest rates.

Doesn’t it make you sick to think about how much money you’ve already thrown away? It made me sick. So, I finally decided to do something about it. I finally realized that by cleaning up my credit and managing my money instead of letting it manage me, I didn’t have to live like that anymore.

I realized that I hadn’t been taught how to manage money correctly. I hadn’t been taught how the credit game works. We just weren’t really taught that in school. So, I decided to teach myself about money management and personal finance. It’s one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

I no longer pay twice as much for things. I no longer worry about whether I’m going to get approved or not. I no longer worry about whether I’m going to have enough to pay my bills. I no longer have these issues. I have piece of mind because I’m responsible with my money and I have control over it. It no longer controls me.

If you are not at that point yet, I really hope that you get there. It’s not just about money. It’s about time. Your time is precious. Stop living and thinking like a slave. To have financial freedom, you need to change your whole mindset. You need to learn how to repair your credit and how to manage your money. Then, you need to pass that knowledge down to your loved ones. It’s one of the best gifts you can ever give. Get started today.

If you’re ready to start living and stop worrying, let the professionals at Lexington Law Firm help you remove negative items from your credit reports.

Posted in bad credit, bad credit repair, credit, credit report repair, money management, personal finance | No Comments »



Feb 9, 2008

Credit Repair – Take a Stand

Are you there yet? Have you gotten to that point? Are you sick and tired of paying high interest fees? Are you sick and tired of being declined and embarrassed every time you apply for a loan? Don’t you think it’s time to take a stand?

When you finally get to that point, then you’re ready. But, until you get there, you’re probably not going to take action. If you’re not there yet, you might as well stop reading this.

But, if you are ready, then it’s time to start on your journey to financial peace and good credit. And once you get there, never go back. You work just as hard as the next guy. So, why should you have to pay more on a loan than he does? Don’t you think you’ve paid the banks enough money? The banks have plenty of money. Quit paying them more than you have to!

If you are sick and tired of living paycheck to paycheck and always begging the lenders to give you crappy loans then I want you to say this out loud right now:

“I’m done. I’m done living like a broke fool and I’m taking a stand RIGHT NOW. I will not let the banks make me their slave any longer.” Then, you’re going to take action, RIGHT NOW. Here’s what you’re going to do:

1. Get your credit repaired. Sign up with Lexington Law Firm and get it repaired NOW. Let the professionals clean up your credit for you. It’s very affordable.

2. Never let your credit get that bad again. Learn how the credit game works and promise yourself that you will never find yourself in that hole again.

3. Live below your means. That doesn’t sound fun, does it? Well, neither does being broke and being a slave to your lenders. Start living on a budget. Control your money so that it doesn’t control you. You know which spending habits you need to change. Change them. It’s time RIGHT NOW.

4. Pay off your debts and start saving money. If you’re not sure how, check out Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace.

5. Help your family and friends. Help them realize what’s going on. Show them that they don’t have to be miserable and live like everyone else. They can break free from their chains too. Show them how.

Dave Ramsey, one of my favorite financial experts, says it like this: “If you want to be rich, look around and see what rich people are doing and do rich people stuff.” Rich people don’t pay high interest fees. If you keep doing what poor people do, you’re going to stay poor. You don’t have to. Take action and take advantage of all that life has to offer!

Posted in credit, credit repair tips, credit report repair, financial peace | No Comments »



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