Good credit is important in America today because so many of the things that we want
to buy must be financed or purchased on credit.
And once you have had a bad credit rating it is almost impossible to avoid detection.
A network of credit reporting agencies keeps track of every person who buys on credit.
Each time you apply for credit, the prospective lender will check your credit with at least one of these agencies.
But Did You Know…both Employers and Insurance companies also make
determinations about you based on your credit score? That means that you could be paying higher insurance rates, or be passed over for that better job or promotion because your credit score is too low. We estimate the average person with below excellent credit scores could be penalized $12,924.00 or more each year for low credit scores! (See our report “Keeping Bad Credit Costs More Than Repairing It “ for more info)
It is easy to see how low credit scores have the ability to hold a family down, and keep
you from getting ahead.
How Do Credit Scores Work? (The Basics)
A Credit Score is a number assigned to a consumer that, based on 5 principal
determining factors, statistically determines the probability that you will become 90 days late or more on any loan obligation over the next 2 years.
- The FICO score is the most widely used scoring system, and is what most mortgage
lenders use.
- There are three (3) major credit bureaus in the U.S. who have business relationships
with thousands of creditors across the country, and that is why you may have three
"scores" that are being reviewed. Those creditors will "report" the information they have
about you to these credit bureaus at various times. They do not have to report their
information to the bureaus, and some creditors only report to one or two of the bureaus.
Therefore, it is very hard to increase your credit score if you don’t know to whom
your creditors are reporting.
- A credit score is calculated by taking all of the various information about your credit
profile and running that data through a computer model, where points are added and
subtracted based on a "perfect" credit model. (This "model" is proprietary information to the FICO organization) Once the calculation is complete, out pops a credit score for
that bureaus’ credit file on you.
- When we are referring to your credit score in the mortgage business, we are talking
about the middle score out of the three (not an average, but the actual score that is not
the highest or lowest).
- Credit scores are affected by almost everything about your credit data, ranging from
the length of time you have had an account, to the ratio of the balance available vs. the
balance owed. And of course there is the obvious negative impact of any derogatory
history.
The Good News - Rebuilding Your Credit
Millions of dollars are spent to convince you that nothing can be done about your bad credit. But it’s Not True!
If you are one of the millions of Americans who have had credit problems, do not despair. Even with negative items in your credit file, such as collections, late payments, liens, bankruptcies, or foreclosures, we can help! There is no kind of negative item that we do not regularly see removed from our members credit reports.
First Financial Freedom Foundation offers credit repair services through an affiliated attorney network. Everyone knows that under the law, if you are accused of anything, the burden of proof lies with your accuser. In other words, if the credit bureaus are going to promote and sell information about you that can cause you economic hardship, they must back it up to the full letter of the law. An Attorney enforces your consumer rights.
Congress has provided consumers the right to challenge information that is deemed to be inaccurate or information that is not properly validated under the law must be removed regardless as to whether it is accurate or not. Regardless of the accuracy, credit bureaus are often unwilling to invest the resources necessary or unable to get the credit grantor to invest the resources necessary to properly verify the disputed item.
Oftentimes, it becomes a matter of economics. If the case is presented properly, it is
often more difficult and expensive for the credit bureaus to substantiate the item
than to simply remove it.
The law requires more than a form letter to verify that an item is accurate. If the credit
bureau confirms an item on your report, the assigned attorney will “ratchet up” the
intensity of our challenge and represent it. This forces the bureau to invest additional
time and expense to conduct the new investigation.
For more information, visit our website at www.CreditRestorePros.com
