Repairing Your Credit is as Easy as 1-2-3

1. Review Your Credit Report For Errors

After you have received a copy of your credit report, you need to look through it very closely. If you do not yet have a copy, Loan-Review.net, through a partner offers consumers a free look at their credit report and credit score. It is a 30-day free trial offer, so you get the information right up-front and you can cancel free of charge within 30-days. To check your credit report for free, visit Loan-Review.net and click the "Free Credit Report" link to sign up.

It is important to first review all the personal identifying information in your credit report such as name, address, social security number, birth date, and so on.

You should then evaluate each account that is reported about you to the credit bureau. Determine whether any of this information is in any way inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated. If you find that any of the information in incorrect, then you should move on to the next step.

2. Dispute the errors with the credit bureaus and your creditors

You should dispute inaccurate information with both the consumer credit reporting agency and the furnisher (creditor). Disputing with both allows you to cover all of your bases to ensure that the corrections are consistently made by both sources.

You should follow up with these companies to ensure that the inaccurate or incomplete information is removed in a timely manner. You should then continue to monitor your credit information on a regular basis by ordering and reviewing your consumer credit reports from the major credit reporting agencies on a regular basis.

3. Repeat until satisfied

It is very important that each questionable item, except for erroneous personal data, is dealt with individually. If you attempt to have the credit reporting agency correct several items at once, it will be easier for the agency to claim that your request is frivolous or irrelevant. If they make this determination, then your requests to correct inaccuracies will be discarded.

Make sure that you use a clear and concise statement indicating that the accuracy or completeness of a specific item is "disputed" or "challenged". Remember that explanations of why an item might be derogatory will not help you, only actual disputes of specific items will get the results you need.

As soon as the credit reporting agency provides you with an updated credit report indicating that the disputed item has been removed from your report, you should send another letter challenging the next most damaging item. Repeat this process, until each and every disputed item has been deleted from your credit report.

If you would like more detailed information about repairing your credit history the following pages at Loan-review.net may help: Loan Review Credit Help Section, The Perfect Credit Myth, and Debt Consolidation Loans with Bad Credit

Tips on Getting Your Mortgage Loan Approved

What is important to lenders?

Not every applicant is approved for a home loan the first time he or she applies. For a variety of reasons, even after a lot of hard work, sometimes a loan just can’t be approved. It may have to do with the applicant’s credit or savings history, employment stability, debt structure, or the value of the home. The good news is that a denial is merely a detour, not a roadblock. Purchasing a home takes planning, discipline and hard work! Follow these tips and with our assistance, homeownership is not out of reach.

Establish a consistent record of paying bills on time.

Before making a loan the size of a home loan, most lenders will want to review how you have handled your credit in the past. This includes all credit accounts, including utilities, revolving debt (credit cards, etc.), and installment debt (car loans, student loans, etc.). It is critical for you to bring all overdue bills up to date immediately and begin paying them on time in a consistent manner.

Establish a consistent record of steady employment.

Lenders are more likely to look favorably on an applicant who has been in the same (or similar) line of work for generally two or more years. If you have been working steadily for less than two or more years, expect the lender to ask why. There are many acceptable reasons, including:

• You recently finished school, vocational training, or left the military;
• Your work is typically seasonal and gaps in employment are customary to the industry
• You may have been laid off from your job; or
• Frequent employment changes are normal in your line of work (sales, contract work, etc.), but you have been consistently employed and maintained a consistent level of income over the past 2 years.

You may want to pay off some debt to lower your debt-to-income ratio.

This step will make it easier to qualify for a mortgage loan if your debt ratio is high. Chances are good that if you’re already paying rent, making a mortgage payment will be a smooth transition. Along with the mortgage payment, you’re also responsible for real estate taxes and insurance, and if required, mortgage insurance and homeowners dues. Work with us to determine the monthly payment you can afford based on your income and the standard debt-to-income ratio guidelines.

Establish a consistent savings pattern.

Saving money for a down payment, and still having enough reserves left over to cover two months of expenses in the event of an emergency, is typically the most challenging part of buying a home. While sometimes it is difficult, this is a necessary step to ensure you are financially ready to take the plunge into homeownership.

Get more Information on Home Loans and Mortgages and find the best Mortgage and Home Loan Lenders with Free Quotes and The Lowest Rates here

Why Student Loans Are Better Than Credit Cards

You need some more money for college expenses this semester. Do you whip out a credit card to pay for your books, or do you apply for a federal or private loan? Well, consider the options –

• With a federal loan, your interest rate will be low (around 5%) and your payments will be deferred until 6-9 months after graduation.
• With a private loan, the interest rate will be slightly higher than with a federal loan but will still be lower than average. In addition, you will only need to make interest payments until after graduation.
• With a credit card, on the other hand, the interest rate can be as high as 21%. Interest begins accruing almost immediately, and you need to begin paying off the bill the next month.

This is not to say that credit cards do not have a place in your college life. It is good to have one national card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover) on hand to help you build a positive credit history and to provide security in emergencies. When you decide to apply for a card, compare annual fees, interest rates, and introductory offers. And to keep yourself out of debt, try to—

• Pay your balance each month to avoid interest charges
• Pay your bill on time to avoid late charges
• Avoid cash advances, which come with large finance charges and interest that begins accruing immediately.

Find out more about this and other School Loan content:

Student Loan Review and Goverment Student Loan Consolidation Information, includes Parent PLUS Loans

Refinance Mortgage Loan – Tips on Refinancing Your Home Mortgage

Refinancing your home mortgage can come with some great perks. If you do it with no money out of pocket, you can skip one to three mortgage payments. You can save money on your payment or pay off your entire mortgage faster when you have better terms. Here are a few things to pay attention to when you refinance your mortgage loan, to make sure that you don’t overlook anything that you might regret, or that can cause you problems later:

1. Apply for a pre-approval to many different lenders to make sure you are getting the lowest rate possible. When you do this, make sure that with the initial pre-approval application, the lender is not pulling your credit history. You will want to reserve your credit pull for the lender that you are most likely to work with. You can decide that after you have gone through the preliminary pre-approval process with a few lenders. Each time your credit is pulled, it docks your credit score just a little. If you have too many inquiries, it could keep you from refinancing your mortgage loan with the lowest rate possible. When you pre-apply for home mortgage loans online, most lenders or mortgage service companies will not initially pull your credit. Check for information about this on their website. They will usually tell you whether or not they are going to pull your credit. Also, if on the application you do not give them your social security number, they cannot pull your credit. If, on the application, they ask you to describe your credit, they are probably not pulling your credit.

2. Make sure that your original mortgage does not have a pre-payment penalty or early payoff penalty of any kind. Sometimes people will get into their mortgage with the mortgage having a pre-payment penalty and they will not even know about it. Pre-payment penalties usually range from 6 months to 3 years with a penalty for an early payoff. The penalty is usually about the amount of 6 months worth of your mortgage loan interest, but this varies. You would have to be able to have some significant payment and interest savings on your refinance loan to justify refinancing a mortgage loan with a pre-payment penalty.

3. When evaluating different lender offers, in the mortgage loan pre-approval process, pay closest attention to the interest rates they are offering & the closing costs. These are the two biggest factors that will help you figure out which lender is right for you. If one of these two factors is too high, it could offset the benefit of refinancing for you.

4. Get your interest rate and closing costs in writing as soon as you decide on a lender to work with. Get your lender to give you a commitment in advance of all of the costs that will be involved with your loan. Find out if the refinance loan you are getting has a pre-payment penalty as well. Sometimes lenders will leave out important information like this, if they think it might scare you away from refinancing with them.

Find more information about refinance options, and lenders at Loan Review.net.
Home Mortgage Review and Home Loan Tips- Information and Home Loans and Mortgages, with Lenders.
Best Home Loan Lenders, Mortgage Checklist, Second Mortgage Lenders, and Sources for Equity Loans

Auto Loans and Dealership Financing: Understanding How The Numbers Work

by David Berky

I would like to start out by telling you a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, the ignorant and the dishonest.

John was interested in purchasing a new truck. John had done his homework and knew exactly what make, model and features he wanted on his new truck. He had visited several dealerships looking for the exact truck he wanted. He wanted to get it now and didn't want to wait to have one custom built.

Finally he found a dealership that had the exact truck he was looking for and he even liked the color.

Now it was time to negotiate the price and financing. John realized that he was not very good at numbers so he asked his friend Cindy to come along and help him make sure he was getting a good deal.

The salesperson looked up the pricing information on the truck and added in all the extra fees for tax, title, license, and what-ever-else-we-can-sneak-by-you. The total cost came out to about $22,000.

Cindy remained quiet while the salesperson explained the financing options that were available to John, checked John's credit and determined an interest rate for the loan. The salesperson then went to check with the manger to make sure the financing application was completed properly and to calculate the monthly payment.

The salesperson returned and announced that the payments on the 5 year loan would be about $420 a month. Cindy checked the numbers and agreed with the calculations. But John was a little shocked and disappointed.

Seeing his expression, the salesperson mentioned that the monthly payment may be more than what John would feel comfortable with and that maybe they could lower the payment by going to a 6 year loan instead.

John then looked to Cindy, who said that this would lower the monthly payment but John would end up paying more interest because of the longer time for the loan to be paid off. John wasn't too concerned about paying a little extra as long as he could afford the monthly payments (and drive his truck home today).

The salesperson asked John how much he could afford to pay each month on his truck loan. John indicated he could pay up to $375 per month. The salesperson then went to "get approval" from the manager to extend the length of the loan and to recalculate the monthly payment.

Upon returning the salesperson announced that he was able to "wrangle a good deal out of the manager" and was able to get the monthly payments down to, you guessed it, $375. John was excited. All he had to do was sign the papers and he could drive home with his new truck at a monthly payment he could afford.

But Cindy was curious. She asked to look at the numbers but this time the salesperson was a bit hesitant. The salesperson tried to change the subject one or two times, but Cindy insisted on seeing the numbers.

Cindy review the numbers and did some of her own calculations and found that the monthly payment on the truck loan should have been about $350 a month. So how did the salesperson come up with $375 per month?

After looking at the terms of the contract a bit closer, Cindy noticed that the price of the truck was now $24,500, an increase of $2,500. Cindy asked the salesperson why the price of the truck had just gone up? After trying to dodge the question and then blaming it on a mistake by the "finance department," Cindy and John walked out of the dishonest dealership.

As excited as he was to have his new truck, John was angered that the salesperson/dealership had tried to rip him off by taking advantage of his lack of understanding how the numbers in a loan relate.

John then had Cindy explain to him in basic terms how the number related and what to look for in the financing terms.

Cindy explained that there are four elements to a loan; the principal or amount you are borrowing, the interest rate, the time period and the monthly (or weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) payment.

And the numbers relate like this. If the amount goes up the payment goes up. If the interest rate goes up the payment goes up. If the time goes up the payment goes down.

So in the case of John's truck loan they extended the time so that the payment would go down. But the payment went down further than what John was willing to pay. So they decided to increase the amount so that the payment would match what John said he could pay.

But they "forgot" to explain to John that the price went up to make the payment hit his target. And they couldn't come up with a valid reason for the price increase when Cindy questioned them on it.

Without Cindy and her knowledge of how the loan numbers relate, John probably would have got his truck, but he would have needlessly over-paid $2,500.

John found a truck he liked even better at a different dealership, bought Cindy along to help make sure he was getting a good deal, and then took her out to dinner.

Get More Information about Car and Truck Loans Here: Loan Review- Auto Loans Page, The Online Resource for Car and Truck Loans including links to the Best Lenders


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© Simple Joe, Inc.
David Berky is president of Simple Joe, Inc. a marketing company that sells simple software under the brand name of Simple Joe. One of Simple Joe's best selling products is Simple Joe's Money Tools - a collection of 14 personal finance and investment calculators.