1st Rate Financial

Mortgage Crisis Homeowner Resources

2008-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

If you have a sub-prime adjustable rate mortgage and are behind in your payments or fear that you may have trouble when your ARM resets, there are a number of public and private resources that can help you get through the crisis with your home.

Your Mortgage Lender
The company that holds your mortgage is your best bet when it comes to saving your home. Although is sounds counterintuitive, your mortgage company is also the one that has the biggest stake in making sure you keep your home. They would much rather work with you to keep a long term customer and avoid losing money by foreclosing on your home and hoping to sell it at a bargain price in the worst real estate market in years. It is best to contact them before you fall behind. Ask them if they have a hardship program or if they will restructure your loan.

Hope Now
This is an alliance between HUD approved counselors, lenders and investors that try to keep Americans in their homes by helping them renegotiate their loans.
http://www.hopenow.com

Homeownership Preservation Foundation
This nonprofit organization works with local governments, nonprofits, borrowers and lenders to find solutions for distressed homeowners.
http://995hope.org

HUD Approved Housing Counseling
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sponsors housing counseling agencies throughout the country that can provide advice on buying a home, renting, defaults, foreclosures, credit issues, and reverse mortgages.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm

NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions
NeighborWorks was created to preserve homeownership in the face of rising foreclosure rates. In conjunction with national nonprofit, mortgage and insurance partners, the Center builds capacity among foreclosure counselors around the nation, conducts public outreach campaigns to reach struggling homeowners, and researches local and national trends to develop strategic solutions. In cities and states with high rates of foreclosure, the Center works with local leaders to create sustainable foreclosure intervention programs.
http://www.nw.org/network/neighborworksprogs/foreclosuresolutions/default.asp

FHA HOPE for Homeowners (H4H)
This initiative from the Federal Housing Administration helps homeowners at risk of default refinance their homes with new 30-year fixed rate mortgages with lower payments. The program is in effect from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011.
http://portal.hud.gov

American's Use of Credit

2008-11-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder how your credit use measures up to the rest of the nation? This will give you some idea of where you stand.

On average, Americans have 13 credit obligations, including credit cards and installment loans such as mortgages, car loans and student loans. Of these, 9 are likely to be credit cards and the remainder installment loans.

In general, most consumers pay their bills on time.

Fewer than half have ever been reported 30 days or more late on a payment

30% have ever been 60 days late on a payment
Less than 25% have had a loan or account go 90+ days overdue

Under 20% of consumers have had an account closed by the lender due to default

Regarding their utilization of credit, Americans are split.
48% have less than $5,000 in debt including credit cards, car loans, lines of credit, but not including mortgages

On the other hand, almost 37% carry more than $10,000 in non-mortgage debt

Although the typical consumer has access to about $19,000 in credit card credit lines, more than half of them use less than 30% of their available credit. Just over 1 in 7 are using 80% or more of their credit limit.

The average consumer has been managing credit for some time.
The length of the typical credit history is 14 years.

25% have had credit for 20 years or more

Only 5% have credit histories shorter than 2 years

The average consumer has only one inquiry on their credit record within the past year, and fewer than 6% have 4 or more within the year.

Changes to Consumer Credit Laws

2008-11-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, Congress passed a law called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, or the FACT Act. This law extends some of the consumer protection measures established by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the main law dealing with consumer credit rights. The FACT Act has as some of its goals to prevent identity theft, improve the resolution of consumer disputes, improve the accuracy of consumer records, and improve consumer access to credit information. Let’s look at the act and some of its provisions.

Identity Theft

There are only a few ways that FACT aims to prevent identity theft from occurring. These include allowing military personnel to place blocks on their accounts while serving overseas and forbidding merchants to print the credit and debit numbers on receipts. This last one will have minimal impact, since most merchants have been printing only the last several digits on receipts for years now.

The FACT Act does include a number of provisions to assist consumers in dealing with identity theft once it happens:

It simplifies the requirements for you to report suspected identity theft or fraud

It requires credit bureaus receiving a consumer fraud or identity theft complaint to share the information with the other major bureaus, so you do not need to contact each one individually

When an identity theft report is made, the credit bureau is required to inform you that you have the right to receive two free credit reports in the 12 months following the date of the incident report

Automatically exempts consumers who file identity theft reports from having your names sold to third parties soliciting them for credit or insurance for a period of 5 years

Places a requirement for verification on any new requests for credit, additional cards or raising of credit limits for anyone filing an identity theft report

When you report that you may be the victim of identity theft or fraud, an initial block is placed on your account for 90 days. Once you have confirmed that the identity theft has in fact taken place by providing the credit bureau with a copy of a police report, the bureau will extend the block.

Resolving Consumer Disputes and Ensuring Accuracy of Records

Previously, under FCRA, consumers were told to dispute inaccurate information with the credit bureaus, rather than with the actual creditors. You had the option to contact the creditor, but there were no formal investigation requirements placed on the creditor to handle your dispute, unless you took them to court and a judge ordered the creditor to investigate.

Now, you can contact the creditor directly for investigation of erroneous information, and they are obligated to investigate within the same timeframe given to the credit bureaus (45 days after you make the request if you are using a free credit report, and 30-45 days for all other types of investigations, like if you have been denied credit). If they find that they made a mistake, they must correct the information with each credit bureau to which they have previously reported the item.

**Note** Creditors are not required to investigate disputes from credit repair firms or to any disputes they deem as “frivolous.” If they consider your dispute to be frivolous, they must send you a letter explaining why, and telling you what information they need to prove that the dispute merits investigation.

Any financial institution that sends a negative report to the credit bureau about you is now required to send you a written notice that they have done so.

Access to Your Credit Information

All consumers now have the right to one free annual credit report from each of the major credit bureaus. Previously, only some states mandated free access to credit reports, and now everyone in the US has this right; just go to www.annualcreditreport.com to order yours. In addition, specialty credit reporting agencies, which collect information regarding landlord-tenant, employment, and insurance issues are now also required to provide you with a free credit report once a year.

Mortgage lenders must now provide credit scores to mortgage applicants along with tips on how to raise your score, at no charge to the consumer.

The USA PATRIOT Act, whose main purpose is to prevent terrorism, also affects your access to certain credit information, by making it more easily available to the government and by keeping the government’s access to your information secret from you. Previously, the FBI had access to your credit reports, and now, any government agency can access them and you will never know.

Considering Bankruptcy?

2008-11-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

With the current financial crisis affecting so many Americans, more and more people are finding themselves in a position where they need to file bankruptcy. In September 2008, 96,000 Americans sought protection under bankruptcy laws, bringing US personal bankruptcies to a minimum of 1,065,000 filings for this year. At the current rate, total filings will be 30% higher than in 2007 and 80% above 2006 figures. The biggest increases in daily average filings are coming from California, at a 76% increase in filings over 2007, followed by Arizona, Nevada and Florida, states hard-hit by falling home prices and rising foreclosures.

Filing bankruptcy is serious business. It is a legal procedure, and will remain on your credit report for at least 7 and sometimes 10 years from the date you file. You can expect to see a sharp drop in your FICO score, sometimes by as much as 100 points, especially if your credit standing was good or excellent before your current financial difficulties. Clearly, this will make it much harder and more expensive for you to obtain credit. However, if your situation warrants it, bankruptcy can give you relief from collectors and bills that you are unable to pay, and the chance to start fresh, to some extent.

If you feel that you may need to file bankruptcy, there are several things that you should do.
Do your homework – Find out about bankruptcy, such as the different types of bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or 13) and its impact on your future finances. Gather the information you need to decide what would be best for you, given your ability to repay your debts, the kind of debts you have, and your long term goals.

Consult with a bankruptcy attorney or a reputable debt counselling organization – Before filing, talk to the experts. Find out if there is any viable alternative to bankruptcy such as credit counselling, where a non-profit organization will help you to organize and consolidate your payments, often lowering or eliminating interest to lower your total payments. Be careful that you choose one that has credentials and history because there are a number of unscrupulous firms out there. If it looks like your best choice might be bankruptcy, schedule an appointment with a bankruptcy attorney and get all the facts.

Make sure your creditors are accurately reporting the bankruptcy filing – After you file bankruptcy, get a copy of your credit reports and check to make sure that only the debts that were included in the bankruptcy filing are reported as being discharged through bankruptcy. Also, look at the accounts that are included in the bankruptcy and make sure they all show a balance of zero.

Note the date that your bankruptcy was filed – The credit bureaus have specific rules about how long a bankruptcy can remain on your credit report. Generally, Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcies stay on for 10 years and completed Chapter 13 bankruptcies remain on the reports for 7 years from the date of filing, not the date of discharge. If the bankruptcy remains on your report past this time, you need to dispute it with the credit bureaus.

After the bankruptcy, you should start re-establishing credit as soon as possible. If there are any tradelines (credit cards, lines of credit, car loans, etc.) that you have retained from before the bankruptcy, make sure you keep paying them on time. You may want to get a secured credit card, or rebuild your credit slowly with unsecured cards in small amounts, steadily increasing your credit line by establishing and maintaining an excellent payment history.

Credit After Bankruptcy

2008-11-07T10:15:00.001-08:00

Over 1 million Americans are projected to file for bankruptcy in 2008, making bankruptcy and foreclosures a hot topic lately. Filing bankruptcy can give you relief from bills and collectors in the short term, but how can you climb out of your credit hole and re-establish yourself on firm ground? Here are some tips to minimize the pain associated with bankruptcy and raise your credit scores.

When you file bankruptcy, you will probably see your FICO score drop, sometimes dramatically. The better your credit was before the bankruptcy, the more it will drop once you file, sometimes by as much as 100 points. Bankruptcies will stay on your credit reports for 7 (for completed Chapter 13) or 10 years (for Chapter 7 and 11). However, the damage is the worst right after you file. As the years go by, the effect of the bankruptcy on your overall FICO score will diminish.

First, look at what you still have. If you have retained any credit lines, credit cards, installment loans or any other type of tradeline from before your bankruptcy, make sure you continue to pay them on time. If you have a car loan and you are still making payments, make sure you reaffirm your loan with your lender. Basically, all this means is that you send a letter to your bank or finance company telling them that you intend to keep the vehicle and continue making payments on it. These older accounts that are still open and in good standing will help you to rebuild your credit.

Next, establish new credit lines. You will most likely not qualify for a low interest rate, and it may take time for a major bank to approve you for a mortgage or other loan. However, there are some banks that will offer you a credit card with a small credit line, such as $300 or $500. Certain banks, such as Capital One and Orchard Bank are willing to take a chance on people post-bankruptcy, as are local credit unions if you are a member.

Another option is the secured card. This is when you open a savings account with a bank and the credit card is linked to your account. If you don’t pay, the bank can take the payment out of the balance in your savings account, using it as collateral. The more you put in the savings account, the higher your card’s credit limit. Use your cards sparingly and above all, pay them on time! Once you show the card companies that you are responsible, they will periodically raise your credit limit. If you have been paying on time and they have not raised your limit, ask them to do a review of your account and raise your credit limit.

Be rigorous about paying your bills on time. Keep your credit going forward clean by paying all bills on time. If you have financial trouble in the future, make sure you communicate with the creditors and try to negotiate lower payments. Avoid having accounts go into collections by communicating with creditors and also trimming expenses to fit into your budget. If you can do this, creditors will view your bankruptcy as an extraordinary event in your life, rather than a symptom of your inability to manage your money.
Make sure that your bankruptcy and all of your accounts are listed properly on your credit reports. Because a bankruptcy has such a large impact on your FICO score, any mistake in how it is reported on your credit report can have disastrous consequences.

Things to look out for: accounts that were included in your bankruptcy should have a zero balance. If there is any other balance listed, it is a mistake and needs to be corrected. Also, if there are accounts that were not included in the bankruptcy, check to see that they do not incorrectly say they were part of the bankruptcy.

You should not be surprised if, after the bankruptcy drops off (7 or 10 years after filing), your FICO score actually goes down. That is because the FICO model compares your credit to others who have filed bankruptcy while you are in that 7 to 10 year window. Your relative credit behavior dictates your score. Since on average, people who file bankruptcy may have a harder time managing their money, it is like grading you on a curve. Once the bankruptcy drops off, you are once again compared to people who have not filed bankruptcy, so the bar is raised. However, if you follow these tips scrupulously, you should bounce up pretty quickly and be able to qualify for credit at a reasonable rate.

Are You Ready for a Mortgage?

2008-11-07T09:53:00.000-08:00

If you considering buying a home for the first time, there are a lot of things to consider before you make the plunge. Buying a home is usually the biggest investment you will make, and you owe it to yourself to find out about and evaluate all of the opportunities and risks you will be taking on if you decide to do it.

Are you better off renting? Like anything, there are advantages and disadvantages to buying a home. On one hand, when you buy a home, you are eligible for a tax break on your income tax, but on the other hand, you will have to pay property taxes, and sometimes homeowners or condo association dues. When you purchase a home, you will be building equity, and if you keep it for a long time, eventually, you will pay off your mortgage. But when you rent, you do not need to manage many repairs and maintenance issues and costs, and some utilities may be included in your rent payment that you would have to pay separately if you buy a home. If you are considering buying a home now for the first time, you may be able to get a low price because of the collapse of the real estate market. But you will have to make sure you have a substantial down payment (usually 20% of the purchase price and sometimes more) and you will may not be able to qualify for a low interest rate because of the credit crunch. Run the numbers to get an idea of what makes sense given your current financial situation and goals.

How is your credit? Now, more than ever, your credit history is extremely important, as lenders clamp down on any loans they view as risky. Even consumers with good credit can find themselves being rejected or offered a lower rate than they might have gotten just six months ago. Get a copy of your credit reports and FICO score. If there are any items that are questionable, you may want to talk to a reputable credit repair firm to help you clean up your credit so you can qualify for a better interest rate. Your other options are to dispute the derogatory credit marks yourself or just wait it out until you have a chance to improve your credit history.

How much can you borrow? There are two things to consider here: how much you can borrow and how much you should borrow. The first question can be answered using your debt-to-income ratio. Take your proposed mortgage monthly payment, add any car payments, credit card payments, student loan payments and any other payments you have on debt. If this number is more than 36% of your gross monthly income, lenders will be reluctant to give you a mortgage for that amount and you will need to look at a smaller mortgage payment, on a less expensive home. The second question is a matter of personal preference. Ask yourself how much debt you are comfortable with.

How much are you willing to stretch for your dream home? What is your short-term and medium-range financial outlook? If you have been told that you are being groomed for a higher paying job, maybe it makes sense to go for it. On the other hand, if you are in a company or an industry that has been or is planning to cut back, now might not be the time to think big.

How much will you save in taxes? Even if your mortgage payment is more than you have been paying in rent, it may be worth it because of the tax break you get on your personal income tax. Speak to a tax professional to determine your savings. Be sure to factor in the property tax you would now have to pay every year, to get an accurate picture.

Once you have done this exercise, you should have a pretty good idea if this is a good time for you to buy a home, and about what price range you should be looking in. Good luck

1st Rate Financial

2008-10-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

Your credit report is one of the most important documents in your life, impacting your mortgage, auto and credit card interest rates, your insurance policies, and even your employment. But did you know that 70% of all consumer credit reports contain significant errors that might adversely affect the granting of credit?

1st Rate can help. We are a boutique firm specializing in helping Americans restore, manage and build their credit. We are not an automated “dispute mill” and we do not masquerade as a law firm. We have helped hundreds of consumers just like you remove erroneous, outdated and misleading information from their credit reports so that they could improve their quality of life.

Depending on your situation, this may be all you need. But if you are interested in proactively establishing good credit, protecting your credit and identity, reducing your overall debt and interest, and creating a secure financial future, we have unique knowledge and tools that can help you accomplish each of these goals in a quick and affordable way. These services are not offered by the majority of credit repair companies and law firms, including the largest and best known because they require a level of expertise, care and commitment that are in short supply.

How the Process Works

2008-10-21T09:43:00.002-07:00

When you apply through this website, you can either decide on a service plan or give us a little information about what you want to accomplish and we will recommend a service plan to help you reach your goals. You can learn about the various service plans here. Once you have let us know which service plan you would like to pursue, we will send you the forms, and you should fill them out and fax, email or send via US mail to us.

If you have recent credit reports from all three bureaus, you can simply send us those reports so that we can review your credit situation for you. If you don't have this type of credit report, you can get your three reports free of charge by clicking here.

1st Rate will review your credit reports and with your input, identify those items that we believe have the best chance of being removed or corrected. If we don't believe that we can help you achieve positive results, we won't take your case and you will not be charged anything at all for the initial review.

Once we have agreed to take your case, if you have selected either service plan, we will immediately put the various components of those plans into place, including activating your identity theft protection. We then begin the dispute process by initiating correspondence with the credit bureaus that are reporting the negative information, requesting verification of the adverse reports. The credit bureaus must then contact the credit grantors who submitted the negative reports to get the documentation from them. The credit bureaus have a 30 to 45 day deadline to verify or remove the items being challenged. Often, they try different stall tactics to get around those deadlines.

Eventually, they will either get sufficient documentation to support the negative listing or concede that the item cannot be documented, at which point the item is removed.
As a matter of course, the credit bureaus will respond to you directly. This means that you have to be responsible about forwarding the communications you receive from the credit bureaus promptly to us, so that we know how to proceed on your behalf.

The first results from the credit repair effort may not become apparent until 60 days after the repair process was started, and results should be apparent every 30-45 days thereafter. Updates and notifications of dispute will be sent to you upon receipt of responses and subsequent new challenges.

Your job is mainly to receive, read and forward the responses from the credit bureaus. Once you have received a response, please send it on to us as quickly as possible so that we can pursue the next step.

Warranty

2008-10-21T09:43:00.001-07:00

We will refund 100% of your money if we do not remove or correct more than 25% of the negative line items that appear on each of the three major credit bureaus, that we work on, within six months from the time the client signs up.

In order for the warranty to apply, you must have at least four negatives on the credit report at the time of sign-up, and may not have used a credit repair agency nor attempted to repair your credit in the past two years. Unpaid collections and unpaid charge-offs do not qualify for the warranty and are not included. Client also agrees to send updated reports from each of the three credit bureaus to us within 5 days of receipt. Updated reports should be received by the client every 15-45 days. It is the client's responsibility to make us aware when the client has not received updated reports in this period.

Why 1st Rate Financial Is Your Best Choice

2008-10-21T09:42:00.001-07:00

Simply put, 1st Rate is one of the very few credit restoration and building companies that has the tools, expertise, and commitment to personal service that get results for our customers. We know, because many of our clients previously used one of these “dispute mills” or so-called law firms that advertise so heavily on the Internet, and ended up with little feedback from either the credit repair company, or from the credit bureaus. Once they became clients of 1st Rate, they were able to move forward with their financial life, getting mortgage, auto and personal loans at favorable rates, and enjoying the many other benefits of good credit, regardless of their past history.

Superior Client Care
At 1st Rate, we take our job seriously, and we treat each client with care and professionalism. You are not just one more case in a credit repair factory; you are an individual who is showing responsibility and initiative by proactively working on yourself to improve your life and that of your family. But don’t just take our word for it – hear what our clients have to say about 1st Rate.

Real Results, Real Quick
It is not just our excellent client care and interaction that makes our clients so happy. It is real results. We know how to use the consumer credit laws to provide maximum benefit to our clients and we offer a combination of other services that are unusually effective in improving and protecting our clients’ credit, including the best identity theft protection in the industry. We are one of only a handful of companies nationwide that utilize these state of the art credit restoration and protection tools.

Unsurpassed Value
The value that we provide has saved Americans like you thousands of dollars through reduced interest rates and loan payments. Some of our clients have saved enough in just one month of loan payments to pay for the entire credit restoration process. If you are getting ready to apply for a mortgage or other major loan, you owe it to yourself to contact 1st Rate first. You will reap the rewards many times, over the life of your loan. Even though our service results in thousands of dollars in savings for our clients, we have consistently kept our prices within reach of the average consumer. We just see it as doing our part to help Americans buy the homes and obtain the credit they deserve.

Tips on Improving Your Credit Score

2008-10-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

There are five categories that the FICO credit score takes into account in its calculations:
Payment history – 35% of the score
Amounts owed on accounts – 30% of the score
Length of credit history – 15% of the score
New credit inquiries – 10% of the score
Types of credit used – 10% of the score

If you are seeking to improve your score, there are positive steps you can take in each of these categories to boost your score.

Credit history
If you are applying for a mortgage, never pay off an old collection, judgment or tax lien until the close of escrow on the new house. Paying it before then will make it a “current event” and will lower your score, raising your interest on the mortgage.

Pay your bills on time. If you have missed payments in the past, get current and keep it that way. The longer you pay your bills on time, the higher your score will be.

Amounts owed
Even if you pay off your credit cards every month, your credit report may show that you have a balance. That is because creditors report on the previous month, and they may have reported it before they received your payment.

If you have an account that you don’t use, but it is in good standing, do not close it. This will negatively affect your score.

Avoid consolidating your cards onto one lower interest card. Although it will save you money on interest, it will bring the balance on that card closer to the limit, and this will make your credit score go down.

Length of Credit History
Don’t open up a lot of new credit accounts at once, especially if you are just getting started with credit. Even though you are improving your debt to income ratio, it could actually depress your score, because it lowers the average age of your accounts. It can also look risky if you are a new credit user.

Remember, it can take up to a year for a new account to positively impact your credit.

New Credit Inquiries
Don’t worry if you are shopping around for a car or home loan and making a lot of applications. All mortgage or home inquiries made within a 14-day period are counted as one inquiry. Make sure to make all of your applications within this time window.

If you order your own credit report from the credit bureaus, it will not negatively effect your score, but if you ask a friend with a business to order it for you as if he were checking your credit, it will hurt your score.

Types of Credit Used
Have and use credit cards, but be responsible. Credit cards and installment loans will raise your score as long as you have a good payment history. If you have no credit cards, creditors see you as a higher risk.

Remember, if you close an account, it still stays on the credit report and may be used to calculate your score. Don’t close old accounts that were delinquent because it makes the date of last activity the day you closed it, giving it more impact on your score.

How to Have a Perfect Credit Score

2008-10-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Say your goal is to have excellent credit. What does that really mean? Transunion, one of the big three credit bureaus, gives us some insight.

Three or four revolving credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Saks 5th Avenue, etc., with very high credit lines, $10,000 or more each. Very low balances on one or two of them, and zero balances on the others.

At least one charge card like American Express or Diners Club
All credit entries (tradelines, in credit bureau lingo) at least 6 months old, and at least one more than 3 years old

No derogatory notations. This includes late payments, collections, charge-offs, bankruptcies, judgments, etc.

Very few inquiries, no more than 3 in a six month period
At least one installment loan like a mortgage, auto loan or student loan, in good standing

How Much Do You Know About Credit Scores?

2008-10-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

A survey done by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) in 2004 shows that almost half of all Americans are unclear about what a credit score measures and other important facts.

Only about a third of the respondents understood what the credit score measures. The credit score measures a person’s credit risk. Banks and other creditors use this to assess how likely you are to repay a loan or credit card in a timely manner. It does not evaluate or take into account a person’s income, age or marital status.

Most of the people questioned knew that creditors use credit score, but less than half were aware that electric utilities, home insurers and landlords and even employers often use credit scores to determine whether to sell you their service, hire you, or charge you a higher price.

More than half incorrectly believe that people who are married have a combined credit score. Each individual has his or her own credit score. In fact, more than two-fifths are not aware that each person has not just one, but three separate credit scores. Each of the major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Transunion, calculate their own credit scores based on the information of each different credit report. Credit scores may differ based on which creditors report to which credit agencies.

Consumers are also confused about what is considered to be a good or bad score. If your score is below the low 600s, you will be denied credit or have to pay a much higher subprime interest rate. Scores above the low 700s will enable you to qualify for the lowest interest rates.

Do you know how to improve your credit score? Only 60% of those surveyed were clear that paying off a high balance on a credit card would raise your score. More than one in four surveyed incorrectly thought that maxing your credit card would raise your score. In fact, it would make it go down.

Almost three quarters of the survey respondents thought that you can get your credit score for free once a year. Actually, there is a charge to get your credit score, although you can receive a free copy of your credit report once a year at no charge.

Getting to Know the Credit Bureaus

2008-10-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

Getting to Know the Credit Bureaus

Credit bureaus are for-profit companies that track personal, financial and credit information on individual consumers. Each person has three credit reports, one from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and Transunion. Most of the information on the credit report comes from creditors who report information about your accounts with them to the bureaus. This usually includes the total credit available, the current balance, the status of the account and your payment history. Credit bureaus also draw information from public records about such events as bankruptcy, judgments and liens. Because not every creditor will report to all three bureaus, your credit report from each credit bureau may differ somewhat.

Most information stays on your report for seven years. Bankruptcies are reported for seven or ten years from the date of filing, depending on what typr of bankruptcy and some states have special regulations pertaining to how long collections and paid liens can be reported. You can get a copy of your credit report for free once a year, by going to www.annualcreditreport.com. You are also entitled to a free credit report if you have been turned down for credit within the past 60 days, fear that you have been the victim of fraud or identity theft, or are applying for a job in the next several months. Otherwise, the credit bureaus can charge for your credit report. The credit score, a single number between 300 and 850 that sums up your creditworthiness, is never entirely free, although the credit bureaus may include it for “free” with another paid service, like a 3-in-1 report or credit monitoring.

When you contact credit bureaus, one of the first things they will tell you is that if you find errors on your credit report, you should not use a credit repair company, but should go through the dispute process yourself. While it is true that there is no cost to dispute items on your credit report on your own, most consumers show little results from the do-it-yourself approach. This is because the credit bureaus are huge bureaucracies, as a result of having to track multiple items on the files of over 100 million Americans. Because they are so large and so busy, they view people disputing their credit as little more than a nuisance. They will use a number of tactics to encourage the consumer to go away without causing additional work on their part. In addition, to get anywhere with the credit bureaus, the person making the dispute needs to have a thorough knowledge of the consumer credit laws, which guarantee each consumer certain rights and obligates the credit bureaus to perform certain actions. In order to familiarize yourself with the applicable laws and the winning strategies you will need to repair your credit, it takes a huge amount of time and effort. After investing months and getting frustrating results, many consumers give up, either by dropping the issue and living with bad credit, or hiring a credit repair firm.

The amount of time it will take to clean up your credit depends on a number of factors, including your initial credit status, the number of items you want to dispute, the dedication to consistently mail dispute letters and promptly respond to credit bureau correspondence, and the effectiveness of your use of consumer credit laws to get positive results. For an accurate estimate of how long the process will take, consult with a reputable credit repair company.

1st Rate Financial Is Your Best Choice

2008-09-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

Simply put, 1st Rate is one of the very few credit restoration and building companies that has the tools, expertise, and commitment to personal service that get results for our customers. We know, because many of our clients previously used one of these “dispute mills” or so-called law firms that advertise so heavily on the Internet, and ended up with little feedback from either the credit repair company, or from the credit bureaus. Once they became clients of 1st Rate, they were able to move forward with their financial life, getting mortgage, auto and personal loans at favorable rates, and enjoying the many other benefits of good credit, regardless of their past history.

Superior Client Care
At 1st Rate, we take our job seriously, and we treat each client with care and professionalism. You are not just one more case in a credit repair factory; you are an individual who is showing responsibility and initiative by proactively working on yourself to improve your life and that of your family. But don’t just take our word for it – hear what our clients have to say about 1st Rate.

Real Results, Real Quick
It is not just our excellent client care and interaction that makes our clients so happy. It is real results. We know how to use the consumer credit laws to provide maximum benefit to our clients and we offer a combination of other services that are unusually effective in improving and protecting our clients’ credit, including the best identity theft protection in the industry. We are one of only a handful of companies nationwide that utilize these state of the art credit restoration and protection tools.

Unsurpassed Value
The value that we provide has saved Americans like you thousands of dollars through reduced interest rates and loan payments. Some of our clients have saved enough in just one month of loan payments to pay for the entire credit restoration process. If you are getting ready to apply for a mortgage or other major loan, you owe it to yourself to contact 1st Rate first. You will reap the rewards many times, over the life of your loan. Even though our service results in thousands of dollars in savings for our clients, we have consistently kept our prices within reach of the average consumer. We just see it as doing our part to help Americans buy the homes and obtain the credit they deserve.

How the Process Works

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1st Rate Financial

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Your credit report is one of the most important documents in your life, impacting your mortgage, auto and credit card interest rates, your insurance policies, and even your employment. But did you know that 70% of all consumer credit reports contain significant errors that might adversely affect the granting of credit?

1st Rate can help. We are a boutique firm specializing in helping Americans restore, manage and build their credit. We are not an automated “dispute mill” and we do not masquerade as a law firm. We have helped hundreds of consumers just like you remove erroneous, outdated and misleading information from their credit reports so that they could improve their quality of life.
Depending on your situation, this may be all you need. But if you are interested in proactively establishing good credit, protecting your credit and identity, reducing your overall debt and interest, and creating a secure financial future, we have unique knowledge and tools that can help you accomplish each of these goals in a quick and affordable way. These services are not offered by the majority of credit repair companies and law firms, including the largest and best known because they require a level of expertise, care and commitment that are in short supply.