My secret of why I consistently ranked #2 out of thousands in the mortgage industry was because instead of turning down clients with flawed credit, I showed them how to fix their credit so they could come back to me in 3 months, and they did!

Credit Building Shortcut

Most mortgage companies require that you have at least 3 open trade lines on your credit report to be approved for a mortgage.  Even if you have a no late payments, a great job and a large savings account, it can still be a requirement.

There is a secret technique that I have seen successfully used in the past (although I do not guarantee that it will work all the time or guarantee that it is legal to do, because truthfully, I don’t know how the law views this.)  

They had asked a trusting relative or close friend having a good credit history to call their creditors and add their name onto their credit accounts as authorized users, and give their SS# for the credit record.  Sometimes doing this resulted in the entire credit history of the account being posted to their credit report as if they had made the monthly payments for all of the years.  In 30 days, this also gave their fico scores a big boost.   Not to deceive, however, if you did share these monthly expenses with your relative or friend, but the credit record was in their name only, then it does seem fair to claim your credit rating.

No Time to Fix Credit? 

Most people don’t realize the importance of credit repair until they are desperate at the last minute.  In this case, you should write a letter of explanation to accompany the imperfect credit report and submit it with your mortgage or rental application. 

The main points you want to explain in your “To whom it may concern” letter, is the fact that you once had a hardship, but it is now resolved.  Give details of the unfortunate event in your life that caused you to fall behind.  Some creditors (not all) understand that bad things happen to good people.  It also helps if your credit report indicates that after the late payments, you made an effort to get back on track again.  Sometimes one simple letter of explanation can change a No to a Yes.

Credit Counseling—The Truth

Beware of credit counseling agencies that neglect to tell you that while they are reducing your monthly payments and credit card interest rates, they are also destroying your credit rating.

The statement “In credit counseling” will appear on your credit report.

Most mortgage companies rate a credit-counseled consumer as if they are in bankruptcy, greatly reducing their chances of obtaining new credit for the next seven years.  (The term “non-profit organization” should never be misconstrued as volunteering.  In plain truth, it usually means that they must spend all of the profits by year-end in order to keep their tax-exempt status.)

Don’t Pay For Your Credit Report!

Keep your credit scores in good standing. With identity theft on the rise these days, you should monitor your credit reporting at least once every 6 months. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the only authorized site for consumers to access their annual credit report online for free. Other sites that claim they are free will charge you a fee.  

This site allows you to pull 3 separate reports, one from each bureau (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax.)  They only charge you if you request your FICO score, but you don’t need your score if you are just monitoring your credit. 

Since it is only free once per year, but it is advised to check your credit more than once per year to protect yourself against ID theft, you might want to only request a report from one of the 3 credit bureaus every 4 to 6 months from this site, instead of pulling all 3 at once and having to wait a year for another free one.

ID Theft; The Fastest Growing Crime

Take a few preventative measures to help ensure your credit is not compromised.  Victims of identity theft, have spent more than $5,000, years of stress, and lost time at work, in efforts to clear their good name.

One victim told me that she had to fly across the country to go to a plastic surgeon’s office, and lift her shirt to prove to a doctor that she did not have breast implant surgery, and that the mystery woman who did, stole her identity. The proof was clear; but the rest of the stolen credit for merchandise in her name was not so easy to prove, and may never be resolved.

Here are a few ways to reduce your risk of ID theft:

Make sure you have a good spy detection software product installed on your computer. Frequently run updates and run your spy detection software. By clicking a deceptive ad or link, spy software can be secretly downloaded to your computer without your knowledge. This spyware will secretly record all of your key strokes, and photograph your screens every 5 seconds creating a video version of all your online and offline activity, and secretly email it all to the spy on a regular basis. The spy can view the recording the same as viewing a videotape. This gives the spy your passwords (even if your screen, displays "*******" as your password, the actual passwords are recorded on spyware), photos, and access to your email which can lead them to everything they need to steal your identity, or sell your identity to multiple thieves.

Use a cross-cut paper shredder, and shred every bill, document, or credit card pre-approved offer, before throwing it out.

Photocopy the front and back of all of your credit cards, and keep the copy in safe place. That way if your wallet is lost or stolen, you will have fast access to all the information you need to alert your credit card companies immediately.

Avoid leaving mail in your mailbox while you are away on vacation. Ask your local post office how to place your mail on hold while you are away. In some zip codes, you can enter your request online at: https://dunsapp.usps.gov/HoldMail.jsp

Verify unknown callers requesting any personal information, by asking for a phone number listed in the phone directory under the business name to call them back. ID theft is the fastest growing crime, and there may never be a way to completely protect yourself.

If this happens to you, immediately report it to the three largest credit bureaus (Equifax: 800-525-6285, Experian: 888-397-3742, and Trans Union: 800-680-7289). They will put an alert on your credit report to prevent additional fraudulent accounts opened in your name. Next, contact the Federal Trade Commission’s ID theft counselors at 1-877-ID-THEFT.

Would you like me to email you a free step-by-step credit repair guide?  Just email me at RealTerrific@gmail.com to request it, and I will forward it to you.

Best of luck!

Jane