-
The Middle Score: Your Key to Homeownership
The age of credit history is only one of the 5 factors that influence your credit score. It accounts for up to 15% of your total score, but all every factor matters if you are after your optimum score.
-
Identity Theft Tricks: Part One of Many
The age of credit history is only one of the 5 factors that influence your credit score. It accounts for up to 15% of your total score, but all every factor matters if you are after your optimum score.
-
Co-Signing For Another, Is It Wise? Understanding Financial and Emotional Risks
The age of credit history is only one of the 5 factors that influence your credit score. It accounts for up to 15% of your total score, but all every factor matters if you are after your optimum score.
-
I Received An Offer To Settle An Old Credit Collection For Less Than I Owe. Should I Accept?
There are many things to consider when receiving these offers. Is the debt really yours? Does the company have the right to collect this money? How will it affect my credit report if I accept? How do I know they will honor the agreement? Please ask us before contacting these companies for a free analysis of the offer.
-
How Do I Know That My Information Is Safe With You?
You are absolutely correct to be cautious of anyone you are sharing sensitive information with. We are registered and regulated by The Department of Justice, Office of The Attorney General. We can also be located on the website of The California Secretary of State website registry.
-
If I Pay All Of My Collections And Charged Off Accounts Will I Have Perfect Credit?
Sadly, paying off collections or charged off items may actually harm your credit scores. I suggest speaking for free with one of our credit repair specialists who can explain some options, and when/if it is a good idea to pay one or more of these items.
-
How Many Different Credit Scores Are There?
There are currently 28 versions of the FICO score. There are 10 for Experian, and 9 each for Equifax and Transunion. Each version uses all of the information contained on that bureau, but weighs the items differently depending on the purpose of the inquiry.
-
If One Credit Reporting Agency Deletes An Item, Will The Other Two Also Delete?
The Credit Reporting Agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) are privately owned businesses which are not dependent on each other for the data which they store or delete.
-
Will Closing Credit Cards Help My Credit Score?
In most cases, No! Closing revolving lines of credit typically does the opposite. When you close revolving credit lines, you are reducing the available credit percentage from your profile.
-
Will I Build Credit By Using My Debit Card For Purchases?
Not at all! This is completely false. Debit cards are just like writing checks from your bank account. They do not get reported to the credit reporting agencies unless you somehow overdraft them, and then only negative credit is reported.
-
Why Is My Credit Score Different Than The Score On Credit Karma?
The “Free” credit scores that you see advertised on television and online are typically never those that are used in making retail or mortgage credit decisions.
-
How Long Can Negative Credit Info Remain On My Credit Report?
There are time limits for how long negative credit can remain on the report. In reality, there is no “MUST”, and the creditor or the credit bureau can decide to have the negative credit items deleted whenever they please.
-
What Will My Credit Score Be After You Fix My Credit?
Many will ask me to forecast or predict the outcome of their service, or the credit score they might expect. I never make predictions as to outcomes or scores because that would infer that I know the proprietary algorithm of “FICO”.
-
How Long Does Credit Repair Take?
Credit repair results are not the same for all persons. There is not a way to set a standard time or result outcome for any clients’ service outcome. Even if two people had the identical file, there is a likelihood that both would produce somewhat different results.
-
Should I Use Experian Boost?
The age of credit history is only one of the 5 factors that influence your credit score. It accounts for up to 15% of your total score, but all every factor matters if you are after your optimum score.
-
What Is “Shot-Gunning”, And How Do I Prevent It?
Have you ever walked into a car dealership, excited to find your dream car, only to be bombarded with questions and paperwork? One sneaky practice you might encounter is “shotgunning,” where the finance person submits your credit information to multiple lenders at once, hoping to secure an approval quickly.
-
How To Legally Age Your Credit
The age of credit history is only one of the 5 factors that influence your credit score. It accounts for up to 15% of your total score, but all every factor matters if you are after your optimum score.
-
Why Is My Credit Score So Low?
The obvious most common offender of a credit score is poor credit history. Not all bad credit is the result of purposeful neglect.
-
What Factors Make Up My Credit Score?
FICO® and VantageScore® use proprietary algorithms to produce your credit scores. While there are multiple FICO® score models for each of the 3 bureaus (28 among the three), both FICO® and VantageScore® base your scores on the data currently listed on your credit report on any given day.
-
How Long Can Negative Credit Info Remain On My Credit Report?
There are time limits for how long negative credit can remain on the report. In reality, there is no “MUST”, and the creditor or the credit bureau can decide to have the negative credit items deleted whenever they please.