Best Ways To Increase Your Credit Score

By Doc Schmyz

In the old days the "man behind the desk" decided to give you a loan or not. Your handshake was the contract and your honor was the collateral. Now however the "man" has a name...the name is FICO SCORE.

Several credit models can be used for this article, however we are going to focus on the Fair, Isaac Company model. Better known as FICO.

A FICO score is one of the main factors used to determine your interest rate and the amount of a loan you will be offered. A good score makes you a more attractive loan then say someone who has a less then stellar credit history.

Keeping your credit history in good order and improving your rating is not a hard thing to do...but it will take time. Here are a few ideas how to do just that.

FIRST: You need to get a copy of your credit history

There are many reasons you may have no credit history. Maybe you're just starting out, maybe you pay cash for everything and have never needed a loan. In any case, if you have no credit history, your FICO score is likely to be low.

An easy way to improve your credit history is to get a loan and pay it off onetime. A loan such as a car loan (also known as an installment loan) is generally looked at as more important, and given more value, then a credit card loan.

A second idea is to take a sum of money, let?s say $1000, and put it in to a 6 month CD at a bank or credit union. Then you in turn go and get an installment loan against the first CD as collateral. The final part of this step is to take your new loan and repeat the process 2 more times at a different bank each time.

In the end you have 3 loans. Pay the minimum payments for 6 months...then cash out the CD's and pay off the loans in full. Now you have a credit history.

SECOND: Keep your credit history clean.

So we now have a good history. How do we get the score higher?

Don't close your old accounts. One part of your credit score is based on the amount of credit available verses amount of credit used. Closing old accounts can lower this part of your score.

Here is a thing to think about. Paying off your credit cards every month is good money management, but you may be able to improve in this area. Here's the scenario: you have a $2000 credit card. Every month, you charge about $1800 to that card. And, every month you pay it off. But here's what happens - your credit card company reports your credit information monthly to FICO. If they report it before you pay off your card, it looks like you carry a balance on your credit card every month. You may find your FICO score improves if you pay off your credit card at a different time of the month.

THIRD: Repair Your Poor Credit History

At some point there is a very good chance you will have something that causes your credit rating to drop. Don't panic...poor credit can be fixed. Understand however that the process takes time. In some cases you may need to talk to a credit counselor to assure you address the reasons for the drop as well as remove any future habits that may cause it to drop again.

Your credit history is the most important part of your FICO score. You need to start paying your bills on time. The value of your bills is as follows. Mortgage first, followed by installment loans, then credit cards.

The next largest factor on your credit is how you have used it. You can improve it by paying off your credit cards.

At the end of all this, make sure you review your credit report. Get one report from all three credit agencies. Read every page. (I know it reads like stereo instructions in Greek) Look at the entries and call and contact the creditors to have them remove any errors.

A good FICO score is a huge part of your financial life. Keep it healthy. Use these tips and watch your score climb. - 23199

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has worked with investors all over the US. He owns a free website that shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

In Foreclosure?? 5 Ideas To Use To Get Out.

By Doc Schmyz

Your house is the last thing that you want to loose. However sometimes home foreclosure will happen. When a borrower fails to pay his or her mortgage for a number of payments (usually 3 or 4) the lender will issue a foreclosure by selling the house or repossessing it.

More often than not lenders often lead their borrowers to believe that they don't have other options available. There are other alternatives that homeowners can use to keep their house off the auction block. The following is a list of ideas to consider if your in the foreclosure process.

1)Short stop

This is a short refinance for the foreclosure of your property. If you don't want a new loan to cover an existing one, you can ask the help of a friend. A borrower's friend or relative can buy or pay off the mortgage.

2)Negotiate a different payment plan

In this case the homeowner agrees to pay a portion of the amount and agrees to pay the rest in the succeeding months. The homeowner shows proof of their income and pays a down payment. This is a much easier way and most lenders agree to this plan. Keep in mind that some lenders will contract out the agreement. (normally 3 to 5 months)

3) Change of plans

Sometimes a temporary change in the terms of the loan can be given when properly negotiated. These changes include amortization extension and reduction of interest rate. A foreclosure negotiator handles the job of getting these plans approved. This is a total process for another short term fix.

4) Third party sale

The foreclosure property is sold to a third party. The proceeds will go to the mortgage lender as a settlement for the debt. This is the most common conclusion to a foreclosure.

5) Friendly third party sale

The third party who buys the property sells it on foreclosure to clean the deed of other holders. Then the property is sold back to the original owners/borrower.

These are just some of the options that borrowers can utilize in attempting to retain their properties. Remember these alternatives are outside the original terms of the agreement. Homeowners may have to negotiate their way with lenders and banks. Preventing home foreclosure is still better than looking for a cure. - 23199

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has invested all over the US. His free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

Using Property Analysis Software To Grow Your Income

By Silace Zyllion

Investment software for real estate is an invaluable tool in their acquisition, rent and sell analysis. Real estate software gives the investor a lucid appreciation of their deal, financing and return options, and is practical in predicting a rather precise return on investment. Depending on the tool, the investor can use the real estate software to determine cash flows, net present value, income, and most other investment ratios. If the software has a sensitivity analysis, may also calculate multiple scenarios to find the optimal purchase and financing structure to maximize the investment and profit

An understandable benefit of real estate software is its capacity to save time and optimize outputs.

The majority investment calculators incorporate tools to incorporate tiered financing, vacancy rates, expenses, appreciation, down payment, taxes and numerous other inputs. Software is fantastic for adding in company disbursements and even helps clarify capital gains. Generally, these tools assist the real estate investor uncover the best method to capitalize on their return on investment for a certain house.

As a general rule, most real estate software programs are pretty user friendly. Depending on your level of experience, the data returned from numerous software programs can be much more thorough than needed. It is nice however to control access to the supplementary extensive calculations; particularly if you are working with a bank or partners who need more financial data.

Depending on your investment goals, you may need a software that provides both residential and commercial analysis. It is crucial to understand that the two types of investment are very dissimilar animals, but with the accurate tools, the calculations can be easy.

If your target investments are residential or commercial, a good real estate investment software program can help you to make the most of your return on investment and diminish your costs. - 23199

About the Author:

Real estate investment software is an easy source that can be used to save time and actually make money. Go to us at freetrainer.com to download your own real estate software today.

Are Your Options Losing Value?

By Donald Scott

Let's discuss the complexities of options and how they differ from trading stocks. First of all stocks are simply one-dimensional trading vehicles, the dimension of "price movement." For example, one can go long a stock if he/she is forecasting a rise in the price of the underlying asset. The stock trader doesn't need to worry about time or changes in volatility affecting the outcome of his trade. The stock trader only needs to focus on the asset's price movements.

So those are the basics about stocks, but what about trading options? Options are like trading 3 dimensional vehicles...direction, time and volatility. Let's look at a real-trading example to clarify the difference in the trading world:

What if Google moves up 25% in 2 years? Well, those stock owners would have just made 25% by holding on to their investment all that time. However, if an option trader held on to his Call options for 2 years, most likely there would be very little if any gain on the trade.

The reason the option buyer may have just lost money is because of Time Decay. His option just lost a whole lot of Time Premium because the trade took so long to develop. Also, since the volatility of the underlying asset probably went down, this could have also caused the Call option to lose value. Options lose premium over time.

For this reason we really need to fully understand options before investing with them. Investors new to options often times buy Calls and Puts, attempting to make money on price direction, but if they fail to understand the 3 dimensions they are really trading, they will most likely never see consistent returns. However, once the understanding is there, one can trade options in any type of market. Options are flexible and allow an investor to be very creative. - 23199

About the Author:

Our motto is Max Safety, Max Reward Option Trading. Learn the option trading strategies that are changing the lives of others. Visit www.SJOptions.com and Receive a FREE Option Trading Video Now!

Refinancing Can Save You Money Or Rescue Your Home

By James Weekson

Even if tough economic times it is important that home owners find ways to keep their house, because going along with a foreclosure is never a good idea. If you haven't realized it before, not taking any action only results in your debt growing exponentially due to the compounding of interest. If you are no longer able to keep up with your monthly payments for a mortgage then refinancing is a good choice that will help you keep your home.

A simple way of understanding what refinance means is it is taking out a second mortgage to then pay off the existing mortgage. Recently it is not always the situation as it is being used as troubled debt restructuring which is allowing creditors to collect on a bad debt and giving the debtors some relief from their debt.

When these circumstances occur to do a refinance there is a little "tweaking" of the interest, principal, rate and repayment period. When you go to refinance your mortgage the loans present value is calculated so that the new principal total would usually include a portion of the remaining unpaid from the original loan plus interest and surcharges, if there are any applicable.

After the new principal has been fixed, you negotiate a new interest rate. Often, the interest rates allowed by banks would depend on current market rates. Market rates fluctuate but refinancing is usually a favorable move when borrowing rates are low. However, if refinance is done to restructure troubled debt, the interest rate is always renegotiated whatever the market conditions are.

In all cases, when a refinance bears a lower interest rate than the original mortgage. This allows the debtor more affordable monthly payments. During times when market rates are high, creditors make up for the difference by allowing a longer repayment period.

Something you need not think twice about is that your lender is going to profit on the interest over the life of the refinanced mortgage since in the end if your previous mortgage was in trouble and with the refinancing you managed to maintain ownership of your home being the monthly payments were lower, it was well worth it.

Recently, though, refinancing mortgages now has a different meaning for those who own a home. Even though refinancing is mostly a way of restructuring a troubled mortgage, there are those who use it as a way to save on interest payments. The same factors still play a role in this case and they are the interest rates, repayment period and principal loan amount.

In order to save on the costs of paying interest, a homeowner can negotiate on the existing mortgage so that they will be able to enjoy the benefits of lower interest rates or reducing the term for repayment if it is possible to pay higher monthly payments. Regardless of what the situation is, the bank still has its advantages since the repayment is sped up and the risk of defaulting and foreclosing is reduced. Especially banks prefer cash over inventory, because the latter has to be maintained and costs more on upkeep. - 23199

About the Author:

For good quality writing on Lansing mortgage, you should check out some of the posts on this site about mortgage rates Lansing.