Karen P asked:


Hello! I am a single mother of 2 children. I currently am paying $1200 in rent and I can not afford it. It kills me to be paying so much when I’m not even going to own the house. My credit score is really low about 515. Are there any first time buyer loans that don’t look at your credit score? Also fix your mortgage payment according to your income. I need some credit counseling also at no cost and can not find any around my area. (Atlantic County, New Jersey) My student loans are in default. I honestly do not know what to do. If you have any advice please let me know. No bashers please I already know that the decisions that I made in the past now affected me I wish I would have known it then. Thank you so much for taking your time to read my problems. – Karen

Dawn

LocalBoy asked:


I have numerous credit cards, 2 mortgage loans, and 1 personal loan. I got enough money from tax return to pay off the personal loan OR 1 credit card. I don’t know which one to do. Any advice will help, thanks!!

Kathleen

Nasim P asked:


hi,

I have mortgage with chase and I am trying to modify my loan for a lower interest rate. After talking to the loan modification department, adviced told to skip my payment for 3 months, and set the money aside. My question is
1) Will it hit my credit report and hurt my FICO score?
2) if so how long it will stay in my credit report.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

George

Carmen

Dispirited asked:


I am 20 yrs old I bought a duplex 4 months ago for 147,600 its appraised at 148,000 so I got it at top dollar. I got financing on 80/20 80%@7.5 adjustable rate (will go up in 2 years guaranteed) and 20%@10.75 fixed rate. I will be paying interest for the first 2 months. I am losing $200 on this monthly w/ tenants living there. It’s suppose to be my primary residence. Refi penalty for the 80 loan is $3600 and no penalty for 20%. So my question is I got a loan on stated income, I figured I am losing $200/month*24=4800 in 2 years interest only from my own pocket. If I refi now $3600 penalty and maybe $3000 closing cost (estimation) so that’s $6600 loss which I can live with 6600-4800=1800 difference I can live with that. But if I refi 30 yr fixed rate I have very low income i am a college student can I get possibly better rates to lower my down payment, I want to refi 0% down fixed 30yr rate is that possible? I want some advice plz I don’t want to go bankrupt in 2 yrs when rates go up!
I’v been reading lately on the internet about
the dangrous 0% down ARM loans mortgage companies
give out so easily, I thought I was just a lucky one
pft, no way, I got caught into it. But I want to keep
the property I don’t want to sell. Are my numbers correct
or am I just a bad dreamin investor wannabe? My credit
score when I got the loan was 700, I’v been paying
everything on time so it should have gotten up there
I hope I can get the fixed loan. I deeply appreciate
your advice. Thank You in advance

Dolores

michelle asked:


I would like to purchase my first home within the next 9 months. I have saved for the down payment and have increased my credit score to 654 with new accounts that I always pay on time and I never carry a balance on my cards. However I have 8 accounts that are about 5 years old that have all been charged off. Combined the charged off accounts total around $2000. I have read that paying these now will damage my credit score. So if I don’t pay them is it still likely for me to get a mortgage loan? Any advice on what my choices are?

Howard

barkulkum asked:


I am applying for a Home Mortgage loan through Wells Fargo program and they have approved my loan application based on the condition of two year employment history. The problem is i was working outside the US for 6 years until January 2008 and i am currently working in US from then.I gave all my W2 and pay stubs till today to the bank. Will this be a problem for my loan approval since i only have 20 months of experience in US and rest of them outside US? Please advise.
I gave all the tax and income documents to the bank prior to January 2008.

Annette

madsmom_99 asked:


My husband and I have found ourselves in the unfortunate situation of having a lien put on our home due to past child support. We are in the process of having this straightened out but are concerned that the lien will affect my parents who are co-signers on the loan for our home.

My husband recently finished his bachelor’s degree, and we had been making small but monthly payments to two different agencies. We received notice last August that one agency was increasing his payment, making it a little over double what we had been paying to both. I mistakenly believed that the payments had been combined and started making only one monthly payment. We have since realized that this was not the case, and are making arrangements to rectify the situation. Our main concern is for my parents. We are worried that our mistake is going to affect their credit. Any advise is greatly appreciated.

Hazel

Curious_Rex asked:


I have good credit score. I am planning to buy new car[march 27th] with car financing just after the day of my house purchase[March 26th]. I already locked my House mortgage loan.
I fear house purchase would affect my credit score and hence higher Car financing APR.
Can any one advise me please?

Denise

legend4real asked:


Its long but well worth the read, it’s very informative.

Equifax, Experian and Transunion have begun limited marketing of a new consumer credit scoring algorithm to Risk Based Lenders. According to David Rubinger of Equifax, the planned nationwide rollout to Risk Based Lenders is scheduled for July, and will be followed, approximately 9 months later, with the public disclosure of these scores to consumers.

An algorithm is a mathematical formula that is written to assign value to specific data in order to attain a final score. Risk Based Lenders are financial institutions that lend money based upon a consumer’s credit history and the consumer’s ability and historical willingness to repay a loan. These types of lenders cover the full range of financial institutions lending money for credit cards, auto loans, unsecured loans and mortgage loans.

David Rubinger, the national marketing contact for Equifax, explained “approximately one year ago, the analytical managers for the 3 credit bureaus got together for the purposes of addressing variations within the present scoring models in use. Under the current system, the three major credit-reporting agencies use three different algorithms that produce three different and unique scores, regardless of the data being scored. The primary issue to be addressed was how they could create a solution for Risk Based Lenders who wanted fewer variations within the credit scoring models they were using to make lending decisions.”

The solution for the three agencies was to create a single algorithm that would produce a more “predictive score” by creating a single variable in scoring, which would be the data. To do this, they came up with a solution that involved creating an independent company called VantageScore, LLC. Each credit-reporting agency would own an equal share in the company, and purchase a license to use and sell the resulting scores to risk based lenders under the VantageScore service mark. The hard part was creating the uniform scoring that the three credit-reporting agencies were attempting to design and sell.

To achieve as close a model as possible, the three credit agencies tested the initial base algorithm on 15 million active credit files. Throughout the testing process, changes were made to the algorithm as were needed to create a more stable scoring model until the finished product created an acceptable level of score variance in the finished product.

By creating an independent LLC company, the three credit reporting agencies are now able to offer a single product that has only one variable, the data being scored. Where the credit information reported is the same, the score for a consumer file will be the same, regardless of whether the score comes from Transunion, Experian, or Equifax. Where the credit information is different, the variations in the actual score will be significantly reduced.

Under the new VantageScore product, the three agencies decided to change the scoring formula from its current 450 to 850 scoring range to a new 501 to 990 range. When asked about why they would do this, Rubinger responded, “The new scoring model is to help consumers better understand their credit score. By basing it on a grading scale used throughout the K through 12 school system, consumers can look at their score and know exactly what they have”. Unfortunately for Risk Based Lenders, the new scoring model will require they spend thousands of dollars in updating software to incorporate the new scoring model.

When asked about some of the negative aspects of the change, Mr. Rubinger declined to answer any questions.

The initial question that Down Payment Solutions has relates to anti-trust laws and where the congressional oversight is. As we only have three major Credit Reporting Agencies, how is it they can bypass any oversight to create an LLC company in order to offer a single uniform product in which all can sell, with the goal appearing to be the complete replacement of the present day independent scoring algorithms?

When contacted for comment on this matter, the Department of Justice – Anti-Trust division – declined comment and suggested consumers who have concerns should e-mail them at antitrust.complaints@usdoj.gov. Neither Senator Bill Nelson (D – FL), Senator Mel Martinez (R – FL), Congressman Jim Davis (D-FL) or Congressman Michael Bilirakis (R- FL) offices would offer any comments for this article.

Jan Helder of the Helder Law Firm called the formation of a LLC by the three Credit Reporting Agencies “shady, at best” and advised that, unfortunately for consumers, they “cannot file an anti-trust suit until they have experienced a financial loss resulting from the new VantageScore credit scoring system, and then they will have to prove financial loss in court.” This will be well after low to moderate-income families, and the businesses dependent upon them, have felt the tightening of credit nationwide.

“The new VantageScore model creates a significant financial risk to consumers in their ability to obtain affordable financing,” according to Dwayne Singletary of Allstate Mortgage and Loan Corp in Tampa, Florida. “Many risk-based lenders in the mortgage industry use all three credit-reporting scores–also known as a Tri-Merged Credit Report–and have programs that allow them to use the credit-reporting agency that has the highest credit score. A reduction in that higher score will most likely result in home buyers needing more money out of pocket for a down payment, or require them to pay a higher rate of interest…” under the VantageScore model, whether refinancing or purchasing.

In the installment and revolving credit market, most risk-based lenders do not use the scores from all three reporting agencies. Rather, each lender selects the reporting agency that best fits their type of borrower. A reduction in any one score across any credit-reporting agency, via adoption of the VantageScore algorithm, could result in consumers being unable to obtain credit, or consumers paying a significantly higher rate of interest to borrow the same money tomorrow, versus what they would pay under the current separate credit-scoring models.

Rubinger contends the new scoring model is designed to help consumers better understand their score. However, given the thousands of dollars in financial costs that will be incurred by Risk Based Lenders in updating programming, it leaves the impression the new scoring model may actually be designed to mislead consumers into believing the new VantageScore system actually improves their credit scores.

Under the current system, in theory, if a consumer has a Transunion credit score of 600, then potentially under the new VantageScore model, they could have a score as high as 720. This certainly would go a long way towards silencing a potential consumer backlash if someone with challenged credit sees a dramatic increase in their credit score. This is potentially misleading, and may be the reason for the delay in consumers having access to their new VantageScore credit score for any given credit-reporting agency.

At present, it has not been disclosed how consumers will know what model they are being scored under. As consumers apply for credit, most will assume they are being scored under existing Credit Models, when in fact; they may have been scored under the VantageScore system if a particular financial institution adopted it.

Consumers who are concerned about the potential implications that VantageScore has on their financial future should contact the DOJ – Anti-Trust Division. In addition, we strongly encourage you to contact your Congressman via www.congress.org.

Down Payment Solutions believes that before this new Credit Scoring System is implemented, both the DOJ and Congress have some over sight as to how, when and if Transunion, Experian and Equifax, can implement this type of product in order to protect every American consumer and the businesses dependent upon them.

You are free and encouraged to reproduce, link to, e-mail and redistribute this article in its entirety as long as you leave the below author information intact.

Author: George Chaney, President, Down Payment Solutions, Inc. http://www.downpaymentsolutions.com

Nellie

rrc72 asked:


Basically, we take over someone’s monthly mortgage payments, thus bailing them out of foreclosure. Will this disqualify my family from receiving the 8k credit? By the way, we would get the tax credit if we do the conventional way. Please advise.

Is it true that if the house is sold with a non-qualifying assumption, that means you don’t have to pass a credit check or demonstrate your ability to pay the mortgage. If it’s a qualifying assumption, then you do?
Also, any other tips on dealing with assuming a mortgage loan will be greatly appreciated.

Elizabeth

Not so looney afterall asked:


Two years ago we lived in California, where our mortgage was ASTRONOMICAL. We sold our house and paid off the loan. We moved to another state and bought our new house with cash. We are now in the process of getting a small mortgage to put toward home improvements. Yesterday, my husband’s credit score came back as 744- yea! But also the report showed two late payments on the old house before we sold it. The mortgage company wants us to contact the old mortgage company and find out why those payments were late. The truth is I know they were late because we had a temporary employment issue- but then we got back on track for several payments before we sold the house- and then paid off the loan anyway. I guess, despite the excellent credit rating, this might affect our interest rate on the new loan. Please advise how I should approach the old mortgage company so we can get the best rate on the new loan. Thanks!

Terri

defyance24 asked:


I want to start improving my credit rating so I can buy a house. I won’t have a problem making the mortgage payments, but my credit is not very good. What should I do? Are there any home loans out there for people how’s credit isn’t so great?

Jay