I see faulty credit reporting all the time. After pulling credit, I (or Aimee) will review the credit report with the borrower.  It is amazing how many times we see active accounts which have been discharged during a bankruptcy. 
Quite honestly, I’m not sure how much this affects the credit score, but it certainly will not help.  Oftentimes [...]

Not only can bad credit cost you big bucks, it could even cost you that new job you want or the promotion you’ve been working so hard to get.  It’s hard to believe, but it’s true, more and more employers are pulling credit and screening out job applicants.
I vaguely remember a conversation from a few months. The [...]

“I’m in an adjustable rate subprime mortgage and I need to know my options to get out of this before my payment jumps.”
Over the past month I have received quite a few inquiries with the exact scenario described above. I have prepared a checklist of six things you need to do so you can make [...]

Very few lenders hold on to a mortgage loan. Most lenders sell the servicing rights to the mortgage to a third party loan servicing company within a relatively short period of time.  A lot can happen during this transfer and you as a borrower need to pay attention when you receive notification that your loan [...]

Suze Orman describes herself as a personal finance expert. Most of the time I agree with the advice she dispenses. However, there are times when I scratch my head and wonder where she gets her information. What worries me about a recent article she wrote is the confidence with which she dispenses advice based on [...]

The East Vally Tribune published a very informative article yesterday on the top five credit (and debt) misconceptions. According to the EVT (citing Transunion), the top five credit misconceptions are:

Co-signing a loan doesn’t make you responsible for the account.
Paying off a negative record will get it removed from your credit report.
Paying off a debt will [...]

When I check credit as part of the mortgage application process I always review the report with the client. I do this because I have found credit reports to be notoriously inaccurate.  I know Congress passed a bill a few years ago to address this issue. However, I’m still not convinced the system is accurate [...]

Recently, we sent out postcards to all of our past customers offering free private reports. I want to offer these reports to all the readers of this blog as well. I’ve covered quite a bit of this stuff on this blog, but the reports are a condensed version of what I’ve gone over. The [...]

What is a credit score worth to you? What does it matter whether you have a 720 score or a 695? It’s only 25 points? Well according to MyFICO, a division of Fair Issac, this 25 point difference could cost you almost $31,000 in extra interest payments over the life of the loan. So, in [...]

Many people are confused when it comes to their credit scores. I know I’ve posted a pie chart demonstrating what constitutes the FICO score, but there is so much more to the credit score.  Take the quz below and find out how well you know the system. Answer the questions in the comments section. I will [...]