Archive for January, 2010
How to Avoid a Credit Card Charge-Off
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The simplest way to avoid a credit card charge-off is to learn and understand the credit card system. Here are some tips:
Sending Credit Card Payments Through The Mail:
Some credit card companies actually require you to use their own preprinted envelopes, but even if they do not, it is a good idea to do so in the interest of more efficient processing of your payment. Make sure you have included the billing coupon and have written clearly the amount that you are paying. Include your check, also written legibly, and remember to write your credit card account number on the check.
When Ronald Reagan was running for President, he was asked what he was going to do to make the post office more efficient, to which he responded that he would start mailing postal workers their paychecks. Allow ample time when you send your check to the credit card company.
Change Your Credit Card Due Date To Something That Is Convenient For You:
Many people find that the greatest number of their bills, such as their mortgage or car payment, are due at the first of the month. If this places a burden on your ability to pay your credit card bill that may also be due at the first of the month, a simple way to avoid this problem is to just ask your credit card issuer to change the due date for your monthly payment. There is no harm in the asking, and many credit card issuers offer this ability to change the due date of your bill as an option. One important thing to remember, though, is that it may take a couple of billing cycles before this date change is fully implemented. It is important to make sure that your bill is paid promptly when due until your change of due date becomes effective. Otherwise, you could find yourself on the wrong side of a late fee.
Are Second Mortgage Modifications Stuck In The Mud?
Posted by: | CommentsAn Obama administration plan announced in April to help up to half of all struggling homeowners modify their second mortgages has yet to officially launch, the
Treasury Department acknowledged Friday.
The program, a component of the administration’s $75 billion Making Home Affordable effort, was supposed to attack second-lien mortgages, which are additional, second mortgages taken out on a home on top of the initial first mortgage. It’s like taking out two loans to pay the same debt.
The Second Lien Program is supposed to automatically reduce the payments on a second mortgage when the first mortgage is modified under the administration’s loan modification effort, the Home Affordable Modification Program. The administration says that by lowering monthly mortgage payments, HAMP will eventually help up to four million homeowners stay in their homes
Some housing experts say the second-mortgage component of the plan is necessary to effectively tackle the foreclosure mess — 3 million foreclosure notices were sent out in 2009; another 3 million are estimated to go out this year — because so many distressed homeowners have second mortgages. When rolling out the program in April, the administration estimated that “up to 50 percent of at-risk mortgages currently have second liens.” Addressing only the first lien is insufficient, experts say, if no changes are made to seconds.
Loan Modifications – Banks Not Following The Rules?
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Nathan Reynolds is something of an expert on the government’s foreclosure prevention program. A mortgage broker who’s worked in the Chicago area since 1998, he’s seen both his business and his home’s value plummet in the past few years. After receiving his own trial loan modification from JPMorgan Chase, he’s helped others apply for modifications through the program on his own time.
But in November, after Reynolds had made trial loan payments for seven months, Chase told him his mortgage would not be permanently modified. Chase had determined that his personal financial troubles were only temporary — because Reynolds had expressed optimism that the administration’s policies might rescue the housing market, boosting his income.
That’s not a legitimate reason for a loan servicer to deny someone’s modification, according to the Treasury Dept.’s guidelines for the program. And Reynolds’ experience — along with the cases of two other homeowners examined by ProPublica, shows how servicers have created unnecessary hurdles that, in some instances, violate the loan program’s rules.
What Can Happen To Credit Cards After Foreclosure
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Like so many of you, I too have had my share of financial problems the past couple years. During the good times, I got a little overzealous and purchased a 2nd home and a seasonal vacation rental. Basically this meant that I had 3 mortgage payments and the rental income I received only covered the expenses on the seasonal vacation rental during the summer months. Once winter came around, those came out of my pocket too, so I decided the best thing to do was sell the vacation rental, so on the market it went.
There my listing sat, and sat, and sat, collecting dust with no offers. It got to the point where I could no longer afford to make the payments on the 1st and 2nd, so with much hesitation, knowing I was going to ruin my perfect credit rating of the past 20 years, I stopped making the payments on December 1st, 2008. I had no choice.
The late payment letters and collection phone calls started coming fast and furious by February. I really needed to learn another language or two, because how many times can you tell a collection agent “I don’t have the money” after 3 phone calls from the same lender in ONE WEEK? Maybe if I could say it in Spanish or Greek, they’d understand and stop calling. But no…..persistent buggers they are….and the saga continued until I just stopped answering the phone.
10 Tips on How to Establish Good Credit
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Attempting to establish good credit is a task that takes a little effort, a lot of time, and can even cost some money! In order to establish good credit you have to use credit, and this almost always means incurring an interest charge. Fortunately, you can use these strategies to keep your interest payments down while getting the biggest boost to your credit scores.
To establish good credit, you simply need to jump into the credit cycle. You first acquire some credit, use it when needed, and repay as required. After a period of this activity, you acquire some more; use it when you need it, and so on…
By making small charges to your account and paying them on or before the due date, you slowly build your credit and become eligible for credit line increases. Its okay to pay personal consumer accounts on or right before the due date, but you’ll get an even better credit rating for business accounts if you make your payment right after you receive the bill, versus waiting until closer to the due date.
In most cases, you can set up your payments to be deducted automatically out of your checking account on the due date. If you pay off your balances in full every month, this ensures the credit bureaus will always show a balance on the account, and also allows you to keep your money until the exact day the payment is due. If you pay off your balance too far ahead of the due date; it may not reflect a balance on your credit report, which doesn’t help your scores.
You continually increase the quality of your credit as well as the quantity. You’ll replace store charge cards with those from major imprints, such as Visa, M/C or American Express. You’ll convert secured lines of credit to unsecured ones. You’ll increase your borrowing power with your relationships. Before you know it, you have built substantial credit coffers.
Well start from the beginning, with steps to establish or re-establish credit for someone who has no or formerly bad credit. If you already have credit, the challenge is to make sure your credit grows in the ways you need it to for your business. Read More→
