How does a Short Sale vs. Foreclosure affect Your Credit Score?
I frequently get asked the questions, “How does a Short Sale affect my credit score?”, or “What’s the difference between a short sale and foreclosure with my credit?”. These are great questions and the answers are often convoluted. Here’s the real skinny. While a short sale may be a good move financially when you can’t find someone to buy your home for the full loan amount, it still has very serious credit implications. It is very likely that your credit scores will suffer greatly because of the short sale and believe it or not, may have the same...
read moreWhy Money Won’t Buy You a Good Credit Score.
Most people assume that if you make a lot of money, you’ll automatically have great credit scores. This is a common misconception about credit scores and it’s easy to understand why one would think income would be a factor. It sounds reasonable …and makes perfect sense, so why wouldn’t we assume that income plays a part in our credit scores? The fact is, income is not a factor in determining your credit scores. In all actuality, it’s impossible to use income in the credit scoring calculation. This is because the information used to determine your credit scores is...
read more5 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score
Only open new credit accounts when you really need them. Don’t open accounts for the purpose of improving your credit or getting a discount on a purchase – it probably won’t raise your credit score. In some cases, it may even lower your score. Pay your bills on time. Remember that payment history counts for 35% of your score. Derogatory payment information can and WILL have a major negative impact on your scores for 7 to 10 years. Watch your credit card and/or revolving account balances! High outstanding credit card debt can really hurt your credit score. Your debt levels...
read moreCredit Myths: True or False?
According to a survey conducted earlier this year by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the company formally known as Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU), there are still a record number of Americans that don’t understand exactly what credit scores are designed to do or the major factors that are used to determine this all so important 3-digit number. In fact, 74% of consumers still believe that their credit scores are influenced by income! Even more surprising was that many consumers also believe that marital status, age, level of education and race, are also significant...
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