Debt Consolidation Credit Counseling In Phoenix

When it comes to getting your credit in order, there is nothing better then taking advantage of what a consumer credit repair service can offer you. Whether it is a free credit repair service or one that you pay for, the consumer credit repair service is there to help when you need it the most.

A credit repair service with experience in the field will really be able to help you clear up blemishes on your credit. They will help correct any incorrect statements on your credit. They will also work to see if accurately stated credit problems can be resolved and removed.

The best thing you can do is to contact a consumer credit repair service just as soon as you know that you are in need of help. This is to make sure that things can get done quickly as the longer you wait the harder it is going to be to get everything in order. Even if the marks have been there on your report for a long time, the consumer credit repair service may be able o help you out although the odds generally will not be in your favor. You simply have to take it one creditor and one mark at a time and see what comes from it.

Everything Costs Money

It is customary for most credit repair agencies to charge a fee for their services of a few hundred dollars. Remember that it is difficult to find free services today. Most services cost money, even when there are no guarantees as to what the outcome will be.

Even the non-profit organizations are going to cost you some money so this is something that you are going to have to be prepared for. There is nothing worse then spending more money then you already have but it is certainly worth a shot if it means that you may be able to get things back in order.

You will want to really shop around when you are looking for just the right consumer credit repair service company to go with. This is because they will all be charging different amounts and you want to go with a company that can give you the services you are in need of without making you go broke.

Be prepared to hear quotes anywhere from two hundred dollars to a thousand dollars, as these seem to be the most typical. Make sure that you are getting what you are paying for as well so that you do not end up in worse shape then you were when you started.

People that have bad credit often struggle to find loans. Lenders are obviously taking much more risk on when they lend to individuals who have struggled to pay bills in the past. However, you may find yourself in need of extra money and if this is the case for you, you may find yourself in quite a log jam.

For many, the worse their credit gets, the harder it is to get a loan to help consolidate their debt to make repayment possible. In truth, for people with bad credit, there are a lot less options for borrowing money. But, if you need to borrow money for unexpected expenses, or to help consolidate debt, it is not hopeless. Personal loans are still an option for people with bad credit.

There are many different types of personal loans and one of those types is payday loans. With a payday loan, you can secure up to a few thousand dollars that can help you to float by for a few extra weeks.

With payday personal loans, the lenders doesn't expect collateral and also will not perform a credit check for eligibility. Since they will be taking on quite a bit of risk, they will charge interest rates that are quite high.

Before getting personal loans that have a lot of interest, you may want to take a look at some other options that may be available. For example, asking your employer for a short term loan will generally work and will save you a lot in interest.

Depending on the type of personal loan that you decide to get, it may help your credit score. Signature personal loans will help your score as long as you always make on-time payments. However, payday loans won't help your credit score.

Before you get a payday loan, you may want to try to find a loan that can help you to build credit. That way, getting a loan in the future will be a lot easier.

Identity theft is a crime and a growing problem in the United States. Identity theft includes any fraudulent activity involving the assumption of someone else's name, social security number, financial information or other sensitive personal data with the intention of dishonesty.

Far too many of us are slapdash with our personal data. We make it easy for anyone with criminal intentions to gain access to information that can be used for anything -- even to assume our entire financial identity. We need to be aware of the dangers of identity theft, how to protect ourselves and steps to take if we suspect someone else is using our personal data illegally.

The best way to defend yourself against identity theft is to guard personal identification numbers such as social security and bank account numbers. The crime of identity theft can occur in seemingly secure places like a public phone booth or an ATM. Always ask for a written application or documentation to be mailed to you. If the caller is legitimate then he or she will usually comply. If not, suspect that you might be a potential victim of identity theft and hang up.

Another wise idea is to shred any credit applications that arrive at your home. At the very least, tear them up and make sure the pieces wind up in separate garbage bags. Lastly, because the checks we write pass into so many different hands, never put your social security number or any other information you want to safeguard on your checks.

Always review your bank statements and credit card bills vigilantly for anything unusual. You must act at once if you suspect you are a victim of identity theft. Close any accounts you think the thief may have access to, notify the police and contact one of the three major consumer-reporting companies who by law must notify the other two. Finally, let the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) know so that your incident of identity theft will go into a national tracking system.

Identity theft can happen to anyone, and it can be overwhelming for your financial future. Refuse to be the next victim by educating yourself on identity theft.

In the last few months we have seen a slowdown in the real estate market. Yet there are still plenty of people out there who are looking for their dream property. When it comes to selling a Houston TX home or one anywhere else you need to prepare it properly. Below we take a look at just a few things one can do when it comes to trying to sell your Houston TX home in such a slow market today.

1. Many potential buyers are going to be put off buying a property when they find it needs work doing. So before you even put it on the market get any repairs that are necessary done. These are ones that are normally small and won't actually cost much to get done. But will result in your house looking great and so improve the chances of you getting it sold. However, if you don't get them done don't be surprised if a potential buyer puts in an offer that is lower than the asking price or makes no offer at all.

2. Another way for you to increase the potential of getting your home sold in a slow market is to ensure that at all times the house is clean and tidy. This means that your home will be available to be viewed at any time and will improve the chances of you having more potential buyers entering it to view.

3. If you can afford to arrange to get your home staged by a professional as they can work on getting rid of the clutter and depersonalizing it. Remember you need to allow any potential buyer of your home to be able to view it as theirs. Also if it is full of clutter then it becomes more difficult to show off the houses full potential.

4. When it comes to selling your home in a slow market as we are seeing presently you need to have realistic expectations with regard to the price it will sell for. Never look back at what your house would have sold for last year but instead you need to focus on what it is worth now. Certainly if you are pricing your home too high then you are pricing yourself out of the market. Plus by asking a fair price for your home ensures that there is little or no room for negotiations to take place.

This article looks at the way banks take advantage with NSF and overdraft fees. It contrasts this with the alternative of using payday loan store and proposes that these are in fact cheaper than bank fees. It goes on to show how banks lobby aggressively against the payday industry fearing cuts in there fees. The findings are based on a US study by the federal government and is freely down loadable.

This is an independent agency part of the federal government - created in 1933, just when thousands of banks failed. The 1920s and early 1930s saw thousands of banks fail. The FDIC is managed by a five-person Board of Directors, all of whom are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with no more than three being from the same political party.

In 2006 legislation allowed banks to apply automated overdraft programs - much to the detriment of consumers. This is a system where the bank honors customers obligations using computer rules to determine non-sufficient qualification for overdraft coverage. Data and information were gathered through a survey of a sample of institutions representing 1,171 FDIC-supervised banks, and a separate data request of customer account and transaction-level data from a smaller set of 39 institutions.

FDIC publishes the results of a 2 year study on the banking systems use of overdraft programs. The study found that a typical NSF check can result in overdraft fees and interest in excess of 3,500 percent APR. In addition, the study found that customers in low-income areas (median annual income of less than $30,000) were nearly twice as likely to incur these charges.

This study confirms the argument made by the payday industry. That is short term payday loans are much less expensive than using a bank and incurring bank overdraft fees. The other major difference is than banks are automatically enrolling customers in programs that carry APRs and other fees that are in fact far more expensive than a payday loan. Namely 75% of banks did this.

The study concluded that a typical customer would incur fees of $27- for each $20 overdraft over a 2 week period. A $60- ATM overdraft in 2 weeks would incur an APR of 1,067 percent. A customer repaying a $60 ATM overdraft in two weeks would incur an APR of 1,173 percent and a customer repaying a $66 check overdraft in two weeks would incur an APR of 1,067 percent. Oddly enough the faster one pays down the overdraft the higher the APR turned out to be.

Some consumer advocacy groups like the CRL are lobbying to ban payday loans. This leaves customers with no option than to pay overdraft fees to the banks. CRL and others recently led the charge to pass HB 545, a law effectively banning payday lending in Ohio . In 2006, Ken Compton, CEO of Advance America, said, "Contrary to the CRL's spin, responsible uses of the payday product provides consumers firm footing to overcome unexpected financial circumstances".

Some key findings;

Over 90% of banks completed overdraft fees without informing the customer.Very few banks (less than 8%) inform customers that they are about to incur insufficient funds. There is little opportunity to cancel the transaction so avoiding the fee.

Customer complaints were received by 12.5 percent of banks - regarding overdraft fees.

Almost 9 percent of consumer accounts had at least 10 NSF transactions during a 12-month period. Nearly five percent of customers have 20 or more NSF transactions. Customer accounts with 20 or more NSF transactions were charged $1,610 per year in NSF fees on average.

With a bankruptcy mark on your report your score will be lowered considerably. However there is hope, you can remove this mark and by building some positive credit you can create a good score.

Contrary to popular belief this mark can be removed from your report and without waiting 10 years. To remove this mark we suggest:

1. Dispute the mark with the bureaus.

You can do this yourself or by hiring a service, a dispute letter must be sent to each bureau disputing the accuracy of the mark. Upon receipt the bureaus will investigate, however because bankruptcies are recorded in public records which the bureaus will not check during an investigation, the mark will not be verified.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says that any mark that can not be verified by the bureau must be removed from your report. Additionally this mark says that you the consumer can dispute any item on your report that you do not feel is accurate. Often people are concerned with the legality of credit repair, and you should know you will never be fined, prosecuted, arrested, or face any legal action for disputing an item.

It is rumored that after 2 years it is easier to remove this mark, however it is not required. Additionally we suggest you make sure that any negative item on your report reads "included in bankruptcy." The reason for this is you will later dispute the validity of these items because your report does not show a bankruptcy.

2. Dispute each negative item.

You will be able to challenge the mark on the basis that your report does not show a bankruptcy. Therefore each item should be deleted by the bureaus upon investigation.

3. Build positive credit. This will help the most if you have a new revolving line of credit such as a credit card.

When you make your on time monthly payments you will create a positive payment history on your report. Additionally this will help your utilization ratio, this is how the bureaus decide if you are in over you head financially. It is measured by the amount of available credit you have versus how much debt you have. These are the two biggest factors when your score is calculated.

It might not be the most ethical to dispute items you know are accurate on your report. However is it ethical for lender to charge you 30% interest rate for missing a payment, no matter how long you have been a model customer?

In sum you don't just have to live with bad credit. You can remove the items and you can do it today. You can create a high score for yourself by removing the bad items and building positive marks. This will save you; on interest rates, embarrassment from a low score, and give you the purchasing power you deserve.

We all know by now that home owners have a hidden savings account...its called HOME EQUITY.

Home equity is the value of your home minus the remaining mortgage balance which is outstanding. This equity can be used to cover cost and expenses you may have or be used on home remodeling projects you wish to do.

Why Would You Want an Equity Line of Credit?

With a normal loan, which deposits a set amount of money in your account and begins charging you interest and payments at a fixed rate until repaid, a line of credit acts sort of like a credit card account. You do not need to pay interest on the full amount you have access to -- only on the amount you have used. (And in some cases you then have access to the account again.)

Using an equity line of credit (also known as a Home Equity Line of Credit or HELOC) gives you greater flexibility with the least cost. Not only can you access the credit only as you need it, but your monthly payments will reflect only the balanced used. The less used the lower your payment.

An equity line of credit is great when you don't have a large fixed amount to spend in one place that will take many years to repay and you want access to the credit without asking for a new loan when you have paid it back.

What can the HELOC be used on??

While you can no doubt find numerous uses for your line of credit, here are samples of the more common reasons for obtaining an equity line of credit.

Consolidate Debts

Use the home equity line to reduce or consolidate your other debt. Not only will this help your credit score...but it can help reduce your interest payments as well.

Second Mortgage

Take the HELOC and pay off or down the second loan on you home.

Add On, Update or Go Away

You may use your line of credit for renovating, buying new furniture or a car, or taking a vacation with less interest payments than using a credit card or store card making it a wise choice for large purchases.

The Down Side of a Line of Credit.

Now it isn't just 'easy money'. It does have risk to it.

Some types of debt wont allow you to use a HELOC on them. Some student loans...or small business loans.

Other items like cars and vacations may seem like a good idea to buy with your home equity line of credit, but with the ability to pay only the interest you may find the motivation to pay off the debt is lacking and end up owing for items that have lost their value or were consumable. Plan to pay off the debt quickly for the most advantage.

A Second mortgage may not be a good idea depending on interest rates and your repayment terms. While lines of credit take advantage of current low interest rates you may find that your regular loans protect you better from fluctuating rates if you will not be paying the loan down in the next few years.

We all understand the freedom and relief that comes from having access to extra funds. For both those emergencies, as well as last minute purchases. However its important to understand the risks as well as benefits.

As you will soon discover when searching for WI home builders or those in any other US state there are plenty to choose from. However, finding one who you feel confident with and who will meet your budget requirements may prove just a little more difficult.

You can either ask someone you know if they can recommend such a builder for you. The other choice is to go online and search for one's yourself. However, there are some websites now where you will find details of contractors who have been pre-screened. These contractors will not only be located where you live but who are able to meet your needs and budget perfectly.

However, when you are looking for WI home builders in order to construct a custom home for you there are certain things you need to take into consideration. Below we take a look at just what a couple of these things are.

Firstly, you need to make sure that the builder you use is one who has experience of this kind of work. If at all possible arrange to see some homes that they are currently building or which they have recently built. Not only will you be able to see what their standard of work is like but also if they will meet your requirements.

Although inspecting the outside of the property is good, if you can arrange to inspect the work being carried out inside as well. This will allow you to see more closely how good their work is and if there is any ideas used in this home that can be incorporated into your own.

Don't just look at the major work carried out but spend time if at all possible inspecting the smaller details. Again this will tell you just what level of work they produce for their clients. However, if you cannot get access into the property to inspect their work, instead arrange for them to provide you with detailed photographs.

The next thing you need to do is get references from the builders that you are thinking of using to build your new home for you. Arrange to contact some of the people who have provided them with their references as well. However, if the builder is not willing to provide such then immediately move on to the next one on your list. Even when they do provide references (especially written ones) again arrange to make contact with the client to confirm what they have written.

When you speak with the WI home builders previous clients you will learn so much more about the services they offer them. You will find out how their staff behaved whilst on the project, what unexpected expenses were incurred following completion of the project. Also you will learn about if the builder was able to complete the project on time or not.

If you keep the above in mind then you will be able to find WI home builders who will be able to build that perfect home for you. Remember you will want a home builder who is going to work best for you and give you want you need.

Perhaps it is time to seriously look into your personal financial situation. We should always be monitoring our credit because it needs to remain GOOD. However, if you have recently been denied credit or if you are in shock from looking at your credit card balances or bank statements and you don 't seem to have enough cash flow, you need credit repair.

You are the only one that can fix the current situation. So, put aside any fear of seeing your financial history in black and white, be proactive and arrange to secure your credit report(s). There is no magic cure, but it can be done.

Everyone understands that their ability to get a loan, a mortgage, credit card depends on a good credit rating. Our "Credit Score" is most affected by our total debt and credit cards. You also need to know that there are other negative effects of poor credit that you may not know about.

Negative effects of poor credit:

a. Denied car loan b. Denied employment c. Denied health, life, homeowner's insurance d. Denial of /or high interest rates for credit cards and loans e. Denial of a cell phone contract f. Being unable to start your own business

Credit is the basis of our financial world, so we need credit. None of us want financial disaster but we are responsible for ourselves. Therefore, if you are having serious cash flow problems, struggling to meet payment schedules, and have defaulted (or are close to it), you need credit repair now.

There are 3 major credit reporting bureaus and you can research the way to secure your report(s). It is possible for you to fix your credit. Compare your reports, and dispute any errors that you find. The Fair Credit Act will be a helpful document for you. It addresses consumer rights.

Contact your current creditors, explain the situation. If your creditors realize that you want to pay your debts, they will be much more likely to work with you. Regaining good credit is work and only you know whether you will be able to do the repair yourself. There is a lot of information to help you.