Have you ever been pre-qualified for a credit card, mortgage, or car loan without submitting an application? You may have even been approved online for a loan online within minutes. What makes this possible is by using your credit scores. These scores are used by banks; lending institutions, landlords, and even employers use credit scores to help make decisions on their hiring process. Credit scores became popular in the 1980's as computers became much cheaper and more commonly used. Before this, lending decisions were arbitrarily made using human judgment. As you can imagine this caused unpredictable and unreliable outcomes, and it could be a time consuming process. Prior to using credit scoring system there was a growing concern in Congress about discrimination in lending. This led to... 02/21/2011

 I wanted to share some Frequently Asked Questions that I have received recently. I feel like it is important to share questions like these so we can all use them. They may apply to you.   When can a person with a bankruptcy on their credit report apply for a VA Loan? - John D. Collingswood, New Jersey John, this is a very common question these days. The date of the discharge and the bankruptcy type are the determining factors. If a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy was discharged more than 2 years ago, it may be disregarded. If it was discharged between 1-2 years ago, the veteran must have reestablished credit by some means, and the cause of the bankruptcy must be documented as beyond control of the applicant, i.e. job loss or medical issues. If the bankruptcy was discharged less than a year ago, i... 02/15/2011

I just read the below article that FHA's MIP will go up on or after April 18th. This info may help push homeowners to action if they wanted to put-off refinancing.   New premium structure for 30- and 15-year loans will help private capital return  WASHINGTON - As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) capital reserves, FHA Commissioner David H. Stevens today announced a new premium structure for FHA-insured mortgage loans increasing its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by a quarter of a percentage point (.25) on all 30- and 15-year loans.  The upfront MIP will remain unchanged at 1.0 percent.  This premium change was detailed in President Obama's fiscal year 2012 budget, also released today, and will impact new loans insured by FHA on or ... 02/14/2011

Have you ever been pre-qualified for a credit card, mortgage, or car loan without submitting an application? You may have even been approved online for a loan online within minutes. What makes this possible is by using your credit scores. These scores are used by banks; lending institutions, landlords, and even employers use credit scores to help make decisions on their hiring process. Credit scores became popular in the 1980's as computers became much cheaper and more commonly used. Before this, lending decisions were arbitrarily made using human judgment. As you can imagine this caused unpredictable and unreliable outcomes, and it could be a time consuming process. Prior to using credit scoring system there was a growing concern in Congress about discrimination in lending. This led to... 02/08/2011

A few days ago while watching the local news, I saw the story of this 13 year old boy who was bullied by several teens. They video taped, kicking, beating, punching, and even hanging him from a tree. It was truely disturbing. This young man has been very braving my telling his story in hopes of stoping this from happening to other's While on " The View" he learned that he even touched some of his hero's. This was truely great to see. This is very heartwarming! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. 02/05/2011

This is another  thing for all of us  to look out for. A co-worker of mine was working with a couple who are looking to  buy their first home together. They credit was run and they both had very solid mid 680's fico score. They submitted their income and asset documentation and were qualified for the amount of a home that they were interested in. They found a property and actually got under contract. Once the contract was turned into our company, since 30 days had elaspsed a new credit report was needed. ( Requirement of FHA  - since the date of the credit report was 30 days prior to the sales agreement - a new report is needed ). One of the borrower had a credit card through Wells Fargo. ( Yes, I'm putting their name out there ) Her credit limit was $5500 and her balance was $3700. The... 02/04/2011

Starting back in February 2010, persons under the age of 21 will no longer be able to get a credit card WITHOUT an adult co-signer - or PROOF that they have the income to repay the credit card.  In the past, credit card companies rushed to college Campuses (even some high schools) to sign up Students who had no visible means of ever repaying the credit card.  Since they had no income to even make the minimum payments-it's ruined their credit for many years to come. Ideally, you might want to start the process when your child reaches age 16. Even if you consider co-signing a credit card for your child, there are a couple of steps you can take so make sure they understand how to use credit cards wisely. Step 1 - Open up a checking account and ask for a debit card to include with the acco... 02/03/2011