Credit - Dallas,TX

Just so you know, I am a real estate investor, and my husband owns a mortgage company so I know what I'm talking about when I say that those credit repair companies are just as bad as filing for bankruptcy. Here's the process in a nutshell...they ask you to stop paying your creditors, and make an affordable monthly payment to them. Once you get enough money in your acct. with them that they're able to call and offer creditors a lump sum amount, which is usually about 40% or so less than actual amount owed. Until this point, you are having multiple deliquencies showing up on your credit report. Once they start paying your debt off, your credit score does begin to go back up, but the deliquencies that are on your credit report are just as bad as you showing a bankruptcy, especially now when lenders are being very conservative and picky about who they fund money to. So, those debt settlement/relief places are great for those people who are not looking to buy a home for atleast the next 5-10 years. Now, what you COULD do though in the meantime, is look for a house for sale as a land contract. This is where the seller basically is your bank. You normally pay a 5-10%, nonrefundable, down payment. This is the seller's money should you back out of the deal. Now, you come up with an interest rate (negotiable with seller), normally land contracts run about 7.5-8%. If you go online and get an ammortization schedule, you can see how much of your payment is going towards interest each month, and how much is going toward the payoff of your already decided purchase price. Normally, land contracts have what's called a "balloon payment" that can be any amount of time, but generally runs 60 months, or 5 years. At the end of this 5 year time period, you decide if you want to A)Exercise your option, which means take a loan out for the remaining balance of the home, which would include your down payment, plus all money paid monthly excluding the interest money...or B) You can choose to walk away, but all money put into the home is forfeited, this includes not only your payments, but also your down payment and any money put in the home as upgrades expenses. So, it's a great way for a person who doesn't have good credit to buy a home.

Worse case scenario, you just can't buy a home until you get your debt paid off and get your debt ratio down to a number banks will be comfortable lending money to. Now, real quick, the best way to tackle debt is to take the credit card or line that you owe the least on, and pay the minimum payment PLUS whatever extra amount you're able to afford. All other lines of credit, only pay the MINIMUM amount. Once you get the smallest line paid off, take ALL of that amount you'd been paying (minimum payment plus additional) and add that amount PLUS the minimum payment amount of the NEXT smallest line of credit and make the payment using those funds. Keep doing this until you get your debt paid off. It's easy to keep track of, and you're not going to hurt your credit. All it takes is patience. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them, just message me

3 moms found this helpful

The vast majority of those credit solution agencies are a SCAM!!! If you have the $800 to put down, then put it towards your debt and do NOT pay it to one of those companies!! I highly recommend the Dave Ramsey plan - Step 1. Build up a $1000 emerg. fund; Step 2. Pay off all of your debt, starting with the smallest. Once you pay off your smallest debt, you put that $ that were paying for it towards your next smallest debt, and so on. It's called the Debt Snowball and it works! You can check out Dave's books at the library (Financial Peace is one of them) and you can listen to him on the radio. Here in KC he's on 710 am.

2 moms found this helpful

If you have to give $$$$$$$$ - you are getting scammed!!

These are all things you can do on your own.

1. If the items on your credit report are true and accurate, then the only thing that will change them is time.

2. If the items on your report are wrong, write letters to each of the credit reporting agencies. State the discrepancies. Any proof you have to validate the discrepancies will assist them.

3. If you have any late payments in the last year - was there a reason behind it? if so, add a statement to the bottom of your credit report - you can do that and it will stay there for one to 3 years.

4. Anything you have past due right now - PAY THEM NOW.

5. If you have outstanding debts, you can either chose to pay them or settle them (either way - this will raise your credit score).

Bottom line DO NOT PAY ANYONE to "improve" your credit score. You can do it yourself. EDUCATE yourself. Send me a message and I can try and give you further information.

Best regards,

C.

2 moms found this helpful

I third the DAVE RAMSAY DAVE RAMSAY DAVE RAMSAY. You do not want to purchase a house with a bunch of debt anyway you are asking for trouble if you do trust me. One small emergency will feel like a catastrophie. Then you will have even more debt plus the debut you had and but now you have a house payment with that. Good luck don't pay someone anything that you are capable of doing yourself. Dave Ramsay even has a financiaal peace class you can take that will give you alot of help sometimes you can get in one at your local church. Find out what radio station he is on in your town and listen to him you will be amazed I promise. Plus you can call in and talk to him or even shot him an email and he will address it on the air.

2 moms found this helpful

Any company that charges you like that is a scam. They are out to make money and in turn put you further into debt.

You have a couple options: If you feel the need for a "professional" service, contact your local CCCS (Consumer Credit Counseling Services) which is non-profit. Your other option would be, if you're interested, I could help coach you without requiring any "too personal" information. I've been through it myself and recently bought a home. I researched a lot and learned a lot and have since helped a few friends get themselves out of debt and down the road to higher credit scores. I'd be happy to help you! If you're interested, send me a private message and I will give you my email address.

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Dave Ramsay, Dave Ramsay, Dave Ramsay. Get a book. Watch his tv show. You can do this yourself! You didn't get bad cedit overnight and there is no "magic" way to get out. But you can get out. On your own.
Don't fall for a SCAM.

Oh--another thing--even the "non-profit" credit services are a scam b/c they just make a huge salary..that's why "no-profit"!

2 moms found this helpful

I second the Dave Ramsey plan. Why pay a "credit solution" company to do something you can do yourself. Often if you are behind on many of your cc bills, you can call the company and work a deal out with them; especially now with the way the economy has been. And by the sounds of it, you don't have a huge amount of debt. With a little budgeting, you should be able to easily take care of it yourself. It's better to go into buying a new home completely debt free rather than having the debt looming over you plus a mortgage to worry about.

2 moms found this helpful

Please please please do NOT give those "credit repair agencies" ANY of your hard earned money! There is no fast way to fix your credit. Your credit is a compilation of your debt compared to what people are willing to let you borrow (credit line and amount of debt that you have) AND your payment/credit HISTORY. History being the operative word. It is a record OVER TIME of what you have done with your money (paid things on time, paid things late, not paid, etc). The only way to "fix" it, is to behave differently with your money. Pay off your debts (or at least begin paying them down substantially), make all your payments on time consistently, and WAIT. OVER TIME your credit rating will improve as you prove that you pay your debts reliably. NO agency can "fix" that for you. They can take the money you send them and pay it towards your debts each month, and extract a fee from you for doing it. But why do you need a "middle man" to do that? You don't. Some claim to get your debt "reduced"... but all they do is ensure that you are defaulted severely enough that the lender will consider a "settlement" and take less than what you owe them. A Settlement is far worse than a few late payments here or there as far as your credit rating is concerned. It means you didn't pay what you promised to pay. NO LENDER wants to lend money to someone who behaves that way.

No to be harsh, but can you AFFORD to buy a home right now? If you are behind on your debt, or for that matter HAVE a lot of debt (in relation to your income) you cannot, imho. You need to have at least $1000 in the bank before you own a house.. and that $ doesn't include whatever you pay towards a down payment on the house. As soon as you step into your new home... the A/C will need a shot of freon ($200 visit from an A/C repairman); a toilet will back up - or as happened at our house... the tank will run so you will lift the lid to tighten the screw and it will slip out of your hand cracking the bowl.. requiring a visit from the plumber to install a new toilet in its entirety; a faucet will start to leak/drip; a tree will die (requiring someone to cut it down and remove it); or any other of a MILLION things called "murphy's law" will happen. And you won't have a landlord to call and take care of it. It will come out of your pocket.

I agree with the other posters that you should at LEAST tune in for a few weeks to Dave Ramsey, either on the radio or on TV, and think about some of what he has to say. You may not agree with all of it, but you will learn a lot about what NOT to do. You could save yourself a LOT of money AND HEARTACHE.

Be patient and do things the smart way, not necessarily the quickest way.

Good luck to you.

2 moms found this helpful

Give Ron Stuart at RMCN Credit Services. His number is ###-###-####. It will be worth getting your credit repaired in the long run because you will be able to buy a house and you will pay a lot less for interest on credit cards. Ron is a great guy and really enjoys helping people with their credit.

1 mom found this helpful

No company is going to magically fix your credit, whether you pay them $100 or $1000. They can assist you in repairing your credit and write letters and contact your creditors on your behalf. But only you and time can accomplish this. Take the money they want and send it to your creditors and do the work yourself.

Get your free copy of your credit report from the 3 credit reporting agencies at www.annualcreditreport.com. I'm assuming your realator has already done a credit check. Get the information she has.

Review your report carefully for any errors. If you find any, write a letter to the credit rating company explaning the descrepany. If there was a period of time over a month or two when you paid your bills late and have a good reason, like I was out of work due to a medical condition, write a letter explaining it.

The 2 things that make your score do down fast are late payments and over the limit (maxing out credit cards). Pay your bills on time! Note: on time is before the due date, not after the grace period is over. You may not be charged a late fee or interest, but it's still late.

Make a payment when you have money, don't save until you can pay it in full. For example, the minimum amount due on your credit card is $60 and it's due on the 15th. It's the 2nd of the month and you find you have an extra $30, send in the $30 payment, or send them $15 every week.

Don't ignore your creditors, work with them. Set up payment schedules. If you owe someone $100, call or write them and explain I can't pay it right now, but I can send you $20 today and another $20 in two weeks. Don't promise to pay something that you know you can't pay, it only makes it worse.

Find another realator.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Listen to Dave Ramsey show on 570 AM from 1-4, and don't rush into it you may end up getting in debt even more.

I have two people you should talk with.
Jim Gibbs President CEO ____@____.com ###-###-####
check out his credentials - http://www.goodcredithappens.com/certifications.htm

Also contact Bryan McCarte for options on home mortgage
http://www.victoryhomesavers.com/ 877-696-4363

I trust both people to have a frank conversation wtih you.
Blessings,
R.