Take Charge Of Your Credit!

I have been in the mortgage business since 1986. I started off as a Realtor but soon discovered that serious buyers were not interested in working with a wet behind the ears twenty-one (21) year old kid.... So I went into the loan side and I have never looked back.... Today I own a pretty busy contract loan processing business....

Over the years, I have run across many different types of borrowers - young adults buying their first home - that is so very exciting to me - to be a part of a life changing event. Borrowers who want to refinance their home for a better program. Borrowers who wants to refinance their home to payoff debt - get cash out to pay for their daughter's wedding - or take that vacation they have been meaning to take... There are a gazillion different reasons people choose to get loans on their homes.....

Lately I have been running across a lot of credit problems.. People who have over extended themselves by over charging on their credit cards... I have been seeing a lot of late payments and deteriorating credit scores.. People utilizing credit lines that they once would never consider... A lot of my clients are unaware how this behavior is affecting their existing credit life... One thing that I have learned it's very difficult to bring up bad credit but very easy to bring good credit down. We must be wise and know exactly where we are... There are many companies that can keep you posted on how you are doing.

Last week - I received a file to process - the borrowers wanted to refinance their home and take advantage of today's great rates - they had good paying jobs, money in the bank, and their home was worth a good amount...and I could not do this loan because there was a $21,960 collection on their credit report and they had to get rid of it or pay it off. The borrower said it wasn't theirs - after investigating it further - it was in deed theirs - a collection from several years ago that compounded fees and interest.. It went from $689 to over $20,000 and they did not have a clue!!!

We need to take charge of our credit - we need to know what's going on - who is checking it.. what charges are on it - has someone taken over my cards - Many years ago when the check/debit cards just came out - I received a call from Bank of America asking me if I had been to Mexico lately... I replied I had not - someone had created a card with my number (I had my card) and withdrawn $5000 out of our checking and savings accounts... One of the purchases was a one way ticket to Africa and another was a $1200 bar tab at a dance club in Tijuana... crazy.. It took us over six (6) months to get that money back... I don't know about you but $5000 missing out my accounts hurt....

On my side bar there are a couple of companies that can help protect you. Identity Truth is a company that provides Identity theft protection. Ovation Law will help you clean your credit. My Fico and Equifax gives you a Birdseye of your credit and helps you to be on top of your credit score. Please check them out - even if you don't purchase anything - they may give you some good ideas...