Everyone is speaking about the American economy these days: What’s gone wrong, who’s to blame and how to fix it?
Basically, it comes down to irresponsible, greedy people who gave too much trust to unqualified loan applicants in order to make some fast money. As a result of this fiasco, there’s a lot less trust to go around when you go looking for a mortgage.
Back in the days when bankers were busy creating this increasingly dire economic crisis, your credit score, if above a certain mark (around 620-650 by most estimates) ensured you both qualified for and received interest rates on the money you borrowed.
Times were simple. Approval was quick and easy. Loan officers weren’t probing so carefully or too deeply in to your financial background. So long as you could provide that minimum credit score, your next move was to choose the new carpets.
I reminisce over all of this to illustrate how things have changed for you, the Prospective Homeowner. That minimum score of 620-650 is sadly no longer the ticket to home ownership like it was in the past.
While scores in these ranges may still constitute an approval, it’s typically a much less desirable one, requiring more money at closing, in fees and over the long term of the loan in interest rates. To be excused from these expensive options, you will need a better credit score roughly in the 720-750 range.
As I mentioned, bankers found their way into these problems by extending too much trust. This trust is still obtainable, but only after greater scrutiny of a variety of financial indicators on your loan application.
If you hope to be approved for a mortgage with reasonable terms, you may want to examine your credit report and clean it up a bit. Often credit reports contain errors or items which can be deleted, with a little work.
Having a good deposit also encourages trust in your commitment to own a home. Finally, creditors will examine your debt to income ratio. This can be improved by paying down debts, earning more, or ideally both.
In summary, it’s important to understand having a certain credit score is not the only element you’ll need for getting into your new home. Times are lean, trust is low and scrutiny is high. You can improve your credit score with all the factors involved with a bit of time and effort. Home ownership is still a worthy goal and we wish you the best in your pursuits.
"I just want to share with you my story about how my credit situation. If you are someone struggling with bad credit, then I was walking in your exact same shoes...
And today - if you look behind me - this is the house that I bought.
So, obviously my credit situation has changed.
Basically, while I was in college I ran up my credit cards and acquired a lot of unmanageable debt which destroyed my credit rating.
About a-year-and-a-half ago when I went to try to buy a house, the banks laughed at me and made me feel bad about what happened in college. (They basically implied that I was a deadbeat SCUMBAG even though it really wasn't all my fault).
I knew that I had to fix my credit, but didn't know how to do it myself so I went to Lexington Law.
Now, literally within several months, I was able to purchase a $300,000 new home without any trouble at all obtaining a mortgage.
So instead of going into banks with bad credit and being looked at as a scumbag, the banks were more than willing to help.
In fact, when I applied for my mortgage and the banker ran my credit, he came back and was saying...
"Wow! Sure thing sir. We'd love to help you out."
Lexington Law literally changed my life.
I went from being the person who has bad credit to being the person who is living in what I consider my dream home at age 29.
Some examples of the things that were on my report that are now gone were: all sorts of charge offs, collections, and I even had credit report judgments listed against me (which I heard is one of the worst things you can have on your credit.)
I had basically every kind of negative listing shy of a bankruptcy.
Lexington Law has raised my credit score at least 237 points. I just checked my FICO score which is now a 737. "When I started with Lexington Law, it was below 500!"
I encourage anyone struggling with bad credit to pick up the phone and give Lexington Law a call.
It was super-encouraging to see my credit score improve each month as the negative items were deleted from my credit reports. I thought some of the bad credit was permanent since creditors misled me into believing that delinquent information would stay on my credit report for the next seven years.
However, through their dispute process and "goodwill interventions," Lexington Law proved it is possible to remove any questionable negative item. (it is the same as pleading 'not guilty' in a court of law).
Additionally, the paralegal assigned to my case showed me other credit rebuilding techniques such as:
Deleting the negative credit items like charge offs and the credit card judgment, combined with the credit rebuilding techniques, rapidly improved my credit score. In fact, in month two my score went up 74 points!
After living with bad credit for so long, it was really encouraging to see that I was making progress in the right direction.
Not only did the attorneys at Lexington Law show me results, they also provided excellent customer service along the way. If you are someone who enjoys that "personal touch", then you may like how Lexington Law assigns a paralegal to your case.
My paralegal (Stephanie) was always available to discuss the status of my case over the phone and email. Even though I didn't expect or ask for it, my attorney would also periodically give me a call to check in.
Here are some strategies Lexington Law used to delete the really stubborn bad credit - such as the credit card judgment:
You can also access you case online anytime you like. (I enjoyed logging in just to see all the deletions!)
If you are struggling with a bad credit score because of negative credit items, then I truly hope that you start repairing your credit today. I know how humiliating bad credit is and I know how easy it is just to 'sweep it under the rug' and pretend it will go away on its own.
I realize that your situation is probably a little different than mine, however, Lexington Law has already deleted questionable charge offs, a credit card judgment, late payments, collection items, and inquiries from my credit report and raised my credit score to a 737!
Here is a shot of my credit score online last month!
To get started repairing your credit, call Lexington Law today direct at:
1-800-232-2903 (toll-free) for a FREE credit consultation!
