3 Ways To Get Your Free Annual Credit Report

by Sally on May 7th, 2012 at 11:42 AM

Yes, you can now get your credit report without paying a dime. And unlike before, now it is truly free. No longer do you have to sign up for a “free” credit report by signing up for “credit monitoring protection service” for a low annual fee of $79 a year! The days of dodging the annoying charges and service fees for a free credit report are over.

Under the 2003 Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, you have the right to a free copy of your credit report within a 12 month period from the big three credit report bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

The goal of this new government act is to ensure that Americans have the right to stay informed about what these three credit reporting bureaus say about you without having to pay for it. Since identity theft, fraud and errors are quite common today, why should you have to pay for a copy of a report to fight back against these problems?

Here are the 3 ways to get your free annual credit report:

The three credit reporting agencies have created a website to request your annual credit report.

1) Go to www.annualcreditreport.com

2) Call (877) 322-8228 to request your free credit report.

3) Complete a form from the Federal Trade Comission, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/include/requestformfinal.pdf and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

If you go directly to the three agencies or use any other type of service you may end up having to pay or sign up for the subscription services I mentioned above! Make sure you use one of the 3 methods I have listed to get your annual free credit report.

You can get the reports from all 3 agencies at once or stagger the reports from each one during the course of 1 year. The advantage of staggering the reports that you receive is to keep track of how any major changes in your financial picture affect what is on your credit report. For example, if you plan on getting a second mortgage over the coming year, or applying for student loans, ect. it might be wise to get a report before and after these major events!

This new Act does not supplant the other methods you can take advantage of to receive a free credit report. If you are applying for unemployment or been denied a loan, or need a credit report in order to get a job, you still have the right to obtain a free credit report.

Take advantage of this new government regulation and make sure all of the information listed by all three credit reporting agencies are correct. Any errors or omissions can reduce your credit score and end up costing you a lot of money when you apply for any type of credit.

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Mortgage Options

by Sally on May 6th, 2012 at 12:39 PM

There are many new types of loans available for financing your new home purchase.
Determine the length of the loan. You have a few options such as 15 years, 20 years or 30 years. There are even some circumstances when the loan can be set for 40 years. This is how long the lender sets for the term of the loan. A shorter length of the time will give you higher monthly payments, but less interest will be paid.
Decide on the type of mortgage. A fixed-rate mortgage is the most common with a fixed interest rate over the life of the loan. In the United States you have the option of a government insured FHA loans or a VA loan available to veterans who have served in the U.S. armed services.

Your typical loan payment includes interest and principal. With time, the principal is paid down. Other factors affecting your payments might include the option to pay interest only for a certain period. This will allow you to make lower payments but doesn’t reduce the size of the loan.

Piggyback or combo mortgages are first and second mortgages combined. Borrowers take out two loans if they have less than the 20% down.

Another type of special mortgage loan is the bridge/ swing loan. With this type of loan the seller uses the equity in the first home to buy another home.

A Reverse Mortgage is available for anyone over the age of 62 who has enough equity in their home. The lender makes the monthly payment to the borrower as long as they reside in the home.
Many mortgage loans come with a prepayment penalty. You must make this payment if your loan is repaid too quickly. If you have a prepayment penalty in the original loan you will have to pay a penalty according to the terms of the loan.
You may be allowed to cash out on the equity in your home. The value of your home rises over time allowing your use that equity for financial needs. Generally lenders won’t allow you to cash out until 6 months to a year after you purchase the home, no matter how much equity is built up.

 

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What is your FICO

by Sally on April 28th, 2012 at 11:48 PM

Your FICO score will be a determining factor in setting  the current mortgage interest rates on your prospective loan. Put simply, your FICO score is a risk rating on you, the borrower. Data related to your financial responsibility is aggregated by institutions that you do business with, and it is this data that comprises your FICO score or credit score. So what exactly makes up your FICO score and how will it affect your mortgage interest rate and your monthly payments?

There are five basic components with respective percentages that make up your FICO score. They are payment history 35%, amounts owed 30%, length of credit history 15%, new credit 10%, and types of credit used 10%. As indicated by the aforementioned percentages, payment history carries the most weight in the composition of the score. Mortgage lenders need borrowers with exceptional payment histories so they can forecast future profit. To secure future profits, a lender needs to know that borrowers will be able to pay well into the future. The servicing of past debts is an excellent predictor of the servicing of future debts; consequently, if you have been on time with the vast majority of your debt payments in the past, you will be a profitable consumer into the future, and therefore an acceptable mortgage risk.

Payment history does not just include the payment history on prior mortgages. It includes a long list of financial data; everything from the most obvious-credit cards- to the not so obvious, such as how completely you fulfilled your promises of repayment on a past due shopping credit line. Data that is an extension of direct financial transactions will also be included in the payment history component of your credit score. Examples of this data are liens, garnishments, judgments, and bankruptcies. Understanding how to build a complete profile of yourself, by yourself, is crucial to your financial success in the 21st century. If you entered a financial transaction with credit or an account held by computer data bases, any and all of this information will be used to asses you as a risk to profitability.

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Home Values Record Largest Monthly Gain Since 2006; Forecast To Hit Bottom by Late 2012 | The Niche Report

by Sally on April 25th, 2012 at 11:07 PM

Home Values Record Largest Monthly Gain Since 2006; Forecast To Hit Bottom by Late 2012 | The Niche Report.

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Low Down Payments

by Sally on April 25th, 2012 at 1:29 AM

Today’s mortgage environment is much different from that of the past. One of the biggest differences is low down payment mortgages that only require 3-5%  down on your total mortgage. Why exactly have mortgage down payments dropped so much recently? A substantial part of the reason why down payments are smaller is because of the sharing of risk amongst parties involved in your financial transactions. Mortgage lenders are objective institutions seeking to maximize profit and they used to require about 20% down payment on loans before they were able to spread risk to Fannie Mae. Now, with the commonplace ability to sell loans to Fannie Mae, they are willing to lower the down payment because their risk is lower.

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