Does LifeLock Really Work? Not The Way It Should
The guy who waves around his Social Security Number and dares people steal it might be regretting that dare.
Todd Davis, owner of the fraud prevention company LifeLock, has had his service fail his own Social Security number.
According to an AP wire story, Davis has had his identity stolen and now…
What You Need To Know About Credit and Debt
Earlier this week, the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (CEEL) released the results of a national survey about how much people know about personal finance and economic issues.
Someone's not doing their homework.....
The survey showed that an overwhelming number of Americans can't…
Closing Credit Card Affects Credit Score
How will closing a credit card will impact your credit score. The impact of closing a credit card depends on how long you have had the credit card and whether it has been paid off.
Paying Off Credit Card Debt After Father's Death
An adult child asks who has to repay his father's credit card debt after his father dies. When a death occurs, the person responsible for credit card debt depends on whose name was on the credit cards. After this death, it may fall to the man's wife to repay the credit card debt.
Mortgage Requirements Stricter For First Time Home Buyers
Mortgage requirements have become stricter for first time home buyers. Lenders have tightened credit requirements for first time home buyers, making it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage loan. To qualify for a mortgage loan, first time home buyers need a credit score of at least 660 unless…
Dividing Divorce Assets Could Affect Credit
When you get divorced, the person whose name is on the mortgage loan is responsible for that debt, even if both people's names appear on the title to the home. To change the names on a mortgage loan, the loan must be refinanced. Depending on how this asset, the home, is divided between the two…
Credit Score: Impact Of Bankruptcy Or Collections
Is bankruptcy or debt collections worse for a credit score? Both debt collections and bankruptcy impact a credit score, although a bankruptcy will stay on a credit report longer than debt collections will. The type of debt also affects how it is reported to credit reporting bureaus and how important…
A couple asks the impact of doing a short sale on their credit history and credit score. A short sale is where you sell your home for less than the amount you owe on it to your lender. Your mortgage lender would have agree to take less than the full amount that is owed in exchange for allowing the…
Refinancing may not be the best option to consolidate debt. If you don't have any equity in your property, you cannot refinance in order to consolidate debt. Mortgage lenders are getting picky about how much cash you can borrow against your equity. These days, they're not doing 100 percent loans, or…
A graduate student says he's got bad credit but wants to get a home loan upon graduation. If you get a home loan with bad credit it will cost you more. Before getting a home loan you should first fix bad credit.
Short Sale Of Home Not Only Option
A family wants to sell its home but owes more on the mortgage than the house can fetch on the market and are considering a short sale. A short sale of a house means to sell for less than the mortgage balance. A short sale on the home might only make their problems worse, so they should think of…
Use Cash Strategically On Credit Card Debt
If your credit card debt is spread out over several credit cards, you should plan how to use your cash to get the most benefit for your credit score. Spreading the payments across all the cards will not eliminate the debt, but it will lower the balance-to-credit-limit ratio, improving your credit…
If you can't pay your bills you may want to get information on filing bankruptcy. Another source for bankruptcy information is John Ventura's book, "The Bankruptcy Handbook."
What should you do if you've bought a retirement home but haven't yet sold your current home? If you don't sell the home, you could be forced into foreclosure if you can't pay both mortgages. You may need to ask your mortgage lender to allow a short sale as full payment.
ThinkGlink Radio Show for Feb 24, 2008
This week on the Ilyce Glink show, Ilyce talked about the $270 million a Georgia couple won in the lottery. She offered a few pieces of advice, mostly centered around hiring the right kinds of help to manage a fortune like that. She took calls on debt, credit, tax, mortgages, and a sad call from…
What's My Credit Score And How Do I Raise It?
Before you even think about buying a home, you should ask yourself two questions: "What's my credit score?" and "How do I raise it?" Knowing your credit score will help you negotiate a good interest rate on your mortgage, and if you can raise your score, you'll get a loan with a lower interest rate…
Talk To Mortgage Lender To Prevent Foreclosure
To prevent foreclosure you should pay your mortgage on time and in full every month. Preventing foreclosure should be a high priority because losing your home hurts your credit. There are steps you can follow to prevent foreclosure.
Equifax Announces Another Tool To Protect You From ID Theft
Ever seen that commercial where people dance around cheerfully because they have stolen someone's financial identity? One of the characters is a guy who talks like a little girl because he's stolen her identity.
Identity theft occurs when someone pretends to be you when applying for credit cards, a…
Last month I blogged about the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Mortgage Reality Check. They've released the latest results.
Things are not getting better.
78 percent of the respondents said they had trouble sleeping because of worry about their current financial situation, the possibility…
Quick Quiz For Credit Counseling
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling recently issued a True/False quiz to see if you're a good candidate for credit counseling. Here's the quiz:
Lying To Mortgage Lender About Sales Price To Avoid Short Sale
A homeowner wants to avert a short sale and asks his friends to buy his home. He asks them to lie to the mortgage lender about the price. Lying to the mortgage lender will put his friends in a bad position.
The best person to repair your credit is you. Credit repair scam artists will charge you anywhere from $500 to $1,500 or more upfront, but these companies can't do anything for you that you can't do for yourself - for free - and they might ultimately do more harm than good. Ilyce shares 10 tips for…
Credit Repair Agency Scams Increase
Credit repair scams abound in economic times like these: A shaky economy, record levels of foreclosures, a rising number of bankruptcies, credit card delinquencies, and late mortgage payments. Repairing bad credit takes more than paying a $1,000 fee. Beware of those promising to repair your credit…
Is Your Social Security Number Safe?
This past week I went into an optometry store to buy some special cloths so my dad could clean his glasses without scratching the anti-glare coating off. I bought two and the total was $8.38. When I went to pay for the cloths, the cashier asked whether I wanted a receipt and I said yes. She asked me…
Take Quick Action To Avoid Mortgage Crisis
A mortgage crisis hotline may be the best bet for this homeowner to avoid foreclosure or a short sale. An adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and a student loan has put her in a financial crisis, and taking the right steps could help her keep her home. The new FHA secure plan may be a solution to avoid…
