Credit Repair - Pinellas County, FL

Credit Repair - Pinellas County

Every consumer who uses credit has a credit record -- and is it ever powerful.

Every time you apply for credit or a loan, creditors obtain your credit record to verify your worthiness. But, the use of these reports has broadened. Insurance companies have begun to use them to determine premiums or deny coverage. Potential employers may even want to check out your credit worthiness.

Credit scoring has become vital to the functioning of our financial system, and with all the current turmoil on Wall Street it is more important than ever for you to understand how it works. If you understand how the system works, after all, you can make it work to your advantage.

Bad Credit Costs!

Today, a credit record is more than just a dry report on how many credit cards you have and whether you made every auto payment on time. Credit recording agencies often distill consumers' reports into a three-digit number called a credit score -- and that number alone can determine whether you get easy monthly payments or loan-shark rates.

Take for instance an auto loan. I am hearing from more and more people with excellent credit how difficult it is to get financed. An average auto loan today may be around $30,000. For example sake let's say that someone with excellent credit can get a rate in the 5% range. The payment on a 5 year loan would be $566.14 per month. While someone with marginal credit will be around 10% and a payment of $637.41. The difference is over $4000 in interest paid.

Someone with bad credit is likely to get financed around 20%, if they can get financed at all. The difference for that person is almost $14,000 EXTRA interest on a simple $30,000 loan. Bad Credit costs! However, that pales in comparison to what bad credit will cost you when buying a home.

A $100,000 mortgage at 6% interest costs $599.55 per month over 30 years. That some mortgage for someone with bad credit will cost around $1106.20 per month and a whopping $182,000 in ADDITIONAL interest. This is no joke. I routinely see people paying 9%, 10% or even higher simply because they didn't take the time or spend a few hundred bucks to fix their credit.

Call for help?

So, if your score is low or your credit report is inaccurate, what are your options? Fortunately there are options for you. A Credit Repair Service may be a good option for you depending on your level of need. It's like hanging wallpaper -- do you call a professional paperhanger, or tackle it yourself? If it’s one wall then perhaps you do it yourself – but if the whole house needs work then a professional should be called.

You can obtain a free report on ways to raise your credit score and repair damaged credit at www.creditreformation.com

The Fair Credit Reporting Act says consumers can dispute mistakes in their credit files for free. But it will take time. Correcting even one error can average four hours. That includes applying for your credit reports, reviewing and highlighting errors, documenting the mistake, typing up your letter and mailing it.

Credit repair services offer, for a fee, to do this daunting legwork. They pull credit reports, review for errors and send out dispute letters along with documentation. They add professionalism. They save you time. Some promise to erase bad credit, even foreclosures and bankruptcies -- 100 percent guaranteed.

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This educational content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, home improvement or health advice. Content on this page is provided by Ask The Experts and not the featured advertiser.