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[F614]Free Credit Repair Software

by Jim Kemish, Jim

Do you own a home? Do you have the security of a savings account? Can you afford to set aside a percentage of your take-home pay for investment? Everything that you do in life is connected to your credit report. There is nothing that can have as significant an impact on your life, and ultimately on your financial freedom. It's worth taking a close look.

The Interest Rate Connection

Most people that embark on a program of credit repair have a single and valuable short term goal in mind. The most common goal is home ownership. In many cases consumers with credit issues simply can't qualify for mortgage financing. These individuals would like to improve their credit scores enough to obtain mortgage approval. There are also a large number of people in credit repair programs that currently own homes but due to credit issues received expensive sub-prime financing. They would like to improve their credit scores enough to refinance into a better mortgage and reduce their payments.

Building Personal Wealth

Both of these goals are valid. Historically home ownership has been the foundation of almost all personal wealth. Home ownership is also likely to be the largest financial obligation that you will have in your life. And the quality of your credit will determine the size of the monthly payment associated with home ownership. The importance of this connection is enormous.

Home Ownership Costs and Benefits

Homeowners with sub-prime mortgage financing typically pay a premium of up to two percent on their mortgage rate. This interest premium on a typical $200,000 mortgage amounts to $333 per month, or $4,000 per year. In addition, sub prime borrowers are usually limited to some form of adjustable rate financing that often results in additional premium costs to them over time. There are many benefits to home ownership that may outweigh these extra costs. But there are also actions that you can take to eliminate the extra costs and the looming adjustable rate adjustments as soon as possible.

Credit Repair Works

Don't underestimate the power of credit repair. You would do yourself a horrible disservice by ignoring the potential improvement in your credit report that can result from an informed review of the content of your credit and a systematic program of repair. Dealing with the credit bureaus can be challenging, but if you take some time you can learn how to do this yourself, or you can hire a reputable credit repair company.

Enormous Benefits

What is credit repair worth to you? The case above is pretty typical. An improvement in your credit score may very well save you in excess of $333 per month. What would this do for your life? If you were to deposit that $333 each month into a money-market account earning 5%, in ten years your account would have grown to $51,000. In twenty years this same account would have a balance of $136,000. Not a bad return on your efforts.

The Tip of the Iceberg

If instead of investing your monthly savings in a money-market account you were to apply that $333 each month to the principle balance on your new mortgage, assuming an interest rate of 6% you will pay off your mortgage in seventeen years instead of thirty. Would you enjoy being mortgage free? What if I were to tell you that your mortgage is just the tip of the iceberg? Do you want to know the real benefit of great credit? Consider every single thing that your credit will affect. Think about your auto loans, credit cards, personal loans, and equity lines. The math is staggering.

Take Action

It's up to you. Make sure that your credit is every bit as good as it can possibly be. Don't let anything stand in the way of taking action. You can undertake a program of credit repair on your own. Or you can check out a couple of good companies. Speak to them on the phone. Ask questions. They should have many years of experience in dealing with the credit bureaus and be experts in the field of credit scoring. There is so much to gain. Be proactive.

Copyright ? 2007 James W. Kemish. All Content. All Rights Reserved.

Before reporting to the credit bureaus a collector must furnish a collection notice. This may be a straightforward collection letter, or may take the form of an offer to settle. Either way, the receipt of a collection notice is the beginning of your collection adventure. As with any credit repair issue you should take a few minutes to understand your legal rights. Collectors are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Understand your rights and you will be able to control the situation and maybe even come out ahead. When it comes to credit repair, knowledge really is power.

A Collection Letter is an Opportunity

If you receive a collection letter please don't ignore it. You have a very special legal credit repair opportunity under the Section 809 of the FDCPA. For thirty days from the time you receive the letter you have the right to demand that the collector provide you with proof that they have the legal right to collect, as well as an objective accounting of the amount they claim you owe. This credit repair process is called debt validation. Once you have initiated your debt validation request the collector must cease all collection actions and not report to the credit bureaus. If the collector cannot provide the documentation required these prohibitions become permanent; the collector and the questionable account must vanish from your life and your credit report forever.

Cease Communication Letter

Under the Section 805 of the FDCPA you have the right to demand that a collector stop communicating with you altogether. It is simple but powerful credit repair strategy, just write a letter, send it via certified mail, and you will never hear from the collector again. The letter of the law actually allows the collector to contact you one more time to inform you that that they will not contact you again, or to inform you that they intend to invoke a specific remedy, like the initiation of a lawsuit. Which brings me to a cautionary note; getting rid of pesky or aggressive collectors sounds like an attractive credit repair outcome, but before doing so you better do a bit of homework or you may find yourself in hot water.

Look Before You Leap

If you really want to get rid of an aggressive collector you should evaluate the situation very carefully before sending a cease communication letter. Collectors will abide by the requirements of the FDCPA and stop contacting you. But you need to know that they still have the right to try to collect the debt by other legal means, which may be even less palatable than a rude phone call. Collections over one thousand dollars may be perceived as substantial enough to justify a lawsuit. This may or may not happen, but you must be aware of the possibility. If you decide not to risk pushing a collector too far the FDCPA offers two other credit repair remedies for unwanted phone calls.

Other Credit Repair Collection Solutions

You have the right to stop collection calls during working hours by informing the collector that you are not allowed to take his or her calls while you are on the job. This is a simple FDCPA credit repair cure and although they may still write letters and call you outside of working hours at least they won't interrupt your livelihood. There is one more clause in the FDCPA that may be useful. If you are uncomfortable about dealing with a collector and you can afford to hire an attorney, the FDCPA requires that collectors immediately stop contact you upon being told that you have an attorney. From that point forward they must direct all communications to the attorney. This can be very effective for another reason. Some collectors employ deceptive collection techniques. These methods tend to be effective on consumers that don't know better, but no collector will attempt to speak to a lawyer in the same manner. In fact, if the collector's case is not on firm ground he may never even call the attorney. A perfectly nice credit repair result!

Get Professional Credit Repair Help

You do not have to manage collection issues on your own. Most legitimate credit repair services offer comprehensive counseling on such issues and will even take care of the debt validation process on your behalf. They should also research the statute of limitation on the debt which may open up other opportunities like negotiating a payoff. Credit repair issues are important and if you feel the need for help please know that you don't have to be alone. Best Wishes!

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About Author

Both Jim Kemish & Ian Webber are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Jim Kemish has sinced written about articles on various topics from College Student Loan, Credit Loans and Free Credit Report Score. Jim Kemish is the president and founder of Power Mortgage, a company based in Delray Beach, Florida. Power Mortgage Corp was established in 1989 and s. Jim Kemish's top article generates over 301000 views. to your Favourites.

Ian Webber has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Credit Loans and Free Credit Report Score. Ian Webber is an expert in consumer law and credit repair. Ian is a graduate of the London School of Economics and The University of Chicago where he earned his LLM. Ian consults with one of the leading online. Ian Webber's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.