Best Investments for 2012?

Which asset class would be the best investment for 2012? As with any investment advice or speculation, who knows for sure what will happen, heck if you knew what would happen you could position yourself to make Warren Buffet look like a distant second to yourself. One thing we can do is take a pragmatic view of what has happened, what factors are in place regarding government policies, debt and global economic conditions and then come up with some ideas of what investments should pan out for 2012.

So here is a snapshot of Treasuries, Stocks, Gold or Real Estate-Best Investment for 2012?

Treasury Bonds: had a fantastic year, returning more than 9.7% year-to-date, their best performance since 13.7% in 2008. While the treasuries will continue to benefit from the flight to quality, improving economic data will pose headwinds. Bond yield may rise slightly in 2012 as the fears about US recession recede further, even though the Fed is expected to maintain the rates near zero at least through 2014.

Stock Market: Market is set to close the year almost flat. Economy will probably muddle through in 2012, though unemployment may not come down significantly. Corporate earnings will continue to rise and stocks of companies with strong balance sheets may deliver attractive returns. Considering the situation in most other parts of the developed world, U.S. looks pretty good for stock market investors, though strong possibility of a European recession will continue to hurt the market sentiment.

Gold: Gold is on track to gain 8% this year, yielding positive returns for the eleventh year in a row. Though the precious metal lost some of its shine recently, many view the decline as a buying opportunity. As the Government printing presses continue to run overtime, gold may benefit as an inflation hedge. Also the central banks of the emerging countries are likely to resume their gold purchases in 2012.

Real Estate: Housing appears to be bottoming out now though the recovery will not come anytime soon. For those who had postponed their home buying decision due to the risk of declining values, now may be a good time to buy a house vs. renting or buy investment property (depending on your preferred location). Especially with record low mortgage rates, if inflation continues (which in all likelihood it will) then owning real-estate and the low financing costs will supercharge your real-estate investment in the longer term.(Now’s The Time To Get Back Into Real Estate) The potential beneficiaries from stabilization in housing markets are residential REITs, timber REITs and home-builders.

Also, remember that long term performance of an investment portfolio depends mostly (some studies suggest ~ 90%) on asset allocation, i.e. how an investor allocates money among major asset classes. You must have a diversified portfolio of assets that are negatively correlated with each other, though allocation to different assets depends on your financial situation, investment goals, risk tolerance, level of knowledge, and investing time horizon.

Buying A Home “All The Steps”

Is Buying a home right for me?
Well, only you can genuinely decide if buying a home is right for you. Everyone’s circumstances, dreams, wants and needs are different.

As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to buying a home and hopefully with information you can determine if now is the time to buy. One thing for sure, home affordability has never been better since prices are down and mortgage rates are at historic lows, which means lower monthly payments and in most cases you can own cheaper than you can rent, as this graph below shows.

The reasons for wanting to buy your own home or stay renting are numerous and will be different for each person:

For example, homeowners who decided to take that leap might say:

• I just wanted a place to call my own.
• I felt that I was pouring money down the drain and making the landlord rich.
• I wanted to start building some equity and take advantage of the tax benefits

While dedicated renters might say:

• I could never afford to buy a home and my credit score is not so good.
• I don’t want to be tied down to one location and haven’t decided where I want to live.
• I’m afraid of losing my job.
• I like having someone else being responsible for taking care of all the repairs.

Buying a home is not for everybody, whether for financial reasons or you are just content to be a full time renter. Renting has many benefits as does owning your own home.

If you are a renter and you believe that you would not qualify for a mortgage but would like to buy a home, talk to an agent or lender. The worst that could happen is that your suspicions are confirmed but at least you will know what you need to do to improve your credit score and improve your chances of qualifying the next time around.

My dream home
Dreaming of my dream home.........

Once you are ready to start seriously looking at a home to buy, it is a good idea to have your list of “must haves”. You will be consumed with the urge to pop into every open house on the weekend, surf listings on-line when the boss is not looking, plus an additional three hours of surfing at home in the evening. I’ve been there! It is nice to dream; however, when a sack of money is at stake, a reality check is required. Many factors are required to determine what you can afford and before you get to deep into the house hunting you should take the next step then homes that best match your budget, area etc. can be searched for and so forth.

Better to be pre-approved than pre-qualified.
Getting prequalified by a lender is an informal process where a lender asks you some simple questions regarding your debts, assets and credit score and comes up with a ballpark loan maximum for you. However, when getting preapproved for a mortgage, you must fill out a loan application and provide the required supporting documentation. Assuming you qualify for a mortgage, the mortgage lender will commit to you in writing the amount you can borrow and give you a preapproval letter.

Preapproval for a home loan has a number of advantages:

• Most realtors will only work with buyers who have been preapproved. By getting preapproved, you are demonstrating you are serious about looking for a home.
• You will know exactly how much you can afford and can base your home search on that value.
• If you are competing with other buyers in a competitive seller’s market and you are the only one who has bothered to get preapproved, you will have an advantage.

How much can I REALLY afford?
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will base how much you can borrow on your debt-to-income ratio. The lender uses this ratio to determine how much mortgage debt you can handle and thus the maximum loan you will be offered. Your debt-to-income ratio is based on how much personal debt you are carrying as a percentage of your gross (before tax) monthly income.

When a lender makes a decision about your mortgage application, they consider both your ability and your willingness to repay the loan. The lender will gauge your willingness to pay the loan based on your credit report and previous commitment to paying rent, utility bills and previous loans. Lenders prefer for you to have been employed at the same place for at least two years, or at least be in the same line of work for a few years.

After your debt-to-income ratio, the next major factor in determining how much you can borrow is how good is your credit rating?. In order to be approved for the prime (best) interest rates and hence lowest monthly mortgage payments, you need to have a high credit score . Interest rates can have a big impact on how much financing you can afford to borrow. A 1% higher interest rate means reducing your buying power by 10%!

Making and negotiating offers and doing home inspections
Finally, after a long search of real estate listings, you are standing in front of the home that meets all or most of the items on your wish list. This is where working with a Realtor pays off and you don’t even have to pay them a penny for their services (the seller pays their commission).

But first, are you sure this is the right home for you? Step back for a minute and take an objective look at the home.

The sales contract and contingency clauses
A buyer’s offer to purchase a home is presented in the form of a sales contract (officially know as a Purchase and Sale Agreement). This is a five page legal document, the main elements of which are:

• Identification of the parties in the transaction, plus a legal description of the property.
• The offer price and method of payment (cash or loan). Also states the earnest money amount.
• States the type of deed and the condition of the title.
• Any attached contingency clauses.
• Includes the date of transfer of possession and title to the property to the buyer.

The buyer fills out the sales contract paperwork with the help of their agent. Do not let your agent dictate what goes on the paperwork. Definitely listen to their advice, but all final decisions should be yours to make! If you are not sure what you are signing, have your agent clearly explain to you what the paperwork means. This is important stuff! The agent will then send the offer to the listing agent who then presents the offer to the seller. The offer must be in writing and signed. Verbal agreements are not legal for real estate transactions in the Washington State.

The initial offer from the buyer will have a stated deadline within which time the seller can respond to the offer. The seller is not obligated to respond to the offer. Once that period has elapsed, and no action has been taken by the seller, the offer is considered no longer valid. However, if the seller accepts the offer as is great. More than likely, the seller will come back with a counter-offer and the negotiation process continues.

Contingency clauses are there to protect you

Contingency clauses are various conditions that need to be met in order for the sale to go through. They are there to protect you, the buyer. For example, the inspection contingency protects you from buying a lemon house and the financing contingency means that you are not forced to buy the home if you are declined financing by a lender. They are part of the whole contract / offer that you submit to the seller. The conditions of these clauses must be met before the sale can go through to closing. However, once the conditions of a contingency clause(s) have been met, then the agreement must be honored and the sale must go through.

The most common contingency clause are:

• Financing contingency means that the buyer needs to secure financing from a lender to be able to purchase your property. This protects the buyer in the event that they are unable to secure a loan.
• Sale of property contingency means that the buyer has to sell their own home first before they can buy the new property.
• Appraisal provision allows the buyer’s lender to carry out an appraisal of the property to assess whether the property is worth the agreed to sale price.
• Inspection contingency allows the potential buyer to carry out a full inspection of the property at their own expense to determine its structural soundness.

Counteroffers, negotiating and reaching mutual acceptance
The seller receives your offer to purchase their home. The two parties enter into back and forth negotiations, each side making counteroffers against the other side’s offer. Ideally, this process will not have too many rounds (2-3 is good) and hopefully remain civilized. The best result is when a consensus is reached and both sides feel like they got a fair deal.

It’s a game of give and take (and maybe even some bluffing) and can be the most nerve wracking part of the home buying (and selling) process. You are so close to getting your dream home and your anxiety levels can sky rocket. If the negotiations are less than smooth, it is important to try to stay calm. Working with a good realtor will help keep you sane and hopefully get the best deal under the prevailing market conditions. Go for a hike on Mt. Rainier, down a couple of fine Seattle micro-brews, rent a movie, or all three of them!

When the seller comes back with a counteroffer to your initial offer, they will probably cross out the offer price you entered and write down a new price somewhere between your offer and the actual listing price. They may also come back with some other comments such as “washer and dryer not included”.

The modified sales contract will be faxed back to your agent, who will review it with you. The dance can end here or go on for another couple of rounds. Avoid nit-picking over minor issues, focus on the major items. Also, avoid protracted negotiations. If the seller gets a better offer from a less demanding buyer, you may not hear back from the seller again and lose out on the home.

All things going well, you and the seller will come to an amicable agreement and reach what is known as mutual acceptance.

And finally we reach the promised land of mutual acceptance

If you really want to know the nitty grity of how offers are handled during negations, here it is but it might make your head hurt…

• A buyer’s initial offer to purchase becomes invalid if the seller does not respond within the required deadline listed on the sales contract.
• If the seller signs the buyer’s offer as-is and the agreement is then delivered back to the buyer within the required deadline, the offer is considered accepted by the seller. This is mutual acceptance.
• However, if the seller comes back with a counter-offer, the buyer’s offer is no longer valid. It is important to remember that a counter-offer is NOT an acceptance. In addition, a counteroffer invalidates the latest offer from the other side.
• If the buyer does not respond within the required deadline, the counter-offer from the seller will expire.
• However, if the buyer then signs the counteroffer from the seller, and the offer is then delivered back over to the seller within the required deadline, the offer is deemed accepted and you have mutual acceptance!

Your objective is to reach mutual acceptance. This means that both sides have signed the contract and wish to move on to the next stage of the process. Now the clock starts ticking and it’s time for you to start getting busy.

Home inspections for buyers
As per the inspection contingency, you will have around 10 days or less to complete an inspection of the property. The status of the listing will be updated to form active to pending inspection by the listing agent.

The inspector will look at structural, electrical and plumbing elements of the home and also do a pest inspection. You the buyer, pays for the inspection. It is highly advisable that you do not skimp on this step. Most of us know little about plumbing, foundations and electrical circuits. You want to avoid buying a lemon of a house. Even if the home is brand new construction and has a 5 year warranty, have it inspected. Building contractors going belly-up is not uncommon and poor quality new construction does exist.

If you have not purchased a home before, you are probably not going to know too many home inspectors. Calling your uncle Bob who does some handy work on the weekends is probably not the best way to go. Your agent will be able to recommend an inspector for you but you are not obligated to use them. If at all possible, you should free up time to attend the inspection, as should your agent. Although the inspector will put together a report for you, it is a good idea to walk around with the inspector during the inspection. You will learn a lot about homes construction and more importantly, about your potential new home.

Once the inspection has been completed, you have three options.

1. Decide to withdraw your offer (you do not have to tell the seller why).
2. Accept the offer as-is and move on to closing.
3. Make a counter-offer where you ask for repairs to be done or renegotiate the price down.

Say for example, the seller’s roof needs replacing, then you could request:

1. That a new roof be installed before closing
2. The sale price be dropped to cover the price of replacing the roof
3. The sellers credit you cash back at closing to pay for a new roof

Many times the home will require lesser repairs but you will be trying to get the price down by leveraging the information gained from your inspection and any disclosures in the Sellers Disclosure Statement (Form-17) provided by the seller. It is usually better to have the seller do the repairs before closing (assuming it will not delay the closing date), because if the seller discovers that the repairs are bigger and more expensive than expected, the seller will have to pay those extra costs, not you!

Escrow and closing for buyers
Once all the contingency clauses have been met, all the inspections completed and all negotiations are done with, it is time to march forward to closing.

Both signing and closing are coordinated by an escrow company. A good escrow company is worth every penny as they will ensure a smooth exchange of ownership between you and the sellers while taking care of a long to-do list in the background.

The last three steps in the whole transaction that the buyer will be most focused on are:

1. Signing the loan and other documents at escrow
2. Closing and recording of the transaction by escrow
3. Taking possession of the home

So what is escrow and what do they do?

Escrow acts as an independent and neutral third party whose primary responsibility is to coordinate closing the sale transaction as outlined in the sales contract. The escrow agent acts as a guardian over the process and makes sure that both the seller and the buyer adhere to their sides of the bargain.

In Washington State real estate, Escrow’s responsibilities include:

• Acting as intermediary between various interested parties, including lenders and lien holders.
• Ensuring that the title to the property is marketable, in other words, is the seller legally entitled to sell the property?
• Facilitating the signing of all closing and lender documents.
• Receiving, holding and disbursing the funds involved in the sale including the buyer’s earnest money.
• Responsible for ensuring that the appropriate security documents are recorded with the County Recorder.

There are multiple escrow companies in the Tacoma - Seattle area but all must abide by the same code of conduct and state regulations. The buyer’s side chooses the escrow company and seller’s side select the title company but both parties will pay escrow title fees.

Your most important items at closing
At the signing appointment, you will sit on one side of the table and the escrow agent on the other side. The escrow agent will be putting various forms in front of you to sign, while they read them upside-down, having years of experience doing so. The agent’s catch phrase will be “sign here please”. Each form will merge into the next as you slip into a signing frenzy.

Slow down and take your time, especially if you are a first time buyer. Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you don’t understand or feel comfortable with something. Your real estate agent should be willing to attend the closing if you ask them.

• Bring your driver’s license, the cashiers check to cover closing costs as well as a copy of your last TIL (Truth In Lending Statement)
• Make sure your pre-printed legal name is spelled correctly on the forms.
• Make sure the correct address is listed for the Seattle property you are purchasing.
• When you get to the Settlement Statement and the Note, put your pen down, pick up the forms and review carefully. The Settlement Statement lists all your closing costs while the Note will list the terms of your mortgage. Compare the numbers on these forms to the numbers you have been shown previously. Do they match? Check the APR, type of mortgage, pre-payment penalties and closings costs. These documents have the large financial consequences so treat them as such. Not a good time for blind faith. Human, and other, errors can occur.
• After you have signed the mound of documents, do not leave the Escrow office without getting photocopies of the paperwork you have just signed. Most competent escrow companies will make copies without you needing to ask.

Now, you are ever so close to getting the keys to your new home, finally taking possession and moving in!

Show me the keys to my new home!
Your agent places the keys to your new home in your hands. The urge to rush over there faster than Speedy Gonzales will be over-whelming. “It’s all mine!”

It is genuinely a great feeling, particularly if you are a first time buyer. Adios landlord!! On the way over, grab yourself a bottle of champagne, or whatever your poison is. Wander around your new home and take it all in.

Collection Agencies – Everything you need to know

There are two types of debt collectors: firms that collect debts owed to third parties and creditors. Both federal and state laws regulate and restrict various debt collection practices.

Junk Debt buyers are the scum of the earth. They will do almost anything to get their money know your rights.

Treat Collection Attorneys just like any other Collection Agency. Do not be intimidated because they are Attorneys. They too, must abide by the FDCPA & State Laws.

Did you Know? Credit Card Accounts are considered Open Accounts.

The first thing you want to check if a Collection Agency is after you for an old credit card debt is if the Statute of Limitations has expired or not for your state.

What most collectors try to do is threaten or scare you whether it be by phone or through the mail with a letter stating that if you don't pay they will sue you. After checking under the Open Accounts for your state and you notice that the Statute of Limitations has indeed expired let them know you are onto them. If you received a Summons in the mail and the SOL has expired make sure that you write that down as a defense. You should get an attorney to write them up a letter that will make them stop the suit entirely.

Collection Agencies are hoping that you do not know your rights and you just fold and pay them off. They are hoping that you don't show up for court and they receive a Default Judgment against you. If the SOL has run out and you ignore a summons they will legally get a default judgment against you. BUT if you know that the SOL has run out and you do something about it well, they will simply go away.

Creditors:

It pretty much goes that if it is the original creditor coming after you that you will lose. Original Creditors have pretty much everything they need to get proof the debt is yours....refuse to pay the original creditor and look for a lawsuit next. Unless the Statute of Limitations has run out you may use this as a defense. If the original creditor is coming after you we highly suggest that you get a payment plan with them in action.

Debt Collectors

• Debt Collection agencies are another story. They must abide by Federal & State Laws. The Fair Debt Collections Protection Act protects you from such agencies who are out to collect debt unlawfully. You do have rights. Know your rights!
• Most people who have a debt collector call them or contact them simply freak out and call them to settle it out.
• There are so many things you should do before doing this. First, is this debt really your debt? Go check your credit report to verify the debt is yours. Next you want to send the collection agency over a Debt Validation letter.

What is a Debt Validation Letter that you send to the collection agency do? See link below to access website for sample letter

It makes the Debt Collector basically prove that this debt is yours. Basic, prove it or remove it. Remove it off my credit report if you cannot prove it period! It's your weapon. The FDCPA is behind you that the debt collector must prove that you are the person 100% that they are trying to collect on.

Consumers get debt letters from years ago and have no idea that this debt is really their debt and they still call the collector to work out a settlement. Why? If a guy named Joe knocked on your door and said you owe me $2000 pay it up wouldn't you make him prove it? Of course you would. Do the same for the collection agency as well. Send them the Debt Validation Letter wait 30 days for a response. If you do not get a response mail them a follow up letter. If you get no response then, go into your credit report and dispute the debt with the 3 credit bureaus. Make copies of the letters you sent to the Debt Collection Agency and tell them they wouldn't verify it. The CRA then has to remove it..it's not validated, the collection agency couldn't prove it so how in the heck can the CRA validate it also? Remove it NOW.

How May They Contact You?
A debt collection agency is allowed to contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax. This agency is restricted, however, from contacting you at inconvenient times or places, for example, before 8 AM or after 9 PM, unless you agree. A debt collection agency is prohibited from contacting you at your place of employment if the agency knows that your employer disapproves.

What If You Want to Dispute the Debt?
You must write a letter to the debt collection agency within thirty days of their initial contact with you regarding disputes over any or all of a debt. Thereafter, the agency is prohibited by law from contacting you again until it can send you verification of your debt.

How Can You Stop Them From Calling You?
You must write a letter to the debt collection agency to ask that they stop calling you. Once an agency receives your letter, they may not contact you any further except to inform you that there will be no further contact or that their agency or the creditor intends to takes some specific action.

Harassing or Abusive Tactics:
Debt collection agencies are prohibited from the following harassing or abusive tactics:

• use of or threatening violence or criminal means to harm you;
• use of obscene or profane language;
• advertising your debt for sale;
• telephoning you repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy or harass; or
• Placing telephone calls without meaningful disclosures of their identity.
False or Misleading Representations: Debt collection agencies may not deceive you with:
• false representations that they are government representatives;
• falsely represent that they will seize, garnish or sell any property or wages unless such action is lawful;
• false representations that you have committed a crime or that you will be arrested or imprisoned;
• threats to communicate false credit information with any other person;
• falsely implying that the debt collector is employed by a credit bureau;
• false representations implying that they are attorneys or that there is the involvement of an attorney in collecting a debt;
• falsely indicating the legal status of papers or forms sent to you;
• use of a false name;
• misrepresenting the amount of the debt; or
• sending you something resembling an official document from a court or governmental agency when it is not.

This posting on Collection Agencies is reproduced from the following website Collection Agency 411 This website has lot's of amazing information, resource information on each states Collection Laws and sample letters that you can use to send your registered letters to the collection agency. "Knowledge is Power" DISCLAIMER:Use this information at your own risk

Now’s The Time To Get Back Into Real Estate

My next blog post was going to be on “Collection Agencies – Insider Secrets” which I will address on the next blog post. I wanted to share this article that takes many of the blog posts I have done in respect to inflation and the longer term costs of money and investment etc. and really hits on “why now is the time to buy” as posted on CharlesRutenbergBlog.com

By John R. Talbott
I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgage debt. And this from the author of The Coming Crash in the Housing Market published in 2003 and my 2006 book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble. Let me explain why.

Home Prices Relative to Peak Prices During Bubble

Home prices are off anywhere from 10% to more than 60% in cities across the country. There is no reason to believe that prices were “fair” during the bubble as we have seen they were largely caused by loose and aggressive lending by banks and non-banks. But, it is always better to buy at a discount rather than at a historical peak, and these seem like awfully big discounts. And by my calculations, in most cities across the country, real prices adjusted for inflation have just about come into line with where prices were in 1997, before all this crazy bank lending started, so there should be little additional downside risk by buying today. There are still some neighborhoods across the country that have not seen very dramatic declines in price, many of them very wealthy and expensive enclaves, but given the distribution of incomes lately heavily weighed toward the wealthy, these areas may never see a really large home price decline.

Home Prices Relative to Construction Costs or Replacement Costs

Homes in many cities across the country are now selling for as little as $60 to $70 a square foot. Depending on the quality of construction and the underlying land value, this represents a 50% to 65% discount to the costs you would incur if you tried to build a similar home today in these cities. While there is no guarantee that there will be a strong rental market in the short run, in the long run it just seems to make sense to buy if you can acquire assets at half or less of the cost of building them.

Home Prices Relative to Incomes and Rents

During the peak years of the housing bubble, entire cities like San Diego were seeing their homes priced on average at 11 times the area’s median family income. Such prices financed primarily with debt are by definition unsustainable. Now, because banks have pulled back on their lending formulas, homes in many cities are changing hands at three to four times average family incomes. Similarly, at the peak, houses traded at such large multiples of possible rents that it made the projects uneconomic from the start. Now, with homes trading at more reasonable multiples of rents, houses and condos can be purchased that are immediately cash flow positive in year one and enjoy all the upside of any appreciation that will occur as inflation returns.

Home Prices in Real Terms, Not US Dollar Terms
We still talk about home prices in dollar terms, which is silly because the dollar has lost 98% of its purchasing power relative to a more stable asset like gold over the last fifty years. If instead of pricing houses in dollars, we look and see what a home would cost in ounces of gold, we see that houses today are a real bargain. As a matter of fact, this graph shows that average homes, measured in the number of gold ounces it would take to buy them, are now trading at forty year historical lows.

You might argue that this is because gold is priced highly today. I would argue that gold’s purchasing power has changed very little over time, it is the dollar that is depreciating and thus giving the appearance that the price of gold is rising. Actually, gold is quite stable relative to other assets and commodities and it is the dollar that is highly volatile and declining in value due to the US funding its deficits by printing dollars.

The Real Bubble – US Treasuries and Future Inflation

The real bubble out there is longer US Treasuries and 30-year fixed rate mortgages for home-buyers. With US debt equal to its GDP and equal to more than four times our government’s total tax revenues and with annual deficits of $1.3 trillion and growing, it is amazing to me that people will lend to the US for thirty years for less than 3.0% a year. Even more amazing is that individual homeowners can borrow at 4.0% (around 3% after tax) for thirty years on a fixed rate basis, some 300 basis points better than Italy which has a lot more people and makes much better shoes.

Homes may not appreciate greatly in real terms over the next twenty years, but they don’t have to if inflation comes back, which is the only way the US and Europe are going to get out from under the huge debts on their countries and their banks. You may not make a lot in real terms on the house, but if inflation returns, you could make a killing on your investment as your thirty year debt becomes worth less and less in real terms. Run the numbers, but if inflation and interest rates go back to say, 7% to 8%, you could easily make eight to ten times your equity investment on the house because you locked in your borrowing costs and home appreciations historically have always correlated well with unanticipated inflation.

So, run, do not walk to your neighborhood banker and either finance a new home purchase or take out the maximum amount of money he or she will lend you on a home equity loan and buy hard assets, not financial securities, with the money. When inflation comes roaring back the only perfect hedge is to be a borrower, not a lender or investor. Shakespeare said, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be,” but they didn’t have huge government deficits and the risk of future inflation back in the Bard’s time. (end of article)

Now that was some pretty powerful stuff and you may want to read through it again. The next step is to contact me and get pre-approved for a home loan so we can get you into your own home or if you are a investor, we can assist you in building a portfolio of investment properties. Just Click Here to reach me

Credit Repair - Insider Secrets

If you're like most Consumers, your problem right now is that you DON'T know "HOW" the system works. For example...Are you aware that the credit report that banks and businesses get to see has about TWICE the financial information compared to the credit report you receive from the credit bureaus?

That's right. In most cases, the credit bureaus send a much more detailed report to businesses than they send to you. A bit deceiving, isn't it?

This is why banks and businesses (except mortgage lenders) will NEVER give you a copy of "your" credit report. Nope. They'll look you in the face and tell you to request your own copy from the credit bureau (If you don't believe me, next time you get turned down for credit, ask them for a copy of your credit report and see what they say).

I provide “No Cost or Obligation” preapprovals for purchase money financing & refinances and will review your credit report(s) with you (CLICK HERE)

The credit system is full of "little secrets" like this. Most people find them frustrating. However, “Knowledge is Power” and I pride myself in helping, educating and serving my clients as the core of my professional career.

Credit bureaus want you to believe that once your credit report is scarred with bad credit marks there is NOTHING you can do about it. They will tell you THE ONLY THING that can repair a bad credit report is time.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

3 Little Secrets Credit Reporting Agencies DON'T Want You To Know...

Credit reporting agencies have 3 little secrets. First, when it comes to ANY negative marks on your credit, the big secret they don't want you to know is this...

THE ONLY NEGATIVE INFORMATION that CAN REMAIN on your credit report is NOT what is accurate, but what the Credit Bureaus CAN PROVE TO BE ACCURATE under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. (you may want to read that again)

Second, they know that the "burden of proof" falls on your Creditors and the Credit Bureaus and NOT you.

And, anything your creditors and the Credit Bureaus CAN'T PROVE must be permanently REMOVED from your credit reports-it's the law!

Third (this is the real key), they understand that to comply with the “Fair Credit Reporting Act” they must investigate any disputed information on your credit report and verify it’s accuracy within 30 days then report back to you the findings of their investigation. This costs the 3 big credit reporting agencies millions of dollars annually to comply with the law.

So for the uneducated consumer they regular send out a threatening letter to you after they receive your dispute letter(s) “disputing accurate information can result in fines etc.” Ignore any of those letters. Just think if they are able to scare off 20% of consumer’s dispute cases, how much money that saves them annually.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a consumer protection law that makes this all possible. Fortunately (for you), it was written in your favor and NOT that of your creditors or the Credit Bureaus.

The problem is that almost nobody ever learns how easy it is to take advantage of it. So, why am I sharing this with you? Simple; I want to earn your business and referral business, by providing education and information that has value to improve your life. That is how I am able to earn your business and referral business.

FREE 15 PAGE E-BOOK on “Fast Credit Repair” which includes “4 Tips on getting that loan approved” and “24 Tips to a Great Credit Rating” Just send me a e-mail asking for it and I will send it out to you ASAP (Click Here)

Another very important area of credit scores is Collection Agencies. This is a complete topic in itself and requires another blog post on my part, which I plan on addressing in my next post.

PLEASE do not pay any collection agency or discuss anything with them on the phone until you learn “WHAT TO DO” One short letter that's guaranteed to STOP all harassing collection agency calls forever and in most cases you will never hear from the collection agency again (special Federal law bill collectors hope you never discover!). If you have this situation then give me a call ASAP !