Five Ways to Improve Your Credit

PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME! - Payment history accounts for roughly 35% of your score. Paying your bills on time is the MOST important thing to do. If you are behind, get caught up and then stay current. If you are struggling, CONTACT your creditors to work out a payment schedule.

INCREASE THE LENGTH OF YOUR CREDIT HISTORY - It accounts for 15% of your score. Cancelling an OLD card or getting alot of NEW credit within a short time span can hurt your score because it lowers the AVERAGE AGE of your accounts.

KEEP CREDIT BALANCES LOW - Credit use makes up 30% of your CREDIT SCORE. Try to keep the amoutn you borrow below 25% of your AVAILABLE CREDIT. Even if you pay off your credit cards every month, the average balance will still impact your score.

MINIMIZE NEW CREDIT REQUESTS - They account for 10% of your credit score. Every time a potential lender asks for a copy of your credit report, an inquiry is recorded. If you will be applying for a loan in the near future, DON'T apply for ANY NEW credit cards beforehand. You can also ask the three main reporting agencies to stop unsolicited credit offers.

MAINTAIN DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSTALLMENT AND REVOLVING DEBT - About 10% of your score depends on the type of credit used. How you handle revolvng credit (ie: credit cards) carries more weight than how you deal with installment debt (such as car loans and mortgages).

source; My fico. The material is for general informational purpose only.

New Truth In Lending Rules can cause a 3 day delay for closing

New Truth In Lending Rules for Mortgages
Here are the new rules for TIL (truth in lending) forms for all mortgages applied for after July 30th, 2009.

• The “early” TIL disclosures must be delivered or placed in the mail not later than 3 business days after the creditor receives the consumer's written application, and at least 7 business days before consummation of the transaction. This is a new “waiting period.”

“business days” do not include Saturday or Sunday. Similar to attorney review.

• If the annual percentage rate (“APR”) on the disclosure becomes inaccurate, by increasing or decreasing changes by more than 1/8 (.125%), the creditor must now make corrected disclosures to the consumer with a revised APR. The consumer must receive the corrected disclosures no later than 3 business days before consummation.

What does this mean?

If any of the fees change on the final settlement statement to a great extent compared to the GFE (good faith estimate) that was signed by the borrower at time of application (increase OR decrease in fees), a new TIL(truth in lending) disclosure will have to be generated and you have to wait 3 more days before you can close.

So a lender can’t have a higher or lower rate by more than .125% at closing AND the lender fees can’t go up or down by more than a couple of hundred bucks or you will have to wait another 3 days. Lender credits of any significant amount will cause a 3-day delay, even if it benefits the buyer.

for more highlights on this new rule

Identity theft a growing problem

Identity theft a growing problem here are some contact numbers:Stolen Checks:National Check Fraud Service 843-571-2143Scan: 800-262-7771Tele Check 800-710-9898CheckRite: 800-766-2748CrossCheck:707-586-0551Equifax Cehxk Systems: 800-437-5120International Check Services:800-526-5380Stolen ATM card, get a new card, new account number and password.Fraudulent Change of Address: Notify Us Postal Inspector go to website for all numbershttp://www.usps.gov/postalinspectors Social Securty Number Comprimised: 800-269-0271 or website: http://www.ssa.gov/oig CREDIT BUREAUS:Equifax PO Box 105873 Atlanta Ga. 30348-5873Credit Report: 800-997-2493 Fraud Alert: 800-525-6285http://www.equifax.com Experian PO Box 949 Allen tx 75013-0949Credit Report: 888-397-3741Fraud Alert: 888-397-3742http://www.experian.com Trans Union PO Box 390 Springfield, Pa 19064-0390Credit Report: 800-916-8800Fraud Alert: 800-680-7289http://www.tuc.com