Is there such a thing as Guaranteed Auto Credit? Depends what your definition of ‘guaranteed” is.  You see, in the car business the old saying is “We can help anyone buy anything…with the right down payment”.

There is a company dealers use called Credit Acceptance that will literally finance anyone. Their customers often have unverifiable income, or less than conventional sources of income such as unemployment.

The true beauty of the program is that these auto loans report to all three credit bureaus. The people who need loans from Credit Acceptance often need all the help they can get with their credit. Many other sources of financing, such as buy-here-pay-here, often do not report to credit bureaus unless the loan goes into default.

WashingtonAutoCredit.com offers users access to the Credit Acceptance auto loan program. The bad credit auto loan structure is not always easy, but customers are given the opportunity to receive a real written approval when they visit the Olympia, WA office.

In some states, Credit Acceptance is not allowed to use the term Guaranteed Credit Approval, so they use the term Patented Quick Approval.

This is a list of common documents that are often required by the lender to fund your loan:

• Most Recent Pay Stub (with Year-to-Date total)
• Recent Utility Bill in Your Name (Sometimes we can substitute a bank statement)
• Recent phone bill (Does not need to be in your name if land-line. Does need to be in your name if Cell)
• 6-10 References. (Friends and Family. Name, ADDRESS, and Phone. Must all have different Addresses. This information is not used to decide whether or not to lend to you)
• Landlord/Mortgage Company Name and Phone Number.
• Proof of valid drivers license (sometimes we can get past this)
• Proof of Insurance (we can help you setup insurance)

This is a list of COMMON items that are required. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS.

Bad Credit Auto Loan Documents

Most people seem to owe a lot more money on their car than it is worth…at least, what it is worth to a dealer or insurance company. If you are in that position, READ THIS. There are hints for getting out of negative equity, and ways to never have to deal with it. Be smart. Stay informed.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3469271&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Rick Reilly is a writer for ESPN. He is insightful and very funny. A recent post by him shows the irony of the instant millionaires in professional sports who very often become just another person in a bankruptcy court.

Check it out, and know that even if you think you are the only person with credit problems, you are not alone. Even people with seven and eight figure salaries go bankrupt from time to time.

Do you really want to make money in real estate? Do you want to start buying properties now even if you have bad credit and very little money down?

The current credit market and home value depreciation has made RIGHT NOW an amazing time to be a real estate investor. Flipping houses is popular because more people can afford fixer uppers than can afford retail home buying…and the profits can be sooner as well as bigger.

Buying Real Estate with $0 down

There are several methods used to purchase real estate with no money down. There are many situations in a real estate transaction that could lead to a deal with $0 down. Because the economy is doing so poorly, foreclosures are often available for little or zero down.

The most common way to get a $0 down payment loan is seller carry second mortgage. The buyer gets a new first mortgage. This technique requires the lenders approval since the lender who is making the 90% loan, will have to agree to allow the seller to take back a second mortgage, the seller will then finance the balance.

Another option is to use one of the many low or no down payment mortgage programs that exist. Most are intended for owner occupants but some are available for real estate investors. When purchasing investment property with little or nothing down it is very important that you talk to the right lender(s).

Plan for what you expect to see every month in the way of rental income, and what your mortgage payments will be. Even with the tax write-offs investors get through rental properties, it is important that you are turning a monthly profit. If you are financing 100% of the purchase price, your payments will be higher than if you only financed 80% through a conventional mortgage. If there are two mortgages, make sure you add both payments together.

Many real estate investors buy wholesale fixer properties, then refinance them once the rehab is complete. If the condition of the house is poor, conventional bank financing may not work at first. Often, a hard money lender is needed for quick cash to close on a property and start the rehab process. When all of the work is done on the home you’ll get a new mortgage that pays off the hard money loan. You may have to pay some of the money when you close the hard money loan, but you’ll usually get it all back and more when you refinance the home loan, so you end up with no money out of your pocket. This becomes deal that is better than no money down because you can often get cash back at closing.

Purchasing a home with bad credit

Bad credit home loans are for those who have less than perfect credit. Bad credit loans could allow you to buy a house with bad credit. This could be anyone who has one or more of the following credit issues: credit scores of less than 620, filing for bankruptcy within the last three years, mortgage foreclosure within the last four years, collection accounts, judgments, or liens 30, 60, or 90-day late payment within the last two years. A bad credit home loan is often called a sub-prime mortgage.

Bad credit mortgages are a higher risk to the mortgage lender because of the poor credit history of the borrower. The basic concept of bad credit mortgages is to provide a borrower a second chance to prove they will be a good credit risk and eventually refinance the mortgage after establishing a perfect credit history for a couple of years or more. Just remember even with bad credit there are ways you could purchase a home, but your going to pay more than a borrower who has sparkling credit.

Lease-Option or Lease-to-Purchase

A lease with the option to buy is the best opportunity for those with bad credit to become a home owner sooner rather than later. With a lease-option it is important to find a landlord/seller that is willing to work with you. The price is agreed upon in advance. Most lease option deals are for 1-2 years and with a very small amount of money down, to buy the option, and slightly higher rent than a normal lease, it is possible to be living in the house you want to buy years sooner. You can make improvements, and build equity right away while you repair your credit. For more information about lease-options check out the OlympiaHomeBuyer.com website.

Buying and selling real estate is one of the most profitable ways to make money, and accrue equity. The sooner you start owning property, the sooner you could find yourself on the path to prosperity.

Why is my credit still bad?

So you paid all of your collections, your old credit cards that were once charged-off are now paid-off. Why does your credit report still look like you have never paid anyone in your life? The reason is credit bureaus often do not take the time to update things like collections and old charge-offs.

Okay, so that is not EXACTLY what happens. It is not the bureaus’ job to make sure everything is still accurate. It is the bureaus’ job to report what creditors and collectors tell them to report. If the credit card company or the collection company never bothered to tell the credit bureau that you paid them, the debt will not be removed without a little work on your end.

WorstCreditEver.com offers some free advice for how to repair your credit and even walks you through it step by step.

Payday Loan companies are popping up on what seems like every block these days. They are all over the internet, they are all over the phone books, and payday loan companies are all over city streets. A lot of people ask me, how do they work? Or, how much do they charge? Maybe even, aren’t they predatory lenders?

The answer to all of those questions is the same: It Depends. All payday loan companies do things a little differently. They may have different criteria for giving you a payday loan. Each one may charge a little more, or a little less than another payday loan company. As a consumer, it is your job to decide whether or not you need a payday loan. It is your job to compare the fees charged to borrow the money. It is your job to pay the money back on time to avoid late fees, slow payments and charge-offs on your credit.

Payday loan companies lend short term cash advance loans. Usually between $100-$1,500. Some companies will do bigger loans over longer terms, but that always seems like a bad deal. You see, people that need payday advance loans often do not qualify for conventional unsecured loans at good interest rates. If they did, they would go down to a bank and get the money. So the payday loan companies are lending to people that have a very high chance of going delinquent on the loan. Make no mistake, the companies are in business to make money. The loans that do get repaid on time have very high loan charges over the one or two weeks that they are advancing you the money. On an annualized basis, the APR can appear to be 100%, 200%, 300% or more. Of course, you are not paying that because you are borrowing the money for a week or two, not a year. The truth in lending act requires the payday companies to disclose the annual rate even though the loans are short term.

How do you decide if a payday loan is right for you? Sometimes people make a decent amount of money every month and even though they try to sock away some cash for unexpected emergencies, it isn’t quite enough. If you have never needed a payday loan before, but something happens where a little short term cash can help you out of a really tight spot, a payday loan may work for you. If you are in a position to pay back the money on time, that is. Some common uses for payday advance loans are vehicle repairs and medical bills.

However, if you are one of those people that is getting one payday loan to payoff another payday loan, there are obviously more ongoing issues in your situation and it may require professional help from from either a debt counselor or an attorney to get out of the payday loan cycle.

Most payday loan companies do not like lending to people that have outstanding payday loans. There are exceptions though.

The normal requirements for an online payday loan are a checking or savings account (they will need the account number and routing number) and a job. The different companies have different policies on other sources of income, like SSI, Child Support, and so on.

If you qualify for another type of loan, or you have a credit card that you can use to pay an unexpected bill, do that. Payday loans are not a preferred source of money. However, for many people, payday loans can be the only way to get a lot of money in a short amount of time to pay outstanding bills. If you or someone you know are considering a payday loan, please consider all of the advantages and disadvantages of using them before you agree to their terms.

Most Americans are fond of overspending. People buy things they do not really need. Once they see something that catches their eye, they buy it - often without even thinking of how they will pay for it.

People usually do this due to lack of will power or budgeting. And lots of them use their credit cards as a reserve once they run out of cash. They tend to spend a large amount of money in order to “keep up with the Jones’” or to make them feel better about themselves. Unfortunately, this never really works, and it causes a lot of damage in the long run.

Almost everybody has a credit bureau, maintained by a credit reporting agency. Many people have bad credit items on their bureaus, such as defaults, charge-offs, repossession, and slow payment history. This means that when these people apply for loans, mortgages, or credit cards, car loans or even for a simple bank account, they may be turned down.

Sometimes these people are not even aware of the negative information on their credit bureau. When this is not corrected, it causes them to have a bad credit.

Having bad credit can adversely affect virtually every aspect of your life. A low credit score means severe financial limitations and difficulties. As if this is not enough, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of debt relief, debt consolidation, debt management, and consumer credit counseling companies that promise to “cut your payments in half”, “save you thousands”, or our personal favorite - “get you out of debt with the click of a mouse”.

If only your computer had the debt relief magic that all of those bad credit spam emails promise. Although getting out of debt cannot be done with a click of a mouse button, it is probably not as difficult as you think.

If you are in this kind of predicament, it is imperative for your financial stability that you do everything you can to repair your credit.

What is bad credit repair?

“Bad Credit repair” is a common term often used to describe a systematic process of rehabilitating an individual’s creditworthiness, financial credit reputation, or just raising your credit score.

You can try to repair bad credit yourself, and sometimes the steps are simple. However many people find credit repair a difficult and discouraging process.

You start by obtaining copies of your credit report, reviewing the credit report for errors, omissions, and misleading information, and requesting corrections to such information by means of a formal dispute. Often times, it can be beneficial to dispute every negative item on your credit, even if it is true. Not all of the correct negative items are always confirmed.

If you are worrying too much about your credit, conquer that feeling! No matter how bad your credit is, you can take the following steps to make it better:

1. Pay all of your bills on time. Decide if you have the income to meet all of your obligations. Remember, late payments (payments that are 30 days late or more) have a negative effect on your credit rating.

2. Reduce the number of credit cards that you have. This will reduce the tendency to overspend. Contact your creditors about your plan and perhaps close some of your newer accounts. Keep your older credit cards, and pay them off. It helps your credit to have very old accounts that are still active.

3. Avoid bankruptcy. Bankruptcies are not the end of the world but it will be with you for years. It will stay in your credit report for up to 10-years and hamper your ability to get credit in the future.

4. Request in writing that your creditors reduce the interest rates on your accounts to lower the amount of your monthly budget that goes to just interest.

5. Monitor results and stick to your plan. Review your file every few months to make sure that any errors that you have disputed have been corrected. After a period of time inquiries will not count against you provided you have not been applying for credit.

These steps can help anywone with bad credit. If you are in that situation, do not waste energy stressing about it. Bad credit can almost always be improved or corrected.

In my line of work I hear people say it all the time, “I have the worst credit ever. Can you help me buy a car?”. So that got me to thinking. How does someone get to that point of having REALLY bad credit? I also though about what could be done to help people with really bad credit. Maybe I can share some of my experiences find other people to share theirs.

In my experience, it seems that people earn really bad credit for one of 2 main reasons. Either they get bad credit because of an extenuating circumstance that is really beyond their control, or they get bad credit because they lack the ability to pay their bills on time. In the second main reason there are really 2 sub-categories. The first is people who cannot pay their bills because they spend more than they earn and the people that cannot pay their bills because of laziness and lack of foresight when it comes to paying their bills in the future.

As an example of reason #1, we often get customers that make good money, drive nice cars, and have a lot of bills. Then something happens, whether it be divorce, loss of job, illness, or some other major life event, and all of a sudden it becomes very difficult to pay the loans, credit cards and other debts that have been accrued over the years. When something like that happens, it is usually very easy for us to help. When there is a singular life event that affects your ability to repay your debts it it obvious on your credit and we can convince lenders to give you another chance.

There are similar people with similar jobs that never can seem to quite get their act together. Maybe their car payment is always a little late, maybe the minimum payment on their credit cards does not seem like a big deal, maybe they decided not to tell one of their creditors that they changed addresses and since they are not receiving the monthly statement they decide the bill does not need to be paid. This type of person will eventually come to the realization, “Maybe I should have taken my credit more seriously.” Often by that time it is too late.

When you establish a long track record of not paying any meaningful bills, you will earn a very low credit score and any loans or credit cards you receive will be unfavorable. Loans will have a high interest rate and/or a high down payment requirement. Credit cards will have higher rates and/or high fees.

It seems so obvious to most of us, but to people with chronic derogatory credit it does not seem obvious. In fact, usually they tend to blame it on the bank, or on the postman for losing the mail, or for someone for stealing their identity. Why would someone want to steal the identity of a person who has never paid a bill in their life up to that point? They wouldn’t.

In my job I often interview people about their credit. Sometimes I ask someone about a particular account on their credit, and before I get a chance to congratulate them for having that one positive account, the customer says “That account isn’t mine, someone stole my identity.” It is hilarious! The one actually good item on their credit, and they say it wasn’t them. Do they think someone stole their identity so that they could pay a loan or credit card on time? I usually tell them to NOT dispute that account because it is the only piece of positive credit on their bureau. Usually, it was an account that was in their name AND another person’s. That is why it actually got paid on time…the other person made sure of it.

So what are we looking for on the blog? We are looking for people that have questions about their credit and we are looking for people that have meaningful thoughts to contribute. Perhaps someone can share their bad credit story and how they were able to turn it around. Maybe some experts in the credit or law fields could have some ideas to share. I do not know what kind of response to expect, but I hope it is a positive one.

A good credit score can lead to lower interest rates, better loan approvals, and even give job opportunities. If your score is currently lower than you would like, there are things you can do to improve it. By knowing the basics of how credit bureaus work, you can start boosting your credit score today.

What is a Credit Score?

“Credit Score” refers to the overall strength of your finances. Fair Isaac Corporation usually calculates this three-digit figure (FICO Score). Fair Isaac takes data from your credit report and crunches the numbers through a series of calculations. Your payment history (especially how your accounts look right now) and the amount of outstanding debt you have are taken into consideration. The length of credit, amount of new credit, and type of credit you have are also reviewed.

Before issuing a new credit line, most lenders check your credit score. You may be accepted or denied  (approved or declined) based on your credit score. That is why it is important to maintain a good score, and it can be easy to do so. The following are several steps you can take to help you boost your credit score.

Make Payments on Time

The easiest and best way to raise your credit score is to avoid late payments. By paying all of your bills on time, you show lenders that you are reliable and consistent. If you have a hard time remembering when payments need to be made, there are things you can do to make it easier. Find a method that helps you pay on time, every time. Here are some suggestions:

• You can even call your lenders and ask to have the due date changed to a certain day of the month.
• Have them automatically taken out of your checking account.
• Have reminders sent to your email.

Pay Down your Debt

Paying off your debts (especially credit card debts) is another way to boost your credit score. Try to use 30% or less of your credit limit. So if you have two credit cards that each have a $5,000 limit, you have a total credit limit of $10,000. Keep your total outstanding balances under $3,000. This will lower your credit risk and help you have a better credit score than you would if the accounts were maxed out.

Keep Credit Accounts Open

If you have had a credit card for a long time and don’t use it much, try to stop yourself from closing it. If you have a good history of on-time payments, it may be in your best interest to keep the account open. It will show lenders that you have a longer credit history. Even if you cut the card up, and don’t use it, it is better than closing the account.

Use Your Cards Wisely

Raising your credit score does not mean you get rid of your credit cards or not use them. Before you make a purchase, think about how you will pay it back. It isn’t play money! Look into what you can and cannot afford before saying “Just Charge It”.

If you decide you want a new loan or credit card account, try to keep all of your application submissions within a 14-day window. Once you have the credit card or loan, pay it down as best you can and ALWAYS make on time payments. This will improve your credit score over time.

These are just some of the ways to boost your credit score.

Managing your finances correctly will help boost your FICO or BEACON score.