Mortgage Finance-3 Hot Tips To Avoid Lowering Your Fico Score

Building a good credit score is a long term process. As they say a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Beware of quick fixes. There are none except for the quick fix of getting into your wallet by way of a scam and there are some out there. Here are three sure fire tips to avoid lowering your FICO score.

The MR BIG of things to avoid is:

1. MISSING A PAYMENT Sure you knew that. But missing a single payment can undue years of good solid work in a heartbeat-by 100 points or more. If you have a record of being late it won't hurt as much as having a perfect payment record sad to say. AND if you are a day late with some companies it doesn't matter-you are still late. They can be ruthless.

Close behind #1 is:

2.100% UTILIZATION OF AVAILABLE CREDIT Fair Isaac AND Company FICO is looking for a low credit utilization percentage-the lower the better. So if you are maxing out your cards look for your score to take a tumble. Consider asking for a higher credit limit and make darn sure you don't use it (like my ex wife did). This has the same effect of paying off your cards and lowering that percentage. Cool eh?

And last of the hot tips to avoid a lower FICO score is:

3.DON'T TOSS THOSE OLD CARDS I made this huge mistake myself thinking it would help. WRONG! Instead of tossing those old cards use them occasionally-every 4-6 months for small purchases and pay it off immediately. This will keep your account active vs. inactive- a huge difference to Mr. FICO.

Follow these three tips and you will help avoid having your FICO score in the tank.

Jack Krohn is a leading free lance writer on Home Equity and Mortgage issues with over 35 articles to his credit. He is also the #1 author of Home Security Articles in the country according to Ezine Articles.

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Fixed Home Equity Loan Or Adjustable Home Equity Lines Of Credit?

It seems that many mortgage lenders and brokers are offering homebuyers more options when it comes to second mortgages. From interest only equity lines of credit to fixed rate home equity loans to option ARM mortgages, what loan works for you? With so many marketing loan terms and no clear defining solution, many lenders need to simply tell me what kind of loans they have, so that I can make a decision.

Consider looking at the home equity line of credit versus a fixed rate home equity loan. The first question to ask is what is the difference? To begin, let's define what a home equity loan is and how it works. If a home buyer decides to use the equity already built up in his home he may qualify for a large amount of credit with a lower interest rate when needing to borrowing money. Also, depending on the situation the borrower may be able to deduct this interest rate from his taxes since the debt is protected by the home.

A home equity credit line is extended credit based on the equity in a home. This type of credit revolves like a credit card, because you can borrow and re-borrow. Of course other factors come into play when applying for this type of credit line. These include any additional outstanding debt, your financial history and your income. However, after you are approved you can borrow money up to the amount of the credit line whenever you need by using a check or credit card that has been furnished to you by the lender.

Home equity credit lines you will be given a specific period of time in which to borrow the money. At the end of the draw period your line converts to a traditional term loan with a repayment schedule. Do not forget to pay your 2nd mortgage payment on time.

Some lenders will offer a discounted interest rate on home equity loans, but chances are good that the lower interest rate will only apply for the first three to six months of the loan. If you choose an option with a variable interest rate you will find that your monthly payments will change as interest rates change. If you decide to sell your house you will also be expected to pay off the home equity line you have borrowed.

According to, Andrew Christie, who has been a loan originator for over seven years, "thel oan business goes up and down with interest rates, but consumer debt continues to rise." Christie continued, "The most important consideration for borrowers is how much money can they save by refinancing.?

Along the same lines of a home equity loan comes the fixed rate home equity loan with set monthly payments, as well as a set time period of repayment. The fixed rate home equity loan is typically secured by either a first or second mortgage and the loan can be granted for up to several years or more. Remember too that there is usually closing costs associated with establishing a line of credit or equity loan. Remember the cost versus the reward, when considering loan options.

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Predatory Lending Through Loan Steering

With the real estate industry still in high gear from the last five years of skyrocketing prices and low interest rates, predatory lending is at an all time high. The term has no hard definition, but it generally refers to those lenders who go out of their way to offer loans to buyers at substantially higher prices than those buyers would be able to find elsewhere. Predatory lending is a profitable business, and it is often disguised as legitimate lending by unscrupulous lenders or their agents.

It often works like this: An agent working for a lender, perhaps on their own, tells a prospective loan applicant that he or she doesn't qualify for the mortgage for which they applied. The agent adds that not only will this lender not approve them for a mortgage, but in all likelihood, neither will any other major lender. The agent then assures the borrower that everything will be all right, because he knows of a lender that can get the customer a loan.

At that point, he refers the customer to this other lender, with whom he is working. This lender will make a loan available to the buyer, but the loan has a high interest rate, exceedingly high closing costs, and a prepayment penalty that will make it quite difficult for the buyer to refinance later. The buyer, not knowing any better and feeling as though he or she cannot do any better elsewhere, signs the contract and accepts the high-priced loan.

The shady dealings don't end there. Often, such predatory lenders are interested in not only the loan proceeds, but the property itself. By offering high priced loans to people who may have credit and/or income problems, the lenders may be banking on the buyer being unable to meet their monthly mortgage payment. Once the buyer defaults, the lender can take the property through foreclosure and sell it at a profit. The lender gets property that they can easily sell, and the agent gets a commission from the loan and another kickback once the house is sold. The buyer, unfortunately, is left with damaged credit and no place to live.

Loan steering, as this practice is called, is most common in areas where buyers are poor or have credit histories that may make them less likely to qualify for a loan with a major lender. The people who practice this form of predatory lending are easily able to take advantage of customers who either don't know any better or those who think they cannot find a better deal with another lender.

If a lender denies your loan application and assures you that no one else will lend to you and then offers to send you to someone who will, be suspicious. It's much easier to simply check with other lenders yourself than to fall into a predatory lending trap.

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Mortgage Lenders- Useful Guidepost About Best Mortgage Plans

I am sure your quest for mortgage lenders has come to an end as you read this article. Yes, gone are those days when we have to search endlessly for mortgage lenders information or other such information like amortization schedules, home loans for people with bad credit, bad credit mortgage refinance or even current mortgage rate. Even without articles such as this, with the Internet all you have to do is log on and use any of the search engines to find the mortgage lenders information you need.

First, the loan officer prepares the necessary documents for the mortgage application. Then, the loan officer enters the personal and credit information into the underwriting system. The system checks the qualification of the information. Eventually, the loan officer gets the qualified application. Then, the loan officer sends the qualified application to the mortgage underwriter. The mortgage underwriter verifies the documents including pay stubs, and bank statements. If there are missing documents and unsatisfactory documents, the mortgage underwriter asks the borrower to provide the documents. This makes sure that the borrower has enough income to pay off the mortgage. Finally, the mortgage underwriter gives the final approval.

Recently, the mortgage lenders suffered from mortgage meltdown. The interest rate went up high enough that the borrower could not repay the mortgage. There were so many foreclosures. In this instance, the capped mortgage could have been advantageous for the borrower.

Mortgage life insurance is voluntarily. It is the decision of the borrower to sign up for the mortgage life insurance. In order to see the need, the borrower must sit with a certified insurance agent. The insurance agent will analyze the overall financial picture of the borrower.

Don't forget that even if your immediate mortgage lenders quest isn't answered in this article, you could even take it further by doing a search on Google Dot Com to get specific mortgage lenders information.

A re mortgage is a popular term in UK. Basically, the Re mortgage means mortgage refinancing. Mortgage refinancing is a process to switch from one mortgage to another. It can be on the current mortgage lender, or different mortgage lender. Mainly, the borrower switches mortgage to save money on the mortgage.

A mortgage calculator is a useful tool to help you budget for your new mortgage. A good mortgage calculator allows you to calculate your monthly payments based on your desired interest rate, taxes, and insurance. Here is how this useful tool can help you avoid common mistakes when refinancing your mortgage.

There are two types of mortgage insurance. With one, you might not have a choice as to whether you have it. Private mortgage insurance is insurance that will protect your lender should you default on your loan. If your down payment is less than 20 percent of your property's value, you likely won't have a choice about whether you have private mortgage insurance; it's required. However, with mortgage life insurance, you get to decide.

Many people searching for mortgage lenders also searched online for mortgage calculator, discount mortgage, and even quality mortgage leads.

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