My husband and I have been renting for a long time now, and are really wanting to buy our own home.  We have recently spoken with a morgate company that told us we needed to raise our score 50+ points just to qualify for a loan.  He has a bancruptcy from 2002 and a voluntary repo (which by the way we were told would not effect us the same way as a repo, since we turned in the car before they even talked about repo… we just could not afford the payments anymore due to some medical issues that kept on bed rest for a few months with my 2nd child… well everyones got their story, so the point was that we were told it would be ok, they would auction if off, and we would get any extra back… of course the auctioned it for 5000 less than was owed. hard to believe, but oh well)…so back to what i was saying, there are his problems with credit, mine are all medical bills, and 1 credit card that i didn’t pay for like a year when i turned 17, but finally paid off, we can be stupid when we are young. 

So, now because of our past mistakes we can not get a loan, but we can also not get a credit card.  I have heard of the credit cards where you put the money in and then basically use your money to pay back your money, and I think you get charged pretty big fees for this.  I think it’s called a secured credit card?  Well, I do not have a problem doing this if it will help, my concern is if it will really help, and approx. how long it takes using one of these things before you can get an actual credit card, and then from there how long it can take to raise a credit score.  I read that new credit only acounts for 10% of your FICO score, so could it be years and years before we can ever own our own home. 

Is there any other way to raise my score?  we have always paid our rent, and our utility bills, and our insurance, I feel like we should get some credit for those things.  Well, sorry this was so long, I could keep going, but I am afraid you will just get tired of reading.  Any help would be GREAT appreciated. 
 
Thanks so much, have a blessed day,

Elizabeth (more…)

I am currently in the process of doing a short sale on a rental property that I own in FL.  The first lender has given final approval and offered the second $3000 which they indicated they would accept (balance on the second is roughly $45000).  I recently received a phone call from Wachovia (the second lienholder) saying that they intended to pursue a judgement against me for the balance of the loan.  I have two questions. 

First, given that I have not signed the final closing docs yet, what is the best strategy for getting a release of liability from both lenders?

Second, if I am unsuccessful in getting the release and I still agree to close, is the judgement that Wachovia would get against me an unsecured debt at that point, or can they lien my primary residence (which is in NC)? 

I was just beginning to feel like the end of this nightmare was finally approaching and that I would be able to walk away and begin the process of rebuilding my savings and my credit.  Now it looks as though this could be hanging over me for years and possibly forcing me to declare bankruptcy.  I should mention that I have no savings left after pouring tens of thousands into repairs, improvements and carrying costs trying to get this house sold and satisfy my obligations.  There is simply no way that I can afford to pay back the $45,000.  Thanks so much for your help.

Melissa (more…)

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

I live in MN, bought a house when I was an eager 26yr old and my wife even younger.. fixed 30yr, not adjustable , we were cautious and did research etc.. we made all the right decisions, 3 yrs later the house value is down by 10K (I know I’m lucky its only 10K down) and I have spent close to 20K over the last 3 yrs fixing up and maintaining the house not to count sweat hours. The value continues to decline. The sacrifices I put in the house and continue to have to make have become too much on me and my family’s financial situation we live pay check to paycheck.

We want out. I met with Realtors, the cheapest one charges 5%. This will mean if I sell the house for a reasonable price i will bring to the closing table $12000, any reduction of the selling price brings this number up, could become $15000. I do NOT have that money, I dont even have $500 of free  cash. I want to sell, I’m looking at getting a loan so i could pay the 15k at closing and sell the house if i’m lucky. The other option is to just walk away, foreclose, save myself this $15000 that I don’t have. I do to want to prevent foreclosure , i want to expedite it and move on.

The question is: The Note is in my name, I am married, the house is in both my wife’s and my name, but the note is only in my name because i tried hard to get the mortgage on my name not hers initially since I had better credit score then so the loan was issued to me. Last week, I ran credit history on us, the mortgage shows on mine and not hers. If we foreclose on the house, will the foreclosure only show on my history? can we assume that since her history doesnt have the mortgage loan now that it wont have the foreclosure later so at least one of us had good history, buying the house was my idea and it failed us, I’d hate to ruin my wifes credit as well, we’ve been through enough

Ethan (more…)

How is an APR calculated? If I have a loan that adjusts in the first two years, does the APR adjust too?

I have a 7.3% initial rate with a 6.5% LIBOR spread and a cap of 14.25%

Thanks!

Jenny (more…)

Great site!

I was wondering about HOEPA violations on a mortgage. Is there a statute of limitations on a federal HOEPA loan? I live in California–there doesn’t seem to be any time limits on the comparable California version.

If the right to rescind a violation is unlimited under TILA when you’ve been in foreclosure, is it also the same for HOEPA?

I was reading the law and it says that there are ‘enhanced damages’ described as fees and points. Are the payments made on the loan part of the fees and points? Does this mean that whatever they are–you get double back if there’s a violation?

Amalia (more…)

I have been in ch13 for 3 years. I was scheduled for 3 years of 500 a month. I have always paid early. My trustee is impossible to get ahold of and when I do they never answer my question right there and never call me back as promised. The same goes for my attorney. Is it right they get paid from the payment to the trustee if they don’t do their job. It is so bad that I moved 2 years ago and changed my address with them 4 times and my 6 month statement still goes to the old address.

Now to the real question. Am I done?

I began paying in sept 05 and made my august payment and 3 days later recieved my 6 month statememnt syaing the balance I owe after my july payment I paid that. This was 2 weeks ago and to test to see if my credit was unlocked I went to the car dealership and applied for a loan My score was 632 (was 381 when I filed). I was denied the loan because I am in bankruptcy.

Is it my responsibility to fight the sale of my bankruptcy debt or the attorney. I was instructed to never contact the creditor. Please help.

This was not supposed to effect my military career at all thats why I went and used a lawyer out in town instead of the free base legal. Now I have to get out in april because I lost my security clearance with a wife and 2 kids. 8 years in the Marines down the drain now I have to start all over in a civilian job. Yeah my life.

John (more…)

can we buy a house and be approved for a loan after a short sale since our monthly expenses would have gone down drastically….

Irene (more…)

Once again, I see that many Broken Credit Bloggers will be purchasing homes in the near future.  The Credit Repair Seminar Survey says!  The registration page of our free credit repair seminar asks the following question:

“What would you most like to accomplish AFTER raising your credit score?”

Here are thirty recent responses:

1. purchase a home
2. Refinance 1st and 2nd mortgages
3. buy a house
4. Refinance Home Mortgage
5. 1. purchase a home with a good apr 2. finance a new/used vehicle with a good apr
6. a fresh start w/o filing for bankruptcy
7. Buy a yacht
8. Purchase a home, refinance my vehicle, and obtain non secured credit cards instead of secured ones that I currently have.
9. Refinance our home
10. To buy a new home
11. WE have just sold on a short sale and would like to purchase new home in different state where we have moved.
12. Refinance home
13. Refi/buy a house which is currently jointly owned with my ex wife.
14. Purchase a home.
15. Build a Home
16. Buy a house and a car
17. Nothing specific.  I would just like to have a higher score so I will not have an issue obtaining credit in the future if I needed to.
18. buy another house
19. purchase a home.
20. buy a home
21. consolidate bills be debt free to qualify for a mortgage.
22. buy a house
23. purchase a home
24. find a new home.
25. purchase a larger home
26. PURCHASE HOME
27. I would like to purchase a home
28. pay off bills
29. Be able to reduce interest rates and ultimately work towards becoming debt free.
30. apply for a home loan

Loss Mitigation Time, LLC is pre-approving short sales throughout the state of Florida.  There are no upfront costs for this service.  LMT collects its fee at closing.  No closing = No fee.  Here are the requirements:

• Property must be a single family home
• Total indebtedness must be less than $400,000
• Hardship must be documentable

If you are a seller of a property that is a short sale or if you are a real estate agent of a property that is a short sale in Florida, then call 727-230-7047 for details.

BTW, yours truly is overseeing the Florida Short Sale Dream Team.  Paul@LossMitigationTime.com