by Jon Terry | Mar 20, 2012 | Blog, Personal Finance
Credit scores play a huge role in today’s mortgage market — larger than at any time in recent history. Blame it on the high default rates of the last half-decade. Lenders are reserving their lowest rates for the customers most likely to make on-time...
by Jon Terry | Oct 11, 2011 | Blog, Buying A Home, Buying in a Recession, Credit, Foreclosure, Mortgages, Residential Real Estate, Short Sale
In these difficult economic times, I am commonly asked whether it would be better to have a short sale or a foreclosure on ones credit report. The answer is complicated and has lot of moving parts. A short sale shows up on your credit report as a “derogatory...
by Jon Terry | Aug 3, 2011 | Blog, Buying A Home, Credit, Mortgages
When an individual’s income starts growing and they manage to set aside some savings, they commonly experience what may be considered an innate instinct of modern civilized mankind: the desire to spend money. Since North Americans have a special love affair with...
by Jon Terry | Jun 30, 2011 | Blog, Selling a Home
For years, you could dispute anything on your credit report that you believed to be inaccurate and the act of doing so would not be counted against you. While you still can dispute anything on your credit report according to the Federal Credit Reporting Act, you might...
by Jon Terry | Mar 22, 2011 | Blog, Credit
Here are 5 major factors that could hurt your score: 35% of the score depends on payment history, taking into account late payments. (One late pay could cost you 75 to 100 points). It is important to pay your bills on time. 30% depends on how much debt you have. Your...
