How to Rebuild Your Credit

Once your finances are stabilized, you can re-establish credit: in fact “INSTANT CREDIT” is a reality. HOW? The first step is getting a SECURED CREDIT CARD. Anyone can have a Visa card or MasterCard from that is a line of credit based on your savings balance. With the card, you are covered for emergencies, car rentals or hotel reservations. Your good payment record on this card will start your “new” credit record off right.

Below are a few companies you can contact for a secured card:

• Capital OneP.O. Box 85547
  Richmond, VA 23286
  (800) 955-7070 (ok)
  www.capitalone.com
• HSBC
  P.O. Box 60102
  City of Industry, CA 91716-0102
  (800) 753-6529
  www.hsbccreditcard.com
• Merrick Bank
  PO Box 9201
  Old Bethpage, NY 11804-9001
  (800) 253-2322
  www.merrickbank.com/products.aspx
• Bank of America – Secured Visa CardP.O. Box 53132
  Phoenix, AZ 85072-3132
  (800) 732-9194
  www.bankofamerica.com/creditcards

A second option for establishing credit is with department store credit cards. Once you have obtained a secured credit card, many department store credit departments will issue a department store credit card without running a credit check when you show them your MasterCard or Visa.Below are a few companies where you can get department credit cards:

Aspire Card

1148 Broadway
Columbus, GA 31901
www.aspire.com

PO Box 8801
Wilmington, DE 19899-8801
(302) 622-8990

https://cards.barclaycardus.com/

A second option for establishing credit is with department store credit cards. Once you have obtained a secured credit card, many department store credit departments will issue a department store credit card without running a credit check when you show them your MasterCard or Visa.Below are a few companies where you can get department credit cards:

Star Fine Furniture

3727 Broadway
Galveston, Texas 77550
(409) 762-7821
www.startfinefurniture.com

Gallery Furniture

2411 Post Oak Blvd.
2411 Post Oak Blvd.
(713) 694-5570
www.galleryfurniture.com

Lacks Home Furnishings

2501 Texas Avenue
College Station, Texas 77840
(979) 695-9022
www.lacks.com

Galveston Furniture

PO Box 9201
4214 Broadway, Galveston, TX 77550, (409) 762-3213
www.galvestonfurniture.com

A third step is to get a secured bank loan. Go to a bank officer and explain that your are trying to get reestablished. Ask his or her assistance in opening a savings account and obtaining a personal loan secured by the savings account. Keep trying until you find a bank that will help. A fourth step to establish credit is by purchasing an automobile from a local car dealer who advertises that it specializes in making car loans to persons with bad credit or recent bankruptcies. There are lenders available who understand people who have gone through financial difficulties and can assist you in rebuilding your credit. Below are a few companies you can contact for an automobile loan:

HED Auto Sales

1311 N. Shepherd (at 610 North Loop)
Houston, TX 77008
(713) 863-1477

Champion Ford (Horace Sutter)

20777 Katy Freeway, Katy, TX 77450,
Phone:281-5199100
Fax: 281-675-4777

Joe Myers Ford

16634 Northwest
Houston, TX 77040
(866) 374-9554

Davis Chevrolet (Cory Middleton)

2277 South Loop West
Houston, TX 77054
Phone: 713-794-2500/
Fax: 713-794-2589

Joe Myers Kia Mazda

16634 Northwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77040
(866) 374-9554
www.joemyerskia.com

Gillman Mitsubishi (Cruz Gonzalez)

12311 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX, 77079
281-496-8709

https://www.hubmitsubishiofkaty.com/

Mac Haik Ford/Chevrolet

11711 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX 77079
(281) 509-9085
www.machaikchevy.com

Gillman Lincoln-Mercury

3501 BF Terry Blvd.
Houston, TX 77471
281-342-6363

Joe Myers Toyota

19010 Northwest Freeway
Houston, TX 77065
(866) 374-7400
www.joemyerstoyota.com

HSBC Auto Finance (National Lender)

941 Corporate Center Drive
Pomona, CA 91768
(877) 367-4222

Caldwell Country Pre-Owned

2310 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South, College Station,
Texas 77845
(979)260-6569

Douglass Nissan

1001 Earl Rudder Freeway S
College Station, TX 77845
(979) 764-7726

Another option in getting back in control of your finances is to get lower automobile insurance rates. Most people use State Farm, Farmers Insurance, to name a few. These agencies are middlemen for the insurance companies and thus charge a fee for this service. However, you can usually save up to 15% on your insurance premiums. Consider checking with these following companies:

GEICO Toll Free: 1-800-861-8380
Nationwide Insurance: Barhorst Agency 713-856-5533 (five locations)
AUTO INSURANCE DISCOUNTERS: 713-789-2886 (numerous Houston locations)

Stay away from the high interest easy credit that you will be offered. Take steps to budget properly: do not spend beyond your means, and resist the temptation to incur debt beyond your reasonable ability to repay just for the purpose of re-establishing credit. The best thing to do is not charge anything unless you know you can pay if of when the bill comes in! After you have made payments, have your account re-verified and your credit file updated by the credit bureau.

The fifth step in reestablishing your credit is to purchase a home. Within one year after eliminating your debt, you can qualify for a bank loan to purchase a home. Within two years, you can qualify for a bank loan to purchase a home, and can qualify for the lowest interest rate loans for the purchase of a home-the FHA/VA backed government loans that people with the best credit rating get. This can be done with having good credit since you eliminated your debt in bankruptcy, even though your credit record still shows the bankruptcy or debt consolidation bankruptcy, it will not prevent your from qualifying.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING A HOME OR REFINANCING A HOME, THE FOLLOWING LOCAL MORTGAGE BROKERS MAY BE ABLE TO HELP:

• 
  First National Bank of Texas
  (800) 677-9801
  www.1stnb.com
  First National is a second chance bank and is mostly located in Kroger stores.
• 
  Bank of Texas
  Second Chance Checking Account
  (800) 346-5312 or (713) 578-3500
  www.bankoftexas.com
  Bank of Texas has 13 Houston locations
• 
  IBC Bank
  (713) 526-1211
  www.ibc.com
  various Houston locations IBC does verify accounts through Chex Systems
• 
  Prosperity Bank
  (713) 693-9250
  www.statebanktx.com
  various Houston locations Prosperity verifies accounts through Tele-Check: not Chex Systems
• 
  Wells Fargo
  Opportunity Checking
  (800) 869-3557
  www.wellsfargo.com
  Various Houston locations

Avoid being enticed by so called “credit repair” agencies. These are often simply unregulated rip-offs, who prey on the financially-distressed, and who do nothing more than what you can do for yourself by exercising your legal right to have your credit reports properly list your outstanding obligations or use temporary tactics to remove negative marks on your credit report that come back on your report in thirty days. The credit report agencies have wised up to these tactics. Be aware that credit approval is based on a composite “score” including several elements. The most significant elements of a positive up to date credit report, a home with mortgage payments current, a job you’ve held for a year or more, a czaurrent or paid off bank loan, current credit card payments and a telephone and checking account in your name.

Establish or strengthen as many of these elements as possible. You can start reestablishing your credit right away after filing bankruptcy or debt consolidation. Learn to control your finances and avoid using credit improperly. Be aware of your “Credit of Rights”. Under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Related laws, you have the right to:

• Obtain from a credit bureau a report of what is in your credit file.
• Know how has inquired into your credit file-stores, bankers, employers, others.
• Request verification by the credit bureau if information is incorrect.
• Get missing data added to your file.
• Have detrimental credit information removed from your file after seven years and bankruptcy information after ten years. Most agencies will remove your debt consolidation bankruptcy after six years.
• Put your side of the story in your credit file.
• Privacy of the information in your file from anyone other than legitimate members of the credit-reporting agency.
• Have your credit report transferred from one area to another any time you move.
• Use small claims court to resolve any disputes with the credit bureau about incorrect, inaccurate information in you file.
• Know exactly why you were refused credit. You must contact the institution refusing credit within ten days.
• Remain silent about poor credit information that does not currently appear in our file.

WHAT OPTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES DO I HAVE REGARDING MY DEBT?

If you are having trouble paying your bills, you can take control of your debts now! We offer no hassle consultation that will give you all of your alternatives regarding your unique financial situation. We do not work for bill collectors or credit card companies. We represent families and individuals like you. My firm has helped thousands of families and small businesses with the same problems you are facing right now. You need to have an open mind to explore all of your options for yourself and for your family.

The First Priority is to get your finances under control. You need to work out the best strategy for your specific situation. Do not be controlled by what you think will look good on your credit report. Most of us get our information about credit and debt from biased sources like card companies, bill collectors, and the media. In most cases, we get information from family members and friends that are well intentioned but are uninformed, or have incorrect information.

Your credit is determined by a number of things. It is not enough to be current on your credit cards to have good credit. We have always been told that if you pay all of your bills and credit cards then you have good credit. This is not true. The question that any banker wants to know is how much money do you have left at the end of the month after you pay all of your living expenses and credit card bills. If you have no money left, then you have what is called a negative debt ratio and no bank will loan you money. You do not have to believe me, go ask your banker. Ask for a personal loan and find out what he or she says. Why won’t they loan you any money? Because you have no money left to pay for any additional monthly payments. What about those minimum payments you make on credit cards? Do you make your minimum payments and see the balances go down very little? You have a number of options regarding your debt. Some options work and some do not.

Your first option is to borrow money from family and friends. I seldom recommend this option because if you are having trouble paying bills you may not be able to pay back the loan and you might injure valuable personal relationships. Your second option is to go to a bank for a loan. Banks look at two things. First, you have to be current on all of your credit cards and bills and you have to have money left at the end of the month to afford another loan payment. In most cases this option is not available. A third option is to use a bill consolidation service. Most of these services advertise as being non-profit organizations and state that they are a free service. This should concern you, as all companies have to pay rent and salaries. However, it sounds good and many people choose this option. In some cases they are able to combine your credit cards into one payment and may reduce the interest. They can only help with credit card companies and some credit card companies will not agree to the arrangement. With a bill consolidation service, you pay a monthly payment based on what you have left at the end of the month and it all goes toward the credit cards. The consolidation service gets a percentage of what you pay from the credit card companies. You pay the full amount of the debt, and in most cases it takes five years to pay off the debt. During this time you have no money left at the end of the money, no money for emergencies, you have negative credit the entire time and you cannot start rebuilding credit until after you pay the debt in full.

A fourth option is to consider using federal law to help with your debt problems. In most cases you can eliminate debt and start rebuilding credit after only four month instead of four to six years. This handout also services as a “Credit Repair Kit” for you to rebuild credit. The responsible use of the federal bankruptcy laws can allow you some much-needed breathing room and a fresh start on our financial matters. Actually, filing under the bankruptcy code can be the first step in re-establishing your credit! What do you mean? I’ve heard a bankruptcy case stays on my credit report for ten years! It’s true, although most credit bureaus remove a bill consolidation bankruptcy after six years. Other negative information stays on the report for seven years, so that’s not better, and if you do not do something, your credit report just keeps getting worse and worse. The fact is a bankruptcy or debt consolidation bankruptcy provides a CUT OFF POINT for a FRESH START (once you set a discharge, you balance on the debts discharged should be-0-zeroed out). You can get credit right away after a bankruptcy case. All you have to do is follow the steps in this handout and you can rebuild credit fast. There are two types of bankruptcy cases available. Straight bankruptcy, chapter 7, & and debt consolidation bankruptcy, chapter 13. Today you will learn the difference between the two, and how they apply to your financial situation.

We offer a No-Hassle consultation for you to evaluate all of your options. My opinion is that you cannot make the best decision about what to do with your financial situation until you know all of the facts about all of your options. We provide that information. The debt consolidation services and banks do not want you to know this information. Why? Because they make money when you sign up with them. The debt consolidation services want you to believe the old line that your financial life will be over if you consider filing bankruptcy. This is simply not true. What does your financial life look like right now? Can you easily manage your payments? Can you borrow money from a bank? Do you have money saved for emergencies, for retirement? If you qualify, bankruptcy or debt consolidation may be your best alternative and on the other hand, it may not.

So for the moment, read my lips! FORGET CREDIT!! Focus on getting back on your feet financially. Credit problems begin with denial of the problem. You may have a credit problem if:

• You cannot afford the minimum monthly payment on your bills.
• You only send in minimum monthly payment on your bills.
• You don’t have a budget worked out.
• You have recently been turned down for credit or a loan.
• Your creditors keep calling you for payment.
• You carry a balance on your gas card.
• You carry a balance on your department store cards.
• You don’t have two months living expenses in the bank.

Concentrate on getting your finances straightened out. At the same time, break loose from the SNOW JOB constantly pushed at us that credit is good for you. Consumer credit earns huge profits for credit card companies from interest charges which you and I pay with money we could much better use for our family and for savings. One of the most important financial lessons anyone can learn is: avoid credit except for buying something that can increase in value, like a home.

What about leaving a credit card out of your bankruptcy or debt consolidation? If you owe a balance, the law requires that you list the creditor. Some argue that you needn’t list a card with a zero balance. Keeping a card can be dangerous, though, because it is all too easy to get right back into trouble with credit! We extend our sincere best wishes in your efforts to achieve financial control and the peace of mind that goes with it! Thank you for coming in today to learn about all of your options. Our telephone number is 1-(866)-912-9832, and please visit us at www.busby-lee.com.