WHY ISN'T MY FICO SCORE AN 850 WHEN I HAVE MILLIONS IN THE BANK AND PAID MANY LARGE LOANS IN FULL?

How many times over the past twenty five years have I been asked this question by frustrated individuals who feel like a failure due to a FICO score lower than a 780?  The answer is hundreds!

Most people are very confused by the way credit scores work and how they represent who we are financially. Credit scores are an indicator of how we pay back and manage debt.  Having a lot of money does not mean a lender can automatically assume the borrower will pay back a loan.  Some very wealthy individuals default on debts and ignore making timely payments.  The only way a lender can really make an educated guess is by seeing how an individual manages current open and active accounts as well as past credit.  By looking at the history plus what management skills a consumer is using now can allow a lender to get a snapshot view of risk without visiting the borrowers hometown and speaking with all of his friends, business associates, and local creditors. This is a much more practical alternative than the old method before scores were created of visiting the borrowers hometown and speaking with all of his friends, business associates, and local creditors.  

One factor that could weigh heavily on a borrower's credit score is a lack of open and active current credit.  For example, if you have paid off two thirty year mortgages three years ago, as well as no credit card use in the past two years, you may find you don't even have a credit score.  Having open and active credit shows the lender you are currently in the credit game and that your skills are sharp.  What happened in the past won't help you if you have no active open credit.  This means you MUST use the credit cards you have at least a few months out of each year or you may lose your score.  Other effects of this example could be point reductions for inactivity and even creditors closing a card due to lack of use.  Unfortunately, what you have done in the past won't help you if there is no current active use of credit.   As long as you have primary open credit that is active showing on your credit reports, the score will give you extra points for the old closed credit that is still reported on your profile. 

A good well rounded credit portfolio is also a great asset to scores.  Without a variety of credit including installment, revolving, and mortgages, a score may wind up being lower than its potential.  Having credit cards, car loans, student loans, and mortgages makes a consumer more attractive because it shows an ability to manage many kinds of credit at once.  If all these accounts have a good payment history and are seasoned (older accounts) it tells a lender that you can juggle credit well.  Having the ability to juggle credit gracefully makes you a more reliable borrower.

There are many consumers that feel without the highest score they are a failure; which is far from the truth.  The FICO score ranges from a 300-850.  Anything above a 740 is considered excellent.  Having an 820 FICO score is as common as winning multi-millions in the lottery.  If a consumer has an 820 credit score they should have a party instead of crying over the 30 points missing from the top of the range.  Even a 780 is an amazing score and since credit is always changing due to balance increases/reductions, opening/closing credit, and inactivity of credit, it is very hard to keep scores at a set number.  To have the highest credit scores, a consumer should have low balances on revolving credit, old average age of credit, a good variety of credit that is open and active, and great payment history.

Call us with any questions about your credit challenges at 877-292-0656 or visit us at www.precisioncreditrestoration.com!

Making sure credit is analyzed with future financial goals in mind is a MUST before taking an action that can foil those plans and limit a consumers options for a better quality financial life.

Make Precision Your Decision!

Is It True That Credit Card Grantors Can Close An Individuals Accounts Without Notice?

Many of us have found ourselves in a position over the past 5-7 years where one or more of our credit cards were surprisingly closed by the creditors. It is usually a shock and never seems to come at a good time. Even those with excellent credit and no need for the extra credit card feel slighted when they find out they have been rejected for continuing use of a credit card. Some even try to fight the creditor to re-open it with no success. The worst is when a creditor closes a credit card on us right before we are applying for a mortgage, causing our score to plummet. When balance to limit ratio's change due to a reduction in the aggregate limit, it could drop scores substantially, depending on the current balance.

For example, if we have $50,000 of credit card debt with a $25,000 balance and a card closes that has a $25,000 limit we have gone from 50% balance to limit ratio to 100%. This action could drop our scores 50-100 points depending on our current FICO scores. This drop could cause a rejection for a mortgage or a much higher interest rate, costing us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the term of the mortgage.

How could this be that creditors are allowed to just close credit cards on us without notifying us in advance?  Isn't this wrong and illegal?  Unfortunately, the answer is that it may be wrong to us but it is completely legal. Since the Credit Card Act of 2009, many changes were made to protect the consumers interest but not regarding creditor's closing credit cards.

Creditors can close accounts for many reasons and some seem quite legitimate, like late payments occurring, going over the limit, and filing a bankruptcy. Creditors can also watch your credit reports and assess your spending, payment patterns, and management habits. If they feel you are carrying balances with other creditors that might make you a riskier bet they can shut you down without warning. Inactivity of credit is a common reason creditors close accounts as well, so if you don't use your credit card accounts at all they may pull the plug. Also, if you open too many accounts in a short time your ability to manage all of that new credit at once may be questionable.  

A creditor can close a credit card account for a delinquency, inactivity, or default without informing the consumer.  When creditors close accounts due to poor credit they have to notify the card holder 30 days after the closing. Although it may seem wrong to take this action against the consumer without warning, there are valid reasons. Although many consumers would not take a negative action some would spitefully rack up charges once they know the account is closing, having no intention to pay them back.   

So how can consumers protect themselves from credit cards closing by the grantor?     

1. First keeping low to moderate balances is a great help. Trying to stay at 20 - 30% aggregate and individual balance to limit ratios on credit cards is a good way to keep the credit risk alarms from going off. 
2. Making sure all credit cards are active a few months out of the year is a great idea. Consumers don't have to charge a lot of money in those few months they just need to make a small purchase.
3. For those who have many cards and only carry a few with them they can put recurring auto pay memberships on the cards they don't carry like EZ pass, gym memberships, etc. 
4. Making sure your credit is excellent and keeping it that way will also insure you look your best for those watching. Those with poor credit should search out an excellent credit repair company and get a free assessment of what can be done. 
5. Many credit monitoring products help you daily, weekly, monthly to evaluate your credit standing while watching your balances. This is a great way to stay on track of your credit activity.
6. Only opening new accounts when you have strategically decided it is the right time and the right credit account. Randomly opening credit is never a good thing.

Some consumers are under the false impression that if credit is closed by the consumer it impacts them less than when the creditor closes the account. This is totally false. The scores can drop just as much depending on many factors including the balance to limit ratios on revolving credit.  

Call us with any questions or feedback on credit challenged clients or credit in general!

     

Making sure credit is analyzed with future financial goals in mind is a MUST before taking an action that can foil those plans and limit a consumers options for a better quality financial life.  

It's NOT that complicated.

People are always looking for the magic pill to success and accomplishments.  Things aren't nearly as complicated as we make them seem sometimes; however it does require work and dedication.  If you want to lose weight you take in less calories with your food and burn calories working out.  It's a simple formula yet we tend to make it harder than it needs to be.  It's all about dedication.  The same goes for your credit status! If you want it to grow, you learn how. If you want higher limit credit cards, you learn the strategies to attract them. If you want to get approved for a low APR interest rate car loan, you learn what type of criteria they are looking for and strive to achieve it. If you want excellent credit you seek a credit repair consultant who knows how to achieve great results and who will walk you through the steps to get there.

If you want to achieve excellent credit, then move with speed, keep quiet and stick to your guns. You don't need validation from unqualified people about your credit status.  Think really hard about who you are sharing and seeking input from! Are they successful themselves? Are they go-getters? Are they positive uplifting people? I'm pretty sure the answer is NO in most cases.  And then the next question is WHY in the world are you wasting your time trying to get validation from THEM of all people?  They may have their own reasons for the reservations but they should not become yours.

Here's the deal. Nobody is in the trenches with you working on your finances. Nobody has the vision you have better than you and nobody is making the monetary and time investments that you are.  And with that being said, nobody's unqualified opinion should be entertained. Seek EMPOWERMENT from those who are willing to help you achieve your goals and who have expertise in that area, seek EDUCATION on your credit rights and things the credit bureaus don't want you to know, and seek ways to ELEVATE your credit scores to new heights.

No matter what your credit challenges are, the GREAT part is that there is a solution for them.  But YOU have to WANT the solution. You have to take action on getting what you want.  Nobody can do that for you...except you!  Don't let other people's opinion affect your decisions because at the end of the day how is their opinion helping you?
 
To join motivated, progressive individuals and business owners looking to solve their challenges, contact The Credit Repair Queen for a FREE consultation at 877-292-0656.  
 
Don't miss a chance to use my NO EXCUSES plan that allows ANY individual serious about their credit, to get what he or she needs!
 
Cheers to A+ Credit
 
Stephanie "The Credit Repair" Lawrence

Get Your Time Back!

Procrastination is killing consumers everywhere! Having working with hundreds and hundreds of individuals, I know first-hand how a lack of focus and discipline is hindering their success.  When I get down to the core of what is going on, I always hear the same excuse.: "I just don't have enough time."  I know people stay busy, juggling many, many things in life nobody and knows that better than me because I am in the same boat!

But there is a way to ensure that you put the effort you need into your financial worthiness so that it can grow and expand and so can your lifestyle. First off, most of us have a way of avoiding doing the important things in our life that we either don't like to do, or we don't know how to do!  We distract ourselves by doing meaningless work and fooling ourselves into thinking we are really doing something - NOT!  So in order to get real with ourselves, it requires being honest and taking inventory of just where we are putting our time and attention in life. 

What about your budget, what about cleaning up your credit, what about paying off old debt? Pay attention to your daily habits.  How much time are you spending on the phone talking about unimportant things with your friends...how much time are you spending on text message conversations about much of nothing? How many favorite TV shows do you just HAVE to watch that are sucking precious hours out of your life and taking away from your business... a lot of reality shows, right?

If you walk around with a journal for a few days and log the hours you are engaging in such activities, you will find the time you swore you didn't have to put into your financial status to take it to the next level.

It starts with some deep soul-searching and evaluation.  As crazy as it sounds, if you just go through this simple exercise, you will uncover the MUCH needed precious time you didn't think existed.

Seriously - what's more important?  Your credit or the Housewives? LOL

Until next time...

Cheers to Excellent Credit,

Stephanie "The Credit Repair Queen" Lawrence

P.S.  Contact The Credit Repair Queen for a FREE consultation at 877-292-0656 to discover how we can revamp your credit rating and improve your quality of life. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Do You Have These 3 Core Essentials? Faith, Focus, and Action!

I attended an awesome Women's Entrepreneur Event back in July and the key concepts that were discussed by one of the great speakers still resonate with me today so I decided to share them with you. 

As one of the guest speakers, Ms. Chereace Richards, was speaking she shared some extremely wise words with all of us! Her book (The Journey To Becoming Who You Are) challenges you to have Faith, Focus and Action. She explained that you can have faith, but never take action or get focused.  Or you can be focused, but you don't have faith.  Or how about taking action, but never staying focused OR having any faith?  What happens then?   NOTHING!

The concepts are brilliant! Having worked with so many people over the years, I can tell you that most have faith but never take action or take action but don't have the necessary faith!  I can also tell you that it's a challenge for many individuals and entrepreneurs to stay focused because of life distractions, unwillingness to invest in self, and getting caught up in the NEXT BIG THING SYNDROME!

Here is the very blunt truth of it. People struggle with taking action.  People struggle with taking a chance on themselves because they are paralyzed by fear.  People struggle with investing in themselves because although they WANT the end result, they somehow convince themselves they can figure it out on their own.  I remember having that feeling…it was scary…but you know what I was completely focused, I jumped out there on my FAITH and took IMMEDIATE ACTION.

Vacations, clothes, new shoes and girl's weekends are easy decisions for women to make.  A lot of convincing doesn't go into booking a trip.

Investing in a class, seminar, event, mentor or coach however is another story.  You second guess, you come up with excuses why not and you push it to the back of your mind even though you know having great credit is an incredibly important asset in today's world.  You can have a sufficient income but without good credit, you pretty much are doomed.   Remember that seeking credit repair services is not an expense, it is an investment; an investment in yourself to create a brighter financial future for you and your family.  Having excellent credit will open the door to your new house with low interest rates or that new car with 0% down and low APR interest rates, or being able to apply for that personal or business loan with no hesitation and the quick approval when applying for an American Express credit card or even a new job or NOT losing your security clearance. As we continue to learn more about the grave importance of having great credit, we need to stop making excuses and decide to do something about it.  Keep in mind: just like you wouldn't walk into a courtroom without an attorney facing a DUI or manslaughter charge, you shouldn't try to fix your credit on your own without an expert with the tools and knowledge of how to achieve optimal results for you. 

So, until we can get Focused, have Faith and take REAL Action, we will forever be stuck and with that comes BIG regret.

Cheers to Empowerment, Education and Elevation

Stephanie "The Credit Repair Queen" Lawrence 

"Guiding you from financial distress to financial success"

Are you still in prison?

I felt like I was in prison and could never break through the bars. Have you ever felt like that?

Here's a little story about a person I know...let's call him or her John.

John, wants a better life. He wants to purchase a new dependable car without breaking their pockets every month with high interest rates.

John, wants to have enough money to move into a dream home with a panoramic view overlooking the lake.

John is tired of dodging bill collectors.

John wants to vacation anywhere in the world without having to question where the funds are going to come from.

John has dreams of achieving A+ credit.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

But, John never accomplished any of this because the credit bureau agencies and low credit scores let FEAR get in the way. 

You see, John was imprisoned by fear and myths that you have to live with poor credit.

Do you know anyone like that?

Have you ever let fear keep you from fulfilling your dreams?

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 

I'm not sure what your goals are, but if you are interested in achieving A+ credit we can help you, but I hope that FEAR isn't keeping you from achieving your goal.

Here are the simple steps again to erase all of your fears.

We'll educate you on what your creditors and the credit bureaus don't want you to know so you can fight back.

We'll teach you how to attain positive credit while getting rid of the negative credit.

We will show you how to revamp your credit scores in 180 days or less.  So let's get learning, OK. Discover our top secrets on how we've changed lives and sky-rocket credit scores by signing up for our FREE REPORT at www.precisioncreditrestoration.com.  

To Excellent Credit, 

Stephanie "The Credit Repair Queen" Lawrence

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Welcome to PCR!

Hello There - 

My name is Stephanie “The Credit Repair Queen” Lawrence and I am the President and CEO of Precision Credit Restoration.  I started this company because just like so many people out there I was struggling with bad credit and I had to learn how to clean up my credit the hard way and it is my purpose to help as many people as possible improve their credit while making the process simple and stress free.   

So let me start by telling you a little bit about myself.  Growing up I always thought I would be a Pediatrician and I talked about it all the time.  I even studied Pre-Med in college thinking I was going to attend Medical School to receive my MD degree.  However, life threw me that unexpected curve ball and I had my beautiful daughter (Zarielle), who is a major blessing in my life and also the reason for everything I do and strive to accomplish.  But instead of giving up on my dreams of pursuing an advanced degree, I just changed my course of thinking and decided to attain my MBA with a focus in Accounting and Finance.  Around that time, I was searching to buy a home so I could start a new life with my new baby. Unfortunately, I had no clue where to start. I thought having steady employment was enough and boy was I wrong.  I was told they needed to check my credit score to see how much of a mortgage loan I could be qualified for and in turn I received the shock of my life.  478!  What?!?! Yes 478 was my credit score at the time and I was DENIED! 

I’m not embarrassed to share this with you because I know the grave situation I was in and just like so many others out there I was forced to discover the importance of checking your credit report to know where you stand.  I had to conduct months and months of research and hours of writing dispute letters to my creditors, and the credit bureaus.  I started to see major improvements and thought to myself, how much better can it get?  I increased my score approximately 122 points in about 60 days then it soared even more from then.  After fixing my own credit, I started to practice with family members and close friends to see what type of other results I could achieve and they benefited immensely.  This gave me such immense satisfaction from being able to help so many people in dier need of a better financial situation.  Therefore I decided to move forward and acquire official training to become a Certified Credit Consultant to help others attain the financial success that I have.  Even though I don’t get to help patients suffering from ailments, I get to help thousands of people in need suffering from poor credit, which adversely affects their lifestyle.  

It is my mission to save one household at a time through empowerment, education and elevation.  If I can do it so can you! I am lucky to have found my passion and I hope that you will join me on this journey.  I will be updating you with credit tips, motivational advice which has driven me to start my own business and encourage others to take control of their life, and announce upcoming events.  If you would like to get in touch with me to discuss any topics in further detail you can email me at info@precisioncreditrestoration.com or through one of our social media sites listed below.  

Thanks for getting to know me and I look forward to next time. 

Yours Truly, 

Stephanie “The Credit Repair Queen” Lawrence

"Guiding you from financial distress to financial success”

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