We have known for a long time the percentage effects that differing credit mistakes can have on your score. For a review of that, go to this previous post. Just recently, the good folks at the Fair Isaac have drawn back the curtain to give us a glimpse of the real drop in points that ...
Category Archives: Credit
Can the $8000 Tax Credit Be Used as a Down Payment?
No. Well, Yes. Um, Not quite yet. I have had several Realtors and many borrowers ask the question, "Can I use the $8000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit as a down payment?" First, I did have some borrowers claim their tax credit when ...
The Root of the Credit Crisis
Could it be a simple as a mathematical formula that expresses only optimism? This article from Wired Magazine explains rise and fall of the CDO and CDS markets, and the ensuing pain for all Western economies, possibly better than I have read before. We've all heard that Credit Default Swaps (CDS) were at the root of ...
Considering A Debt Consolidation Loan
With the economic squeeze the country is in, a lot of us are feeling the effects, and a lot of people around Atlanta - okay, around the country - have had to rely on their credit cards for everyday expenses. And, we've all done it. "Well, just this time, because things are tight, and I ...
The New and Improved First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit
Basically the tax credit for first-time home buyers went from $7500 to $8000, with the difference that the tax credit now does not have to be repaid at all. Before, it was to be repaid over a 15 year period. Here is a link to information ...
The Glass Just Got Half Full (Or Half Empty?)
Sen. Johnny Isakson had proposed the tax credit of up to $15,000 for all homebuyers this year. The stimulus bill that this proposal is included in is in committee right now, with House and Senate members working out details and making their two versions of ...
‘Bailout’ with a ‘B’, or was that a ‘T’?
Total Bailout Funds committed are approaching $9.7 TRILLION, as reported by Bloomberg this morning. And the authors of the article had an interesting way of spelling out just how much that is, in terms we can all get our arms around: The $9.7 trillion in pledges would be enough to send a $1,430 check to every ...
The Fed May Have Another Trick Up It’s Sleeve
The Meeting of the Federal Reserver Board will adjourn at 2:15pm today, and as is customary, Fed officials will speak. Normally, we have waited to see if the Fed will lower (or raise) interest rates, and both stock and bond investors respond accordingly. They cannot ...
Inflation is Coming. Do You Know What to Do?
I have been saying for several months on this blog that Big Inflation is coming. And even several readers have commented back that everything seems deflationary, and wonder if I am seeing the same economy that they are. And I am, but I am looking ...
GM: Carmaker or Bank?
On Christmas Eve, GMAC - the finance arm of General Motors - was given a $6B bailout. Nice. What was not as widely reported is that it was also given the status of a "Bank holding company". Remember that American Express, the credit card ...