Posted on 08/21/2007 1:00:50 PM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666
I just went through the process of getting my wife a new (well, 2006 anyway) car. I had wanted to save enough to pay cash but my old car wasn't going to hold out quite that long. So off to the bank to secure the extra funds. In the process I found out today that my credit score was 819. The loan officer said he'd only seen one higher score. He's young, so maybe it isn't all that great, but...
What does a credit score like 819 do for me? Is there anyway I can leverage this to my advantage in the future? What's the highest possible credit score?
I’m amazed at people who finance through the dealership. That’s part of car negotiation. I’ve known more people who got screwed by financing at the dealership.
I’ll bet something was different:
Did you:
-close a credit card?
-open a credit card?
-do either of the above and change the ratio of credit card balances vs. total credit limits?
-pay off or add a new loan account?
-7 years ago, did you have a credit card with a large limit that has been closed for a long time? If so, it reached the 7-year mark and dropped off which could negatively impact your score.
Is that a yearly subscription or a one time deal?
"Sir, this is your credit score right here."
That’s because most online companies give what we in the industry affectionately refer to as “FAKO” scores. They’re NOT the same as the FICO scores we pull. If you get them from myfico.com they SHOULD match what lenders pull.
LOL! I get several offers from them a day. What cracks me up is that they sell my e-mail address to other crooks in Nigeria, and it never occurs to them that people KNOW they can't win that many lotteries. Especially when you didn't even purchase a ticket. ;o)
Once you get on their list, you might as well cancel that e-mail address. In a little over 3 months I have got over 850 scam e-mail letters from them. I have won more lotteries and have been left with dear old uncle/aunt's estate to the tune of a trillion or two. LOL Most are pretty amusing but the other day I got one that was pretending to be a US Marine trying to get money. THAT one really made me mad.
Not possible. Most of them are owned by the same company. They just use different vendors for the cards.
Oh... well, then, yeah, it'd be silly to leverage the home equity for something that short-term.
Pity you couldn't just pay cash as you'd intended, but I know how car troubles can just suddenly crop up and force a decision. If you can pay off by Thanksgiving, the interest paid for three or four months will be miniscule no matter what the rate -- and it seems to me you'll then be right back on the Dave Ramsey "cash only" track and no harm done.
Ergo, congrats on the 819 credit score, and may you use it as rarely as possible.
;-)
One-time deal, but there are other offers that are cheaper long-term. Check around the site and see. For a REAL FICO score though, that’s about the best you can do. You can sign up for monthly deals cheaper with other websites, but they give “FAKO” scores, which don’t match what lenders will see.
“In all honesty, once you’re over 720, going any higher doesn’t make a hill of beans difference.”
Mine is 820. Just went through a loan process and got raked over the coals. They asked for funds verifications vastly in excess of the required down. They “required” that I use a specific appraiser and then his appraisal came in at least 30% low and then they required a subsequent inspection by a specific inspector and really stupid escrowed repairs.
I knew that the bank was playing some games with the loan, but I was in a rush and knew that I was getting the house at a significant discount. I figured it wouldn’t matter in the long run, so I chose to ignore their games. Now I think perhaps I will send a letter to those nice RESPA folks.
You can use it for extra income by renting it out to others! (I don’t really have to tell you this is a bad idea, right?)
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2007/04/got-good-credit-rent-it-out-for-cash.html
7 years since my last credit card closed. It was always paid in full by the due date and I think I had about a 15K limit on it, but it was just easier for me to handle stuff in other ways.
When you finance a new car, wait till it’s six months old and refinance as a used car. Less interest rates.
As a friend of mine who is going through a similar experience said to his ex, "Whay are you f*@#ing me now? You didn't want to when we were married!"
If you can verify income, the “reserves” requirements in addition to down payment funds should have been no more than 2 months worth of mortgage payment.
What repairs were needed? They might not have been as “stupid” as you think.
What area are you in BTW?
That’s why it dropped. You use too little credit (according to the bureaus, not me) and that account, once it dropped off your report (which all accounts do after 7 years) there was less to “go on” for a score.
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