Archive for the ‘Life After Bankruptcy’ Category
When it comes to creditworthiness, it’s hard to top the consumers of Wisconsin.
Four Wisconsin cities – including Wausau at No. 1 – are among the 10 communities in the nation with the highest average credit scores, a new survey shows.
Wausau residents posted an average credit score of 789 in the survey conducted by the credit-rating agency Experian. Madison was third, at 785; Green Bay sixth, at 780; and La Crosse 10th, at 777.
Milwaukee, with a score of 765, was 33rd of 143 cities included in the survey.
“Wisconsin residents remain among the nation’s most fiscally responsible,” Experian stated Tuesday in announcing the survey results.
Higher credit scores generally give consumers the ability to borrow money at lower interest rates.
Credit scores are based on a consumer’s payment history, debt balances and several other factors. Among those factors are how much of a person’s available credit is used, how long a person has had credit and whether late payments have occurred recently.
Wausau unseated Minneapolis, with the Minnesota city slipping to second in the annual survey with a 787 average credit score.
Rose Oswald Poels, chief executive of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, wasn’t surprised by the survey’s findings.
“The consumers in this state are generally very conservative with their money and smart about credit decisions, and that’s true of the financial institutions that serve those citizens,” Oswald Poels said. “I think it’s just the combination of the types of values and people we have in this state, coupled with the type of financial institutions that we have. We both share similar values in being fiscally conservative, hardworking and smart about credit.”
An executive with Wausau-based Peoples State Bank said he’s noticed before that many of the bank’s customers bring credit scores higher than 700.
“I think people here were raised in a conservative fashion, and they live the way their parents do,” said John Proulx, senior vice president for Peoples State Bank. “I think that probably is a big reason as to why we have the good scores.”
Overall, the survey found that Midwesterners have the highest credit scores while Southerners have more financial struggles.
Experian said that while no one factor determines a consumer’s credit score, the weak economy continues to cause major setbacks, such as foreclosures and unemployment. Those troubles were drivers in the rankings and trends for different regions of the country, the firm said.
Of the cities with top 10 credit scores, only San Francisco had a jobless rate higher than the national rate. Texas had four cities in the bottom 10.
The credit scores in the report were based on the VantageScore scoring system, which has a range from 501 to 990, in designated market areas from January through June of 2011, Experian said. The analysis was based on a statistically relevant sampling of Experian’s consumer credit database, the firm said.
“We have our issues just like any other city does. We have some foreclosures and things like that, but probably not as much as some of the other areas do,” Proulx said. “So some of that doom and gloom has hit Wausau, but it’s maybe not as prevalent in this area.”
Wausau Mayor James Tipple was proud of the ranking for his city, which has a population of 41,800.
“I think the quality of life and the people we attract to the region, and not only the region but the city of Wausau, speaks volumes for the score,” Tipple said.
The last blog post chronicled how foreclosure were up in the Milwaukee area last month. Well, on the bright side, according to this article on www.Biztimes.com, it seems that home sales were up as well.
If you need help getting caught up on your mortgage, we can help! Also, if you are in the market to buy a home, call us! Our credit repair and credit rebuilding services will help you raise your credit score and get the best interest rate on your new mortgage.
Darren Rovell of CNBC.com has written an interesting article detailing the effect of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick’s new 6 year $100 million dollar contract upon the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy he filed in 2008.
Read it here.
One important thing to do when you are speaking with a debt collector is to take detailed notes. The more detail that you can provide about the conversations with collectors, the more credibility you will have if you are involved in a lawsuit against the collector.
Moreover, the more knowledge you have of your conversations, the more intelligently and persuasively you can speak with the debt collectors. Debt collectors are notorious for putting false information in their notes in order to make you feel bad in an effort to convince you that you broke your promise. Isn’t it is ironic that a collector would lie in order to use your sense of morality against you?
When a debt collector says, “This is what you discussed with us last week,” and it is inaccurate, it is empowering to have your notes at hand to tell debt collector exactly what was discussed. It is not unusual for a collector to call one day and make an offer only to have the same collector deny that such an offer was made a few days later.
Naturally, the more detail the better. The more organized and prepared you are, the less likely you are to be badgered by or taken advantage of by rude collectors. I’ve talked about that on this blog here.
Wrong. Can you buy one now? Probably not. Bankruptcy will give you the ability to save for a down payment. Also, you will have the income to qualify for a mortgage, something you can’t do now because your debts take up all of your disposable income. Most people can qualify for a mortgage within about two years after their bankruptcy. If your debt is too high, you will never qualify even if you have a perfect payment history.
If you are overwhelmed by debt and would like a fresh start – give Miller & Miller a call to schedule your free initial consultation.