credit assistance Archives - Prime Credit Advisors

Credit Card Traps

July 7, 2017 By Jakub Jancek Leave a Comment

According to the seemingly-innocent envelope sitting on your kitchen table, you’ve been pre-approved for a new credit card. The bold type, flashy colors, and excited exclamation points lure you into a daze. You are The Chosen One. Obviously, the credit card gods have singled you out as someone worthy of high rewards and low fees, someone who deserves free trips to Ibiza and back on the 25,000 miles you earned shopping at the grocery store. Or maybe, just maybe, you haven’t been chosen at all.

Maybe you’ve been targeted. [Read more…]

Building Credit With a Secured Credit Card

May 26, 2017 By Jakub Jancek Leave a Comment

Whether you’re new to the soul-sucking credit realities of adulthood or simply trying to improve a bad credit score, you might want to check out a secured credit card.

1. What is a secured credit card?

These specialized cards, great for building credit, require a down payment up-front, usually in the form of a cash deposit of around $300 to $500, though it’s ultimately up to you and your card-carrier. This payment acts as your credit limit, as well as your safety net against credit damage due to missed or late payments.
[Read more…]

3 Things to Consider if You’re Denied a Mortgage

May 12, 2017 By Jakub Jancek Leave a Comment

The most important thing to remember if you’ve been denied a mortgage is that you still have options. The world is not over, and neither is your quest to find a new home! According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, about 30% of purchasers who apply for a mortgage are turned down, so it’s a fairly common occurrence.
There are many reasons why a lender might deny a loan application, so the first step to securing your next loan application is to ask what went wrong with the first. [Read more…]

5 Things to Know About VA Home Loans

April 21, 2017 By Jakub Jancek 3 Comments

If you don’t know about VA home loans, don’t be surprised. Despite being one of the best benefits available to veterans, only 6% of qualified veterans have used a VA home loan in the past six years. Many veterans worry that they don’t qualify for the benefit or that the paperwork will take too much time. But don’t worry, that’s what we’re here for! Here are the 5 things you should know before applying for a VA home loan. [Read more…]

Buying a Home in Spring

March 30, 2017 By Jakub Jancek 2 Comments

Spring is a great time to buy and sell real estate because everybody else thinks it’s a great time to buy and sell real estate! Warmer weather encourages people to go outside more often and tour more homes, and the impending promise of summer and vacation time tends to make sellers a little friendlier with their negotiation tactics. Spring also makes people crave change, and what better way to shake up your life than by buying or selling a home? [Read more…]

Buying a Car With Bad Credit: Saving on High Interest Auto Loans

March 14, 2017 By Jakub Jancek 2 Comments

This post is the second in the series Buying a Car With Bad Credit, discussing how to save money on a loan with a high interest rate. If you do not already have an auto loan, read the first post in the series: Securing an Auto Loan.
Subprime buyers, or consumers with low credit scores, often face auto loans with starting interest rates as high as 14%. A low credit score makes lenders nervous, so they will charge higher rates to ensure they make money from the transaction. If you’re reading this article, you probably already know this because you probably already have an auto loan with a high interest rate. Luckily for you, we’ve got some helpful tips on how to save money on that auto loan or, at the very least, to avoid watching your credit score tank as the fees start to pile up. [Read more…]

Buying a Car With Bad Credit: Finding the Right Auto Deal

February 28, 2017 By Jakub Jancek 1 Comment

This article is the second in the series Buying a Car With Bad Credit, discussing how to avoid losing money on your auto purchase at the dealership. If you do not yet have an auto loan and would like to know how to secure one at a reasonable interest rate, read the first article in the series— Securing an Auto Loan.
Consumers buying on low credit, also known as subprime buyers, are a vulnerable group and salespeople know it. [Read more…]

Buying a Car With Bad Credit: Applying for Auto Loans

February 14, 2017 By Jakub Jancek 5 Comments

This article will be the first in a 3-part series about buying cars with bad credit. Here, we tackle the what you need to do before you buy a car—primarily, that you successfully apply to and are approved for an auto loan at a decent interest rate. Before reading on, however, keep in mind that if you can avoid buying a car with bad credit, please do. [Read more…]

Civil Rights as a Consumer with Credit

September 30, 2016 By Jakub Jancek 9 Comments

In 1970, the U.S. government passed the Fair Credit Reporting Act in order to protect consumers from willful or negligent inaccuracies on their credit reports. It seeks to promote the accuracy, transparency, and fairness of credit reporting by granting consumers a set of specific civil rights. The document itself is over 100 pages long, but have no fear! We’ve summarized the main points below: [Read more…]

What’s a Credit Score?

September 30, 2016 By Jakub Jancek 2 Comments

In the United States, a credit score is a statistical analysis of a person’s credit history used to determine their creditworthiness. It is represented by a numerical value between 300 and 850, with higher values correlating to better creditworthiness. More importantly, it’s how banks, lenders, credit card companies, future employers, and property owners determine whether or not you are likely to pay your bills on time in the future and, consequently, whether or not you are worth doing business with. [Read more…]