10 Myths About Credit Score

Myth: Closing accounts improves score. Closing accounts deletes established history. Be hesitant to close an account, particularly if the account has five or more years of established history. If you have balances, closing accounts will also reduce your total debt ratio, thereby negatively affecting your credit score. Suppose a borrower has two charge cards, each with a credit line of $5,000. That makes total limits of $10,000. If the borrower has a balance of $3,000 on one card and elects to close the other, the borrower's debt ratio jumps from 30% ($3,000 balance / $10,000 limits) to 60% ($3,000 balance / $5,000 limit). Ideally, the balance on any individual account should be kept below 50%, whereas the total debt ratio on revolving accounts should be kept below 30%.

Myth: My credit score is "perfect" because it does not contain any negative items. Credit score takes into account "good" items as well as "bad" items. Yes, charge offs and delinquent payments have a negative effect, but on time payments also have a positive effect. Paid off assets (such as a car, boat or motorcycle) also positively affect credit score. The ideal profile contains no negative items but also includes a long history of "paid as agreed" items.

Myth: There is only one credit score. Every bureau has its own scoring formula, and many lenders have their own proprietary scores that they use for internal purposes. The only true FICO score is sold by Equifax.

Myth: Credit card offers are harmful to credit score. Even though credit card offers may be bothersome, they do not impact credit score.

Myth: Credit scores are based on age, income, sex and marital status. The FICO model is designed to evaluate one thing: creditworthiness. The scoring system is setup to predict how likely a borrower is to repay a debt-nothing more, nothing less. Age, sex, marital status, income and address are not considered.

Myth: Checking your own credit will lower your score. Checking your own credit is harmless as long as it is done via the credit bureaus. Get your free report at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Myth: When you get married your credit scores are merged. Credit scores are individual. There is no such thing as a joint score. However, if you and your spouse open joint accounts, the information reported to the bureaus on those joint accounts (good or bad) will impact both of your credit scores.

Myth: Shopping hurts your score. This myth is partially true, but some shoppers are given a break. The scoring system lumps together multiple auto or home loan inquiries made within a 14-day time frame. As long as you do all of your car shopping within 14 days, the inquiries are lumped together as one inquiry. This provision was implemented to accommodate "shoppers," but it only applies to auto and home loans.

Myth: A divorce decree severs joint accounts. Remember that VISA was not a party to your divorce decree, so they did not agree to sever the responsibility for the account. Just because the judge said that you weren't responsible for the debt does not mean that Bank of America will let you off the hook. Joint accounts with zero balances can be closed, but if the account has a balance, you are still on the hook until the balance is paid in full and the account is closed.

Myth: I don't need to look at my credit report because I always pay my bills on time. Most consumers do not realize that 80% of credit reports contain errors, and 25% of credit reports contain errors serious enough to deny the consumer credit. Check your report for free at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Copyright © 2007 Wade Young.

Wade Young is a Colorado mortgage broker. His website is bursting with consumer information about credit scores and mortgages. http://www.reddoorhomeloans.com

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Chicago Rental Car Insurance

Chicago rental car insurance is an agreement whereby the Chicago insurer promises to pay for accidents in exchange for a monthly fee. The Chicago rental care insurance program is pretty much like any other. When you rent a car, an agent (who can be pretty convincing) will ask you whether or not you want to insure the car you are renting.

If you have a regular auto insurance policy on the car you own and it extends coverage for collision and comprehensive coverage on rental cars than you don’t need additional coverage. You must also make sure that the coverage is applicable in any state that you drive the rental car in. In the event that you don’t own a car, you can purchase a “non-owner” policy that will cover you while you are driving the rental.

Some credit card companies offer insurance when you use the credit card that they issued you. But, you must review the terms and conditions because there many are certain stipulations including the type of car you are renting and whom you are renting from. The coverage may also be very limited, and some credit card companies will only reimburse you for the deductible that you pay under your regular policy. Some only provide collision and nothing for personal injury or property damages to others.

If you do purchase a package from the rental car agency, make sure you read it first.

Many rental car companies will insure a car from theft, but they will not cover what is inside the car.

Chicago Car Insurance provides detailed information on Chicago Car Insurance, Chicago Car Insurance Companies, Chicago Car Insurance Policies, Chicago Car Insurance Comparisons and more. Chicago Car Insurance is affiliated with New York Car Insurance Rates.

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Auto Sales 101 - Product Selection And What To Land Your Customer On

Lots of sales consultants have integrated an outstanding meet and greet at the beginning of the sales process, of course we practice this task everyday so there's very little that could go wrong in that crucial first step. It's where we branch off from that point that have lots of us stumbling or confused. Naturally, the consumer would simply go to a specific type of vehicle and the salesman would hang out with the buyer and follow their every lead. At this point in time, the consumer has complete control of the process by leading the salesman to each and every single car until the right one pops out, and in the mean time the salesman is being bombarded by an endless supply of questions. Plus we are so used to downgrading our inventory by asking "Looking for new or used?" or "Are you looking for black or blue?". We have all been guilty of this before, and it is a natural way the sales to customer relationship is regarded. This is an important step so treat it as one. There are many ways the sales consultant can take control from any one point in the process. So let's examine this particular process and find innovative ways to further take control of the customer's wants and needs.

Sales consultants have to first understand the driving forces in the market to be able to custom tailor an effective product selection. Back 40 years ago, muscle cars were all the rage and it was easy for buyers to land themselves on that niche market. And ten years ago, sport utility vehicles made it's mark into a hotly successful arena. And today, sport utility vehicles are still a good seller, but economical cars are what its all about. So be sure to integrate today's current trend into your script. We all know that suv's are twice the car, twice the gas, and twice the price, stress this at the offset and don't be afraid to say so. You would be pleasantly surprised how many buyers I have switched by saying this. Additionally, use the current market trend into the script, such as, "You folks are probably here for that inexpensive economy car like everybody else is?". Doesn't that make sense? First of all, it's true, gas is a driving force on everybody's pocket book right now, and your putting into the customer's mind that everybody is buying them. It's not you or the dealer that's just pointing that out to sway the customer into something else.

Additionally, understand what buyers are thinking. We all know that a $400 payment is easy to sell a customer, regardless what car they are buying, so be prepared for that. But getting them into that $70k Range Rover at the start would not make it easy for the salesman to sell the idea of a $1500 payment, chokes many of us just thinking about it. Sometimes the buyer's desire to own something above and beyond their means can trap most sales consultants in the negotiating process. So with the easy word tracks above, we can easily start at the bottom of the price points, and if the buyer doesn't like what's available, they'll simply bump in price and payment. And as a result, you can use this switch as a vise grip in the negotiating process. "I'm sorry folks, you can't afford $1200 a month and I can understand? Well I explained to you the car you chose is twice the car and twice the price." And at that point if they understand the basic math, it would make it a whole lot easier to switch to a cheaper, similar car. In the end, it's all about setting up your customer for an easy sell, again make it aware to them the scope of the price without actually talking price or payment on the lot.

Conclusively, the product selection step is important to make sure you can make the most out of your commission. Because the less you have to discount off that $15k pre-owned car, the more money and spiffs you can make. Play around with your own wordtracks and see what will work in your local market and customers. It's all about adapting to your customer preferences that can lead to a successful and quick sale. And more importantly, be interested in your customer's wants, ask all the questions to get the customer involved. Questioning is what controls the conversation, keep this in mind and use it until your tongue falls off. Aren't all the customers that pay all the money the most satisfied? Ummm...yeah, that's exactly what we're looking for.

If you found this article to be informative and you're interested in getting more free tips and advice on improving your sales techniques, please feel free to visit my website at: http://kookoox10safetyfeatures.blogspot.com/

Shaun Davidson-Automotive and Finance Consultant-2008

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Las Vegas Auto Insurance - How To Find Savings

Las Vegas auto insurance rates can be pretty high when compared to the rest of the country. Is there any way to cut your costs? Here are some things to keep in mind that could get you a better value.

Unfortunately, Las Vegas is one of those cities with a high vehicle-theft rate, and this may impact auto insurance rates. Of course, other factors impact your rate as well including:

Your age

Driving record

The vehicle you drive

The miles you drive annually

Where you live

Your credit score

The coverages you get

These are factors you can control and may be able to lower your premium. For example, improving your credit score, buying a vehicle that doesn't cost as much to insure and more. But that takes time.

So what can you do now to lower your costs? One of the best ways to save is to shop around, because the fact is that auto insurance rates vary from company to company. Shopping around could save you hundreds of dollars.

You should get at least three quotes from different insurers or agents to get an idea of how much you could save. What's more, when you get your quotes make sure you provide the same information about your vehicles, deductibles and coverages to each in order to get an accurate comparison. It can be convenient to have your current auto policy available.

To get your quotes, you can search the phone book for agents or companies that do business in Las Vegas or go online and request quotes from individual company sites. Or, many people find it more convenient to go to a comparison Web site.

A comparison site doesn't represent a single company. Instead, you enter your information -- once -- into an online form and get several different quotes back. You can then follow up on the quotes that interest you.

Other ways to save include increasing your deductibles, driving fewer miles and taking advantage of any discount that's available. Some companies claim to reduce your premium anywhere from five to 20 percent with discounts, so don't forget to ask about those.

Compare Las Vegas auto insurance

Justin Scott writes frequently about insurance. He recommends the comparison site LowerYourInsurance.com for up to five free auto insurance quotes in Nevada and all other states. The site also features other information about saving on car insurance, including a handy worksheet to help you when shopping for quotes.

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