Posts Tagged ‘secured’

Credit After Bankruptcy? Seriously?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Have you been through a bankruptcy? Think you’ll never qualify for credit again?

Well, don’t think like that … of course you’ll be able to get credit (you always will be)! How, you ask? Well, a number of banks offer “secured” credit cards, in which a debtor has to put up a certain amount of money (as little as $100 in some cases) into a separate account at the bank to guarantee payment. Usually the credit limit is equal to the security given, and is slowly increased as the debtor proves his or her credit-worthiness. Two years later, debtors are then eligible for mortgage loans on the same level as those with normal credit (who have never filed for bankruptcy).

The size of your down payment and the stability of your income is much more important than the fact you filed bankruptcy in the past! Although the fact that you filed for bankruptcy will stay on your credit report for 10 years, it will become much less significant the further in the past the bankruptcy date is.

Plus, you’re probably much less of a credit risk after your bankruptcy than before it, when you were struggling to pay all of your growing bills! This should give you some hope for the future. Good luck!

Building Credit with a Secured Credit Card

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

This article is for those who want to establish good credit.

First of all, most people start establishing their credit by first obtaining a secured Visa or MasterCard. With these cards, you deposit a certain amount of money (ex. $100) to so called CD account and you then receive a credit card with $100 limit. The banks that offer these cards all report to the 3 credit bureaus (some report as a secured credit card account & some do not).

After a year, the bank then returns the deposited money and the account becomes unsecured, with the limit that you originally had. However, it is always a good idea to increase the limit before the year ends, so you will end up with higher limit card. There are a lot of good websites out there that offer both secured cards, regardless of your credit standings, employment or income. You can visit these sites and apply for a one, or maybe even sign up for a few cards to increase your credit score faster and higher.

Each credit account is considered as a trading reference: the more credit you have established, the more you’ll get from other creditors. Just remember to always make your payments on time and pay down little more than the minimum amount. Good luck!