Congratulations to the Alexander family on their recent home purchase!  Prior to joining HOPE this family was broken hearted to learn that their credit scores were not high enough to qualify for a home loan.  However, instead of quitting and giving up this couple decided to work towards achieving their dream – homeownership and clean credit.

It didn’t happen overnight – things worth working for seldom do – but it didn’t take that long either.  After just 6 months of membership in the HOPE Program, working hand in hand with HOPE Credit Experts to improve their credit scores, the Alexanders were approved for a home loan! Not only were they approved, but over $8,137 in negative, delinquent accounts were removed or negotiated from their credit reports and the Alexanders credit scores rose from the low 500s all the way up to the mid 600s!

After their home closing Mrs. Alexander wrote to tell us:
“Hello, I hope you all are doing well. Just wanted to say thank you for all your help and support. Because of you all our credit is great and we purchased our dream home! Not just a home but our dream home. Thank you so much.”

We are so very excited for the Alexanders and so very proud of this family and our caring staff for all of their hard work!  Remember, the Alexander’s story is not an anomaly.  It can happen for you too.  Bad credit, collections, judgments, low credit scores, foreclosure, and even bankruptcy does not have to be the end of your story because you can turn your credit situation around.  There is no magic wand and it may not happen overnight, but many HOPE members are able to turn their credit situations around and have scores healthy enough to qualify for a home loan in 6 months or less! In fact, over 85 HOPE graduates have been able to qualify for a home loan in the past 4 and 1/2 months alone!

If you would like more information on the services provided by the HOPE Program please email us or give us a call at 704-499-9696.  We would love to answer your questions and show you how HOPE can help you to achieve the healthy credit you dream of having!  There is no such thing as a HOPEless situation!

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As you know, we really enjoy bragging on our members and fantastic staff at HOPE.  When our members and staff work hard and follow HOPE’s customized credit restoration plan - great things happen!  Here’s another example of a new HOPE graduate’s success:

John joined HOPE a few months ago because he needed to purchase a vehicle.  His scores were too low at the time to qualify for a loan with a bank or finance company.  He had some outstanding collection accounts on his credit that were causing him to be turned down for the financing he needed as well.

After joining HOPE and being a member for just 3 short months John NOW is proud to have a completely clean credit report!  HOPE was even able to help John negotiate his debt for less than half of what he owed to his creditors.  Plus, John has qualified for and purchased a brand new car!  Needless to say, he couldn’t be happier.  Congratulations to John and our HOPE staff of credit experts on this great turn around.

Feel free to share John’s story with your friends, family, and social media friends by clicking one of the easy to use “share” buttons below.  Any credit situation can be turned around with the proper guidance and little bit of work.  You never know who might need a little bit of “HOPE” today!

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HOPE would like to wish a big congratulations to Mr. Howard and family for their successful home closing!  We are so excited to see you achieve your goal of homeownership and a healthier credit report.  Mr. Howard has seen some great results during his HOPE Program membership like:

*A credit score increase of over 50 points per credit bureau in less than 90 days!
*A credit report clean and healthy enough to qualify for a mortgage loan!
*A healthy balance of new, on time accounts showing on his credit report!

There is nothing in the world we love more than seeing another happy HOPE graduate and homeowner.  For more information on how you can deal with credit problems that are currently holding you back please give us a call at 704-499-9696 or email us today.  Our HOPE credit specialists cannot wait to hear from you and show you how a healthier credit report could be just around the corner for you too!

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Authorized User – the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!
By Michelle Black

There has been a major debate going on for sometime about the legality of authorized user accounts and how those authorized user accounts affect your credit report.  Let’s start with the basics.  What exactly is an authorized user account?  For the purposes of this article, we will only be discussing credit card authorized user accounts.  You are considered an A/U (authorized user) on a credit card when the primary credit card holder requests for you to be added to their existing account.  You do not have to sign anything to be added as an A/U to an account because you are not legally responsible for the debt.  However, the payment history for the account will usually show up on your credit report – good or bad.

Being added as an A/U to a credit card will almost certainly affect your credit scores, one way or the other.  For example, if your boyfriend adds you to his VISA card and then maxes out the credit card balance and makes a few late payments your credit scores will drop – hard!  Negative account history, late payments, and high credit card balances will drop your credit scores too since you are an A/U on the account.

However, if your mother adds you as an A/U to her 20 year old Master Card (which has a zero balance and has never had a single late payment) then your credit scores could be affected very positively.  All of the good payment history from that account could potentially show up on your credit report, driving your credit scores upward – fast!  Obviously this is a very appealing prospect for people looking to raise their credit scores.  Still, before being added to another person’s credit card account as an A/U there are a few things to consider very carefully:

1.) Avoid loan fraud like the plague!
There are some very shady companies out there offering to add you as an A/U to a stranger’s credit card account.  First, you pay a fee to the third-party company and then they give your information (name, date of birth, social security number) to a complete stranger in exchange for the stranger adding you as an A/U to their existing credit card account.  The stranger receives a fee for adding you to their card and the third-party company keeps the rest of the money you paid them as profit.  In truth, this practice can potentially raise your credit scores quickly.  The problem with this scenario is that if you apply for a loan after being added as an A/U to a stranger’s account it may be considered loan fraud. Ouch!  While is it perfectly legal to have a friend or family member add you as an A/U to their account, you should definitely avoid being added to a stranger’s account.

2. ) Authorized user accounts can hurt your credit too!
If you are considering asking a friend or family member to add you as an A/U to an existing credit card account be sure that you are asking someone who is a very responsible bill payer.  Grandma (with her 40 year history of never making a late payment) may be a better choice than your college roommate (with his 2 year total credit history).  Also, if you are being added to an account, it is better to be added to an account with a low balance than to one with a high balance.  Don’t forget, a credit card that is charged to over 50% of it’s credit limit will hurt the card holder’s credit scores even if they make every payment on time! (Click here for more info.)  If you are added as an authorized user to a card with a high balance it will likely hurt your credit scores instead of helping them.

If you have found today’s article insightful or helpful, please feel free to share the link with your friends and family.  Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions about authorized user accounts or other credit related issues you may be facing.  Our HOPE Credit Specialists would love to assist you!

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We just received news about one of our members that is so exciting we just couldn’t wait to post it!  A HOPE member had a credit report review done by her loan officer today and the results are, well, phenomenal!  We think that you will agree.

The member joined HOPE around 6 months ago with 32 negative collection accounts and over $41,000 in outstanding, negative debt.  Our staff has been hard at work on her behalf during her membership.  As of her new credit report today we are thrilled to announce some wonderful improvement:

157 point score increase in her middle credit score!
$22,738 in negative debt removed from her credit report!

The member has seen an average of $3,790 in debt removed from her credit report during each and every month of her HOPE membership PLUS an average monthly credit score increase of 26 points!  Now, that is what we at HOPE call a success story!  If you agree, please feel free to spread the word.  Your referrals and trust in the HOPE Program is highly valued and appreciated.  Congratulations again to our newest, very satisfied HOPE member!

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