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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At HOPE we love, love, love to brag about our members success stories.  Here’s another short testimonial about a brand new HOPE graduate we would love to share with you.  In just 5 short months this HOPE member went from a credit report with over $9,600 in outstanding collection accounts to a 100% clean credit report and $0 in outstanding collection accounts!  Awesome!  That’s not even the best news.  We are happy to report that this HOPE graduate now has credit scores in the 700s and was able to close on a home loan!!!!!

Congratulations to both our new HOPE graduate and our HOPE credit specialists for your hard work and dedication.  We are very proud of all of you for making this success story happen!

If you would like more information about how the HOPE Program can help you with your credit needs please give us a call today at 704-499-9696.  We would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.  No matter what shape your credit report is in right now just remember:

There’s no such thing as a HOPEless situation!

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HOPE is proud to announce another happy homeowner and HOPE graduate this week.  In under 3 months this HOPE member has seen an average increase of 80 points per credit score!  He has also had nearly $2,300 of inaccurate information removed from his credit report!

This is just another example of how following HOPE’s unique plan of (1) correcting credit bureau mistakes (2) establishing the proper type and amount of current credit and (3) negotiating – if necessary – some of those pesky collection accounts can result in a healthier credit score and cleaner credit report.  So don’t be discouraged if you are currently facing credit problems of your own.  Anyone who tells you that a low credit score cannot be corrected is wrong.  It may not happen overnight, but if you are serious about improving your credit rating it is 100% possible with a little discipline and some hard work.

Remember, it is your legal right to work on your own credit report.  (If anyone tells you differently – run!  They are probably trying to scam you.)  However, if you want to achieve that healthier credit report more quickly and without the migraine headache that comes with trying to fix your credit report alone, we would love for you to consider the services offered by the HOPE Program.  HOPE offers experienced, reliable, and trusted credit education – not another “credit repair” scam.  Give us a call at 704-499-9696 to learn how the HOPE Program can help you on your journey towards the healthy credit you deserve!

Please join the HOPE online community today.  Follow us on Twitter and/or “Like Us” on Facebook for free weekly credit tips, special offers, contests, and much more!

Today we received an email from a lender letting us know some exciting news about a HOPE member:

“I have the credit pulled.  You now have a 683 Mid Score.  That is great!!  Awesome job HOPE.  This is a success story.  Ya’ll are ready to buy.”
~K.M.

The HOPE member’s credit score has risen from 620 to 683! That’s an increase of 58 points since joining the HOPE program a mere 52 days ago! We are so proud of our staff and HOPE members for all of their hard work.  This is just another example of how healthy credit is achievable for anyone who is willing to try.  In fact, over 80 HOPE graduates in the past 4 months have achieved credit scores healthy enough to purchase a home! So what are you waiting for?  Call us at 704-499-9696 today to schedule your NO-OBLIGATION credit analysis and find out how healthier credit could be just around the corner!

5 Ways to Give Your Credit a Kick in the Pants!
By Michelle Black

Earlier this week we discussed The 5 Fastest Ways to Damage Your Credit.  If you have not reviewed this list yet, please take a moment to check out the article.  It may save you from making a detrimental mistake which could set your credit score back as much as 100 points!

However, today we will be focusing on a subject that is always much more enjoyable: Ways to improve your credit.  Since the 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) all have a different system they use to determine your credit score, it is impossible to predict specifically how much any one action will change your credit score.  Still, we do know that if you heed the following advice, your credit scores cannot help but to improve with all 3 of the credit bureaus (as long as no new negative actions on your credit counteract the new positive changes):

1.  Make payments on time.
I always like to start with this recommendation because payment history is the single most important factor making up all 3 of your credit scores.  A whopping 35% of your credit score is determined by your ability to make your payments on time.  Even if you have had some recent late payments (within the past 24 months) that have damaged your credit score, if you make a plan today to start paying your current bills on time you will start to slowly dig yourself out of the hole. Plus, if you want to dig yourself out of the proverbial credit hole even faster you can check out some of the great services that HOPE has to offer.
2.  Have enough open credit cards.
It is important to have open revolving accounts (AKA credit cards) on your credit report.  Your credit score is a snapshot to potential lenders of how you pay your bills.  Therefore,  if you do not have enough open accounts, you may have low scores or even no scores at all. HOPE members, please check with your HOPE credit specialist to see if it is recommended for you to open additional credit card accounts or if you already have enough active accounts appearing on your credit report.
3.  Pay down open credit cards.
Yes, it is definitely recommended that you establish some current credit card accounts if you do not currently have enough open.  However, it is not recommended that you establish any new debt by charging up the balances on your credit cards.  If you do have balances on any of your current credit cards, especially if the balance is over 50% of your credit limit, aim to pay off your credit cards ASAP.  You could potentially see a huge increase in your credit scores by following this advice.  (Note: current HOPE members can contact us to request a HOPE Snowball Debt Payoff Worksheet for help making a plan to pay off your current debts.)
4.  Check your credit report for mistakes/erroneous information.
All 3 credit bureaus are quite notorious for making mistakes on our credit report.  Even if your credit report is in pristine condition, it is important to check your credit report 1-2 times every single year to make sure that there are no new errors being reported.  The good news is that you are legally entitled to a free credit report (minus your credit scores) every year from www.annualcreditreport.com.  Make sure to check your report with all 3 credit bureaus.
5.  Use old credit cards occasionally.
Your length of credit history makes up approximately 15% of your credit score.  This means that those older credit card accounts on your report actually help to boost your credit scores more than new accounts.  Often a creditor will automatically close a credit card account if you do not use it for a prolonged period of time due to inactivity on the account.  Solution?  Use your old credit cards several times per year for a small purchase (which you pay off immediately) in order to keep your older accounts open and active.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know is in need of professional credit advice or assistance, we would LOVE for you to take the time to consider the services offered by the HOPE Program.  We want the opportunity to answer your questions and offer our unique expertise on all situations related to your credit report and credit scores.  There really is no such thing as a HOPEless situation! Please feel free to give us a call with any questions you may have at 704-499-9696.  We hope to hear from you soon!