Credit Repair and Credit Rescore

You've probably seen the signs posted illegally on city sidewalks promising "Credit Repair." These scam artists promise desperate consumers that bankruptcies and chronic late payments can be magically removed from their credit reports for a fee. The only truthful part of this claim is the fee. Only time (seven to ten years) will remove bankruptcies and improper use of credit from a credit report.

Rapid Credit Rescoring is something entirely different. If you've ever applied for a mortgage, you know the importance of your credit score, which reflects your history of debt repayment and supposedly predicts the likelihood that you will repay your mortgage on time. A minimum credit score of 650 is required for most mortgages today. Loan qualifying is automated now, and there is little to no flexibility in the requirements.

Suppose you have a credit score of 642. If your lender doesn't know about Rapid Credit Rescoring, you are out of luck. If your lender is on the ball, she will look for minor issues that may be easy to remove from your credit report. Suppose you have always paid your bills on time, but one payment was 30 days late because you moved and the bill was lost in the shuffle. Or maybe you had a parking ticket, and you didn't know until your credit report was pulled that the city had turned your ticket over to a collection agency. Or maybe you cancelled your membership in a book club, but the book club continued to bill you for books, and when you didn't pay, the book club charged off your small debt and reported it to the credit bureau.

Believe it or not, just one of these issues will actually prevent you from buying a house. However, if you are smart enough to choose a lender who knows about Rapid Credit Rescoring, the lender can run your credit report through a "what if" program and determine how much your credit score might be increased if you could remove these small blemishes. You need to provide proof that you paid the parking ticket, or you need to call your credit card company, explain why you were late that one time, promise never to do it again, and beg them to remove the late pay from your credit report. Usually they will do this, especially if you call on Friday and act really polite and contrite.

Once you have proof that you have rectified your little credit crime, your mortgage lender can submit the proof to a company for Rapid Credit Rescoring. This will cost you about $140. What? Just to get a new credit score? Yes, that's right. But remember, you must either 1) get your credit score in line with the automated lending standards, or 2) pay a higher interest rate, or 3) forget about buying the house you want. $140 is a bargain if it enables you to buy the house at the best possible interest rate.

If you are preparing to buy a house, get your free credit report several months in advance. There are three credit reporting bureaus, and you need to get a report from each one, because they don't all have the same information, and you don't know which bureau's report your lender will use. It can take several months to remove errors and surprises from your credit report, but if you do all the legwork yourself and allow plenty of time, the corrections will be reflected in a new credit score in about 30 days. Then you can avoid last minute trauma during the home buying process, and save the $140 charge for Rapid Credit Rescoring.

Tucson Museum of Art Craft Fair

The 26th Annual Tucson Museum of Art Holiday Craft Fair is this Friday through Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. On Saturday and Sunday, there will also be an Art Book Sale.

The fair will be on the lovely shaded patios and in the lobby of the new part of the museum at 140 North Main Street in the historic El Presidio barrio north of Presidio Park.

Some of the museum galleries are in fabulous old territorial homes. The Cordova House is believed to predate the 1854 Gadsden Purchase, which would mean it was built when Tucson was part of Mexico. You can peek inside the Cordova house while enjoying live music in the Cordova Courtyard beer garden.

120 artists will offer jewelry, ceramics, water colors, metal work and more. Fancy eats and gorgeous desserts will be for sale.

Get a start on your holiday shopping, or just enjoy the beautiful weather and music for free in a lovely downtown environment.

October Residential Sales Statistics

Tucson Association of Realtors has released the Residential Sales Statistics for October. The average sale price was $262,251, which is 12% less than the record high achieved in June of this year, but only 1.7% lower than the October 2006 average.

The median sale price is also less than June's all time high, but only $1,150 lower than it was twelve months ago.

Number of active listings has been increasing since July this year. In October, 9,313 properties were for sale through the MLS.

Number of sold properties increased from 683 in September to 790 in October, but sold units are still 28% below a year ago.

Tohono Chul Park

Tohono Chul (Desert Corner) Park will be open to the public free of charge from 8 AM to 5 PM on Thanksgiving Day, November 22. This lovely bit of desert northwest of Oracle and Ina Roads is the perfect place to take the relatives and walk off your feast.

Join the mailing list so you'll know about upcoming events like the December 2nd performance of U of A's Harp Fusion, the largest touring ensemble of concert harps in the world. http://www.tohonochulpark.org/