Tag Archives: equifax finance blog

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Home?

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Real estate tips from Equifax

Real estate tips from Equifax

With all the excitement around markets picking up and mortgage rates edging back up, you may be one of the many considering whether or not now is the time to leap into the market to find your new home.

But is now the time? A recent webinar, ”

Is Now the Time to Buy a Home?” hosted by Equifax and presented by real estate pros Steve Cook, former vice president of public affairs for the National Association of Realtors and Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews Cutts, addressed that very question. The debate is a classic question, but the bottom line is: real estate can be a worthwhile investment, provided you make smart decisions throughout the process.

The webinar discussed these further, suggesting listeners take the necessary steps to get the best possible investment. For example, despite low rates that are slowly rising, it can be hard for some to qualify for and get a mortgage. Getting a mortgage today is just as hard as it was a few years ago, and only 60 percent of those who apply for a mortgage are able to secure financing. Prepare for the mortgage application process in advance by getting your free credit reports, working to raise your score over the months prior to your home search and working on increasing your savings so you have as much as possible to put down and are in the best financial standing possible.

To learn more about market trends, growing your

credit ratings and more need-to-know facts about personal finance, check the Equifax Finance Blog!

Disaster Insurance 101

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Disaster Insurance 1The recent devastation caused by tornadoes in Oklahoma may have you thinking about what you should do to protect your belongings. In terms of insurance, the experts say that the most important thing you can do is accurately and thoroughly document your possessions, and the best way to do this is through taking photos and keeping receipts. An article on the Equifax Finance blog, “

Natural Disaster Insurance Claims: What To Do When A Natural Disaster Strikes” provides some helpful tips for how to prepare now for if you were to ever fall victim to a natural disaster.

  • Where you live will dictate the types of insurance you might need. Here’s a rundown:
    • Homeowner’s Insurance – required by lenders, it usually protects against wind and fire, but not against flooding
    • Commercial property insurance – protects your business or office space if it is damaged in a man-made or natural disaster
    • Flood insurance – flood zones change over the years, so you may believe that your home is not at risk, but it may be
    • Earthquake insurance – if you live in an area that is very near a fault line, this may be worth buying
  • Take an inventory of your home and belongings with photos and videos. Take photos of anything of value and then do sweeping video shots of your rooms, being sure to include furniture, artwork, etc.
  • Keep receipts of major purchases (like furniture, artwork, appliances, electronics, etc.). Keep receipts in a waterproof filing cabinet or even better, scan receipts into your computer and save them on a portable storage device.
  • Keep a list of your insurance policy numbers and contact information for your insurance company. Keep this list in a locked box near an exit in your home, in case you need to evacuate in a rush, you can grab it quickly and go.
  • Make your home as watertight as possible with storm-proofed roof, gutters, doors, window and basement.
  • Keep a first-aid kit easily accessible in your home.

Check out the Equifax Finance blog for more tips on insurance, credit reports, taxes,

identity theft information and more.

How Long Does a Late Payment Stay on Your Credit?

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LAte payment hurts credit report

LAte payment hurts credit report

Ever made a late payment on a bill? Maybe forgot about your credit card bill? Or have you ever been a few weeks late on your car note when money got tight? Are you looking now at a big purchase that’s going to require credit and you’re wondering how that late payment is going to look?

The Equifax Finance blog answers these questions and more in the recent post “

FAQ: How Long Do Late Payments Stay On My Credit Report.”

The article explains that positive information (like early payments and on-time payments) can stay on your credit report forever; but negative information (like that late payment) could stick around for seven years. Bankruptcies will generally stay for 10 years.

If you are concerned about what may be in your credit report, the Equifax experts recommend checking your credit report. This will tell you what you need to know about your credit now and where you will stand in terms of getting new credit; and will be starting board for building or repairing your credit, if necessary.

Check out the Equifax Finance blog to get more answers to your credit questions, and other topics like finance,

identity theft insurance, real estate, taxes and more.

Equifax is Looking to keep your Privacy Private

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Protection from identity theft

Protection from identity theft

The Personal Solutions line of consumer protection products and services from Equifax has a powerful new tool to help keep you safe: privacy monitoring. This service scours the indexed web and finds traces of your personal information, and can either simply alert you or can remove these traces that can lead to solicitations and online identity theft.

Equifax offers this new service at no additional charge to subscribers of the Equifax Complete series. The new system is in partnership with Reputation.com, a company which has proven its service to clients in more than 100 countries since 2006. The service seeks to find and protect the personal details of users, including their full name, age, gender, family members’ names, connections to relatives, and their general contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers to increase

protection from identity theft.

To learn more about this exciting new way to keep safe and stay protected from online identity theft, visit the Equifax.com personal solutions page. You can also find frequently-updated personal finance advice resources on the Equifax Finance Blog. Finally, Equifax makes it easy to stay in the know when it comes to personal finance by having easy access on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to remind you about how to save money, avoid debt and have a plan for money management.

New Year Equals New Debt for Many

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New Year New DebtThe New Year is upon us, and with it thousands of New Year’s resolutions are being put into action right now. If you’ve already made your resolutions, you may need to check your mailbox, because there may be another one waiting to be made after you open your credit card statement from December!

Many tend to overspend during the holiday season and then get shocked back to reality in January when the bills begin to file in. Don’t let your holiday spending get you down, let the experts at the Equifax Finance Blog guide you into a debt-free 2013!

In their recent article, “

Paying Off Holiday Debt,” the financial experts offer great tips and advice for holiday spenders to use when creating a plan to pay off holiday debt. One excellent tip is to negotiate for a lower interest rate on your credit card. If you have good credit, or have at least been a good customer of your credit card company, simply ask. The worse they can do is say no, but if they do help, it can make a big difference in your budget for paying off debt.

The experts also suggest a balance transfer to consolidate credit card debt. However, make sure the monthly payment will not be too much for you. Also, check the interest rates before committing, because a good deal may not be so good if the interest rate is extremely high.

The Equifax Finance Blog has plenty of other great tips in this article, so check it out today! Then browse through their other posts concerning

ID theft protection, credit cards, credit reports and other helpful financial information.