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Credit card companies are notorious for keeping people in debt. You may not realize it but chances are like most Americans if you just pay your minimum payments, it will take anywhere between 10-25 years to get out from under your debt. Recently new banking regulations were put in place and many americans now have to pay double payments. Needless to say this is making many people struggle to keep up. Credit card companies employ creative tactics to make you think you are making progress when you are just digging yourself a deeper hole.

Here is an example: If you made a payment they will lower your next payment or request no payment at all. Your interest rate keeps racking up and you ended up owing more money and making the bank all the more richer. Be wary of those great indroducory interest rates. The banks are just foaming at the mouth for you to miss one payment and then Pow! You will be paying the default rate of 29.9%. Over the limit and late fees are the banks greatest tools of making a lot of money off consumers. New bankruptcy laws are making it very difficult to start fresh and will also kill your credit for many years. To improve your credit start with the following:

1) Get a credit report

2) If there are any discrepancies disput them.

3) Payoff your credit card debt

4) You should not have more than 3 or 4 credit cards

5) Close out extra cards and get a letter stating it was done as per your request.

6) If you most of your debt is in collections join a debt

settlement program.

7) If your credit cards have really high interest join a credit counseling program.

8) Don't wait: The longer you wait to take action the more money you will have to pay back.

Abe Shannon is a Certified credit counselor and author of the Debt Relief Blog. He has been in the industry for over 10 years and have eliminated debt for thousands of clients. For a free debt analysis click here. You can email him: abe@patriotdebt.com.

# posted by ujx @ 11:06 AM 0 comments

It is the goal of all Americans to own their own home.

Unfortunately, along the way, some of us get sidetracked. It is a tough world out there especially as it relates to credit and home buying. And frankly, many Americans get their dreams derailed, many times through no fault of their own or through circumstances that were beyond their control.

When a person ends up in credit trouble, or when things like job loss, medical conditions, divorce or bankruptcy become a part of a persons reality, hope for home ownership gets bleak and many people give up on their dreams and settle for a lifetime of renting.

This is where Lease Options (when done properly) can be a perfect solution to the challenges at hand.

If you are still renting, this list might describe some or all of your current circumstance?

You probably dont have much money saved for a down-payment

You have too many credit cards or credit accounts open

You have delinquent accounts and collection agents or attorneys asking you for payments

You may have past legal problems such as judgments, divorce, bankruptcy, or foreclosure

You have been told to wait for a year or more before being able to buy a home

You probably feel frustrated as you try to find the perfect answer to your home buying needs.

You have already been turned down by a lender (or couldnt get one to take you seriously if you tried)

And you are most likely, TIRED OF RENTING and TIRED OF BEING REJECTED. Probably the most damaging effects that poor credit will have on a person is that you feel like youve run out of options.

The truth of the matter is that if you want your own home and you have poor credit, you only have two real options. You must either:

1.Wait for your credit to get better or your circumstance to change and then at some point in the distant future you can go out and find a home to own. This could be anywhere from a 1-5 years depending on how bad off your credit actually is. This is the wait and keep renting method. (I usually dont recommend this)

OR

2.You must find an investor/owner who is willing to overlook your problems and give you a chance to prove yourself through some means of owner financing. The safest and best way to do this is with a Lease-Option through a trusted and proven investor/owner who has a win-win scenario for making this happen. (This option is highly recommended if you do it properly)

Lets Explore a few specific reasons why a Lease-option is such a good idea.

If you enter into a lease-option with an owner/investor, you will get to live in the home as though you already owned it. This means that you instantly get to start enjoying the lifestyle benefits of ownership.

What literally happens is you will agree on price and terms of your purchase of the home immediately. Then, since you cant get your own home loan quite yet, the owner will agree to rent/lease the home to you for a period of time (6 months-2 years) and As Soon As you can get a home loan within that time frame, you will exercise your option or your purchase agreement and cash out the owner/investor.

So basically, you get to move into and virtually buy a home, even before you can get your own loan because of the flexibility of the owner.

Some benefits are:

No landlord dictating to you what color you may or may not paint your home or living room wall.

No waiting on a landlord to keep your house in working order. You take care of the home as though you owned it already.

You can make maintenance and home improvements to your house or yard helping you to enjoy the home as your own.

Much of the market appreciation and equity growth on the home can actually become your equity when you buy the home from the investor.

You can do these lease-options with ZERO credit. Or even with BAD credit. AND - Perhaps one of the BIGGEST benefits...

Lock in tomorrows purchase price today.

And this is huge because as you know, real estate appreciates over time! Your home will be worth more next year than it is worth today, and when you can lock in a specific price today, and pay that price tomorrow YOU can come out a big winner.

Just remember, when you get into a lease-option, to spend as little as possible in down payment money and do what ever it takes to get your credit turned around as fast as you can, which is what you should want anyways.

Most importantly, dont look past the ultimate goal. Buying a home through a lease option is your tool to get into the home of your choice, even before your credit or down payment challenges would have otherwise allowed you to.

Stop settling for a standard rental and go find the home of your dreams.

Dan Ostler is the owner of http://www.LeaseOptionHomeBuying.com. Dan is an author, speaker, business owner, investor, and one of the nations leading Lease Option Consultants. He has been offering housing solutions and consulting advice to families with credit issues in all parts of the country for the past 8 years, and welcomes all visitors to his website for tons of **FREE** Information.

# posted by ujx @ 9:45 AM 0 comments