Is Consumer Counseling Right For You?

I recently wrote about how some NON PROFIT (not court ordered) Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies are helping raise scores for a narrow niche of the market.  You might be part of that niche!Are you a Veteran?  If so, a NON PROFIT (please understand that I’m not just capitalizing those letters for fun… it’s important that it be a NON PROFIT) might be a great solution for you.  For details, read here.If you are NOT a Veteran, does that mean that Consumer Credit Counseling is NOT for you?  Well, not exactly.  Credit Counseling works best after you have the program established and you are paying into it for a full 12 months.  AFTER all 12 month payments are made, your score should be improving above the 600 mark.One of the things to remember, though, is that some of the other items we’ve written here are STILL important!

• Get at least ONE of your accounts caught up, and paid on time… like your truck payment.
• If you have ANY revolving credit accounts paid off, don’t close them, keep them open and at ZERO.
• If you don’t have any revolving accounts, get a secured credit card… it’s much cheaper than paying the fees for other cards.  Make certain the SECURED CREDIT CARD reports to the Credit Bureaus!!! (all three!)

Non of us know how long these cheap housing prices will continue – but if you want to own a home, you can!  Just create a strategy for getting your credit in order!If you have more questions about purchasing a home in NC, contact Steve and Eleanor Thorne, First Financial Services, Inc at 919-851-3031.