Your best solution is to consult your mortgage professional to determine whether your situation can be quickly repaired or if you face a longer road to credit recovery. Either way, there are solutions to every problem.

Mortgage professionals who are experts in the credit repair niche can help credit challenged clients improve their situations via a number of routes. And if the situation is beyond the expertise of a mortgage professional, they can help you get in touch with other professionals, including credit counsellors and bankruptcy trustees.

If you have some equity built up in your home and still have a manageable credit score, for instance, you can often refinance your mortgage and use that money to pay off high-interest credit card debt. By clearing up this debt, you are freeing up more cash flow each month.

In the current lending environment, with interest rates at an all-time low, now is an ideal time for you to refinance your mortgage and possibly save thousands of dollars per year, enabling you to pay more money per month towards the principal on your mortgage as opposed to the interest – which, in turn, can help build equity quicker.

Following are five steps you can use to help attain a speedy credit score boost:

1) Pay down credit cards. The number one way to increase your credit score is to pay down your credit cards so you’re only using 30% of your limits. Revolving credit like credit cards seems to have a more significant impact on credit scores than car loans, lines of credit, and so on.

2) Limit the use of credit cards. Racking up a large amount and then paying it off in monthly instalments can hurt your credit score. If there is a balance at the end of the month, this affects your score – credit formulas don’t take into account the fact that you may have paid the balance off the next month.

3) Check credit limits. If your lender is slower at reporting monthly transactions, this can have a significant impact on how other lenders may view your file. Ensure everything’s up to date as old bills that have been paid can come back to haunt you.

Some financial institutions don’t even report your maximum limits. As such, the credit bureau is left to only use the balance that’s on hand. The problem is, if you consistently charge the same amount each month – say $1,000 to $1,500 – it may appear to the credit-scoring agencies that you’re regularly maxing out your cards.

The best bet is to pay your balances down or off before your statement periods close.

4) Keep old cards. Older credit is better credit. If you stop using older credit cards, the issuers may stop updating your accounts. As such, the cards can lose their weight in the credit formula and, therefore, may not be as valuable – even though you have had the cards for a long time. You should use these cards periodically and then pay them off.

5) Don’t let mistakes build up. You should always dispute any mistakes or situations that may harm your score. If, for instance, a cell phone bill is incorrect and the company will not amend it, you can dispute this by making the credit bureau aware of the situation.

If, however, you have repeatedly missed payments on your credit cards, you may not be in a situation where refinancing or quickly boosting your credit score will be possible. Depending on the severity of your situation – and the reasons behind the delinquencies, including job loss, divorce, illness, and so on – your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional can help you address the concerns through a variety of means and even refer you to other professionals to help get your credit situation in check.

About the Purcell Mortgage Team:
The Purcell Mortgage Team are an industry-leading pair of mortgage professionals who have been serving Calgary for several years. JoAnne Purcell was ranked within the Top 50 Canadian Mortgage Professionals in the CMP Magazine. If you are in need a reputable calgary mortgage professional, please contact us today!

The Purcell Mortgage Team are experts on Calgary mortgages!

The drop in unemployment was sparked by two consecutive months of job growth, with September bringing 31,000 new jobs.  While the number of part-time positions has increased significantly during the duration of this recession, the 31,000 new jobs created last month were largely full-time positions.

Signs of Economic Improvement – Labour Force

A recession is a complex economic situation that doesn’t simply “fix” itself over night.  However, there are many signs on the labour front that are pointing toward an eventual economic correction.  While it is likely that we will not return to the “golden age” of spending (aka- 2007/2008) for quite some time, we will hit an economically stable point sooner rather than later.

Statistics Canada has published a significant amount of information that pertains to regional economic employment statistics.  As it stands, Britich Columbia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island are the only provinces with notable employment gains in September.  Ontario would have been included in that list were it not for significant losses of part-time positions (despite large full-time position gains).

Notable statistics include:

• Overall, employment has fallen by 2.1% since its October 2008 peak. This results in a rough job-loss of approximately 357,000.

• Construction, manufacturing, and educational services say employment increases in September.

• Canadians have been working more hours since April 2009 by approximately 2.0%.

Compared to the doom and gloom that we have been hearing about for the last 18 months or so, this latest batch of good news is yet another sign that the Canadian economy is well on its way to improvement and stabilization.

How does this affect new home buyers, or people purchasing real estate in general?  Read our article on purchasing a home despite economic doom and gloom.

Source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/labour-travail/lfs-epa/lfs-epa-eng.htm

About the Purcell Mortgage Team:
The Purcell Mortgage Team are an industry-leading pair of mortgage professionals who have been serving Calgary for several years. JoAnne Purcell was ranked within the Top 50 Canadian Mortgage Professionals in the CMP Magazine. If you are in need a reputable calgary mortgage broker please contact us today!

The Purcell Mortgage Team are experts on Calgary mortgages!