Daily Archives: August 25, 2015

Aug 25 2015

HOOVER FINANCIAL ADVISORS OFFERS TOP 10 CREDIT TIPS

Pete Hoover

Pete Hoover

Malvern, PA – Hoover Financial Advisors, PC, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a series of Top 10 Lists. The first involves valuable advice to preserve good credit.

“Too much credit? Too little credit? No credit? Good credit? Bad credit? There are so many considerations when protecting and managing personal and business credit,” indicates HFA founder Pete Hoover, CFP. “Lenders generally rely on five key factors when evaluating individual or company credit worthiness. Sometimes called the 5 Cs, there are: Credit History; Capacity; Collateral; Capital; and Conditions.”

The most widely used credit scores are created by Fair Isaac Corporation or FICO. Ninety percent of top lenders use this resource to help them make billions of credit-related decisions every year.  A person with credit has a FICO score at each of the three credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Each score is based on information the reporting bureaus keep on file about individuals with various types of credit. Data and scores may be different at each one.  Base FICO scores have a 300 to 850 range. Although many lenders seek FICO scores when making decisions, there is no single cutoff score used to calculate interest rates.

“Credit can be a wonderful thing – if it is good,” qualifies Hoover. “For example, someone with a credit score of 840 is just 10 points below the highest possible rating. That person could pay more than $90,000 less on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage for a $300,000 home. Be sure to take charge of your credit health and keep your scores strong. The rewards are ample,” he concludes.

Hoover’s Top 10 List:

  1. Establish a positive credit history by opening and responsibly managing a secured credit card.
  2. Get current on any missed payments. Delinquent accounts may stay on credit report files for up to seven years.
  3. Always pay bills on time with at least the minimum amount due.
  4. Stay within credit limits on cards or lines of credit.
  5. Review credit scores annually and report discrepancies promptly. Free reports can be ordered by linking to http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com or calling 1.877.322.8228 and following instructions.
  6. Pay down high interest rate debt first.
  7. Don’t open new credit accounts you don’t plan on using.
  8. Set a monthly budget and maintain it.
  9. When possible, consolidate debt into a lower interest rate account.
  10. Pay more than minimum amounts on monthly bills.

Hoover, who has more than 30 years industry experience, is a multiple Five Star Wealth Manager, which is achieved by fewer than seven percent of area financial advisors. He launched Hoover Financial Advisors in 2005. The firm was selected as the 2012 Small Business of the Year by Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry and the year before it was named among the top financial planners in the Philadelphia region. Headquartered on Moores Road in Malvern, HFA is an independent discretionary firm with no product ties. Services include wealth management, cash flow management, estate planning, retirement planning, financial forecasting, plan preparation and implementation, income tax strategies, insurance solutions and management of financial needs after the death of a loved one. For more information, visit its website at petehoover.com or call 610.651.2777.

Information for this news release was obtained from Wells Fargo; AnnualCreditReport.com; Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information (consumer.ftc.gov); creditcard.com.