flavaa asked:


Hello,

I have a small residential and commercial cleaning business that I am looking to expand. I have been shopping around for financing through traditional lenders, but due to my 518 FICO score and millions of charge-offs, I can’t get fianancing. I have applied to a few non-profits in the state that I live in. I have also been pitching my case to some friends. I don’t have any family that can help. They all have bad credit and so do much of my friends. I really do not know anyone with cash on hand either. I have been looking into getting an angel investor or a venture capitalist, but I do not know if that’ll work. I’ve posted an ad on Prosper and I never get responses. Again, I think that this is due to my bad credit. I am seriously running out of ideas. I have 15 months invested in this and I do NOT want to give up. Does anyone have any suggestions or can anyone suggest a place that can help me? I know I need to fix my credit, but I need the money to do it. Please, please, help!

David Faulkner asked:


What role does your credit report play in your life? In case you apply for some sort of a loan, how do you think the lender would judge you? The lender simply checks your credit report which reflects all your credit history along with your credit score. Things do not just end there. The rate of interest decided by the lender on which he will lend you money is also decided on the basis of your previous transactions that reflect in your credit report. Having a bad credit report and credit score can be a sure shot reason for ant one not to trust you for further dealings.

Importance of credit report:

You must always keep a close watch on your credit report keeping in view the effect it has on your life. A person with bad credit report may possibly bear the expenses of not maintaining it and on the other hand, a person who has well maintained it can get much more credit than he otherwise can. A good credit report clearly puts up a faith in your credibility.

The credit report must be checked thoroughly. One should not just rely on one of the bureaus and get regular statements from all the three agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In case you find anything that is not clear to you, you must report it back and case the problem still persists, you must dispute on it.

What exactly a credit report contains. Basically it contains the complete records about all the transaction being made by you, either it is some expenditure done by you or some payment delivered by you to the concerned agency along with your full identity including your name, personal address, employment status and your social security number. It clearly shows your credit applications. Loans sanctioned to you, loans you asked for but not given to you, credit you still have to pay and also the available amount of money you are still offered by the bureau. It show’s the description of monthly payments that you have to make. All payments made by you, pending towards you and once which you were unable to pay. Last dates of payments along with previous late fees and interests if any are also mentioned.

Taking advantage of the free online credit report annually helps you track your history and make necessary inquires if you find mistakes. This step is important for everyone, even if you have excellent credit or poor credit. You need to know what the credit report says about your credit history. Because lenders use your credit reports and credit score to see if you are credit worthy and what amount of money you may borrow along with your interest rate, you need to keep a close on your credit history.

Once you receive your free online credit report from Annual Credit Report, a highly recognized agency, you can look over the three different credit-reporting agencies and check for errors and wrong information. For instance, if you are divorced and it has you still married, you can summit a letter to them with a copy of your divorce decree so they can correct your credit history. The idea is to have all the information accurate when a lender views your credit history.

rkwarner_warner asked:


I’m looking to rebuild my credit, and a credit card seems to be the most popular way to get it done. I have had bad credit, and am now told that it is up to zero. What kind of card can I get, or can I even get one?