I've survived Thanksgiving and am now gearing up for Christmas. My weekends are booked through the end of the year and, as a result, there probably won't be much real estate-related activity going on for me. Well, at least not until my next LLC gets funded sometime after December 13th. Of course, I'll always make time for a great deal...
One year after Congress passed the FACT Act, a bill requiring the three major credit reporting agencies to give people a free copy of their credit report, those reports are just now starting to become available. Begining today, residents of Western states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) can request their copy. On March 1, 2005, residents of the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) can request theirs. Residents of the South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas) have to wait until June 1, 2005. Those in the East (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia) have to wait the longest - September 1, 2005.
To get yours, visit www.annualcreditreport.com. They are free and you can get one every 12 months. You are NOT required to buy anything or pay any amount to get it.
There is a good article about this on the Motley Fool website.
Why should everyone do this? As Robert Kiyosaki says, your banker never asks for your report card. He asks for your financial statement. A big part of that financial statement is your credit report. Go over this report to make sure there are no errors on it. And I guarrantee you will find errors. I first reviewed my credit report over a decade ago and found at least 5 errors, including incorrect former addresses, old credit card data, and incorrect student loan information. When I got married, I reviewed my wife's report and discovered some credit card accounts that she thought she had closed were still open.
Your credit report has a major influence on the terms you can get on mortgages, car loans, insurance, credit cards and lots of other products. You want the best terms possible, so make sure your report is correct.
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
How To Ensure You Get The Best Rates Possible
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8 comments:
I first used a CPA when I formed my LLC. I had her set it up and do the paperwork. After that, I started having her do my taxes and other CPA-type stuff. I found her by looking through the phone book for CPAs that that specialized in real estate.
As for what to look for or ask, just find out if they are familiar with real estate transactions and LLCs (or whatever other business entity you choose to use). If you are consulting with them about setting up a company, ask which type of business entity they would recommend and why. I did some research on my own and felt an LLC would be better for me. My CPA reached the same conclusion (without me telling her what I thought), so that was a plus. It was also important that she listened to me and was easy to talk to.
Having said that, I know I will not be keeping this CPA forever. As my investing activites grow, I will likely switch to a CPA that is more agressive in reducing taxes and liablities. Luckily, I am in the Phoenix area and can use Diane Kennedy's firm. But for someone just starting out, I think a CPA with basic skills should be fine. Just remember to re-evaluate your needs and their capabilities occasionally and don't be afraid to switch when you've outgrown your current CPA.
Update on credit reports: I requested mine through annualcreditreport.com from all three providers. I had now problems with Equifax. They were by far the easiest and most consumer friendly. Printing my report resulted in a detailed 20 page printout. Experian was so-so. Their website is nice, but you cannot print out your full report. There is a link to print out the report, but it only displays one section. If you want all sections, you must visit each page and print it out from your browser. TransUnion sucks. Yesterday I was unable to get my report because their server wouldn't respond. I am assuming it was because they were swamped with requests. This morning, I tried again and had problems. Part of their process is to create a login on their system. I tried using a new one and they told me I already had one and to use that. When I tried that one, I was prompted for a credit card number and was told my report would cost me $9. When I emailed their tech support, I was told to contact a subsidiary to resolve the issue. That is where things currently stand.
By the way, my Equifax report contained no errors. My Experian report contained several - wrong driver's license number, several incorrect previous addresses, and several incorrect spellings of my name. I attempted to use their on-line dispute tool, but was told I had to dispute these items by mail or phone.
Yep, I had a similar experience when I got all my credit reports. Yes there were some glitches (TransUnion got stuck halfway through for me too), but boy howdy! is this better than going to each one individually. Sooo glad Congress did this (see, they do get some stuff right!).
Susan
Thanks for the kind words. I responded to your post on the richdad.com site.
Oh.. I forgot to address the LLC part of yor comment. I use one LLC per property. Here in Arizona, this is feasible because setting up an LLC is relatively inexpensive and there are no yearly costs that need to be paid. In other states (California comes to mind), they are more expensive and this may not be cost-effective.
Shaun
I just tried to get my free credit report from Equifax via annualcreditreport.com and it blew up! I guess I'll go back and try the other two.
OK, I managed to get the one from Experian without any problems. The credit history was 100% correct (all paid on time or paid in full). However, I found some errors with my personal information, mostly involved with my name. In addition, the biggest mistake was the name of my spouse and I was able to use their on-line link to dispute it. As far as the address info is concerned, they were all correct except for one in Arizona.
They are soft checks - meaning your score will not be impacted when requesting this. I believe the legislation expressly forbids that.
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