It’s exactly the opposite of the norm. Usually cash-strapped Americans during tough economic times will miss credit card payments before they’ll miss mortgage payments.

Welcome to the new world order.

The percentage of borrowers who are delinquent on their mortgages but paying their credit card bills on time is growing, to 6.6 percent in the third quarter of 2009 from 4.9 percent in the same quarter of 2008, according to a new study by Chicago-based TransUnion. In an interview with Reuters, the author of the study, Sean Reardon, confirmed, “This goes against conventional wisdom and that has always been that, when faced with a financial crisis, consumers will pay their secured obligations first, specifically their mortgages.”

While concerning, I don’t find this surprising at all.

Today’s consumer is all about cash-flow, and that means keeping the credit cards current. A home is no longer the product it was even five years ago, no longer an emotional investment. For a growing number of borrowers, a home is now a financial investment plain and simple, and more and more often, a lost investment. I read an article a few years ago about how Americans’ attitudes toward their homes was changing, how twenty years ago losing your home was as big a social stigma as it was a hit to your credit rating, even more so. Not anymore.

Let’s face it: An awful lot of borrowers out there put nothing into their homes and therefore have neither a financial, nor, more profoundly an emotional nor social stake in the structure. Of course they’re going to pay off their credit cards first, because that has an immediate impact on what they can and cannot buy and do.

On top of that, most troubled borrowers have already figured out that there are so many forces in motion trying to save homes from foreclosure that they can easily miss one, two, five or six mortgage payments before even getting a call from the bank; then, they’ve got many more months of negotiations over modifications, short sale options, even the foreclosure process itself, insuring they will have a roof over their heads for a good long time.

I heard an interesting factoid at the American Securitization Forum conference in DC yesterday.

Home building Analyst Ivy Zelman said that in some Florida counties the courts are so backed up with foreclosures that it can take up to three years to get one home through the system.

That’s three years of living rent-free, which frees up plenty of cash to pay the Visa bill.

The most effective way to better your credit report is to manage credit responsibly over time. Clearly the best way to do that is to pay your bills on time every month. It?s very important to live below your means so that you have enough money every month to pay them. None of the tips I?m going to tell you about will work long-term if you can?t get your spending habits under control.
Here are some fast tips to help you better your credit reports now.
Learn How the Credit System Works.
If you don?t know how this game works, you?re not going to win it. It?s just something that every single consumer is going to have to eventually learn in their life time. The sooner you learn, the better off your life will be. Yes, your credit score is that important. Don?t listen to what a friend of a friend told you about credit that he heard from his parents. There?s a lot of misinformation getting spread around. Get your information from the top financial sites and books on the subject.
Keep Your Credit Card Balances Low.
High balances on credit cards and other revolving accounts hurt your report. Try to keep your balances under 30% of your available credit limit. Never let it get higher than 50%. This is extremely important. Never give the appearance to the banks that you are ?strapped?. Once you let them see that you?re using almost all of the credit made available to you, it appears to them that you are in a state of financial emergency. It?s calculated in the FICO scoring algorithm and everything. At that point, only very high interest rate lenders will give you loans.
Apply New Credit Accounts Only as Needed.
Applying for new accounts lowers your credit scores; especially if you apply for too many in a short time period. If you know you have negative credit scores, don?t apply for anything. It?s amazing how some people know they have negative credit scores, but still keep trying. ?It?s worth a try.? No, it?s not. Every time you ?try? you hurt your credit report even more ? STOP!
Delete Negative Accounts.
This step is my favorite. This is what credit repair is all about. Learn how to get negative accounts removed from your credit report or hire a credit repair agency to do it for you. Deleting such accounts is probably the single fastest way to improve your credit report.

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Most consumers have finally realized how important it is to maintain a good credit rating, but the majority of individuals still don’t have a thorough understanding of exactly what details actually appear on the report from the credit bureau. In order to ensure that a credit report is as accurate as possible, a person must first know what information should be present.

All three credit bureaus report standard demographic data such as name, address, date of birth, social security number, and employer. The names included on a credit report will often range from the correct name to variations that might contain misspellings. Although the name portion is present on any credit report, the truth is that minor misspellings and mistakes will not negatively affect the credit score. Address information is compiled from any location in which a consumer has received mail, so it is not always the correct physical address. The last known employer is also an elective field that often contains old and outdated entries. As long as the date of birth and social security number is correct, the rest of the demographic information is much less pertinent.

The rest of the credit report is broken down into various categories with the first one being public records. Any court filings, bankruptcies, or judgments will be included in this area. There is also a section with a heading negative records, and this is typically where collections and charge-offs can be found.

Any inquiries that have been made in a 24 month period will be displayed within the credit report as well. There are both “soft hits” and “hard hits,” with the primary difference being that hard hits impact a credit score and must be specifically requested. Soft inquiries often appear as a result of credit card offers and other such instances in which a consumer has not requested their credit be pulled.

The remainder of the information found on the credit report is current and past account information. Whether the accounts are considered to be revolving or instalments, the payment information and balance owed will be displayed. Any delinquent payments or maxed out credit cards will be reported, as will a routine schedule of on-time payments. Even accounts that are paid off will continue to be reported for a certain period of time, often depending on the actual lender’s policies.

Most consumers believe that their utility bills and bank accounts may be disclosed in a credit report, but this is only true if a utility bill or old bank account has become a collection or charge-off. By understanding what details appear on a credit report, an individual can take the necessary steps to ensure that their complete history is correct.

Article Source: http://www.itempad.com