Philip Tirone, mortgage broker and author of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, said that Fannie Mae has no intention of locking out homeowners who foreclose when they can afford to make their payments. In a plan announced Wednesday, Fannie Mae said these “strategic defaulters” would be ineligible for loans for seven years after the foreclosure.

“If we want our economy to recover, these people must have the ability to re-enter the market as soon as possible,” said Tirone, adding that approximately 2.5 million homeowners are expected to go through foreclosure this year alone, not to mention the millions more who have lost their homes since the recession began.

“Like typical government policies, this one is not thought through,” said Tirone. “Fannie Mae’s announcement will not keep financially troubled individuals in their homes longer, but it might scare them from reentering the market and helping the economy grow.”

“The government wants to see the economy recover, and with Fannie Mae in the pocket of every politician, its stringent policy will be short-lived,” said Tirone. “If a person has a sizeable down payment and a reestablished credit score, and can afford a home that reduces his monthly payments, why would Fannie Mae stop this buyer from reentering the market and taking an empty home off its hands?”

Indeed, Fannie Mae has already stipulated that it would lower the lockout period for people with “extenuating circumstances.” And even as it issues its threat, Fannie Mae is relaxing its existing guidelines that call for a five-year lockout.

Tirone predicts that Fannie Mae will loosen this seven-year lockout period when it sees the market stabilize.

“Mark my words,” said Tirone, “Fannie Mae is just yammering on.”

Even if they plan to uphold their threat, Fannie Mae’s warning will not succeed in keeping homeowners from strategically defaulting, said Tirone.

“The numbers do the talking,” said the credit and mortgage expert. “Many of my credit clients are underwater by as much as 75 percent. Fannie Mae is giving these people a choice: Are they going to wait for their equity to return, or are they going to face a seven-year lockout as renters? Most will choose the latter as they will be unwilling to wait for their equity to return, which could easily take seven years anyway, and only if the market recovers.

Moreover, the government-owned enterprise is failing to tell homeowners one important fact: Fannie Mae is not the only lender in town, and buyers have plenty of other avenues to homeownership. For instance, a person who went through a foreclosure yesterday can buy a home today using owner financing, said Tirone.

Tirone called Fannie Mae “a playground bully” who is simply trying to scare troubled homeowners, many of whom can barely hang on.

About Philip Tirone:

Philip Tirone is the founder of the Mortgage Equity Group (The MEG) and an expert in residential home financing. Tirone transitioned into the credit industry after watching his clients struggle to obtain loans due to hardships caused by the credit-scoring systems. Leveraging years of experience in difficult-to-obtain loans for clients with stated incomes and/or poor credit scores and studying tens of thousands of credit reports to identify patterns of change, Tirone became an expert in the world of credit-scoring. He authored the 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score products, which he currently gives to troubled debtors through a “name your own price” offer (www.freecreditteleseminar.com).

Michelle Chavez
The Mortgage Equity Group
www.720CreditScore.com
(310) 453-1901

For the next 30 days, the author of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, Philip Tirone, is allowing new customers to name their own price and receive his entire credit-improvement and bank-negotiation program, which he previously sold for $1,000. Past customers who paid full price are eligible for a partial or full refund, allowing them to take advantage of the “name your own price” offer as well.

“I always felt conflicted because the people who most needed my program could not afford it. I had a cure for a disease, but I felt like I was only helping the rich,” said Tirone, explaining his decision to allow people to take a 10, 50, or even 100 percent discount on the program. The complete program includes a seminar, online courses, books, workbooks, forms, worksheets, DVDs, CDs, weekly coaching, and podcasts. Tirone asks those who do not pay full price to help him spread the word.

“If someone takes a 90 percent discount but spreads the word to three or four people, and they tell three or four more people, I can afford to extend this offer beyond 30 days,” Tirone said. “It’s a grassroots movement for the people.”

New customers are not required to prove financial distress to be eligible for the discount.

“This is based purely on the honor system,” said Tirone, explaining that he has been touched by the stories people tell him when purchasing his program at a 98 or 100 percent discount. Rather than feeling disappointed when people take large discounts, Tirone said he is ecstatic to help people whose electricity is being turn off, or those whose homes are being foreclosed.

“A lot of people need a break, and this is it,” said Tirone, who has helped people across America stave off financial disaster.

Tirone believes that if people pay what they can afford, everyone can access this critical information.

“I’m spreading a message that needs to be in the hands of hundreds of millions of people,” he said. “If we spread the word to enough people who begin to understand these unpublished rules, millions of Americans will feel a level of financial independence that currently is beyond their reach.”

Tirone estimates that his program will allow 100 million Americans with credit scores below 720 to save $300 each and every month. In other words, $360 billion a year could be pumped back into the economy through his “name your own price” credit repair program.

Consumers can register at www.FreeCreditTeleseminar.com. For additional information, contact Natalie Sanchez.

About Philip Tirone:

Philip Tirone is the founder of the Mortgage Equity Group (The MEG) and an expert in residential home financing. Tirone transitioned into the credit industry after watching his clients struggle to obtain loans due to hardships caused by the credit-scoring systems. Leveraging years of experience in difficult-to-obtain loans for clients with stated incomes and/or poor credit scores and studying tens of thousands of credit reports to identify patterns of change, Tirone became an expert in the world of credit-scoring, authoring the 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score products.

Contact: Natalie Sanchez
7 Steps to 720, LLC
(877) 720-7267 ext. 4
Natalie(at)720CreditScore(dot)com
www.720creditscore.com

“There was no vote on this,” says founder and consumer advocate Philip Tirone. “Simply, our state government has unilaterally decided to withhold a bigger chunk of our paychecks.”

“This is not fair, and that is why I’m doing something about it” Tirone adds. “Sacramento needs to start managing the State’s finances like Californians are managing their own pocketbooks.  Most of us are cutting back and changing our lifestyle, but not state legislature.  Basically, they issue an order for a no interest loan, with no vote, simply mandated by Sacramento.  What gives them that right? This is stealing money from all working Californians, many of whom are living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

To urge the state to end this practice, Californians can sign an online petition at www.NoToSacramento.org.

“We must speak up together,” Tirone urged.  “As individuals, we are weak, but together, they cannot deny us.”

The website is www.NoToSacramento.com, and the petition reads:

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators:

You do not have a right to take my hard earned money simply because of your inability to govern our state.

You are clearly incapable of making independent decisions because the special interest groups have lined your political coffers with millions of dollars.  This is preventing you from making the kinds of difficult choices that need to be made.

Instead of throwing up your hands and apologizing for not being able to make the cut, how about showing some true grit and announcing you will be going without pay for the next year?

Sacrifice should start from the top, especially considering that is where the trouble started.

If you don’t, we the voters will speak up, and we will start with this petition. We are saying “No To Sacramento.” If you think you are going to cram this self-imposed loan with no interest down our throats, think again.

If you voted Yes on this amendment, we will vote No on you in the upcoming election. If you do not change this immediately, you will be out of office quicker than you can say “pass the buck and stick it to the little guy,” which is obviously what you are trying to say.

For more information, visit www.NoToSacramento.org, or call (310) 453-1501.

Contact:

Philip Tirone

www.NoToSacramento.org

Philip@NoToSacramento.org

Phone: (310) 453-1901

While some states are pondering limits on this practice, a 2006 study by the Society of Human Resource Management showed that 43 percent of companies conducting any type of pre-employment screening used credit checks for some or all employees.

“In our current economy, job seekers are absolutely affected by this practice,” says Tirone, author of “7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score” and founder and president of 720CreditScore.com. “It’s the perfect storm. With the U.S. unemployment rate hitting almost 10 percent, and with one in eight Americans behind on their mortgages—not to mention the millions of foreclosures and short sales, job seekers must be diligent about protecting their credit rating.”

Tirone says the majority of his clients over the past 12 months are people who cannot pay their bills due to a job loss “and don’t want this to affect their financial lives forever.”

He offers advice to those with less than perfect credit who are also looking for work, “Always be up front with any potential employer about three things: What they will find on your credit report; what you are doing to fix it, and what you learned from the experience.”

According to Tirone, “this shows the future employer that you are conscientious, and that you learn from your mistakes – which is precisely what employers what in an employee. Remember, employers understand that millions of Americans at all demographic levels are impacted by this economy; the key is how you handle it. In fact, chances are, the person who is conducting the interview has personally been impacted as well!”

Tirone says the myth that a late payment, a foreclosure or a short sale will limit your credit for 7 years is just that,an urban myth. “This was most likely started by the banks not wanting to take back homes,” he adds. “There are many lenders who will work with borrowers with negative items on their credit reports, plus there are many steps individuals can take to improve their credit right away.”

After a foreclosure or short sale, Tirone recommends that borrowers work to reestablish new credit immediately. “This is imperative,” he said. “The key is establishing credit that will improve your score, not just establish credit for credit stake.”

By following the right techniques, individuals who have had a difficult credit past, will not only present a better picture to prospective employers, but they wil also have dramatically improved their credit scores.

If you are a job seeker who is troubled by your credit report, Philip Tirone offers a free 90-minute tele-seminar. For information visit www.RaiseYourCreditScore.us.

About Philip Tirone:
Nationally recognized credit guru Phil Tirone offers a low-cost, self-help credit repair program at www.720CreditScore.com. He and his programs have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Woman’s World Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Bottom Line Magazine, and the New York Times bestseller “Secrets of the Young & Successful.” Recognized as a thought leader in the credit industry, Tirone speaks nationwide on the problems with our credit-scoring system and how it erroneously burdens America. He created the 7 Steps to a 720® Credit Score to expose the rules of the credit game and to create a way for countless Americans to increase their credit scores and save hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars in interest payments

Contact:
Danielle Fairlee
DSF Communications
Danielle@dsfcommunications.com
(818) 346-7110

Tirone is the creator and president of 720CreditScore.com and the author of Getting a Car When the Banks Aren’t Lending, a free eBook available at www.720Car.com.

He says more than half the people who owned eligible “clunkers” were unable to qualify for Cash for Clunkers due to their credit scores.

“The statistics speak for themselves: About 80 percent of people have errors on their credit reports and 50 percent have credit scores below 720,” Tirone says. “Add in the tightened lending restrictions, and the program failed about 50 percent of the people who applied.”

So what can people do when their gas-guzzling lemons are breaking down, but the banks are turning them away? “This is the top question people want answered when downloading my ebook,” he says. “I tell prospective car buyers to make themselves more appealing to banks by raising their credit scores.”

He suggests these three immediate credit-building techniques:

• First, pull your credit report and report errors to the credit bureaus, particularly limits that are being reported incorrectly.

• Second, make sure the debt you are carrying on your credit cards is in proportion to the limits you have—meaning you should not have one card maxed out, and nothing on another card.

• Finally, if you are relatively young and have little credit, you should find immediate family members who can add you as an authorized user to existing credit cards with positive histories.

“By taking just these three steps, prospective car buyers could see their scores jump 50 or 60 points,” says Tirone.

He adds one more word of advice for credit-challenged clunker owners who are looking to buy a new car, even if the dealer they are talking to is saying no: “One of the biggest mistakes people make is buying and financing their car in the same location,” says Tirone. “Shop around. Many smaller credit unions and local banks have taken less of a hit than their big bank counterparts. As a result, they are better positioned to lend money than the banks associated with many dealerships.”

About Philip Tirone:

Nationally recognized credit guru Phil Tirone offers a low-cost, self-help credit repair program at www.720CreditScore.com. He and his programs have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Woman’s World Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Bottom Line Magazine, and the New York Times bestseller “Secrets of the Young & Successful.” Recognized as a thought leader in the credit industry, Tirone speaks nationwide on the problems with our credit-scoring system and how it erroneously burdens America. He created the 7 Steps to a 720® Credit Score to expose the rules of the credit game and to create a way for countless Americans to increase their credit scores and save hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars in interest payments.

Contact:
Danielle Fairlee
DSF Communications
Danielle@dsfcommunications.com
(818) 346-7110

The first thing a person should pay off is “financed loans” which have a negative impact on their credit score. Specifically, these are loans where payment has been delayed more that 30 days (“No Payments for 6 Months”). These loans negatively impact your credit score and should be avoided at all cost.

Contrary to popular belief, merely paying your bills on time will not ensure great credit. Other factors such as the number of credit cards you have and the balances outstanding on those cards have a direct impact on your credit score. Be certain that each credit card has a balance less than 30% of the card’s credit limit. If you have a credit card where the balance is more than 30% of the credit limit, use a portion of your tax refund to pay down that balance to below the accepted utilization rate.

More than 100 million people have a FICO score of less than 720, which means they are overpaying on their mortgage, car, and credit card loans. Many consumers are not even aware they are overpaying, instead believing that they are being charged “market rate” and not a higher interest rate based on a low FICO score. Every American should check their FICO score bi-annually as the score is used to determine their mortgage interest rate, auto loan interest rate, auto insurance interest rate and may also affect other areas of their life.

The first thing a consumer should do to understand their financial health is to be aware of their FICO score, not the consumer score that is generally released by the bureaus with the credit report. While every consumer should review their credit reports regularly to check for errors, the consumer score released with most credit reports is of less value than the lender’s score.

Following the above steps will create a stronger economic foundation for the future. Know where you stand with your credit score, avoid finance loans and be certain the revolving balances on each credit card you have is below the standard utilization rate to improve your future finances.

About Philip Tirone:

Philip’s book “7 Steps to a 720® Credit Score” dispels the misconceptions around our credit scoring system and guides consumers who are struggling with Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Short Sale, Divorce, and many other experiences that impact a person’s credit score.
Philip and his programs have been featured in the LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Additionally, Philip has been a frequent guest lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Business and Management.

Contact:
Danielle Fairlee, DSF Communications
Danielle@dsfcommunications.com
(818) 346-7110

Eighty percent of Americans have an error on their credit report. Twenty-five percent of those errors are so bad that if the consumer applied for credit today, they would be turned down (2004 U.S. Public Interest Research Group Study, http://tinyurl.com/d2w5un). This is costing America billions of dollars per year and it is completely fixable!

Forty-six percent of Americans are missing at least one credit limit on their credit report (2004 Federal Reserve Board Study, http://tinyurl.com/d9dvlz), which could lower their credit score artificially.

According to My FICO, a person with a 720 credit score versus a person with a 659 credit score — only 61 points — will pay an ADDITIONAL 5.685% in interest rate … meaning the person with the 720 credit score will get an interest rate of 3% and you with a 659 will get an interest rate of 8.685% (http://www.myfico.com, April 6, 2009).

Sixty-one points can easily be lost in an instant, simply by having the “wrong” error on your credit report.

Errors on credit reports inadvertently cost Americans hundreds of billions of dollars per year and it is completely avoidable!

“There are two types of errors, High Priority Errors and Low Priority Errors,” says Philip Tirone, author of “7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score” (http://www.7StepsTo720.com). “Since statistically speaking we will always have an error on our credit report, it’s better to focus on High Priority Errors — the errors that have a 20-100 point impact on your credit score. Low Priority Errors sometimes do not affect your score at all.”

“Credit Literacy is the salvation to our struggling economy as it’s the money that people are wasting every month,” says Tirone. “By educating consumers on the errors, we could infuse billions of dollars into our economy, without a tax increase. This infusion would happen, year after year, forever.”

Examples of High Priority Errors: Active Collection Account that is listed more than once, someone else’s social security number, someone else’s name.

Examples of Low Priority Errors: Wrong date of birth, incorrect employer information, incorrect account information.

About Philip Tirone:
Philip’s book, “7 Steps to a 720(R) Credit Score” dispels the misconceptions around our credit scoring system and guides consumers who are struggling with Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Short Sale, Divorce, and many other experiences that impact a person’s credit score.
Philip and his programs have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Woman’s World Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Bottom Line Magazine, and the New York Times bestseller “Secrets of the Young & Successful.” Additionally, Philip has been a frequent guest lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Business and Management.

Contact:
Danielle Fairlee, DSF Communications
Danielle@dsfcommunications.com
(818) 346-7110

1) Will I ever be able to get a loan again? Yes, if you follow the right steps.

2) Should I let my property go into foreclosure or do a Short Sale? Depends on your situation.

3) I heard I need to wait 4 years to get another home loan, it this true? Not Necessarily. Some programs require 2 years.

4) What will have a bigger impact on my credit score? Most of the time, a Foreclosure will have a bigger impact on your credit score. However, that will depend on each situation.

5) How can I recover my credit after this? How long will it take? If you follow the right steps, you should have a 720 Credit Score 4-5 years sooner than waiting for it to fall off your credit.

“This is all I get asked lately,” says Philip Tirone, author, speaker and activist on the credit scoring system.

If a consumer is going to have a Foreclosure or Short Sale in their future, the most important item they need to focus on is their credit score. How they handle this one action can cost them thousands of dollars in future payments on their car, credit cards, and future homes.

After the Foreclosure or Short Sale is completed, there are many things that consumers are not aware they need to do. One of which is re-establish credit from the beginning. Relying on their previous credit record will not work, even though other accounts had no late payments.

About Philip Tirone:

After closing $500 Million in residential home financing, Philip became attentive to the thousands of dollars in extra interest payments being wasted by Americans because of their credit scores. His mission is clear: educate Americans on how to increase their monthly disposable income, without changing their lifestyle, simply by understanding the credit scoring process.
Realizing the strain this lack of credit transparency has on the American financial system, Philip has made a personal commitment to educate consumers on how to navigate our credit system until our credit laws are changed and are fair to consumers.
Philip’s book, “7 Steps to a 720® Credit Score” dispels the misconceptions around our credit scoring system and guides consumers who are struggling with Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, Short Sale, Divorce, and many other experiences that impact a person’s credit score.
Philip and his programs have been featured in the LA Times, WSJ, the SF Chronicle, among others. Additionally, Philip has been a frequent guest lecturer at UCLA Anderson School of Business and Management.

Contact:
Danielle Fairlee, DSF Communications
Danielle@dsfcommunications.com
(818) 346-7110