THD/CBNA on credit report?

Do you have THD/CBNA showing on your credit report as a credit card account? This is a credit account for The Home Depot credit services. Most likely you at one time for another applied for an account with them, maybe a long ago one time major purchase you chose to sign up to get a discount?

In my case I haven’t used the card in years and thought I closed this account out. If you need more information about a possible account you have or may have had with The Home Depot here is the contact information you need:

US: 1-866-875-5488
Canada: 1-800-747-3787

Monday – Saturday: 6 a.m. – 1 a.m.
Sunday: 7 a.m. – 12 a.m.

use the Credit Karma app to monitor your credit (android and ios)

This is a useful app that will allow you to monitor your credit history including your credit score! It’s totally free. The app polls the credit reporting agencies every week, updating your history of accounts, debt levels, credit utilization, on-time payments, age of credit lines, total # of accounts, credit inquiries, and any derogatory marks, and of course weekly updates to your credit score!

You’ll be able to track your credit score over time and see how your score compares to people nationwide.

The app is ad supported (they are minimally intrusive, sitting on the bottom of the screen). It’s available in the Play Store on Android devices and the App Store for IOS devices.

Android app LOCKET pays you for viewing ads on your lock screen

I just installed this pretty cool Android app called Locket. It replaces your lock screen (or enables itself as a lock screen if you dont’ have a lock screen currently setup) and pays you $0.01 each time you unlock your phone. You swipe left to view the website for the advertisement or right to simply unlock your phone as usual. Payouts can be made direct to your paypal account in $10 increments. You can also earn $1.00 for referrals during the beta period (no telling how long, or short, that will be)!

Here’s my referral link if you’re interested: http://getlocket.com/r/?586007ed

Drop me a msg via the comments if you sign up and feel free to share your experience using the app!

Mortgage Debt Relief Act Extended until December 31, 2013

So the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 has been extended through 2013: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-01-02/business/sfl-mortgage-debt-relief-extended-link-20130102_1_mortgage-debt-national-mortgage-settlement-tax-bills
Good news! My shortsale went through in late December thankfully and that ordeal is done and I can start rebuilding my credit. And in three years who knows, maybe I’ll even be ready to buy again, but chances are it won’t be in the great state of NJ. The taxes are just too damn high. Rates and prices should still be low enough to be affordable in that time. Good luck to all you short sellers and mod-seekers!

expiration of Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act of 2007

We are now halfway through 2012, the last year of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act. At present there is not much news out there on whether or not it will be extended. If you are depending on its extension while pursuing a short sale, deed-in-lieu, you are taking a big risk. It may pay off and I hope that it does but I will not be taking the same chance. At this time in my own adventure in loan default, the bank has approved the request for a short sale. Now I guess it is up to the bank and the buyer(s) to come to an agreement about the price and other elements of closing. I anticipate being out of the house in 2-3 months, maybe longer but definitely by the deadline of 12/31/2012 to have the mortgage debt amount that will be forgiven (over $100,000) exempted from taxation. 

if you haven’t already you should consider walking away

did you buy a house in the past 3 years? did you overpay? are recent sales around you going for a lot less than what you paid? are you already stretching to make those payments?

that was me. bought in the fall of 2008 knowing on some level it wasn’t a good idea but hey, you do crazy things for love. then, unfortunately, that love faded, an engagement was called off, house was on the market for months with no offers and our hand was forced.

fast forward ten months, still in the house. haven’t paid since November 2010 and just waiting for it all to shake out and for the unpleasantness to strike. house is still on the market with an asking price ten percent below the mortgage. no bites. realtor wants to drop the price by 50k!

a few houses have sold in the neighborhood recently for almost 1/3 of the mortgage on this house. those houses have at least one bedroom more (ours has 2). realistically this house could go for $200k or less and we bought for $300k. thinking about that reassures me that this is the best thing to do. at those numbers it would take 5-10 years just to be able to walkaway from this debacle with no debt. but in all that time we’d have to live together when we’ve already separated and continue to overpay on a mortgage note, taxes, and utilities.

it makes no sense. so, this doesn’t feel good despite the extra money to put towards savings, extra car payments, food, clothes, fun, and yes toys, everyday i come home expecting the dreaded notice that the time for our reckoning has come. will it be next week or the week after? next month? another year?

it’s a precarious position compounded by the fact that this was a place we poured our hearts and meager wallets into. the first place i lived that was my “own.” that feeling will be missed.

things might have been different between us if we were more patient. if i was stronger and resisted the pressure to buy a house when we should have rented again. i wanted to wait. to save. but she didn’t. she wanted a house and she usually got what she wanted.

everyone has their tale of woe but in the end giving up the house–the bad and/or unlucky decision–may be the best thing for you.

good luck.

An idea for mortgage reform

One aspect of mortgages (and any other loan product) I unfortunately didn’t fully appreciate until after those 100 documents were signed was that the interest would be front-loaded.

So, on a 30 year fixed mortgage the rate you think you’re getting on your loan is only truly that rate when and if you ever make 30 years worth of payments. If you refinance or sell prior to the 30 years, your actual interest rate is higher–possibly much higher.

I can understand why this is the case. Collecting the interest up front acts as a hedge to protect the lender from default. More money is collected than would have otherwise if the interest was equally spread out over 30 years of payments.

Here is what I propose: If a loan is paid off early, through a sale or a refinance, the amount of interest paid by the borrower should be recalculated so that any interest paid over the amount that would have been paid if the interest charges were evenly spread over 30 years worth of payments be REFUNDED. After all, if the loan was carried through to its original terms, the lender would see no difference in the amount of interest collected.

Borrowers who refinance or sell early basically overpay on what was advertised as a “fixed rate” mortgage. But a mortgage is only truly “fixed rate” if the 30 years runs its course. When it is paid back early due to a refinance or sale the actual rate charged is much higher.

Why should lenders benefit from this windfall ill-gained by front loaded interest? If it is meant to protect the lender from defaults why should the borrower be punished if they do not default?

This is yet another example of the lack of financial knowledge I suspect the vast majority of borrowers suffer from. At the very least, the front-loading aspect of interest payments should be a separate disclosure required for the processing of any loans.

Debit cards/checking account opt-in overdraft beginning soon

You’ve probably seen emails or notices on your bank’s website about overdraft rules changing. THis is true. Starting in August, by law, banks can no longer automatically enroll its customers in their overdraft programs. Customers must choose to be enrolled.

Most try to convince you of all of the benefits of their expensive overdraft “benefit” that charges you $35 for the privilege of having a transaction approved even if it exceeds your available funds.

Unless you run a business I can’t see a reason why a personal consumer would want to opt-in to such a “service.” Fear not, your world is not going to change significantly if you do not opt-in like the banks are trying to convince you to do.

Resist the marketing, this is a good thing!

Got a charge from WFN PBP WFN PAYBYPHONE?

I recently had an unrecognized electronic withdrawal from my checking account by WFN PBP WFN PAYBYPHONE for $100. After unsuccessfully contacting the bank trying to find a contact number for the institution that processed the withdrawal I searched online and found a contact number buried in a thread on a financial forum.

If you see a withdrawal form this company and are unsure what it is call the World Financial Network at 614-729-5261. They will ask you for an account number, which if like me you don’t know where the charge is coming from you won’t be able to provide. Instead you can give them your SSN# (they are a legit bank payments processing company it’s ok) and they can look up any recent payments.

Most likely you will recall the transaction after they provide you with the vendor they processed the payment for. It sure would be helpful if they could include that information in the transaction details passed to bank they are withdrawing from, but I’m sure there is some reason beyond their control our checking accounts only show WFN and not for example, “WFN for Pottery Barn.”

Discover Open Road cashback, no more 5%

Boo Discover! The ride is over. What was once a a nice little 5% discount on gas will soon be no more. Discover has decided to decrease the 5% cash back on gas and auto maintenance to a measly 2% (on gas and restaurants now, no more auto maintenance). They have increased the amount you can earn each month to $250 from $100 but that will not benefit us normal people.

Time to search for a new card to use for gas purchases. 2% may be the best currently available however. With the credit industry climate the way it is cashback programs and other promos are getting stingier.