Who's Got Your Back When Your Credit Report is Wrong?

Who’s Got Your Back When Your Credit Report is Wrong?                    By: HouseLogic.com

With some credit report errors not getting fixed by either the credit reporting bureau or credit card companies, at least you have the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in your corner. When you find an error in your credit report and send the credit bureau proof that your creditor was wrong when it said you paid late, didn’t pay at all, or, worse yet, are deceased, you expect the bureau and your creditor to do the right thing. Like acknowledge the error and correct your credit report to show you paid on time, paid off your debts, or are still alive. And yet, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently had to tell the credit bureaus (and the companies that report your payment record to the bureaus) to pay attention to your complaints and take more care investigating your disputes. It’s like the Department of Transportation having to order school bus drivers to use the brakes to stop their buses.
How Errors Get Perpetuated
Keeping track of your payment history is the credit bureau’s job. Nevertheless, a 2012 Federal Trade Commission report found 20% of consumers had errors in their credit report. And about 5% of consumers had errors in their credit report that could affect the likelihood of receiving credit or the terms of credit received. To do their job right, the credit bureaus have to get accurate information each month from the companies that report data to them — parties like credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, auto loan companies, and student loan lenders. When you tell a credit reporting bureau there’s an error in your report, the bureau contacts the company that furnished the information about you. You’d think the bureau would pass along whatever documents and proof you have to show you paid on time. Not so much. In the past, they’ve simply boiled down your issue into a data code and sent that, not your proof (a letter explaining the issue, supporting documents) to the data furnisher. Evidence is important in establishing that the data furnisher made an error. That’s why the CFPB stepped in and told the credit bureaus they need to pass along the evidence that supports your dispute. Regardless of whether they see your proof, credit furnishers sometimes respond to an error report by simply deleting the disputed account, the CFPB said. That’s not good for you because the furnisher isn’t:
Correcting your information, or telling the other two credit reporting companies (there are three big ones) that it made a mistake in the information it provided about you. Here’s an example of how this might work: Suppose you have an auto loan that you paid on time every month for 60 months. But the auto loan company says once you paid 90 days late. You dispute, and the auto lender removes your account from the data it reports to the credit bureaus. Now, you don’t have the late payment report on your record, but you also don’t have the 60 months of on-time payments either. A mortgage lender pulling your credit report, for instance, won’t see that positive payment history, so your credit rating might decline just when you’re trying to get a home loan or refi.
In a related move, the CFPB also suggested credit card companies follow the example set by Discover, Barclaycard, and First Bankcard and start showing consumers the credit scores they use to set the rates their customers pay. Discover shows credit scores on customers’ monthly statements. Barclaycard and First Bankcard give customers free access to their scores via a website.
The CFPB is asking for credit score disclosure because it wants you to pay closer attention to your credit standing. “Consumers often learn the importance of their credit standing when it is too late — after a credit application is denied or identity theft has occurred,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a letter to credit card companies. “Sometimes they fail to see the importance of their credit standing even if it has affected them in material ways, such as being rejected for a job or charged a higher price for a loan.”
 How Do I Get Errors Fixed?
It’s up to you to guard your credit. The first step is checking to see what’s in your credit report. You can get one free credit report from each of the three bureaus once a year. Then, if you find mistakes, get to work trying to correct them. If the credit bureau doesn’t fix the error, complain to the CFPB. You can:
File your complaint online
Call the toll-free phone number at 855/411-CFPB (2372) or
TTY/TDD phone number at 855/729-CFPB (2372)
Fax the CFPB at 855/237-2392
Mail a letter to: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, P.O. Box 4503, Iowa City, Iowa 52244
The CFPB will give you a confirmation number immediately, email updates along the way, and you’ll be able to check the progress of your case online. If you need to fix an error, you’ve got a lot of company. Between Oct. 22, 2012, and Feb. 1, 2014, roughly 31,000 consumers complained to the CFPB about credit report problems, the agency says. About three-quarters of those complaints came from consumers who had trouble fixing a credit report mistake.
 *From me: Get your free report annually from: www.annualcreditreport.com

Tax and Home Records: What to Keep and for How Long

Want to rest assured you have all the documents you need when you need them, but not be awash in paper? Read on.

If you're going to file a claim or take a deduction, you'd better have the paperwork to back it up. Image: Liz Foreman for HouseLogic.

Unless you’re living in the 123-room Spelling Manor, you probably don’t have space to store massive amounts of tax and insurance paperwork, warranties, and repair receipts related to your home. But you’ll definitely want your paperwork at hand if you have to prove you deserved a tax deduction, file an insurance claim, or figure out if your busted oven is still under warranty.

Except for tax paperwork, there’s no official guideline governing exactly how long you have to keep most home-related documents. Lucky for you, we considered the situations in which you might need documents and came up with a handy “How Long to Keep It” home records checklist.

First, a little background on IRS rules, which informed some of our charts:

• The IRS says you should keep tax returns and the paperwork supporting them for at least three years after you file the return — the amount of time the IRS has to audit you. So that’s how long we advise in our charts.

• Check with your state about state income tax, though. Some make you keep tax records a really long time: In Ohio, it’s 10 years.

• The IRS can also ask for records up to six years after a filing if they suspect someone failed to report 25% or more of his gross income. And the agency never closes the door on an audit if it suspects fraud. Just sayin’.

HOME SALE RECORDS
Document	How Long to Keep It
Home sale closing documents, including HUD-1 settlement sheet	As long as you own the property + 3 years
Deed to the house	As long as you own the property
Builder’s warranty or service contract for new home	Until the warranty period ends
Community/condo association covenants, codes, restrictions (CC&Rs)	As long as you own the property
Receipts for capital improvements	As long as you own the property + 3 years
Section 1031 (like-kind exchange) sale records for both your old and new properties, including HUD-1 settlement sheet	As long as you own the property + 3 years
Mortgage payoff statements (certificate of satisfaction or lien release)	Forever, just in case a lender says, “Hey, you still owe money.”

Why you need these docs: You use home sale closing documents, receipts for capital improvements, and like-kind exchange records to calculate and document your profit (gain) when you sell your home. Your deed and mortgage payoff statements prove you own your home and have paid off your mortgage, respectively. Your builder’s warranty or contract is important if you file a claim. And sooner or later you’ll need to check the CC&R rules in your condo or community association.

ANNUAL TAX DEDUCTIONS
Document	How Long to Keep It
Property tax payment (tax bill + canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed)	3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Year-end mortgage statements	3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
PMI payment (monthly bills + canceled check or bank statements showing check was cashed)	3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Residential energy tax credit* receipts	3 years after the due date of the return on which the credit is claimed (including carryforwards**)

Why you need these docs: To document you’re eligible for a deduction or tax credit.

*Energy tax credits for alternative energy sources; credit expires at the end of 2016.

**Tax credits that you carry forward from one year to a future year, such as when you don’t have enough tax liability to offset the entire amount of the credit. (You can’t deduct more than you earn.) Only certain tax credits can be carried forward. Check with your tax pro about your particular circumstances.

INSURANCE AND WARRANTIES
Document	How Long to Keep It
Home repair receipts	Until warranty expires
Inventory of household possessions	Forever (Remember to make updates.)
Homeowners insurance policies	Until you receive the next year’s policy
Service contracts and warranties	As long as you have the item being warrantied

Why you need these docs: To file a claim or see what your policy or warranty covers.

INVESTMENT (LANDLORD) REAL ESTATE DEDUCTIONS
Document	How Long to Keep It
Appraisal or valuation used to calculate depreciation	As long as you own the property + 3 years
Receipts for capital expenses, such as an addition or improvements	As long as you own the property + 3 years
Receipts for repairs and other expenses	3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction
Landlord’s insurance payment receipt (canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed)	3 years after the due date showing the deduction
Landlord’s insurance policy	Until you receive the next year’s policy
Partnership or LLC agreements for real estate investments	As long as the partnership or LLC exists + 7 years
Landlord insurance receipts (canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed)	3 years after you deduct the expense

Why you need these docs: For the most part, to prove your eligibility to deduct the expense. You’ll also need receipts for capital expenditures to calculate your gain or loss when you sell the property. Landlord’s insurance and partnership agreements are important references.

MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
Document	How Long to Keep It
Wills and property trusts	Until updated
Date-of-death home value record for inherited home, and any rules for heirs’ use of home	As long as you own the home + 3 years
Original owners’ purchase documents (sales contract, deed) for home given to you as a gift	As long as you own the home + 3 year
Divorce decree with home sale clause	As long as you or spouse owns the home + 3 years
Employment records for live-in help (W-2s, W-4s, pay and benefits statements)	4 years after you make (or owe) payroll tax payments

Why you need these docs: Most are needed to calculate capital gains when you sell. Employment records help prove deductions.

Organizing Your Home Records

Because paper, such as receipts, fades with time and takes up space, consider scanning and storing your documents on a flash drive, an external hard drive, or a cloud-based remote server. Even better, save your documents to at least two of these places. 

Digital copies are OK with the IRS as long as they’re identical to the originals and contain all the accurate information that was in the original receipts. You must be able to produce a hard copy if the IRS asks for one.

Tip: Tax season and year’s end are good times to purge files and toss what you no longer need; that’s often when the spirit of organization moves us.   

When you do finally toss out your home-related paperwork, use a shredder. Throwing away intact documents with personal financial information puts you at risk for identity theft.

This article provides general information about tax laws and consequences, but isn’t intended to be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable to particular transactions or circumstances. Consult a tax professional for such advice.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/taxes-incentives/how-long-to-keep-tax-records/#ixzz3rgAotjdx
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12 Simple Home Repair Jobs to Lift You Out of Winter's Funk

By : Jean Huber For: HouseLogic.com Winter’s doldrums got you down? Grab a screwdriver and a hammer and fight back with easy home repairs that’ll raise spirits and get your house ready for spring. Accomplishments — even little ones — go a long way toward a sunny outlook. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy, quick home repair chores you can do when you’re mired in the thick of winter. For max efficiency, make a to-do list ahead of time and shop for all the tools and supplies in one trip. On your work days, put the basics in a caddy and carry it from room to room, checking off completed tasks as you speed through them. In each room, look around and take stock of what needs fixing or improving. Focus on small, quick-hit changes, not major redos. Here are some likely suspects: 1. Sagging towel rack or wobbly toilet tissue holder. Unscrew the fixture and look for the culprit. It’s probably a wimpy, push-in type plastic drywall anchor. Pull that out (or just poke it through the wall) and replace it with something more substantial. Toggle bolts are strongest, and threaded types such as E-Z Ancor are easy to install. 2. Squeaky door hinges. Eliminate squeaks by squirting a puff of powdered graphite ($2.50 for a 3-gram tube) alongside the pin where the hinge turns. If the door sticks, plane off a bit of the wood, then touch up the paint so the surgery isn’t noticeable. 3. Creaky floor boards. They’ll shush if you fasten them down better. Anti-squeak repair kits, such as Squeeeeek No More ($23), feature specially designed screws that are easy to conceal. A low-cost alternative: Dust a little talcum powder into the seam where floorboards meet — the talcum acts as a lubricant to quiet boards that rub against each other.

4. Rusty shutoff valves. Check under sinks and behind toilets for the shutoff valves on your water supply lines. These little-used valves may slowly rust in place over time, and might not work when you need them most. Keep them operating by putting a little machine oil or WD-40 on the handle shafts. Twist the handles back and forth to work the oil into the threads. If they won’t budge, give the oil a couple of hours to penetrate, and try again. 5. Blistered paint on shower ceilings. This area gets a lot of heat and moisture that stresses paint finishes. Scrape off old paint and recoat, using a high-quality exterior-grade paint. Also, be sure everyone uses the bathroom vent when showering to help get rid of excess moisture. 6. Loose handles or hinges on furniture, cabinets, and doors. You can probably fix these with a few quick turns of a screwdriver. But if a screw just spins in place, try making the hole fit the screw better by stuffing in a toothpick coated with glue, or switching to a larger screw. Safety Items You know those routine safety checks you keep meaning to do but never have the time? Now’s the time. 7. Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. If you don’t like waking up to the annoying chirp of smoke detector batteries as they wear down, do what many fire departments recommend and simply replace all of them at the same time once a year. 8. Ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets. You’re supposed to test them once a month, but who does? Now’s a great time. You’ll find them around potentially wet areas — building codes specify GFCI outlets in bathrooms, kitchens, and for outdoor receptacles. Make sure the device trips and resets correctly. If you find a faulty outlet, replace it or get an electrician to do it for $75 to $100.

Another good project is to replace your GFCIs with the latest generation of protected outlets that test themselves, such as Levitron’s SmartlockPro Self-Test GFCI ($28). You won’t have to manually test ever again! 9. Exhaust filter for the kitchen stove. By washing it to remove grease, you’ll increase the efficiency of your exhaust vent; plus, if a kitchen stovetop fire breaks out, this will help keep the flames from spreading. 10. Clothes dryer vent. Pull the dryer out from the wall, disconnect the vent pipe, and vacuum lint out of the pipe and the place where it connects to the machine. Also, wipe lint off your exterior dryer vent so the flap opens and closes easily. (You’ll need to go outside for that, but it’s quick.) Remember that vents clogged with old dryer lint are a leading cause of house fires. 11. Drain hoses. Inspect your clothes washer, dishwasher, and icemaker. If you see any cracks or drips, replace the hose so you don’t come home to a flood one day. 12. Electrical cords. Replace any that are brittle, cracked, or have damaged plugs. If you’re using extension cords, see if you can eliminate them — for example, by replacing that too-short lamp cord with one that’s longer. If you don’t feel up to rewiring the lamp yourself, drop it off at a repair shop as you head out to shop for your repair materials. It might not be ready by the end of the day. But, hey, one half-done repair that you can’t check off is no big deal, right? Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/home-advice/repair-tips/home-repair-jobs-winter/#ixzz3rgKzhXjI Follow us: @HouseLogic on Twitter | HouseLogic on Facebook