Mike

How long does it typically take for payment activity on a Credit Card to percolate into the Credit Report?

I have a good chunk of money that I intend to use to reduce my Credit Card Debt, and I have a bunch of Credit Cards, all of which are close to being maxed-out. What is better from the standpoint of maximizing the positive impact to my Credit Score: focusing on paying-off as many of the Credit Cards as possible and leaving the rest as almost maxed-out, or focusing on bringing the utilization ratio down to 30% for as many of the Credit Cards as possible and not necessarily paying any of them off?

Has anyone ever used the services of a "College Admissions Consultant", and if so, was it worth it or was it a waste of money?

I'm in the midst of negotiating the sale of a house to a "Flipper" and am trying to back-out what the Buyer's maximum purchase price may be so I can adjust my negotiating tactics accordingly. Can somebody review and comment on what I came up with below? My biggest "unknown" is what to assume for the minimum profit a Flipper would expect based on the details below.

Here are the details:

- Property Location: Southeastern Connecticut, at the end of a Cul-de-Sac in an excellent neighborhood

- Approx Market Value of House as-is: $510,000

- Approx Market Value of house after repairs: $625.000

- Approx cost of repairs needed: $75,000

- I'm assuming the Flipper would want to achieve a minimum profit of $50,000 (or should I be assuming a percentage of what the Flipper is investing?)

Based on the above, I calculate $500,000 as the absolute highest the Flipper would be willing to go (i.e. 625 - 75 - 50).

Comments or suggestions please?

I have an event of unknown probability P, and I’m attempting to determine the Probability empirically. I’ve run some tests, and have had n successes in N trials, resulting in an Empirical Probability Pe = n/N

Now here’s my question: can something be said mathematically about the “validity” of Pe as a function of N, something like “Based on N, Pe is between a and b with a 95% degree of confidence”, and if so, what’s the formula?

I’m assuming Pe approaches P as N approaches infinity, but since running an infinite number of trials is not an option, I’m trying to determine where an appropriate cut-off point would be for N.

For example: let’s say I’ve run 20 trials of an event of unknown P, and have achieved 8 successes. Even though Pe = 40%, P could be significantly lower if my trials happened to start when the event was “hot”; conversely, P could be significantly higher if my trials happened to start when the event was “cold”. I want to run enough trials to get to the point that I’m reasonably confident of what Pe is.

I'm looking to secure a Debt Consolidation Lona via "Peer to Peer Lending". Which is the better company, Prosper or Lending Club? Are there other options for "Peer to Peer Lending" that may be even better than these two?

I have a Capacitor (50V, 3300 microFarads) that is being used in circuitry that's runing on 35 VAC. I have indirect evidence that the Capacitor is fried. Are there any tests I can do with a Multimeter to confirm it's fried? What I've done so far is a) measured the Voltage across the Capacitor leads with the power turned off (I got 105 V) and b) inspected the "split top" of the Capacitor (appears slightly bulged but does not appear to be split)

The question sounds deceptively simple, and it is if I bought X Shares and then sold X shares sometime later. But what confuses me is when I, for example, buy 1,000 shares of a Stock, sell 100, buy 500 more, sell 200, then sell what's left (1,200. Shares). Not knowing if there's any kind of financial formula that is typically used for situations like this, I calculate my ROI based on a) my total cash in when I sold the last of the batch, b) the total cash out for each time I bought, and c) the time between the first buy and when I sold that remaining shares. Is there a specific formula that is typically used for something like this?

My father passed away in 2011 and I was one of several Beneficiaries of his Pension; this Pension was divvied up amongst the Beneficiaries in 2011, and I subsequently made several withdrawals in 2011 from the newly created "Inherited IRA" that was created for my portion of the Pension.

I just received the 1099-R form for my account and Box 2a "Taxable Amount" shows the total amount I withdrew in 2011, and Box 2b is flagged as “Taxable Amount Not Determined”. Before I go digging through IRS Publications, can someone shed some light as to whether or not distributions from a Pension/Inherited IRA are taxable?

I have a Credit Card account that has been in default since January 2009. The Original Creditor made some attempts to collect via letters and phone calls, and then it went to a Collection Agency in mid-2009. The last contact I’ve had concerning this account was a phone call from the Collection Agency back in August 2009, and there has been no collection activity since then. The Statue of Limitations for my state is 6 years.

I’m in a conundrum: I’ve recently come into some money and am struggling with which of these three options to pursue:

1) Pay in full now- this is of course the “right thing to do”, but with my Credit being damaged already, and based on how long the account has been in default (almost 3 years), this seems like a waste of money.

2) Do nothing and wait for the Collection Agency to resume collection activity- on the surface this seems like a good idea, but what I’m worried about is this scenario: the Collection Agency starts pursuing me well AFTER I’ve paid most of my debts off with the aforementioned money I will be receiving, I try to settle for less than the full amount, and they look at my Credit Report and basically say “there is no way we are settling for less than the full value, you clearly can afford to pay in full based on how good your Credit Report looks!”

3) Be proactive and propose a settlement now- I basically try to settle right now, BEFORE I pay off my debts with the money I will be receiving, so when they look at my Credit Report it still looks really bad and I’m presumably in a better position to negotiate a settlement.

What are your thoughts?

PS- Please don’t bother slamming me with negative comments concerning how I got into this mess in the first place or why I would even consider paying only part what I owe. I am where I am, and if I need to be yelled or get lectured I have my Parents for that.

Is there any way to download Flash to a Wii so you can view Flash videos when browsing the Internet on a Wii?

I have a Diesel tractor that has water in the fuel. Can I use "Dry Gas", or is there some other "Diesel friendly" alternative that should be used?

I'm working with a Collection Agency (who is working on behalf of the Original Creditor and has not bought the debt from the Original Creditor) to fine-tune the wording of a Debt Settlement Agreement. Somewhere I had read a list of suggestions for how to best word the settlement payment (i.e. “Paid-settled” or “Paid as agreed” or “Paid for less than the full balance”, etc), in order from best to worst, but I can’t seem to find it now. Can anyone chime-in as to what is the most advantageous for the Debtor to word this?

Also, here’s what I have so far wording that I would like to see in the letter. Any comments or suggestions?

Upon completion of payment of $XX,XXX:

- This account will be considered “Settled as Agreed” and the Debtor and their successors and assignees will not be liable for the remaining balance.

- The Credit Bureaus will be advised of the change in status of this account within within 30 days.

- Legal action initiated on 11/24/2010 will be withdrawn prior to the 1/04/2011 Return Date associated with the Civil Summons.

- This agreement shall be binding upon the Creditor, Debtor, and their successors and assignees.

Has anyone ever succesfully used "Laches" to get a Credit Card lawsuit dropped? I was served a Summons for an account two years from the time I defaulted; during the first year of that two year timeframe, I was dealing with settling 6 other delinquent accounts and it was in effect "first come, first serve" since I had limited funds available for settlement. Had this particular Creditor sued me during that first year, I would have been in a much better position to come to a settlement agreement with them, but now the money has been gobbled up by settlements of the 6 other accounts.

One other thing in my favor (or maybe not?) is that towards the end of that first year I requested Debt Validation for the account I got sued on and they took 10 months to respond!

Here's the scenario: my 1st and 2nd Mortgage balances are well in excess of the value of my home and I am facing the possibility of walking away from my Mortgages and forcing Foreclosure. At the same time, I have several Credit Card accounts that are in Collections. Now here's the question: what implications does Foreclosure have, if any, on the Credit Card Collections accounts? In other words, from the standpoint of negotiating settlement of the Credit Card account, can I use this negative equity and possible Foreclosure scenario to my advantage when trying to settle the Credit Card accounts?

Here's the scenario: my 1st and 2nd Mortgage balances are well in excess of the value of my home and I am facing the possibility of walking away from my Mortgages and forcing Foreclosure. At the same time, I have several Credit Card accounts that are in Collections. Now here's the question: what implications does Foreclosure have, if any, on the Credit Card Collections accounts? In other words, from the standpoint of negotiating settlement of the Credit Card account, can I use this negative equity and possible Foreclosure scenario to my advantage when trying to settle the Credit Card accounts?

I am about to open Debt Settlement negotiations on a large Credit Card account that has been in default for two years. I know that in general Collection Agencies just want the money and could care less about personal circumstances, but as I propose to them a ridiculously low settlement offer, is there any reason why I wouldn't highlight the fact that a) the proposed settlement wipes out my savings, b) my two mortgage balances are well in excess of the value of my home and I'm considering walking away from the mortgages and forcing foreclosure, and c) because of a) and b) I am also seriously considering filing for Chapter 13? I can very easily document a) and b) via bank statements, mortgage statements, assessed home value, etc.

To make a long story short: I have been sued by a Collection Agency who is acting on behalf of the Original Creditor (I am 99% sure the Collection Agency did not buy the debt from the Original Creditor). The account has been delinquent for approx 2 years and is a ghastly amount ($50k). In general, with the goal of settling in exchange for withdrawal of the legal action, would I have more luck dealing with the Original Creditor instead of the Debt Collector?

First some background:

- In the 3rd Quarter 2009 I received a letter from a Debt Collector acting on behalf of the Original Creditor. The Original Creditor stated that I allegedly defaulted on a $50k Credit Card in the 1st Quarter 2009.

- Pursuant to my rights per the FDCPA, I requested Debt Validation within 30 days of receipt of said letter.

- The Debt Collector took 1 year to respond, but all they provided was Credit Card statements and they also did not provide some other information I requested in my initial Validation request.

- I responded to the above and essentially said a) you missed some info I requested, b) statements do not constitute validation, and c) based on a) and b) I still dispute the debt and request “proper” Validation.

Here are my questions:

1) Is the Debt Collector obligated to fully respond to the 2nd request for Validation, or have they met the intent of the FDCPA by responding to my 1st request for Validation?

2) Why the (insert expletive here) did they take so long to respond?

What brand of drum heads sound decent but are not wallet killers? This is strictly for playing in my living room for typical "classic rock" type stuff (Led Zeppelin, Journey, Boston, etc)