How Long Does a Late Payment Stay on Your Credit?

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LAte payment hurts credit report

LAte payment hurts credit report

Ever made a late payment on a bill? Maybe forgot about your credit card bill? Or have you ever been a few weeks late on your car note when money got tight? Are you looking now at a big purchase that’s going to require credit and you’re wondering how that late payment is going to look?

The Equifax Finance blog answers these questions and more in the recent post “

FAQ: How Long Do Late Payments Stay On My Credit Report.”

The article explains that positive information (like early payments and on-time payments) can stay on your credit report forever; but negative information (like that late payment) could stick around for seven years. Bankruptcies will generally stay for 10 years.

If you are concerned about what may be in your credit report, the Equifax experts recommend checking your credit report. This will tell you what you need to know about your credit now and where you will stand in terms of getting new credit; and will be starting board for building or repairing your credit, if necessary.

Check out the Equifax Finance blog to get more answers to your credit questions, and other topics like finance,

identity theft insurance, real estate, taxes and more.

CNN Money Ranks Carolina Markets as Best Buys

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Asheville real estate market

If you’re looking to buy or sell a new home, some real estate markets have recovered better than others. Recently, CNN Money ranked their top five markets for buyers, and two Carolina real estate markets made the list.

Coming in at number one was southern South Carolina, which includes towns such as Beaufort, Hilton Head Island and Charleston. Currently, homes are averaging 156 days on the market and being listed at $269,900. This means that buyers have a longer time to shop around for their perfect home, although they shouldn’t expect great deals to stay on the market as long.

The Asheville market makes the list at number four with 146 days on the market on average and a median listing price of $249,900. Housing here still remains inexpensive especially considering that the city consistently ranks as a top place to live. However, those looking to buy will find that inventory has dropped significantly over the past few years.

For the full list from CNN Money, click here.

Make a List and Check it Twice to get Ahead of Taxes

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Organize taxes to keep good credit scores

Organize taxes to keep good credit scores

With less than a month before Tax Day, it’s harder to get ahead but not yet impossible and there are a whole host of reasons to not wait for an extension. If you have procrastinated up to this point but want to get your taxes done and your refund in hand sooner, the experts at Equifax have some great tips for pushing forward to tax success in the new article, “

Five Tips to Jumpstart Filing Your Taxes.”

While the days are fewer, there is still time to gather up your forms and paperwork neatly and set out to either do or have someone do your taxes for you. But it will take organization and an investment of time (and possibly money, if you need help from software or a professional) to get started. First of all, set a goal or a deadline so you have a reason to start working and write it down. Do a little each day so that gathering receipts and filling out forms is progress that can be tracked rather than a mountain of work. And then don’t be afraid to ask for help – taxes are daunting and while it’s possible to do them yourself, it’s also possible to build a house yourself piece by piece – but it can be a lot easier and more precisely completed to get a professional homebuilder to do it for you.

To learn more, including tips about taxes,

credit scores and everything else personal finance, check in with free expert advice from Equifax.

Equifax is Looking to keep your Privacy Private

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Protection from identity theft

Protection from identity theft

The Personal Solutions line of consumer protection products and services from Equifax has a powerful new tool to help keep you safe: privacy monitoring. This service scours the indexed web and finds traces of your personal information, and can either simply alert you or can remove these traces that can lead to solicitations and online identity theft.

Equifax offers this new service at no additional charge to subscribers of the Equifax Complete series. The new system is in partnership with Reputation.com, a company which has proven its service to clients in more than 100 countries since 2006. The service seeks to find and protect the personal details of users, including their full name, age, gender, family members’ names, connections to relatives, and their general contact information, including email addresses and telephone numbers to increase

protection from identity theft.

To learn more about this exciting new way to keep safe and stay protected from online identity theft, visit the Equifax.com personal solutions page. You can also find frequently-updated personal finance advice resources on the Equifax Finance Blog. Finally, Equifax makes it easy to stay in the know when it comes to personal finance by having easy access on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to remind you about how to save money, avoid debt and have a plan for money management.

New Website Aids Charleston Home Buyers

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South Carolina homes

If you’re a South Carolina home buyer looking for new digs in Charleston, you’re in luck. Carolina One Real Estate and the Historic Charleston Group have teamed up to launch www.CharlestonBuyersGuide.com.

Visitors to the site will find an advanced MLS search, interactive map, information on local communities, all kinds of useful information for buyers and sellers and a blog. When searching for a home, buyers will be sure to love the site’s access to Microsoft’s Bird’s Eye View as well we Google’s Streetview. Buyers will also be able to view comprehensive listings that can be saved for future reference, and they can request for property information that matches their predetermined criteria to be emailed to them. The additional information provided in the community listings, market reports and blog is also of use to buyers, sellers and real estate professionals alike.

“CharlestonBuyersGuide.com was designed to fill a niche in the Charleston, SC real estate market,” John Lisi, the site’s co-founder says. “There was really no other website out there that emphasized the buyer and also utilized special technologies.”

According to Zillow, home values in Charleston have risen 7 percent in the last year to a median sale price of $249,300. This is higher than the national average sale price which is currently around $160,000. In addition, the market in Charleston is primarily made up of single family homes (68 percent), but condos (19 percent) are also prevalent.

For more information on the Charleston real estate market and to view the city’s current listings, be sure to visit www.CharlestonBuyersGuide.com.