In some of my previous posts I mentioned that I pay for FreeCreditReport.com credit monitoring and scoring. I called yesterday to cancel our membership, it just isn't worth it. The credit scores they calculate are not even close to the Fair Isaac FICO scores, and when only pulling information from Experian (not TransUnion or EquiFax), you just are not getting the correct information.
The credit bureaus are damn slow at updating information, TransUnion and EquiFax are the worst, Experian somewhat faster. Nothing will happen quickly with these companies, even after you prove your case. Daily credit monitoring is a waste of time and money. Rather than using a service like FreeCreditReport.com, save your money and pull full reports quarterly using MyFico.com. FICO is the only score that matters, scores provided by the credit bureaus themselves are meaningless.
In case your are curious as to why the credit scores you see when you pull your own report are different from what lenders see when they pull the same report from the same agency, I will tell you. When a lender pulls your report, the information in it is passed through the Fair Isaac scoring software, which generates a real FICO score. FICO licenses their software to the credit bureaus, and receives money each time a FICO score is generated. Because the credit bureaus don't want to pay FICO when you request your own score, they invent their own scoring software, which is supposed to emulate FICO, but falls well short.
Yes, I think this should be illegal. You should have access to the exact same information and score that a lender can get on you, but you cannot, unless you use MyFico. FICO allows you to make "soft inquiries" into your credit report, which does not count against your score. I think they should have "soft scoring" too, which would allow a credit bureau to give you a FICO score without incurring charges from FICO. That would be fair.
Hell, the credit bureaus should be fighting for this as well, as it would make their scoring accurate and they could quit spending all the money the do on the programmers that generate scoring models that don't work. Now that is the first time I have ever advocated firing computer programmers!
You know what? I am a computer programmer, and a damn good one. FICO thinks their algorithm cannot be reverse-engineered. I disagree, in fact it does not look that difficult. Maybe someday if I have some free time on my hands (which won't be anytime soon), I will write a program that lets you scan your report and generate a FICO score for you for free. Then I will charge a lot of money for it and pay cash for my house, Cessna, Harley and Corvette. Yeah, that's the ticket.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Perfect Home?
Tonight we looked at what we all agreed was the nicest home we have seen so far, one that we all really liked. Of course it was also the most expensive at nearly $300,000. It is a 4 bedroom ranch with a ton of small things that really makes it a great house. The basement is newly finished and was one the standout features. They built the 4th bedroom down there, a small office that would be perfect for me, a large family room, and a bar. A real nice bar. There is a storage/workshop area as well, all nicely done.
The only problem is the paint. I have never seen such a bad paint job in my life. The homeowners did it themselves, and I really have no idea why they were in such a hurry. We would have to repaint everything upstairs, but the downstairs looked a bit nicer. They also have the same POS Frigidaire dishwasher that we have now, which is so loud we only run it when we are not in the room, or even in the house.
The backyard is fairly large and backs up to another of Cross Plains' ridges, this time with huge rocks placed there by glaciers thousands of years ago. We could easily live in this house, it was great, after several weekends spent repainting. Their dog had torn some holes in the carpet upstairs, this would have to be replaced.
The biggest problem right now is getting financed. I got a nice 57 point boost in my credit score today, but apparently only with Experian. I talked to one of Century 21's mortgage guys and he pulled the credit himself. The score he got was lower than any of the scores we get through FreeCreditReport.com, much lower. Makes me wonder what I am paying for if the scores other people get are so much lower than what I get. I have a meeting with him tomorrow to discuss this, and am going armed with tons of documentation to prove that there is still a lot of incorrect information in our credit records. I am afraid I will have to get an attorney involved to clear some of this stuff up, I am at wits end.
The other problem is they are having an open house this weekend. As much as we loved this home, it is not likely to happen. Even our trip next week to visit family for Easter is in jeapordy, and probably will not happen (sorry dad). We are so focused on getting a home that we are just not allowing ourselves to spend the extra money. I am close to saying "Screw It" and just putting an end to the house hunt until next year. Between George Bush, the economy, credit crisis and God knows what else, the perfect time to buy a house may not be an option because the damn banks won't loan any money, unless you don't need it.
The only problem is the paint. I have never seen such a bad paint job in my life. The homeowners did it themselves, and I really have no idea why they were in such a hurry. We would have to repaint everything upstairs, but the downstairs looked a bit nicer. They also have the same POS Frigidaire dishwasher that we have now, which is so loud we only run it when we are not in the room, or even in the house.
The backyard is fairly large and backs up to another of Cross Plains' ridges, this time with huge rocks placed there by glaciers thousands of years ago. We could easily live in this house, it was great, after several weekends spent repainting. Their dog had torn some holes in the carpet upstairs, this would have to be replaced.
The biggest problem right now is getting financed. I got a nice 57 point boost in my credit score today, but apparently only with Experian. I talked to one of Century 21's mortgage guys and he pulled the credit himself. The score he got was lower than any of the scores we get through FreeCreditReport.com, much lower. Makes me wonder what I am paying for if the scores other people get are so much lower than what I get. I have a meeting with him tomorrow to discuss this, and am going armed with tons of documentation to prove that there is still a lot of incorrect information in our credit records. I am afraid I will have to get an attorney involved to clear some of this stuff up, I am at wits end.
The other problem is they are having an open house this weekend. As much as we loved this home, it is not likely to happen. Even our trip next week to visit family for Easter is in jeapordy, and probably will not happen (sorry dad). We are so focused on getting a home that we are just not allowing ourselves to spend the extra money. I am close to saying "Screw It" and just putting an end to the house hunt until next year. Between George Bush, the economy, credit crisis and God knows what else, the perfect time to buy a house may not be an option because the damn banks won't loan any money, unless you don't need it.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Looking at Our First FSBO
After work tonight we looked at our first FSBO (For Sale By Owner) home, just a couple of blocks from where we currently rent. We met a very nice younger couple with a young son and newborn daughter. They have lived in the home about a year, but are relocating back to their native Michigan. It was somewhat odd having the homeowner show the home instead of a realtor, but they were a real nice couple.The house is a very nice 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath ranch with a huge unfinished basement. The builder did not cut corners here either, the woodwork and nickel fixtures are very nice, as are the cabinets in the kitchen. The home has new stainless steel appliances and a gas fireplace, and a family room that would be perfect for us, including a great place for a LCD TV. The 2 smaller bedrooms are small, but have a unique way of sharing a very nice bathroom between them. The master is medium size, but large enough, and has a great bathroom with a large jacuzzi, separate shower and double sink. A walk-in closet is accessed from the bathroom, which I like.
The basement is unfinished and huge, with rough-in plumbing for a bathroom and over sized hot water heater, to help support the jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom. I really like the quality of construction in this home, and this extended to the basement. A lot of thought was put into eventually finishing the basement, and it would be a great slate to work from.
Despite only having 3 bedrooms upstairs (the girls would really like 4), this was my favorite house so far. Ranch homes always appeal more to me than 2-stories, and this one was very nice. They are asking $278,000 and said the taxes are about $4500 per year, which means the appraised tax value must be around $225,000. I wish I knew how much they are really hoping to get for it. If this home could realistically be had for $250,000 it would be hard to turn down. Missy liked the home, but not as much as me, so this will likely be a battle not worth waging.
I'd love to know where our kids get their sense of entitlement, especially when it comes to everyone having their own room on the same floor as the master, and every room meeting some size criteria. Growing up, my room was about half the size of these and I never minded, hell, I never noticed. Don't worry, Missy doesn't read this blog anyway :)
More on FICO Credit Scores (Government)
While looking for something totally different, I stumbled upon this Acrobat file on a US government web site. It has some real good information.
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/creditscores/your.pdf
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/creditscores/your.pdf
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Follow Up to News Reports About Michael Gullickson
On February 20, 2008 my step-daughter's father was killed in a head-on snowmobile accident near Mount Horeb, WI. He was a great guy, everyone that ever met him loved him, including me. I won't rehash old news, his sister Heidi has an excellent blog and is much better with words and emotions that I am.
The only thing that I want to add is a refutiation of some of the information that has been circulating in the news, and with friends of Mike's. Alchohol or drugs was not a factor in the accident. The coroner has finished his report, and the police are wrapping up their investigation. Neither rider was drunk or stoned, so despite the original news media reports, alcohol was NOT a factor in this accident.
Despite the good intentions of Mike's friends, NOBODY saw the accident happen. Other riders were in the area, and one of Mike's friends came upon the scene very soon after the accident, but nobody actually saw the accident happen.
Speed does not appear to be a factor either. Original stories that we heard was that the other rider was driving in excess of 70-80 MPH. This is wrong. The police reconstruction team estimates his speed between 40-43 MPH, well under the night snowmobile speed limit set by the Wisconsin DNR. Mike was either completely stopped, or very close to stopped when the accident happened.
Mike died within "seconds" according the coroner report, due to severe head and chest injuries. Both riders were wearing helmets.
We are still awaiting the final police report. At this time, it does not appear the district attorney is preparing a case against the other rider, which indicates even further that this was an accident. A horrible, possibly avoidable, accident, but an accident nonetheless.
The only thing that I want to add is a refutiation of some of the information that has been circulating in the news, and with friends of Mike's. Alchohol or drugs was not a factor in the accident. The coroner has finished his report, and the police are wrapping up their investigation. Neither rider was drunk or stoned, so despite the original news media reports, alcohol was NOT a factor in this accident.
Despite the good intentions of Mike's friends, NOBODY saw the accident happen. Other riders were in the area, and one of Mike's friends came upon the scene very soon after the accident, but nobody actually saw the accident happen.
Speed does not appear to be a factor either. Original stories that we heard was that the other rider was driving in excess of 70-80 MPH. This is wrong. The police reconstruction team estimates his speed between 40-43 MPH, well under the night snowmobile speed limit set by the Wisconsin DNR. Mike was either completely stopped, or very close to stopped when the accident happened.
Mike died within "seconds" according the coroner report, due to severe head and chest injuries. Both riders were wearing helmets.
We are still awaiting the final police report. At this time, it does not appear the district attorney is preparing a case against the other rider, which indicates even further that this was an accident. A horrible, possibly avoidable, accident, but an accident nonetheless.
We Look at the Second, Third and Fourth Homes
After work tonight we looked at 3 homes for sale in Cross Plains. The first one, and the one we liked the most, is pictured. It sort of stands out in the neighborhood, it is light green with tan and maroon trim, and rocks. It is a 3 bedroom home with a nicely finished basement that includes an office area. Upstairs is a more formal living room with a wood-burning fireplace, and no good place to put a large LCD TV. It is open and very pretty though, but the entertainment area would definately be downstairs. The kitchen and dining room is very nice, with good quality cabinets and very attractive brushed aluminum fixtures.
There is a lot of very nice woodwork inside this home, they did not go cheap here. We were concerned about the small size of the bedrooms, as listed on the Internet. To our surprise, the rooms were plenty large and the master was very nice. None of the homes we looked at had great bathrooms, but none were really bad.
The other two homes we looked at we ruled out completely. The second one, on Tilda Trail was actually a nice place, but had no backyard at all, at least none that would make the dogs happy. The view was nice, backing up to DNR land and steep hills.
The last home was on American Legion drive, and we all agreed that it sucked. It looks like rental property. The quality of materials was poor, it was too small, and just a bit ugly. It did have a few nice things, but the bad far outweighs the good.
The first home is quite nice, but is only $15,000 less than the 4 bedroom home across the street, and that home has 600 more square feet. We are going to look at it Thursday evening, and tomorrow evening are looking at a FSBO home on Lewis Street.
There is a lot of very nice woodwork inside this home, they did not go cheap here. We were concerned about the small size of the bedrooms, as listed on the Internet. To our surprise, the rooms were plenty large and the master was very nice. None of the homes we looked at had great bathrooms, but none were really bad.
The other two homes we looked at we ruled out completely. The second one, on Tilda Trail was actually a nice place, but had no backyard at all, at least none that would make the dogs happy. The view was nice, backing up to DNR land and steep hills.
The last home was on American Legion drive, and we all agreed that it sucked. It looks like rental property. The quality of materials was poor, it was too small, and just a bit ugly. It did have a few nice things, but the bad far outweighs the good.
The first home is quite nice, but is only $15,000 less than the 4 bedroom home across the street, and that home has 600 more square feet. We are going to look at it Thursday evening, and tomorrow evening are looking at a FSBO home on Lewis Street.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Finally, I Know (Politically) What I Am
I have always considered myself a Republican, and my voting record supports that. I have not always voted Republican, and never voted a straight ticket, but when choosing between multiple candidates that I knew nothing about, I would choose the Republican over the Democrat.
Why would I consider myself a Republican? I have no idea, but with the exception of a few things in their agenda, I agree with most of their beliefs. But wait a minute. I am agnostic, certainly not a bible thumper, and am pro-choice which would get me tossed out of a convention. Ok, other than that, I am a Republican. But I liked Bill Clinton and could not stand Bush Sr. and even though I worked on Dubya's campaign, I cannot stand him now. Reagan, now that was a president. Love him or hate him, Reagan was an incredible leader of this country.
But what about John McCain? I like him, and I do believe strongly that he deserves the job. He is a good American and by all accounts a good, honest and decent man. He is not extreme right, just a little right of center, and by all accounts I should like him, and I do. But I don't want him as my president. I cannot pinpoint exactly why, a little bit of "he's been there forever", and "he's too much like Bush".
Hillary Clinton. Maybe. I definately like the idea of having a woman president, if only to prove to my 3 daughters that they truly can be whatever they want in this country. I think she would make a fine president, and we basically get 2 for 1 with Bill in the picture. Not bad at all. She would be more appealing if she could lose the Perma-Bitch face and pant suits.
About a month ago, the whole family went to a Barrack Obama rally in Madison at the Kohl Center, and yes, we took the girls. Now that guy can carry an audience. He is a wonderful speaker, and I think I am a pretty good judge of character. He seems honest and naive, but I like that. He is somewhat of a dreamer, but I am not going to cut him for that. We need more of that in Washington. He was not negative, even against those running against him, and while he lacked specifics of how he would implement his idea's, he was refreshing and hopeful. Seems like the kind of guy you could hang out with, player poker with, joke with, even while he runs the country. His wife Michelle would also be the best looking First Lady in US history, she's hot.
He said something during his speech that rang true with me. He mentioned that a lot of Repulicans were backing him even though he is a Democrat, and a pretty liberal one at that. I knew this was true because I had heard this from other sources as well, not just him. I also knew it was true, because I am backing him, and I'm a Republican. Right?
He mentioned the word "Obamican", a Republican that supports him. Now I had a word for my political affiliation. I am an Obamican. Even though I represent only a single vote, in a small state, I take my vote seriously. When the Wisconsin Primary came around I made sure I got out and voted for him, he won Wisconsin, thanks to me of course.
I like Hillary too, so when the time comes in November to cast my vote, I look forward to voting for either of them. The dream ticket of Obama/Clinton does not seem so far fetched either, what I believe would be an unbeatable combination. Clinton/Obama would be good too, let Barrack get some more experience and age under his belt, and let Hillary be president before she is too old, that would be a winner too. Sorry John McCain, you are good and deserving man, but 4-8 more years of Republicans running this country? Not this time my friend, and you can thank W for that.
As best I can tell, the only thing Barrack and I disagree on is the death penalty. I am 100% for it. If I was going to reform something it would be doing away with life sentences without parole. If it can be PROVED, without a shadow of a doubt (witness', DNA, etc) that someone is guilty of a murder or rape, I am all for putting them down. Why spend all that money keeping someone alive that is going to die in prison? That makes no sense to me.
So, unless I am convinced otherwise, I am an Obamican. Here are my beliefs, someone please tell me if I am voting for the wrong candidate:
Why would I consider myself a Republican? I have no idea, but with the exception of a few things in their agenda, I agree with most of their beliefs. But wait a minute. I am agnostic, certainly not a bible thumper, and am pro-choice which would get me tossed out of a convention. Ok, other than that, I am a Republican. But I liked Bill Clinton and could not stand Bush Sr. and even though I worked on Dubya's campaign, I cannot stand him now. Reagan, now that was a president. Love him or hate him, Reagan was an incredible leader of this country.
But what about John McCain? I like him, and I do believe strongly that he deserves the job. He is a good American and by all accounts a good, honest and decent man. He is not extreme right, just a little right of center, and by all accounts I should like him, and I do. But I don't want him as my president. I cannot pinpoint exactly why, a little bit of "he's been there forever", and "he's too much like Bush".
Hillary Clinton. Maybe. I definately like the idea of having a woman president, if only to prove to my 3 daughters that they truly can be whatever they want in this country. I think she would make a fine president, and we basically get 2 for 1 with Bill in the picture. Not bad at all. She would be more appealing if she could lose the Perma-Bitch face and pant suits.
About a month ago, the whole family went to a Barrack Obama rally in Madison at the Kohl Center, and yes, we took the girls. Now that guy can carry an audience. He is a wonderful speaker, and I think I am a pretty good judge of character. He seems honest and naive, but I like that. He is somewhat of a dreamer, but I am not going to cut him for that. We need more of that in Washington. He was not negative, even against those running against him, and while he lacked specifics of how he would implement his idea's, he was refreshing and hopeful. Seems like the kind of guy you could hang out with, player poker with, joke with, even while he runs the country. His wife Michelle would also be the best looking First Lady in US history, she's hot.
He said something during his speech that rang true with me. He mentioned that a lot of Repulicans were backing him even though he is a Democrat, and a pretty liberal one at that. I knew this was true because I had heard this from other sources as well, not just him. I also knew it was true, because I am backing him, and I'm a Republican. Right?
He mentioned the word "Obamican", a Republican that supports him. Now I had a word for my political affiliation. I am an Obamican. Even though I represent only a single vote, in a small state, I take my vote seriously. When the Wisconsin Primary came around I made sure I got out and voted for him, he won Wisconsin, thanks to me of course.
I like Hillary too, so when the time comes in November to cast my vote, I look forward to voting for either of them. The dream ticket of Obama/Clinton does not seem so far fetched either, what I believe would be an unbeatable combination. Clinton/Obama would be good too, let Barrack get some more experience and age under his belt, and let Hillary be president before she is too old, that would be a winner too. Sorry John McCain, you are good and deserving man, but 4-8 more years of Republicans running this country? Not this time my friend, and you can thank W for that.
As best I can tell, the only thing Barrack and I disagree on is the death penalty. I am 100% for it. If I was going to reform something it would be doing away with life sentences without parole. If it can be PROVED, without a shadow of a doubt (witness', DNA, etc) that someone is guilty of a murder or rape, I am all for putting them down. Why spend all that money keeping someone alive that is going to die in prison? That makes no sense to me.
So, unless I am convinced otherwise, I am an Obamican. Here are my beliefs, someone please tell me if I am voting for the wrong candidate:
- Pro Death Penalty
- Pro Choice
- Anti Iraq War (Leave when ready though, no immediate pullout)
- Pro Afghan War (I support all military action against terrorists)
- Anti IRS (Support fair tax plan, everyone pays the same percentage)
- Wellfare Reform (If you can work and won't, you are cut off)
- Pro Medical Insurance for Everyone
- Support Legalization (or Decriminalization) of Marijuana
- Agnostic / Non-Religious
- Support Vigorous Separation of Church and State
- Anti Same-Sex Marriage (Sorry, nothing against gays, just believe in sanctity of marriage)
- No "Gas Men" Running the Country
- End Tax Breaks for Big Oil and Very Rich
- Open Full Relations with Cuba
- Require Fair Trade (Yes, even with China and Japan)
- Watch Iran Like a Hawk, Same for Korea and Venezuela
- Tax Breaks for Company's that Manufacture in USA
- Repeal or Heavily Modify NAFTA
- Beef up the FCRA (Force FICO to change credit card requirements)
- Reform Immigration to Make Legal Immigration Easier, Illegal Immigration Harsher
- Restore Economy Before Recession
- Make Mortgages Easier to Get, More Regulation and Limits on APR's, etc.
- Campaign Finance Reform (Real reform, gov't and private funded, no SIG or PAC money)
- Repeal DMCA
- Modify (but keep) US Patriot Act
- Bring Terrorist Detainee's in Cuba to US for Trial
Halle and Josh's Birthday
Today was a very good day. Halle turned 9 and Josh (Missy's brother) turned 32, and we had a little family party for both of them. It was a very full house, be we all had a great time. Halle cleaned up pretty nicely, she got her ears double-pierced, a new Guitar Hero guitar for the Wii so we can play doubles, a digital camera and journal for the PC, and the game of Life, along with a Claire's gift certificate from Josh. She is officially richer than Missy and me now. Josh didn't do too bad either, despite having to open a box with multiple (WAY too many) layers of wrapping paper while having his hands in oven mits (compliments of Missy), he did manage to score a couple new shirts.We thought this might be a real tough day for Halle, since her dad was just killed 2 1/2 weeks ago in a horrible snowmobile accident. They had had big plans for today, including a trip to Appleton, Wisconsin to visit the American Doll store, something she had been looking forward to for a real long time. Fortunately, she still had a wonderful day, one that she does not want to end. I am very happy for her, and happy she was able to accept that life is sometimes tragic, sometimes magic, and there is always time for fun and celebration. Today was a day for celebration, Mike would have wanted it that way.
Here are some more pictures of today's fun!
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