Is Your Credit Being Threatened?

According to the latest membership profile released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) the median Realtor income was $42,600, which is down 11% from last year. Furthermore, agents with two years of experience or less had an annual median income near poverty line at $10,500.

There is no question the housing downturn over the past several months has had a dramatic negative impact on an agent’s ability to close sales and earn commissions. Like regular salaried employees, agents have bills to pay every month too, just not the income consistency with which to ensure their obligations are always met in a timely manner.

I see daily examples at eCommission of agents who have let their monthly bills slide as a result of infrequent or delayed closings. The impact of paying late can have long lasting negative consequences on your credit score. If confronted with the choice of waiting for a pending sale to close or paying late on your bills, one option you should consider is eCommission. We provide advance payment of your commissions within 24 hours. In most cases, your money is wired directly into your bank account. With eCommission, you are always in control of your cash flow. For more information on receiving a commission advance, click here.

Here are Seven Sure Fire Tips to Improve or Maintain a High Credit Score:

1. Make loan payments on time and for the correct amount.
2. Avoid overextending your credit. Unsolicited credit cards that arrive by mail may be tempting to use, but they won’t help your credit score.
3. Never ignore overdue bills. If you encounter any problems repaying your debt, call your creditor to make repayment arrangements. If you tell them you are having difficulty, they may be flexible.
4. Be aware of what type of credit you have. Credit from financing companies can negatively affect your score.
5. Keep your outstanding debt as low as you can. Continually extending your credit close to your limit is viewed poorly.
6. Limit your number of credit applications. When your credit report is looked at, or “hit,” it is viewed as a bad thing. Not all hits are viewed negatively (such as those for monitoring of accounts, or prescreens), but most are.
7. Credit is not built overnight. It’s better to provide creditors with a longer historical time frame to review: a longer history of good credit is favored over a shorter period of good history.