win333 said:Rorer714 said:FYI:
I pulled all three reports directly from the big three, not from TC or any third party. No where on TU or EX does it show utilization or percentage used. On EQ it does show utilization and what they call “High Credit” is not figured into it.


TC shows your balance and you Available.
The point I was trying to make was third party reports show all types of things, but they are completely useless. What your actual reports show is the important factor. With that said I have yet to find any credible information on what the credit card company’s actual get when they pull your report. Do they get compiled data or just raw data and use their own matrix (utilization, DTI, ect.)?

tolamapS: Did you know you can basically buy as low of a rate as you desire from a bank, provided you are willing to pay enough points / closing costs? Bankrate's "lowest" quoted rates invariably are always the ones that have MONSTER (IE: we're talking 3+ points worth, or several thousand dollars) of closing costs. These rates are of very little utility to me for judge whether it's time to refiance. Bankrate's rate tracking service is also pretty worthless in general, because it compares loans of varying closing costs, IE: it is not apples to apples.

The most relevant rates for my refi decision are those available through retail channels, of an equal or more desirable product (IE: longer fixed term), without closing costs, no other "gotchas" such as pre-payment penalties, etc.

Mortgage professor's wholesale rates ARE for no closing costs, and DO compare apples to apples (all loans compared are for the stated cost criteria), however you've GOT to figure that there is going to be a certain degree of markup for the retail channel.

According from a WA MU loan officer source, their "employee discount" for mortgages was 1 point of closing cost below their retail price. Therefore I believe that could be indicative of roughly how much their prices are above wholesale. It would be interesting to compare a current rate sheet with current wholesale rates off mtg professor's site and see exactly how large the markup really is.

re: which mortgage products would work for me, I would NOT be comfortable (and qualifying may even be a long shot) for the monthly payments of a 15 year amoritzation period. However I should be able to qualify for a fully amortizing (IE: non-interest only) 30 year. There is some extra value of an interest-only product to me however, because 1. I can pay off higher rate debt more quickly (IE: wife's student loan, HELOC, etc) 2. reduces my minimum monthly obligation, allowing me to allow less emergency funds comfortably.

The answer to the question of how much lower does the rate need to be to make it worthwhile to refinance, is anything lower is worth it, provided all the risks are removed IE: same (or more desirable) mortgage product, no closing costs, no prepayment penalties, etc.

Thanks for your guidance as to the new accounts likely causing the most impact on my credit scores (versus new inquiries)... this has likewise been my feeling as well, and is why I would prefer to limit my number of new account applications.

As to why I am not planning a business AOR, (I thought this would be the first question to come up!) which is why I included comment #7 in my OP.

All:
The CapOne AU account fell off my TU report over the weekend, causing no change in the PM123/TC TU FAKO.

Today the pre-approved Chase Disney, 15-month 0% $50 bt fee expires. (Which I feel was the right thing to do, with the pending Citi CLI and BOA "signature upgrade".)

Thanks again for your effort to review my plans and provide your comments.

Six inquiries will not do a lot of damage, especially spread out among CRAs, but new accounts will decrease average age (since you have so few currently) and high balances for sure will hurt your score! Without high balances, on the other hand, AOR is not worth it. You seem all aligned for it - I'd say go for it, but keep in mind that you may not be able to refi. You could also focus on cards with capped or no BT fee, so that you could pay them off, refi, and BT again.

I would be very careful with NPSL cards. Sure, you can have them report high balance once and then use it in place of credit limit, but occasionally some CRAs seem to "forget" historical high limit. Happened every month with my BofA cards - either on EX or EQ, I do not recall now (and my BofA cards are closed). But having CRAs "remember" historical high limit may be even worse (and this applies to all cards, not just NPSL): I've read reports here that your credit score (perhaps only TU?) is lowered considerably for having high balance above current credit limit, which happens very easily as a result of re-allocations or credit line decreases by the lender.

As I started typing this I started a new business, oops I just started another 1. Like I said above " your waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over thinking this".

Ooops Just started another 1, Thats 3 new businesses in the time it took to type this post.

When a business starts it is just a vision, most apps ask nothing about the business. I have 3 CRAP1 offers right now, they do not ask for revenue or income. You are the one that is making these rules that you are holding yourself too!

All they want is your SS#, thats it. Take the money and run!

jakeru said:Win333 - does your local jurisdiction (IE: city, country) have requirements for licensing a legitimate business? Mine does. How about your state?You are confusing two concepts here -- licensing and registering a business. You only need to license something if you engage in an activity that requires you to do this, such as selling liquor, etc... You do NOT, however, need to obtain a license to sell things on eBay, lend money through prosper, etc...

As for registering a business, you absolutely are NOT required to register a sole proprietorship with any state, federal or local organization. You are likewise not required to obtain an EIN and can simply use your SSN as the taxpayer identification number.

Are you going to file all the required taxes for each of your businesses? Are business tax filings required by your State? They certainly are required for Federal tax filing, best as I understand it. Are you going to evade federal taxes and risk being audited?As a sole proprietor you report all business income or losses on your personal income tax return; the business itself is not taxed separately, since the taxation here is pass through. The main difference between income from your sole proprietorship and reporting wages from a job is that you must list your business's profit or loss information on Schedule C (Profit or Loss from a Business), which you will submit to the IRS along with Form 1040. If your sole priprietorship has had no income and no expenses to report on Schedule C, what exactly is the problem?

geo123 said:
As for registering a business, you absolutely are NOT required to register a sole proprietorship with any state, federal or local organization. You are likewise not required to obtain an EIN and can simply use your SSN as the taxpayer identification number.

Geo, I think at least in some states your business is required to be registered with the state (even if sole proprietorship) depending on what the nature of the business is. E.g., investment consulting must be registered, but fitness consulting does not have to be. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Does this registration require passing on financial/tax info -- I don't know ... but it certainly makes state more aware of your business ...

cyberkost said:Geo, I think at least in some states your business is required to be registered with the state (even if sole proprietorship) depending on what the nature of the business is. E.g., investment consulting must be registered, but fitness consulting does not have to be. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Does this registration require passing on financial/tax info -- I don't know ... but it certainly makes state more aware of your business ...Correct, but again, this has to do with licensing, not registration. You typically have to be licensed to sell liquor, offer cosmetology services, practice dentistry, etc... Licensing is used to ensure that certain professions comply with the minimum professional and educational standards established by the state in question. Hence, for licensing purposes, it typically does not matter what type of entity you are operating, if any. Registration has nothing to do with professional or educational standards, which is the reason that sole proprietorships typically do not have to be registered with the state but, depending on the nature of their activities, have to be licensed.

So do you have to be Lic. to rent out a room in your home, be creative if your putting 0 rev and 0 income on your app and someone gives you a 25,000 credit line, WTF is the problem. You've just been wasting space here and not reading AT ALL.

Thanks GEO you are 100% correct, some business don't need to file squat. I guess Jakeru wants to be a brain surgeon and he needs to register.

I was doing my reading here and NY state seems to throw licenses and registrations into one bucket called "permits". I don't think it matters what kind of papers a business has to file with the state. What matters is that just being a sole proprietor does not necessarily free you up from filing papers with the state. The answer depends on the state and/or the nature of your business. And once one files any kind of papers with the state one better be in shape for all sorts of audits and checks, because state now knows one is out there ...

What is also true is that many state web-sites on "helping" start a small business make it look as if one has to file a gazillion papers and pay a whole bunch of fees (states want your money even if your business does not make any), whereas the letter of the law does not require you to (though does not preclude from either). This may well be Jakeru's case ...

jakeru said:Here are also guidelines from the IRS on how they recommend keeping records for a business.Sorry, what does this have to do with the question that we are discussing? As far as the IRS is concerned, you need to keep records to substantiate income, deductions, depreciation, etc... If I am thinking of creating a sole proprietorship which will consist of me sitting on the couch eating potato chips all day, what records do you think I should keep? Do you think I should get licensed as well?

Believe it or not, this is a (semi) serious question. After all, if I decided to organize an LLC for this purpose, for instance, I would have had to register it with the state.