Here's a Success Secret: Apply for Credit Lines Simultaneously and Not Sequentially

At a January 2009 workshop I attended, Dan Kennedy, my marketing mentor and one of the world's highest paid copywriters, observed how his most successful clients act simultaneously not sequentially. He tells the case of a man who needed funds, so he applied to 10 sources at the same time. He got five acceptances, and actually surpassed his original goal. If he had approached his challenge conventionally, he may have taken action on only one channel, possibly got turned down, and perhaps given up.

The job of an entrepreneur is to raise capital and generate revenue. One of the best ways to raise capital is to get credit, so you have access to money at your fingertips whenever you need, without having to beg someone. Apply this to the process of getting and building business and personal credit lines.

In my business, I am applying for and processing at least a half dozen credit line programs at the same time. These may be a combination of personal, business, or both. Each are in different stages of development. For example, I have two seasoned corporations I have built credit with one provider. Also I am building credit for my corporation that has been in existence in 2001. Recently I was offered another preapproved $20K credit card, which I applied for immediately. But

Another provider claimed he could get me a $750K credit line, which I was supposedly "guaranteed". The guarantee was so solid that I have been refunded my original $7K upfront investment that I paid them. I have yet to receive this line.

Anyway, my point is that you cannot rely on any one particular source to come through, especially during chaotic, turbulent economic times. A "guaranteed approval" one day can turn into a decline the next as a result of policies that change almost daily, much to the frustration of borrowers and bankers alike.

There are risks in applying for credit lines simultaneously. If you have more than one business operating out of a single location, DNB may flag one or both companies and you lose all the credit rating you have built up. After getting flagged, I am told this is very difficult to restore.

Another risk is that if you have many applications floating around, if the applications overlap and end up at the same bank or provider, that could cause you to be rejected because it is apparent you are shopping for credit. To help prevent this, only apply for 2-3 credit lines at a time, and make sure with your sources that you are applying to different banks.

Also you could end up with too many inquiries on your personal or business credit bureaus, which could also get your credit request declined. There are special ways to delete and remove inquiries from your credit bureaus, fortunately.

To make the most of this strategy, write down your short-, medium-, and long- term goals. Getting access to the money to run your business is one of the most crucial and challenging endeavors, especially now at the time of this article.

Getting and building credit will help ensure you survive and prosper in these times. Follow these steps, and put into motion several of your credit strategies all at the same time, and your goals will come true.

How to Apply "Synergy" to Your Day to Make Your Life Easier More Joyful and Creative

I once read this dense book called "Synergy" by the late genius Buckmister Fuller. It was a tome, and it left an indelible impression upon my thinking.

What is concept of synergy? Well quite simply, it is the notion that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words, the ideal combination of several different elements is much stronger and more effective than these elements alone.

Take steel, for example. It is a combination of iron, aluminum, and other metals. These are all processed together with energy to produce a resulting metal that is much stronger. Each metal alone may have a certain strength on its own. But when you combine these in the right proportion, you get steel, with is many multiples stronger.

Let's apply this to your life. Starting with your daily schedule, for the daily schedule is the basic building block of a successful life. Every day, you lay bricks down on the foundation of your life. Do this strategically and wisely and you will create a beautiful enduring structure. Do it haphazardly and what you create won't stand.

One of the most common mistakes I see others make in their daily schedule: is that they are consumed with one aspect of their life to the detriment of the others. So for example, one of my business partners is consumed with her trading projects.

She is glued to her cell phone making calls the moment she rises until the moment she falls asleep. So she neglects to exercise, meditate, or eat regularly or in a schedule. I don’t consider this synergistic. This sort of routine leads to burnout because it does not incorporate other important activities.

My ideal schedule, which includes exercising, eating raw food, phone calls, work, etc. is great because it includes all of the elements, their ideal proportion of time in a day they require, and the ideal times to do them. For example, I exercise 30 minutes per day, first thing in the morning. This is a bite-size, sustainable practice. In fact, I listen to books on tape and training material directly related to direct-response marketing, etc. to use my time even better and ensure I stay on the cutting edge of my industry.

The exercising rejuvenates my body, the meditation/spiritual practices rejuvenate the mind and consciousness. This awareness gives me an edge in my other activities that I am more clear and creative. The hour invested returns me two hours worth of increased productivity.

I see many successful business people whose bank account is fat but they are also fat around the waist. This fat indicates health problems, which lead to suffering, and likely a shorter lifespan, and ultimately less time and life to enjoy these riches. Their approach focused on work to the detriment of health. So they work all day but don't take 30 minutes to exercise. Definitely not a synergistic approach.

A daily schedule that incorporates all the right elements, over time leads to synergistic results in the long term. For example, eating healthy, exercise, meditation on a regular basis not only ensures that all these crucial areas of life are met and given attention, but that these aspects support and reinforce one another.

Long term, for example, one who is healthy in appearance is considered more attractive, which leads to more sales (marketing survey mentioned by Dan Kennedy). By meditating with a clear mind means business decisions which are made more soundly, that can accumulate advantages leading to financial breakthroughs, or preventing costly embarrassing decisions and business relationships that could have been prevented if we were thinking clearly at the time.

So take a close look at your daily schedule. Spend 3 days tracking moment by moment every activity. Then analyze and reassess: am I spending the right amount of time on the right activities to best advance my life and career?

Then rewrite your ideal optimal daily schedule, what time you would want to do your daily activities and how much time do you want to spend on them. This would be a guide, a compass, a "north star" to navigate you through chaos.

Regularly schedule in some time to reassess your schedule and time to maximize the concept of synergy in your life.

How I Got a Loan Mod Accepted by Bank of America

Even with all of the distress being experienced by bank lenders and borrowers alike, it is surprising how few success stories of loan modifications are out there. This is one of them.

A loan modification is simply when the lender will redo the terms of the mortgage to make it more affordable. They may even take the back payments, add them back on to the principal payment, and lower the interest rate and/or extend the term of the loan to make it more affordable to help a borrower stay in the property.

I refinanced with a loan originator in Arizona who sold the loan to Countrywide early 2008. My loan amount was $365,000.00 and the interest rate was 6.125% approximately, interest only for 5-10 years, and then the loan amortizes.

Around October 2008, I was scheduled for a medical procedure and contacted Countrywide. They immediately offered a forbearance, in which I did not have to pay any payments for 6 months. Actually, I insisted on paying 500.00 per month to show my good faith.

After the end of the forbearance, I may be eligible for a loan modification, or extension of the forbearance, unless I paid back the back payments or entire balance sooner.

In February 2009, despite my written agreement and timely payments, Countrywide/Bank of America reported my loan as past due. This ruined my credit and compounded my medical hardship.

Around March/April 2009 the loan was transferred to Bank of America, and this is where some of the confusion began.

Bank of America sent over a new repayment plan, which contained confusing language to the effect that the loan would continue to report late even if I paid on time. I conditionally accepted this agreement in May, but asked for clarification of the misleading and confusing wording.

Throughout June, the representative failed to return my calls. I mailed in a payment that was returned by the bank, and I called in to ask why. The representative said it was because my agreement expired because it was not received on time, but the representative also said the file showed up in her system, so it was resubmitted.

Meanwhile, the loan origination company began leaving threatening messages, apparently because the investor was forcing them to buy back the loan (for reasons beyond my comprehension). The loan origination company also sent me strange requests for my tax returns, pay stubs, and explanation for why the mortgage payments were made by a company which actually NEVER made the payments.

I responded firmly and clearly. At the same time, I kept at Bank of America/Countrywide relentlessly with letter after letter documenting their default and misconduct. I even filed a complaint with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC.gov) because they repeatedly ignored my certified letters addressed to the CEOs regarding the damage done to my credit.

(Perhaps the CEOs were too preoccupied with their pending indictments to respond to me.)

My concerns continued to grow into July because BofA was refusing my payments and not returning my calls. On top of this, the loan originator kept harassing me with difficult to answer questions and threatening messages. I felt attacked, as if they were planning an elaborate trap to damage me with any apparent inconsistency I would state. But I would not succumb to their tactics.

However, I received a fedex package dated July 11, 2009, containing loan modification documents from Bank of America. All I need to do is sign, notarize, and return them by August 10, 2009, and I am on my way.

I sent the documents over to my researcher and to a banking attorney to review, and apparently these documents seem kosher. Also the documents do state that my loan will be considered and reported as current, which was an important "sticking point" for me.

The next step is to send a notice of fault and opportunity to cure to the originator, for their failure to respond. My researcher tells me to invoice them for damages, treble the amount of the mortgage originated. This is for their damaging correspondence. And who knows, many law firms now are representing consumers and would love to take this case on contingency and ultimately get my mortgage forgiven.

So although the circumstances leading up to this loan modification are a bit unusual, and someone else's case is likely to be different there are many lessons in this process appliable universally:

1. have a goal and stick to it relentlessly. But remain flexible to new developments.
2. keep accurate records and notify parties in writing (certified) of any discrepancies.
3. any errors the lender makes, properly documented, can be utilized in your favor if documented properly
4. fight back and refuse to be intimidated
5. plan for the worst but expect the best outcome
6. if you have a medical issue or other hardship that is compounded by the lender's conduct/misconduct, be sure to document this thoroughly
7. have thorough documentation to justify your case for loan modification

How to Delete Inquiries On your Credit Report

Like it or not, having inquiries on your credit report can get you turned down for a loan approval or credit report. I've applied for credit for years for myself and my clients, and I can't tell you how many times a bank wrote a rejection letter that we were turned down for a credit card "because of excessive inquiries."

No matter what a creditor tries to convince you of otherwise, inquiries DO lower your credit score. Granted, some mortgage companies, for example, only consider your most recent inquiries for past 3-6 months. The more you have, and the more recent you have them, the more your score is lowered. And a lower score also means you will end up paying a higher interest rate on your credit, which could cost you thousands of dollars over time.

In fact, many business and personal credit line services who specialize in obtaining credit lines for their customers won't even touch you if you have more than 2-3 inquiries per bureau.

But how do you delete inquires? The bureaus may like to tell you the propaganda that inquiries cannot be deleted, they are permanent, and stay on for months, even years.

Nothing is farther from the truth. Based on years of trial and error, I've uncovered some of the best ways to remove inquiries.

1. Write the bureaus a letter. Especially if an inquiry is truly unauthorized, they will have to contact the creditor and ask for them to prove the existence of the inquiry. Most will not have the time, or documentation to prove it, and inquiries will just fall off.

NOTE: Beware of disputing inquiries pertaining to an open credit line. For example, I heard of a consumer whose car got repossessed by Bank of America because he disputed the inquiry associated with obtaining the car loan with that bank. This is an extreme case, but beware of the risks.

But if inquiries resulted from "shopping" for credit, these are fairly easy to fall off.

2. File a fraud alert and dispute inquiries as fraudulent. Be careful of this as well, as your file will then be very closely scrutinized by higher paid credit bureau staff, which can be to your disadvantage.

3. "Bump" your inquiries off with TransUnion. For example, subscribe to a credit monitoring service such as creditchecktotal.com that allows you to check your credit daily with updates. These updates are "soft pulls" on TransUnion bureau. So they don't count as inquiries that other people see that would affect your score, but they are added to the record. Enough of these soft inquiries maxes out the record, and eventually bumps off the inquiries seen by all. It takes approximately 60 soft pulls. But you can cut the time in half by subscribing to multiple services that allow you to check inquiries daily.

Note that deleting inquiries years ago was much faster and easier than now, as bureaus have tightened up in their practices. TransUnion appears to be the most difficult to work with at this point in time, and takes the longest to see results with by mailing letters. Whereas Equifax and Experian are pretty fast.

4. Hire an expert to delete inquiries. I have worked with 3 different providers that have all performed. I have paid as much as $150 or more per inquiry to an attorney for deletion because the money I had paid him would be quickly recouped by the credit lines I would get approved for after the inquiries were deleted. No provider can guarantee all inquiries will be deleted, rather, on a "Best efforts" basis.

The most recent expert I have worked with uses a proprietary online and offline tactics to get inquiries deleted quickly and professionally. His cost is one of the most reasonable I have seen and he is very responsive and professional.

This should give you a better overview and more hope for your credit report. Time and space does not permit me to share the specific letters I have written to delete inquiries successfully.

Or if you wish to have the provider's contact information I would be glad to share it with you. This is all contained in my step-by-step home study system that teaches you how to repair and build your personal and business credit so you can have all the money you need to tide you over during these times.

Although the bar has raised for credit, banks still have plenty of money to give you, and if you can tap this vault, you will have an advantage that will help you make a fortune because you can buy assets as such an incredible discount.

Please visit the Million Dollar Corporate credit system for complete information.