All Forum Posts by: Daniel Berman

The problem with the credit repair service (mycreditlocker) that was mentioned in the previous post is that it can end up doing people more harm than good.

First, when you dispute online (part of the package they promote, on the website), you effectively give up one of your most valuable rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, because you can't use certified mail/return receipt to prove the delivery date of disputes. This is critical, with regard to the 30 days that the bureaus are allowed to investigate the dispute.

Second, by using template letters, you vastly enhance the likelihood of triggering a "frivolous or irrelevant" response from the credit bureaus. You effectively have only one chance at disputing a particular item, because the dispute will be recorded by the bureau, which will not be willing to entertain another dispute. So this can be a terrible waste of a valuable option.

Third, the "tri-merge" report is a bad idea, because you want to see your separate reports from the individual bureaus, to leverage any differences to your advantage. For example, to simplify for purposes of illustration, if your credit profile is strongest at Bureau A, then you should apply for credit with creditors that access credit info at Bureau A.

In sum, you can get better results for yourself while at the same time saving money, by avoiding these kinds of offers.

Dan

* Not intended as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult with a licensed attorney.

Thank you, Joshua! That's easy enough to do.

Dan

In trying to create a hyperlink in my first Marketplace post, I placed a URL (beginning with www. and ending with .com) between the open url and close url tags: [ url ] www.domainname.com [ /url ] (except without the spaces, because if I don't include the spaces here, the tags don't show up in the post).

But this turned out not to work. So I'm wondering whether I should have included the http:// in front ... or should I have done something else?

Guidance appreciated.

Dan

Yes!

It's a little like the employer who writes a letter of recommendation for an employee he wants to leave, saying: "You would be lucky to get this person to work for you."

Seriously, though, I'd like to know how others deal with this possibility.

Dan

Nice work, Wayne!

You might want to invest a few dollars, to send the affidavit by certified mail, at least (I personally would probably also do the return receipt requested add on).

Please let us know how things work out for you. With a little luck, that will make the problem go away.

Dan

*Disclaimer: Not to be construed as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult with a licensed attorney.

Sean, the chances of any negative fall-out from following the standard procedure when a property is in escrow are virtually nil.

That being said, if it makes you feel better to make the payment anyway, the possible hassle in getting any overpayment back from the lender will be worth it for you.

Dan

*Disclaimer: Not to be construed as legal advice. For legal advice, please consult with a licensed attorney.

Thanks so much for the excellent links, Brandon!

Great stuff. Really appreciate your taking the time to share that with me.

Dan

Greetings!

I'm a real estate broker in the San Francisco Bay Area. I see from my profile that I originally signed up with BiggerPockets in July 2010 but I’m only now beginning to explore the community and the amazing wealth of resources available here.

At this time, I’m most interested in learning about "turnkey" investment opportunities outside my area, including outside of California. Any guidance as to the best place in BP to find such programs would be most appreciated.

Thanks for your interest in my introduction and best wishes to all for a pleasant day.

Dan

In Marketplace, there is an explanatory link for the Image button, so I figured out the general idea. Though after I inserted the link from Dropbox, the image for that post was not showing up. So maybe I'm still not getting it.

Anyway, I will try again here, with the image in question. This is what I see when I click on the Pro link I was given, using Chrome with Windows 7.

What I discovered was that, for some reason, when I use IE, the link takes me to the intended page. Just thought I'd mention this, in case it's helpful. I will just use IE when I want to access that page.

Dan

P.S. Based on the preview I'm seeing, the image is not showing up. If possible, I'd like to know what I'm doing wrong. Thanks!

@Jon Holdman, thanks very much for your response.

I need a bit more help, please.

When I click on the Image button, "[img]" appears in the Message Body text box. But there is no prompt for uploading an image.

What do I do after clicking on the Image button and getting "[img]" in the Message Body text box?

It's probably obvious but I'm somehow missing it.

Dan