Residential (Home) Swimming Pool Safety Tips

Here's a good short video on the basics of residential (home) swimming pool safety

What is "Green Building" Design or Principles? (Part 1)

Over the past decade or so, "Green Building" has become a real estate trade and building industry buzz word that also gets thrown around loosely in the media or press; but how many people really understand what it is?  The proliferation and use of a variety of different [non standard] "Green Building" logos or images also adds to the confusion...

Put very simply, the ideas behind "Green" building, environmentally friendly, or "eco-conscious" building designs have these principles in mind:

Fundamental Core Principles:

*  Environmentally Friendly
*  Energy Efficient
*  Minimize Water Consumption
*  Create/Maintain Healthy Indoor Environment
*  Use Sustainable Materials

Another way to remember or think about it is by using the acronym "RRRR" - The 4 R's or "R-Square"

*  Reduce - use less
*  Reuse [energy or materials]
*  Recycle - make new again
*  Reclaim


See my part 2 Article for specific ways to achieve "Going Green" and a list of some "Ecologically Sustainable Solutions".

Here are some logos which you may see in advertisements or marketing for "Green Building" designs or materials

Understanding Your (FICO) Credit Report Score & Letter Grade (Part 2)

Range of Score Numbers (from which Letter Grades are Derived)

A FICO score is between 300 and 850, exhibiting a left-skewed distribution with 60% of scores near the right between 650 and 799.  According to FICO, the median score is 723. The performance of the scores is monitored and the scores are periodically aligned across scorecards within each scoring model, as well as across the three credit bureaus, so that the score represents the same credit risk to lenders regardless of its source.

Each individual actually has three credit scores for the FICO scoring model because the three national credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, each has its own database. Consequently, data about an individual consumer can vary from bureau to bureau. Studies point out that people with higher scores have fewer claims. Studies also indicate that the majority of insureds pay less in insurance through the use of scores.

Credit scores may be a little confusing to understand. Even within a FICO score there are additional ratings that may vary from lender to lender.

FICO Credit Score Valuation Letter Grades

720 + excellent      A-credit
650 + good            B-credit
575 + average       C-credit
below 575 poor     D-credit

However, as previously stated, credit ratings may vary from lender to lender. Additionally, those A, B, C, D ratings can become A+, A-, etc. and what for one lender can be a B- for another could be a C+.

Bad Credit Ratings:

Furthermore, A-credit, B-credit, C-credit, and D-credit will be used by subprime lenders and often refer to borrowers with FICO credit scores below 630. In that case A-credit applies to people with 580+, B-credit will be 560+, C-credit will be 530+, and D-credit will be 500+.

VantageScore Credit Rating:

VantageScore was introduced by the three major credit-reporting agencies in 2006. This credit score model ranges from 501 to 990 and also assigns letters from A to F to the different credit score ranges.

VantageScore Valuation Letter Grades

901-990   A-credit
801-900   B-credit
701-800   C-credit
601-700   D-credit
501-600   F-credit

Understanding Your (FICO) Credit Report Score (Part 1)

Source:  http://www.myfico.com/CreditEducation/WhatsInYourScore.aspx

What’s in your FICO® score

FICO Scores are calculated from a lot of different credit data in your credit report. This data can be grouped into five categories as outlined below. The percentages in the chart reflect how important each of the categories is in determining your FICO score.

These percentages are based on the importance of the five categories for the general population. For particular groups - for example, people who have not been using credit long - the importance of these categories may be somewhat different.

 

Payment History

• Account payment information on specific types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts, mortgage, etc.)
• Presence of adverse public records (bankruptcy, judgements, suits, liens, wage attachments, etc.), collection items, and/or delinquency (past due items)
• Severity of delinquency (how long past due)
• Amount past due on delinquent accounts or collection items
• Time since (recency of) past due items (delinquency), adverse public records (if any), or collection items (if any)
• Number of past due items on file
• Number of accounts paid as agreed

Amounts Owed

• Amount owing on accounts
• Amount owing on specific types of accounts
• Lack of a specific type of balance, in some cases
• Number of accounts with balances
• Proportion of credit lines used (proportion of balances to total credit limits on certain types of revolving accounts)
• Proportion of installment loan amounts still owing (proportion of balance to original loan amount on certain types of installment loans)

Length of Credit History

• Time since accounts opened
• Time since accounts opened, by specific type of account
• Time since account activity

New Credit

• Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts that are recently opened, by type of account
• Number of recent credit inquiries
• Time since recent account opening(s), by type of account
• Time since credit inquiry(s)
• Re-establishment of positive credit history following past payment problems

Types of Credit Used

• Number of (presence, prevalence, and recent information on) various types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, mortgage, consumer finance accounts, etc.)

Please note that:

• A FICO score takes into consideration all these categories of information, not just one or two.
  No one piece of information or factor alone will determine your score.
• The importance of any factor depends on the overall information in your credit report.
  For some people, a given factor may be more important than for someone else with a different credit history. In addition, as the information in your credit report changes, so does the importance of any factor in determining your FICO score. Thus, it's impossible to say exactly how important any single factor is in determining your score - even the levels of importance shown here are for the general population, and will be different for different credit profiles. What's important is the mix of information, which varies from person to person, and for any one person over time.
• Your FICO score only looks at information in your credit report.
  However, lenders look at many things when making a credit decision including your income, how long you have worked at your present job and the kind of credit you are requesting.
• Your score considers both positive and negative information in your credit report.
  Late payments will lower your score, but establishing or re-establishing a good track record of making payments on time will raise your FICO credit score.