Mortgage and Real Estate Veteran
Herschel Bentley Helps Thousands Rebound
from Their Financial and Credit Storms
with His Company National Credit Federation
USA Today
April 8, 2011
By Jonathan Widran
When the real estate market started tumbling in 2006, millions of Americans were struck with feelings of dread and fear as their homes lost value or their dreams of ownership diminished or evaporated. Herschel Bentley, a 27 year mortgage veteran who segued into real estate investing in the early 2000s, faced his own personal financial crisis–but instead of giving into despair, ultimately found a way to help thousands of people as the Founder and Executive Director of the Tampa based company National Credit Federation.
Bentley had numerous lease option properties at the time, but with the mortgage market crumbling—and the days of subprime lending over–he found that all his potential buyers had severe credit issues. When he realized the only way to get those who wanted to buy properties “to the table” was to help them repair their credit, he started doing that on the side. Within a few years, he had a thriving new business.
A nationwide membership based organization, National Credit Federation (commonly called NCF) assists those who are going through a financial difficulty or need a dramatic improvement in their credit score. The company’s “Credit University” helps clients navigate through several credit myths, understand consumer laws that were written to protect them, and help people make informed decisions regarding their credit file—all of which is geared towards improving their credit worthiness.
This mission is accomplished in part by providing members with access to resources normally unavailable to “non-credit worthy consumers: financing, banking, credit lines, professional legal assistance, personal financial coaching and personal financial education. The average NCF member increases his or her credit score 127 points after just six months.
“The subprime market was exploding In the early 2000s,” says Bentley. “If you wanted a loan there were so many viable ways to get it approved and get buyers to the closing table. Because of the wide availability of credit, the focus on credit repair was not as important. But when the market changed and the guidelines were tightened down, it put many people in an initial tailspin. The changing economy and the downfall of the mortgage and financial industries all left trickle effect issues on credit availability. The underwriting guidelines changed. Even to buy cars, the need to have better credit became prevalent. Before, a person with a 520 score could easily get financing. Now the minimum is 640 for many mortgage lenders and 35% of the population that is of age and credit eligible is below that mark.”
Bentley hired staff attorneys to help clients understand and fully utilize a law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The law essentially allows a derogatory mark to be put on a person’s credit report for 7 to 10 years maximum. Yet the reality is that those negative items have to be verified and validated, as well as up to date. If items on the report cannot be, by law they must be removed.
“My stance on that is, when people are back on their feet, working again, just because they may have had an issue last year, the credit bureau shouldn’t have the right to prevent them from buying a car or property,” Bentley says. “If they can validate the mark, fine, but if they can’t, we can make it go away. One report from the U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, says that a full 79 percent of the credit reporting out there is full of mistakes and inaccuracies. So it is the consumer’s responsibility to get this taken care of and get those derogatory remarks off. That’s where National Credit Federation comes in.”
Every dispute that is challenged by NCF goes out on an attorney’s letterhead, which adds more weight and credibility to the claim and prompts the credit bureau to take a harder look at it. Each client is assigned an individual case manager who oversees that file; these case managers have years of experience working with attorneys and do a thorough multi-check system on credit reporting to address anything that could possibly suppress a client’s credit score. Their task is to work in conjunction with the client to get the report cleaned up. A total of 15 employees work at NCF headquarters but there are hundreds of consultants (contract employees) working in the field.
An interesting reality that Bentley knows from his nearly 30 years in the mortgage industry is the fact that while mortgage brokers can read a credit report well enough to know whether to approve or decline a loan, they don’t often fully understand the nuances involved in what can be done to increase a potential buyer’s scores. NCF helps people who are now “outside the storm” understand the time frame of reparation, what caused the bad reports that suppressed their scores in the first place and what they need to do to get their credit repaired in the time frame related to their potential purchase. Bentley stresses that his company can help clients increase their scores by recommending additional lines of credit. The only ones he can’t help are those who are currently still “in a financial storm,” i.e. that are still unemployed and having problems meeting their monthly budget or perhaps still in bankruptcy.”
NCF’s main referral source is mortgage brokers who refer their clients who have credit issues. They’re not only able to help their own bottom lines with deals that normally would end up in the turndown file, but many mortgage brokers have boasted that over the course of a few months they can rely on the job NCF does to help them get a large percentage of clients they initially turned down for a new home.
As the NCF website says, members can look forward to the feeling of: confidence from being re-inserted back into the credit economy; excitement of seeing their credit score bolstered to the highest possible level; acceptance from being approved for the credit they need and deserve; pride associated with home ownership; security in knowing that emergencies can be addressed less stressfully; and improved self-worth.
Bentley is always inspired by the numerous testimonials he receives that thank him and NCF for helping them through a process (that they first thought might be so difficult) that ultimately helps them achieve their dreams. He says, “I love the letters that say, ‘If it weren’t for you, we would not have been able to buy our home.’ But helping our client is just the start of a very powerful chain reaction that helps a variety of people and businesses. We are also helping their mortgage broker, the title company, the appraiser…all the way up to helping the lender create another asset on someone they were only willing to take on because of the groundwork we laid. That’s a long way from day one where our client comes to us in a bleak situation, distraught and unsure where they are at.
“When they first find out their credit isn’t good enough to qualify for a loan,” he adds, “it jars their world and it’s a fragile road getting back to being a first class credit citizen. The main thing potential clients of National Credit Federation need to know is that it’s their legal right to demand that credit bureaus remove from their credit score anything that cannot be verified or validated or that is outdated. The improved credit scores we can help them achieve will help them save thousands of dollars in interest and premium charges in the years to come.”
Click on the image below to see the article on these sites!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
