DollarVisor blog
The DollarVisor Blog
Short guides that answer one money question at a time, across insurance, credit cards, loans and investing.
400 guides (page 4)
Loans
HELOC With Bad Credit: Real 2026 Options
Yes, but the door is narrow. Most banks want 680 and stop at 620. Credit unions and some online lenders go lower when you leave more…
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Loans
Renting After an Eviction: 7 Ways Back In
Yes, you can rent again. An eviction filing can be reported for up to seven years under federal law, but only one of the ten biggest…
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Loans
Personal Loan After Bankruptcy: Real Options
Yes. You can apply for a personal loan after bankruptcy the day your discharge is entered, and Chapter 13 filers can borrow mid-plan…
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Loans
Car Loan With No Credit: 6 Ways to Get One
Yes, you can get a car loan with no credit. Six routes work: a credit union first-time buyer program, a captive lender's CPO program…
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Loans
Car Loan After Bankruptcy: What to Expect
You can get a car loan after bankruptcy, and the chapter you filed decides how. Chapter 7 filers are free to apply the day the disch…
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Loans
Car Loan After Repossession: How to Qualify
Yes, you can get a car loan after repossession, and no lender makes you wait a set number of years. What blocks approvals is the def…
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Loans
Mortgage With a Judgment: Can You Qualify?
Yes, you can get a mortgage with a judgment against you, but only through two doors. FHA and VA let you keep the judgment open if yo…
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Loans
Mortgage With Student Loans: How Lenders Count
Your student loan balance is not what blocks the loan. Underwriters count a monthly payment, and the five main programs calculate th…
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Loans
Can You Buy a House With a Charge-Off?
Yes. Buying a house with a charge-off is allowed under every major loan program, and none of them force you to pay a non-medical cha…
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Loans
Mortgage After Debt Settlement: How to Qualify
There is no waiting period for a mortgage after debt settlement when the debt you settled was a credit card, a personal loan, or a m…
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Loans
Mortgage After a Short Sale: The Wait Times
A mortgage after short sale takes zero to four years. FHA can lend immediately if you were current on every payment for the 12 month…
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Loans
Mortgage After Bankruptcy: 2026 Waiting Rules
A mortgage after bankruptcy takes two to four years, and which chapter you filed matters more than your score. FHA and VA say two ye…
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Loans
Mortgage After Foreclosure: Waiting Periods
You can get a mortgage after foreclosure in two to seven years, depending on the loan program. FHA and USDA say three years, most VA…
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Credit Cards
Does Closing a Bank Account Affect Credit?
No, not if you close it clean. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion do not carry checking or savings accounts at all, so a closed accoun…
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Credit Cards
Do Unpaid Tickets Affect Your Credit?
No, not the ticket itself. Do unpaid tickets affect credit? A fine is owed to a city, not a lender, so there is no tradeline for Exp…
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Credit Cards
Does an Overdraft Affect Your Credit?
No, not the overdraft itself. Does overdraft affect credit? Going negative, paying the fee and fixing it costs you cash and nothing…
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Credit Cards
Do Utility Bills Affect Credit? How to Use Them
Mostly no, and that is the problem. Do utility bills affect credit? Paying on time does nothing by default, because most utility com…
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Credit Cards
Does Divorce Affect Your Credit? What to Guard
No. Does divorce affect your credit? Not the divorce itself. There is no marital-status field on a credit report and no bureau recor…
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Credit Cards
Does Marriage Affect Your Credit Score?
No. Does marriage affect credit? Not the score itself. Credit files stay separate for life, and no bureau records that you got marri…
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Credit Cards
Does Financing a Car Build Credit? The Data
Yes. Does financing a car build credit? It does, but slowly, and your score falls before it climbs. The gain comes almost entirely f…
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Credit Cards
How Long Does a Repo Stay on Your Credit?
Seven years, but not seven years from the day the car was towed. The clock starts at the date of first delinquency, meaning the firs…
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Credit Cards
Does Debt Settlement Hurt Your Credit?
Does debt settlement hurt your credit? Yes, and more than most people expect. But the settlement itself is the smallest part of it…
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Credit Cards
Does Refinancing Hurt Your Credit? For How Long
Does refinancing hurt your credit? A little, and not for long. The application is a hard inquiry, usually worth fewer than five poin…
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Credit Cards
Does Being Denied Credit Hurt Your Score?
No. Being denied credit does not hurt your score, because the denial is never written to your credit report and no scoring model can…
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