Are Credit Parnter Offers Legitimate?

Question

I have seen many offers on craigslist.com of this nature:

................................................

Turn your credit into monthly income!

Real estate investing company looking for partners who have credit -
you need a score of at least 680 to qualify for this program - no cash
necessary.

We can turn your credit into monthly income!

If you're interested, and you have a credit score of at least 680,
email us at ...............and we'll contact you to set up an
appointment - OR - if you're not in our area (Southern California), we
can outline the program over the phone and send you everything you
need to get started.

Email us today at.....and put "Credit Partner" in the subject line. Be
sure to include a phone number and a good time to reach you.

There are also many other variations on the theme. Now, are these guys
for real?

Here is another company that I have seen on the web:

http://realtytrust.org/CreditPartners.html

What do you think? Are these too risky or what?

Answer 1

I wouldn't touch that with a 10 yard (forget 10 foot!) pole!

It sounds like an old "piggy back" deal where you add someone with poor credit to one of your credit accounts to help boost their credit rating. (If you can't see the risk in that, you're hopeless.) This type of abuse has been terminated by the credit reporting agencies. It now works the other way around -- your credit will DROP if you add a poor credit risk to your credit profile.

There's always some scam artist out there trying to rip you off and this is just another on in a long line of scams. Remember the old maxim: "If it sounds too good to be true, it is."

The linked site is one that would put YOU in the role of mortgage lender. Your credit would be tied up in real estate occupied by people whose credit is so terrible that they can't even get a loan from a loan shark. How smart does that sound? Not very? Good!

Answer 2

I don't know anyting about these companies but I have purchased real estate like this and know others as well that have to. A good friend of mine used many partners to purchase over 100 properties just like this. Once you start to get a lot of mortgages on your credit the banks start to cut you off. So, as a real estate investor what do you do?

Well one technique is to find a partner that has good credit and have them purchase the house. Then you can lease option it, buy it on land contract or resell and split the profits. I can send you testimonials from friends that I have done this with that just loved it. No money out of their pcket and within a few weeks they've made several thousand dollars. The quickest one I ever did, we did what's called a simultaneous close. My friend closed it and minuted later we closed with our buyer. I used her credit for 10 minutes and she made 7 thousand dollars. Boy was she happy.

Of course I temper this with the age old adage "Buyer beware"! Do your homework. Who are these people? How long have they been doing this? What's the exit strategy for the property? What are your risks?

I've noticed that a lot of people on here are quick to respond to creative real estate financing techniques as scams, ripoffs and cons. But how can you know without asking questions and getting answers. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The operative word however, is RUSH. Never rush into any investment vehicle until you have all the facts. Speed should only come with age and experience. But if you never stick your toe in the water how are you gonna go for a swim.

Answer 3

Many of them are - indeed - legit, but they come at the cost of a HIGH INTEREST rate and a LOW LIMIT ($300 or less). So be cognizant of that before you apply. You may want to go somewhere like Lending Tree to compare and contrast and get a feel of what's available by interest rates. However, this will slightly dent your credit score a couple of points since Lending Tree will field your information to various creditors and the inquiries and have a negative impact. We're in the Information Age, so you can bypass Lending Tree and search for yourself. But, don't apply until you find the right one.

Answer 4

This is a great way to get involved in investing with very little risk, and none of your own money!
Credit partners can receive an income that they are not working for, on an asset that they never otherwise use. You earned your credit score - why not profit off of it? Let the investors make you money.