Bankruptcy: a Drastic Step but Sometimes the Wisest One

Aren't they supposed to give me this form? They have pulled my credit report twice and continue to tell me what I can afford, but they will not send anything in writing.

Here's my advice: Ask for your money back.

Tell this mortgage company that if they do not refund your money within 48 hours, you will report them to the state agency that regulates banks and mortgage lenders.

Tell them you know that they are in violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) for not providing you with a written good-faith estimate of closing costs within three business days of signing the application.

There may be other reasons for this behavior, but this lender is not being upfront with you. If they told you that you would receive the documents, you should have received them. Once they did not send them to you, their failure to deliver as promised should have been a big red flag.

Once you get your money back-- oeven before -- you have to move on and find more reputable business partners. Clearly they're having trouble getting investors to buy their loans, and you don't want to be caught up in that.

I have four credit cards. The first has a $5,459 balance (out of a $6,000 credit limit) at 7.9 percent. The second has a $5,433 balance (with a $6,200 credit limit) at 5.99 percent. The third card has an $8,200 balance (and a $9,000 credit limit) at 0 percent interest until the end of October. The fourth has a $5,039 balance (and a $6,000 credit limit) at 3.99 percent.

With my balances so close to my credit limits, my credit score is suffering. Right now, I have $5,000 saved to pay off some cards. Should I pay off one card, or should I use the money to decrease some of my balances so my balance/limit ratio decreases?

Paying off your cards will help your credit score, but because you can't pay off all your cards at once, you need to be strategic in how you allocate your cash.

If you want to improve your credit score, you're best off paying down your balances so that you have as low a balance-to-credit-limit ratio as possible. In your case, you should pay down card Nos. 1, 2 and 4 by $1,500 each. I'd put the final $500 toward card No. 1, since that card has the highest interest rate.

Your balances on each of those cards will still be slightly more than 50 percent of your credit limit, but because the percentage of debt-to-credit limit will decrease, it will help your score. You should continue making the same monthly payments on each of those accounts (to help pay them down faster) and then throw any available cash toward card balance No. 3, even though you aren't paying any interest on that account.

If you're looking to pay off the cards the fastest (which will also improve your credit score), then use your $5,000 to nearly pay off Card No. 1. You'll have just a $459 balance, which you should be able to eliminate in one to two more months.