How do people trash their credit so bad?

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alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
The App-o-Rama was to get as much 0% money as possible (0% fee also) to leverage it to make money for yourself, not to spend. Not saying that some didn't do what they were supposed to but you've got it backwards.

I held over $50,000 of the banks money at 0% while making up to 7% (treasury bills several years ago). Other than the time involved, it was literally free money.

Like I mentioned. Just like in Hot Deals, you have those that do it the right way and those that rape the system. There is a reason Costco no longer offers lifetime replacement on electronics.

I took advantage of the app-o-rama and transfered about $50k in debt to 0% for 6-18months. I was able to pay that down to about $16k now. I intend to have it paid off at the end of this year. $12k is on a 7% personal loan and $4K I pulled out of my 401k to pay myself a 4.5% interest rate.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Right, I started working in a mortgage company at 12. I was filing papers and punching holes in documents.

I don't know what's so hard to believe about that.

Well, other than the fact that it would be illegal.
Anyway, working in a mortgage company at 12 doesn't make you a "broker" as you claimed.
Sweeping floors in a drug store doesn't make you a "pharmacist" as you claimed.
Taking one intro to biology course doesn't make you a "zoologist" as you claimed.
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Like I mentioned. Just like in Hot Deals, you have those that do it the right way and those that rape the system. There is a reason Costco no longer offers lifetime replacement on electronics.

I took advantage of the app-o-rama and transfered about $50k in debt to 0% for 6-18months. I was able to pay that down to about $16k now. I intend to have it paid off at the end of this year. $12k is on a 7% personal loan and $4K I pulled out of my 401k to pay myself a 4.5% interest rate.

You basically stated that all people who did App-o-Rama's took the money, bought stuff and didn't pay it off. Some probably did. I would guess that most did with it what it was intended to do....make money off of the bank's money.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Well, other than the fact that it would be illegal.
Anyway, working in a mortgage company at 12 doesn't make you a "broker" as you claimed.
Sweeping floors in a drug store doesn't make you a "pharmacist" as you claimed.
Taking one intro to biology course doesn't make you a "zoologist" as you claimed.

Not really since I was working for my father.

Also I never claimed to be a broker.

My statement that keeps getting quoted was ", broker" in response to OCGuy who is a broker.

You must have missed the thread where I posted my ACCEPTANCE letter to UF's Pharmacy college.

I have a lot more than one course in biology.

I am not sure what you are trying to prove other than the fact it's obvious you are upset with your own shortcomings. Only flunky teachers end up teaching outside of college.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
You basically stated that all people who did App-o-Rama's took the money, bought stuff and didn't pay it off. Some probably did. I would guess that most did with it what it was intended to do....make money off of the bank's money.

No I never said all did.
 

Numenorean

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2008
4,442
1
0
Wait you said you were a broker at a mortgage place in 1983?

If you were fresh out of high school and working as a broker (which I highly doubt) you would be 45, maybe 44 right now.

You also said you were almost 40.

I think your entire post is a bunch of bullshit and you're probably some 15 year old in your mommy's basement posting on the internet.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,534
911
126
Wait you said you were a broker at a mortgage place in 1983?

If you were fresh out of high school and working as a broker (which I highly doubt) you would be 45, maybe 44 right now.

You also said you were almost 40.

I think your entire post is a bunch of bullshit and you're probably some 15 year old in your mommy's basement posting on the internet.

Well, he does drive a 15 year old's dream car and his "wife" looks like she's 15. ;)
 

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Not really since I was working for my father.

Also I never claimed to be a broker.

My statement that keeps getting quoted was ", broker" in response to OCGuy who is a broker.

You must have missed the thread where I posted my ACCEPTANCE letter to UF's Pharmacy college.

I have a lot more than one course in biology.

I am not sure what you are trying to prove other than the fact it's obvious you are upset with your own shortcomings. Only flunky teachers end up teaching outside of college.

Okay you posted someone else acceptance letter, kudos for being able to use google. if you were actually accepted, then you are a flunky for not being able to graduate from it. whatever it is, you are a jack ass. but you do make it entertaining around here.:thumbsup:
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
PCAT.jpg

UFPharm.jpg

FAUBSCS.jpg


I had to drop out of Pharmacy due to my first wife breaking her neck during Spring Break. I went back into banking and bought my first home which I sold at 26.

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1080-Jackpine-St-Wellington-FL-33414/46913030_zpid/
 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Most did abuse it. I am not sure what you are arguing now. FW wasn't the main feeder of this, it hit many newspapers and then network TV.

I've been on FW for years and unless you have something that shows that MOST abused it, I have no reason to believe it. I, and several others, have used it to our advantage and have not seen anyone do it otherwise.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
I've been on FW for years and unless you have something that shows that MOST abused it, I have no reason to believe it. I, and several others, have used it to our advantage and have not seen anyone do it otherwise.

Right, because you are focused on only the FW thread on this.

It went public nationally. Every person watching Cleo the Physic in the afternoon heard the story.

Again WTF this has to do with my topic I have no idea. You are indeed naive if you think everyone uses their credit cards properly and pays their bills.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81

nice edit...just so you know those percentiles are compared to those taking the PCAT not the nation as a whole.

The reading parts I did poorly back then because I never would read those paragraphs/stories.

My math was low because at the time I did not have calc yet.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
What's appo-rama? I read a lot about this mortgage crises, never heard of it.
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
You are mixing up your terminology.

What you are describing is called a strategic default, aka the nuclear option. Also used by underwater home owners.

An app-o-rama refers to the act of applying to a large number of credit cards/lines of credit within a short number of time, before the inquires and new credit lines are fully reported. It can still be done as long as you have great credit, I just finished one over the course of about 2weeks. No 0% for life like the good old days, but the sign up bonuses were all pretty good and I needed to change out some of my cards that Citi was getting rid of (PPE, Drivers Edge, etc).

Credit card or balance transfer arbitrage to CD/money market is what most of us on FW did with our app-o-rama; take advantage of the promotional 0% offers and earn 4+ % in secured deposits.


If everyone was paying creditors perfectly app-o-ramas and credit arbitrage never would have been possible in the first place. Issuers only offered it because they were betting that consumers would screw up either by making a late payment and getting hit with the default interest rate or purchase stuff on a card with a BT already on it and having payments to go that balance instead of the higher rate BT (once the promotional period ran out). Credit cards in general have become less lucrative to issuers now that arbitrary rate changes, permanent default rate changes, universal default, automatic overlimit fees, double-billing cycles, and unfair payment allocation (assigning payments to lower interest balances first) have been outlawed. Just like how free checking is starting to disappear now that they can't charge insane fees to those who screw up.

4% and secured? Link(s) or source(s)?

The most I see is around 3.xx% and with a maximum limit of 30K deposit or less.
 
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alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
What's appo-rama? I read a lot about this mortgage crises, never heard of it.

it was applying online to as many credit card deals as possible at the same time. Most would give instant approval and your other inquiries wouldn't have shown up.

There were several reasons people did this:

One was the free sign up cash at times or for hitting a certain credit amount.

Two was 0% balance transfers.

Another was low cash advance fees to put into high yield savings.

Another which really did come to light during the mortgage crisis was doing it to buy all the extras for the home....many then defaulted on all of it.

We had a customer actually quote "oh that doesn't count, that was just the app-o-rama; EVERYONE did that" in regards to 5 credit cards maxed with no payments ever made.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Not too late to go back to pharmacy. My brother owns a small rural pharmacy let's just say I'm a bit jealous. Back when he went it was only a BS. I have more education and make about 1/2. Starting I think he made $55 an hour when he opened his own store it went into stratosphere...Drs are jealous.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
You must have missed the thread where I posted my ACCEPTANCE letter to UF's Pharmacy college.

I have a lot more than one course in biology.

I am not sure what you are trying to prove other than the fact it's obvious you are upset with your own shortcomings. Only flunky teachers end up teaching outside of college.

Rough estimate - at my high school, roughly half the teachers are also adjunct professors to the local community college or other SUNY schools, myself included. Not sure why you'd call us "flunky" teachers, since we make comparable salaries to teachers throughout the rest of the state, live in the state with the highest teacher salaries, and simultaneously live in the part of the state with the lowest real estate property values. That's why I have a decent house, a lot of land, and tons of big boy toys. (And, re: your goat farmer comment - I'm smart enough to have a business that allows for significant tax write-offs. i.e. I purchased a new generator the other day, in case this storm knocked out power. The purchase was tax exempt because the generator is necessary to provide water for the animals in my barn.)

And while some people on the forums might be impressed with your percentile rankings - most of the members of these forums don't represent a broad cross-section of the population; the average forum member here is more educated - thus, your percentile rankings (except perhaps in Biology), aren't that impressive. Particularly in your mathematical reasoning which I would guess a significant portion of the members on these forums easily rank at the 95% percentile. And, Arithmetic skills - 75% percentile??! If I were in the 75th percentile, I'd be embarrassed.

Perhaps that's how you managed to still "owe $270k on a house that couldn't sell for $80k on a good day." Seriously, you owned a house that you sold when you were 26, yet still OWE $270k on a house with a current market value of $80k - that you purchased AFTER most of the real estate bubble had burst?? I have a hard enough time swallowing the concept that a house could lose over 70% of its value AFTER the market had already dropped. (Unless the neighborhood was now the ghetto.) Believing that it lost even more than that results in one conclusion: you had nearly 0% down when you purchased the home. WTG for someone who already sold a home when they were 26.

edit: ahhh, I see that the percentiles are only of those taking the exam. Still, roughly 1992 and you hadn't taken calculus yet? Not impressive.
 
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Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
it was applying online to as many credit card deals as possible at the same time. Most would give instant approval and your other inquiries wouldn't have shown up.

There were several reasons people did this:

One was the free sign up cash at times or for hitting a certain credit amount.

Two was 0% balance transfers.

Another was low cash advance fees to put into high yield savings.

Another which really did come to light during the mortgage crisis was doing it to buy all the extras for the home....many then defaulted on all of it.

We had a customer actually quote "oh that doesn't count, that was just the app-o-rama; EVERYONE did that" in regards to 5 credit cards maxed with no payments ever made.

Crazy. But nothing compared to guys in home building. Front end loans pay for boats, brand new F350 turbo diesels, vacations while later move into paying for first house. Bankers and builders never paid much mind thinking 20% appreciation a year was normal. He he. Then the bank ended up holding bag on empty/unfinsihed lots. Wasn't norm but I saw it.

They killed that now...get more phased loans and bankers inspections... I assume they killed this "app o rama" too.
 
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kami333

Diamond Member
Dec 12, 2001
5,110
2
76
4% and secured? Link(s) or source(s)?

The most I see is around 3.xx% and with a maximum limit of 30K deposit or less.

I was speaking in past tense.

Though I still have a couple small long term CDs at 5% and a rewards checking at 4%. I've got one last BT at 0% for life that I haven't paid off, I'm thinking of milking it for the full 15years.



alkemyst said:
Another was low cash advance fees to put into high yield savings.

If you had to do a cash advance to get the money out, you were doing it wrong;)


Zebo said:
They killed that now...get more phased loans and bankers inspections... I assume they killed this "app o rama" too.

You can still pull a small one off, though nothing like before. I've gotten 5 cards with a combined limit of about $40k in the last two weeks. What's really killed it off is the disappearance of no-fee 0% balance transfers and the requisite high interest savings to put them into.

It's hard to prevent app-o-ramas unless it's like 08/09 again when they were barely approving any new credit. It's not about fraud but more about making the best use of your credit.
 
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