Bad credit is a very frustrating thing to deal with. Bad credit makes it difficult to take advantage of any financial opportunities that arise. However, a few simple steps can be taken back in the direction of a good score.
Having poor credit makes financing a home a nightmare. If your income is a factor you may qualify for a FHA loan, which has lower standards and makes the federal government your lender in a sense. FHA loans are also great when a borrower doesn’t have the money to make a down payment or pay closing costs.
Installment Account
To earn a sufficient wage and boost your credit, try opening an installment account. You need to review the terms of an installment account carefully, because you’ll be required to maintain a certain monthly minimum. You might see a big improvement in your credit score, if you can handle an installment account responsibly.
No credit repair company can remove factual information, no matter how damaging, from your credit report. All information remains on your credit report for a period of seven years or more. Items that you can get taken off your record are those that have been reported incorrectly or unfairly.
Paying your bills is something you need to do to repair your credit. Your bills must be paid completely and on time. You will immediately see changes in your credit score when you begin to pay off your debts, especially those that are active.
You need to work with the companies from whom you have credit cards. If you do this you will not go into debt more and make your situation worse than it was. You can even ask for help, such as pushing back the due date of your monthly payments or reducing the interest rate.
Before agreeing on settling a debt, find out how if the process will raise or lower your credit score. Some debt settlements are better than others. Do your homework and find out how your score will be impacted before agreeing to anything. Remember creditors want their money. They really don’t care about your credit scores. That is up to you to protect.
Take a look at your credit report if you have a bad score. The item may be essentially correct, but there may be an error someplace. If the date or amount, or some other thing is incorrect it may be possible to get the entire item removed.
Dispute every error you identify on your credit report. Send an official letter to companies that have wrongfully lowered your score, and include documentation that shows the mistake. Use a return receipt when you mail your package so that you can prove that the agency received it.
Close all your credit cards except for one as a means of repairing your credit. Try to make a payment or transfer your balance to your open credit account. You can pay down one credit card in full, rather than chipping away at many.
Do everything possible to avoid bankruptcy. This will reflect on your credit report for the next 10 years. Bankruptcy may sound great because your debt goes away but there are consequences. Filing for bankruptcy will make it very difficult for you to qualify for credit in the future.
This will make sure that you maintain a good credit status. Each late payment that you make shows on your personal credit report and can hurt you when the time comes to take out a loan.
You may want to argue against the reports, but potential lenders will not take your statements into consideration. It can even draw more attention to the bad spots, so don’t do it.
Avoid using those credit cards. Try to use cash instead for all of your purchases and bills. If a credit card is used for a purchase, pay the entire balance when the bill arrives.
Collection Agencies
When you are having trouble paying your bills, debt collection agencies will start contacting you demanding payment. Consumers can legally issue letters to collection agencies to cease and desist if they are being harassed. These letters will discourage contact from collection agencies. You may be able to stop the deluge of calls from a collection agency, but the debt must still be dealt with.
Simple tips like these will help you fix your credit problems and keep your credit healthy. The time you invest educating yourself regarding credit score repair is worth every minute.