If you have bad credit, it can prevent you from many things, such as car loans or home loans. Being negligent or delinquent when it comes to bills can hurt your credit scores. These tips can help you improve your credit score.
If your credit card is carrying more than half of its credit limit, your first priority should be paying it down until it is below 50%. Creditors like to see you using your accounts, but still keeping your balances under 50% of your allotted credit.
Credit Score
Once you have your credit score higher, you will be able to finance a house. By paying off your mortgage on time, you will even improve your credit score further. Home ownership also means you have assets that you can rely on to increase your credit score. This will make taking out future loans much easier.
Make sure you check out any credit counseling agency you consider using. Many counselors are honest and helpful, but others may be less interested in actually helping you. Other options are clearly scams. Consumers should always check to see if a credit counselor is not a scam before deciding to use them.
Give your credit card company a call and ask them to lower the limit on your credit card. It will help to keep spending under control, and also sends a positive message to potential lenders. This means you might have a better opportunity of obtaining necessary loans in the future.
Before you agree to settle your debt, you need to know how your credit will stand afterwards. Some debt settlements are better than others. Do your homework and find out how your score will be impacted before agreeing to anything. They are just out to get their money and do not care how that effects your credit score.
Check any negative items on your reports carefully when you begin fixing your credit. Even if the negative report is true, if you can locate an error in the report, it may be possible to get it removed.
One way to increase your credit score is to become a member at a credit union. Credit unions focus more on the local situation instead of the national one, and may provide more options or rates that are more favorable than those of a larger bank.
Dispute any errors that you find on any of your credit reports. Compose a letter of dispute to every agency that reported errors, and include as much documentation as you can. Send any correspondence by recorded mail to ensure proof of receipt by the agency.
Credit Card
It will be easier to increase your credit rating if you only have one open credit card account. Transfer credit card balances to one card for loan consolidation. You can pay down one credit card in full, rather than chipping away at many.
You should look at your credit card bill every month to make sure it is correct. If there are late fees, you have to make sure that you take care of them immediately with the company so that they don’t send that information to the credit bureaus.
If you are able to negotiate a repayment plan with your creditor, be sure to get it in writing. The documentation you gain from the creditor is important in case the company changes ownership or the creditor is no longer interested in the deal. Once you finish making all your payments, be sure to send that information to the credit agencies in writing.
Bankruptcy should only be viewed as a last resort option. This will reflect on your credit report for the next 10 years. Bankruptcy not only zeros out your debt, it also zeros out your credit score. If you have filed for bankruptcy in the past, it can be near impossible to obtain a loan.
Credit scores affect anyone who wants to get a loan or even co-sign for a child’s student loans. Regardless of the amount of debt you currently have, and how low your credit score is right now, you can begin to improve your credit by following the advice provided by this article.
This is a limited-time offer. We are not able to guarantee availability if you wait!
