Are you kept awake thinking about your credit report? By using these tips, you can improve your credit to a level that you can look at with pride.
Getting home financing is no small feat, especially if your credit score is less than perfect. 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. Even if an individual does not have money for the down payment to purchase real estate or pay closing costs, FHA loans may still work.
Credit Card
If you have a poor credit history and can’t qualify for a credit card, get a secured card. With a secured card, you have to fund your account before you use the card so that the bank will be assured that you will pay off your debts. If you use a credit card well, your credit rating will begin rising.
If you make a decent income, consider an installment account when you want to give your credit score a boost. When opening an installment account, you need to make a monthly payment, so get something you can afford. Paying on time and maintaining a balance will help improve your credit score.
One of the first steps of improving your credit score is ensuring that your bills are always paid. Not only must bills be paid, but they must also be paid in full and in a timely manner. Your credit rating will quickly rise as you settle up your overdue bills.
Before you commit to a settlement, you should first determine exactly how the agreement will affect your credit. Some agreements cause less damage to your credit score than others, and each should be considered prior to making an arrangement with a creditor. They do not care about the effects of what they do to your credit score and are just in it for the money.
Dispute any errors that you find on any of your credit reports. A dispute letter should be sent to any of the agencies that are reporting the error. Be sure to include supporting documents. Send your dispute package with a return receipt request so that you have proof that it was received by the agency.
Don’t spend more than you make each month. You will have to change the way you think in order to do this correctly. In the not too distant past, credit was easy and people could stretch themselves too far, but now the economy is paying the price of those days. Keep track of your spending habits and income, then realistically create a budget that will get you out of your debt dilemma.
It will be easier to increase your credit rating if you only have one open credit card account. Make the minimum payment each month on your other accounts, but make the largest payment possible to the one account you are focusing on. This can help you avoid paying down smaller balances and focus on paying one card off.
Try not to use your cards at all. Pay with cash whenever possible. If you absolutely need to use a credit card, be prepared to pay off the balance at the end of the month or as soon as possible.
One of the biggest stressors can be bad dealings with debt collection agencies. Cease and desist instructions can be used to ward off debt collectors to a point, but only really to prevent harassment. The consumer still has to pay disputed debts even though these letters stop agencies from calling.
Avoid using a law office that claims they can fix your credit. Because so many people are experiencing credit problems due to the economy, shady lawyers that advertise useless, possibly illegal credit score repair services have appeared. Investigate a lawyer before hiring them to help you in repairing your credit.
Build your credit back up if your current credit scores are low. Prepaid credit cards are great for this, since you can get improved with a bad credit score, and there’s no way to rack up debt and late fees. Potential lenders will see this as a positive thing as it will show you are a responsible person.
If you use the sound advice in the article above, your bad credit will no longer give you bad dreams. Not only can you fix your credit, but you can let your mind rest easier. By learning from these tips, you can have the credit report of your dreams.