Whether you got your credit cards on your college campus, got carried away on one too many shopping sprees or got hit hard by the recent economic downturn, you’ve probably damaged your credit. The following tips will help you can do to repair your credit.
Financing a home can be difficult if you have bad credit. If this is the case, try to get an FHA loan, which are loans backed by federal government. You may even be able to secure your down payment and closing costs through an FHA loan. It depends on if you qualify.
If you have credit cards with a balance that exceeds 50% of your credit limit, you should pay it down to below 50%.
Credit Score
In order to start repairing your credit, you need to start paying your bills. Your bills must be paid completely and on time. Once you start paying your past bills off, you will notice an immediate improvement in your credit.
Opening up an installment account will help you get a boost to your credit score. You will improve your credit score by properly managing these accounts.
You can lower your debt by refusing to acknowledge the part of your debt that has been accrued by significantly high interest rates if you are being charged more than you should be. Creditors are skirting a fine line of the law when they hit you exorbitant interest rates. You did however sign a contract that you will pay off all interests as well as the debt. You may wish to make a legal claim that the interest rates are too high if you want to sue your state’s statutory limits.
Before you agree to settle your debt, you need to know how your credit will stand afterwards. Research all of your options, make an informed decision about the method you chose, and only then should you agree to the settlement. Remember creditors want their money. They really don’t care about your credit scores. That is up to you to protect.
You should consider talking to directly with the companies from whom you have credit cards. This will enable you stabilize your situation and repair any damage that may have been caused.
Make sure you research a credit improvement agency or counselor before you do business with them. Although some credit counselors are truthful and legitimately helpful, others have motives that are less than kind. Some credit services are not legitimate.
If you are able to successfully negotiate a payment schedule for a debt, it is important to request a copy of the agreement in writing. You want documentation to back yourself up so there will be no problems in the future, and if the company owner changes you will have more of a chance of keeping your plan. If you manage to pay off your debt, make sure you receive proper documentation as proof to send to credit reporting agencies.
Even if the negative credit item itself is not erroneous, if you can locate an error in the report, then you may be possible to have it removed from your credit report.
Dispute any errors that you identify on your credit report.
You will be able to keep up with your bills, and get a good credit score. Every time you make a late payment, it is logged in your credit report which can hinder your ability to take out a loan.
Credit Cards
Do not use credit cards to pay for things that you can afford. You will have to change the way of thinking in order to do this correctly. In recent years, people are using credit cards to buy things they want, and everyone is now beginning to pay the hefty price tag. Be sure to assess your finances and find out the things that you can truly afford.
Work with a credible credit repair service. There are far too many of these companies that are quite simply fraudulent. Many people fall victim to these scams every day. You need to research customer feedback so you can determine if a company is trustworthy or not.
With some instruction and some hard work you can help your credit get back where it needs to be, so don’t be fooled by how hard it may seem. Use the information you have learned here to help get you started on the journey to a better credit score.