Sunday, May 31, 2009

Credit Hope - Tips For Credit Repair

No matter what your current credit situation, there are always things you can do to repair your credit. Even little credit repair items can make a difference to your score.

Tip #1: Review your accounts with each credit bureau. Get a free copy of your credit report from each of the 3 major reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) once a year. Review the accounts with each agency to see which ones are in need of credit repair. If you notice that one or all of the agencies as left out an account that would reflect positively on your report, you can contact them to have them verify that account and add it to your credit report. You can even dispute items online.

Tip #2: Look at the balance to high credit for each account Creditors and lenders like to see variety in the type of debt you carry. If you carry most of your debt in revolving accounts, for example, consider adding a different line of credit, such as an installment account.

Tip #3: Pay all of your bills on time Did you know that your bill payment history on things like rent and utilities can affect your credit rating? One of the most important steps you can take to improve your overall financial health and credit at the same time is to create a budget you can stick to, and get your bills paid in full and on time each month.

Tip #4: Negotiate with creditors Sometimes creditors will sometimes take less than what is owed on a debt to clear it off of their books. When you negotiate a settlement make sure as part of the settlement you have the creditor put in writing that the account is paid as agreed. This single tip alone will help you along your path toward credit repair. If you've got a relatively good history with your creditors, you're in a position to negotiate for better terms. All it takes is a phone call. Tell them you want to know if you can work out a lower interest rate for your card, and that you may take your business elsewhere if they can't oblige. In conclusion, there are many steps you can take on your own to fix the bad things showing up on you credit report. All it takes is some time and persistence on your part to follow up to make sure the creditors are correcting the mistakes on your accounts.

LeRoy Mager has spent the last 14 years in the mortgage business helping people with damaged credit with their home financing and helping them work on their own credit repair. You can find out more information and get a free report at http://damagedcreditrepair.com

1 comment:

gabby said...

The key to repairing bad credit is to write a properly formatted credit repair letters to one or all of the credit bureaus and send them out via registered mail.