You might have gotten sucked in by Capital One’s pre-approved credit offers, or maybe you got into some medical debt. In any of these cases, you likely hurt your credit at least a little. Luckily, there here are some steps that you can take to turn things around.
Financing a home can be difficult if you have bad credit. 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 offer lower down payments and help with closing costs.
Credit Card
If you want to repair your credit but do not qualify for a regular credit card, consider a secured credit card. This card is very easy to get, because you put money into an account ahead of time and then spend from that, so the bank doesn’t have to worry about not getting their money. If you utilize a credit card responsibly, it can aid in the repair of your credit rating.
If your credit card has a balance of over 50% of your limit, it should be your number one priority to pay it off until the balance is under 50%. Any balances that are over half your limit drag your credit rating down. So be sure to pay your credit card down or, if you can not, try to use another credit card.
The higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate that you can obtain will be. It will lower your monthly payments, so your debt will be taken care of at a much quicker rate. Compare offers and choose the best interest rate you can find when borrowing money or subscribing to a credit card.
You can dispute inflated interest rates if you are being charged more than you should be. The incredibly high interest rates can get challenged and reduced in some situations. However, when you signed up for the line of credit you also agreed to pay the interest. You need to be able to prove the interest rates are too high if you want to sue your lenders.
When beginning your credit score repair journey, remain wary of companies pledging to get negative credit report entries deleted, especially if those entries are accurate. You have to wait for seven years before negative data can come off your record. It is possible to have erroneous information removed from your report, however.
Don’t do anything illegal. There are less than honest entities that will show you how to make a brand new credit file. This tactic is not legal, and you face serious repercussions if you are caught. In addition to the possibility of facing jail time, you could be fined, your attorney bills may be substantial, and your reputation could be ruined.
Contact your creditors and see if you can get them to lower your overall credit limit. This is likely to keep you from overusing credit, which can be a financial burden. It also lets credit card companies know that you are responsible, and this makes them more likely to extend credit to you as time goes on.
Before you agree to any sort of repayment plan to settle your debts, consider how this will affect your credit score. Some methods will be less damaging than others, and you need to research them all before signing an agreements with a creditor. Some debt settlement companies are only after profits and do not communicate the likely consequences of their methods.
When you want to rebuild your credit, take a close look at any negative reports that are harming your credit. Errors are not infrequent in credit reports. If you can prove the credit bureau is in the wrong, they should correct the reported error or remove it entirely.
Addressing a bad credit report might seem daunting at first, but if you learn the tricks and stick to the process, you can improve your credit dramatically. Put the information you just learned into practice and start repairing your credit today.