Future creditors may look at you negatively if you have poor credit ratings. Having poor credit like this can affect what you do, along with your future, unfortunately. However, there is hope — you can repair your credit with a few steps and re-open those doors to access lower borrowing rates and other benefits once more. Using these tips will help.
Fha Loans
Having poor credit makes financing a home a nightmare. FHA loans are good options in these circumstances, because the federal government guarantees them. FHA loans are also great when a borrower doesn’t have the money to make a down payment or pay closing costs.
If you have credit cards where the balance is more than half of your credit limit, pay these down right away. If any of your balances climb past half of your available credit limit, pay them down or spread the debt around other accounts, otherwise, your credit rating gets tarnished.
Credit Score
By keeping your credit score low, you can cut back on your interest rate. This can help lower your monthly payments, and help you pay them off quicker. Try to get the best offer and credit rates so you can increase your credit score.
By opening an installment account, it could help improve credit score and you could have a decent living. You should make sure it is an installment account that you will be able to pay into every month. If you use these accounts, your score will go up rapidly.
Negative-but-correct information cannot be removed from your credit report, so be wary of promises from unscrupulous companies who promise to remove it from the credit reporting agencies. If the information is correct, it will remain as part of your report, in most cases, for seven years. Items that you can get taken off your record are those that have been reported incorrectly or unfairly.
Work with the companies to whom you owe money to get your debt back under control. Talking to them will help keep you from drowning further in debt and making your credit worse. Politely ask if it is possible to have your minimum monthly payment adjusted or due date changed.
Do not involve yourself in illegal activities. There are plenty of credit scams that purport to erase your existing credit file and create a new one. Of course, this highly illegal, and it will cause you even more problems, because it will not go unnoticed. 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.
Credit Card
Requesting that your credit card limits be lowered can benefit you. This will stop you from racking up giant credit card bills, and show lenders you are responsible.
Joining a credit union can give you opportunities to increase your credit score. These credit unions can probably give you better credit options in the long run.
If a creditor agrees to give you a payment plan, get that payment plan in writing. You need to have a contract in writing so if the creditor goes belly up or they change your terms, you can catch them on it. Upon completion of payment, make sure to get the receipt in writing and send it to the credit reporting agencies.
Do everything you can to avoid filing bankruptcy. Bankruptcies appear on credit reports for ten years. Although it sounds like an easy way to get rid of debt, it will affect your life for a significant amount of time. It may be hard to get a credit card or a loan if you declare bankruptcy.
Carefully read all of your credit statements. Make sure that all of your fees and charges are correct and that there are not any items that were not authorized by you. You are the person responsible for checking that there are no errors.
An experienced, honest credit score repair agency can be very helpful. Like any industry making claims to help others with their finances, scoundrels and incompetents are usually only discovered after you have lost money, so do your research up front. Lots of people have been taken in by credit repair schemes. You can separate the scam artists from the good agencies by relying on user reviews found online.
Statements like these will only be ignored, so it’s not worth the trouble. Trying to defend bad credit may actually draw their attention to the area and cause more problems than it would have originally.
Credit Score
Opening additional lines of credit will negatively affect your credit score. As tempting as it can be, do not a new credit card. You credit score is going to drop immediately after opening that new line of credit.
Eliminate your debt. Lenders are interested in how much money you owe compared to how much you make. If you have more debt than your income allows you to pay, you are a credit risk. You are not likely to be able to pay off the debt in full right away, so you should make a plan to repay in a timely fashion and follow that schedule.
Keep a record of all correspondence with the credit agencies so you can have all inaccurate information taken off your credit report. Hang on to proof of every contact that you have with the credit bureaus and creditors, such as printed copies of letters and emails, or written summaries of phone calls. Also make sure to get all dispute letters certified to show that you mailed it, and that it was received.
Turn your negative credit around so that you will have more positive opportunities available to you. Many credit improvement strategies don’t cost a dime and can have immediate effects on your credit. Follow the tips in this article to start repairing your credit today.