Has your poor credit been giving you a hard time? A lot of credit scores are going down during this difficult economic time. Luckily, there are things you can do to improve your score. You can start today after reading these tips for credit repair.
If you are buying a home it will not always be easy, and even more difficult if your credit is bad. If this is the case, try to get an FHA loan, which are loans backed by federal government. FHA loans can even work when someone lacks the funds for down payment or closing costs.
Any of your credit cards with balances that are above 50% of your overall limit need to be paid off as soon as possible, until the balance is less than 50%. If you have a balance that is more than 50 percent, your credit score will drop. If you can, pay the balances on your cards; if not, do your best to pay as much as possible each month.
A good credit report means you are more likely to get financing for a home. One way to help improve your credit is to pay your monthly mortgage payments on time. Having a major asset like a house also looks good to potential creditors. Having a home also makes you a safer credit risk when you are applying for loans.
Installment Account
If you want to boost your credit score and earn a decent living, open an installment account. An installment account requires a monthly payment, make sure you can afford it. By successfully handling the installment account, you will help to improve your credit rating.
Never trust a business or person who offers to clear up your credit for a price. Especially if it is correct information they say they can remove. Unfortunately, negative marks will stay on your record for seven years. It is true, however, that you can remove inaccurate information from your report, but you do not need the assistance of a consultant to do so.
Work with the companies to whom you owe money to get your debt back under control. Maintaining contact shows your good faith and can help you minimize further debt. Call them and see if you can change the payment terms. They may be willing to change the actual payment or move the due date.
Before consulting a counselor for credit restoration, do your research. Although some can be quite legitimate, others have motives that are less than kind. Other programs, while they sound good, are complete and total scams. A wise consumer will find out if the credit counselors they deal with are legitimate or not.
Stay cautious and aware of scams online that can lead you to even bigger problems. You should steer clear of internet programs that show you how to clear your credit. Creating a new credit file is very illegal and you can be easily caught. The end result of getting caught during the crime could be expensive legal fees and a possibility of time behind bars.
Credit Card
Requesting that your credit card limits be lowered can benefit you. 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.
Carefully check all charges on your monthly credit card statement for errors. If there are mistakes, call the company. If the errors are not fixed, they could get reported to the major credit rating agencies.
If you and your creditor decided to set up a payment plan, you should first get the details of the plan in written form. Any plan that you agree on should be put in writing and signed by both parties to protect you in the future. As soon as you get it paid off, have that in writing so you are able to inform the credit reporting agencies.
Use these tips to change your credit score and make it better. The advice from this article can help you turn around your credit situation and come out ahead.