Top 7 Tips for Repairing Bad Credit to Purchase or Refinance A Home

Author: Eric Bramlett

Your credit report and credit score makes huge differences in your life, and in your finances. If you have a great credit score, your home, car, insurance, and more will cost you thousands less because you are deemed "credit worthy." If you have poor credit, you can be denied a home loan, refinance, and even auto insurance. Yet, most people have absolutely no idea what is necessary to improve their own credit score to accomplish their goals. If you follow these tips, you are sure to see your score improve.

1) Avoid Fee Credit Repair Services Everyone has seen the credit repair signs on the side of the road and the advertisers online promising to fix your credit - for a fee. Although there may be reputable credit repair specialists somewhere, I have never met one, and I have dealt with many "credit repair specialists." If you choose to enter into a contract with a "credit repair specialist" you will likely hear from them only once per month - when their service fee is due.

However, there is quality help available. Find a Realtor or Mortgage Broker who specializes in credit repair. The beauty of this arrangement is that your Realtor or Mortgage Broker will not earn their commission until you obtain the credit score necessary to purchase a home or obtain the refinancing terms you want. You will pay for results, not promises.

2) There's No "Magic Bullet" These same "credit repair specialists" will try to sell you on their own "magic bullet."
They will claim to have found a loophole in credit law that
either: 1) Allows them to successfully dispute your collections and have them erased -or- 2) Dispute the manner in which the collections were filed in order to have them erased.

Creditors typically are in the position to loan money because they are very organized, have long memories, and are up to date on credit law. It is possible to dispute credit charges, and it is possible to have legitimate collections removed from your credit report. However, this has one BIG problem: The collections will reappear on your report within a few months.

Your "credit repair specialist" may dispute your charge, at which time the creditor has 30 days to respond. If the creditor does not respond within 30 days, the collection is removed.
However, as soon as the creditor's reporting cycle again lands on your file, it WILL be reported, and it WILL reappear on your report. This is why you may find someone who claims to have had a good experience with a "credit repair specialist." If you speak with the same customer 2-3 months later, they won't have the same praise.

3) Borrow Money This may seem counter-intuitive, but it's absolutely essential. If you have bad credit, you will have to re-establish good credit in order for your score to go up. The only way to establish good credit is to borrow money. Borrowing does not necessarily mean putting yourself into debt. Do you need to purchase something from Best Buy? Put it on your Best Buy card. Do you buy gas on a regular basis? Apply for a new gas card and use it. Groceries? Use a credit card. The key is to maintain the same level of spending but to increase your use of credit.

4) Pay It Back On Time Now that you're borrowing money on a consistent basis, you have to pay it back in a timely fashion.
If you don't pay your bills on time, your score will go down - and fast. Timely, in this case, means no more than 30 days late.
That's the good news - just because your credit card company charges you a late fee doesn't mean that they've reported you late to the bureaus. Make it a habit of paying ALL your bills on the same day of the month - that way you only have to go down the list once and you'll ensure that you avoid any late fees, and any 30 day lates.

5) Decrease Your Revolving Credit Balances If you already have credit card debt, you need to take a hard look at how it's distributed. Ideally, every card will be below 35% of its limit, but it will also help you quite a bit to keep them under 50%.
You can accomplish this a number of ways. If you have money in the bank, pay the cards down - there's not a savings account in the world that will pay out the interest your creditors charge you. If you don't have the money to pay the balances down, ask your creditors to increase your limit - oftentimes, they will.
Finally, if you have one card maxed out and another with a low balance, transfer some of the balance from the maxed out card onto the low balance card - or open a new account and transfer part of the balance there. Austin Texas Real Estate

6) Open a New Revolving Line of Credit - Or Two If you don't have any revolving credit (credit cards) then it's time to open two accounts. If you have credit cards in collection, then you will probably have to get secured cards. A secured credit card will require that you deposit money with them in order for you to receive a credit card. This will feel like a debit card, but it's not. If you deposit $300 with your bank to receive a $300 line of credit, you actually have two separate accounts.
When you charge a balance to your line of credit, you will have to pay it back - the funds will not be deducted from the initial $300 you deposited. After you've opened your two lines of credit, use one for groceries and another for gas. Gas and groceries are two expenses that almost everyone has, and that almost no one will increase their spending on just because they are able to. Austin
Condos

7) Buy a House If you don't already own a home, you are probably working on your credit in order to purchase your home.
However, be very aware that your credit should skyrocket after you've made 4-5 mortgage payments on your new home. This means that you shouldn't worry too much about your interest rate - you should worry more about getting the approval on your home. Avoid a pre-payment penalty on your loan, and plan on refinancing your higher interest loan for a much better monthly payment about 1 year after your purchase. Austin Texas Real Estate

Credit scoring can seem very confusing and very intimidating.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of uneducated professionals who claim to understand the scoring models but don't. Find someone who specializes in credit repair and who has a vested interest in the success of your repair program. Follow these tips, give it some time, and watch your scores increase!

About the author:
Eric Bramlett is the Broker and co-owner of One Source Realty in Austin Texas. Visit Eric's Austin Texas Real Estate Guide, visit his Austin
Texas Real Estate company's website, & his Austin Condos & Lofts Guide. He has seen considerable success in real estate, and looks forward

Ways to improve your credit report

Is it really essential to improve your credit report?

Even though credit score are three digit numbers but it has great importance in today's business world. To earn a good credit standing it is very much essential that one pays his/her dues on time. Regular and timely payment of dues ensures a healthy credit score history.

Many retailers and lenders entirely depend on credit report in order to run their business on credit. Any negative remark can directly affect your credit obtaining flexibility. So it is advisable that you must improve your credit report and score. If your credit report contains any negative remarks it becomes vital that you improve your credit score as quickly as possible.

Suppose you are thinking to purchase a car on credit. For this you will have to apply to different bank and money lenders. Bank lenders solely depend on your credit score to judge your financial position in the market. If you do not have a satisfactory credit score history, there is every chance that you will not be granted the necessary loan to buy the car. Similarly there can be different types of investment you would like to purchase. So for all this purpose it's very important that you maintain a healthy credit report.

Following are certain tips and guidelines that can help you improve your credit report.

� Make all your bills payment on time or before the due date. As any late payment can directly affect your credit report and simultaneously your credit score.
� Do not apply for credit every time as it may decrease your credit report rating.
� Maintain estimated balance on your credit. For instance your credit balance should not exceed 25%, as it is the usual credit limit.
� If you find any negative remark in your credit report, apply to know the true reason. Ascertain whether the information in your credit report is accurate or not.
� Maintain a free copy of your credit report.
� Do not open unnecessary accounts. Remember a zero balance account is also taken into consideration.
� As far as possible make sure that you avoid introductory offer on your credit card.
� Maintain good credit history.
� Check your credit report periodically at least twice a year.
� Repair your credit timely for any credit report service.

Isabella Rodrigues writes for free-instant-credit-report.info,
offering the latest information on credit cards, visit them today for more best
buy credit cards.

Visit today: http://www.free-instant-credit-report.info

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How To Improve Credit Score The Easy Way

By Dean Iggo

With the plethora of consumers in debt these days, many are scrambling to find easy, quick ways how to improve credit score. Credit scores are very important in building a strong credit history that will vouch for you when you want to purchase a house, get a job, or rent a car just to name a few. If you want to clean up your credit score, it’s important to adhere to the following tips to get your credit score back on track. Remember, having credit is a responsibility that you will pay back the money you’ve charged, and if you don’t you can find yourself in serious debt.

First and foremost, it’s important to annually review your credit reports from each of the three major reporting agencies. This will allow you to catch and correct any mistakes you find regarding your credit score. It’s very important that you do this early, especially if you’re planning on applying for a loan because changes can take up to three months or more to finally be corrected. Secondly, you’ll want to ensure that you are consistently paying your bills on time, every time; in full if you can manage. These tips are essential to how to improve credit score.

You may wonder how to improve credit score if you have outstanding balances on your credit cards. Well, it’s always best to reduce your balances as quickly as possible in order to clean up your credit score and bring your balance to 25% or less of your total credit limit. These tips are absolutely imperative to follow if you want to improve your credit score. After following these tips for awhile, eventually you’ll be debt free and look more trustworthy when businesses or individuals view your credit score. Take the time to clean up your scores now for a debt free life later.

Dean Iggo is the webmaster of www.ezcreditscore.net - Learn how to repair your credit score quickly and easily with our hints, tips and resources.

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How To Use A Secured Credit Card To Repair Your Credit

by Ryan Cote -

If you have ever had credit cards, paid a bill monthly, or obtained a loan, you have a credit rating. When you make payments to a creditor, they report these payments to credit reporting agencies that compile your credit report and track your credit history. If you miss a payment, or even worse, your debt gets sent to a collection agent, this affects your credit rating negatively, and may prevent you from obtaining more lines of credit when you need them in the future.

As soon as you realize you are in this situation, it is crucial that you immediately begin to make an effort to repair your credit rating. To most people, this seems like a difficult thing to do, but doing nothing to repair your credit will only prolong the damage for up to seven years. Until your credit is better, you will find that you are barred from any type of loans or even activities that require credit, such as renting a car.

One way to repair your credit is to obtain a secured credit card. You may wonder how this is possible with bad credit, when you will most likely be declined when filling out a credit card application. However, without a credit card, you will have a hard time proving to creditors your responsibility in making payments on time.

Try a secured credit card. Secure credit cards are marketed specially toward individuals with poor credit. These credit cards work when the customer applies a deposit equal to their credit limit. For example, if you make a deposit of $100, your credit limit will be $100. The credit card company then be use your deposit toward any balance on the credit card resulting from late payments.

This type of credit card is risk-free for the company that issues it, because they can always deduct the balance from your deposit, so it makes sense to issue these cards to people with poor credit. One drawback to secured credit cards, however, is the annual fee that most regular credit cards don’t charge.

After you have obtained one of these secured credit cards, use it sparingly but regularly, and make sure you mail all of your payments on time. This will enable you to slowly, but surely, repair your credit. You will demonstrate to your creditors that you are trustworthy, responsible, and pay your bills on time.

Taking steps towards repairing your credit will eliminate the risk of keeping your credit rating “poor” for up to seven years. However, after seven years the black marks on your credit will finally be taken off, so waiting is always an option. If waiting is not an option, take the necessary steps toward credit repair. Obtain your secured credit card, use it responsibly, and reduce the seven-year sentence of bad credit.

For more free credit repair information like this article, please visit: Free-Credit-Repair-Advice.com


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Easily Raise Your Credit Score

by Martin Lukac

When it comes to your credit score, you can always work to increase it. Today's world seems to revolve around your credit score. It affects so many parts of your life -- your apartment, your employment, your insurance premiums and your ability to borrow money. A good credit score enables you to purchase a home, get a cellular phone, pay less on your interest rates and easily find credit.

Your credit score is also frequently called a FICO score. The score tells lenders what type of borrower you are. If you have a high score, it says that you pay your debts on-time and as promised. A low score says that you are at risk for not paying your debts. FICO scores range between 300 and 850.

Credit scores reportedly focus on the last two-years of your credit report. They will consider all of your information, but the main focus is on the most recent. This gives you the ability to increase your score fairly quickly. Yes, it still can take up to a year to see great results, but they are well worth it.

Your credit score is based upon:

Payment History -- 35%
Availability of credit and usage -- 30%
Duration of open accounts with creditors -- 15%
Credit inquiries -- 10%
Composition of your credit file (the type of debts you have) -- 10%
The good news is that while it takes some time, the steps to improve your credit score are quite simple.

Start will getting a copy of your credit score from each of the three main credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Review each report for inaccurate information. Most people will find a mistake on their report at least once in their lifetimes. These mistakes can lower your score and cost you a lot of money in interest, so it is important to make sure your report is accurate.

Once your report is accurate, start paying your bills on time each month. This is the main thing that will raise your score. Late payments will lower your score faster than anything else. You have to pay on time, every time.

Take steps to lower your debt as much as possible. You want to have at least 50% of your credit unused. That means if your have a limit of $20,000 on your credit cards, you don't want any more than $10,000 charged on them. In fact, lower that as much as you can. The less you owe, the higher your score.

Pay on time and pay off as much as possible. These two methods will help you raise your score easily. Not only will it increase your score, but it will save you lots of money. You won't have late fees to pay, you will have fewer bills to pay towards debt and you will get better interest rates from lenders. There are many advantages to having good credit, and anyone can have good credit. It just takes a little work and a little time.

Martin Lukac http://www.MartinLukac.com, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, an Internet consumer banking marketplace. RateEmpire.com is a destination site of personal finance, investing, taxes and mortgage rates. RateEmpire.com provides mortgage guides and financial rates and information. RateEmpire.com also operates a financial portal #1 American Financial, found at http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com

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5 Ways To Raise Credit Score

By Gary Gresham

It's not as hard as you think to raise credit score. It's a well known fact that lenders will give people with higher credit scores lower interest rates on mortgages, car loans and credit cards. If your credit score falls under 620 just getting loans and credit cards with reasonable terms is difficult.

There are more than 30 million people in the United States that have credit scores under 620 and if you’re probably wondering what you can do to raise credit score for you.

Here are five simple tips that you can use to raise credit score.

1. Get a copy of your credit report

Obtaining a copy of your credit report is a good idea because if there is something on your report that is incorrect, you will raise credit score once it is removed. Make sure you contact the bureau immediately to remove any incorrect information.

Your credit report should come from the three major bureaus: Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. It's important to know that each service will give you a different credit score.

2. Pay Your Bills On Time

Your payment history makes up 35% of your total credit score. Your recent payment history will carry much more weight than what happened five years ago.

Missing just one months payment on anything can knock 50 to 100 points off of your credit score.

Paying your bills on time is a single best way to start rebuilding your credit rating and raise credit score for you.

3. Pay Down Your Debt

Your credit card issuer reports your outstanding balance once a month to the credit bureaus. It doesn't matter whether you pay off that balance a few days later or whether you carry it from month to month.

Most people don’t realize that credit bureaus don’t distinguish between those who carry a balance on their cards and those who don’t. So by charging less you can raise credit score even if you pay off your credit cards every month.

Lenders also like to see a lot of of room between the amount of debt on your credit cards and your total credit limits. So the more debt you pay off, the wider that gap and the better your credit score.

4. Don’t Close Old Accounts

In the past people were told to close old accounts they weren’t using. But with today's current scoring methods that could actually hurt your credit score.

Closing old or paid off credit accounts lowers the total credit available to you and makes any balances you have appear larger in credit score calculations. Closing your oldest accounts can actually shorten the length of your credit history and to a lender it makes you less credit worthy.

If you are trying to minimize identity theft and it's worth the peace of mind for you to close your old or paid off accounts, the good news is it will only lower you score a minimal amount. But just by keeping those old accounts open you can raise credit score for you.

5. Stay Out Of Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is the single worst thing that will destroy your credit score. Bankruptcy will lower your credit score by 200 points or more and is very difficult to come back from.

Once your credit score falls below 620, any loan you get will be far more expensive. A bankruptcy on your credit record is reported for up to 10 years.

The reality of a bankruptcy is it will limit you to high-interest lenders that will squeeze out high interest rate payments from you for years.

It is better to get credit counseling to help you with your bills and avoid bankruptcy at all costs. By getting credit counseling instead of declaring bankruptcy you can raise credit score over a much shorter period of time.

Copyright © 2005 Credit Repair Facts.com All Rights Reserved.

Gary Gresham is a mortgage loan officer and the webmaster for http://www.credit-repair-facts.com He offers you credit information, debt elimination programs and informative facts that give you the knowledge to correct your own credit and credit report. For more credit related articles go to: http://www.credit-repair-facts.com/articles_1.html

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