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A poor credit rating can affect your
purchasing power and your ability to get a home loan but there
are some things you can do to restore your good credit Here are
several ways you can go about rebuilding your credit.
Make sure your credit file is accurate.
Credit files are maintained by 3 large
credit reporting agencies: TRW, Trans Union and Equifax. You
can contact one of them and request a copy of your credit report
for a small fee. Review the report for errors and outdated information.
If you feel any of the reported data is inaccurate, you can request
that the data be removed. The credit reporting agency will contact
the creditor who has 30 days to respond and confirm the disputed
items. If they do not verify it, the data will be deleted. If
the creditor verifies that the information is accurate, you can
write up to a 100-word statement explaining your side of the story
and have the credit reporting agency include it in your credit
file.
Contact your creditors.
Some creditors will remove derogatory
information from your credit file if you pay a full or partial
payment toward the debt. They may also "re-age" the
account by making the current month the first repayment month
and will show no late payments. You can call the creditor directly
to do this.
Add positive information to your file.
Send information to the credit bureaus that shows stability and the ability to make payments on time.
For any accounts that do not show on your credit report that
you pay on time, you can send account statements and copies of
cancelled checks to show your payment history and the credit bureaus
may add them to your file. If you have long-term employment,
have lived in the same place for a length of time, etc., be sure
to add documentation to your file that shows this stability.
Get credit in your own name.
If you are married and your spouse has
had financial problems, be sure that you establish good credit
in your name alone.
Re-establish good credit.
If you have had credit problems in the
past (especially a bankruptcy), it is important that you re-establish
good credit. There are several ways to do this including the
following.
Satisfy judgements, liens and collections.
Make it a priority to satisfy any unpaid items against you.
Make all of your current debt payments on time!
You are on your way to having rebuilt a solid credit file!
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Equal Housing Lender
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