Credit Repair - OnlineCreditProfessor.com

Here is some timely credit repair advice, tips, and help for improving your credit and your credit score. Credit repair, or credit remediation, is often possible even for those consumers who have extremely bad credit. Take a look at what Suzanne Busby recommends for credit repair, and credit score improvement in this thoughtful article about credit repair.

OnlineCreditProfessor.com
This entry was posted on 1/20/2007 3:59 PM and is filed under Credit Repair,Mortgage,Credit Report,Bad Credit,Credit,Credit Score,Loans.
"Credit remediation is a topic consumers often face with fear and anxiety, and for good reason, the average home shopper knows very little about the whole credit scoring process. Sub-prime borrowers who often find themselves at a loss when trying to find ways to improve their credit history, in order to obtain better rates and terms on a mortgage or other loan. The good news is there are ways to improve less than perfect credit scores and get a loan for the home you really want. The first thing you need for this process is a current copy of your credit report. Congress recently amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act so that consumers may now receive one free credit report each year. There are three national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Since entries on your credit report can vary across bureaus, you’ll want to request a report from each of the three companies. (Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/)
It's also important to know just what a good credit score is. Most A-Paper scores, the type of scores that will get you the better deal, generally begin around 680 and up, although this number may differ slightly among lenders. Don't despair if your score is lower, there is always room for improvement. Increasing your score as little as 5 points can save a significant amount of money over the term of your loan. For example, if your score is 698 and you increase it to 703, you may be able to save yourself thousands of dollars over time as a result of a slight improvement to your loan’s initial interest rate.
Credit repair , with help from a professional, is necessary for some, especially those with very, very bad credit. Even if you have excellent credit, you can enhance your score through these steps:
• Evenly distribute your credit card debt to alter the ratio of debt to available credit. For example, if you had a credit score of 665, and you have debt on only one card, and four additional credit cards with zero balances, evenly distributing the debt of the first card could move your score closer, and possibly into, that ideal bracket.
• Keep your existing credit accounts open and active. Usually consumers are anxious to close credit card accounts that have zero balances. Unfortunately, doing this can cause them to lose the benefits of a long-term credit history and increase their ratio of debt-to-available credit. The bottom line is don't close those old accounts!
• Keep credit inquiries to a minimum. Every inquiry into your credit history can influence your score anywhere from 2-50 points. For mortgage and auto loans, even though you're only looking for one loan, multiple lenders may request your credit report, if you are shopping around. To compensate for this, the score counts multiple auto or mortgage inquiries in any 14-day period as just one inquiry. So, try and stay within that 14- day time frame.
Remember, you can’t change credit scores. Improving your credit score requires time and diligent effort on your part, and may even require professional help from a good legal credit repair service. It's a good idea to start trying to improve your credit and credit score at least three to six months prior to submitting your application for home financing.
If credit repair is what you need, you can either try the process yourself or seek out a good credit repair service. If you decide to make your own improvements, visit as many websites as possible to get information regarding credit laws and consumer rights. Diligently search through them and educate yourself to ensure that you don’t sustain any self-inflicted wounds.
If you have severe or complicated credit issues, then you’ll probably want to enlist the assistance of a professional credit repair company. Facing up to credit issues can be uncomfortable to say the least. However, if you take some steps now, you’ll be that much closer to obtaining the home of your dreams.
Additional Resources:
To order your free credit report, go to: http://www.annualcreditreport.com/
To read the Fair Credit Reporting Act, go to: www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/frca.htm
For the Federal Trade Commission's information on consumer credit, go to: www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/credit/index.html"

Even if you are not in the market for a home loan or other type of loan, it is not a bad idea to check your credit report regularly for errors, omissions, and problems that might crop up due to identity theft. Credit repair is often necessary when consumer credit files are stolen by identity theives. The only way to know if you have been a victim, is to regularly (we advise monthly) check your credit reports for problems. Problems are much easier to fix if they are found early, rather than later.

Tags: bad credit, credit repair, credit reportcredit score, mortgage loan, identity theft