A better credit score is possible for anyone but one must take concrete steps in order to actually make significant improvements. However, there are some common mistakes that many people make due to the many prevalent myths about credit repair. But with the right strategies anyone can repair their credit.
It can be a mistake to wait to make repairs to your credit. You probably need to have a steady income so that you can maintain the repairs that you make but you probably should not wait for credit problems to pass. Start by paying down your debt and be proactive about searching out ways to diversify and improve your credit. You should not delay taking action on credit repair because you never know when you will need to have that higher credit score.
If you are not using an account do not close it. A significant portion of your credit score is the length of your credit history. If you close older accounts even if they are unused, you lose that history. By closing your older accounts you actually end up damaging your scores more rather than helping.
Also be cautious about closing revolving accounts, as another significant portion of your credit score is your debt to available credit ratio. If you close any revolving accounts you no longer have access to as much credit as you had previously and your score goes down accordingly. If you no longer wish to use a credit card just put it away and stop using it but do not cancel it because it will hurt your credit score.
It will not improve your score if you charge more on your accounts. It is actually the people who have access to the most credit but use very little of it who have the highest credit scores. If you max out your charge cards it will completely destroy your credit scores. If you want to achieve the highest credit scores you need to keep your balances below 20% of your available credit.
Make sure that you read and keep track of all correspondence from your creditors. You only have a short window in which to address mistakes and mistakes can be common. If you have sent in a dispute regarding inaccurate items showing on your credit report you must be especially diligent in keeping track of correspondence as the bureaus only have a 30-day window in which to respond. Also make sure that all correspondence from you is sent by registered mail.
Effective credit repair will require organization. Make sure that you are periodically checking your credit report and your credit score. You can then determine what is working and what may not be as effective. Credit repair does not happen overnight but you should be able to see progress as you go.
Your credit report and score can become better than ever if you take some proactive steps and let time pass for the things you can?t change. Your credit can and will improve if you employ strategic credit repair.
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