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"13 Tips To Improve Your Credit"
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Article: "13 Tips To Improve
and Protect Your
Credit"
By Andre Plessis
"Tips to Improve and Protect Your FICO Score"
There are several actions you can take to help improve your credit score. The first thing to do is reviewing your credit report. Ordering your credit report is simple, and it can give you insight as to the accounts and information that may have a negative effect on your credit.
1. Pay bills on time, and pay at least the minimum amount due.
2. Contact your creditors immediately if you miss a payment, and
work out a payment plan before they report you to the credit bureaus.
3. Do not close credit card accounts in good standing. Individuals with no
history of credit tend to be seen as a higher risk than others who have a record
of managing debt responsibly.
4. Avoid maxing out your credit cards. It's better to charge less on two cards
with room to spare. Typically you should be at 30% of your credit card limits.
If your credit card has a limit of $10,000 your balance should be no more than
$3,000.
5. Ask creditors to raise your credit limit so that you do not appear
overextended. This is an excellent way to increase your score if you are
current balance on a credit card is 50% of the limit, then with a limit increase
you will lower your balance ratio.
6. Do not open new accounts, because it shows an interest in acquiring new debt,
which can lower your score.
7. Aim for a rich mix of credit, with revolving credit (credit cards) and
installment debt (car loan, student loan). According to a study someone with a
home mortgage may have a higher score than someone with no home mortgage.
8. If you suspect your creditor is not reporting positive information to the
bureaus, contact the creditors or the bureaus directly to set the record
straight.
9. Correct errors on your credit reports.
 | Accounts you closed listed as being open. It may look as you have too many open accounts. |
| Accounts you closed that don't say "closed by consumer." |
| Accounts listed more than once. |
| Late payments, charge-offs, tax liens, judgments, collections or other negative items that aren't yours. |
| Incorrect account histories such as late payments when you paid on time. |
| Credit limits reported as lower than they actually are. |
| Accounts listed as "settled," "paid derogatory," "paid charge-off" or anything other than "current" or "paid as agreed" if you paid on time and in full. |
| Accounts that are still listed as unpaid that were included in a bankruptcy. |
| Negative items older than 7 years (10 in the case of bankruptcy) that should have automatically fallen off your report. |
| Various misspellings of your name. |
| Correct social security number |
| Correct phone number |
| Bankruptcies not identified by their specific chapter number |
| Lawsuits in which you were not involved. |
| Outdated or incorrect address information. |
| An old employer listed as current. |
| Other information that is incomplete or inaccurate. |
10. Find out the key factors that are dragging down your score so you can fix them.
11. If you've been a good customer, a creditor might agree to simply erase that one late payment from your credit history. You usually have to make the request in writing, and your chances for an adjustment improve your credit.
12. Dispute old negative items. Maybe you had a problem with a bill a few years ago that resulted in a collection account. You can continue disputing that the charge was unjustified, or you can try disputing the account with the credit bureaus as "not mine." The older and smaller a collection account, the more likely the collection agency won't bother to verify it when the credit bureau investigates your dispute.
13. Shop for a loan within a short period of time. Credit scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, based in part on the length of time over which recent requests for credit occur. If you shop for a loan over too long a time period, it could affect your credit score. Remember that if you shop for a loan and that you get too many inquiries, you may end up with a higher interest rate because your score went down dramatically. Make sure inquiries on your credit report don't go over a 2, 3 weeks period.
To Your Success,
Andre Plessis
Andre Plessis
"The Mortgage Guru"
"A Mortgage Professional
whose primary goal is to provide the expertise, guidance and skills necessary to
obtain the best mortgage to meet your personal needs".
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