The Home Lending Source

Ways To Improve Your Score

There are no quick fixes for improving your credit score. Having a solid credit history takes time to build. Your score will start to rise once you begin demonstrating that you manage your finances responsibly. Once you have improved your score you can start taking advantage of things like lower interest rates and payments. Here are some ways that you can start improving your credit score:

Contact your creditors or a credit counselor. Although this won't improve your score immediately, it may be what you need to get a good handle on your debts.

Pay your bills on time. This is the best way that you can start improving your score and it's never to late to start. Even with serious delinquencies in the past, they will start to count less and less as time goes on and you continue to pay your bills on time.

If you're shopping for a loan, keep the time period short. FICO scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new lines of credit, based on the length of time between recent requests for credit occur. If you shop for an extended period of time it can end up counting against you.

Keep your credit card balances low. Don't keep maxing out your credit cards. That high outstanding debt can pull down your credit score.

Don't close an account for the sole purpose of removing it from your record. Even though you close the account it will still remain on your credit report. Just because you close it doesn't mean that it will not show up any longer. If you are going to close an account make sure that you have paid the balance all the way down before doing so.

Pay off your debts instead of moving it around. Spreading your debt around to multiple cards or consolidating it all onto one card will not help improve your credit score. The best way to improve it is to simply just pay down what you owe.

If you don't need a new credit account don't open one. This could backfire on you and actually end up hurting your score in the long run.

Don't open multiple accounts to close to one another. Opening a number of accounts in a short period of time can appear risky because you are taking on a lot of new potential debt.

Keep the credit cards you already have and manage them responsibly. Having credit cards and other loans that you pay on time will help raise your score. Someone who has no credit cards or loans tends to have a lower score then someone who has debt and has managed it responsibly.

Check your credit report for any errors. It's possible that there may be inaccurate information on your credit report that can be cleared up and raise your score. If you do find errors you should contact one of the three credit reporting agencies immediately.

Steps You Can Take To Improve Your Overall Credit Score

If you know you have a poor credit history or even if you think that you might, it's important to find out exactly what you have so you can start taking steps to correct it. This will take time. As long as you take all the steps possible, you can start to see good results in as less as six months. Remember that creditors are interested in a track record. You have to prove that you consistently pay your bills on time. Follow these steps to help improve your overall credit score:

Know what's on your credit report and fix any errors that you find.
Even if you think that you have a good score, it's still wise to check to make sure that there are no errors. It's very important to make sure that there are no errors on your report, such as misspellings in your name or address.

Don't live beyond your means.
Make paying your bills and buying only essential items your main priority. Consider the importance of any new purchases.

Follow through on paying your bills on time.
You can start this before you even get a copy of your credit report. If you are behind on any payments, contact your creditors to talk about payment options to help you get caught up on your late payments.

Start using cash and stop using credit cards.
Focus on making your new purchases with only money that you have available. This will help by not adding to your balance and allow you to start paying down your debt.

Getting your credit turned around is definitely a long term commitment but your effort will pay off in the long run.

Testimonial

They were honest 100% of the time.

- Scott S and Michele H (N. Olmsted, OH)