Credit Repair

Credit Repair                      

Credit Repair and Help Available It really gets me upset that MONEY is the one thing that is so under taught in our schools but at the same time the can be the root of the unravelling of our society. There are millions of financially illiterate folks out there and they receive no resources. Then the recession hits and they are on their own. The number one cause of divorce is money yet nobody teaches or more importantly wants you to learn. OK, I will get off the soap box. Last year I had a client come in with about $150,000. cash to invest in a home that was gifted to them. She was recently divorced. The former partner had terrible credit and the spouse was still on all of the accounts and not paying on any of them. Our client had a FICO score in the low 500’s as a result of all this. My lender, Otto Kobler of Summit Funding had just done a step by step class on what to do in this situation so I had current information from a great mortgage lender. Rules on the funding of a new home purchase are always changing and it is good to have an expert like Otto or Dan Stevens of Wells Fargo available. We restored her credit in a six month period with her new FICO of 695. Our buyer was able to purchase. They did however have to pay all of the former spouse’s bills for a period until we proved they were not ours, a cost of $3,500. The home was purchased and they have accrued equity in an amount equal to the investment. Yeah! A lot of folks damaged their credit during the recession. I know some fairly wealthy folks that did so by not using credit or just not caring because it didn’t matter. Fix that credit now because if you use credit with a low FICO score it will cost you more. Thanks to Otto Kobler for being an integral part of my team and the following tips. How to repair my credit and improve my FICO credit score It’s important to note that repairing bad credit is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick way to fix a credit score. In fact, out of all of the ways to improve a credit score, quick-fix efforts are the most likely to backfire, so beware of any advice that claims to improve your credit score fast. The best advice for rebuilding credit is to manage it responsibly over time. If you haven’t done that, then you need to repair your credit history before you see credit score improvement. The tips below will help you do that. They are divided up into categories based on the data used to calculate your credit score.

1. Check Your Credit Report – Credit score repair begins with your credit report. If you haven’t already, request a free copy of your credit report and check it for errors. Your credit report contains the data used to calculate your score and it may contain errors. In particular, check to make sure that there are no late payments incorrectly listed for any of your accounts and that the amounts owed for each of your open accounts is correct. If you find errors on any of your reports, dispute them with the credit bureau and reporting agency.
2. Setup Payment Reminders – Making your credit payments on time is one of the biggest contributing factors to your credit score. Some banks offer payment reminders through their online banking portals that can send you an email or text message reminding you when a payment is due. You could also consider enrolling in automatic payments through your credit card and loan providers to have payments automatically debited from your bank account, but this only makes the minimum payment on your credit cards and does not help instill a sense of money management.
3. Reduce the Amount of Debt You Owe – This is easier said than done, but reducing the amount that you owe is going to be a far more satisfying achievement than improving your credit score. The first thing you need to do is stop using your credit cards. Use your credit report to make a list of all of your accounts and then go online or check recent statements to determine how much you owe on each account and what interest rate they are charging you. Come up with a payment plan that puts most of your available budget for debt payments towards the highest interest cards first, while maintaining minimum payments on your other accounts.
4. If you have no credit– Apply for a credit card from Capitol One or talk to the folks where you bank. You may need to talk to the bank manager and explain your situation. Nobody has ever been immune to rough times so ask for help. Use a credit card and pay it off every month or better yet maintain a small balance. Work your way up and out of those rough years.

My best message to you is that all of that is in the rear view mirror. You are not alone and we are here to help you.