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What You Can Do To Improve Your Credit

If you're one of those people that wants to repair their credit but aren't sure how to do it, then look no further. This article here has a lot of information that you can use towards repairing your credit and opening a lot of doors for you in the future for goals you may have.

Repairing your credit can take some time, but you can hasten the process by prioritizing your debts, particularly those that are in arrears. High interest rate accounts should be paid off as quickly as possible to avoid wasting money on interest payments rather than reducing the actual balance of your debt. If you have one or two accounts with a low balance, consider paying them off in a lump sum. Once that's done, you can have them removed from your credit report.

Ask a someone close to you if they can make you an authorized user to one of their accounts. Make sure it's an account with a low balance compared to its limit, a perfect history of payments and it should have been open for at least a few years. As an authorized user, the history of this card will become part of your credit history.

One tip that people with really poor credit should look into is bankruptcy. In the short term, it may be very difficult to get loans and other lines of credit, however it will allow you to stop collections and will give you a fresh start without any large debts.

Limit applications for new credit. Every new application you submit will generate a "hard" inquiry on your credit report. These not only slightly lower your credit score, but also cause lenders to perceive you as a credit risk because you might be trying to open multiple accounts at once. Instead, make informal inquiries about rates and only submit formal applications once you have a short list.

Contact the creditors of small recent debts on your account. See if you can negotiate having them report your debt as paid as agreed if you can pay the balance in full. Make sure that if they agree to the arrangement that you get it in writing from them for backup purposes.

Pay attention to the dates of last activity on your report. Disreputable collection agencies will try to restart the last activity date from when they purchased your debt. This is not a legal practice, however if you don't notice it, they can get away with it. Report items like this to the credit reporting agency and have it corrected.

Try to keep your credit balances to 30 percent or less of your available limit. One of the factors affecting your credit score is your actual credit utilization. By keeping your limits low, it shows better utilization which then improves your overall score. Even if you have a high limit, carrying a lower balance can drive up your score.

Keep track of who you authorize to put an inquiry of your credit report. Inquires do have a negative effect on your report. Review your credit report and dispute any inquiries that you have not authorized. Keeping track of small items like this, can have a large cumulative effect on your credit report.

If you paid off an account, do not try to have it removed. Paid off accounts do have a positive effect on your FICO score, especially as they age. Every item on your report that shows that you have at some point made payments is a positive item.

When you're trying to repair your credit by disputing negative items, make sure to keep records of everything you do. Keep copies of every letter, dispute, and support document you send out. Send important correspondence like disputes by certified mail so that you know your mail was delivered and so you can prove you sent something. You may not need all this documentation if things go smoothly, but if things don't go as planned, you may be grateful that you kept spotless records.

Now that you have found out some strategies that you can use towards repairing your credit, you should already be forming strategies about how you're going to repair your credit. The tips in this article are a great place to start, but remember that there is more information to learn out there, keep on expanding your knowledge and applying your information and your credit should be repaired before you know it.

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