Understanding Credit
Making Sense of Credit

Repairing Credit Ratings to Build Credit

Is your goal to repair your credit rating? Then you might want to consider many factors before getting started on building your credit. 

Credit is good in many ways, and bad in some ways. Credit puts stress on us simply because we have to maintain a rating in order to get the respect we deserve. There are many reasons that a person’s credit can be flawed and a computer generated credit score doesn't always reflect a persons real credit worth.

We often have to maintain our self control so that we do not let credit over take us. Since, we do not lalways make the best choices for our credit health we have to constantly find a solution to keep our credit rating from going south. The good qualities about credit are that it gives you a cushion when times are hard, and when you want to build credit.

To get started repairing your credit then you must search for various methods that can help restore your credit ratings. The first thing you are going to do is get copies of your credit reports. The disadvantage is you will usually need to pay for the reports unless you apply for a credit card or loan.

Be sure to avoid applying for cards and loans since the more you apply the more it affects your credit ratings.  Once you apply for a loan or credit, the lenders will request copies of your credit report, which adds points to your credit score and it stays on your report for around 3 years. The more points you have, it takes away from your score, which is more important that your credit. Once you apply for a credit card or loan, then you have one advantage of getting all 3-credit reports free.

Today everyone is checking credit, so your score is always affected in one way or another. Nowadays nearly, every business will check your credit report, so if you are buying a car avoid allowing the sales reps to check your credit until you know this is what you want. It is helpful to take an updated credit report, which most lenders will tell you “oh we can’t use that.” This is ok; tell the reps “you are not checking my credit until I know this is what I want to do.” The credit report can provide them an overview of what they are looking at.

Understanding Credit Repair

After you have requested your credit reports, you can move onto the next step. If you have any charges on your credit, report that appears suspicious be sure to contact the three credit bureaus immediately, petitioning the charges. The claims against your report affect you, so you have the right to file a claim with the Fair Crediting Reporting Act (FCRA). In 1971, the US Congress passed a law to protect us against claims filed on our credit report that do not belong to us.

Take advantage of this law. Understanding the steps to credit repair is essential to get on the road to building credit. After you have disputed your credit reports errors, you will next want to wait at least six months before applying for a loan or credit card. After about six months, most credit bureaus remove the errors completely. Be ware that sometimes you may have to argue with the bureaus, since in some cases they neglect to remove the errors. If you have, any delinquencies on your credit report be, sure to take care of them right away if possible. While you wait, the six months be sure that you continue paying your bills on time. If you do not have the money to pay the bill in full, be sure you make adequate payments on the bill to avoid bad credit reports.

If you intend to apply for a loan later, make sure that you meet all payments required of you. In addition, it is wise to keep an updated copy of your credit report on hand if possible.

We are advised to monitor our credit reports regularly so that we know where we stand with our credit. If your goal is to repair your credit, taking the first step is the beginning of building a great credit score and rating.