Credit Repair – Tips to Improve Your Scores

Increasing your credit report score rating is not a difficult proposition. It simply takes time and patience. You cannot expect to see results overnight. And if you are approached by someone from a credit repair company insisting they are capable of cleaning up your credit report within a couple of months, walk away. No, check that, RUN AWAY!

If you have plans to buy a new home at any point in the future, now is the time to review your credit report and improve your credit score ratings.

The first thing you need to do is get a copy of your credit reports from each of the big three Credit Reporting Bureaus. You need all 3 credit reports for the Big 3, namely Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Use Your Credit Cards, Make Repayments, Clear Payments Regularly.

The optimal number of credit cards you should possess are about 3 to 6. The more credit lines you have the more it will hurt your credit scores, especially when you are accumulating outstanding unpaid balance attracting hefty interest on them. Pay off the outstanding amounts as much as you can but never clear all at once. Do it progressively with a schedule and budget.

Then proceed to repairing your credit card status and repairing your credit report scores. The fact that you are making regular payments on your cards and are reducing your debt will show up on your credit report, and you will get credit for this. In the meantime, do not use your cards to make additional purchases. Note that your aim is to pay off your debt.

It may sound unbelievable, but there are people who have been paying with cash all along and therefore do not have a good credit score. No credit report would be able to show the fact that you are a good money manager if you do not even possess a credit card. In this case, apply for a couple of credit cards. Make a small purchase on each card every month, and pay the card every month. These payments will show on your credit report, and they will begin to increase your credit score. In short, you are creating a legitimate image of a responsible credit user.

Pay Your Bills Promptly Via Online Banking.

This is something that not many people realize. When you apply for a bank account the bank gives you an option to register for their online banking services. Accept it and take full advantage of the ease of online banking to pay your bills on time. That is, as and when your bills come in, you must schedule them to be paid online.

In addition, you can pre-schedule payments of recurring bills and you will no longer be plagued by unpaid bills with the online banking auto payment feature. There had been cases where the speed at which you clear your bills makes 35 percent of your FICO score, so on time bill payment is important.