From the beginning it should be noted that your credit report is a long term number. Your credit score or FICO (Fair Isaac and Co.) number is figured by a number of things on your credit report. It's used by many creditors as a starting point to base your credit potential. A lot of creditors just use it as a beginning point though. The score will also include pertinent information in their final decision.
A major factor in calculating FICO or credit score is your payment history. This is a huge amount of your score, and it's simply based on late payments listed on your credit report. You can probably see why this is a long-term calculation. The next major factor in the score is the amount you currently owe. This includes balances on credit cards, loans and any other debts. Length of credits the next factor of significance. What this refers to is the amount of history in your credit line.
Some of the more favorable examples of credit length would be an individual credit account that's been used for years or decades with no late payments or negative flags. An additional important factor is new credit. With new credit comes the introduction of an unknown on your credit report. Will you be able to pay the new credit line and the current credit line you may already have outstanding? There are all kinds ranging from credit cards to mortgage & too much of some doesn't impact your rating positively.
As you're now aware your score is calculated based on information on your credit report. This means that the quickest way to influence your credit is simply to correct all of the information on your credit report. You'll want to begin with the more major things.
Incorrect info is generally the starting point. Beyond that you can clean a number of things to create a positive impact on your rating. You may want to begin by requesting creditors to remove older reporting of late payments. This is usually more practical with creditors that you have a long history with and the older the delinquent payment the more likely it is to be removed.
Something else to keep in mind, when cleaning your credit score is that closing accounts won't really improve your score. You actually get credit for having a long term history in your credit report. What can help to improve your score is paying off accounts. This works to reduce your present debt, a major factor in your score. Also, don't open new credit accounts. The more recent credit lines that you have the more negative impact they may cause. Only open the credit accounts that you need & can control your use of them.
With this info you'll know how to navigate and understand to be certain your score's going in the direction you want.
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