subject: Remove Bad Credit and Increase Your Scores! [print this page] No matter what the reason good credit will translate into lower interest rates for borrowers, lower rates on insurance, and the ability to get jobs not afforded to those with poor credit. Here are some tips that can put you in a position to remove bad credit and increase your credit scores.
If you have past due balances showing up on your credit report and you want to purchase a home, make sure you bring the balance up to current status as soon as possible.
If you have outstanding debt that you can afford to pay down you should try to reduce your balances? Try to get these accounts down to a 30% balance, or at least a lower balance. If your cash on hand doesn't allow you to do this, try to distribute the debt amongst other open credit cards. You can also consider opening a new line of credit and transferring part of the balance off a card that is close to being "maxed out." If you can get the resulting balances below 50% of the available credit, you're on the road to improving your credit score considerably in most cases. Keep working toward 30% as this is generally an optimal number.
Don't close existing credit card accounts, even if you don't use the card anymore Believe it or not, the credit history is a good thing to have!
When married couples keep separate credit card accounts, some or all of the balances can be transferred to one spouse's list of accounts. This gives the other spouse an opportunity to increase their credit score and designate him or herself as the sole borrower on the mortgage loan. Ownership of the home can remain in both names!
See if your credit provider will increase your available lines of credit. This, in turn, can reduce the overall debt ratio, but do this only if your credit card company can do that without a hard credit inquiry.
If you have charge-offs or past dues within the last two years pay them off now. Past dues older than two years will have little to no impact on your credit score if they are paid. Focus on that 2-year time frame. If you see items on your report that are less than two years old and you have the money to pay it off now, mark the back of your payment check with the following notation: "Accepting this check is evidence that the transaction is complete and this charge will be deleted from my credit record." If necessary, you can use this cancelled check as proof of the transaction in the event the outstanding debt is not removed promptly.
If you see errors on your credit reports then you can request that the credit bureau delete any outstanding debt that is incorrect items. The bureaus have an obligation to reconcile this within 30 days. Be careful if you decide to fight the credit bureaus on your own they are trained to find ways to avoid removing negative information.
If you need to remove bad credit or increase your credit scores please visit http://www.credit-mechanics.com to learn more about the services we provide.
