Repair Bad Credit Score for a Financially Secure Future

Credit Report – A Spot of Bother

In all these years, have you ever taken a close look at your credit report? You might be too busy in your career or taking care of your family, and didn’t get any time. Well, you could have saved thousands of dollars that you may have paid had you given a little attention. This is not a riddle; so let’s clarify it. Checking the credit transactions on your credit could have revealed several errors and prevented you from shelling out your hard-earned money.

Can you remember the instances where you chose a beautiful home for your expanding family, but your mortgage application got declined mysteriously? Or despite meeting all the qualifying criteria, you received a polite rejection in response to your application for an auto loan? Unavailability of the financial services mentioned above has pulled you back pretty badly. This is not what you anticipated. Since then a lot of doubts and questions are cluttering your mind.

All the answers to your questions may have been lying in just one document; your credit report. The report can have many inaccuracies, and this is why it’s important to fix your credit history. For this purpose, you can hire services of a credit restoration firm to repair bad credit.

How to Read a Credit Report

As basic as it may sound, but it is critical to read the credit report correctly. It will help you identify some major flaws there.

The following sections you need to read on your credit report:

• Identity Detail Section – It includes your name, address, and other relevant identifying information.
• Credit History Section – In this section, you will get a list of the all the accounts opened and closed.
• Collection Agency Accounts – Information related to the accounts, your creditors passed on to any collection agency.
• Courthouse Records – These are the public records that are obtained from the federal, local, and state courts.
• Additional Information – The section includes information related to addresses that you previously resided at and your employment history.
• Inquiry Section – This is the section from where you will get to know which companies requested your credit history in the past 24 months.

Once you go through the above sections in your credit report and identify the inaccurate information, the next step should ideally be consulting a credit repair company. Such a company can fix your credit by following a structured process.

A reputable credit service organization can help you remove the errors from your credit report and also advise you on managing your money and debts. These organizations have experts, who are certified and trained in consumer credit, and money/debt management. This is perhaps the best way you can revive your credit score and become eligible for various financial services.

Summary

Fixing the credit report can resolve the biggest financial woes of consumers. There can be many discrepancies in their report, and it is important to remove those inaccuracies to improve the credit history. A reputed credit repair company can help remove the inaccurate items and repair bad credit in the process.

Get Your Credit History Restored: Rebuild Your Finance

A good credit score is essential to get various financial benefits such as low-interest rates on loans, credit cards, reduced insurance premiums, zero to minimal security deposits on utilities, and others. On the other hand, a poor or less than adequate credit score can make you ineligible to take advantage of these benefits by bringing down your creditworthiness. A scenario like this can be frustrating to any consumer. On top of it, wrongly reported items on your credit report can add to the woes as they make your credit score dip. The inevitable questions are then “What’s the way to fix your credit history?” and “What steps should you take to dispute an error on your credit report?” Well, in this post we discuss the points you need to keep in mind at the time of drafting a credit report dispute letter and sending it to the relevant authorities to remove the inaccurate items from your credit report and restore your credit now.

Keep in mind the following items when drafting a credit report dispute letter:

Include relevant identification information

If you find inaccurate items on your credit report, raise a dispute with the relevant credit agencies. Draft a letter and include your name, address, credit report reference number, last four digits of the social security number, date of transactions,  and other details. Subsequently, the credit agencies will reply with their clarifications.

Describe the misreported item

The misreported items should be defined clearly for the officials to remove it from the records. If it is a credit card transaction, mention the last four digits of the credit card used, credit card vendor, transaction dates, and amount.
Make your letter readable and sound professional
Hand-written letters should be legible and easy to understand. It is advisable to send a typed and well-formatted letter and proofread the draft carefully. You can also take help of a professional business writer, who specializes in preparing such drafts. As a rule of thumb, avoid making the dispute letter more than a page.

Include copies of your documents

To bolster your case, include all the supporting documents. These documents can elicit a positive response from the creditor involved. Don’t send the original copies as those are the strongest evidence you have.

No need to mention any FCRA rules

Focus on the area of concern rather than reiterating the rules as the people at the other end already understand the rules. You primarily need to specify your main concerns related to inaccuracies in your credit report.

Ask for a Clear Resolution

Some debtors make the mistake of highlighting the problem clearly, but forget to mention the corrective action that is required. Make sure you categorically communicate to creditors/credit agencies about what resolution you want to get the wrong items removed from your credit report.

Conclusion

If you think you are not getting a satisfactory response from any of the three credit bureaus or agencies and that they are dragging their feet on your case, you can seek the help of a credit repair company. Companies like these know all the rules related to fair credit reporting, and they can present your case strongly to remove all the discrepancies from your credit report, help restore your credit score.

How to Remove Credit Inaccuracies and Repair Your Credit Score

Did you know that 70 percent of all the credit reports contain inaccuracies, and 29 percent of those errors have serious discrepancies? Imagine the possible consequences such inaccuracies can inflict on your credit history. Considering this, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted in 1970. The objective of implementing this act is to ensure accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumers. This act regulates the practices of credit reporting agencies for collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information.

According to FCRA, consumers can dispute any inaccurate information on their credit report with the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and the TransUnion. According to this law, creditors need to verify any disputed information and get back to the complainant within 30 days. If creditors fail to verify the information within the specified time limit, they need to remove those inaccurate transactional items from consumers’ credit report.

Ways to Repair Your Credit Score

The responsibility to verify consumers’ credit/transactional information lies both with the three credit bureaus and creditors. Any inaccurate item found in the report such as bankruptcies, charge-offs, tax liens, foreclosures, and collection accounts should be removed from the report after a detailed verification. If you already have a blemished credit report, and looking to get an answer to the inevitable question “How to repair my credit score,” verifying your report is the first step.

Read on to learn about the ways to repair your credit score.

Get a Free Credit Report and Verify Yourself

Consumers in the US are entitled to get a free credit report annually from the three credit bureaus. You can visit AnnualCreditReport.com or request for a report by calling them at their toll-free number mentioned on the site. You can also fill out the request form and mail to their correspondence address.

Contact the Credit Bureaus

If you are sure that your credit report contains inaccurate information, contact the credit bureaus for clarification. You can consult a credit repair company to draft a professionally written letter. Your letter should ideally have the following information.

Your complete name and address
The disputed item on your credit report
The facts and the explanation in support of the raised dispute.

In addition, attach copies of the original documents as evidence. Enclose a copy of your credit report and highlight the disputed items. Also, make sure you send the letter by certified mail and request for a return receipt so that you have the proof of acknowledgement.

Contact the Creditor

Once you send a letter to the credit bureaus disputing the inaccurate information on your credit report, send copies of the same along with a fresh letter to the relevant creditors, informing them about the dispute you raised with the credit bureaus. Usually, the process takes between 30 to 90 days.

Conclusion

Fixing your credit report will pave the way to repair your credit score. It is, however, not a quick process as it involves a significant due diligence to verify the discrepancies in your report. It is advisable that take help of a reputed credit repair consulting firm to deal with the all the hassles involved in the whole process and avoid having a delay in getting your credit score restored.

Ways of Getting a Home Loan with Low Credit Score

The credit score of an individual plays a significant role while purchasing a property. Lenders often turn down the borrowers with a low credit score or offer high-interest-rate for the home mortgage. These things, however, shouldn’t discourage an individual from going ahead with the plans to buy a property. An individual can get in touch with credit repair services provider in McKinney or any other part of the US to improve their credit score. In addition to getting help from a credit repair specialist, individuals need to take some steps on their own to get a home loan irrespective of a low credit score.

Ways to get home loan irrespective of low or bad credit

Make higher down payment

Lenders take into consideration a number of factors when they approve a loan. One of these factors is the amount of down payment a borrower plans to make. If an individual offers high down payment, some lenders might agree to provide the loan at a low-interest rate. Higher down payment means the borrower has more equity in the property and there’s a lesser risk for the lender. An individual willing to pay more down payment, but with a low credit score needs to consider applying for a loan with a smaller credit union or banks, as these usually have more flexible guidelines.

Look for non-conventional options

A non-conventional loan such as USDA, FHA or VA loan is another affordable option for the borrower as these have less strict lending requirements. An individual might get an FHA loan with a credit score of 580 and by making 3.5 percent down payment. There are, however, certain eligibility criteria for these non-conventional loans, which an individual needs to fulfil to get the mortgage.

Some banks also have specialized lending programs for low credit homebuyers and those with low income, which could make it easy to qualify for the home mortgage.

Explore the Options

While a 30-year home mortgage program is a popular choice amongst borrowers, it might not be ideal for someone with a low credit score. Look around for mortgage plans with adjustable interest option. The lender gives the borrower a chance to repair and maintain the credit score while paying the mortgage that has lower interest rate than the fixed-rate or say 30-year home mortgage.

A Few Last Words

The home buyer, in addition, to above steps can seek the help of a family member to co-sign the home mortgage, which increases the chances of loan approval. It is advisable to continuously work on improving the credit score, while trying to qualify for a mortgage plan. Credit score improvement is time-consuming, but the efforts do pay in the long run.

3 Key Tips to Wisely Use a Credit Card

Getting a credit card may be easy, but using it smartly could be difficult. Depending on how consumers use their credit cards develops good or bad spending habits. Responsible use of credit cards increases the credit score and makes people eligible to secure mortgages and auto loans at lower interest rate. On the other hand, reckless or unplanned use of credit card leads to bad credit and consumers might end up spending thousands of dollars paying for late fees and interests.

Ways to Avoid Credit Card Pitfalls

Proper financial planning might help consumers get through a monetary crisis without causing a dent to their credit score. It is always better to set certain rules on usage and repayment of a credit card to achieve financial stability. Here are a few tips that might help an individual manage credit card wisely:

1) Regular Payments

Debtors need to pay off their credit card balance every month, without a fail. Clearing the dues every month eliminates the need to pay interest on the purchase made using the credit card. To avoid paying monthly interest, they need to keep track of their expenses and avoid overspending.

2) Don’t Skip Payments

If you have a significant balance on the credit card, look for ways to get out of the debt. Try to make the minimum payment every month because missing out on a payment will cause late payment fees, and affect your credit score.

3) Don’t Spend Over 30 percent of Credit Limit

Keep the credit utilization rate of your credit card below 30 percent to maintain a healthy credit score. The credit utilization rate is inversely proportional to your credit score, which makes it all the more important to check your spending. Someone with a credit card limit of $2000 should try to keep the balance below $600.

 

Many consumers often discard the idea of owning a credit card by seeing its negative impact on their credit score. Let’s learn why having a credit card isn’t a bad thing:

 

• Many credit cards offer reward programs such as miles point and cash back, which may be useful for the card owner.
• Plastic money might protect card owners from losing any money due to theft. Even if you lose your credit card, you would not have to pay for the fraudulent charges if the thief maxes out the credit limit.
• When you make timely payment of credit card bills every month, it improves your credit score and builds a positive credit history. The habit of making on-time payments may help you get a home or auto loan at a lower interest rate.

 

There are two key aspects of successfully manage your finances and the credit score. Firstly, never spend more than what you are supposed to pay at the end of the month. Secondly, if you use the credit card to borrow money, it is essential to make a payment schedule in advance to pay off the balance in the shortest possible time.

3 Prerequisites for Home Mortgage Approval

Getting a home loan won’t be difficult if you do your homework on time. Serious home buyers have a proper plan to head start the process. As a matter of fact, most home buyers opting for home loans, first start with a visit to the lender’s office. Consulting a lender at the beginning of the home buying process benefits borrower in multiple ways, firstly, the borrower has an opportunity to discuss loan options and budgeting with the lender. Secondly, the lender checks borrower’s credit score and alert the would-be buyers about any issue in the credit report. Thirdly, the borrower gets a fair idea of his maximum credit eligibility. Buyers, however, shouldn’t immediately aim at their maximum spending capacity. Lastly, home sellers expect all buyers to have a pre-approval letter and lenders are willing to negotiate with people who have proof that they can obtain financing. We have discussed three prerequisites for a pre-approval letter for a Mortgage.

Proof of Income

Buyers applying for a loan need to produce income proof (W-2 statement) referring to their past two years of current employment; proof of an additional income such as incentives, bonuses and past two years tax returns.

Proof of Asset

For a home mortgage approval, you need to present enough proof of income to support down payment. You need to present bank statements and investment account statements, as well as the cash reserves to the lender. Conventional loans require down payment of 10-20% of the cost of the home, while an FHA loan requires 3.5%, depending on the paying capacity of the borrower. Nevertheless, there are also types of loans such as USDA loan in which a borrower doesn’t have to make any down payment.

Good Credit Score

A credit score is an essential factor to qualify for a pre-approval letter for a loan. Most lenders reserve a low-interest rate for a borrower with good credit score — in most cases a credit score of 740 or above. Borrowers with a lower credit score may have to pay a little more interest. According to latest FHA guidelines, borrowers with a credit score below 580 are required to make a larger down payment. Nonetheless, borrowers can take the assistance of credit repair companies to repair their credit score to avail low interest.

The Bottom Line

Consulting a lender at the initial phase of home buying process not only saves borrowers time but also enable them to make an informed decision. So, if you are planning to take a home loan, it is about time to get the print of your some recent statements of your bank account for a
pre-approval letter before you head start a house hunt.

5 Reasons Why a Personal Loan is Better than a Credit Card

Credit cards are the most used and easiest ways to borrow money. Managing these revolving debts, however, can be difficult, as the amount due every month is never fixed. It fluctuates according to your spending habits. Moreover, the regular temptation to settle not more than the minimum payment due may lead to a situation when you have almost unmanageable debt.

If you have a high credit utilization ratio, it may also affect your credit score, and you may need a professional to repair your credit. A personal loan, on the other hand, is a much better option and here are the five reasons.

Fixed Amount to pay

Though credit cards give you the flexibility to pay a minimum amount due, it may not be a good option, especially if you are tempted to pay not more than this fee. The reason is that unless you settle the entire balance on your credit card, it continues to attract interest every month. Personal loans, on the contrary, come with the obligation of a fixed payment every month. You always know when your personal loan will come to an end, if you timely keep following the monthly installments.

Better Credit Score

Credit cards come with a certain credit limit and are governed on the basis of their current expenditures to available credit limit. Due to this, a high credit utilization affects your credit score. Personal loans, on the other hand, are installment debts that are treated differently, and do not affect your credit score like the payments of a credit card.

Simplified Payment

A personal loan option is a great option to simplify your loans. By consolidating your credit cards and other loans into one loan through it, you do not have to remember multiple loan amounts, and different due dates, but one. What’s more, through autopay, you can further streamline the entire payment process.

More Credit or Money

Many lenders offer up to $25,000 of personal loan, whereas credit cards often start out at $5,000 to $10,000 or less. Increasing your credit limit takes a long time, and you need to develop a good rapport with your creditor through timely bill payments. Moreover, using credit cards in lieu of an emergency fund unnecessarily increases your credit utilization ratio, when you can take care of the same thing with a personal loan without affecting your credit score.

More Savings

A high credit utilization ratio not only decreases your credit score, but also attracts a high rate of interest. Therefore, it won’t be a surprise if most of your monthly payments go towards settling its interest, and not the principal amount. A personal loan acquired at a low interest rate, on the other hand, reverses the situation to your favor. While a fixed monthly installment decreases the principal amount, it gradually increase your credit score as well.

Conclusion

No matter you take a personal loan or a credit card, to know what your best bet is first requires understanding your financial situation, needs, and demands. Regularly monitoring your credit report is not to be missed here, as it is more than a piece of paper that helps you analyze your debts, and how to manage them. When you know you need to repair bad credit through ways that really work, better seek a professional credit restoration company.

Fixing Bad Credit? Solution Lies with Credit Repair Agencies

For a healthy and prosperous financial life, a good credit score is quintessential. A large number of people are acquainted with this universal fact but somehow run into bad scores due to certain adversities or lack of foresight. People with bad credit scores, i.e. a score below 600, are often troubled and keep seeking answers to the most hounding question on how to fix the bad credit. The solution to such a scenario lies with credit repair agencies. In case, you are also plagued with bad credit, there are several great reasons why you should leverage the services of professional credit repair agencies. In this article, we discuss how credit repair agencies are instrumental in your credit restoration efforts. Let’s begin.

Educate you on the Credit Repair Process

Generally, people with bad credit scores are unaware of the complexities that are inherent in every credit restoration drive. This is why credit repair agencies always inform customers about all the complexities inherent in their situation and let them know about the nitty-gritties of credit restoration.

Resolve Disputes

Bad credit scores are usually the cause of disputes between lenders and creditors. Credit repair agencies play a central role in the resolution of all such disputes in an amicable way. Credit repair agencies have teams of financial experts that are well equipped to navigate through any difficulties to attain the desired goal.

Save You Valuable Time

Credit restoration is a time-consuming process especially if you embark on it without the right expertise. In the event that you decide to repair your credit unaided, you must be ready to invest a lot of time in the exercise without a guarantee that you will attain your objectives. Credit restoration agencies save you valuable time and also ensure that the little that is invested brings positive results.

Give you Guidance

Credit restoration or repair is not just about attending to a damaged credit score as a short term strategy. It is not an event but a process that involves ensuring that you stay on course and avoid a bad score in the long term. Along with proffering credit repair solutions, credit repair agencies also provide guidance on ways to tackle any future adversities that can lead to a bad credit score.

Bottom-line

If you hire a reliable credit repair agency or credit restoration specialist, credit restoration becomes an easy task that can start bearing fruit in no time. There are many people who find themselves with bad credit scores and under the misconception that credit repair can be done the DIY way. Although a few actually succeed unaided, credit repair remains a tough task that calls for expertise and experience in order to execute it judiciously. is not that easy task and involves many complexities. It is therefore advisable to seek counsel from the experts and also exercise caution during the search for the right service provider.

4 Bad Habits that Spoil Your Credit Score

Most Americans love to earn, spend and enjoy a comfortable life. Financial facilities such as easy loans and credit cards have added to their amusement. In this system, timely repayment of EMIs and credit card bills, is supposed to ensure a hassle-free financial life. The situation that obtains on the ground is — however — is far from ideal. Easy access to mortgage or credit cards has added to their misery, and timely repayment of debts no longer guarantees financial security or good credit scores. Commitment towards timely repayments and ignorance about other factors, drives people towards poor credit scores. Bad financial habits can — however, be generally credited with any financial insecurities and/or poor credit scores at the end. Therefore, it is important to learn any financial mistakes that have the potential to harm your credit score.

Credit Consolidation

Lenders consider the credit history of new customers to determine a new consolidated loan. The aim of this tool is to compute the interest rate and EMIs for a new loan. Both help show the overall financial position of the customer and a significant part of credit consolidation is influenced by the length of credit history. Generally, people close old accounts or roll all debt into one, a situation which results in a bad credit score.

Random Applications for New Debt

Before giving out any loans, financial institutions do a credit check to ensure that they can shoulder the risk and also levy an appropriate interest rate. Make people apply for several loans at the same time in the rush for low interest rates and bargains, without appreciating the associated risks, such as drastically reducing your credit scores.

Denial to Repay Old Loans or Other Debts

One of the most common mistakes  people make is refusal to repay old debts, which severely spoils their credit scores. If you want to improve your prospects of getting fresh loans in future, it is important to ensure that you have met all your current obligations.

Close Down Credit Cards

Many people are of the wrong notion that the best way to management their financial affairs is to terminate all unused credit cards. Credit scores are calculated on the basis of a ratio between used credit and total available credit. Therefore, terminating credit card accounts increases this ratio and decreases your credit score.

Conclusion

Any financial habit or activity has a potential to damage or build your credit score. Therefore, before taking any step, always consider any immediate, as well as future impact. If you have made any bad financial decisions resulting in damage to your credit score, it is advisable to seek help from professionals. You can easily find options online by entering the search query ‘Repair My Credit McKinney TX’, in your browser.

Why Maintaining Good Credit is Necessary

The State of the Union Address, delivered in January of 2015 by President Barack Obama, started with the story of Rebekah and Ben Erler. The newlywed couple greatly struggled, then survived, all on the course of rebuilding their lives with improved economic conditions. It’s a story of persistent struggle, and many American citizens are going through a similar phase. Moreover, financial recovery is an uphill task without an above average credit score. Many have taken hits to their credit score, and now their credit history requires desperate repair.

A good credit score, meanwhile, offers many substantial benefits worth fighting for:

1. Taking Out or Refinancing a Mortgage: As time passes, the need for a mortgage to buy a new home or refinance an old loan could arise. In this scenario, a good credit score will enable you to get a better interest rate from the bank or other lending institutes. Your credit reputation is an indicator that you make responsible financial decisions and you are a safe customer to lend money. This results in receiving better interest rates.

2. Getting Utilities: Utility services are more than willing to offer you services like gas, water or even a cell phone contract without a deposit provided you have a good credit score. Your credit score assures the service provider that you will pay your bill on time every month. A good credit score will also be useful in case you move to a new location.

3. Better Set of Wheels: When you go to buy a car, auto dealers might offer you better pricing options. If you lease, you are likely to get a better interest rate as well. Even auto insurance companies will give you a better rate, courtesy of your good credit reputation.

4. Higher Credit Limits for Your Credit Cards: As you improve your credit, benefits start pouring in. Credit card companies will give you a higher credit limit, and in the case of reward credit cards, better reward offers are available.

5. Employment: A good credit score reflects a stable financial condition. Nowadays, many companies are giving weightage to the credit reputation of an individual before making a hiring decision. A bad credit score could come between you and your dream job. You can also opt for repairing your credit reputation before re-entering the job market.

6. Negotiating Power: All of the above-mentioned benefits will come to you after some negotiations. Your credit score determines to what extent you will be able to negotiate. A good credit score makes you a dream customer for companies to lend money,, thus giving you a relative advantage in negotiations.

7. Peace of Mind: There is no price tag that can be put on peace of mind. A high credit score and financial security are the factors that bring true peace of mind.