Realtor® Liz Miller  ~  Lake Havasu City Real Estate

Once upon a time, when you wanted a loan, you could take a trip to your local banker and easily get a loan if you knew him personally.  Back then, your reputation and relationship with your banker was all you needed to get approved.  However, that is not the case today.  Things have drastically changed over the years.  Now your credit score will determine if you will get the loan you need to purchase the dream home you want.

There are many advertisers out there who claim they can repair your credit for a fee, but don’t fall for those false promises.  Only you can improve your credit and credit score and it can be done in a short time.

Here are tips to help you improve upon your credit score in record time:

1.    Check your credit report and score.  Once a year, you will get a free report from the top three major credit bureaus.  Dispute any incorrect and false information on your report.  Have this false information removed by writing the credit bureaus a letter.  

2.    Close out all credit accounts except one.  You need a credit card to have credit, but too many credit cards will just get you into trouble and lower your credit score.

3.    Pay off the credit cards you’re not using as quickly as possible.  Keeping one credit card open, maintain a balance of under 50% of your credit limit.  Your credit score weighs on how much your balance is and how much your limit is.

4.    If you have student loans, consolidate them to get better terms and lower payments.

5.    Refinance your car and house to get lower payments.  Don’t take out the equity when refinancing.  This can be very tempting to do.  However, keep in mind, you are trying to reduce your monthly debt-to-income ratio, which will help increase your credit score.

6.    Never apply for another credit card again.  Keep the credit cards you have.  Each time you apply for another credit card, a credit inquiry will appear on your credit report, thus lowering your credit score. 

You can have false negative information removed from your credit report.  However, you cannot have true negative information removed.  Therefore, it is very important to treat your credit with the upmost care.  Try your best to never acquire negative information.  Although, if you do, it is not the end of the world.  It will just take a while to get it off your credit report.  The longer negative information sits on your report, the less affect is has on your score.  Time is key when it comes to credit.

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