clean up credit..get higher score?
I made the mistake of getting credit cards when i was 18 (now 30). My car is paid off and i rent. i owe about 8,500 in student loans and am making payments on that. the rest of my det is under $ 8000. If some that is in collection already and i start to make payments, will my credit score go up? I want to be able to buy a home within a year or two. thanks in advance
Public Comments
- Your credit score will go up over time. It is a process. As long as you make your payments on time each month, it will look good on your credit report. A quick way to improve your credit score is to pull your report from the 3 major bureaus: Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax and file disputes on EVERY negative mark on your credit, even if it really is your fault. The credit card company then has 30 days to respond and validate the mark on your credit report. If they do not respond, it gets removed from your credit report. Most companies are so busy they don't respond in time. It's free, so you might as well try it.
- Well with some of your debts in collections, I'm sure your credit score is low. I would suggest you do what you can to get those items paid off as soon as possible, while still making regular payments on everything else that you owe. As long as you do this and are not late, then your credit score will slowly get higher, but it won't change drastically.
- you can buy a home , even with poor credit. But the interest rates are higher and you usually have to put more down. I would get out of the collections and debt consolidators. You can make deals with the creditors (usually 50% of what you owe) and your credit won't go any lower than they already are in collections right now. If you have the cash..do so immediately and then pay your credit cards on time each month and get a car loan. Installment loans are the best ways to raise your score...they carry far more weight than a revolving debt like on a CC. Do this, this gets you OUT of debt and starts rebuilding immediately...Good Luck.
- Your credit score can go up faster than you think, it fluctuates on a monthly basis. If you are making payments and the creditors are reporting the payments to the big 3 your credit score should climb pretty quickly. Just make sure you keep on making payments every month and check your credit score every once in a while to get an idea of how you are doing. Since you want to buy a house, don't forget to keep your receipts and stuff since the finance company will want proof you were paying and once each card or all your debt is paid off make sure you get a receipt saying paid in full.
- Yes definitely you need to start making payments, but you also need to negotiate with them to remove the negative remarks on your credit reports. Creditors want to be paid, and they have the ability to remove negative items, so this is certainly possible. It just takes some finesse. I would recommend paying all of your creditors on time...and if you do even just that for 6 months, you will see your scores jump a bit. Keep old credit cards open (don't close them because they show longevity and the fact that you have available credit) and do not apply for new accounts (because new hits on your credit will lower your score). I would love to type more, but if you want to read all my tips to boost your score quickly, I have a free booklet that will help you at http://www.creditdoctorsoftware.com . It has sample letters and info on the whole credit repair process. There's even credit repair software demos to try. Good luck to you!
