If you have a poor credit score, there are ways to repair it and build good credit. The credit restoration process involves a lot of work, and it may take some time to get your scores up to where you want them. The good news is that it is possible, and it’s also legal. There are many things that can hurt your credit score, including late payments and a foreclosure on your home. It’s important to know how to fix bad credit to improve your credit score and make it easier to qualify for loans and mortgages in the future.
Credit Restoration Companies
There are a number of services that credit repair companies provide, such as disputing errors on your report and negotiating with creditors. However, it’s important to note that credit restoration companies can only do things that are within your rights as a consumer. They can’t help you change your identity to hide past mistakes or do anything illegal, such as lying to a credit bureau or a creditor. If you’re thinking of using a credit restoration company, it’s best to find one that charges reasonable fees and is well-established.
Errors on Your Credit Report
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to dispute any inaccurate information on your credit report. The credit repair process starts with a complete review of your report to identify any errors. Once you’ve found any errors, you can then contact the credit reporting agencies to request they be corrected.
Some negative marks on your credit can stay on your report for a long time, such as late payments or some types of bankruptcies. However, if those are no longer impacting your credit score and you’re no longer paying off debt, it could be a good idea to remove them from your report. This will allow your credit to build and improve faster.
Removing derogatory items from your credit report will also help improve your credit utilization, which makes up 25% of your FICO or VantageScore credit score. If you have a high utilization ratio, it can lower your score and make it difficult to qualify for loans. Reducing your credit card utilization by lowering balances or increasing the credit limits on your cards can help improve this ratio and raise your credit score.
Having too many hard inquiries on your credit report can decrease your score, so it’s important to limit the number of new accounts you open in a short period. When you apply for loans or credit, lenders will see your hard inquiries on your report. You can avoid the negative effect of too many hard inquiries by limiting your application activity or applying for credit cards that are backed by security deposits instead of spending. Also, you can use inquiry targeting to only have soft inquiries show up on your credit report.
