CREDIT REPAIR & COUNSELING
10 Ways to Restore Your Credit Rating
Moving Towards Financial Health and Freedom
By Brian S. Smith
Today’s credit and rating system can prevent a person from buying a car, a house, obtaining a loan, and can even determine the interest rate paid on credit cards, which can fluctuate wildly if you are late with a payment even if it was only one time. Negative credit reports can limit financial options available to you and change your life. You must never underestimate the value of having good credit. Unless you plan on living in the wilderness without utilities, a car or cable television, you will need credit in your future and without good credit, you can lead a substantially different life than if you had good credit. Although this list is not exhaustive, the list below can help you get back on the road to restoring and maintaining good credit.
YOUR CREDIT SCORE
First and foremost, if you are applying for a loan or some type of credit, your creditor or the lending institution will probably request a copy of your credit report and the credit score, which comes from an authorized credit-reporting agency. This will help the creditor identify your credit criteria and will determine if you are qualified for a loan. And, if you are eligible, your credit score will influence what interest rate you will be paying for the funds.
You must be able to demonstrate good credit to be approved by most of the private lenders. This applies to the loans you might need such as auto loans, business loans and mortgages. Here is what you can do to keep your credit score high and start to restore your credit rating over time.
STEPS TO TAKE TO RESTORE YOUR CREDIT RATINGS
- Make your payments prompt and timely. Make sure that you do not miss any deadlines.
- Pay at least the minimum monthly payments. This will repair your credit score remarkably by showing you are financially responsible.
- Limit the number of credit card accounts you have open at any one time. If you have too any credit card accounts open at any one time and have balances on each, this will hurt your credit rating.
- Make sure you have available credit on your open accounts. If you have a credit card and your credit limit is $10,000 but your balance is $9,999, you credit score will be negatively affected.
- Request a copy of your credit report at least once a year from each of the three national credit-reporting agencies. This is important so that you can monitor your credit report and take action to correct any negative entries or inaccurate entries.
- Check your reports for errors. You must clear up any errors that appear in your report immediately. Time is of the essence regarding errors detected in your credit report.
- Do not open multiple accounts all at one time, especially if your credit history is not favorable. This tends to look a bit risky to lenders because you are taking on a good deal of possible debt, all at once.
- If you do not need to use a credit card you have, do not use it. After you have recovered from all the other debts, you can add these cards back into your wallet. The new accounts will lower the average age of your account and this is something that counts toward your FICO score.
- Don’t open accounts that are not necessary. They will just be a burden. Even if you have a very high income, you can still encounter some difficulties.
- Make sure that you do not close accounts with the thought that the account will be removed from your record. That will not help at all. Closing accounts can sometimes even hurt your score.
Although there are many things that you can do by yourself to repair your credit, there is no substitute for obtaining professional help from an experienced attorney in helping you to reduce your debt and repairing your credit. The law firm of Smith & Garg, LLC is committed to helping our clients confront their credit and debt issues and to dealing with them in an aggressive manner. Do not be taken in by “Credit Repair Scams” who promise to repair your credit overnight and charge unreasonable fees. The truth about credit repair and debt relief is that it takes time to do it the right way. When you hire Smith & Garg, LLC, we will meet with you in confidence to discuss your credit situation and provide you with options and reasonable expectations designed to meet your goals and needs. When tough economic circumstances confront you, a lawyer experienced in consumer credit or bankruptcy law can help protect you from unscrupulous credit repair companies and advise you on the most prudent course of action. The last thing that consumers over-burdened with debt need is a credit-repair or counseling fraud designed to do nothing more than prey upon their financial and emotional vulnerability. The attorneys at Smith and Garg, LLC are experienced legal representatives who advocate aggressively for debt-ridden consumers with a sincere desire to get out of debt and maintain financial stability. Call Smith & Garg, LLC today at 281.210.0010 or log on to our website at www.smithgarglaw.com to set up a consultation and to start you on the road toward financial freedom and strength.
Contact the Credit Repair Attorneys at Smith & Garg today to get started!
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