HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CREDIT SCORE CAN IMPROVE AND HOW … · 2018. 1. 5. · go clean credit how to...
Transcript of HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CREDIT SCORE CAN IMPROVE AND HOW … · 2018. 1. 5. · go clean credit how to...
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HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CREDIT SCORE CAN IMPROVE AND HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE
How to Tell if Your Credit Score Can Improve – and How Long Will it Take 1
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CREDIT SCORE CAN IMPROVE – AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE
In today’s world, your credit reports and scores have considerable importance (for better or worse), and can either save you money or cost you money. With negative credit reporting at an all-‐time high due to the recent economic downturn, it makes sense to ensure that your “adult report card” reflects the best version of yourself.
Many people believe there is no hope for improving their credit, or that it will take too long to make a difference, but that’s just not true. Go Clean Credit has helped tens of thousands of people since 2003 and we know for a fact that there are proven strategies that can turn your credit score around. So if you are one of those people thinking you are in too deep and can’t change your situation, the first question to ask is: How do I know if I’m a good candidate to increase my credit score?
There’s a litany of criteria we could cover, but here are a few signals that you might have prime opportunities in front of you that can be used to turn around a subpar financial situation…
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You have Collections There’s a widespread misconception that you’re stuck with whatever debt you have, unless you file for bankruptcy. The truth isn’t quite so ugly. In fact, if you’re dealing with collections, you’re in an ideal position to make some upgrades to your credit score. For starters, over 50 percent of all collections on credit reports are comprised of medical bills. Unfortunately FICO doesn’t differentiate between medical bills and other forms of past due debt, so outstanding payments of either type can drastically impact your credit score (even to the tune of 100 points). That’s the bad news. The good news is that we know how to deal with collections agencies and bureaus regarding the reporting of these debts. We will strategically assess how best to improve your score, and can also guide you in working out a settlement if needed. We’ll help you increase your credit score by tackling this issue first. You have High Balances on Revolving Accounts There’s another pervasive fallacy that credit isn’t negatively affected as long as your credit utilization is under 30 percent. This is flat-‐out false. Maxing out your credit cards tells FICO that you don’t have enough money to cover your bills and are heading down a bad path. Poor credit utilization can easily drop your score as much as 50 points. The goal with revolving accounts is to keep the percentage of your balances divided by your credit limit at 10 percent or less. We can give you further guidance on how this works.
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You have Negative Public Records Attached to Your Name When it comes to public records, many people are under the impression that they are of a permanent nature and cannot be shaken. The reality is that there’s actually quite a bit we can do to help remove negative public records from your credit report and to counteract the damage they’ve caused. If you’ve paid a federal tax lien, for instance, we have a process we follow with the IRS to have this removed. We can also make headway when it comes to judgments and even bankruptcies. Remember not to count yourself out simply because of something like an adverse public record. We have many ways to work with you on these. You’ve had a Derogatory Mortgage Event Have you had a loan modification, short sale or foreclosure? You might have some serious errors affecting your credit score and not even know it. Errors are especially common in anti-‐deficiency states like Arizona, where your mortgage debt is uncollectable once your house has been foreclosed upon. Oftentimes, the person who records these mortgage events is located in another state that does not operate with the same anti-‐deficiency laws, so they report it inaccurately. This seemingly minor error could be quite detrimental to your credit score and make it seem like you still owe a huge debt. Furthermore, the dates on your report are not always reported as they should be. When your credit report goes through mortgage underwriting, the automated Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac software will read the reported date because there is no way in credit reporting to report the actual date of the “event.” For example, the “Reported Date” might be listed as last month, but the foreclosure could have actually
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happened five years ago. This can be a significant issue because it impacts your waiting period to get a new cases, fixing the credit report data itself is really the best solution. We handle a lot of corrections in these areas, and regularly go litigate against the banks in order to reverse the damage that has been done to our clients. We’ll go as far as we need to in order to get justice for our clients. The primary attorneys we work with on such cases will take them on a contingency basis because we achieve such a high rate of success. You’ve Filed for Bankruptcy Bankruptcy is an event that many people fear will doom their credit forever. It definitely leaves a sizable impact, but it doesn’t have to ruin your credit score. If you take the right steps you can be around a 700 credit score within two years of your discharge. Similar to mortgage reporting problems, there is a systemic issue of erroneous reporting of bankruptcies. If you’ve had a bankruptcy, it’s a good idea to let us review your credit report in detail to identify if there are any errors. If so, this may be sufficient reason to dispute or litigate and help you improve your situation. You’re Lacking Positive Credit One aspect of top-‐notch credit that is often forgotten about is positive credit. In order to maximize your credit score, you need to have sufficient positive credit. Adding positive accounts is as important as removing negative accounts. This goes hand-‐in-‐hand with keeping your balances low and staying on top of timely payments. Did you realize that a new 30-‐day late payment can drop your score from 30 to 110 points? If you need to rebuild
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your credit, we can help you do this with the right tools and teach you how to use positive credit so you can reach your goals. This list is not exhaustive, but it covers a good portion of circumstances that can make you a great candidate for credit score improvement. So knowing this, the next question we usually field is… How Long Will it Take to Fix my Credit? This question is certainly understandable. After all, you want to start reaping the rewards of an increased credit score now, not a decade from now. At Go Clean Credit, we’ve seen a full spectrum as far as the time required to make a significant improvement. In some cases, someone might only need a simple change to be made and we can do so in 30 days. In rare cases, there might be a very complex situation that requires a year to weed through everything and mend the credit score. But if you think about it, a year isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things when you consider how many years it took to get your credit in the situation it’s in now. If we just consider a typical average program, it probably takes around five to six months. But remember that a financial picture isn’t one-‐size-‐fits-‐all and we will handle the particulars of your specific situation. And if you have fix your credit yourself, we’ll tell you that and advise you. Stop Learning to Live with Bad Credit So many people have poor credit a lot longer than they should because they learn to live with it. It’s not uncommon for people to come up with many reasons
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why good credit isn’t needed, but the fact is, good credit does make life a bit easier. From simple things such as airline points, car rental and travel, to buying your next home or car, or having a cushion for an emergency, good credit can provide the freedom for you to make the financial choices that are important to you.
If you would like to understand how your credit can improve and roughly how long it will take for your situation, request a FREE credit consultation today. We’ve seen every situation imaginable. You’ve got nothing to lose, and no matter what your credit situation is, there are ways to improve it.
Just call us at (480) 757-4068 to get your credit consultation today.