Sound too good to be true? Not as much as you'd think. Try out these five simple steps to improving your own credit score...you could see dramatic results!  As a real estate veteran of nearly 28 years I was surprised to find out that closing old credit cards was not a good idea.  After all, we have all been told that "Less is Better" when it comes to credit cards...right?  Work on getting your credit repaired and then call a Realtor to get started hunting for your dream home.  Not sure what your credit score is?  Read Help the Buyers that no one else will to connect to the best credit reporting agency there is. Good luck to you.

1. PAY YOUR PAST DUE ACCOUNTS.

Yes, this sounds obvious, but understand that credit scoring software severely penalizes you for having accounts with a past due balance. Making sure all of your accounts are current, and paying the amount that shows as being past due on the credit report can increase your credit score by a significant amount.

2. TRY TO "GET RID" OF YOUR LATE PAYMENTS.

Contact all creditors that have reported late payments on your credit and request a good faith adjustment that actually removes the record of late payments reported on your account. Be persistent, if they refuse to remove the late payments at first, remind them that you have been a good customer that would deeply appreciate their help. Call several times if you need to and ask for supervisors...persistence and politeness pay off in this scenario.

3. REQUEST TO HAVE YOUR CREDIT LIMITS INCREASED.

Contrary to popular belief, having low credit limits on a credit card can actually hurt your credit score. Having low available credit limits affects your "actual debt to available credit ratio". For example, if you owe a total card debt of $10,000 and your total credit available is $20,000, you are only using 50% of your total credit available. But if you have card debt of $10,000 and your total credit available is $15,000, you change your ratio to 66% of your available credit being used. The lower the percentage of debt to available credit the better, as it shows you are able to handle having credit available without running it up to the max.

4. BECOME AN "AUTHORIZED USER".

If you have a short and limited credit history, you can ask someone to add you to their credit card account as a joint account holder or an authorized user. When added, the primary account holder's credit card will appear on your credit report. Credit scoring software will treat the added account as though it is your account and you will benefit from the low balance and the long payment history for that account. It is important to remember that being an authorized user is helpful for your credit score only if (1) the person is carrying debt below 10% of the credit limit on that card and (2) has had good payment history on the card for seven years or longer...and the longer the history, the better. Being an authorized user is potentially detrimental to your credit score if the person giving you the card either maxes out the credit or pays late, since this would report on your credit report too.

5. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR OLD CREDIT CARDS, KEEP THEM ACTIVE.

15% of your credit score is determined by the age of the credit file. Therefore, even if your old credit cards have horrible interest rates, closing those cards will decrease the average length of time you've had credit...as well as increase your "debt to available credit ratio" as discussed in point 3. Use the old card at least once every six months to avoid the account rating to change to "Inactive". Keeping the card active is as simple as pumping gas or purchasing groceries every few months, then paying the balance down. An inactive account is ignored by Fair Isaac's credit scoring software, so you will not get the benefit of the positive payment history and low balance that card may have had in the past.

6. WHEN USING CREDIT CARDS.

When purchasing an item that comes with an interum "same as cash" offer, make sure that your credit line is open for a higher amount than the cost of the item.  If your new account is opened for the exact cost of your purchase, the credit reporting agency reads this as a new account opened and then immediately taken to the maximum credit limit.  For example if an item costs $1,000.00, you should request that your credit line be opened with a high credit limit of $2,000.00

7. Steps To Repairing Your Credit Yourself.

Have some credit that needs repaired?  The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute any and all items on your credit reports that you believe to be inaccurate, unverifiable, or misleading. If the bureaus can not verify that the information on your reports is indeed correct, then those items must be deleted.  Disputing items on your credit report is easy. Getting results from the credit bureaus is amazingly difficult, complex, and infuriating. It is not a coincidence that the Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints against credit bureaus than any other type of business. Remember, the credit bureaus are primarily interested in protecting their profits. Investigating your challenge consumes these profits. Short of sparking a mass number of lawsuits, the credit bureaus seem to do everything in their power to discourage consumers from making progress in their restoration efforts. Be diligent and those that are diligent will get results.

www.tallabas.com