Okay folks, some of you may think why in the world would he tell us? After all, I am in the business of credit restoration. However, I'm no idiot. If you are part of that fortunate group of borrowers that are in the 700 Club (no, not that one) with the bullet proof credit, congratulations! 
This blog might not mean so much to you. But it might mean a great deal to your clients or your friends or family members that might not have the great credit you do! Anyway, sometimes I am asked what can I do to raise my credit score. Call me I say! But these folks are sitting roughly 1 to 5 points below the line that our friends in the lending industry have set. I can't tell you how many just missed clients I had when I was doing loans. 
Okay, so for those of you that need a little boost to your credit scores, here's a few tricks to help you out.
1) DO NOT close your good accounts, regardless of their activity. If you haven't used a credit card in years, and have no plans on using it, don't close it. Since length of your credit history factors into your score, it's vital to keep ALL positive accounts open and in good standing. If you're afraid you may utilize that account, store you credit cards in a safe place.
2) Raise your credit limits. I know this sounds crazy, but if you can't pay down your debts to acceptable ratios, raise your limits. This will make a drastic improvement to your score. This increase will lower your ratios considerably (if you're not maxed out). Be sure that they can do it without pulling your credit to ensure maximum point increases.
3) Make sure they are reporting your credit limits correctly. So many times I see that the limit is actually the highest balance a client has ever had. Some bureaus incorrectly display the high balance and not the true limit. In other words you may have a $5000 limit, spent $3000 and still have a $1500 balance. This is not accurate. You are getting dinged at having a 50% ratio when in reality it's a 30% ratio. (Do you see them points just moving on up?)
4) DO NOT apply for a bunch of loans. If you're looking for an auto loan, make sure that they use the initial credit report if at all possible. I just had a client that had her credit pulled 35 times in 4 weeks and she only went to 3 dealerships. Typically, the bureaus will consider pulls within a 2 week period as one pull. The key word is typically. Same thing if you are finding a mortgage. If you're rate shopping and the lender pulls your credit, make sure you do it within a 14 day period. Period! To many inquiries at one time and no new accounts take a ding to your score.
I hope this information helps all of ya'll. If you know anyone that needs a little more than 5 or 10 points, or if certain things on their credit report aren't allowing them to achieve the maximum potential of these tips, let me know and let me see what we can do. Our consultations are free and confidential. Good luck everyone, and I hope you hit the bullseye this time around!
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