FYI DIY Day 5

This is our last installment on Do It Yourself Credit Repair. Finally you need to build some muscle. In other words its good to see if you can enhance your remaining credit profile. After you have removed all the negative items that you can off your report. Also this is a reminder that you need to start repairing your credit as soon as possible because you can not predict the time-frame involved in getting yourself to the point that you want to be. As you increase your score you decrease your interest rate, which in turn reduces your monthly payment. 

Check with your family members first to see if anyone has a credit card that they are willing to add you on as an authorized user. This gives you the benefit of all their payment and credit history on the particular card. Consequently this means that they should not have ANY late payments, if they do then you are just working against yourself. The higher their limit and the lower the balance the better it is for you. Next check with your bank to see if they offer secured credit cards. If they do then this is a great tool to help your overall credit profile. 

Also you can document your history of paying your rent, health insurance, or even child care bills on time, every time, for at least 12 months, talk to your mortgage professional about whether you can use any of these accounts to prove yourself creditworthy to mortgage lenders.

Remember start early, stay patient and you'll be able to see great results. 

Day 4 "FYI DIY"

Perhaps up until this point you've been working alone. You've been tackling the task of getting your credit cleaned up. I suggest if you haven't by now, to enlist the help of your mortgage broker. 

Allow the mortgage broker to go ahead & pull your a trimerger or a full credit report from each of the three major credit bureau. The report may or may not be identical to the one you have access to. However the one thing you don't want to do is to wait until the last minute to allow your lender to pull your credit. You and your lender will have an opportunity to catch any item that may keep you from getting the house (or car) you desire.

Finally break down the results in to long-term & short term. The lender also may have access to Rapid Rescore or similar programs that will have your report and credit score updated within a day or two after you complete all credit boosting techniques. 

FYI DIY Day 3

Pay the things off that matter. You may ask how do you do that? Consult with your lender to get a good grasp on what they're looking for.  Most financial institutions will require that you settle, bring current or pay off certain things entirely before you can buy a home: 

accounts in collections

state and federal tax liens

past home loans or lines of credit in default that were not extinguished through foreclosure or short sale (e.g., second loans, home equity lines of credit, etc.)

defaulted federal student loans (for FHA loan applicants).

When you're in negotiations with creditors to make settlements believe it or not you are in a position of power. Ask the creditors if you can settle with terms. The terms being based on this payment you agree to delete the corresponding account off of my credit report. This method doesn't always work but its worth a shot. 

Another important thing is to prioritize the various items on the credit report. For example, some lenders might allow you to simply settle a tax lien at closing, while most FHA loans won’t allow for a credit pre-approval while you have a defaulted federal student loan on your report.

Nevertheless don't just go all willy nilly paying off debt. It may seem wise to take the opportunity to pay your debt off and close out old, unused accounts, thinking it will score extra brownie points with perspective lenders. However this is not the case always. Credit scores are calculated based on available credit and credit utilization. FICO score calculations are reportedly maximized when you have 30 percent of the credit available to you on your accounts.  So don’t pay them entirely off, and whatever you do, don’t close accounts that are open and/or current.  

Day 2 "FYI DIY"

Make sure you double-check your report for minor errors. Particularly things that should have fallen off due to statue of limitations requirements, incorrect remaining balances and limits listed as lower than they are, and inconsistent paid off dates. 

A lot of consumers we polled believed that paying their bills on time was the most important factor that influenced their credit score. However that is not always the case, even if you pay your bills on time and have a maxed out credit account (loan, line or card) it will have an adverse affect on your credit. Consequently, if your credit report shows your balances as higher than they are in reality or your limits as lower than they actually are, this by itself can severely impact your credit score.  

There is a biblical saying that "the small foxes spoil the vineyard." In other words these seemingly minor items can have a major impact on your credit score. The truth is that they are all too common and commonly overlooked by consumers, who are looking to point the blame at the bureuas or some identity thief.  

Delinquencies should age entirely off your report after 7 years, and bankruptcies after 10.  The precise date of a short sale or foreclosure can actually be the deciding factor in your ability to qualify for a home loan - so make sure it is reported accurately. 

Do It Yourself Day 1

1. The 1st step is to go to AnnualCreditReport.com and order your credit reports from all three reporting bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Also you can go to Equifax.com/freetrial and sign up for their credit monitoring service. Once you receive your reports, identify accounts that are not your accounts. Next look for accounts that are reporting erroneous information such as late payments listed as late that were actually on-time, modification listed as a foreclosure, etc. Each report will come with a detailed set of instructions on how to dispute the errors immediately. They will give you the option to dispute the items both online, over the phone and in writing. I suggest using the writing method, due to certain FCRA laws which are advantageous. 

Don't hold your breath or lose patience it might even take several rounds of disputes and submissions of documents to finally clear everything up. If you are planning on getting a home or car loan talk to the loan officer to see if the remaining items on your report even have a significant bearing on your interest rate or terms. Many consumers become overally concerned with collection items when they usually are the most insignificant items on your report.