If you are fixing your credit report you understand how important this three digit number is. It directly impacts the quality of life you can have.
You are judged solely by employers and lenders on this three digit number. This number can prevent you from being hired for a job or being approved for a credit line.
When you apply for credit most lenders will look at nothing more than this three digit number. They will not take into account any reason as to why a derogatory listing is there.
There are two parts to credit repair that you should concentrate on.
1. Deleting negative marks on your credit report.
Derogatory items will cause the most damage to your score. However these marks can be removed and removed before waiting the full 7 years.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act gave consumers the power to dispute any mark on your credit report. When a dispute is filled you are saying to the bureaus that the negative mark is invalid or incorrect.
To file a dispute a dispute letter must be sent to each credit bureau. In this letter you must include why the listing is inaccurate. Common reasons are; not my account, item is out of date, account paid in full. Upon receipt of your letter the bureaus will investigate the disputed listing.
If the mark is not verified by the lender the bureaus must remove it from your credit report. It has been discovered that many marks are removed once they are investigated, regardless of their accuracy.
2. Build positive credit
This is a more difficult task with a low credit score. This is because it is difficult to be approved for new lines of credit.
It will help tremendously if you can open an unsecured credit card. I realize the interest rate is going to make you sick but it needs to be done.
With your credit card you want to keep the balance at approximately 10% of your credit limit. This is because it will show the credit bureau that you are using your credit and it will improve you ratio of credit to debt.
Also by making your on time monthly payments it will create a positive payment history. If you can not build a positive payment history it will be next to impossible to improve your credit rating.
In sum you can repair your low credit score. It may make sense to wait and remove some of the derogatory items before you apply for new credit. However both these aspects need to be used to get to a 700 credit score.
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