Free Tips On Credit Help
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If you need help with your credit standing, you may think you cannot get new credit. That just isn't so. Loan officers and credit card providers each have different standards when evaluating an application for credit. Lenders who offer the best interest rates tend to be very conservative and look at an applicants total credit history. Often times they require a FICO score of 725 or better.
Other lenders will focus more on the last two years of an applicant's credit report believing that more accurately represents their current credit behavior. A recent history of timely payments can go a long way to offset a collection account that occurred five years ago. Then there might be other reasons why some lenders want to loan you money for specific purchases. Car dealers, high end electronic dealers and banks owning foreclosed homes all are motivated to move their inventory.
Even if your FICO score isn't so hot, there are still places that will extend credit to you. However, it's a good idea to review your record and do what you can to fix your credit before applying for a big ticket item like a car. Here's what you can do to clean up your report and provide your own credit help:
First, get a current copy of your credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that the three major credit reporting agencies provide a free credit report to each consumer annually. Go to annualcreditreport.com and download your report.
Carefully look over your report with particular attention to negative items. For each negative item ask yourself three questions. Is it yours? If the item doesnt belong to you; request verification from the credit reporting agency. By law they have to respond within 30 days. Is it accurate? If you believe that the late payment or write off items are not accurate, submit your proof to the agency and ask for validation. Again they have 30 days to respond. How old is it? By law, all items except bankruptcies roll off the report after 7 years. Look at the last transaction date. If it is over 7 years you can tell the agency to remove it.
Wait for the credit reporting agency to report back to you on your disputed items. Get a new copy of your report to insure the items have been corrected. Your free credit report will not show your FICO score. Unfortunately you have to pay for that however, MyFico.com has a 30 day free trial subscription that you can apply for. Remember to cancel before 30 days is up.
Armed with your FICO and credit report, you now know what the lenders know about you. Call for the credit manager at the dealership or bank or store and ask him what do they look for loan qualification. If youve got what they want, thank him and then shop around for the best loan rates at their competitors. If you dont have what they need, find out what needs to be improved.
If your FICO score is still sub-par and if you have a $1000 that you can spare for 6 months, here's a plan to put an immediate positive item on your credit report.
Go to your bank and explain to the loan officer that you are trying to improve your FICO score. Make him a partner in accomplishing that.
Ask for a 6 month personal loan for $1000 and explain that you will purchase a six month CD for $1000 to act as collateral. The bank isnt going to turn down a sweet deal like this. Use the $1000 from the loan to pay back the loan. In the end this will cost you the interest on the loan which will be slightly offset by the interest you earn on the CD.
This simple strategy gets you an immediate positive item on your report and also funds the repayment. At the end of the loan term you will have 6 months of ontime payments in your history and probably an improved FICO score.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
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