Mortgage applicants often ask me "what can I do to fix my bad credit? How can I get my bad credit back
on track? How can I improve my credit scores quickly & free?" They are shocked at my answers because
the HONEST truth often contradicts what creditors and collectors tell them.
Creditors do not have any interest in your long term credit rehabilitation - they just want their
money , NOW ! I am not concerned about paying off any old debts, only in improving your credit right away
so that six months from now your credit WILL BE GREATLY IMPROVED. My reward is helping good people who
have been screwed by big banks and predatory lenders. I've done well enough in the lending business , now
I can give something back.
The First Step is to admit to yourself that you are responsible for the financial mess you find
yourself in. Moaning about how this creditor or that creditor did you wrong won't get you anything but an
ulcer. Now is the time to concentrate on the future.
The Second Step is to go through your current debts and see which ones are salvageable. You will need
to get a free copy of your credit report and stair at it ... this is the mirror to your
financial soul. If you don't like the person you see in the mirror you need to work harder, right now
to make yourself a better person with better credit. Don't paralyze yourself trying to pay off debts
that are already in collection or write-off status. Everyday people throw away their credit tossing
good money at old debts that cannot realistically be made current. Identifying and casting off this
"terminal" debt will free up the money you need to "cure" the debts that can be saved. Find and focus
on trade lines that can be repaired with the cash flow that you have.
The Third Step is the most fun. You must repair credit with several trade lines that will report
prompt payment monthly to all three major credit bureaus. Three clean accounts showing modest balances
and perfect payment can improve credit scores up by as much as 80 points in just six months. There are credit lines that you can get today that report to all the credit
bureaus and virtually anyone can qualify for.
If Step 3 is the fun part the Fourth Step is the hard part, but this is where the magic happens. You
can remove all of those awful credit blemishes that you've accumulated over the past twenty years from
your credit reports. You really can and it can happen almost overnight. You need to send letters to each
of the three credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experion and Trans Union disputing virtually any negative
items on your credit report. You can find a dispute letter template here. The ball is in there
court because, by law, they now have 30 calendar days to contact each creditor and get verification of
the legitimacy of the debt information. If someone doesn't get back to them with proper validation of
your debt it must be permanently expunged from your credit report. Repeat and rinse. When you are done with Step 4 you will have banks
throwing money at you and your wonderful new credit.
