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If you need basic information first please view the What is a credit score? page. There are several steps you can take to improve your credit scores.  They can be done by you, if you have the time and knowledge, or by a credit repair agency(more on this below). If you are going to do it yourself here are a few steps:

• Get a copy of your credit report. You can get it FREE once a year from www.annualcreditreport.com. Follow the instructions and get it from all three agencies(Transunion, Equifax & Experian). You will not get the scores unless you are willing to pay a fee. By getting the scores you can check that they are very close to each other and if they are not, one or more agency does not have the correct information. If you decide not to pay the fee you will still get a list of all your accounts(tradelines) which is all you need to start the process.
• Review it thoroughly and look for errors, particularly make sure all accounts both open and closed belong to you.
• Look at the payment history, balances, credit limits, account numbers, etc., and make sure they all match with your statements.
• If you find errors you can dispute them with the agencies in question. If all three report it, then do it for all three. You can do this online at each agency’s website. You will need to submit evidence of the errors or discrepancies such as canceled checks, statements, social security card, plus whatever else they may ask to verify your claim. Alternatively you may want to contact credit grantors which can provide a quicker response than credit reporting agencies.
• Always get name, extension, expected date of reported change, request faxed & signed acknowledgement.
• It can take up to 30-60 days for the credit agencies to respond and another 30-60 days or more to remove the negative items if you are found correct.
• Distribute debt from revolving credit. Let’s say you have five credit cards and one of them is almost maxed out. Let’s say you have four other credit cards with low balances. If you move part of the balance from the maxed out card and redistribute it evenly over the other four cards, this changes the ratio of debt to available credit, thereby gaining about 20 points in your score with little effort.
• Transfer outstanding balances to new accounts. Let’s say you have only two credit cards and both are pushing the limit of available credit. Let’s say you open two new credit card accounts each with a credit limit of $5,000. You transfer part of your existing balances to the new accounts. Although you acquired two new cards with no credit history, the greater impact is the change in the ratio of debt to available credit.

Credit Repair Companies

There are many companies who claim they will repair your credit and therefore improve your scores within a certain period of time. You can usually do the same thing yourself, if you have the time and knowledge. If you don’t, they can be a great advantage. What they will do is challenge some of the negative items that are on your credit report. Your creditors have a limited time to respond and provide proof that the information is correct. If they don’t, then the information has to be removed. But just like everything else, do your homework before you hire them. Search online for complaints, ask them if they can provide references(may be unlikely due to privacy reasons, but ask anyway), ask friends or co-workers, check the Better Business Bureau or the state attorney’s office. Most of them charge you a hefty fee upfront. Try to find one that charges the fees after they remove the negative items. Discuss thoroughly with them your credit report and understand upfront what they can and can’t do so you set your expectations. You will need a minimum of 3-6 month to see improvements and possibly up to a year to see great improvement. As of the writing of this report we need a minimum of 580 to do a loan with FHA. However, check with us because that’s changing constantly. Check our trusted partners page and look for credit repair companies.