The Cereal City Real Estate Connection: Information on Credit and Credit Repair

In our present day and age, the desire to know information on credit and credit repair constantly comes to bear upon a would-be home buyer when they are trying to qualify for a mortgage. It is a difficult subject to make light of, and laugh, but indeed I will try, as I hate getting too serious whenever financial institutions are involved.  So, you may have noticed I have employed some helpers in these blog photos to illustrate the key points.

There is a great deal of information on credit and credit repair all over the internet these days, and many companies are capitalizing on this as a service industry in itself. Like any subject, there is always a learning curve, and the subject of credit and credit repair is no different.

However, an individual can often accomplish a great deal of credit repair on their own, without having to hire anyone to do it for them.  Over the years I have collected a lot of information on credit and credit repair, and have actually taught some classes to help people with fixing their credit.

Here are some basic steps to take if you want to do it yourself:

1) Get a copy of your credit bureau report.  There are three separate credit bureau reporting agencies, and each has a separate report on you.  They are Experian, Equifax and Transunion.  All three are required to give you a free copy of your credit report once a year.  You can do this online at: www.annualcreditreport.com.  You can also order these by phone at: 877-322-8228.

2) Look for the section on each of the reports that are defined as ‘Potentially Negative items', ‘Adverse Accounts', etc.  These are the negative items on your credit bureau that are keeping the score down.  Negative items can include: public records, judgments, delinquent accounts, collections, etc.

3) Select out the negative items that you suspect are inaccurate first, leave the rest for later.  If you have documentation proving the incorrect reporting, then write a letter to the credit bureau that includes you address and social security number, and give the account number and description of the company reporting the negative item.  Explain how it is in error, and include a copy of the proof of the mistake.

4) On items that are not sure about, write a letter challenging it, with the information that it does not match you records.  When a dispute of an item on the credit bureau is sent in, the company reporting it is contacted by the credit bureau, and they are required to show proof of its accuracy within 30 days, or it has to be removed.  I once had a credit card company remove an entire reporting history from a friend's bureau that was negative because they had changed their computer system and no longer had the records of the account. 

5) It is also recommended that you send in all written disputes certified mail, so that the time it arrives is noted at the bureau. Be patient, and dispute one ot two items at a time, and when one comes off, repeat the process.

6) If a collection is accurate, contact the company and try to negotiate a settlement.  Often old debts can be negotiated away for much less than what it reporting owed.  Make sure that you are given written confirmation for any debts you settle, so that you can send this into the credit bureaus yourself to show it is paid and get it removed from the report.

7) Get yourself a copy of a book called ‘The Guerrilla Guide to Credit Repair' by Todd Bierman and Nathaniel Wice.  It is an older book, but includes good advice on how to fix your credit rating.  They offer a lot of good information on credit and credit repair. 

Obviously this has grown to a comprehensive subject these days, and there is a lot of information on credit and credit repair to learn.  I hope this will get you started.  As a Realtor, I am always interested in helping people become home owners, so feel free to contact me through my website at: www.michaeldelaware.com.