How to improve your Credit Report

Pay your bills on time. This is the most important step to credit repair. When you delay in the payments, late fees are charged adding with high interest rates and your credit health is negative affected.

Apply for a department store card or gasoline credit card. You may easily qualify for these cards and pay it on time.

If you see an error in your credit card statement, contact the creditor immediately. Be sure to get all the complaints or the corrections done in writing. In case, you are unable to pay on time, notify them in writing.

Don????????t use too many credit cards and close unused accounts. Creditors will determine your potential with the logic that more credit cards you have, the larger is your debt potential.

Keep your debts within limits. Use cash as much as possible. If you can????????t pay it, plastic money is not going to help either.

Don????????t let too many inquiries hit your credit file. Future creditors will think that you were applying for too much credit because of financial difficulties or taking on more debts that you can repay.

Make sure that you monitor your credit report regularly. You will find any disputed item and take care of it immediately. You will also be aware if any suspicious accounts are reporting in your file causing identity theft.

Following these two tips can improve your scores:

1. Pay bills on time

Paying bills on time, over a significant time period, will improve one's FICO score and in turn improve one's credit scores. FICO scores, measures of credit risk calculated from a standardized formula, are based on payment history and typically range from 350 to 850.

2. Keep credit-card balances low

Since FICO scores measure one's credit-utilization rate (the total amount you've charged as a percentage of the total of all your credit limits), it's best to make sure you don't near those limits. Credit-card debts should be paid down to below 35 percent of the limit.

Make sure that you pay bills on time, then check your credit history, often. This makes sure if there are any mistakes, you can get them taken care of before the bank sees it. Also, many people mistakenly believe their credit is worse than it really is.

Guess I will chime in:
1. Order your credit reports from all three bureaus and go over them with a microscope. If any errors are found,dispute and correct.
2. Pay your bills on time. This is very important as mortgage companies look over payment history as well as score.Your score is important but don't stress yourself on it.
3. While paying your bills,you need to add some positive tradelines to your report to help offset the bad.
4. Start with store cards and secured credit cards and work up from there.
5. Since you are looking at a house with a possible credit problem scorewise,I would ask you to speak with a independant mortgage broker.Find one you are happy with and talk with him or her at least six months prior to loan.
The reason I an saying this is somes banks may only have a few programs but brokers have a full array of products from Prime credit to bottom of the barrell.

5. This board has some good advice.I personally do not know your credit specifics but with time and a good budget you can get them scores up!

Also keep working on that score and dont fall for the subprime lending. This is a case of predators. People charging 10 or more percent to finance a home loan. KYSIDE38