5 Ways To Boost Your Credit Score
Anyone working in real estate should be looking at their credit score every month or so, to check for errors and to figure out how to improve their score. If you really had to do it, it is possible to improve your credit score in as little as 30 days, and staying on top of that all important number is important for everyone, but especially anyone involved with buying or selling property. You may be denied lender financing when there is a new property coming on to the market, and you may have to deal with unexpected issues or a crisis if you aren’t on top of your game with your credit score. These 5 ways to boost your credit score really can make a big difference in a short time if your score simply isn’t where you need it to be, and you need a quick fix.
Check Your Credit Report Periodically
Avoiding fraud and making sure there are no errors on your credit report is much easier if you stay on top of it, checking it regularly. You should be getting and studying a copy of your credit report at least once a month, and that way if you do spot something that shouldn’t be on there, it’s much easier to take steps to fix the problem. An error on your report can do much more damage to your score the longer it is left unnoticed on there, and the more time consuming and frustrating it can be to fix, as you will then have to supply evidence that the error wasn’t yours. It is easier today than it has ever been to track your credit report regularly, and you don’t need to rely on a third party vendor accessing the databases of the big three reporting agencies – Transunion, Equifax or Experian. Some credit card allow you to obtain a copy of your credit report, and several companies provide continual monitoring and tracking of your credit score, giving you detailed updates each month.
Keep Those Payments Current
Whether it’s your monthly mortgage payment, or the relatively small payment on your credit or store card, make sure you are paying them on time and keeping everything current. Being current means making payments on the account until it’s no longer past due, not simply making a payment but still remaining a month or two behind on the overall payments. Your credit score can be adversely affected if you are routinely late on one or more accounts, and you should see a slight improvement in your credit score once your accounts have been caught up. The number of accounts of 30, 60 or even 90 days that you are behind on has a big impact on your credit score, and you can see a real improvement in your score if you can quickly get those delinquent accounts caught up. Taking money from your savings account in the short term or consolidating credit cards can help you to get caught up.
Reduce Your Minimum Balances
Another big factor that can adversely affect your credit score is the balance in comparison with the amount owed. Your credit score won’t be as high as it could be even if you are paying all your bills on time, if your balances are all too high. Paying down one or more high balances can help to improve your credit score relatively quickly, and you can make a big difference to your score by paying just a few hundred dollars down on a 1000 credit card account. Balance transfers may be a realistic and effective option to improve your score if you have multiple credit cards all with high balances. It’s not unheard of to increase your credit score by 20 points or even more if you move around balances between accounts and pay down some of those higher balances.
Remove Any Errors
It’s essential to take immediate action as soon as you notice something on your credit report that shouldn’t be there, as your score can drop with each passing day that the error remains on your report. You will need to get together relevant supporting documentation and send it to the three main credit reporting bureaus if you know the account has been paid off, but it still shows as outstanding. This can be tedious and time consuming, even more so if you need to go back years if an erroneous charge or account has been sitting there on your credit report for some time and you don’t have any paperwork to support your claim. Tracking down an old credit card or lienholder may be your homework if that is the case. All this is tedious, but well worth it and you can take advantage of the faster service offered by credit repair companies if you need something fixed yesterday.
Don’t Pull Your Credit Unless Absolutely Necessary
It can be perceived that you are having difficulty getting approved for credit if you pull your credit report frequently, say six times or more in a thirty day period. One or two pulls every few weeks should not impact your score, but you want to keep an eye on how often this is happening. Go through one credit card company with multiple options, rather than shopping around for a card.
These 5 ways to boost your credit score can be a big help if you really need that score to improve in a hurry.