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How to Raise your credit score?
By: Dovid Winiarz
HOW TO LEGALLY RAISE YOUR CREDIT SCORE
Sound Advice - Not Just Price - - only from www.gefenfinancial.com
Staten Island New York Mortgage Brokers
1. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR OLD CREDIT CARDS, KEEP THEM ACTIVE.
Approximately 15% of your credit score is determined by the age of the credit in the file. Therefore, even if your old credit cards have horrible interest rates, closing those cards will decrease the average length of time you've had credit…as well as increase your "debt to available credit ratio" as we will discuss later in this article. Use the old card at least once every four to seven months to avoid the account rating to change to "Inactive". Keeping the card active is as simple as attaching that card to your e-z pass or internet provider. If you prefer not to have another bill every single month, try purchasing gas or milk with your card every few months, then paying the balance off. An inactive account is ignored by Fair Isaac's (the guru of credit scoring) credit scoring software, so you will no longer get the benefit of the payment history and low balance.
2. TRY TO REMOVE YOUR LATE PAYMENTS.
Call and/or write all creditors that have reported late payments on your credit to request a good faith adjustment that actually removes the record of late payments reported on your account. If they refuse to remove the late payments at first, try again; remind them that you have been a good customer that would deeply appreciate their help. Call several times if you need to and ask for supervisors…persistence and politeness often reaps great rewards.
3. INCLUDE DIVERSE CREDIT IN YOUR CREDIT PROFILE
When (re)building your credit profile be sure to include various forms of credit. Credit cards are a good start. Car loans, student loans, secured loans all are helpful proving you stay within debt to income guidelines. If you are not sure if you are taking on too much debt, consult a professional who can guide you. Debt, handled responsibly, is not a bad thing. Debt, too much of it, or if handled inappropriately, can be disastrous.
4. PAY YOUR PAST DUE ACCOUNTS.
While this may sounds like obvious, one needs to understand that credit agencies severely penalize you for having accounts with a past due balance. Making sure all of your accounts are current, and paying the amount that shows as being past due on the credit report can greatly increase your credit score
5. BECOME AN "AUTHORIZED USER" ON A "QUIET ACCOUNT".
If you have a short and/or limited credit history, you can ask someone to add you to their credit card account as a joint account holder or an authorized user. When you are added make sure the primary account holder's credit card will appear on your credit report. Credit agencies will often treat the added account as though it is your account and you will benefit from the low balance and the long payment history for that account. It is important to remember that being an authorized user is helpful for your credit score only if (a) has had good payment history on the card for seven years or longer…and the longer the history, the better and (b) the person is carrying debt below 7-10% of the credit limit on that card. Being an authorized user is potentially detrimental to your credit score if the person giving you the card either maxes out the credit or pays late, since this would report on your credit report too
6. REQUEST TO HAVE YOUR CREDIT LIMITS INCREASED.
Contrary to conventional wisdom of years bygone, having low credit limits on a credit card can actually hurt your credit score. Having low available credit limits affects your "actual debt to available credit ratio". For example, if you owe a total card debt of $15,000 and your total credit available is $30,000, you are using 50% of your total credit available. But if you have card debt of $10,000 and your total credit available is $100,000, you change your ratio to 10% of your available credit being used. The lower the percentage of debt to available credit the better, as it shows you are able to handle having credit available and use it responsibly. Gefen Financial Corp chief mortgage manager and New York Mortgage Broker, Dovid Winiarz, says that a good initial target is to try to bring down your debt to where you owe less than 20 percent of your available credit. The sound advice above is your best tool when you need to know how to raise your Mortgage credit score.
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