Question : How can I repair my credit?
I ruined my credit in college and as a result I have about $10,000 in debt. Most of the accounts are in collections, charge offs, or past due. The only thing positive on the report are my student loans and my car loan. I have heard of disputing the reports, but I also want to find a credit repair firm that will allow me to make payment arrangements. I want to improve my credit rating so that I can purchase a home in a few years, get approved for more credit cards and also get a new car.
- asked by Ashley M
All Answers:
Answer #1
I recall one of my techs asking me how he can havemoney left at the end of the week. I told him todivide his net by seven and spend that amout eachday and he will have money left at the end of theweek. I know it sounds pretty basic but it works. What you must do is spreadsheet all you financialcommitments and monitor them weekly to get used toyour limits. The bottom line should be your cashflow. If your not aquainted with Excel do somestudying it will make your life so easy. Goodluck.
- answered by Bob Wright
Answer #2
You can save a little money by taking care of thebad debts yourself. All you have to do is first,pull your credit report. Dispute anything thatisn't yours. Next, call each of the creditorsand/or collections agencies. Offer to make asettlement payment. It's sometimes only half ofwhat you owe. You can often set up installmentpayments with the lender.It will be a bit easierto employ a Consumer Credit Counseling agency, butbeware! Make sure the agency is a 403C Non profitagency. Otherwise they will charge you an arm anda leg!
- answered by Kat H
Answer #3
You can do it, because I repaired mine. I took ascore of 465 and improved it to 678 so that wecould buy our home. It took us about two years todo it. You need to start with a 3 in 1 creditreport so that you know where all of your debt is.Then you'll need to start contacting you accountsso that you can make arrangements. Also you candispute any account that you feel is inaccurate.Listen, I have a web link that can help you repairyour credit. The link is located on my yahooanswers profile...
- answered by Pravda
Answer #4
Well, it's a good thing that you're wanting totake care of that. Now, it's just a matter offiguring out what to do. I have some advice thatworked for me.First I gathered all my reports(which I presume you've done that already) andlist all your debts. What you'll need to note inthe list is the amount and the length of time ofthe debt.I used a formula. I treated debts thatwere 4 years an older completely different fromothers that were less than 4 months. How I came upwith this formula was based on the statue oflimitations. There's 2 different statue oflimitations, one for reporting and one forcollecting the debt legally in court. The statuteof limitations for reporting the debt is 7 years,while the statut of limitations for collecting thedebt legally in court can vary from state tostate. In some cases, collectors bank on thenotion that you're unaware of this, and still tryto collect from you anyway. But you can use thisas a negotiation tool when approaching collectorsto settle up with debts.When you do want to dothis, what you may want to have to things forammunition. Knowledge of this, and a sizableamount ready to give them on the spot. I'll giveyou an example. You have a debt for $2,000 thatwas charged off 6 years ago. The statute forreporting on it has about one year left, while thestatute for collecting on it in court has alreadylong expired, yet you want it off your recordquicker, you can contact the collector and letthem know that although the statute of limitationshas expired for legally collecting this debt, youwould still like to receoncile for a "payment fordeletion" for 40%, or $800. They may or may not gofor it, but if they do, before sending themanything, have them fax AND mail you something inwiriting on their company letterhead of the termsof the agreement and send a cashier's checkcertified mail. Do NOT give them your checkingaccount information for whatever reason, as itwould give them access to try to take money fromyou at a later time. If the debt is less than 4months old, expect to pay the full amount, but youcould still use the "payment for deletion"strategy. This strategy is the most effective whenyou have a large sum of money to equip yourself topay the debt off in full. There's a slight chancethat you could work out a payment plan to have itcompletely removed, but it's very rare.Now thestrategy you can use after you've zeroed yourdebt, is now you have to build some positivecredit back up. The easiest way to do that wouldbe by asking a close friend or family member withexcellent credit to add you as an authorized userto a couple of their oldest credit cards. Now itwould help if the balance was low, and they paidon time, or else it won't do that much good. Onceit does start reporting, you may want to apply forone maybe two credit cards yourself. Another thingis to take out a secured installment loan. Nowthat would require you to have something insavings(ideally $2,000) that could be tied up fora while (18 months - 2 years) but you still couldmake money of the interest by not only keeping itin your savings but by taking the proceeds fromthe loan and investing it in a certificate ofdeposit. Not only you would always have the moneyavailable to readily pay bak the loan ifnecessary, but you could get a little interestwhile building up your credit at the same time. Mysuggestion is to get a loan for no longer than 2years, but keep the CD for about 18 months, cashit out then pay off the loan. Another thing youcan do is report rent, utilities, cellular phone,and other monthly payments that don't show on yourcredit reports thorugh PRBC. They're a creditbureau that provides "alternative credit" as ameans of helping people that don't have creditbuild credit and helping people improve it byshowing that they creditworthy by how the pay ontime. Under federal law, you're entitiled to haveyour PRBC report considered with your regularcredit reports when applying for credit. Paymentsfrom 3 years prior can be verified and reportedfor a small fee ($10-20/per account) and currentand future payments can be reported by using theirbillpay service by CheckFree Web for $4.95/month.There's a lot that I wasn't able to cover all inthis answer, but I provided the link so that youcould see for yourself, I hope that this answer issome help to you,Good Luck!
- answered by Smoovy Loco
Answer #5
Students are increasingly worried about creditrepair and credit scores - and for good reason.Student debts are rising and the numbers ofstudents who leave school with ruined creditscores is rising as well. Many experts blamelarger credit card debts and rising tuition costs(that lead to larger student loans).Despite thepressures of today's student life, it is possiblefor college student to leave school financiallysound and in fact to develop good financial habitsthat can lead to a lifetime of financial success.By following the free credit repair advice in thisarticle, college students can learn tips that canmake the college years a credit-booster instead ofa credit disaster:Free Credit Repair Advice Tip#1: If you are a student (and especially a studentwith student loans), budget carefully.Studentloans need to be paid back and are more and moreoften for large amounts. Sticking to a budget canhelp you to establish good credit habits that canhelp ensure that you have a good credit score whenyou leave university. Read more about it at:
http://www.credit-card-gallery.com/article/133,Student_Credit_Repair_4_Proven_Ways_Students_Can_Boost_Their_Credit_And_Avert_Credit_Disaster
- answered by abby fth
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