Your FICO score is one of the top pieces of information that lending companies are going to look at when they are determining whether or not you are a good credit risk. A high FICO score can help you land lower interest rates and can keep you from being denied a mortgage, loan or other line of credit. If your score is not what you wish it were, there are a few ways that you can raise your score in two months or less.
Get Rid of Inaccurate Information
The easiest step is to get rid of information on your credit report that is simply incorrect. For example, your statement may show that you have accounts that you never opened or that you have not paid off a loan that you actually paid off months ago. Credit bureaus are required by law to respond to your disputes within 30 days of receiving the information. They then have another 45 days to complete the investigation. Even getting one wrong piece of information off your report can drastically improve your FICO score.
Increase Your Credit Limits
It may sound strange but requesting credit limit increases can actually improve your FICO score. The reason is due to one of the metrics used in calculating your score called “Credit Utilization”. Credit Utilization is the percentage of your credit limit that you are using. Obviously having “maxed out” credit cards looks bad. So if you can get your current credit cards to increase your limit your “Credit Utilization” will go down and your FICO score will go up. However, don’t use this as an excuse to charge more or your score will go down again and you will be worse off than before.
Pay Down Debt/Consolidate
Because the amount of debt that you owe affects 30 percent of your FICO score, paying down a good chunk can really pay off in the end. If you have money sitting in savings or checking, consider using it to pay down your debt in the next two months. Even if you do not have a chunk of change to throw at your debt right now, be sure not to put any more debt on credit cards in the meantime.
If you can consolidate several small debts into one single debt with a lower interest rate you will be more likely to not miss any payments plus you will end up paying less interest in the long run. In addition, one fixed payment loan looks better on your score than several variable (credit card) debts.
Hire out the Work
Sometimes, you may be at a loss to know what to do to improve your FICO score. Some companies, like Boost My Score, know that improving your score can make a big difference for your finances. This is where the professionals can help you. Hiring professionals can be your smartest move because they can look deeper into your credit report, give you advice, and dramatically boost your score quickly so that you are ready for your next step in life.
Add Rental Information
A lesser known step for boosting your FICO score is to add your rental information to your account if you currently rent rather than own your home. This non-traditional information can look very good on your report if you are constantly on time with your rent payments. Getting this information added can make your score jump noticeably.
You will want to work quickly with this information because it can take over a month for your FICO number to be rescored after payment or changes are made. Therefore, begin today to pay down debt, dispute incorrect information and get rid of old information. Also, be sure not to open up any new credit accounts in the meantime if you are soon going to be in the market for a loan or a mortgage because this new account will hurt your score.
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