When you're seeking out money to get into business for yourself, you're going to enter a whole new world of numbers. Your loans, mortgages, lines of credit, and credit cards will come with various interest rates and APRs attached, and you'll need to know what all of those numbers mean, or you'll be caught by surprise when you have to start making the payments. It's a good idea to sit down with a financial adviser before you start taking out loans and signing up for credit for your business. You need someone who speaks the language of finance on your side.
You want to buy a new car but your credit is less than perfect. In fact, you think it's pretty ugly right now. Don't let bad credit keep you from buying the car of your dreams. Sometimes, a credit report can have outdated or incorrect information on it, lowering your score. Correcting these discrepancies can help put you in a high enough range for your dream car. Here are some simple steps that will help you clean up your credit report.
Know Your Credit Report
Have you looked at your credit report lately? Have you ever looked at your credit report? If you answered no to either of those questions, you need to get a copy of your report. There are several places online that will allow you to look at your credit report for free.
Make Sure the Information is Correct
Once you have access to your credit report, make sure the information it contains is accurate. Look at your name, current address, prior addresses and social security number. Are those things accurate on your report? If they aren't, you'll need to contact the credit reporting agency and have those corrections made.
Now, look at the account information. Are there derogatory accounts that you don't recognize? If there are, you'll need to file a dispute with the credit reporting agency. You can do that online at the credit agencies website.
Check the Dates
Look at the dates on your collection accounts. Are any of them more than 7 years old? If they are, you should contact the lender and have them remove those accounts from your credit report. Collection accounts should only stay on your credit report for 7 years.
If you have had a bankruptcy, that information should be removed from your report after 10 years. Having outdated information removed from your credit report may improve your score enough to move you into a desirable range.
Look for Multiples
Take a look at the accounts on your report. Do you see multiple entries for the same account? Perhaps you see multiple collection agencies reporting the same account but with different balances.
That usually means that the original creditor sold your account to a collection agency and both are reporting the past due account. Contact the original creditor and have them update their records to show a zero balance. That way, you only have one balance showing on your report.
Pay Small Expenses Off
Do you have small collection accounts that you could pay off easily? If you do, you should pay those off as soon as possible. Having numerous collection accounts that have been paid off will look better than numerous accounts that are still in arrears.
It's never too late to work on your credit score. A little bit of homework will help you repair your credit score so you can get the car loan you need.
For more information, talk to a professional aut credit reporting service, like NCC Direct, Inc.
Share5 August 2015
