If you are looking to improve your bad credit to buy a new home, it’s essential to know that help is out there. Credit repair companies work with people who need help improving their credit scores to qualify for loans. A reputable company will help you identify the problem and work hard on making sure that the information in your file is accurate. It’s worth knowing the steps involved in this process before starting your search for a company right away.
Credit Repair Companies and You
Credit repair companies help people fix the credit reports lenders use to approve your home, auto loans, and other significant purchases. You can do some of this work yourself—for instance, by disputing errors on your credit report—credit repair companies generally provide a range of services for a fee, or you can request an outside court. These services may include helping you create a budget, negotiate with creditors, and advise you about steps to take that can improve your score in the future.
A credit repair company can help you manage your payments, improve your bad credit, and make sure you pay your debt on time. These firms handle many disputes directly with national credit bureaus like TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Still, these companies cannot guarantee that all information in your file will be deleted or modified. And because the credit repair process often involves communicating with creditors or lenders, you might be asked to sign a contract authorizing them to act on your behalf.Â
A brief list of benefits from working with a professional credit repair company include:
- Raise your score by negotiating with lenders to remove negative marks from your credit report and improve your standing with creditors.
- The Better Business Bureau reports that these services review your credit report for errors and inaccuracies in your current financial situation.
- Whether it’s correcting an error or helping you find ways to increase your lines of credit, these professionals are skilled in finding ways to improve your score. They can even show you how to place yourself in a better position to receive a loan or increased credit limits.
- Credit repair companies can help you to file lawsuits against any parties that have filed misinformation about your financial standing in the past. They’ll also be able to place liens on property, obtain judgments or create other legal documents if needed.
The Credit Repair Process
To repair your credit, you first want to get a report from one of the major credit reporting companies. Then review them carefully for errors or inaccuracies before contacting any companies that offer services in repairing bad credit. The primary way these companies will try to clean up your credit report is by disputing errors on it with the different reporting agencies, so make sure there aren’t any mistakes before you even begin thinking about using their services. If you end up with a negative item on your credit report that is correct, try to negotiate with the creditor or make a payment plan, or your credit repair company can assist with this.
How long does it take to repair your credit? The answer here would depend on where exactly your score is starting from and the credit scale used. Some places will say that you can see fast results very quickly, while others indicate that there’s no guarantee at all. If you have a score of 549 from Equifax, for example, you’ll see your score rise minimally as the higher it is already, the more difficult it will be to raise. If you’re starting with a lower number, then you can quickly increase it by a few huge jumps anywhere between 30 and 50 points at a time. Keep in mind that all of these tasks take time if the damage done is particularly severe. For instance, if you defaulted on several large loans. You should expect to wait at least six months before things start looking up again if this happens.
Many companies offer credit repair services. They are typically either large or at least well known within the credit industry for their experience. These include but are not limited to Innovis, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Smaller companies that only deal in credit repair, which may assist more people than larger firms can.
Many of these companies claim to be able to delete reports from consumers’ reports by contacting creditors directly and asking them to remove bad credit information so it does not show on future reports. This promise is not an entirely accurate statement because most of the time, delinquent accounts remain on a consumer’s report until they are paid in full. Some negative items can be removed from a person’s report after seven years from the date of first delinquency. This is only once the account has been charged off and is considered “closed for business.”
Credit Repair Risks
You may have decided to take the step of repairing your credit instead of using a credit repair company. While this is an admirable move, you are taking on some risks by doing so. For one thing, repairing your credit yourself is more complex than it looks, and it may be challenging to clear up all negative items which will improve your rating. Also, if any mistakes on your report need to be corrected, you might not realize they exist until too late to fix them. It’s also possible that introducing yourself as someone who has worked to improve their rating could make creditors view you as a more significant risk than before, which would work against you in obtaining new lines of credit or loans in the future.Â
If you’ve been looking for a way to improve your credit, a reputable credit repair company can help. They will work with the three major credit reporting agencies and remove any incorrect or outdated information from your reports dragging down your score. This means that if there are mistakes on one of these reports, it will be addressed and reversed, which may allow you to get approved for new loans and other lines of financing more easily. Movoto has helped thousands of people with their real estate needs over the years, and we would love to help you too!
