For anyone who has looked into to buying a home several times—but kept getting discouraged every time because of a negative credit report—read on!

You probably already know that you are not alone—but so what?—it’s small consolation, especially when you consider how much financial ground you lose every year you continue to pay rent (the entire amount of which has zero tax deductibility). Many people mishandle credit in their teens and 20s, not knowing how it can come back to bite them when credit reports determine their credit worthiness. We see the fallout in the form of mortgage application turndowns or discouraging interest rate proposals.

But that just makes it all the more important that you stop letting past errors continue to keep you from getting the loans and rates you want. You can choose to take action now to clean up that credit score. Not only will it speed the moment when you become eligible for the significant benefits of home ownership—the actions you take now will serve to set you in the driver seat when it comes to credit management. You will become aware of any apparently minor oversights that can depress your credit score for years to come. It will put you ‘in the game’ of credit report management, instead of continuing to be a passive outsider.

Steps consumers can take now:  

Review your credit file for accurate information

The credit reporting bureaus’ job is to report the most accurate information possible, but in the past the Federal Trade Commission has found that 5% of reports have at least one mistake. Get your current credit report from any number of services (start with a free one: you can always subscribe to a paid service later). Check all the accounts and verify that the amounts reported and the account statuses are correct. If a creditor reported your information incorrectly, file a dispute through the credit bureaus’ online sites to get the inaccuracy fixed. The same FTC report says that 13% of consumers who reported an error saw a boost in their credit score.

Get old negative accounts removed

Credit reports carry negative information like missed payments or a collection account for seven years, but are required to delete it after that. If an account is lingering past the seven year mark, use the dispute tools available on credit bureaus’ websites to mark the account as too old for reporting. Note that the seven-year time period is calculated from the date of first delinquency, not the date the account was first opened.

Talk to collection companies about their input

Even when you pay off collection accounts, that history continues to hurt your credit score. Some lenders look solely at those details when starting the process, so even paid collections can disqualify you for a loan. Instead of dealing with this frustrating problem, while you are negotiating with collection agencies to pay off a debt, ask that they put in writing that they will remove their report as part of their part of the bargain for your satisfaction of the debt. Some agencies will and some won’t (but it can’t hurt to ask).

Once you have acted, and begun to see the negatives dropping off your current credit report, your path to local home ownership will open up markedly. Then it’s time to give me a call!  You can reach me on my cell phone: 812-499-9234 or email:Rolando@RolandoTrentini.com 

Beginning on July 21, consumers who are rejected by lenders for new lines of credit, such as a credit card or home loan, based on their credit score will be allowed to find out why, according to a report from CBS News. When consumers are denied, the financial institution will have to provide them with a free copy of the credit score it used to determine their ineligibility. Previously these reports would have cost consumers a small amount of money to view.

[Consumer Resource: Tips to Improve and Rebuild Your Credit]

This rule is also being extended to cover all consumers who are granted the line of credit but given interest rates that are less than ideal, the report said. In addition, the lender will have to explain what portion of the consumers’ credit history was weighing down their rating.

The large majority of a consumer’s credit score is made up of the payment history and the amount of available credit being used across all accounts. Altogether, these two factors alone make up 65 percent of a total rating. As a consequence, it is of the utmost importance to keep credit card spending under control and make regular on-time payments.

[Free Tool: Not sure where you stand credit wise? Get your Free Credit Report Card to find out.]

Source: http://www.credit.com/blog/2011/07/federal-credit-score-law-will-take-effect-next-week/

Many Americans are dealing with the stress of being in debt and their credit score is suffering as a result.

There are a number of steps a consumer can take to improve their score on their own, says a report from KTAR radio in Phoenix. While some companies promise to fix consumer's debt for a price, more often than not they aren't capable of doing so, and if they are, it can take years and ruin the consumer's credit score in the process.

Any credit damage can be repaired by the consumer or with help from free services, the report said. All a consumer needs to do is start following three steps.

The first step, the report said, is to start paying bills on time, every time, making sure to pay in full so that there is no outstanding debt of any kind. The second step is to pay down any remaining debt and to stop charging until that debt is paid off. And when paying off debt, consumers must make sure to pay off the debt with the highest interest first because that's costing consumers the most money.

A recent report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that payment history makes up the biggest part of what goes into a credit score, a full 35 percent. Therefore, it is important that payments be made on time every time. Missing just one payment for more than 30 days can knock 50 to 100 points off a credit score.

Source: http://www.credit.com/news/credit-debt/2010-06-02/the-dos-and-don-ts-for-repairing-a-credit-score.html