Natasha is in her early 40's. She has been dating someone for approximately two years and he wants to spend his life with her. He just recently proposed, but they have not set a date for the nuptials. They want to buy a home and rental property. She started her marketing firm 5 years ago, and is interested in expanding but has not taken any steps towards doing so yet. Natasha wants all these things and more BUT..............
She hasn't checked her credit score in over a year
This could very well be your story. There is so much that can be missed, when you don't check your credit regularly that brings your score down. If you want your score to take a 50 to 100 point jump in 30...60... 90 days, there are certain things that you must do:
Remove Old credit
If there is old credit like hospital bills, cell phone bills, gym memberships seven years or older that are reporting on your report that are paid off...... Dispute and remove them immediately.
Wrong reporting
Some companies like mortgage companies have been known to make mistakes when reporting your payments. Make sure your credit report reflects your payment. If something is incorrect dispute it and remove it immediately.
Not my credit- why is it on my report?
Contact the credit bureau immediately and dispute any credit that is not yours. There have been instances when people have similar names, or either they are Jr., Sr., or III the bureaus make a mistake reporting. The bureaus have made it easy to dispute items on your credit report. You can do everything on line.
Pay down debt
On all of your revolving credit cards calculate 30% of your limit and pay down all the credit cards to 30% or below of the limit. This may take time, but it is worth it. This will boost your FICO score.
Pay off old creditors
Call the creditor and negotiate a pay -off and pay immediately. Make sure you negotiate well...You can do it. Once you pay it off get a letter to state it is "paid as agreed" or "paid in full".
Sign up for credit monitoring
There are many credit monitoring companies that can be used. Some are free and some are not. Sign up for one to stay on TOP of your credit. The credit monitoring companies send you text messages and emails if there are ANY changes on your credit report. Trans Union is a good company to use. They have a $19 monthly fee. They not only do credit monitoring, but they also protect you from identity theft through credit lock plus. This allows you to lock both Trans Union and Equifax credit reports from any one or any company viewing your report.
Add an additional credit line
An unsecured card or a secured card can be added to your credit report to assist with increasing your FICO score. If your FICO score is in the low 500s add a secured card to your credit report. This can be done with as little as $250 through Discover and a few other major brands. Discover rewards customers if their payment history is good for 12 months. They will return the security payment to you on your secured card and make your credit card account unsecured.
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