My brother has a bad credit rating, how long will it take to make it better?

Question

He has been paying all his bills and debts on time and not defaulting on payments for the past three months, how long will it take for him to qualify for credit again?

Answer 1

A couple of things help improve your credit rating. The first is obvious, pay your bills on time ... consistently. The second is carrying less debt. So, have him work on paying things off completely before applying for more credit. If he is looking into buying a house you might want to go to a mortgage broker AFTER paying all your bills on time for 12 consecutive months. At that time he may discover some debts that he has defaulted on (that aren't active accounts he is being billed on anymore) will have to be settled before borrowing any money. Also, applying for credit causes the credit company or lender to run your credit score which often decreases the score in the process, so try to avoid that too.

Answer 2

As I improved my credit score, I notice that accounts that carry a high balance (i.e. maxed or close to maxed) and having too many open accounts really stumped my score. Inquiries have minimal impact on your credit scores. Having excessive amounts of inquires will slightly lower your credit score, however it is not weighted the same as a delinquent payment or a higher balance.

I recommend keeping a balance of no more than 20-25% of your credit limit. Most will say 30%, but at 20-25% you have the extra 5-10% as a cushion for purchases and finance charges.

Credit inquiries take a little more than two-years for removal. I say a little more because if the inquire was on 12/2/2004, the removal will post on January.

Credit does not build quickly. Most think they will build up a 700 score with a car loan and a few credit cards. You have to consider how much history you established and your financial behavior with those accounts.

Patience and good financial behavior is the key.

Answer 3

It depends on how bad his credit is. He can go to www.annualcreditreport.com to pull free copies of his credit reports from all 3 bureaus. If he wants to pay, he can order credit reports and credit scores from all 3 bureaus at www.myfico.com. This will cost about $40. Once he has the credit reports, he should dispute any inaccurate information. Removing negative information should help to improve his credit score.

He can also try to contact his creditors to see if he can work out a payment plan. Sometimes, if creditors see that you are making an effort to get out of debt, they can help by reducing interest rates, removing late fees or overlimit fees, or setting up a payment plan your brother can afford. He should try to avoid closing any open credit accounts, because creditors do look at the length of your credit history, and closing accounts can shorten your credit history.

If he can help it, he should not apply for any new credit while he is trying to improve his credit. Anytime you apply for credit, it shows up as an inquiry on your credit report. Inquiries stay on your report for 2 years, and will have a small negative impact on your credit score. However, if a lender sees that you have a lot of inquiries on your credit report, they will deny credit.

I can't give a specific length of time before he can apply for credit, but I would say at least 6 months. If he needs a credit card, Orchard Bank offers a secured MasterCard that is great for helping to build or rebuild credit. You need to open a savings account with them (anywhere between $200 and $15,000) but it is guaranteed approval, and they will report to the credit bureaus. If your brother opens a secured card through Orchard Bank, and makes payments on time, and stays under the credit limit, it will, in the long run, have a positive impact on his credit. More info is available at www.orchardbank.com.

Rebounding from bad credit is a long road, but it can be done. I wish your brother lots of luck.

Answer 4

Good question and one that is asked often. First of all, you need to take a close look at his credit report. You may get it at freecreditreport.com, or experian, or TRW. If he has been turned down on the last 120 days for credit you are entitled to a free copy from the reporting agency.There are three agencies used in the US. Experian, Equifax, or TRW.

Define bad for me. In other words, if has open loans has not paid on, he needs to be on time from here on out.

Collections? Talk with the companies and more often than not they are willing to settle for up to 60% off the debt.

Lastly, if the bills are more than two years gross salary I would recommend bankruptcy. It ia harder to do these days, but youmust go to a credit counselor and this could be a good thing for your brother.

Taking all of those into account, it wil take him approximately 18 months to 'fix' his credit, but 2 years to get a good rating.

He can help himself by going to credit cards like Orchardbank, and First Premier bank and get a card.

They are expensive!! You will owe fees equivalent to your maximum available credit at first but on time payments will build your credit. It is a high price but remember he has BAD credit.


Hope this helps.

Eric

Answer 5

It'll take him a solid 7 years, for any bad credit rating , i should knoww my is the pits, and i'm still stuggling, for my credit card i have a prepaid master card, i've used it too much already , so i have to slowdown, hope things will go well for him, tell him to keep up the good work, in making the payments , that way when they see thios it'll help him further.

Answer 6

Not all finance companies will refuse your request for credit. Each company differs from each other. I have a very good Credit History, but I got refused credit from one company and I applied to another company and was accepted. So keep trying.

Answer 7

Simple answer, long time. He can avoid lowering the score by not applying for credit cards and loans when he's pretty sure he won't get them. I had to come back from a bankruptcy, it took me about 2 years to get my credit high enough to get a loan, and having my wife on a home loan to improve mine.

Answer 8

Bad credit is one of the worst problems to have... however there exists a solution.

I will hereby talk from my personal experience.

I did debt consolidation a couple of years ago, however If I had to do it again I would pay to some minor details,
if someone wants to get out of debt today it is pretty easy with a debt consolidation plan, however it may get a bit tricky at times, I suggest you get as much information as possible online on this first,

a good place to start in my humble opinion is astraight to the point ebook with question and answer I found :

http://umgarticles.atspace.com/debt-consolidation.htm

if it helps kindly remember me in your voting!.. cheers!

Answer 9

Depends on the company where he is applying, but adverse items remain on the record for 7 years from the date of last activity.

Answer 10

here is what he needs to do
go to www.annualcreditreport.com
pull all three credit bureaus
pay all derog credit
dipute all derog credit
pay down balances on credit cards (revolving credit)
limit the amount of people that pull his credit (inquires)