i am 27 years old and want to move into a house but need to improve my credit. what should be my first step?

Answer 1

First, you need to know what your credit score is. One of the easiest ways to improve credit is to take out a loan at the bank, this way you can borrow a little or as much as they will let you. Don't be late on payments, and don't skip payments.

Answer 2

First you'll want to pull all three of your credit reports (from Trans Union, Experian and Equifax). Once you have them, go over each section and check for inaccuracies. Make sure your name, SSN and DOB are all correct and then start looking through the accounts sections.
If you see anything that has gone to collections or has been charged off, take care of that debt. It doesn't matter if you pay in full or if the company will settle for less than the amount owed - eliminate the outstanding debts.
If you have any liens or judgments, address those immediately. No reputable lender will allow you to apply for a mortgage loan with either one (or both!) of those on your report.
Once you have addressed the aforementioned issues, concentrate on your open accounts. Pay those on time...if you're not current strive to get current and then stay current. Your on-time payment history can make or break your application. If you are maxed out or close to being maxed out on any credit cards, pay those down aggressively. You want to make sure you are borrowing at or below 30% of your total limit. That is also a huge factor.

I would not suggest that you take out a loan...that's a bad idea because you want to free up as much of your money as possible for a better debt-to-income ratio.
Other than that, follow those steps and you should be golden!
Good luck :-)

Answer 3

Find out what your credit score is. Don't take out a loan you want to reduce small accounts that you have open, call and close them. Make sure that they are pd off though. Try to contact the credit companies and see if they will change some of the late dates on your account. Tell them you had hard times. Don't be late on any more payments, don't skip payments, and pay the min or at least something.

You can also seek professional advise from the mortgage company on ways to help you get financed.

You could also seek a lawyer who will help to get things removed off your report as well.

Answer 4

Get a copy of your credit report from all three bureaus. View it to see what you owe. If anything is in error, write letters for the information to be corrected. Any debts that are in the arrears, write your plan to bring them current or pay them off and stick to it. Don't apply for any new credit until you have corrected your old debt. Pay all current bills including utilities and insurances if you are responsible for them, on time. Your payment needs to be received by the creditor no later than ONE DAY BEFORE the due date. Don't sign on ANY debt with someone else. Do this for a minimum of six months. Then review again. Time is on your side. There is NO QUICK FIX no matter what ads tell you.

Answer 5

The first thing to do is read all of this website. I was a victim of professional Identity thieves and criminals and after my car was stolen and used in an insurance scam, accounts opened in my name I didn't recognise and then a bankruptcy, THEN trusting government agencies to help me get my credit back and wasting 2 years while they just blundered along, fought back on my own!

I got my credit score up from 486 to 729 in a little over a year! I discuss all that I learned about credit repair and spell it out in plain english, including how credit scoring works!

This is a long involved process, but uou will get through it. I even bought a home of my own with bad credit under repair and got a low interest 2 year ARM! I used those two years working at cleaning up my credit and boosting my score!

Answer 6

Firstly, you need to get a copy of your credit report from the credit bureau look em up on the net for contatc info Trans Union, Equifax, Experian, etc. Then you need to check for adverse items, such as judgments, late payments, charge off/collections, etc. Check for accuracy. If something is wrong, example, you paid off something but it shows as not paid or items you have never seen before. Next dispute in writing any inaccuracies to credit bureau, like Trans Union, Equifax, etc. They will check and validate debts, if they can't it comes off. I could go on but that is a good first step.
Next you need to learn how credit scores are calculated.

Answer 7

Dont obsess with the credit (I Love Debt) score.
You can get a house with a 0 score through manual underwritting. Find a bank that does Manual underwritting. They look at the person and not the credit score (As long as you dont have BAD credit). You can still have no credit and get a loan.

Answer 8

First - pay your outstanding bills. If you're late, get caught up on them. If you can pay them off, do so.

Second - save a down payment. Most banks and mortgage companies want to see at least 5% down, with good credit. If you're credits not so good, 10 or 20% will improve your odds.

Answer 9

I'm assuming you have bad credit not "non-existant credit.

If bad credit, call the credit card companies that are reporting you as late, tell them why you were late and ask them to remove this from your credit report. Most of them will do so.

Write each of the three credit card companies and tell them your correct name and address. Ask them to remove all other variations of your name and address - this will increase your score right away by 20 points.

If you plan to buy within a year, don't apply for any new credit.

Good luck.

Answer 10

Obtain a copy of your credit report