Hartley Pinn

Need to repair your credit score? Would you like to increase your credit score by 50 to 100 points? If you answered yes, keep reading because you are about to uncover the first 2 steps to repair your credit score:

Step #1 Get a copy of your credit report

The first thing you need to do to repair your credit score is get a copy of your credit report from all of the major credit reporting agencies. Before you can repair your credit score you must first have a starting point.

As of December 2004, in compliance with the Fact Act, consumers in all states are able to get a free copy of their credit report once a year. Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax are the 3 major credit reporting agencies in the United States. Here's their contact information:

Experian

PO Box 2002

Allen, TX. 75013

888-397-3742

www.experian.com

TransUnion

PO Box 1000

Chester, PA. 19022

800-888-4213

www.transunion.com

Equifax

PO Box 740241

Atlanta, GA. 30374

800-685-1111

www.equifax.com

Watch out for those no cost credit report offers on the internet. Typically, you have to sign up for some kind of credit monitoring service to get your complementary report.

How to read your report

At first glance, a credit report may look like it's written in a foreign language. But if you take your time and look through it, you'll easily be able to understand it. Your job is to locate all the negative items on your report.

You may find alphanumeric coding on your credit report. This coding is used to record the type of account and your payment history. Below is a key indicating what these letters and numbers mean:

O = Open (Open 30 days)

R = Revolving

[Has regular payments and a predetermined spending limit (credit cards)]

I = Installment

[Has regular payments and no access to continued spending (mortgage, car loans)]

M = Mortgage

C = Line of credit

0 = Too new to rate

1 = Current, Paid as agreed

2 = 30 days past due

3 = 60 days past due

4 = 90 days past due

5 = 120 days past due

6 = 150 days past due

7 = Account is under a wage earner payment plan or bankruptcy

8 = Repossession or foreclosure

9 = Collection account or charge off account

U = Unrated

If you have this type of coding on your report, you can quickly go down the relevant column and find any negative items. O1, R1 or I1 would indicate an excellent payment history. Obviously, anything ending in 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 or 9 would indicate a negative payment history on the account.

Step#2 Delete expired accounts

After you have identified your negative credit accounts, determine the age of each account.

After a certain period of time, the negative items on your credit report will expire. Upon expiration, these items should be deleted. If you have a derogatory account that has expired but still shows up on your report, just contact the credit bureau that is reporting the delinquency and ask them to have it removed. This is an easy first step in repairing your credit score.

Here are the expiration guidelines:

Late Payments

30 to 180 day late payments should be deleted after 7 years.

Charge-off Accounts

Should be deleted after 7 years

Collection Accounts

Accounts sent to collections should be deleted 7 years from the date of the original missed payment.

The account will be marked as "paid collection" on your report when you pay the full balance.

If you settle with the collection agency for a reduced amount they will report the account as "paid for less than the total due" or "settled".

It is best to have the collection agency report the account as "Paid in full" or have the account deleted all together. You don't want any of your accounts to say "paid collection" or "settled".

Closed Accounts

If the account had delinquencies, those marks should be deleted 7 years from the date they were reported.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcies remain on your credit report for 10 years after the filing date.

When you file for bankruptcy, all the accounts included in the bankruptcy should be marked as "Included in BK". These individual accounts that were part of your bankruptcy should be deleted after 7 years.

Judgments

Most judgments, including small claims, civil and child support, should be deleted after 7 years from the filing date.

Tax Liens

City, county, state and federal tax liens are especially harmful because they can remain on your credit report indefinitely.

Again, if you have any negative accounts that meet these expiration guidelines write or email the credit bureau reporting the item and ask them to have it deleted. This is an easy first step that can improve your credit rating quickly.

Here's a sample of such a request:

Date

RE: Account Number

To Whom It May Concern:

The following account is over 7 years old and I am requesting that it be deleted from my credit file:

(List creditor's name and account number as it appears on your credit report)

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

Your Name



Well that's it for steps 1 and 2 in repairing your credit score. To get a complementary step-by-step easy to follow credit repair video and instruction manual that will show you how to increase your credit score by 50 to 100 points in 30 days, visit: http://www.mortgage-leads-generator.com/credit.htm

Please feel free to reprint this article as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked.

About the author:

Hartley Pinn has recently created the Mortgage Leads Generator Training Course to teach people how to make over $50,000 a month working part-time (10 to 15 hrs per week) as a mortgage loan officer.