How to Get A Better Credit Score
You may not realize it, but your credit score is one of the most important assets that you can use in Fort Wayne real estate investment. Even if you make enough of a profit on an investment to fund your next project, your credit score still needs to be in great shape. If you get into a tough spot or if your investment returns fall short for a few months, your credit score can help you stay in good shape until things improve.
Many people have gotten into trouble with credit but there’s not need to panic. If your credit score is a few points lower that it needs to be, there are some steps that you can take to turn it around.
- Get A Report
Before you can do anything to improve your credit score, you need to know where you stand. Getting a copy of your credit report will give you an accurate and current look at your credit profile. You can get a copy through your bank or with a free online service. Don’t be fooled by people who try to charge you for a copy, you are entitled to a free report each year.
Study your credit report to find out your outstanding credit balances. This will help you spot which debts are the largest and the oldest. Use this information to form your plan of action so that you can focus on tackling your biggest debts first.
- Catch Up On Payments
One of the biggest factors affecting your credit score are late payments. If you are more than a month behind on a debt payment, every payment cycle that passes can lower your score. To start, don’t worry about wiping out your debt completely. Just locate the debts that have fallen behind in payments and get current with them. Even if a debt is still large, getting current with your payments can boost your score.
- Drive Down Debt
Improving your credit score is a gradual process. You won’t be able to pay off all your debt at once. It may take months or years to eliminate your debt. However, each step that you take towards lowering these balances can drive up your credit score.
Use your credit report to find all of your outstanding debts. Once you are current on all of them, make a budget that allows you to make small payments over a long period of time. Resist the urge to make huge payments all at once. Making smaller sized payments consistently will help you stick to your budget so that you stay current on your debts.
- Delete Old Debts
Once you study your credit report, you might be surprised at some of the debts you find there. Old debts that you thought were paid off might still be lurking in your credit history. Also, debts that you have paid years ago may still be showing up on your credit report and lowering your score.
You can contact the companies or people who originally charged these debts and ask them to remove items that have been paid in full. You can also work with a debt consolidation company to combine multiple old debts into one so that you can make a single payment towards them. This will also reduce the number of your debts, which can really boost your credit score.
Use these steps to create your personalized plan to manage your debt and you’ll see big improvements in your credit score.