Ask A New Jersey Closing Expert

If you credit rating are suffering because of mistakes on your credit report, it is YOUR RIGHT to have them corrected at no cost. This is true for New Jersey homebuyers as it is for buyers and consumers all across the United States.

Credit bureaus are legally required to investigate disputed information by contacting the creditor that originally supplied them with the information. Keep in mind that the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and Trans Union — usually have the same information for each consumer file, but not always. You need only contact the bureau that actually shows an error.

Contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus:
Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 759013
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com

Trans Union
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 888-4213
www.transunion.comEquifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 685-1111
www.equifax.com

You can use myfico.com or  www.annualcreditreport.com, or you can request a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the credit reporting companies listed above.  Please check your credit semi annually to ensure that your identity and trading activities are secure.

Tips on Improving your credit: (presented by myfico.com)

Payment History Tips

• Pay your bills on time.
  Delinquent payments and collections can have a major negative impact on your FICO^® score.
• If you have missed payments, get current and stay current.
  The longer you pay your bills on time, the better your credit score.
• Be aware that paying off a collection account will not remove it from your credit report.
  It will stay on your report for seven years.
• If you are having trouble making ends meet, contact your creditors or see a legitimate credit counselor.
  This won’t improve your credit score immediately, but if you can begin to manage your credit and pay on time, your score will get better over time.

Amounts Owed Tips

• Keep balances low on credit cards and other “revolving credit”.
  High outstanding debt can affect a credit score.
• Pay off debt rather than moving it around.
  The most effective way to improve your credit score in this area is by paying down your revolving credit. In fact, owing the same amount but having fewer open accounts may lower your score.
• Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your score.
• Don’t open a number of new credit cards that you don’t need, just to increase your available credit.
  This approach could backfire and actually lower your credit score.

Length of Credit History Tips

• If you have been managing credit for a short time, don’t open a lot of new accounts too rapidly.
  New accounts will lower your average account age, which will have a larger effect on your score if you don’t have a lot of other credit information. Also, rapid account buildup can look risky if you are a new credit user.

New Credit Tips

• Do your rate shopping for a given loan within a focused period of time.
  FICO^® scores distinguish between a search for a single loan and a search for many new credit lines, in part by the length of time over which inquiries occur.
• Re-establish your credit history if you have had problems.
  Opening new accounts responsibly and paying them off on time will raise your credit score in the long term.
• Note that it’s OK to request and check your own credit report.
  This won’t affect your score, as long as you order your credit report directly from the credit reporting agency or through an organization authorized to provide credit reports to consumers.

Types of Credit Use Tips

• Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed.
  Don’t open accounts just to have a better credit mix - it probably won’t raise your credit score.
• Have credit cards - but manage them responsibly.
  In general, having credit cards and installment loans (and paying timely payments) will raise your credit score. Someone with no credit cards, for example, tends to be higher risk than someone who has managed credit cards responsibly.
• Note that closing an account doesn’t make it go away.
  A closed account will still show up on your credit report, and may be considered by the score.

Hope this helps all the consumers out there put clarity to your questions.

 Your friend,

AD; www.qualitycloser.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.