Does Credit Repair Really Work?

If your credit has suffered from a few bumps and bruises in the last couple of years you are far from being alone. Almost everyone was caught by surprise at just how fast things fell apart and many Americans who had never been late on a single payment before have seen their credit slide.

So does credit repair really work? There are several ways to repair or rebuild your credit. However the credit repair business as a whole has unfortunately developed a bad name for itself over the years with many crooked companies and agents taking money from those trying their best to improve their credit and providing no really significant results. So credit repair companies that ask for several hundred dollars in advance with no guarantees should be approached with caution.

If there are erroneous negative items showing up on your credit report they can often be handled yourself or with the help of a few letters from your attorney. Though those actively looking for a home loan and who already have a contract on a home do not have the luxury of a lot of time. In this case you will likely find that your mortgage broker can help you with a Rapid Rescore program than can quickly nudge your credit score up a few points that can help you get approved for a home loan, lower the amount of down payment required and get you a lower interest rate.

However the real problem for many whose credit suffered during the credit crunch and housing meltdown is not bad credit which is now likely a few years old but a lack of new, good credit. This is not a hard problem to fix but can take a few months. The simplest way to achieve this is to obtain 3-5 new credit lines and establish a good payment history over the next 3 to 6 months which may well rocket your credit score even beyond what you imagined possible. While you may find it hard to get credit anywhere right now, it is not impossible. Store cards are often the easiest to get. Though if your credit is really that bad then you can still establish new credit by obtaining secured loans against CDs or acquiring secured credit cards. Most banks offer these today many of which automatically convert to regular, major credit cards after 6 months.