6 Myths About Bad Credit Repair

I decided to make this page about repairing bad credit because there was a point in my life where my credit, due to lack of education prevented me from buying the house of my dreams and cost me thousands of dollars in additional interests on a car loan.

I began searching for an affordable credit repair company. I quickly discovered they we just too costly and decided to do it myself.

And for many consumers, searching for a bad credit repair service remains too costly and most are stuck with no solution.

Now, as a result of the these tough economic times, the banks are protecting themselves by instituting some shady practices, reducing credit limits because you don’t have a certain score and bleeding consumers of their hard earned money. Now it’s time we arm ourselves with the knowledge to control our own destiny!

Myth 1: I Can’t Improve My Own Credit

As with many things, we need help once in a while, but credit repair is certainly something that you can do quite easily on your own with a little work and time.

When I first looked at my credit report, I saw some late pays regarding my car, some medical bills that went unpaid, and some other “not so good” marks on my credit report.  I was upset, and thought “I need a professional repair company to help me with this! I don’t know how to do this on my own!” This all came to roost when I wanted to become a homeowner.  I had a new wife and she was ready to buy a home.  So Yeah, so I thought. How did I do it myself? I got educated… that’s it. And now, you are going to get the best education on how to repair, rebuild, and maintain your credit score.

After some time of taking a more in-depth looking into my credit report, I noticed some huge mistakes by either the creditor or credit bureau. These were not my mistakes, but the mistakes of “Credit Cops.” I found mistakes on multiple accounts, ranging from multiple late pays, wrong accounts, two closed accounts, when in fact they were open. Turns out, it’s estimated that anywhere from 75% to as many as 90% of credit reports contain errors.

Myth 2: You Can’t Fix Bad Credit

Wrong. Just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean that you can’t repair it. It may take longer to fix, but it is repairable. There are many fast ways to restore your credit, build positive lines of creditand get yourself back on the right track to good credit.

If you think a 560 score is bad, it is.  When I stepped into the mortgage brokers’ office with my realtor and was told there was no way I would qualify for a loan, I was thoroughly embarrassed.  He broke the news in front of my then wife, realtor, his assistant and the couple sitting at the next table waiting to see him.

Look, it was possible for me to accomplish this, so can you.  You simply need to educate yourself and the process becomes a simple one.

Myth 3: You Only Have One Credit Score

Not true.  There are three credit reporting bureaus, therefore there are 3 scores.  They are: Transunion, Experian, and Equifax.  All three use different algorithms to come up with three different scores.  What’s interesting is a different merchant use different reporting agencies.  While The Gap may use Experian, Home Depot may use Transunion.

Experian may show a score of 525 while Transunion may show a score of 560. It’s always good to know your score from all three bureaus. They can vary by as much as 80 points.

Myth 4: Checking Your Credit Too Often Will Lower Your Score

There are two types of inquiries (more details later in the book) that will appear on your credit report: hard and soft inquiries. Hard inquiries are from companies you are attempting to do business with.  You know, obtain a car loan, mortgage, cell phone service. Multiple inquiries of this kind will lower your score. Soft inquiries occur when you check your credit through an online service or even from companies who are trying to obtain your information to possibly send out credit card promotions.  This type of inquiry does not harm your score.

Myth 5: Shopping For A Better Loan Will Lower Your Score

This is a pretty common myth.  Let’s say you are looking to buy a car.  You go visit dealership #1 and during the investigative process they check your credit profile.  You discover you don’t like to terms and you visit dealership #2.  If dealership #2 checks your credit profile, the two inquiries will only appear as one, as the inquiries are of the same in nature and they are within 12 calendar days of each other.

There is one exception.  Credit cards

Myth 6: I Must Remove All Negative Items To Improve My Score

This is false.  While you want to improve on the negative items, building new positive credit is just as important.  Negative items removed will improve your credit score, but adding positive credit will increase your score faster and will raise it higher as well. 

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No Time For Time Management

Last month, I was traveling and saw this article on time management in a magazine. As I glanced over the article, I noticed the thing was five pages long. Shouldn’t tips for people who are trying to save time be summarized? Damn!

So being the devoted business traveler of this particular airline, I kept the magazine and eventually, when I had time, I read it. Later that day, I did a search on the web for “time management tips” and discovered there was more written about this subject than all of you subscribers together could read in a life time. There were over 116,000,000 results in 0.13 seconds. Apparently, this topic is hot! Everyone has an interest in time management. In the interest of time, I will keep this article to just short.

Anyway, some of the basics seem to be keeping yourself healthy, know when to say “no”, planning your day, multi-task when possible. Look, these are great concepts. Many of us work a few days a week in an attempt to take care of our bodies and we get sick anyway. We have trouble saying “no” to our friends, family and employer. It’s just that way.

When I was working as a SWAT team member and helping raise my two children, I was lucky if I slept six hours.

I just read on someone’s blog, time and money are resources and they are both limited and measurable.

Not everything related to time can be measured. How long does it take to get through to a loss mitigator? How long does it take to get a homeowner to deed you a house. How long does it take to get the BPO agent to give you that magic number?

Time can be relative though. When I’m hanging out with friends, at a NASCAR track watching a race or playing video games with kids, time flies by. Sitting through my divorce proceeding, time dragged on and on.

The benefit to trying to manage time derives itself from giving ourselves an opportunity to see how we use our days. Often tips for experts can and will be useful in sorting out what’s important to us and what’s not.

Remember, there is after all, a limit to the number of days we are each allotted.

My father, during church would always say, “We are all given one more day to get it right.” Are you spending your time wisely?

Look Out For Identity Theft

Many people who are careful about paying bills on time and having minimal debts are shocked each year to find that they have low credit scores.

In many cases, this happens as a result of identity theft. Identity theft is a type of crime in which people take your personal information and steal that information to pose as you in order to get access to your accounts or identity.

For example, someone with your PIN numbers can remove small amounts of money from your bank account each month or someone can use your name and personal information to get credit cards in your name and use those credit cards with no intention of paying back the money. You are stuck with the large debts and the poor credit score.

To prevent identity theft, always check your account statements carefully each month. Report any suspicious activity or any charges you don’t recognize at once. Also check your credit report regularly and immediately investigate any new credit accounts you do not recognize - this is the best way of detecting and acting on identity theft.

If you have been the victim of identity theft, report to the police at once and get a police statement. Send copies of this to your bank and credit bureaus. Better yet, get the credit bureaus to attach the report to your credit report, if you can. Close all your accounts and reopen new ones. You should not have to pay for someone else’s illegal activity.

Formula For Success

What you think and how you then act is the deciding factor that will help you discover the goal of success. These two attributes are important together with a set of consistent principles, which you follow through. Thoughts based on reason are a powerful catalyst to start any reaction, and once you set off, you will soon realize that courage is the simple virtue needed for a human being to traverse the rocky road.

Obstacles are natural, and they are a means to the source of acquiring wealth, as I am sure you will agree. Persistence, patience and perseverance will have to be practiced religiously to reach the goal and to overcome the obstacles. Of course with that said, let me point out the P’s that you should frown upon.

Do not procrastinate, do not pretend that you know it all and finally do not prolong your ‘venture(s)’. Be prepared to fight the stumbling blocks that may confront you, but pursue your goal and allow your potential willpower to predominate.

In any situation in life, it is with out a doubt important to remain level headed, despite all the ‘ups and the downs’ that we are likely to face. Remember life is dualistic by nature – the obverse and the reverse sides of the same coin to put it simply. I am compelled to add that though we know that the past is the cause and the present is the effect, it is self evident that with time the present itself becomes the cause with reference to the future.

There is a very deep meaning embroiled in this syntax, and if you can relate this to success, then it can be said that if we intelligently live in the scientific self-discipline, we can become the architects of our own future.

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