1. Get a copy of your credit report and look it over carefully. See if any obvious errors jump out at you, such as accounts you didn't open, bad credit loans, or payments you didn't miss. If you happen to see any fraudulent accounts on your credit report, you need to get them removed as soon as possible. Millions of credit transactions take place every month and it's always possible that a simple mistake has taken place, but you don't want somebody else's mistake looking like one of yours. It's a good idea to review your credit report at least once per year. You know the old saying: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It couldn't be more true here! You can find your free credit score by going directly to companies like TransUnion Canada or Equifax USA and Equifax Canada
2. Do you have any credit cards you're not using? If what's in your wallet isn't being used, you should close the account because open accounts sitting on your credit report are reducing your credit worthiness. The reason for this is because available or "open" credit is often viewed as negatively as utilized credit. Plus, if you close credit card accounts that you're not using you won't be tempted to buy that awesome set of steak knives you saw advertised on your satellite TV at three o'clock in the morning while you were eating that monster bowl of ice cream.
3. Even if you have a balance on a credit card, call the credit card company and cancel the account. A lot of people don't know this, but you don't have to have a zero balance to cancel an account. You can cancel the card and pay the account off under the terms of your card membership agreement. Don't believe me? Dig out the terms and conditions disclosure you got in the mail when you received your card and you'll see that I'm right on the money. Not only will this help improve your credit score, but you'll find it easier to sit down or close your purse.
4. Do you have late payments languishing on your credit report? If you do, and you're current right now, you can call the creditor and ask them if they're willing to change that late payment to an on-time payment. You have about a 50% chance of getting your late payment removed, but it's better than the 0 % chance you have by not asking!
5. Do you have any charged-off accounts or missed payments on your credit report that are older than two years? If you do, there's an excellent chance you can get those entries removed as well. In most cases, creditors are only required to keep records for credit transactions for two years. Simply write to the credit reporting agency and dispute that entry and asked for written verification of the accuracy of that record. If the creditor can't prove it, the credit reporting agency is required to remove it.
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Darrin Roseborsky is a Refinance Specialist with OMAC Mortgages, seminar speaker and president of HomeRefinanceCoach.com. Darrin shows people how to MAXIMIZE their equity PROPERLY and how to choose options that make the MOST SENSE for their situation! An example of exactly how this works, is at: http://www.homerefinancecoach.com
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