Too many of us don’t take advantage of the annual free credit report that is offered to us (freecreditreport.com or creditkarma.com) and don’t find out that our credit is bad until we get it pulled for a financial need such as a credit card, car loan or a mortgage. When I have done pre-approvals and found out their score was too low, I have sometimes helped in advising them on how to improve their credit. I am not a financial advisor, nor a professional credit repair specialist but I can offer assistance through my experience and knowledge of how credit is scored and what impacts your score the most. For some clients it has taken just a few steps and they were able to improved their score in only a few months, and others it has taken up to a year or more, which can vary depending on what the issue is and the time you have available to diligently work on it. And there have been other clients where I felt it was better for them to work with a credit repair company.
“How do you know if you should hire a credit repair company?”
For starters do you have:
- Multiple discrepancies that need to be disputed
- Old (more than 7 years) credit history showing up on your credit report
- Judgements
- Collections
- All the above.
If so, then hiring someone to help might be a great option for you.
Credit repair companies do cost so before you spend your money, do your research. Before choosing a company here are some tips:
- Get a background check~start with the better business bureau
- Ask for client referrals~ask if there are a few existing and/or past clients that you can contact
- Check their online credibility~Look for reviews, such as Google + & Yelp.com, you can also check your social networks
- Review their contract/terms~Make sure if you are unsatisfied and/or not seeing results in a timely manner you are able to discontinue with their services and possibly even get your money back. Is there a guarantee?
- Make sure you get a progress report~ You want to be able to see your progress and review what has been done and accomplished. Do they or can they send a progress report to your lender (if applicable)?
Now if you are asking the question, “why should I and how can I pay someone to help when I am already having financial issues, which is part of the reason my credit score is so low?”. I know this may seem counter productive, but you have to decide what is your time worth? Many of the needed follow up calls and letters that need to be made to each credit bureau (Experian, Transunion, Equifax) can take time and it all depends on how much time can you really put into it and what is your time frame of when you would like your credit fixed? Remember if you choose to do it on your own it will take more time so you have to decide what is most important. I like to think that a credit repair company is like a personal trainer for your financial health! A personal trainer will help you see results faster than if you were doing it all yourself. They have the resources and tools to help you achieve your goal in half the time.
There are many companies that are frauds, so be careful, again do your research and if at all possible find a company through a reputable referral resource, such as your lender, your realtor, a family and/or friend. One that has personal experience in working with the company. Then stay focused and positive, knowing that not only will this credit repair help with your chances at buying a home, car or just help your overall future of your financial health.
As always if you ever have any questions please contact us. Make sure to also check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Google +.
~Stay Positive
Ray Williams
Branch Manager
Summit Mortgage Corporation
