How to Fix Your Credit Report So You Can Purchase a House?

In this article, I will discuss how you can obtain your credit report for free and the steps to remove negative items.

Under federal law, from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, you can get a free credit report once a year. The law also states that if there are errors, you have the right to have the information corrected.

Obtaining a free credit report is easy. Reviewing your report will help you keep an eye on your credit score and protect your identity. Request your free report regularly to ensure all the information reported on it is accurate and to catch any signs of identity theft as early as possible.

To get your free report:

Go to the official website. 

Order your free credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com.
You can also call 1-877-322-8228 or send a request form by mail. You will find the address on the website.

Complete the request form.

Complete a short form that includes your full name, address, date of birth, and SSN. You might also have to provide a previous address if you recently moved.

Verify your identity.

You’ll need to answer questions related to your finances that no other person should have, such as the name of a previous employer, the name of a credit card company you’ve used, or the amount of your mortgage.

This process will take longer if you have trouble with their identity verification questions because they still need to verify your identity to their satisfaction.

Access your reports.

You should be able to access your free reports right away online.
It usually takes two weeks to receive your report if you order it over the phone or by mail.

Once you have your credit report:

Check your reports. Take the time to go over your credit reports to look for any inaccuracies. Request corrections.

If some information is missing or inaccurate, contact (in writing) the reporting agency that made the mistake and ask them to correct it. You should also contact the information provider if they originally made the mistake. This could be a utility company, a credit card company, an employer, or other creditors.

Provide proof.

You will have to provide proof of an error to get it corrected on your credit report.
If you cannot provide the proof or if they won’t correct the mistake, your best option is to ask them to include a statement of the dispute with your credit report so anyone who runs a credit check on you will see that you are disputing that information.

Get a corrected, free report.
You will receive another free copy of the report once it has been corrected.
You can obtain additional copies for a small fee if getting a credit report once a year is not enough for your needs, or order your three reports at different times throughout the year.
The credit bureau websites are Equifax.com, Experian.com, and Transunion.com. Just order one from each company every four months.

Need more help with how to get negative items removed from your report, keep reading.

Secrets to Getting Negative Items Removed from Your Report

Bad credit is a more serious problem than most of us realize. You’re probably aware that a low FICO score can make it difficult or impossible to get a loan for a home or car. However, you may not realize that bad credit can even make it difficult to get a job. Bad credit can also mean that you pay higher insurance premiums.

Employers and insurance companies look at credit reports to determine their level of risk in hiring someone or taking them on as a client.

Bad credit is more than just an inconvenience. It could cost you tens of thousands of dollars over the years, in the form of missed opportunities, increased insurance premiums, and higher interest rates.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act dictates what type of information can be on your credit report and how long it can be on there. This law also allows you to enforce your right to have accurate credit information reported, as well as have any errors from your credit report removed. When it comes to repairing your credit, this law can become your best friend.

Removing Invalid Information From Your Credit Report

Follow these steps to get inaccurate information taken off of your credit report:

1. First, order a copy of your credit report. You can contact the three main credit bureaus, Experian,Trans Union, and Equifax to obtain a free copy once a year.

2. Look for errors on your credit reports. Sometimes companies make errors and you may have blemishes on your credit report that never happened.

• It’s also possible that you’ve been a victim of identity theft. Many victims don’t even realize this until they look at their credit report or get a call from a collection agency trying to get them to pay for an account they didn’t open.

3. Contact the credit agencies. You can send a letter to the credit agencies by mail or e-mail to dispute any errors you may find.

• The burden of proof is on the credit agencies and it’s up to them to investigate and verify the entries on your credit report. If there’s an error or if they’re unable to verify the accuracy of the entry, they’re required to remove that entry.

• It’s even possible to dispute errors on your credit report by directly contacting the companies reporting those errors. When you dispute the item in writing, the business in question has to conduct an investigation. If the item is found to be an error, they notify the credit bureaus and the error is removed.

Removing Valid, Negative Entries from Your Credit Report

Unfortunately, there may be items that are negatively affecting your credit score that are accurate. If you have overdrawn accounts, late payments, or accounts in collections, there are still some things you can try to do to get those items removed.

Find out how to get negative entries removed from your credit report, even if they’re legitimate:

1. Make a “Pay for Delete Offer” to get delinquent accounts removed from your credit report. With a Pay for Delete Offer, you’re negotiating with a creditor that is reporting negative items to the credit reporting agencies.

• You’re offering to pay the account in full, and in exchange, your creditor agrees to remove the negative item from your credit report.

• This isn’t a foolproof technique. Some creditors will accept this deal and some won’t.

2. Make a goodwill request for deletion. This strategy is used if you’ve already paid off the account in question. You’re basically asking the creditor if they’ll stop reporting the negative details of the account since the account has been paid.

It’s very important to check your credit score at least once per year because mistakes can and do happen. You’ll want to get those errors off of your credit report as quickly as possible.

If the negative items on your credit report are accurate, it’s more difficult to get them removed. However, it’s worth trying to negotiate with your creditors. Otherwise, your only other option is to wait seven years for those negative items to expire.

One quick tip to Boost Your Credit Score – Watch Video Below

In this article, we discussed how you can obtain your credit report for free and the steps to remove negative items. If you need help with getting your credit ready to purchase a home, don’t hesitate to schedule a time to discuss with me using my calendar below:

https://calendly.com/annareedrealtor/buyer-consultation