Quick Credit Tips!!!
Ever wonder what makes your credit world go round? What you can do to improve or maximize your FICO score? Want to refinance your mortgage and want the prime rates? Here’s some things I’ve learned over the past few months in my quest to shape my credit score into something Warren Buffet would be amazed at! I wanted to jot some of the finer points in case this helps anyone.
Utilization and payment history are the most weighing factors when you pull your credit scores. If you have multiple credit cards, pay all of them off to $0 and keep one of your credit cards with a 1-9% balance. That’s the perfect FICO formula and the quickest way to see an IMMEDIATE credit score boost.
Late pays within the past two years have the most negative affect and you’ll have to answer for them if you apply for a mortgage. Utilization can be 100% one month and tanking your score and 9% the next month and you’ll see an INCREDIBLE score bump. Something most people don’t know. Pay down your CC’s!!
Collections, no matter how old (within 7-years), as long as they aren’t paid, they will keep you from getting a mortgage. Pay off collections. Pay the original creditor if possible. If the debt has been sold, work it out with the collection agency to delete the listing on your report as a deal for you paying in full and promptly. Some won’t play ball but a lot of them will.
DON’T DISPUTE OLD TRADELINES even if there’s negative info!!! After 2 years, those late’s hurt you less and less and if you dispute and the account ends up being deleted, that HURTS your average age of account, which lowers your score. Age of credit also plays a big part of your credit score. If a tradeline is 10 years old and you have one 30-day late 4 years ago, the worst thing you can do is dispute it.
Best option would be contacting the creditor and asking them to make a goodwill adjustment and remove the negative mark. Sell them a sob story about losing your job or whatnot and ask them to make a consideration. Tell them what is being reported isn’t an accurate representation of your actual credit worthiness. Some of the big players won’t budge but some will. It’s worth trying and even if they say no the first time, keep trying! Use websites like planetfeedback.com to petition CEO’s and Presidents to make these goodwill adjustments.
Last but not least, PAY YOUR BILLS! And on time! Best way to have a good credit score! 
Fortunately, these aren’t all scenarios I had to deal with, but they’re common among people all across the country who don’t exactly know how their scores are formulated. I happen to know a whole lot more than what I’ve written here so if you have any questions or need any advise, feel free to ask!
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