Improving score to buy house

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 09/03/2010 - 05:57
Forums

Hi,

I want to increase my score, at least above 650 to get a house. I am new at this and I don't know where to start.

My current credit score is 600. I took about $2000 and paid about $3600 worth of debt. I just don't know where to start. I went to a credit repair company for help but all he did was take my money. However, after a few threats I got every penny back. Now I have got a secured credit card and have been using it for about 4 months and paying off on time. I had also bought a used car and financed it and paid it off early.

What else can I do?

Hi Nef,

You seem to be doing as much as possible to maintain a good score. I think you should check your credit report once too see if there are any negatives or wrong information there on your report. The negatives and other wrong information (if any) can hurt your score.

If there are negatives from any past accounts try removing those by sending Goodwill letters to the company to whom you have paid off the dues. As for the wrong listings, you should dispute those with the credit bureaus.

You have said that you are using the secured credit card and making on-time payments on it. However, if your utilization rate is high it can hurt your score. So, try to keep the utilization rate less than 30%.

Thanks,

Aaron

Fri, 09/03/2010 - 07:43 Permalink