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Published On: Mon, Dec 9th, 2019

How Long Does it Take to Rebuild Credit?

Having a high credit score can open a number of doors financially. When you have a great or excellent credit score, it’s easier to open credit cards, take out loans, and otherwise borrow money.

However, your credit score can tank very quickly. If you’ve missed payments or struggled to pay back debts you’ve borrowed, you might find your credit score tanking. If you have a big purchase in your future, like a car or a house, you need to rebuild.

Unfortunately, rebuilding your credit isn’t as easy. If you want to give your credit score a boost, you need to put in work. The amount of work you need to do will depend on your unique situation and the debts you have on your report.

Let’s walk through how you can boost your credit score and how much time you should expect to spend fixing it.

photo/ Michael Jarmoluk via pixabay

1. Review your report for errors mistakes.

The first step in fixing your credit is to make sure everything on your credit report is correct and accurate. If you have a debt that is not your own or a payment is recorded late when you paid on time, you want to get it removed.

Removing incorrect debts or late payments can remove that hit to your credit score and give it an immediate boost.

Get copies of your reports from the three major credit unions. Comb through them and look for anything that might not look familiar. If you’ve never done this before, it could take a few hours to get through depending on how much information you have.

If you find something you’d like to dispute, you need to collect the appropriate information and documentation to draft your dispute letters. If you have a lot of things to dispute, this could take a decent amount of time.

When your letters are all finished, you can send them to each credit bureau.

2. Disputing misinformation on your credit reports.

Credit bureaus have up to 30 days to respond to your dispute request. Unfortunately, however, you need to dispute the finding with each bureau. This means the process can be complicated and time consuming.

You might need to provide additional information to prove that the debt was wrong or incorrect. If you have a large number of disputes, this can take a few months. On average, it can take about three to six months to resolve the different disputes with each credit bureau.

While removing these false debts from your reports can give you a boost to your credit score, you shouldn’t expect any results overnight.

But there are some things you can do in the meantime.

3. Catch up on past bills or overdue debts.

Missing a payment on a credit card or not paying a bill can ding your credit score. If you have these derogatory marks on your report can bring your score down. If you go too long without paying these debts, they can be sent to collections – something that can be incredibly damaging to your score.

The best thing you can do to boost your credit score if you have past overdue bills is to pay them off. While it won’t remove the derogatory marks from your report, it can show the credit bureaus that you’re making a change.

If you have debts already sent to collections, reach out to make sure they’re paid efficiently. Settling these debts can have a positive effect on your credit score.

However, if you don’t have the cash to pay off your debts immediately, reach out and see if you can get put on a payment plan. Many organizations will want to work with you to get the money you owe them. Set up a repayment plan that helps you get back on track.

From now on, make sure you’re paying every bill on time. If you have a bill coming up that you know you don’t have cash for, reach out and ask for an extension.

Repaying debts can have an immediate impact on your credit score. However, as you continue to pay your bills on time, you credit score will gradually go up.

4. Get a secured credit card.

A secured credit card allows you to build your credit without going into debt. With a secured card, you can add money to your account the same way you would a debit card. You can’t borrow more than you put in, so you don’t need to worry about spending too much.

When the bill comes each month, be sure to pay it off on time. If you do this consistently and you don’t max out your spending limit, your credit score will start to grow.

A secured card means banks don’t need to trust you to lend you money. You’re securing the debt before you borrow, so you don’t need a great credit score in order to get a card. This is a great deal for someone without a credit card who wants to boost their score.

It takes a bit of time to rebuild your credit score this way, but it is one of the best ways to boost your score. Your credit company will report to the bureaus every month so with each month you pay your bill on time, you can see a boost in your score.

Boosting Your Credit Score

How long it takes you to improve your credit score will depend on your unique situation. If all you need to do is pay off a few over due debts, you could have a higher credit score in just a few months.

However, if you have more damage to your credit score, the entire process could take much longer. To improve your score as quickly as possible, you should get started as soon as you can disputing false information and working with a secured card.

Author: Carol Mendez

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  1. […] How Long Does it Take to Rebuild Credit? – Having a high credit score can open a number of doors financially. When you have a great or excellent credit score, it’s. […]

  2. […] How Long Does it Take to Rebuild Credit? – take out loans, and otherwise borrow money. However, your credit score can tank very quickly. If you’ve missed payments or. […]

  3. […] How Long Does it Take to Rebuild Credit? – take out loans, and otherwise borrow money. However, your credit score can tank very quickly. If you‘ve missed payments or. […]

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