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Repairing Your Credit
Last week's crumble on Wall Street is causing a credit
crunch - one experts are calling the worst in decades.
That means if you've got bad credit, getting money will
be even tougher. But there is hope. ABC2 Investigator
Joce Sterman has some tips for salvaging your credit
score.
Monday was a better day on Wall Street, with numbers
rebounding. But that doesn't mean the credit crunch is
over. Financial experts say we're in the middle of the
worst lending market in more than 20 years. So if you're
hoping to get a loan, you better have good credit. Freedmont
Mortgage CEO Carl Delmont says, "Right now, if your
score is perfect, you're loving life because rates are
great. But if your score is not perfect, there are not
many options out there and the ones that are out there
aren't appealing. So if you can improve your credit score,
that's the most important thing in the world."
Improving your score isn't as hard as you might think.
But Delmont says it will take some patience and hard
work. He warns against the quick fixes you may see advertised
saying, "You can't believe these hype things where
they're going to improve your credit score overnight
and charge you a fee. There are scam companies out there.
It takes anywhere from two weeks to two months to really
improve your credit score depending on what you have
going on there."
To improve your credit score:
**Pay your bills on time.
**Check your credit report for errors.
**Take a look at the balance/limit ratio on your
credit cards. Your spending should be less than 30% of
your limit on the card.
**Meet with a professionally trained credit counselor.
Anyone can get a free copy of their credit report by
calling any of the three major credit bureaus. You'll
have to pay extra to find out your credit score, but
the basic report will provide most of the information
you need.
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