Whats the best way to repair a credit rating?

Is there a way to repair my credit rating quickly after having a debt company?

• I am now debt free but have been told that I will now NOT have a credit rating for 6 years as my accounts were defaulted after taking assistance from a debt management company but then paid off by my family? 1) Is this true? 2) Can anything be done to improve my credit rating? 3) What about these credit repair companies?

• Answer:

  First of all, everyone who has credit has some sort of credit rating. If your accounts were paid off, it should actually raise your score, but not knowing the facts I can't really say. As to not having credit rating for 6 years, I understand that bad credit stays on for 7 years. You can try myfico.com to get a credit rating. They give you 30 days free. For instance if your credit report does not show much activity or if you are just starting out, myfico.com requires that you have at least six months of paying a few credit cards in order to get a credit score. It looks like you may need to re-establish new credit if your credit report was wiped clean or if your credit score is low. I suggest you open secured credit cards to re-establish credit (Wells Fargo, Orchard, Bank of America) are just some examples. Once you make payments for six months, you should have a credit score if you don't have one OR if you have a low score, it should raise your credit score. However, that depends on establishing good habits of paying on time. Secured credit cards are great because once you prove to them you are a good customer after one year, they convert your credit cards to regular credit cards and any balance from the secured credit cards are returned to you, plus they report to all credit bureaus you're great paying abilities on a monthly basis thus raising your credit score, which is the ultimate financial goal for those trying to reestablish credit. It IS doable. I did it! Now, I am enjoying Club 700 and all its perks but it took time, diligence and lots of patience. Good luck. P.S. I agree STAY AWAY from credit repair agencies. They charge a lot for things you can do yourself and many times they don't help (see links below) Get copies of all your credit reports and use a monitoring system like myfico.com to help you stay on track. P.P.S. Get your financial life back on track and raise your credit score before you think of a mortgage. Having a low score will get you the HIGHEST interest rates, so have patience and RE-ESTABLISH your credit before making such a big decision.