There are three major consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), or credit bureaus, that mortgage companies use to assess a buyer’s credit rating: Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. Credit scores typically range from 300 to 850. For home loan purposes, a score of 650 or higher indicates a good credit history and will make it easy for you to secure a mortgage. If your score falls between 620 and 650, your borrowing capability will be examined more closely. And if you rate below 620, you may have a credit crisis.

When you’re in the market to buy a home and discover that you have bad credit and your score is low, don’t despair. Although it may delay the purchase of your home, there are ways to repair your bad credit rating so that you can still qualify for a home mortgage with a decent interest rate.

To evaluate your credit rating you’ll need to obtain copies of your credit reports from the various agencies. Examine them carefully to see what transactions are lowering your score.

A special note about bankruptcies: A bankruptcy can lower your credit score by 200 points or more. Repairing bad credit following a bankruptcy is beyond the scope of this article.

Charge-Offs: Charge-offs appear on your credit report if a creditor has given up trying to collect from you and ends up writing off the amount you owe as a bad debt. Charge-offs are one of the main reasons why loan applicants are denied credit.

How to Repair It: If you have any charge-offs, contact those creditors immediately and make arrangements to pay off the old debt. After a few months of regular payments, or if you repay a charge-off debt in full, submit a written request to that creditor to change the status on your credit reports.

Late Payments: Late payments are handled slightly different depending on whether they are isolated incidents or recurring problems.

How to Repair It: If you have a single late payment here or there listed on your credit report, the best thing to do is contact your creditors by phone to discuss the situation. Follow the conversation with a written request to have the isolated late payments removed from your reports. If you’re consistently late with payments, however, repairing the problem is a little more involved. You’ll need to begin by setting a pattern of paying on time over several months. Once this positive pattern is established, call your creditors (and follow-up in writing) and let them know that you’re back on track. With persistence and patience, you may be able to delete these score-lowering marks.

Reporting Mistakes: Sometimes, creditors just make mistakes when reporting to the bureaus. Other mistakes might include charge disputes that resulted in an initial late payment that was eventually reversed. Unfortunately, it’s the individual’s responsibility to spot – and repair – reporting mistakes that lead to bad credit.

How to Repair It: Once again, contact your creditor by phone and follow up with a written request that the mistake be corrected. Because the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that credit agencies and their information providers investigate reports of inaccuracies, you’ll also want to contact the CRA directly to report the discrepancy.

As you work on repairing your credit rating, there are other things you can do to improve your score:

• Make sure that you pay all of your monthly bills on time

• Avoid opening new credit card accounts, including department store cards

• Work toward paying down your unsecured debt, but keep accounts open even if you pay them off

• Pay cash for the things you need instead of charging them

If, after all your work, you still score below the 620 mark, it doesn’t mean that you won’t qualify for a home loan. It may mean, however, that your mortgage will take longer to process and the terms and interest rate may not be as good as you were hoping for. Talk to your real estate agent about referrals to high-risk lenders.

Repairing bad credit can take many months to a year or more. But when you’re ready to buy a home, you’ll be glad you took the time to improve your score – and your mortgage payment will be lower because of your efforts.

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Good credit is key to economic success. You may not give to much thought to your credit report, but good credit lets you do a lot of things that most people take for granted: get a credit card, rental a car, obtain a loan, or even get an apartment. Missed payments to a creditor, or defaulting on a loan altogether, creates black marks that are recorded on your credit report when your creditor reports them to a credit bureau. Too many missed payments or defaulted loans will leave you with no option but to start the credit repair process, otherwise, your applications for credit cards or other loans will be turned down consistently until you do.

A quick search in the classified ads or on the internet for credit repair will give you tons of offers from credit repair companies offering a quick fix to your credit problems. Most of these companies have aggressive marketing strategies that promise to fix your credit report fast for a nominal fee. Be very cautious with these companies and deal with them at your own risk –many are not only scams, but also in most cases you can fix your own credit more effectively by doing it yourself.

Remember: there is nothing a credit repair company can do for you that you can’t do for yourself. Even though credit repair companies might imply otherwise, they can’t erase poor marks on your credit rating and they have no influence over the credit bureau. Most likely, the credit repair company will probably tell you to obtain a copy your current credit report and to challenge any negative items on it. You can do this yourself without actually paying someone to tell you to do it.

Sometimes, credit repair companies may even recommend that you perform activities that aren’t even legal to “fix” your credit. They might encourage you to begin working on a “new” credit rating by changing your banking information and address. Not only is this procedure illegal, it is usually ineffective. You are better off going through the credit repair process on your own. An online search will yield detailed sites with step-by-step instructions. Again, beware the source. Your best bet is going through a government-affiliate site or one that is put together by a trusted organization.

The best approach to credit repair is to first obtain a copy your credit report from the credit bureau. Examine the report closely, line by line, and make sure to challenge any errors on the report, in writing, to the agency that reported it. Challenge only items that are genuine. If your report is free of errors, you will need to repair your credit in the traditional fashion, usually involving obtaining a secured credit card that you use regularly, making regular payments on the balance. This will slowly improve your credit rating.

Most importantly, be patient and make smart budgeting decisions. Credit repair is not a quick process, and you will find that you are able to pay off your creditors given enough time. By making payments regularly and not defaulting on any loans, your credit score will eventually prove that you are eligible for credit. Although this method of credit repair is not a fast process, it is truly effective. By doing your own credit repair, you will be far more successful than if you were to employ a credit repair company.

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