You
can
mitigate
the
effect
of
tighter
mortgage
underwriting
standards
by
improving
your
credit
report
profile
and,
as a
result,
your
credit
score.
Just
don't
expect
that
your
knee-jerk
reaction
to
tighter
money
will
generate
overnight
success.
Chances
are,
you
didn't
get
all
those
credit
report
blemishes
during
a
single
credit
buying
binge.
And,
if
you
are
like
many
consumers,
you
don't
even
know
what
you
are
up
against.
BankRate.com
recently
found
that
32
percent
of
Americans
surveyed
never
check
their
credit
reports
and
have
no
idea
what
shape
it's
in.
It's
time
to
find
out
and
do
something
about
it.
Your
credit
report
is a
sort
of
fiscal
fitness
report
on
your
credit
habits
and
the
information
it
contains
factors
heavily
into
your
credit
score,
a
statistical
analysis
or
numerical
value
placed
on
your
credit
behavior.
Your
credit
score
is
commonly
used
to
nay
or
yea
your
requests
for
credit
and
determine
how
much
you'll
pay
for
credit
approved.
Here
are
seven
starter
steps
to
take
toward
improving
your
creditworthiness.
Get
your
credit
report
and
look
for
errors.
These
days
getting
a
credit
report
should
be
the
no-brainer
first
step
toward
improving
your
chances
of
landing
credit
at
the
best
price
possible.
Simply
go
online
to
AnnualCreditReport.com,
the
ONLY
federally-sanctioned
and
cost-free
service,
and
obtain
a
free
credit
report
from
Equifax,
Experian
and
TransUnion.
Given
the
year
is
more
than
half
over,
get
your
report
from
at
least
two
companies,
perhaps
three.
Next
year
set
up
your
own
credit
monitoring
service
by
getting
a
report
from
a
different
company
every
four
months.
Again,
through
AnnualCreditReport.com,
each
report
is
free.
Questions?
Call
(877)
322-8228
for
details
about
your
free
credit
report
rights.
Check
credit
limits
and
attempt
to
keep
balances
evenly
distributed
across
credit
lines,
advises
attorney
Edward
Jamison,
with
the
Los
Angeles,
CA
Jamison
Law
Group
he
founded
to
specialize
in
consumer
credit
and
identity
theft.
Make
sure
your
maximum
credit
limit
is
reported
for
each
account.
"When
no
limit
is
reported,
credit
scoring
software
presumes
the
account
is
'maxed
out'."
Jamison
says
credit
scoring
software
scores
more
favorably
when
the
balance
is
50
percent
or
below,
but
too
many
open
accounts
with
zero
balances
could
lower
the
score
with
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the
assumption
you
could
suddenly
run
up a
lot
of
credit.
Keep
some
credit
cards
open.
Close
others.
Open
credit
cards
with
limited
balances
and
good
payment
records
raises
scores,
especially
long-time
credit
cards.
However,
the
accounts
should
be
limited
in
number
and
well-managed.
"Closing
credit
card
accounts
can
hurt
your
score
unless
the
accounts
were
opened
less
than
two
years
ago,
and
you
have
more
six
credit
cards,"
says
Jamison.
It's
about
striking
a
balance.
"Credit
scoring
software
assumes
that
people
who
have
had
credit
for
a
longer
time
are
at
less
risk
of
defaulting
on
payments,"
Jamison
said.
Where
possible,
get
rid
of
late
payments
listed
on
the
credit
report.
Jamison
says
if
your
late
payments
are
dated
and
you've
been
a
good
credit
customers
for
some
time
creditors
may,
in
good
faith,
adjust
your
statement.
"If
you
are
a
customer
in
good
standing,
the
creditor
may
work
with
you,"
he
said.
The
effort
isn't
easy.
A
demanding,
frustrated
and
rude
approach
will
make
it
more
difficult.
The
lender
isn't
required
to
remove
dings
for
7 to
10
years
in
some
cases.
Pay
off
collection
accounts
and
past
due
amounts.
Payoffs
and
paying
past
due
accounts
start
the
clock
running
on
how
long
the
ding
will
remain
on
your
report.
In
some
cases
the
collection
agency
or
creditor
may
remove
the
ding,
says
Jamison.
Again,
it's
not
easy.
"The
consumer
should
contact
the
collector
and
request
a
letter
explicitly
stating
their
agreement
to
delete
the
account
upon
receipt
or
clearance
of
the
payment,"
he
said.
Likewise,
whenever
possible,
seek
to
have
charge-offs
and
liens
that
are
less
than
two
years
old
removed.
"Charge-offs
and
liens
that
are
older
than
24
months
do
not
affect
your
credit
score
nearly
as
much
as
ones
under
24
months,"
says
Jamison.
"But
if
they're
newer
than
24
months,
they
can
seriously
damage
your
credit,"
revealing
you
as a
more
recent
credit
slacker.
Keep
in
mind,
all
efforts
to
improve
your
credit,
other
than
correcting
errors,
are
typically
based
on
you
being
a
mature
credit
consumer
--
pay
your
bills
on
time,
don't
overload
yourself
with
debt
and
get
in
touch
with
lenders
at
the
first
sign
of
trouble
for
workouts
than
can
help
save
your
credit
or
reduce
the
damage
to
your
report
and
your
credit
score.
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