One of the most common misunderstandings about credit repair is the amount of importance given to negative accounts. When most people begin to review their credit report, the first thing they are drawn to are the so called 'bad accounts.' They mistakenly believe that if they could just clear up these items they would end up with a good score. Oddly enough, tinkering with these accounts will usually do nothing to raise your score, and will many times do just the opposite.

The Absence Of 'Bad Credit ' Does Not Make A Good Credit Score

The misguided and uninformed will spend countless hours on the phone trying to make settlements with old creditors. Many of these creditors have forgotten about them and have not reported fresh data on their account to the credit bureaus in years.  When Bob and I owned a mortgage brokerage company we dealt with this situation on a daily basis. We even had a special term for it, 'waking up the dead.' Negative accounts that have not been reporting fresh data on you within the last 18 months have very little impact on your score. Once you pick up the phone and start contacting old creditors, you will only stir up a hornet's nest. You are now red meat for these collection agencies, and they know that you are desperate to raise your score. They will start reporting fresh data, update your account, begin making collection calls to you again, and will likely be seeking top dollar (original balance, late fees, interest, etc...). There are times when settling an old account makes sense, but most often this is not the main issue.  When a negative account is currently reporting, there is a way to deal with it. I will be discussing my proven method on my upcoming online workshop.

The Most Important Factors In Your Score

Most of your credit score is based on the payment history of your current open credit, your outstanding balances (compared to overall available credit), and the type and number of accounts you have. This means that the fastest path to boosting your score is not trying to make deals with old creditors, but establishing new credit. Even if your credit is completely destroyed, it is still possible to open up new credit accounts. This is typically done through secured credit cards and secured loans. These types of accounts require that you make a deposit equal to your credit line. Not all secured credit accounts are equal. Your best secured credit options are not with the national card issuers, but with local banks and credit unions. This will be covered in detail in my live workshop.

New Credit Repair Video

I just finished teaching a two hour workshop going through all of my strategies on credit repair. If you are already a member of ChristianMoneyPlus, you will find the video in your member dashboard for free. If you are not a member, you can purchase it for immediate download and online viewing for $15 - Click Here.

 Helping you make the most of God's money!

James L. Paris 
Editor-In-Chief ChristianMoney.com 
Follow Me on Twitter Twitter.com/jameslparis
Christian Financial Advice 
Jim Paris 24 Hour Radio

Helping you make the most of God's money!

James L. Paris 
Editor-In-Chief ChristianMoney.com 
Follow Me on Twitter Twitter.com/jameslparis
Christian Financial Advice 
Jim Paris 24 Hour Radio