Thursday, October 9, 2008

How Healthy is Your Credit Rating?


Your Credit Rating Can Have a Serious Affect on Your Ability to Purchase a Home...Especially Now


When is the last time you checked your credit report?

Identity theft is a serious problem these days, what with the accessbility of personal information over the Internet and how lax we have become with giving out our personal information over the web and the phone.

The information that appears on your credit report can seriously affect your ability to make major purchases, such as a home, a car, even a new computer. It's crucial to your credit reputation that you give your credit report a check-up, at least once a year, to be sure that the information on the report is correct -- that your recorded debt is accurate, that your payoffs show up on time, and that there are no unauthorized purchases falling under your name.

If you are a resident of the state of Georgia, you are entitled, under state law, to receive two (2) free copies of your credit report from each of the three major reporting credit agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) per year. Click here for a form you can use to request your credit report, found on the website of Atlanta's real estate guru, John Adams.

Think about it twice a year when you change your clocks - once in the spring and once in the fall - simply fill out the above form, make three copies and mail it to the addresses included on the form.


If You Have Credit Problems, You Can Fix Them!

If you have made unwise decisions in the past that have affected your credit, such as letting a credit card or cell phone account fall into default or consistently making late payments, those things will show up on your credit report. But do not despair - you can fix your credit problems!

Request a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit agencies. Use your credit reports to first verify that the debt listed is correct and not the result of identity theft or unauthorized use of your credit cards. Then make a plan to pay off your debt and free your name of bad credit.

It may take some time to revive your credit, depending on how many bad debts you have on your reports, but make an effort to start now.

For more information about your credit report and what it includes, please visit our post on Understanding Your Credit Report - What Does it Mean?

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