3 Simple Steps to Significantly Raise Your Credit Score Within 12 Months

My credit score sucks! How can I get a real estate agent to talk to me?

We operate in a fast paced world. It’s filled with individuals who can suck time like a vampire feasts on blood. For this reason, some agents have developed the habit of not even taking the time to speak with someone who has a poor credit score. Have you fallen victim to this?

It’s a scary fact that some individuals have a poor credit score because of poor financial habits, and they have no desire to change. These are the people who make it hard for all the others who want to change — the people who want to clean up their credit, pay their bills, and overcome the circumstances that demolished their credit score.

I am a real estate agent that believes there are more people striving to be better, wanting that 720 credit score, they just do not know how to get it, as opposed to the belief that those with a low credit score are a waste of time.

For those individuals who are really committed to getting that 700+, I am going to share some simple tips that will put you on the path of credit recovery. While you read, keep in mind the tips are not the important thing to focus on here. The commitment to these actions and the drive to seek more knowledge are most important.

This is step one after major life events — or just plain bad choices — that have demolished your credit score. Make sure the “bleeding” has stopped before you attempt any credit repair activities.

Commit right now, and 12 months from now, you will have the credit score that will make any real estate agent drop to their knees for your business because your new credit score is gold.

3 Simple Steps to Significantly Raise Your Credit Score Within 12 Months

Pay your bills on time.

The credit score is a measure of how likely you are to miss a payment or default on a loan in the next two years.

It can’t get more simple. Pay your bills on time.

Pay. Your. Bills. On. Time.

Paying your accounts on time every month accounts for around 35% of your score. Set up those auto-payments to keep you on track in case you forget.

Keep the balances down.

Your credit balances are responsible for another 30% of your credit score. Most credit “experts” will suggest you keep your credit balances around 30% of the max credit limit for any one account. For an optimal credit score, I suggest keeping it around 10%.

I have tracked my credit score daily for almost two years, and I have found there is around a 30-40 point drop when going from a 10% balance to 30%

Add new credit.

Over the last two years, I have learned a lot on the subject of credit repair, and I have used my knowledge to help my friends around me. One of the most common things I see is people being fearful after going through a rough patch. They even go so far as to blame their troubles on the credit card companies! Then they make a commitment to never use credit cards again, often using the line “credit cards are evil.” How crazy is this! It is hard for them to accept the fact that new positive reporting trade lines are needed to boost the credit score.

If this sounds like you, remember, it’s a new day, and you are a new person. Do not be scared of getting new credit cards. For a person with a low credit score who may not be able to qualify for a traditional credit card, I always suggest secured credit cards that graduate to unsecured after a specified amount of time. These will provide positive credit reporting that a person with a low credit score desperately needs. These will push the credit score upward as you take the time to repair the negative items on your report.

I always try to keep my writing short and to the point. These three tips will put you back on the road to credit score recovery, leaving the days of being ashamed when a lender runs a credit check in the distant past, like a bad memory.

Credit repair cannot be covered in a few hundred words, so if you are interested in boosting credit score, make sure to keep an eye out for my articles. I will be covering the entire credit repair process in short, easy to consume articles.

What are you doing to raise your credit score?

Leave your questions and comments below.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.