Maximizing Your Borrowing Power With A Strong Credit Score

If you are in the market for a personal loan, to ensure you obtain the most optimal and affordable loan product for your needs you'll not only need to shop around prior to submitting your request, you'll need to make sure your credit score is accurate with up-to-date information and free of errors. There are also steps you can take with your finances that will help you bring any credit score to a higher level.

Ensure your credit score is accurate and up-to-date!
Before applying for an unsecured personal loan, it is a very good idea to get a copy of your credit report. If your credit profile is not accurate, you will need to take the needed steps to get the misinformation updated by directly contacting the credit bureaus reporting that info via a formal letter detailing your issue. Simple errors and mistakes, i.e. misspelled names, can be disputed over the phone or via the Internet. Below are the contact address and phone numbers for all three credit bureaus. The bureaus are required by law to investigate your claim within 45 day of receiving it.

On the contrary, you may discover that your credit score is higher than you expected!

Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
(888) 397-3742

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374
(800) 685-1111

TransUnion, LLC
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
(800) 888-4213

Pay down balances
If you are need of immediate cash, paying down your credit card and other forms of debt may not be an option. However, if you are planning on borrowing in the future or have the ability to put your loan off for a few months, you may be able to raise your credit scores nicely by lowering your total debt. In fact, paying down debts is one of the fastest methods for improving your credit. About 30 percent of your credit score and rating is calculated based on your credit utilization ratio. More particularly how much your balances are in comparison to the available credit lines. Your goal should be to try and be within 50% or less of your available limits. But remember, the lower your balances are, the greater your credit score will be.

Keep accounts up-to-date and in good standing
The way you pay your monthly bills, commonly known as your payment history, is critical to how lenders look at you. If you exhibit a history of paying late, not in full, bouncing checks, etc. then you can expect to be labeled as high risk and therefore will receive a less than desired borrowing amount and term. Any time you exhibit any type of negative activity towards your monthly bills, each occurrence will be reflected on your credit report for seven years. However, these negative marks lose their impact as time passes. So, if you can get your bill paying practices back in check you can expect your credit score to begin to slowly improve after two or three months. And after a year of positive bill paying activity, your score should see a real nice increase.

Steer clear from obtaining any new credit
Ever notice that every time your shop at a major store, when checking out the clerk asks 'would you like to save 20% today and open a store card?'. It may sound enticing, but don't do it. If you are looking to apply for a loan in the near future, opening up any new forms of credit are not going to help your credit score. And, in order to obtain these store credit cards, you will have to submit your personal information for a credit check for approval. And as you know, every time you apply for credit, your credit score is going to impact a hit.