Ways to fix up what was once bad credit?
Me & My husband paid off all the money owed on his credit report in a attempt to clean his credit and be able to buy a house in the next year or two. Everything has been paid off. We were just approved for our new 2yr contract with At&T with NO deposit, which is a great thing, but what other ways can we re-build his credit again. We already have a vehicle and have always made on time payments so that is another reflection. We were told by a mortgage company that we needed a credit card.?. Which one is the best one? and one that would approve him with his credit in transition from bad to good?
Tagged with: amp • credit card • credit report • money • mortgage company • reflection • time payments • transition
Filed under: "How to fix Bad credit so I can buy a house"
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Without knowing more specifics on your "bad" credit, it is hard to give specific advice.
Since you say your credit is bad, I assume you need to look at a sub-prime card. Orchard Bank is the best of the sub-prime card issuers
Another option is to apply for BOA (Bank of America), if you are turned down, in most cases they will offer you a secured card. An advantage of BOA is if you maintain a good history with them they will unsecure the card, sometimes in a year or less and you get to keep the history.
In this economy, you may need to get a secured card. Capital One use to have a decent one. They may still offer one. Direct Merchants Bank does sub par unsecured cards. The interest rates are very high.
Which card is best depends upon your lifestyle and how you’ll use the card. Some have rewards, some cash back, some lower interest. I suggest going to: http://www.creditscorequick.com/reward_cards/ where you can compare dozens of card offers before making your choice.
That page opens to rewards cards, but if you look at the top of the screen you’ll see other kinds. Some are for poor credit, some for "good" and some for "excellent." Of course, the better your credit, the lower the interest you’ll pay.
The best way to build credit with a credit card is to use it sparingly and pay off the balance each month. If you must carry a balance, make sure it is less than 30% of the credit line they’ve made available to you.
Once you’ve established a record of on time payment, call and ask to have your credit line increased, but don’t use it!
It sounds like your credit is already building, but if you are unable to get a standard card you have 2 alternatives. One is to get a "poor credit" card that requires you to pay an annual fee. The other is to get a secured card – which means you’ll put money in a savings account as security. Once you build your credit through on-time payments, you can get a standard card and retrieve the money from the savings account – with interest!