Credit-Repair-Guy answers:

Depends on you stream of income — amount of down payment etc — but just keep paying you bills on time and in full and work on that down payment!!!

Credit-Repair-Guy answers:

I’m assuming that by saying “negotiate my credit”, you’re talking about Debt Settlement, the process whereby you negotiate with your Creditors for a reduced payment that is considered as payment in full (but with some dowsides as summarized below).

First of all, note that if you pursue Debt Settlement, your score will take a nosedive (if it hasn’t already) and will NOT recover fast.

Do not hire anyone! This can be done on your own! Here are my comments on Debt Settlement based on my experience:

Make absolutely sure you have to go the Debt Settlement route! If there’s ANY way you can borrow from friends or family to get out of this mess I strongly urge you to at least consider it!

If you do have to go the Debt Settlement route, here are some things to consider, especially if you have a boatload of debt and numerous accounts as I did last year:

1) Your Credit Rating will take a hit since settled items are usually reported as “Paid-Settled”. How bad of a hit depends on whether or not the debt in question has “charged-off” yet, but either way it will take a hit.

2) Most Creditors will not negotiate a lump sum settlement until AFTER you are in default, so basically if you want to settle, you have to stop paying before they will even consider settling. This puts you at risk of being sued (see Item 6).

3) Once you default, you will get CONSTANT calls and letters from the Creditor. Once they give up, a Debt Collector will do the same. Be prepared for the onslaught and DO NOT DISCOUNT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TOLL THIS WILL TAKE ON YOU! If you’re like me and are not used to being unable to pay your bills, each call and each letter is like a punch in the stomach, reminding you that you are incompetent and can’t pay your bills!

4) Debt Settlement can be done on your own. I started 2009 with a Debt Settlement company but eventually fired them when I realized I could do it on my own. There are many resources here in Yahoo Answers that can help guide you. Do lots of research! I recommend reading the questions on this topic that CatDad, Dixie Darlin’, and Bdancer222 have answered; based on my experience with Debt Settlement, they are very knowledgeable and know what they’re talking about.

5) Do not hire a Debt Settlement company! It can be done on your own with the same or better results, and you’ll save a lot in fees! Generally, they charge 15% of the total debt you enroll in the program, spread out over 12 or 24 months. The fee itself makes it VERY DIFFICULT to save anything for settlement depending of course on how much debt you enroll and how much you make.

6) Be prepared; you can get sued! There is at least one Credit Card company I know of (Discover) that will likely sue not long after you’re in default. AMEX was very also very aggressive in my case (they’ve sued me on two of the four accounts I had with them).

Bottom line: don’t go this route unless you absolutely have to, but if you do have to go this route, arm yourself with research and knowledge and know that it CAN be done!

Credit-Repair-Guy answers:

#1) Pull all your reports. Not online, request actual physical copies. They usually contain more than what an online report does. This will give you a start on where you need to go with your reports. Also, keep them. Never toss them. They are proof later on if you need them to refer to if you ever get into a legal situation regarding your credit (lawsuit etc).

#2) Dispute. Dispute anything that is not correct including, balance amounts, lates, etc. If you have only one or two lates, I would call your creditor and see if you can get them removed via goodwill gesture, or send a goodwill letter. You can find some great letters on some of the credit boards like creditnet.com and creditboards.com.

#3.) Collections? If you have any collections on your account or anything that should not be there, send a DV (debt validation) to the creditor asking to prove the debt. If they cannot, they have to remove the debt off of your report by law.

#4.) You have rights – check out http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/031224fcra.pdf for more info.

#5.) check out some of the posts on creditnet.com and creditboards.com for assistance.

#6.) If you have no credit, or want a temporary boost – have a family member or really (really, really, really) close friend add you in as an authorized user on their credit cards. Make sure the balances are not high, otherwise this could hurt you more. The higher the available credit, the more your utilization will go down on your report – therefore bumping your score.

#7.) Avoid unnecessary inquiries. Hard pulls can hurt you, so avoid applying for new credit cards until after you buy your home.

This of course is a shortened version of things you can try. Research info on those links I provided you. You can increase your score spending just a short amount of time per week, sending letters to creditors etc. I increased my score over 100 points in less than 6 months. Depending on your situation, this could take shorter or longer time, but at least you have somewhere to start. Good luck!

Credit-Repair-Guy answers:

Pay off all your credit cards

Credit-Repair-Guy answers:

Probably you have some wrong items in your credit report. Use credit repair service to find and remove such bad stuff from your credit – freecreditreport.sinfree.net