Easy ways to improve your credit

Make sure you get a copy of your credit report. You might be surprised to find out what's on there. Dispute any inaccuracies, and this alone sometimes improves your credit score.

Check to make sure there are no social security discrepancies. If you review your credit report you may sometimes find accounts/tradelines that do not belong to you. The discrepancies are common for those with very common names.

If you have the same name as a member of your family, check to make sure none of their accounts are showing up on your report.

Managing the credit limit on credit cards is critical to your score. The agencies recommend never using over 50% of the line limit and pay off the card each month on time.

If you do have credit cards that are maxed out and you have a balance that is at or close to your maximum credit limit an easy way to try and help improve your credit score is to call your credit card company and ask for a credit limit increase. If you are able to get a credit limit increase this will show a better balance to maximum limit ratio and thus will help to improve your credit card. Whatever you do though, do not go out and charge your credit cards up and utilize this credit limit increase.

When correcting errors on your credit report with credit bureaus, be sure to contact all three credit repositories. Correcting with only one credit bureau does not make the erroneous entries disappear on you credit report.

The three credit bureaus are now required by law to issue one free credit report annually to consumers. It is definitely a good idea to take advantage of this and review your credit no less than once a year.

The only site you should use to get your free credit report is the one run by the Federal Government: annualcreditreport.com

Make sure any derogatory items are not reported more than once, or duplicated.

Make sure that the information each of the three credit reporting bureaus has on you is consistent and up to date. Order a copy of your credit report about once a year, and dispute any inaccuracies.

Be diligent in reporting incorrect information to the credit bureaus. They have a certain amount of time to handle your complaint, and if they cannot verify why that line item was derogatory, they will most likely remove it from your report.

An easy way to improve your credit score is to pay your bills on time and pay down your credit card debt. Also get a free credit report and make sure it is accurate. Becoming an authorized used and improve your score. Contact your mortgage broker for more information.

» DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article on 'Easy ways to improve your credit' is a collection of contributions by licensed mortgage professionals and is not the opinion of Broker Outpost LLC. Always consult a licensed professional before applying for a mortgage.