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Tips On Cleaning Up Credit When Buying A Home In the Washington DC Area

Buying a home is a big decision and probably will be one of the biggest investments made in your lifetime, which is why cleaning up credit reports is essential. When applying for a mortgage, lenders look at your credit score - making cleaning up credit histories so important.

Three national credit bureaus are responsible with tracking all information about your credit score, including the amount of current outstanding debt, the available amount of revolving credit, payment history and other factors. Cleaning up credit reports means making sure all information is correct, and does not imply information should be falsified or misrepresented in any way.

The first part of cleaning up credit reports begins by getting a credit report from each of the three credit bureaus to ensure all three are reporting correct information about your credit score. The three credit bureaus are Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. Mortgage lenders, including banks and credit unions, typically request information from all three credit bureaus, which is why knowing what all three are reporting is important.

Cleaning up credit reports requires first inspecting the information about you, and then continues with contacting each of the three credit bureaus to discuss any negative information that appears. If the information is inaccurate or simply misrepresented, the information typically can be cleared-up with a simple phone call. Keep accurate records of the dates, times and name of the person you spoke with when making these phone calls in case you need it later.

When a representative from the credit bureaus commits to removing negative or wrong information from your credit report, ask for a letter via mail or fax that confirms this agreement. The letter will come in handy if the credit bureau does not remove the information as agreed and you need proof of the inaccurate information for the mortgage lender when buying a home, or if you need to call again to reconfirm the agreement.

For more information on working with credit bureaus to clean up credit reports, or other tips on buying a home, contact Buckman Realtor today. Michelle Buckman specialized in real estate in the Northwest Washington DC area, including the Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Capitol Hill, Trinidad and Palisades communities and working with clients when buying a home in any of these neighborhoods.