Credit Myths
Saturday, January 20, 2007; Page F15
Once you have credit problems, your credit score will not improve for seven years.
When paid, the bad debt will go away.
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If you catch up on your late payments, it won't show up on your credit report.
If you have a good FICO score, one late payment won't hurt it.
You have to pay to fix errors on your credit report.
You will be penalized for checking your credit report.
You should close as many credit cards as possible before applying for a mortgage.
Fact
You can improve your credit score over a shorter period of time. The most recent entries to your credit report carry more weight than old ones.
Bad debts, charge-offs and late payments can stay on your credit report for at least seven years. But you can provide an explanation of your situation in a very limited space on future credit reports.
Your credit report must show that you are caught up, but it will also show that you were late.
A first-time delinquency can drag down your score by at least 100 points. The later the payment, the more the damage.
Nobody needs to pay to fix errors. Contact the credit bureau that created the report and work with the bureau to erase mistakes. But mortgage lenders can pay for a service that could help expedite the process.
