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The Do's and Don'ts of Do-it-Yourself Credit Repair

Do-it-Yourself projects tend to give you the greatest satisfaction, but only if you actually get it right. Like many of life’s important projects credit repair is an undertaking that people sometimes consider doing themselves. And just like any other project, you should take an honest look at your resources and your limitations.

First-rate credit repair generally involves a good amount of letter writing to all three of the credit bureaus, collections agencies, and an occasional attorney. It often requires repeated calls to collectors to negotiate past debts. Detailed accounts of every correspondence with all of these entities is required as well as the detailed records of your past 7 to 10 years financially is needed. Finally, you should really have a lot of patience. Credit repair is not an overnight fix and tends to take somewhere between 3 to 12 months depending on your specific situation.

With that said, it is certainly possible to repair your own credit. Obviously the less derogatory information you have on your credit reports, the easier it’s likely to be. So for the DIY in you, here’s a list of some of the Do’s and Don’ts of credit repair.

Do-it-Yourself Credit Repair: Do’s

Know Where to Start – Your credit reports are your financial records for up to the past 10 years. These reports are what lenders see and what dictates your credit score. All three major credit bureaus will give you a free credit report each year.

Seek Advice when Necessary – You wouldn’t blindly do your taxes yourself; credit repair is no different. Look out for self help credit repair forums where people who are just like you have already overcome the same obstacles.

Learn the Laws – There are both Federal and State laws that govern credit repair. The only way to not break them is to know them inside and out. The Fair Credit Reporting Act is certainly a good place to start.

Do-it-Yourself Credit Repair: Don’ts

Blindly Dispute Every Derogatory Account – This will likely only lead to creditors and collectors revisiting your accounts. Dispute inaccurate accounts; pay off the ones that you know are actually yours.

Close Old Accounts – A large portion of your credit score is based on the length of your credit history. Closing unused, but still open accounts will only end up hurting your score.

Become Discouraged – Credit bureaus, creditors and collection agencies will use stall tactics and threats to dishearten you. When this happens, seek advice and keep going.

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