HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO REBUILD CREDIT?
TIMELINE & TIPS
IT GENERALLY TAKES AT LEAST A YEAR TO REBUILD BAD CREDIT, WHICH IS USUALLY DEFINED AS A CREDIT SCORE BELOW 620. BUT HOW LONG IT TAKES TO REPAIR CREDIT SCORE DAMAGE REALLY DEPENDS ON HOW BAD IT IS AND WHERE YOU EXPECT YOUR SCORE TO BE ONCE FULLY REBUILT. BELOW, WE’LL GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW LONG YOU CAN EXPECT TO WAIT IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS, AS WELL AS WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SPEED THINGS UP.
HERE ARE THE RECOVERY TIMES YOU CAN EXPECT FROM A NEGATIVE MARK:
TYPE OF ACTION MAXIMUM SCORE DAMAGE APPROXIMATE RECOVERY TIME
GETTING NEW CREDIT -11% 3+MONTHS
CLOSING AN ACCOUNT -22% 3+ MONTHS
MAXING OUT A CREDIT CARD -32% 3+ MONTHS
DEFAULTING ON A PAYMENT -50% 18+ MONTHS
DECLARING BANKRUPTCY -90% 7-10 YEARS
FACTORS THAT AFFECT HOW LONG IT TAKES TO REBUILD CREDIT
A WHOLE HOST OF FACTORS CAN IMPACT YOUR CREDIT SCORE’S RECOVERY TIMETABLE. THEY INCLUDE:
YOUR GOALS. HOW SOON YOU’LL FINISH NATURALLY DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU WANT TO FINISH. 640,680,720,OR HIGHER.
YOUR STARTING POINT. THE LOWER YOUR CREDIT SCORE IS, THE FURTHER YOU’LL HAVE TO CLIMB TO REBUILD.
YOUR CREDIT HISTORY. IT WILL TAKE A LOT LONGER TO REBUILD A TRACK RECORD RIDDLED WITH MISTAKES THAN TO OVERCOME A SINGLE MISSTEP MADE WHEN YOU HAVE NEW TO CREDIT.
YOUR FUTURE PERFORMANCE. ADDING POSITIVE INFORMATION TO YOUR CREDIT REPORTS IS THE ONLY WAY TO REBUILD FROM DAMAGED CREDIT.
HOW TO FIX YOUR CREDIT FASTER
STEPS TO SEE IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT.
PINPOINT YOUR PROBLEMS. IN ORDER TO FIX THINGS QUICKLY, YOU NEED TO FIRST KNOW WHAT’S WRONG. COMMUNITY CREDIT REPAIR WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT’S BRINGING YOUR CREDIT SCORE DOWN AND HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE YOU TO FIX IT.
MINIMIZE CREDIT UTILIZATION. YOU SHOULD NEVER BE USING MORE THAN 30% OF YOUR AVAILABLE CREDIT LINE, BUT IF YOU WANT YOUR SCORE TO IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY, YOU’LL HAVE TO LIMIT YOURSELF TO 1-10%.
DISPUTE MISTAKES & NEGATIVE AUTHORIZED USER INFO.
ASK FOR PROOF OF NEGATIVE ITEMS. SOMETIMES, YOU CAN GET NEGATIVE INFORMATION REMOVED ON A TECHNICALITY. FOR EXAMPLE, IF A COLLECTIONS COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE PAPERWORK PROVING YOU OWE THE DEBT, YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DISPUTE A COLLECTIONS ACCOUNT ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT.