EPISODE 06~ SAVE MORE: How To Raise Your Credit Score in Days Through “Rapid Rescoring”
[LISTENER QUESTION] Hi my name is Jamie and I’m about to buy my first home and I’m worried about my credit score. Is there some way to improve my score before I apply for a mortgage? And how long will it take?
JAMIE, I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED THIS QUESTION, BECAUSE YOU’VE GIVEN ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK UP ONE OF MY FAVORITE LITTLE-KNOWN STRATEGIES. IT’S CALLED “RAPID RESCORING” WHERE YOU HIRE PROFESSIONALS TO DO THE HARD WORK FOR YOU. THESE PROFESSIONALS HAVE SPECIAL ACCESS TO THE BIG THREE CREDIT BUREAUS, SO THEY CAN CORRECT ERRORS ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT THAT ARE DRAGGING YOUR SCORE DOWN. AND THEY CAN DO IT FAST, LIKE IN 2 TO 6 DAYS.
RAPID RESCORING IS OFFERED BY WHAT ARE CALLED LOCAL CREDIT BUREAUS, WHO WORK IN COOPERATION WITH THE BIG THREE CREDIT BUREAUS, EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN AND TRANSUNION. IF THERE’S SOMETHING UNFLATTERING ON YOUR REPORT AND IT’S TRUE, THERE’S NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT. BUT IF THERE’S A MISTAKE IN YOUR CREDIT FILE THAT IS UNFAIRLY HURTING YOUR SCORE, THAT, THEY CAN FIX. THESE RAPID RESCORING EXPERTS HAVE ACCESS TO DEDICATED PHONE, FAX AND EMAIL LINES AT THE BIG THREE, SO THEY CAN BYPASS ALL THE BUREAUCRACY THAT CAN MAKE CORRECTING YOUR OWN CREDIT REPORT TIME-CONSUMING.
THE RESULTS CAN BE DRAMATIC. I ONCE PROFILED A MARYLAND WOMAN NAMED VALERIE WHO SAW HER SCORE RISE FROM 598 TO 790 AFTER RESCORING. HER CREDIT REPORTS ERRONEOUSLY STATED THAT SHE HAD FAILED TO PAY OFF HER CAR LOAN. WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IS THAT HER BANK HAD BEEN BOUGHT BY ANOTHER BANK JUST AS SHE MADE HER FINAL PAYMENT AND THE RECORDS WERE LOST IN THE SHUFFLE. RESCORING TO CORRECT THE MISTAKE ALLOWED VALERIE TO QUALIFY FOR A SIX PERCENT INTEREST RATE INSTEAD OF EIGHT PERCENT —THIS WAS A FEW YEARS AGO. AND HERE’S THE AMAZING POWER OF RAPID RESCORING. THAT 2 POINT DIFFERENCE IN INTEREST RATE MEANS THAT, OVER THE LIFE OF THE LOAN, SHE STOOD TO SAVE 72-THOUSAND DOLLARS!
RAPID RESCORING, ALSO CALLED CREDIT RESCORING, IS ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN YOU ARE APPLYING FOR A MORTGAGE, BECAUSE THERE’S A RECOGNITION THAT THAT’S WHEN AN IMPROVED SCORE IS MOST CRITICAL. IF YOUR SCORE NEEDS A BOOST, YOUR MORTGAGE LENDER OR BROKER CAN REQUEST RAPID RESCORING. UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S NOT AVAILABLE DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS. TO HELP THEM FIGHT UNFLATTERING ERRORS ON YOUR REPORT, YOU WILL WANT TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS BY POURING OVER YOUR CREDIT REPORTS, SEARCHING FOR MISTAKES, AND PROVIDING DOCUMENTATION THAT PROVES YOUR CASE.