What are some simple, realistic ways to build my credit when my score is....ZERO?
598578
Being there a innumerable ways to begin establishing your credit and to buy a house with no credit established, I will offer you a couple ideas for both.\n1.The best way to purchase yourself a house with no established credit is either from an owner financed, lease to buy, or first time buyers program.Many people now are selling their own homes or purchasing homes and selling them as investment realty properties.Look in your local newspaper real estate section and contact owner financed offers,in these cases the owners carry the note and generally only want a down payment, and proof of income.Lease to buy offers you the opportunity to purchase by making lease payments to the owner and then deed the property in your name when the purchase price has been paid,in this case make sure lease payments are credited to the purchase price in the event you come into some money at some point and want to pay the full balance before the lease is up,bare in mind the lease option will have a shorter term.The FHA and VA offer first time buyer programs and many homes qualify, you can only use the first time buyer FHA once, to use this method contact a realty agent and tell them you are a first time buyer and want to go with a FHA qualified property , usually only proof of stable income and job history is needed as the government is trying to bolster the economy and help people buy a home.Department of HUD in your state is a great place to look for value properties that qualify for FHA loans.\n2.Establishing credit is not near as difficult as it once was,you of course must be over 18.Department store cards like Jc Penney, Sears, Dillard's, ect, are the easiest to get,many banks like orchard and household,and capitol one offer low limit starter cards too (visa & mc).Buying a car and making 6 -12 consecutive payments works well too.The best way is credit cards of any type that are unsecured,secured cards don't mean a thing.Be prepared to maybe pay a little higher interest rates or get lower limits to start with but that will immprove as you make payments.Be sure to make payments on time and at least minimum.Try to pay the balance every month, and never let your balance exceed 50% of your limit.You can also get loans at smaller loan companies like beneficial,american general and such if you have a car or something you can use as collateral,and then make your payments.The important thing is get them reporting good stuff about you to the credit bureaus.Remember your just trying to get in the game and as you build your credit history and score better rates and offers will start coming to you in the mail.Of course you must have a job or proof of income and stable history of at least 6 months to a year to do any of these things we've talked about.There are some ways around this but thats a little to creative to condense into a short yahoo answer.Good luck and try a few of these things they will work for you , we have all been there.
402742
I CAN SEE YOUR NEW TO THE CREDIT GAME!  DON'T MISS ANYMORE PAYMENTS! GET A FEW MORE CREDIT ACCOUNTS, BUT DO NOT USE YOUR FULL CREDIT AMOUNT ON ANY OF THEM AND.....   DON'T KEEP A ZERO BALANCE!!!!   SHOWING YOU CAN OWE WITHOUT BEING UP TO YOU LIMIT ALONG WITH PAYING YOUR BILLS ON TIME WILL HELP BUILD YOU CREDIT. THEN YOUR SCORE WILL GROW! ................... AND DON'T TRY GETTING MORE CARDS AND NOT USING THEM THAT WILL ONLY TIE UP CREDIT.  YOU HAVE TO USE CREDIT TO BUILD CREDIT!
336408
This is one of the most common questions on this board.\n\nHow do I build/establish credit?\n\nFirst off you need to be educated about how credit works in the U.S.  Every credit decision a lender makes is driven by FICO credit scores. You can go to www.myfico.com and look in the Credit Education section to learn how FICO credit scores are determined. To build your credit you have to place positive credit items on your file that will report positively for 6-12 months minimum. If you want your credit to be in the Excellent category (FICO score 720+) then your goal should be to have 3-6 revolving accounts(dept. store, gas cards, Visa. etc.) and 1-2 installment loans(car, mortgage) that are reporting positively.\n\nI would start out with a Bank of America or Wells Fargo secured Visa card. Both banks have great programs with low annual fees, low starting amounts ($300.00) and no junk fees. After 12 months of positive on time payments you will graduate to an unsecured status. Then you will probably be approved for other cards such as dept. store and gas cards.\n\nP.S. Stay away from crap like entrustsystems.com. It is a major ripoff and DOES NOT HELP your credit. Also, most "pre paid" debit cards are a rip off for the consumer. Just get a checking account with a VISA debit card. \nGood Luck
339137
Yes - look into FHA loans. For most loans you need a valid credit score which means at least 3 open credit accounts. If you can't get a credit card it is unlikely you have 3 credit accounts.\n\nFHA let's demonstrate credit by using utility bills, car insurance, rent, a monthly deposit to a savings account, etc. \n\nIf you use these forms of "alternative credit" you need to make sure you have a minimum of 12 months of paying on time.\n\nYour score could go as low as 550 for FHA
826921
If you have absolutely no credit. "ZERO" credit scores, I can get you 100% financing using utility, cell phone, cable or other non-reporting bills as alternate credit. 2 year job history is all that's needed and must be an owner occupied home. Hope this helps! www.TheLoanPro.com
473707
you need someone to co-sign for you a small loan at the bank. That will start your credit. As long as you pay it on time every time then you'll have good credit.
1125612
No! The way to build credit is to get the card and buy something and pay it off. Do this for about 6 months with no defaults in your payments. After 6 months call them and ask for a credit increase. Then buy something and pay it off. Do that for another 6 months to a year and ask for another increase. In the first 6 months other creditors will see that you are doing well (especially if you get the 1st credit increase) and they will send you their cards. No matter what you will pay interest with any card!
1003685
There is no way  around the bad credit.   Sounds like you will have to establish  the credit again.   Good luck though.
1066343
Pay your bills on time, and you'll be on your way.\n\nIf you have no credit to start with, you need to actually have a credit card or other loan and pay it back to prove that you are willing to pay and able to pay.  Also, time will help.
224348
That zero balance is a good thing its called a PIF (paid in full) it says that you have made a payment on an account and will actually help to increase your credit score (depending on the type of account)\n\nhope that helps
814475
I can save you the money by giving my answers to his questions:\n\n    * A dirty little trick that credit card companies use to lower your credit score to keep their competitors away from you; learn if you're a victim of this, including how to fix it.\n\nThis trick is cards like CapitalOne don't report your credit limit, only your high balance.  This can make your utilization appear higher.  To see if you are a victim of this look at your credit report and verify that the reported credit limits match your actual credit limits.  Fix it by either getting rid of those cards or disputing the information with the credit bureau.\n\n    * Which errors on a credit report are a waste of time to fix and which are a high priority (helping you to raise your score by 5, 10, 15, 20 points at a time).\n\nBad advice, if you see an error go ahead and get it fixed.  The low priority items are inquiries greater than 6 months ago and pretty much any incorrect but positive item.  Negative items are obvious, late pays, etc.\n\n    * How to build credit (if you have none) and rebuild credit if you've gone through a divorce, bankruptcy, or other major delinquency.\n\nSmall secured bank loan, secured credit card, small car loan.  Make sure they report.  \n\n    * Why you should NOT become a cash-only citizen; at the same time, learn how to keep credit active without putting yourself into debt.\n\nCredit is handy, no reason no to keep some credit cards around, no need to do more than place an occassional charge on them to keep them active.  No need to ever pay interest.\n\n    * How paying collections can HURT your credit score.\n\nIt re-ages your account.\n\n    * How to prepare for a loan by improving your credit score.\n\nReduce utilization (either increase limits or pay down cards), age off inquiries (more than 6 months and they don't matter).  Dispute off negative items.\n\n    * How to maintain a high credit score for the rest of your life!\n\nPay your bills.
615251
Debit cards only build credit with YOUR bank. If you want to build real credit get a credit card with no annual fees and freeze it in a bucket of water in your freezer. That way you don;t get in debt but at least you are building credit with time. :-)
839892
Having anything in your name will help.  Cell phone, car payment, car gas card, but if you really want to build credit you need to get a credit card.  Go to your bank and ask about a "student visa" card.  Those usualy only have a $500 limit, so you can't really get into to much trouble with it.  And then just put like $50 a month on it and always pay it off.  That is how I started, and I have great credit!
298349
Pay on time.   That is the first and most important thing to do.\n\nObtain copies of your credit report from the 3 major reporting agencies. (Trans Union, Equifax and Experian. )  Review the reports, look for any descrepencies and mistakes.\n\nReport any inaccuracies to the agencies in writing. \n\nIf there are items on your report that you do not recognize or that you wish to dispute. You may do so in writing to the agencies. \n\nWhen I wanted to make my first home purchase, I paid off the balances I had on credit cards and isntallment loans. \n\nIn 3 months, I was able to improve my score by 120 points... .by doing these things.
30136
i am in the same boat as you. far as i can tell right now you have to go and pay all the bills that got you bad credit and then go and like finance something or get a contract cell phone or get a small loan. something to build the credit back up. but that is all i can figure right now.
946831
If you have a bank account, you may consider asking your bank for a credit card.  They may require that it be secured, which means you would have say $500 in an account that you couldn't touch, and you would be borrowing against that money and paying it back.  Then use it for gas and groceries and pay it back every month.  After a while (six months or so) you can apply for a real credit card, they will see you can pay, and will probably say yes and offer you a higher credit limit. As long as you use the cards, but don't really appear to need the cards, they keep raising your limits. For credit scores to be good once you get your cards, you don't want to have the cards charged up above 30% of the total value.  Stay away from Capital One, they do more injury than good to people's credit scores.\n\nYou can also try jewelry stores and electronic stores if they have anything you want to buy.\n\nThere are other ways too, but they take some major explaining. So if you are curious, email me and I'll respond.  Part of how you better your credit has to do with why you want it improved. What is your goal and why?
1091178
join your LOCAL credit union.  these places are basically just like banks, but typically have better rates and help you build credit.  one thing you can do is to open a savings account at the credit union, then borrow from yourself (they kind of freeze the money in your account while you "pay it back").  i know it sounds funny, but this is a great way to build credit.  either way, join a credit union and see what they can do for you - credit is their specialty.