How to Build (or Rebuild) Your Credit

by Monica Pineda


​I'd like to explain what made me get involved in this particular field. I spent the first several years of my career only working with friends, family and their referrals. Although many of them wanted to own their own home, they quickly realized that their credit was going to make it next to impossible. At least twice a month I heard "I've spoken with other Realtors and none of them can help me because my credit is horrible. I'm just going to have to rent for the rest of my life."


Hearing these words really upset me. Granted, Realtors are not usually in the business of credit counseling or repair (two terms, by the way, that drive me crazy). But I thought, there has to be something I can do to help these people. They have good, steady income and a down payment. They just need to get their credit to a place where they can get a loan. So, I researched and investigated and talked to dozens of loan officers. I quickly learned that A LOT of what the "credit counselors" preach about "repair" is complete bull. There is no magic wand that can be waived to make everything shiny and new. If it's there, it's probably going to stay there. You can dispute it, but if they can back up the debt, all you did was make it stay on your reports longer than it should have. If you pay it, they won't necessarily remove it. I learned that there are very specific ways to go about rebuilding your credit... and no two files are the same.


With the help of an amazing lender who taught me a few crafty tips and tricks, over the years I have developed some methods that can help even the most hopeless person improve their profile and become eligible for a home loan. It might take weeks, it might take years! Sometimes it's expensive, sometimes it's a matter of filing some paperwork. One thing I can tell you for sure, I am not going to charge an obscene fee or require monthly drafts like some credit companies out there; who then stick your file in a pile and forget about it, or let some automated system hack away at your profile until it's even worse than when you started. If you are willing to follow my instructions to the letter and stick to the program, I will stand by you through the entire process, from start to finish. We will get it done, and you will see results!


I've had clients tell me they feel like it's too much hassle to try to rebuild their credit and they don't want to bother me or waste my time. Honestly, the only way you can do that is by procrastinating. We all get busy and we all get off track.. but if you really want it, you can't just wait for it to fall in to your lap! Some say they didn't want to start working on their credit until they had enough money saved for a down payment. Well guess what folks? This is not a chicken or egg situation. It's not a question of what comes first. It does not matter how much money you have saved... if you are not taking the right steps to build your credit to where it needs to be, no amount of money is going to magically get you qualified for a home loan when you're ready to move. Whether you think so or not, I can promise you... you will never know for sure whether you can do it until you try. So let's get started!!


Actual results from a recent client... first shot was July 23rd, 2015... most recent update October 1st, 2015. A 92 point increase in ten weeks! I would apologize for the poor quality of the pictures, but that just shows you how real they are! The more her score improved, the better she got at screen shots. :-)