You may have undergone bankruptcy proceedings to get a fresh start financially. However, you may not be granted this fresh start right away. For one, you may have to make great efforts toward the credit status you once held before your filing date. Read on to discover how to rebuild your credit and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. can help you get there.
What happens to my credit after going bankrupt?
You must understand that your history with bankruptcy may remain on your publicly recorded credit report for a significant amount of time. Specifically, if you underwent a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, this may be disclosed on your report for up to 10 years. And for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, this timeframe may go up to seven years. Either way, your credit score may alarmingly plummet. In turn, lenders may be more hesitant to approve your future loan applications.
What can I do to rebuild my credit after bankruptcy?
You must not sit idly by, waiting for these seven to 10 years to pass so that your bankruptcy proceedings may be lifted from your credit report. Rather, you must take matters into your own hands and proactively rebuild your credit.
This may start with eliminating your fear of requesting a copy of your credit report or checking your credit score. Contrary to popular belief, this does not hurt your credit. Rather, reviewing your credit report may allow you to confirm that the debts discharged in your bankruptcy proceedings are accurately marked as, “included in bankruptcy,” “discharged,” or any similar verbiage. If this is still not corrected in the few months following your bankruptcy proceedings, you may have to submit a letter disputing the error.
Then, you must also review your credit score on a month-to-month basis. This is so you may see whether the actions you are taking to improve your credit score are working, and course-correct from there. Without further ado, below are some actions that may help you to, slowly-but-surely, increase your score:
- You must use no more than 30 percent of each of your available credit lines.
- You must avoid taking on any new debt and thereby using any more credit than you already do.
- You must pay off your statement balance, rather than just the minimum required payment, on time each month.
- You may become an authorized user on the account of an individual whom you trust to have a positive credit score.
- You may apply for a secured credit card, or otherwise a store or gas card.
One of the most important actions you must remember to take is hiring a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney. Our team at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. is looking forward to working with you.
