This post is part 2 of our 3 part series on credit and your real estate investing business. In part 1, I talked about getting a copy of your credit report, contacting creditors and negotiating a settlement. If you can’t pay the settled amount in full, the next option is to request a payment arrangement. In this post I’m going to discuss in more detail the proper way to set up a payment plan.
Once you contact the creditor and they agree to work with you, request to have your late payments added to the back end of the loan. This means any missed payments would be added to the end of the loan and no late payments would be due. Request to have all late fees and penalties dropped. Generally creditors will drop fees in an effort to make the account current. Now you can make timely payments and immediately put the account in good standing. Notice the comment on timely payments. It’s not just enough to repair your credit. Your goal is to remain in good standing so you can get access to financing when you need it.
You can also request to have your payment extended over a longer period of time, as well as asking for a decrease in your interest rate. This would reduce your monthly payment to a more manageable amount. This would also put your account in good standing and stop the negative reporting on your credit.
Here’s a final point to remember. Always get any agreements in writing before you make a payment. You don’t want the creditor to change the agreement halfway through the transaction. The written agreement will protect your side of the deal.
Keep in mind that your credit didn’t break overnight. It can be fixed, but you need to do the right things and give it time. Part 3 of this series will tell you how to….
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