It can take years to build up a good credit profile, but a few missed payments could destroy all that positive information. If you work at the most important areas of the FICO score formula, it might be possible to return to a good credit score within six months. Some people might improve their score instantly.
Fixing Credit Fast
Reviewing your credit report for errors is the the fastest way to improve your credit score. Eighty percent of reports contain some kind of false information. If you dispute an item and the credit bureaus uphold your claim, your score will improve immediately. How much improvement you see from correcting an error depends on its seriousness. Removing a collections account that belongs to someone else could raise your score up by 100 points or more, but removing an unauthorized inquiry will have almost no impact on your score.
For Everyone Else
If you have no errors on your report, you can still improve your credit score in six months. In this short period, you can only alleviate minor items dragging down your score, such as a few late payments or the existence of too much debt. Serious problems, such as bankruptcy or foreclosure, take much longer before you can become creditworthy again.
Considerations
Several factors in the FICO score formula are dependent on time, such as the average length of credit history and the length of time since the last negative item, and they usually cannot be altered in six months. If you already have minimal debt and a good payment history, you probably have excellent credit, so not much improvement can be achieved.
Tips
Generally, you can influence your credit score most by paying your bills on time during the next six months, paying down as much of your debt as possible and waiting to make any large purchases on credit. Strive to use less than 10 percent of your credit line, although less than 35 percent is still acceptable. You can ask your credit card issuer for a limit increase to lower your debt-to-credit ratio without having to pay down any debt. If you have any dormant accounts, consider making a small purchase with them rather canceling the card.
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