How to Rebuild a Damaged Credit Score

Rebuild your damaged credit score isn't difficult. Simply follow the five steps, you can make it. Andrey_Popov/ShutterStock

There are many avenues that lead to damaged credit. You might have missed a few payments on an important loan. Maybe you have opened too many credit cards. You might have even defaulted on a mortgage or car loan. This may lead you to wonder how to rebuild a damaged Credit Score.

However you got here, your personal credit score is damaged, and it’s likely affecting your life in several negative ways: you might find yourself turned down for loans, getting worse rates for mortgages, and/or being rejected for apartment applications. Fortunately, you don’t have to stay in this situation forever. With the right techniques and the proper commitment, you can rebuild your credit score from the ground up.

Step One: Understand Your Score and Look for Errors

First, you need to understand what affects your credit score, and how those factors manifest in your final number. There are actually a few different types of credit scores, but your FICO score is by far the most common.