So to summarize, you can increase and keep your scores high by:

-Paying your bills on time

-Keeping balances low on credit cards.

-Paying off debt rather than moving it between credit cards.

-Applying for credit accounts ONLY when you need them.

-Checking your credit report regularly for accuracy.

-Get current and stay current on all accounts. The longer you pay your bills on time, the stronger your score will become.

Contact your mortgage expert for other ways you can improve your score that are specific to your current credit profile.

If you don't currently have one working for you, call 1-800-999-2489 x7972 and ask for Michael R. Byrne.

To increase your credit score it is important to pay your bills on time and decrease your credit balances. Contact a mortgage broker for further advice to help you improve your credit.

The best way to improve your credit score is to review your credit report with a mortgage professional, and follow their instructions.

If you have limited credit lines open, you may want to consider having a family member or friend add you as an authorized user to one of their cards. Although it will show that you are an authorized user, the entire credit history for this account will appear on your credit report. So, for example, if your mom has had a Visa card for over a period of years and adds you as an authorized user, that account will now appear on your credit report with its entire history. Of course, you want to make sure that it is a clean credit history before doing this! And if your family member or friend has concerns they can always add you to the account without actually issuing you a card to use.

Not honoring the contracts you signed with mobile phone companies can also ruin your credit. Many wireless companies offer free cellular phones if you agree to use their services for a certain number of years. If you terminate subscription to their services, these wireless companies may attempt to collect on the cost of the phones and if fail, will report to the credit bureaus.

If you have a unpaid collection on your credit report that has been several years old, be careful if you plan on to pay that off. Once that is paid, that item gets updated and then moves to the top of your report. Newer derogatory items count more negatively toward your score than older items.

You can increase your credit score by disputing errors found in your report. You will need to dispute errors with each bureau separately. If you can provide proof of errors in your credit report while applying for a mortgage ask your loan officer to do a rapid rescore. This can help raise your score in as little as 3 days.

30, 60, and 90 day late payments hurt your score more than anything else. A 30 day late payment occurs as soon as the payment is late, not 30 days after it is late. Creditors will not always report late payments immediately, if you make the payment soon after the due date. However, you can't depend on this. The best thing you can do is make all of your payments early, just to be sure they are paid on time.

If you cannot afford to pay your crdit card balances down to 30% or less, you may request that your creditor increase your limit. This will accomplish the same thing, although you can't rely on the creditor's willingness to cooperate. Do not try this if you have a habit of paying for things with the card. You don't want to get yourself into more trouble.

To increase your credit score you can also limit the number of credit inquiries that you have against you by limiting the amount of new credit applications you complete (stop applying for the credit cards that offer a free gift giveaway when you apply). You can also make sure that you don't close old accounts because the length of your credit history plays an important role in credit scoring. A long established credit history is much better than a short patchy credit history.

Avoid taking on consumer installment credit accounts. These are the type of accounts offerred by retail furniture, appliance, etc. type stores. Many offer "90 days same as cash" or "no interest for one year" to sound attractive. Having these type of accounts will have a negative effect on your credit score.

Another good way to increase your score is to take out a secured credit card. The credit card will show the creditors that you have more available credit to you. The longer the card is open, the better that it reflects on your credit as well. Also, since it is already secured with your money, you will not be able to get yourself into any sort of spending trouble or bad habits.

Also make sure that you do not let past due accounts get turned over to collection. Not only will you lose a good tradeline account you will also impact your credit score negatively when the collection reports on your credit report.

To determine how to most effectively increase your FICO credit score, certain mortgage companies may utilize computer software which can simulate what certain changes to your credit report, for example paying down balances or closing certain accounts, may have one your credit score.