How Long Does it Take to Repair Credit?

Posted by: Gene M. | Oct 04,2007


Here’s some good news.  Anyone can repair their credit.  The bad news is that it can take a really long time.  You know how certain banned substances can stay in your body for as much as seven years? (I don’t have any firsthand experience, of course, I just read this somewhere.)  How about chewing gum, that’s a little more wholesome.  Kids on the playground always talk about how gum doesn’t digest for ten years if you swallow it.  I still don’t know if that’s true or not.  

Credit issues are the same way.  Problems can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.  So you cannot expect any overnight fixes.  Even if you start a diligent repair scheme, it’s going to take years for those problems to be wiped clean from your record.  This is an argument for starting to clean up your credit rating as soon as you see there’s a problem  Seven years is a very long time.  You never know if you’re going to want to make a major purchase in that time and that credit rating can put a crimp in your style.  

However, this is only the case if the problems on your credit report are self-generated.  There may be problems on your credit report that have nothing to do with your own past delinquencies.  If this sounds far-fetched, be aware that this happens all the time.  The credit reporting system is not perfect.  There are several credit bureaus working at once and some credit problems can end up on your report that have nothing to do with your past history.  If this is the case, your credit will be cleaned up much more quickly.  But if you are trying to clean up your own credit problems, it’s going to take a while to prove your mettle as a responsible borrower.  

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