The first and foremost is to get your emotions in check. And yes this is one of those things that isn’t always applicable to everyone. But the bottom line is that if you approach this issue with your emotions running high you’ll most likely be doomed before you even start. Credit professionals deal with upset people all the time and end up developing a thick skin. What does that mean, well for emotional preservation they will often “shut down” when someone start yelling. This means you will probably hit a stone wall when trying to adjust your credit or land a loan. Fixing your credit is rarely an over night thing so be patient and realize you may have to talk to a number of people before you get to where you need to go.

Another important point is to monitor your credit on a yearly basis. Most people don’t do this and it’s a real shame. The reason is you maybe paying a bit more than you really have to, as rates and loan options can change slightly with small incursions on your credit report. This could also affect things like over draft protection and even credit you have established like lines of credit.

Lastly, keep organized before your credit becomes a problem. I can almost hear you say “I know that” but there is a difference in knowing something and doing something. For many the idea of creating and sticking to a budget is about as appealing as sticking needles in their eyeballs. But if you really think about it dealing with a little discomfort on a weekly or monthly basis is better than waiting the (up to) seven years that it could take for something to fall off your credit report. And it’s kind of like eating right: at the beginning it’s tough but after a month or two it’s no big deal.

So there you have it, three tips to help dealing with credit issues and/or preventing them. There maybe a little discomfort at the beginning with making some of these changes but in the long run you will be preventing more serious and sometimes permanent (meaning years) of damage to your credit.

The long and the short of it is that yes a few late payments can and usually will have an impact on your credit. What would be the next effect? The answer to that is maybe. It really depends on what the rest of you financial life looks like. If you have lots of assets (one’s the bank likes like: houses, mutual funds, retirement savings, etc) then it will have less of an effect than without.

So if a few late payments will affect me, how will that impact me? One example is an effect to you cost of borrowing. Where someone with no late payments at all, they would probably qualify (depending on the rest of their picture) whereas you may only qualify for the less than perfect credit version where you pay an extra 1% or more. This can translate into thousands of dollars if the loan or whatever is paid back over a longer time. Never mind if the credit you are using is revolving – that could be much more.

Bottom line is that having on time payments is always the way to go and will be cheaper in the long run. Making these types of payments has been referred to as part of financial responsibility. Start today and turn over a new leaf and move yourself into a new situation. Remember some of the money you make is for you!

Renting an apartment is a more personal thing than borrowing. For people that need loans for people with bad credit, it’s pretty straight forward; apply, credit check and the approval/decline. With renting an apartment the human factor creates a grey area that is much wider than the borrowing scenario.

The human factor is greatly magnified by the amount and frequency of exposure to the client after the deal is done. With a loan the loan officer may never have to see that person again, while in the rental apartment case, the landlord will probably have to see the renter regularly for at least one year. This grey area of human emotion is the key factor that needs to be consider.

Many will over look this simple fact that the human factor can have a great affect on this process. Once this is considered it changes everything. This doesn’t mean that everyone will always get what they want but it does mean that more people with benefit from this kind of thinking.

The world of credit and the landscape of apartment hunting does display consistent similar factors that need to be taken into consideration. It really comes back to having the odds work more for you than against you. Maintaining one’s credit is something you can do or you can have a service do for you. Just something to consider.