Negative details can be deleted from credit report – Myth or fact?

Problem:
 
I and my wife were going through a tough time few years back. We were delinquent on several bills. Needless to say, that it hurt our credit score big time. However, we have been able to pay off all our delinquent bills through proper money management in the past few years. We are planning to purchase a house in the near future. The only problem is our credit score. It is still hovering around 578. Will the creditors remove all the negative items from credit report on our request? After all, we have cleared our dues. Thanks for any information. 
 
Solution: 
 
The negative items appear on credit report for minimum 7 years from the date of first default on the account. The creditors are not legally bound to remove the items from the credit report before that time. So, you may have to wait for few years more to get these items removed from your credit report and achieve the much desired prefect credit score. 
 
Glad to hear that you are back on financial track even though the negative items are still appearing on your credit report. Lenders will look at you favorably now that you have cleared all your dues, which in turn may help you to qualify for a mortgage. 
 
Creditors have the power to remove the negative listings from your credit report before the expiration of 7 years. But the experts are of the opinion that they are less likely to do so. The credit bureaus will also be of not much help in this regard. By law, they are required to include the correct details of the consumers on their credit reports. However, there is no harm in trying. You can always request your creditors for the deletion of those delinquencies from the credit report. 
 
As I have already said, negative items (delinquencies, missed payments, late payments, etc.) stay on credit report for 7 years. So, if you have defaulted on your accounts in the year 2007, then it means that those delinquencies will appear on your credit report till 2014. The bottom line is, you'll have to wait for another 3 years to get those items erased from your credit report if your creditors refuse to comply with your request.   
 
But this does not mean that you can do nothing in these 3 years. You can start taking active steps to repair your credit. You can order a free copy of your credit report from the 3 main credit bureaus in the country. Go through your credit report several times and find out whether or not there is any error on it. Dispute the wrong items on your credit report with the bureaus. After all, why should your credit score suffer for the mistake of the bureaus? 
You must make it a point to add positive information on your credit report. You can do so by paying your bills on time, refraining from opening several credit accounts in a short period of time, using credit cards regularly but responsibly, etc. 
Last but not the least, you can get credit repair help from a law abiding credit repair organization. The counselors can suggest you interesting tips to repair your credit. You can also include a brief statement in the Consumer Statements section of your credit report. Although it won't help you boost your credit score, but it may give you a chance to explain your financial difficulties to the mortgage lenders evaluating your credit report.