There is no quick fix to improve your FICO credit score. No matter what a credit repair company might claim, the negative information — including a foreclosure or bankruptcy — on your credit report stays on your report for a set amount of time.
**What to Do**
Avoid two common [credit repair](https://www.moneygeek.com/mortgage/resources/glossary-of-terms/#Creditrepair) scams. The first scam is a promise to wipe negative information from your report prematurely. If your goal is to buy a home after a short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy, taking the longer, disciplined route means staying away from too-good-to-be-true offers.
Second, beware claims you can boost your credit score by linking an unrelated individual's good credit to yours. FICO views the practice of linking to an unrelated person's score — called "piggybacking" — as manipulation. Its latest FICO scoring model eliminates a credit score benefit by piggybacking on someone unrelated to you. Piggybacking services are costly and will ultimately prove to be of little benefit to getting a home loan after bankruptcy or foreclosure, so you're better off avoiding it.