In the shadow of the demise of the sub-prime lending market and the downfall of many large financial organizations, having a high credit score is increasingly important. As opposed to previous years where through creative lending programs and over-eager lenders just about anyone to get approved for a mortgage or other loan with little or no down payment, banks and lenders are again becoming more conservative with their money. In short, if your credit score isn't over 720, expect to have to pay a down payment and to only get offered loans with less than prime rates.

Fortunately for those dealing with bad credit, there are things you can do to clean your credit score. By proactively managing their finances and effectively repairing their credit reports, people have been able to successfully increase their credit scores by over 100 points or more in a matter of a few months - an increase that could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a standard mortgage.

More than ever, people are turning to professional credit repair companies for help with disputing and correcting the negative listings in their credit reports. Right now, there are a number of credit repair services that are experts at helping people take advantage of their credit rights.

While it is possible to clean your credit report on your own, people find it is often easier to sign up with a professional credit repair service to perform the work for them. To assist these people, TheTopTens, a website of interactive top ten lists, provides a list of the top ten best credit repair companies.

Based on the rankings at TheTopTens, the number one credit repair company is Lexington Law with numerous visitors reporting receiving excellent results from their credit correction services. Lexington Law is the largest and most experienced credit repair company. According to their site, they helped clients remove over six-hundred thousand negative items from their credit reports last year including late payments, collections, foreclosures, and even bankruptcies.

One visitor to TheTopTens had the following to say about Lexington Law:"Lexington helped me raise my credit score 70 points in 60 days. This gave me the credit I needed to refinance my house to consolidate my debt, buy a new car at a good rate, and have more options to support my growing family. I love these guys"

Companies also ranking well on the list include Sky Blue Credit, DSI Solutions, and Ovation Credit.