Posts Tagged ‘Credit Score’
When it comes to getting a mortgage loan, it is important to understand that lenders consider more than just your income when determining whether or not they will give you the loan you are requesting. While there have always been other factors used when making this determination, the factors that are taken into consideration have grown even more stringent due to the current state of economy. Therefore, it is best for you to have a greater understanding of what lenders are looking for before you apply for a mortgage loan. This way, you will have the best chance of getting the mortgage loan you are after when it comes time to apply.
A Change in the Way of Thinking
Involuntary credit inquiries, or soft inquiries, are credit inquiries made by a third party without consumers’ knowledge or consent. These involuntary credit inquiries do not affect our credit rating or score; however, these involuntary credit inquiries do indeed show up on consumers’ credit reports. An example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be a company pulling a consumer’s credit report to see if he or she qualifies for a promotional offer or to verify that a consumer has a solid enough credit report to be pre-approved for a product or credit line. Another example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be credit inquiries of a consumer that is an existing customer or client. For instance, after the initial credit inquiry that a credit card company makes, any subsequent credit inquiries after the consumer has been retained by the credit card company are recorded on the consumer’s credit report but are not counted against the consumer and factored into his or her credit score. Yet another example of an involuntary credit inquiry would be from a prospective employer and like the other credit inquiries discussed above do not affect our credit score or rating. The bottom line is if a consumer does not apply for credit or give a company permission to obtain a copy of his or her credit report, it is almost definitely an involuntary credit inquiry and will not be viewed as unfavorably.
A consumer credit report is the annual assessment of each person’s credit standing. By knowing what is on your you can get a lot of benefits when you go to get credit based services like loans, credit cards and even rent and phones.
Each year, by law, American citizens are entitled to obtain a free copy of their annual consumer credit report which basically details their credit risk profile. This allows companies who are considering extending some type of credit to the consumer to make an educated decision on the risk of that transaction. The better the credit of the consumer, then the better chance that company has of being paid back by the consumer.
By having a good credit report, a consumer can gain advantages such as cheaper loans and credit cards and avoid the embarrassment of being rejected for things like rental apartments and telephone contracts.
Have you ever been turned down for a loan due to a low credit score?
If so, then you may wish to look at your credit report. This way, you can be sure as to whether or not the information on the credit rating is 100% accurate.
Hector Milla Editor of the “Best Credit Reporting Services” website — http://www.BestCreditReportServices.com — pointed out;
“… To do this all you need to do is order a copy of the report. Once you receive it, you can take the steps to determine whether or not the report is what is supposed to be. And if it is accurate and less than stellar you can at least devise a plan for repairing it…”
Consumer credit reports are often used by businesses to help them decide whether to lend money or provide other types of benefits to a particular consumer. Credit bureaus provide credit report information on consumers to interested parties, to enable them to assess a person’s risk levels or suitability for a loan or other purpose. These consumer credit reports show the status of your credit score including judgments, tax liens, and other credit related information. Your consumer credit report can be accessed very easily, and often at little or no cost. In fact, you are entitled to one free copy a year. Be sure to check your consumer credit report often to ensure that it is accurate.
To purchase a copy of your consumer credit report there are a number of contact details that you can use:
Equifax call: (800) 997-2493
write: Equifax Information Service Center
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
If you are trying to avoid a bad credit rating, one of the most important preventive steps you can take is to request and analyze your credit report. Credit reports summarize your credit history usually for the last seven years and are usually detailed with information about active credit cards you have, mortgages, and any other loans you have outstanding. Depending on the credit information that the credit bureau receives will determine your credit score
There are three large credit bureaus that compile lending information and calculate a score for each individual. The three credit bureau companies are Experian, Expedia and Trans Union. If you want to improve your credit rating or make sure credit score is accurate, it is important that you request a credit report from either one credit bureau or all three of them each year.
All of us have certain things we don’t want others to see. For me, it’s my eighth grade yearbook picture…the video of my karaoke debut…all the junk under my bed…and the personal information in my credit report.
While we can keep most of our private stuff private, your credit report is the one thing some outside parties have permission to access.
When someone requests a copy of your credit report, it’s called a credit inquiry. But exactly who can look at your credit report? And, how do these inquiries affect your credit score?
Here’s looking at you, kid To keep any Joe Schmo from getting their hands on your report, the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) restricts access to your credit information. Generally, only businesses and parties with “permissible purpose” can view your credit report. Examples of permissible purpose include accessing a credit report for a credit application, the underwriting of insurance, in connection with determining eligibility for a license or government benefit, or for a business transaction initiated by a consumer.
If you want to get rid of negative credit you can easily take a few steps to completely turn it around and see a significant improvement in your credit score. Thousands of people face the same problems and assume it takes a credit professional or credit repair service to do it for them. These offline and online credit services don’t come cheap and often people spend their hard-earned money trying to fix negative or bad credit.
First of all you may not know what is actually on your credit report today. You may assume you have bad credit based on your payment history in the past or you haven’t had the courage to get a copy of your credit report even though it’s free. Many resist this because of the fear of what they think they may find. However you may be surprised. There may be entries on your credit report that are totally false and can be easily corrected or there may be entries you can easily change with a little documentation.
Really it’s not that difficult to get these corrections taken care of on your credit report. You can actually take care of it pretty fast and it won’t cost you a dime other than a first class stamp. In actuality you can do a better job than any credit repair clinic because you’re in the position to actually add some positive credit marks to your report if you know how to do it and I’ll explain below.
Okay these are the 3 simple steps to repair your credit history.
1. First get a copy of your free credit report if you don’t already have a CURRENT copy. Everyone is entitled to a free credit report every year according to federal government laws. You can get an absolutely free annual credit report online instantly at the approved Web site: type in ‘annualcreditreport’ and then a dot and then com. You’ll be able to print it out as soon as you provide identification.
You can also call 1-877-322-8228. When you call you’ll get an automated service. Know what phone number you’re going to use as that is a requirement in the process. However it will take about 15 days to get the report. You can also write but instant online or calling is easiest. This free service is sponsored by the three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Now you must know that you won’t get your credit rating or score when you get the report. There is an additional charge to get a score. However if you recently applied for credit and were turned down, call the lender and ask what your score is. You can usually find out that way for free.
Once you have your credit report in hand, sit down and note any negative items or anything that doesn’t seem right to you. You may find a few mistakes, sometimes even with your birth date or other personal information. These are easily corrected. There can be some totally false information such as credit information for someone else with the same name or similar name.
2. Write a dispute letter. It’s easy to write a dispute letter. If you’re not sure how to do this, sit down and pretend you’re writing a letter to a friend. It does not have to be fancy and it can be in your own handwriting if legible or typed out. Don’t make it too hard. Make a list of the bad credit marks or wrong information that you want to dispute. Make sure to keep it as short as possible and don’t add any fluff. Get the facts as you know them. If you have any documentation to include to ‘back you up’ then add this or include copies with your dispute letter.
When the credit bureau gets your letter they will do an investigation and will either verify the item in question and remove or fix it – or they will be unable to verify the negative credit information to remove it.
If they notify you that they are unable to verify any negative credit mark thus not removing it, then you can still dispute it by sending another letter asking how they arrived at their decision. This is called a ‘method of verification’ or sometimes ‘procedural request’. If the dispute is regarding a creditor the credit reporting bureau and the creditor must both provide you with adequate proof of their decision. Otherwise they are required by law to remove the negative credit mark from your credit history.
3. How to get positive credit marks on your credit report. This is simple to do over a period of a few months to start building a positive credit history. Get department store and/or gas credit cards and use them. Pay them off on time. Make note that these usually come with higher interest rates so compare rates first. Pay a little more than you owe and pay a little early. Paying online ensures that your payment arrives and is not lost in the mail.
Keep a bill calendar and write on it when payments are due and another notation on the calendar a few days before so that you make the payment online early. If you wait till the last minute, the Web site may be down for maintenance or their may be other network issues. But in any event make sure to make the payment before it’s due. Try to get an installment type of loan or automobile loan through your bank or credit union.
Be aware that if you try to buy a car or other vehicle that the car dealer will contact several lenders to get the best interest rate and EACH one of these will contribute a mark to your credit report. This can affect your credit score, also called FICO. So try to get a pre-approved loan before you head to an auto dealer. If you can do this over a few months you will build up a recent and good credit history fast. No credit repair service will be able to build up this positive history for you.
For additional help removing or erasing negative credit you can easily get a good credit repair guide that will help you read and dispute the report and will cost pennies as opposed to a credit repair service which can cost you significantly. And a service can’t do it as well as you can or add positive credit marks to your credit history. Sit down now if you already have the credit report right and do a quick letter before you start dwelling on it. You can do it! And YOU can do the best job. The faster you take action the sooner you’ll see a turnaround.
A credit report is a history of your payments, not just a snapshot of where you are at the moment, says Maxine Sweet, vice president of public affairs for Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies.
A credit report is a crucial document that reflects your credit status. A credit report is a summary of your financial reliability for the most part, your history of paying debts and other bills. A credit report is a profile of your financial life that’s compiled by a credit reporting agency or credit bureau. A credit report is used by a lender to help determine whether a person qualifies for a particular credit card, loan, or service.
A credit score is like the numerical version of your credit report. Credit scoring is the process of using a proprietary mathematical algorithm to create a numerical value that describes an applicants overall creditworthiness. Credit score determines credit worthiness and with high credit worthiness borrowing capabilities increase.
Credit scores typically range from about 300 to 850. Scores above 700 are a sign of financial health and can earn you relatively low prime interest rates and favourable lending terms. Scores above 700 generally are considered to be good credit scores and scores above 775 are considered excellent by most lenders.
You can think of a high credit score as a merit badge, if you will. You will be able to obtain more credit much more easily and creditors and lenders will feel much more comfortable loaning you money, as you have obviously been a reliable borrower in the past. While you can obtain a free copy of your credit report each year, you will need to purchase your credit score.
With the adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the annual percentage rate (APR), grace period and other contractual obligations of the credit card or loan.
Reports may contain information on accounts that have been long closed or paid off. A lender may perceive many inquiries over a short period of time on a person’s report as a signal that the person is in financial difficulty and is looking for loans and will possibly consider that person a poor credit risk.
When creditors report an excessive number of late payments, or trouble with collecting payments, the score suffers. Derogatory information can generally remain on your credit report for up to seven years, except for bankruptcy information, which may be reported for 10 years. Note that it is not the credit reporting agencies that decide whether a credit history is adverse, but depends on the individual lender.
What is not in my credit report? Your credit report typically does not contain information about your checking and savings account balances, brokerage accounts, medical history, race, sex, religion, national origin, or your driving record nor in most cases will it contain details of your rental agreement if you live in a tenanted property.
Building or re-building a credit report that has become bad does not have a quick-fix situation. The first step to improving and repairing a credit report is to ask for help. The only thing that can fix a credit report is time and a positive payment history.
A good debt management or credit repair company can show you the correct techniques to bring your finances under control. Once you have rebuilt your reputation your credit score will grow and you will find credit at good terms and interest rates much easier to come by.
The importance of getting your free credit report cannot be overemphasized. In the current economic climate, with such a strong squeeze on credit, everybody’s credit rating is at risk, and even if you think you have a premium credit score, you might be in for an unpleasant shock. People are getting such shocks not only daily, but hourly throughout the USA.
However, before we discuss that, let’s have a look at what a credit report is and what information it gives you. It contains four parts basically: your personal details, your credit history, public records appertaining to your financial stability and finally, inquiries made by third parties as to your credit record. While you might not understand the need for this information, they are carefully examined by potential lenders.
To put it in general terms, your credit report is a record of your credit history and your financial stability. It contains financial details such as mortgages, loans, mail order agreements, credit cards, banking facilities and so on, and includes your repayment history, any late payments, missed payments, defaults and so on. It also includes any details of credit or loan applications you have made, and whether any have been turned down.
If your credit report is bad, you will either not be offered credit or will have to pay a higher interest rate than those with a good credit report. In some cases you will be refused credit. Hence the importance of knowing what your credit record is like. The same is true of your credit score that lenders use to assess your credit-worthiness.
The implications of a bad credit report include you being refused a credit card application, a loan, a mortgage, a car loan and any other form of credit. You could even be refused a mail order agreement or even a car hire. That is not the end of it, because the same could apply to your partner and your children if they reside at the same address as you. When your kids look for a mortgage of their own before being married, or seek a loan for their first car, they could be refused because of your poor credit record.
That is fine if the record is correct, because although it is bad for you, at least it will have been deserved. However, it has been estimated that up to 90% of credit records are inaccurate, and that a large proportion of people are being wrongly refused credit. Not an entire 90%, obviously, but a lot of people are being unfairly refused credit, and that could be you or your kids. You won’t know till you apply.
Why wait till then? Why not just get a credit report now, so that you know where you stand. It makes sense, and since it is free what are you waiting for? Did you know that anybody can see your credit report? In the USA, the Fair credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers, creditors, landlords, insurers and any other business to have access to your credit report for purposes of credit, renting a home, employment or any other reason where your financial situation could be of interest.
These reports are available in the USA from three agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and each has to provide you with a free copy of your credit report annually on request. Once you have a bad record on your report you have to wait 7 years to have it removed.
However, there are companies that help you to check up on your report and have any inaccurate data removed. You could easily have your next credit request refused due to inaccurate or false information. Identity theft or even mistaken identity is no longer uncommon. Nor is it uncommon for office staff to make typing errors and you to have something on your credit record that never occurred.
In today’s economic climate your credit is the one thing you must do all that you can to protect, so make sure you implement your right to a free credit report. There are companies that can get your free report from all three agencies, and then check it with you to make sure that nothing is untoward. With 90% containing inaccurate information, that might be highly likely. If so they can help you to get these false records removed.
It’s your credit, and it affects everybody living in your home. Get it checked out now with a free triple credit report. Also check up on your credit score at the same time.