know your credit score
article Barbara K
ExcerptThe following is an excerpt from the book Investing in your Nestby Barbara KavovitPublished by Rodale June 2006; .95US/.95CAN, 1-59486-151-XCopyright © 2006 Barbara Kavovit
Know your credit score
The most important part of qualifying for a mortgage is not much of a deposit you can do to improve your credit score. The better your credit, you can easily get a mortgage, even without a bank account or paid work. The first and most important action you should take is to get your credit report from all three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You must get all three reports, as companies and utilities that credit is given to all three bureaus report. The result is that each consumer has three credit reports with three different sets of information. You can see free reports at least once a year. If you find an error and the report (see details below), you can get a revised report for free.
Your credit score is based on the information contained in your credit report. In simple terms, the score indicates how likely it is that you pay a loan in full and on time. According to Steven Burman, president of credit lawyers and credit counseling, which reflects your credit history, amount of debt they currently provide (called debt), the amount of debt that are authorized to carry out future (add credit limits on your credit card for the answer), how long is your credit history is as timely payment of invoices. The higher the number, the better your credit, a minimum of 300 and a perfect score of 850. Do everything possible to improve your score – which is even more important than saving money, in my opinion! Why? Because the higher your score, the better the interest rate you will get. If you have a very high score, you may even be able to buy a house without a down payment. Improve your credit RatingSteve says you have to take personal responsibility for your credit card, and I agree. The first time that many people see their credit reports when they are about to buy a house or a car. Because it can take about 3 months (and sometimes much more) in exchange for a credit score if the score is bad or weak at this point may be too late to remedy. You might miss this fabulous apartment! Do not let that happen – start changing your qualifying today. Here are six proven ways to improve your score:
1. Review and correct your credit history Thirty-five percent of your score comes from your credit history, according to Steve. Unfortunately, 70 percent of credit reports contain errors – errors that can negatively affect your score! The errors range from misspelled names, incorrect addresses or reports of workplaces, to confuse accounts of people with the same name, the inclusion of outdated information. You can and should report errors for each of the credit bureaus because they do not share information. You can file disputes by phone or by mail, but you may find it more convenient to dispute errors online. Once the credit bureaus receive a dispute, they have 30 days to investigate. If they can not verify the information contained in that time, delete or correct the defect. Once you dispute the information, that depends on them to prove it. If your payment was late once or twice and the creditor has notified the credit bureau, you can ask the seller or the credit card company to issue a letter of correction. For example, many traders prefer to keep your company by issuing a correction to lose by not. Always followed by corrections promised by its dual view credit report. If some of the accounts on your report are old and closed, tell the credit bureau that do not recognize. They explore, discover it’s not a client, and remove them. The best thing is that your credit report only represents the asset. Although some of the accounts are closed, dozens of them can assume that lenders are not stable credit risk.
2. Pay balances high amounts owed on revolving credit accounts are responsible for 30 percent of your score. Steve said that the fastest way to improve your credit score is to pay off the balances. After advising a client to use all your available cash to pay off credit cards, the customer’s credit score increased 100 points. Carry revolving credit accounts for less than 30 percent of the available limit. For example, if the limit of your credit card is 000, balance in, 000. High balances affecting credit ratings. In addition, credit card debt is expensive to transport. Some credit cards up to 24 percent interest on unpaid balances. Jeans and leather jacket worth? Pay your credit cards! You can also negotiate with your credit card company to reduce or eliminate interest charges, and even reduce what you owe. 3. Have your credit history is good to have some type of activity and account history. “Many people think that closing your credit accounts will look better, but it depends on him,” says Steve. “Look at the accounts that are closing and keep the oldest. Length of credit history has a 15 percent overall score.” 4. Think for a new loan to open a credit card account, the creditor is investigating some of the credit bureaus to evaluate your record. The number of recently opened accounts and credit inquiries account for 10 percent of your score. (Note that checking your credit report is not considered an investigation, however.) “If you start applying for loans in a car dealership or a bank and everyone did a survey, a negative,” Steve says. When a store sends a sales pitch saying it is pre-approved for credit, resist the temptation to fill the application form. A credit card is all you need. In any case, closing an account does not automatically disappear from your credit report. You should ask to remove it. Better yet … 5. Pay cash with debit cards and cash are good ways to control your debt (and thus maintain a high credit rating). 6. Pay all your bills on time, late payments can have a negative impact on your score. For example, you can increase your score up by 20 points just by paying your bills on time for a month! For more information about improving your credit score, visit the Federal Trade Commission Credit Repair http:// www.ftc.gov / bcp / coating / pubs / credit / repair.htm. To dispute information in a credit report, here’s how to contact credit bureaus:
information services, Equifax, PO Box 740241 Department LLCDisclosure Atlanta, GA 30374 800-685-1111 www.equifax . com
TransUnion> Box LLCPO 1000Chester, PA 19022800 – www.transunion 888-4213. com
Annual Credit Request Box 105281 Atlanta 30348-5281877-322-8228 ServicePO www.annualcreditreport.com
Annualcreditreport.com is the official website that allows consumers to obtain free credit reports they are entitled each year, as required by law
From:. Invest in your nest: Add style, comfort and value to your home by Barbara Kavovit © 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available where books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at http://www.rodalestore.com.
About the Author
Barbara K is CEO of Barbara K!, a lifestyle brand that offers complete solutions for women through innovative products to improve / repair of cars and home. NextPage also ->