Monday, February 8, 2010

Understanding Credit Scores

These days, credit scores affect everything we do, including rates on mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and even the ability to get a job. That is why it is essential that everyone understands what a credit report is and what factors can affect this report. It is also important to understand your credit score and how a lender actually looks at that score. Once you review your score, and if you don't like what you see, it's easy to call a credit repair company to fix the bad credit items.


A credit report and score is a snapshot of how high of a risk you are to a lender. The most widely used credit score is the FICO, which ranges from 300-850. This system was created by the Fair Issac Corporation and is used by the majority of lenders in determining consumer credit scores. There are also many other credit rating agencies that sell “educational scores”. For example, Experian offers their own PLUS Score and TransUnion sells a Vantage Score, which ranges between 501-990. These scores can sometimes differ from the FICO score by 20 points or more and have completely different ranges, so it is very important that you know kind of score you are actually looking at and to make sure that it is consistent with the score your lender would use to qualify you for a loan. Lenders only use the FICO score, so do not be mislead by your educational score.


If you pull your credit, or have it looked at, and it isn't quite what you feel it should be, a reputible credit repair company can help to correct the inaccurate items on your credit report.

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