How Important is Your Credit Report & Credit Score
- Signs that you act responsibly when it comes to paying your debts on time.
- Your income and how it corresponds with your debts.
- How much credit you have available to you.
Is it true that the better your credit history, the better interest rate and loan amount you may qualify for?
Absolutely! The consequence of being considered less creditworthy may not keep you from qualifying for an auto loan, but it can be an expensive factor when determining:
- The interest rate of that loan.
- The down payment required.
- The amount you are qualified to borrow.
Save yourself a bundle by checking your credit report first. There's no reason to settle for less of a loan at a higher interest rate, or come up with an exorbitant down payment when you don't have to. Know what's on your credit report. Look for:
- Mistakes - they happen more often than you think and they are easy to dispute and correct.
- Inquiries - may have a negative impact on your credit worthiness. Find out who has been looking at your credit report.
- Collections and Charge-offs - should be paid in full to increase your credit worthiness.
Now that you have the facts, find out what is on your credit report now!
Below you will find a list of credit reporting resources that you can use to get a copy of your credit report.
What is your credit score and how does it affect you?
Getting your Credit Score report can help you:
- Understand your total credit picture.
- Improve your credit with a personalized analysis of your report.
- Learn what factors may influence your credit rating.
- Know your credit standing before applying for credit.
- See how your credit score compares to other US consumers.
About your Credit Score:
Credit scores are based on the information in your credit bureau record. The majority of CreditXpert Credit Scores(TM) are between 400 and 900. Higher scores are better. With a high score, you have a good chance of getting the credit and loan(s) you want. Keep in mind that when lenders consider a loan or credit application, they generally ask for more information because credit scores are not the only factor they use in making decisions. Typically, this includes personal data (such as income and monthly payments) used to determine your ability to pay.
What your Credit Score means:
Currently, your CreditXpert Credit Score(TM) will make it difficult for you to get the best offers, especially for credit cards. Be prepared to pay higher fees and interest rates, as well as make deposits and down payments. Also, you may not be able to get high credit limits and / or high loan amounts. However, if you demonstrate that you are reliable by always paying your bills on time, your credit score can improve significantly within a year.
What this Means to You:
Both negative and positive factors influence your credit score. The most important factors of each are listed below, in order of importance. Remember that these factors vary in how strongly they impact your credit score. For example, if you have a very high credit score, the negative factors in your analysis are likely to have a small impact. The same is true for positive factors if you have a very low credit score.
What factors lower your credit score:
Payment History: You owe $19,500 on accounts for which you have missed a payment.
This only includes your open accounts. This is making your score lower. Missing payments is a negative factor. Some cases are worse than others. However, if you have not missed any payments recently, lenders may think you have become responsible and will no longer miss payments. Also, missing payments on only a few accounts is not as harmful as missing payments on most or all of your accounts, because lenders realize that many people miss a payment (or pay late) once in a while. Also, missing a single payment is not as harmful as missing several consecutive payments because many lenders consider missing 3 or more consecutive payments as an indication that you may never repay them. Finally, it is not as harmful to miss payments on accounts with low balances rather than high ones because lenders stand to lose less money on low balances if they remain unpaid.
Bankruptcies : You have one or more bankruptcies listed in your credit report.
This is making your score lower. Any record of bankruptcy in your credit report is a very negative factor. A bankruptcy is less harmful to your credit score if it occurred many years ago (rather than recently) because lenders may believe that you regained control over your financial responsibilities. In any case, bankruptcies will very significantly impact your ability to obtain new credit, and new loans will likely involve a deposit or high fees and interest rates. Note that bankruptcy records on credit reports usually disappear 7 to 10 years after the filing date of the bankruptcy. When this happens, it will have a positive effect on your credit score.
Length of Credit History: The average age of the account(s) in your credit report is 7 years and 5 months.
This is making your score lower. Having had credit accounts for a long time is a positive factor because your history gives lenders information to evaluate how you typically use credit and repay your debts. Credit reports with approximately 30 years of history are considered optimal. Meanwhile, up to 7 years of credit history is considered short, and less than 3 years of history is considered too little. It is worth noting that your accounts may have been open longer than your report suggests, if lenders were slow to report them to the bureaus. What matters is how long your accounts have been in your report.
What factors raise your credit score:
Credit Accounts: You have 5 accounts listed in your credit report. This is making your score higher. Having accounts is a positive factor because it gives lenders information to evaluate how you pay your bills. However, having too many accounts is usually considered a negative factor because lenders worry that you are spending (or preparing to spend) beyond your means, even if you have not missed payments in the past. Also, if you do not have credit (a negative factor), obtaining your first credit cards may be difficult, and it may involve high fees and interest rates, as well as low credit lines. Note, finance trades (debt consolidation accounts with high interest rates) are considered a negative factor, because they are often associated with troubled credit histories.
Payment History: Last reported month, you did not miss a payment on any revolving account. This only includes accounts updated in the past 3 months. This is making your score higher. Missing payments is a negative factor. Some cases are worse than others. However, if you have not missed any payments recently, lenders may think you have become responsible and will no longer miss payments. Also, missing payments on only a few accounts is not as harmful as missing payments on most or all of your accounts, because lenders realize that many people miss a payment (or pay late) once in a while. Also, missing a single payment is not as harmful as missing several consecutive payments because many lenders consider missing 3 or more consecutive payments as an indication that you may never repay them. Finally, it is not as harmful to miss payments on accounts with low balances rather than high ones because lenders stand to lose less money on low balances if they remain unpaid.
Credit Usage: You are not using any revolving accounts at more than 70% of their credit limit. This only includes your open accounts for which the credit limit / loan amount is available. This is making your score higher. High usage (balances above 50% of the credit line) are usually considered negative, because lenders worry that you may be using more credit than you can reasonably afford to repay. Being "maxed out" on a credit card (when your balance is close to or above the assigned limit) is especially negative. The more accounts in this situation, the more it impacts your score. Note that in some cases, such as very high credit scores, as little as 20% usage may have a negative impact, although minor. On the other hand, low usage is usually considered positive because it provides lenders with information on how you use credit, and because it shows that you do not need to use all of the credit available to you.
Part Three: When low advertised interest rates yield a higher cost of borrowing than traditional bank rates
