FYI-HOW YOUR CREDIT IS SCORED

Credit scores are a dark science with a degree in calculus needed to compute, right? Well maybe but an understanding of the basic criteria can be very helpful in improving your score. So here we go;

35% Payment History -looking at number of accounts, negative public records delinquencies, past dues, how long since you made a late payment

30% Amounts You Owe -quantity you owe and on what type of accounts i.e. secured or unsecured, %of credit limit owed, amount you still owe versus original loan, # of zero balances

15% Length of Credit History -total amount of time you have on your credit report, time your accounts are open, longer you have a good history the higher your score

10% Type of Credit Used -total number of accounts and type, again secured versus unsecured. A mixture of types yields a higher score

10% New Credit -the proportion of new accounts to total accounts

Review your credit report and search for any errors, you will be surprised at how often they occur. Then send a dispute to both the credit bureau and the company reporting the problem. Include all documentation such as receipts with your dispute. The credit bureau has 30 days to get back to you. If there is inaccurate information on one bureau’s report it is probably on all three so follow up with all of them.

More info at; www.RealtyTimes.com