The higher your credit score, the better the terms you can get. Review your credit report now to insure the best terms later!
Get a free report! Everyone is entitled to a free copy of their credit report each year and the government endorsed site to obtain the report is www.annualcreditreport.com or you can prequalify with us and we’ll obtain a 3-bureau report and review it with you!
There are 3 major credit bureaus: Transunion, Equifax and Experian and each has a credit report for you and assigns you a credit score.
A credit report is a record of how you use credit and how much of it you have available.
A credit score is a number that represents the statistical probability of you becoming delinquent on loans extended to you. Credit scores are determined by a mathematical model that evaluates information contained in a consumer’s credit report at a specific credit bureau at a specific time. By comparing this information to the patterns in millions of past credit reports, a score is computed. A person’s credit score can change from month to month as balances change, new credit is added or removed and other new information is added to the credit file.
Mortgage companies obtain all 3 credit scores but use the middle of the three scores to determine loan eligibility, interest rates and even the required down payment. By maximizing your credit score, you can qualify for the best possible mortgage at the most competitive rate. Sometimes your current score is artificially depressed by credit report errors or mismanagement and we can identify little things you can do increase your score and get the “true score” you deserve.
A knowledgeable loan officer can suggest obvious things to improve a credit score like paying down balances on credit cards but loan officers are not credit counselors; there are agencies that you can reach out to for credit counseling. The credit reporting agencies that many loan officer’s use do have software that will analyze the credit report and suggest specific actions that will result in an estimated change in the credit score. It is not an exact science but there is some predictability and for most people, they can improve their score by taking specific actions.
Read more about how to improve your profile/score.
There are some credit repair programs and companies out there. Click here to see some of those options.
The three major credit bureaus are:
EXPERIAN
PO BOX 2002
ALLEN, TX 75013
888-397-3742
www.experian.com/reportaccess
TRANSUNION
PO BOX 1000
CHESTER, PA 19022
800-888-4213
transunion.com/myoptions
EQUIFAX
PO BOX 740241
ATLANTA, GA 30374
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com/fcra