How to Tell What Your Credit Score Is
From House to Home October, 2008 Keep your Credit in Mind Credit plays an important role in mortgage lending, yet many of us know very little about how our score is established. For example, did you know that most people's largest account (their mortgage) never gets reported on the credit bureau? With that being said, it doesn't mean that missing a mortgage payment will go undetected because many mortgage lenders will contact your previous lending institution to obtain a "mortgage rating" on you. Here are a few other items you may not have known about how to get, and keep, good credit: * When building credit, most lenders look for at least two tradelines, which have been active for at least two years. Tradelines refer to items such as credit cards, car or personal loans. Without some active credit accounts, you may not have bad credit, but you may not have any credit at all which can be even more challenging. * Closing old accounts may have a negative impact on your credit because it makes your credit history shorter. * If you decide to co-sign for a loan and the borrower falls behind on payments, not only does this bring the primary borrowers score down, but it will show up on your credit report as well. (This is something to keep in mind in the case of a divorse!) * Missed payments are serious business! Allowing an account to fall even 30-days past due can have a significant impact on your score. Even if paid, it can remain on your credit file for up to six years. * Collections, even if paid or settled, can have a negative impact on your score for up to six years after the date of default. * Bankruptcies show on your credit file for 6-7 years after the discharge. * People often worry about having too many inquiries on their credit history, but if you are rate shopping for one loan and all your inquiries are within a short time period, it can often be distinguished from credit seekers who have on-going inquires. Basically, a credit score is a numeric "snapshot" of your credit risk at a particular point in time, which is not always forgiving. The longer your clean credit history is, the higher your score will be, thus indicating to lenders that you are a better credit risk. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how to build and maintain good credit, I'm only an e-mail or phone call away.
Here to help...
Sincerely,
Stephanie Ostash
The Mortgage Centre Express
Mortgage Services
PH 250.861.4222
CE 250.801.6467
FX 250.861.4322