Get Free Credit Score – FICO Report

Derick VanNess asked:




Raising your FICO score quickly can be a very important if you are looking to get credit cards, home, auto, or other loans at the best rates. However, if your credit rating isn’t what you want it to be currently, then it’s important to think ahead and understand how your credit rating is determined.

Nobody knows exactly how the formula for determining credit worthiness is put together but there are several major components that will allow you to maximize your credit rating.

Here are 5 tips for raising your FICO score quickly:

1) Pay down credit card balances right away. The single easiest technique to raising your FICO score quickly is to pay your revolving credit accounts down to a maximum of 30% of the credit available is being used. (IE. If you have a $10,000 account, be sure it doesn’t have a balance above $3,000)

2) Pay off any smaller account balances. By paying off smaller credit card balances or other loans that are open but could be easily paid in full you will show your ability to pay for a loan from beginning to end. This will boost your rating immediately and help you get the loans you are applying to receive.

3) Remove negative or inaccurate marks on your credit report. Be sure to get a copy of your credit accounts, and review all of the payment history that is being reported on your various loans and lines of credit. Reports have stated that more than 85% of all people have inaccuracies on their credit report, and removing these negative marks is one of the top keys to raising your FICO score quickly and permanently.

4) Work with a credit specialist who has access to special tools. There are software tools that can simulate a hypothetical changes to your credit report, and these are used by professionals who specialize in credit repairs, loans, etc. With these programs you can estimate what paying off certain accounts, removing negative marks, or simply closing certain accounts will do toward raising your FICO score quickly.

5) Find a reputable ‘Credit Rating Enhancement’ company and use their services. There is no better way to raising your FICO score quickly than to work with someone who is an expert in the field. There are costs associated with such programs, but the money saved in interest rates, fees, and financial options nearly always outweighs the fees. Many times jumps of 100 points or more can be achieved in a very short period in time, so the results can be dramatic.

Working with professionals is usually the best option to raising your FICO score quickly, especially if you are interested in maximizing the advantages of having a high credit rating. Also, understanding these basic tips will put you in a position to ask the proper questions and determine your best course of action for your situation. As always, education is the key, and will make all the difference on how successful you are at raising your credit score quickly and getting the loans and interest rates that you want.

Lance

Terrible C asked:


Someone close to me has a FICO in the 450 range. I dont believe they filed a BK ever, but they are known for not paying bills and having chargeoffs.

I’m trying to get an idea of what it would take to get a score that low, does anyone know? Example how many chargeoffs, deliquent accts, debt to income, etc etc to do this much damage?

Bernard

Abdul R. Aziz asked:




Are you afraid of how a bankruptcy credit score will affect your buying power? No doubt about it, bankruptcy may eliminate debt collectors, the fees and penalty rates assessed against default payments, threats of legal action, and legal actions. However, the consequences of filing bankruptcy are severe. And the smoke and mirrors that come with a bankruptcy credit score is nothing to sneeze at.

Now, I don’t plan to make a mountain out of a molehill. But if you have filed for bankruptcy, you must consider what it will take to rebuild your credit. And on top of that, you must use your credit wisely, and at the same time provide a good explanation for the bankruptcy in your credit file.

To make a long story short, you need to understand how your credit life will work after bankruptcy. Pay close attention as I take a no holes barred approach to how filing bankruptcy can affect your credit.

Listen up…

In a nutshell, bankruptcies will be listed on your credit report in the public records section. This mark remains on a credit report for at least 10 years. Understand this…your bankruptcy credit score will be at least 100 point lower than it was before you filed.

What this means for you is lenders and creditors can increase your interest rates or even decline future credit because of the bankruptcy as a result of your low credit score. But, don’t worry. There are other lenders who will extend credit you regardless of the fact that you’ve filed for bankruptcy. In short these lenders know that you cannot file bankruptcy again for eight years. So the likelihood of you paying them on time is great, and more importantly, they can charge you higher interest rates.

And here’s something else I want to say…the better your credit score before filing bankruptcy, the more your credit score will drop due to the bankruptcy. But, on the other hand, if your credit was bad before filing for bankruptcy, the bankruptcy will not cause your credit score to drop that much.

A good rule of thumb is to prepare a statement that describes valid reasons for seeking bankruptcy protection. Surprisingly enough creditors and other business entities may be willing to do business with individuals who provide valid reasons for their bankruptcy. This statement is not a part of the 100 word written statement that consumers are allowed to add to their credit files. Instead, this is a verbal statement that you should consider making to creditor that will pull your credit report before completing business and credit transactions.

Without a doubt, your bankruptcy credit score will play a large role in lenders decisions to offer you credit. But, take the road less traveled and recognize what you are getting yourself into. After all…you don’t want to apply for credit that will cause you to lose your shirt.

Danielle

Sergio Haros asked:




Apply for a mortgage loan and you’ll soon become familiar with FICO scores. Here’s a primer on the infamous FICO scoring process.

FICO scores are merely a mathematical representation of your credit record. Credit records are simply a recording of your debts and assets. Credit card balances, for instance, are a debt that appears on your credit record, as do late payments, bounced checks and so on. Credit, of course, is a huge consideration in the mortgage loan process.

A “credit score” is a figure that represents an overall valuation of how you handle credit and the risk level associated with giving you more credit, to wit, a mortgage loan. The loan underwriter will review your credit report for items such as payment history on debts, debt balances and types of credit you already have. A summary of this information is represented by a figure known as you “FICO score.”

FICO

You may be surprised to learn that “FICO” doesn’t stand for any credit-related terms. Instead, it stands for Fair, Isaac and Company. This company developed the mathematical formula that produces the much loved or hated FICO scores. The FICO score assigned to you determines whether you love or hate the formula.

FICO scores come in a range of three digit numbers. The lowest FICO score you can get is 350. The highest FICO score is 850, a score for which bankers will bow at your feet. The higher your score, the better your credit situation and the more likely a bank is to provide you with a mortgage loan.

Most people do not have perfect credit. To this end, we find most people have FICO scores ranging from the low 600s to the high 700s. Mortgage applications typically are not rejected because of a few late payments.

If you’re considering purchasing a house, you should always try to pre-qualify for a mortgage loan. Getting a reading of your FICO score should be one of the first steps.

Alicia

Michael Russell asked:




Whether you are trying to get a business or real estate loan, looking to buy equipment for your business, or trying to lease a computer or auto, your credit score or “FICO” is very important. Having a high score will allow you to get loans of all kinds much faster. It will help you to get a lower rate of interest on the loans you want and it will allow you to receive faster service from the lenders you contact. It’s important to keep your credit score high and there are steps you can take to insure that your credit score is as high as possible.

If you are a business owner, you may be using credit card lines of credit to finance your business or real estate deals. If you are doing this or plan to it’s even more important that you pay attention to your credit score.

One way you can keep your credit score high is to pay off all credit card debt on time or, if possible, ahead of time. By never being late with your monthly payment you can raise your credit score by 15 to 20 points. Also make sure all loan payments for personal, mortgage, car, home equity loans are made on time and for the full amount due. Just by being late on one or more loans can cost you as much as 100 points from your credit score.

If you use credit cards, make sure that you don’t have more than four open accounts. Having more than four credit card accounts can reduce your credit score by 10 or more points. The reason for this is that credit card issuers are afraid that people with a large number of cards are more likely to run up more debt than they are able to pay back.

If you are seeking a loan, make sure you do not allow a credit report to be run on you until a competent Loan Officer at the lender assures you that chances are good that you will be approved for the loan and you are certain that you will be going ahead with the loan application from that lender. Having multiple credit reports run on your account can cause your credit score to go down.

If you are planning several large purchases, like a home, car and furniture, stagger your purchases. Getting a larger number of loans in a short time period can negatively affect your credit score by 10 points or more.

Also, look into making deals with private lenders. Such deals may not be recorded in public records and therefore won’t affect you credit score.

So what’s a good credit score? You should aim for a credit score of 750. Once there you should do what you can to keep it there. Remember, it’s always important to pay your creditors on time every month. Don’t borrow more than you need to and make sure you pay your creditors back according to the agreement you have with them.

To sum up, your credit score is important and you need to take action to make sure that you will be able to borrow money when you need it. If you currently have a low credit score don’t be discouraged. Take action. Start doing the things that will cause your credit score to improve. Be consistent and before you know it you will have better credit.

Jon

MSB asked:


I know that applying for a new card will reduce my FICO, and that increasing credit limits (while keeping debt amounts constant) will increase my score – but this would not be the case if requesting the increase in credit limit is treated as a new credit card application?

Eugene

Josh Riverside asked:




In today’s world of technology, people can file for bankruptcy online. The court has a federal database called PACER that can be accessed online by paying a fee.

Many attorneys file cases online. Also, with the increase in usage some courts actually permit attorneys to file cases on behalf of their clients through online electronic access only, but pro se debtors are typically not allowable to file via the PACER system.

There are several attorneys and services online. Most attorneys are eager to find ways to help debtors via email, but clients have to remember that they still need to sign some documents at some point in time. Attorneys do not prefer to offer document preparation services for debtors with online filing options because these put the attorney in an awkward predicament. He or she then becomes liable to the court as if representing the client throughout the entire process. Most attorneys would prefer to meet each client in person, verify their identity, and develop a personal level of comfort and assurance with each new client.

Attorneys may be held responsible by the court if they are found guilty of negligence and documenting misrepresentations. For that reason, few attorneys are enthusiastic to risk personal liability for anyone who is reluctant to present themselves in person.

Attorneys will request a valid photo i.d. and permission to perform a background check. Once the debtor sets up an attorney/client relationship and signs the documents, few debtors are obligatory to be present in court until the meeting of the creditors (11 U.S.C. Sec. 341) in ordinary cases.

There are several services accessible online that can simplify the procedure of filling bankruptcy without an attorney. These bankruptcy sites will guide debtors through the process and help them to organize all the forms online and then print them out to file with the bankruptcy court. There are also paralegal sites that can allow debtors to file their petition online.

Melanie

SanDiegoMortgageGuy asked:

Here is some more information on how the FICO score mdel works and how to maximize your score to be able to get the best credit card, auto loan and mortgage rates. For more information visit my blog at www.sandiegomortgagefinder.com

Sheila