Understanding Your Credit Score Report

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<h1>Understanding Your Credit Score Report</h1><strong> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Matthew Stollinas.aspx'>Matthew Stollinas</a></strong><br /><p>What is a credit score? If you have not ever seen a credit report, it can be hard to understand your own credit score report. Looking at numbers only, scores go from 300 to 850, with 732 being the average nationally. To be eligible for the best rates on loans, lenders usually require a 750 or better rating. When you obtain your scores, you will also see there are a lot of other details about your debts. This report will be broken down into four separate parts: information that identifies you, your credit history, any public data, and inquiries. Identifying info like name, address and SSN number is basic information. Verify this information is correct as it is possible to be assigned a wrong Social Security number or to have your name spelled incorrectly. Included in this report will be your birth date, prior addresses, driver's license number, place of employment, and the name of your husband/wife. Don't fret about this data too much as it is protected, very secure, and confidential. The main area to study in your credit score report is your credit history. Your accounts will be classified into 1 of 5 groups: Real Estate (first mortgage and second mortgage), Installment (automobile payments, regularly paid bills), Revolving (credit cards), Collection (delinquent accounts), and Other. Each account will show the creditor/lender's name, and also the number of the account. It should also show you the day the account was opened, type of account, your amount owed, account status, and whether or not you have maintained payments. If you find something "charged off", that means the creditor tried to collect but gave up. "R1" status shows how well you have made your payments, using a system of 1 to 9. If there are any late payments on your report, you will notice a small box with 30, 60, 90, or 120, showing how many days late you were. You are doing fine, if you have a green OK and a 0. If you find "charged off," "bad debt" or "placed in collections," then your account was taken over by debt collectors due to its being delinquent for at least 120-180 days. Charge-offs and Debt Collections are really damaging, as these bad credit scores stay on your report for seven years. You hope that the public records section is blank, as it is the real killer on your credit score report. There you may find a bankruptcy credit report, judgments from the court, tax liens, divorces, wage garnishment, legal actions, foreclosures, and sundry legal issues that may hurt your credit scores. This area will stay on your report for ten years, and contains the most damaging offenses for your credit score. In some instances, these infractions can deduct 300 points off your healthy credit score. So, be certain that you don't become involved in any legal problems with your finances. The last part of your credit score report has a listing of all third party inquiries into your credit scores. "Hard inquiries" are started by you when you complete a credit or loan application, whereas "soft inquiries" are triggered by companies that want your business or collect a bill from you. Filling out applications for new credit every couple of weeks or having several inquiries in a 14 week period can begin to ruin a good credit score. These inquiries take only 20 points away here and there, so it's no big deal, unless your credit is less than perfect to begin with.</p><strong>About the Author:</strong><br />After contacting <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.familylifecredit.org/index.php?/about_us/">Christian debt counseling experts</a> at Family Life Credit, Matthew Stollinas now enjoys a life free of financial burdens. Matthew recommends <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.familylifecredit.org">non-profit debt counseling</a> to anyone wanting to take a faith based approach to their financial situation. <p> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Understanding-Your-Credit-Score-Report_739.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Understanding Your Credit Score Report_739.aspx</a></p>

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Keywords : Christian financial counselors, Christian financial counseling experts, Christian consumer credit counseling experts, Non-pro,

Category : Finance : Credit