I’m sure that everyone has been offered an opportunity to get that “Free” credit report. Maybe it was a phone solicitation or a mailer, or maybe you saw it on TV. But did you know that all you have to do to check you credit is go directly to www.experian.com or www.transunion.com or www.equifax.com and you can see your credit anytime for FREE? When you look at your own credit you don’t get dinged for it. The thing you have to remember is that you don’t need to see your score. If you want the score it will cost you somewhere around $7 or $8.
The people who want to give you a credit card, or a loan or even insurance will want that score. But, what you need to see is your actual credit history. Look at your credit, is it reflecting the credit cards that you have and you know are open accounts? Is there an account that was closed and paid but showing open? Is there a late payment showing that you did not know about? You will even see the explanations as to why your score may not be where you want it. In other words, you may have too many credit cards with high balances, or too many credit cards open with high limits. You may have a high number of loans open. The point is, you can find out before you apply for a loan if there are going to be any hurdles to jump over!
You can look at your credit once a year free. The site I recommend is www.annualcreditreport.com. You can even set up a monitoring service that will alert you any time ANYONE looks at your credit or makes an entry to your credit. Not a bad idea in today’s world of identity theft. There is a fee for this service, but it is inexpensive in comparison to somebody stealing your identity and your credit.
I was a Finance Manager for fifteen years. I have seen many people come to me for a loan thinking that they had great credit only to find out when I pulled their bureau, that there were problems. These problems prevented them from getting a loan. They were shocked to say the least. Had these people been proactive by reviewing their credit atleast annually, this situation would have been prevented. Personnally, I recommend checking your credit every six months. Especially if you don’t use the credit alert system I mentioned earlier.
In today’s housing market you as a buyer must come prepared. That means getting pre-qualified before you start looking at houses. Therefore, you should be fully aware of your own credit profile before you talk to a loan officer. Be the buyer who is ready, willing and ABLE to purchase the home of your dreams.
If you are looking to purchase a home and have questions contact me at (602) 228-6616 or jclawlor7@gmail.com.
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