Know Your FICO Score

The FICO scale runs from 300 to 850. Generally, the higher your score, the better loan rates you’ll be offered. Those with a score of 720 or higher will get the most favorable interest rates on a mortgage, according to data from Fair Isaac Corp., a California-based company that developed the first credit score as well as the FICO score. Over 90% of US lenders use FICO for their loan decisions.

According to Fair Isaac, 37.2% of Americans have a FICO score of 700 or higher. It's considered a good score according to Nerdwallet.com. As you get older, your score gets higher, too.  If you want to increase your score here's how, according to Experian. Pay ontime. Do not close old cards. Keep card usage low and don't open up new credit accounts. It all adds up.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

You can request your score from Experian here.  FICO offers a monthly plan to keep a check on your credit here. Whether you need to check your credit regularly or only once a year depends on many things you may have personally experienced. The full FICO report covers all three credit bureaus whereas the free report only covers what Experian has to report.

If you find errors you may dispute them in writing which is why you may need to see what each company has in your file. If you are concerned about identity theft monitoring your credit report is important. 

Remember, FICO offers different kinds of reports to the banks depending on what it is they are offering their customers. Car loans, mortgages, credit cards all have different kinds of reporting and your free report will not differentiate to that level. They can affect loans or approvals for rentals. It's really up to you to educate yourself about credit and your credit worthiness.

Only one Web site is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law — annualcreditreport.com. Other Web sites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached so read the offer through, and understand what it is you are requesting before clicking that link.

Our world operates on credit. What credit is, how it affects your day-to-day life, and how to improve it is up to you to learn about. FICO and AnnualCreditReport.com offer pages of information for you to read through. If you're really stuck and want that mortgage, and need to raise your credit score, we have names of professionals who will work with you to raise that score so your interest rate can be lowered. Just ask and we'll connect you.  

Credit makes the world go around. Take care of your credit score. It affects every thing you do.