Flat fee MLS - List Idaho - Get Your Credit In Order

Buyer's Guide

Preparing to
Buy

Check Your Credit

Get
Pre-approved

Finding Your Home

After the Offer

Closing

Get Your Credit in Order

Order a free credit report - As you establish credit, you are building a record as a borrower. Your credit report is simply a record of your debt payment history. It shows lenders the amount of credit you are using and how well you pay your debt. It also contains information on bankruptcies and federal income tax liens. A poor credit rating may mean you will be denied a loan or incur higher interest rates. Your lender will review your credit report when making the decision about your creditworthiness.

Your credit history is compiled by a credit reporting agency that provides credit reports to banks or businesses that request your information. The three primary credit reporting agencies are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You can request your free annual credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by contacting the agencies individually. When you request your credit report, you might also consider asking for your credit score. The annual credit report is free, but there is a fee for obtaining your credit score.

Credit Reporting Agencies

Equifax
(800) 685-1111
www.equifax.com
Experian
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com
TransUnion
(800) 888-4213
www.transunion.com

Review your credit report and correct any errors - When you receive your credit report, you should review it thoroughly and take action to correct any errors. Inform creditors and the credit reporting agencies when errors are identified. The credit reporting agency must investigate the items in question unless they consider the dispute to clearly lack merit. Document your actions and follow up until the problem is resolved. Retain your written account of errors or discrepancies in your file. If an investigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, you have the right to add a statement to your credit report file contesting the accuracy or completeness of the disputed information.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions (FACT) Act of 2003, you have the right to require a credit reporting agency to do several things to ensure that your credit rating is as accurate as possible.

A credit reporting agency must:

Provide you with a complete credit report. You can request a free credit report once every twelve months from each of the agencies. You are also entitled to a free credit report anytime you have been denied credit, are a victim of identity theft, receive welfare benefits, or are unemployed but expect to apply for employment in the next 60 days.
Investigate, at your request, erroneous or missing information in your report. The credit bureau must provide you with a written report of the investigation, as well as a revised copy of your credit report if the investigation resulted in changes
Keep your credit report information from anyone other than legitimate users of the credit reporting agency.
Remove detrimental credit information from your file after 7 years. Bankruptcy information can be removed after 7 to 10 years.

Know your credit score - Your credit score is a numerical summary of your credit report. Credit scores range from approximately 300 to 850. Most lenders consider scores above 700 good credit risks, while scores below 620 may indicate credit problems. A low score may cause you to be denied credit. With a slightly higher score you could get credit but at a higher interest rate. If your score is high enough, you may qualify for the best interest rate on a loan or credit account.
It is very important to maintain your credit rating during the loan process.