About Your Credit Report
Your credit report is a document that lenders use to assess your credit risk. It shows your payment history for the last 7 years, the amount of money owed, the types of credit in use, the proportion of balances to credit limits, delinquencies and public records including bankruptcies, judgments, state and federal tax liens, and foreclosures.
There are three national credit bureaus which collect your information from your creditors and public records.
These three credit bureaus are:
TRANS UNION
P.O. Box 4000
Chester, PA 19022
866-887-2673
www.transunion.com
EXPRIAN
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
888-397-3742
www.experian.com
EQUIFAX
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
800-685-1111
www.equifax.com
Each of these companies provides a credit score with your report. Credit scoring is basic statistical risk analysis. The score is based on the data about your credit history and payment patterns. Because the score is based on the information in your credit history it is very important that you review the credit-related information that is being furnished to make sure it is accurate. Most reported information is current within 60 days depending on when your individual creditor reports the information to the credit bureaus. If the information is not correct please discuss this with your loan officer who can assist you with the process to have the information corrected.
It is imperative that during the home buying or refinance process you do nothing which might negatively impact your credit score. You should use as little credit as possible, do not open any new accounts, and do not make any large purchases using credit. Please discuss these matters with your loan officer.
A misconception by most borrowers is if multiple companies pull your credit report it will have a negative impact on your credit scores. All three credit bureaus allow for your credit report to be pulled for the same type of credit application within a 30 day period with out affecting your score. In other words if multiple mortgage companies pull your credit in a 30 day period it will not affect your score.
For more information you can also click on these helpful links:
http://money.howstuffworks.com/credit-report.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html
