FICO is everything. But what is FICO.
If you are seeking a loan, most often the loans officer will do a credit check on you. The most popular credit report comes from FICO, which stands for Fair Isaac & Company, and credit scores are reported by each of the three major credit bureaus: TRW (Experian), Equifax, and Trans Union.
Scores range between 365 and 840, and a score of 680 will put a smile on the face of your loans officer.
Here are some of the things that affect your FICO scores:
Delinquencies, too many accountsd within the last 12 months, short credit history, balances on revolving credit are near the maximum limits, public records (such as tax liens, judgements, or bankruptcies), no recent credit card balances, too many recent credit inquiries, and too few revolving accounts.
As you can see from above, there are many things that affect your credit ranking But on this credit report, your loans officer is not given a breakdown on each area. They just see the final score.
So here are some ways to make sure that your FICO scores stay high.
Firstly, there are the obvious things. Don't keep your credit cards nearly maxed out, but do use them occasionally. Don't fill out credit applications needlessly. Don'tnew revolving accounts needlessly, and make sure every creditor has their payment in their office no later than 29 days past due.
And one final thing. When shopping for a loan, don't let prospective lenders run numerous credit checks on you. Remember, one of the things that brings your FICO score down is "TOO MANY CREDIT CHECKS". This may not seem significant to you, but if your score is down around 640, you cannot afford to lose any unnecessary points.
Getting a loan?…You must know this!
