How Your Credit Report Affects You

August Malson I never thought much about my credit before. It wasn't until I
was in the process of buying my first home was my credit really
called into question. When I first spoke with my mortgage lender
was first real wake up call I had. He then proceeded to give me
some useful information about credit that I would like to share
with you.

There are three major different credit reporting agencies. They
are Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union. Each of these agencies
contain seperate reports on your credit history. Important to
note is that these agencies do not share the information they
have between themselves, and your creditor might not send your
information to all three.

Your credit report would contain the following information:
* Name
* Current and Previous Address
* Current and Previous Employer
* Date of Birth
* Any other variations of your personal information (other SSN,
Nicknames, etc.)
* Account Information
* Public Information (Bankruptcy, Judgements, Liens, etc.)

Your credit score is created from information from your credit
report. The more positive information that you have on your
credit report, the higher your score, and the opposite is also
true. The higher your credit score is, then the lower interest
rate loans that you can recieve for purchasing a home, getting
new credit cards,and you get treated like $1,000,000 when you
are at the bank. However, if your credit score isn't that high,
your interest rates will be higher, or you might even be denied
for the loan. Now, I know what you might be thinking, how bad
can a high interest rate be? For instance, a 1 or 2 point
difference in an interest rate can be a difference of $100 or
more per month.

What would cause negative entries on your credit report? A
number of things could cause negative entries, like bankruptcy,
foreclosure, late payments, liens, judgements, etc. Typically
these entries can stay on your credit report for 7 years, but
bankruptcy and foreclosure stay on your credit report for 10 years.
There rumors where a foreclosure or bankruptcy will not be removed
from your credit report. While positive entries on your credit
report are entered when you pay your bills on time.

You can request a free copy of your credit report if you have met
one of the following:
* If you have been denied credit or benefits within the past 60 days
* If you are on public assistance
* If you are unemployed or have been denied employment
* If you believe you are a victim of fraud

Now you understand the basics to your credit. I suggest that
everyone reading this article, request a copy of their credit
report and reveiw the information to make sure that the
information in the credit report is correct. A few sites to
review for credit report information:
* http://www.myfico.com
* http://www.freecreditreport.com

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About the Author

August Malson is a regular contributor