|  Credit Scores and Credit Reports
Your credit history determines what loans you qualify for and the interest rate you pay. Take control of your credit by fully understanding and checking both your credit report and credit score.
Get Your Credit Report Credit Scoring
What is credit scoring?
What factors influence my credit score?
How does my credit score affect me?
What is a "good" credit score?
How is a credit scoring model developed? Credit Report Definitions
What is an installment account?
What is a revolving account?
What is a public record?
What is an inquiry?
What do the codes on a credit report mean?
Glossary of Credit & Credit Related Terms
Get Your Credit Report
Many financial experts agree that you should check your credit report at least once a month. Creditors generally send updates to the Credit Bureaus once every month. Therefore, your account information should be updated once a month as well. If you are expecting an important change in one or more of your accounts or if you are closely monitoring your credit history, you may want to check your credit report more often. All creditors do not send updates to the bureaus on the same day. The Credit Bureaus are constantly receiving updates. There is no easy way to tell exactly when a creditor will send new information to the bureaus, or when the bureaus will update their databases. However, it is common for the same creditor to update records on the same day of each month. Try to choose the same day each month to check your credit report.
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Credit Scoring What is credit scoring?
Credit scoring, simply put, is a mathematical analysis that uses an equation to turn your credit history into a single number, or score. In general, the score evaluates how many accounts you hold, your repayment histories for certain types of loans or lines of credit, how often you have applied for credit, length of employment and other traits. From there, a numerical score is produced, and this is attached to your credit report.
What factors influence my credit score?
Various factors determine your credit score, including the following: • Payment history
• Outstanding debt
• Length of credit history
• Severity and frequency of derogatory credit information such as bankruptcies, charge-offs, and collections
• The amount of credit used compared to the credit available How does my credit score affect me?
Your credit score is an important indicator of your financial health. Lenders use your credit score to determine: • Whether or not you are a good candidate for a loan
• What type of interest rate you will pay While your credit score is a key determinant of your creditworthiness, lenders also examine the information on your credit report and your loan application. Regularly checking your credit report enables you to: • Have the most up-to-date information in your credit history
• Correct any inaccuracies, to make sure that your credit data is a true picture of your credit record and increasing your chances of receiving credit under the best possible terms What is a "good" credit score?
There are several types of credit scores available. Usually, the higher the score, the better. Each lender decides what credit score range it considers to be a good credit risk or a poor credit risk. For this reason, the lender is the best source to explain what your credit score means in relation to the final credit decision. After all, they determine the standards used to extend credit. The credit score is only one piece of information evaluated by lenders. QUICK TIP! The staff at Housing.com likes the FICO 3-in-1 credit report from MyFICO. It provides you with a complete credit profile - all three credit reports from TransUnion, Experian and Equfax. Includes an explanation of the positive and negative factors affecting your score, plus access to the FICO Score Simulator, which shows you how actions like paying off an existing account or opening new accounts may affect your FICO scores. To learn more about MyFico, click here.
| How is a credit scoring model developed?
A lender creates a credit scoring model by using several criteria: • Selecting a large sampling of customers
• Analyzing the data in their credit reports to determine which factors relate to creditworthiness
• Assigning a rank or priority to each of the factors, based on how accurately it might predict who will repay their loan on time. ^ Back to top
Credit Report Definitions What is an installment account?
Installment Accounts have fixed terms with regular payments. If you've ever had a car loan, student loan, home loan, or personal loan, you know what we're talking about. Let's say your car payment is $300 per month — this means that each month you pay the $300 installment. Facts about Installment Accounts:
• You owe a certain amount of money.
• You have to pay back a set amount of that money each month and this set amount does not change.
• You also have a certain amount of time to pay off the loan What is a revolving account?
Revolving Accounts have open terms and varying payments. This means that your monthly payments will vary depending on the balance of the account. Examples of revolving accounts include all major credit cards and credit cards from department stores. Facts about Revolving Accounts:
• When you open a revolving account, such as a credit card account, you are given a maximum amount that you can charge — a limit.
• It's up to you how much of your limit you will spend.
• The amount that you owe will change each month, depending on how much of your limit you have charged. What is a Public Record?
Not all personal information is private — including "Public Records." All federal, state, and county courts make certain information public. This includes information about legal matters affecting your credit. It works like this: the courts record legal information, make it public, put it on your credit report, and it becomes a "Public Record." The most common types of Public Records include judgments against you in civil actions, state or federal tax liens, or bankruptcies. Public Records stay on your credit report for seven years. If the Public Record is a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, it will stay on your credit report for ten years. If you have a Public Record on your credit report, you can take steps to ensure that you receive credit under the best possible terms. The most important step is to make timely payments on your Public Records. Set a goal for yourself: Aim to have your Public Records paid-in-full by a certain number of months or years. By sticking to your payment plan, you'll prove to potential creditors that you are a creditworthy consumer. What is an inquiry?
An inquiry occurs when another party requests a copy of your credit report. These inquiries can be made by credit-granting organizations, such as banks and retail stores, when you are applying for credit. Other inquiries, from requesters such as insurance companies, potential employers, or rental Housing.com agencies, can be made after you have given the requester your consent. The requester's name will appear on your credit report, allowing you to monitor who looked at your credit history. ^ Back to top
What do the codes on a credit report mean?
The most common of the codes used to describe an accounts condition are as follows: | CURR ACCT | ACCOUNT IS CURRENT IN PAYMENTS AND IN GOOD STANDING | | CUR WAS 30-2 | ACCOUNT IS CURRENT WAS THIRTY DAYS LATE TWICE | | PAID | ACCOUNT HAS BEEN PAID OFF TO A ZERO BALANCE AND IS INACTIVE | | CHARGOFF | UNPAID BALANCE HAS BEEN REPORTED AS LOSS BY CREDIT GRANTOR AND ARE NO LONGER SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT | | COLLECT | ACOUNT IS SERIOUSLY PAST DUE AND ASSIGNED TO COLLECTIONS | | FORECLOS | PROPERTY WAS FORECLOSED | | BKLIQREQ | DEBT FORGIVEN THROUGH CHAPTER 7, 11, OR 13 | | DELINQ 60 | ACCOUNT IS SIXTY DAYS PAST DUE | | INACTIVE | ACCOUNT IS INACTIVE | | CLOSED | ACCOUNT IS CLOSED | On the far right hand side of the report is the consumer payment history for the past 25 months. These codes reflect the monthly status of an account and are displayed for balance reporting loans. Collections and charge-offs are not graded. These codes stand for: | C | Current | | N | Current account/zero balance-no update tape received | | 0 | Current account/zero balance-reported on update tape | | 1 | 30 days past the due date | | 2 | 60 days past the due date | | 3 | 90 days past the due date | | 4 | 120 days past the due date | | 5 | 150 days past the due date | | 6 | 180 days past the due date | | 7 | Bankruptcy Chapter 13 (Petitioned, Discharged, Reaffirmation of Debt Rescinded) | | 8 | Derogatory, e.g. foreclosure proceeding, deed in lieu | | 9 | Bankruptcy Chapter 7, 11, or 12 (Petitioned, Discharged, Reaffirmation of Debt Rescinded) | | G | Collection | | H | Foreclosure | | J | Voluntary Surrender | | K | Repossession | | L | Charge Off | | B | Account Condition changed, payment code not applicable | | – | No payment history reported that month | ^ Back to top
GLOSSARY OF CREDIT AND CREDIT RELATED TERMS Click here to view a glossary of over 140 credit related terms. ^ Back to top | 
