What Is A Fico Score?
|
A credit score is most commonly known as a FICO score. FICO stands for Fair Isaacs Corporation. It's a company that developed the credit scoring software used to evaluate your credit worthiness.
Most lenders use the FICO score to determine whether they should extend to you a mortgage, car loan, credit cards and any other type of credit. The higher your score, the more credit worthy you are. Lenders will know that more than likely, you pay your bills on time. The lower your score, the more risk the lender takes on, guessing that you might not pay the loan on time.
The FICO score ranges from 300 to 850. More than likely, you'll end up paying a larger monthly payment on your mortgage if your score is below 650. Your credit score, according to MyFico.com, is determined by:
If you don't have any credit, your credit score can be lower than someone who has had a credit history for several years. When you personally check your credit often, this will not affect your credit score. When existing creditors review your credit, these inquiries are not counted in your score.
Since payment history is 35% of your score, you want to make sure you don't have a history of late payments on your credit report. The longer your credit history, the better. Having too many new credit accounts open can affect your score negatively.
The bottom line is that a higher FICO score means you are more credit worthy to potential lenders. The lower your score, the greater a risk you are to lenders and therefore, your monthly payments might be higher.
Michelle Roebuck provides mortgage and home buying advice for people with bad credit at http://www.find-bad-credit-mortgage-loans.com.Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.find-bad-credit-mortgage-loans.com/newsletter.html.
|
|
|
Good Credit Is King, When Qualifying For Mortgage Programs
If you want to purchase a new home or refinance your current mortgage, be sure to check out the wide array of loan programs available. If you have less than excellent or even poor credit, you can still ...(related: Credit)
Credit Card Companies Are Out For Your Money
You're probably thinking "Tell me something I don't know" but in this time of low interest rates you might be thinking that you've got a great deal since credit card interest rates are low. Wrong. Credit card companies have a cutoff as to how low their interest rates will go.So when interest rates are low for lending, that doesn't mean your credit card rate will be low as well. If you don't know, or aren't sure, if your credit card company has a minimum interest rate just look ...(related: Credit)
Identity Theft Exploding: Here?s How You Can Avoid Becoming A Victim
Americans are more concerned about identity theft than unemployment or corporate fraud, according to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Star Systems.Nine out of ten Americans demand new federal legislation, while two-thirds say the financial services industry needs to do a better job of verifying the identity of customers who open bank accounts ...(related: Credit)
Minimize Your Risk For Identity Theft
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the number of identity theft incidents reached 9.9 million in 2003. These crimes are estimated to have taken the average victim $500 and 30 hours to resolve.From stolen credit cards to total identity kidnapping, these ugly and prevalent crimes are hard to prevent and often difficult to correct. Although it is hard to truly avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, th...(related: Credit)
Watch Out For Credit Repairs
It is very easy to find a site that is neat, professional-looking, and one that offers a free three-agency credit report and free credit report without a credit card.This scam is too good to be true. Usually the only catch is an upfront charge...(related: Credit)
Credit Report And Correction Techniques
The three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and Trans Union are similar and feature a "Credit Score", which is created from credit report data submitted to them about you. Their report includes where you live, your bill-paying habits, and bankruptcy and arrest information. The information compiled by them is used to determine whether you would be a good borrower. It may also be used by a business to decide whether you would be a good employee.Credit report repair involves techniques for removing negative credit records from your credit repor...(related: Credit)
How Credit Scoring Works
The all important credit score! It determines the amount of loan you can get, it determines the interest rate at which you are charged for a loan, etc. Your credit score plays an important figure in your financial life. So what goes into making that all important score of yours? How does it increase, how does it decrease and what are the factors that go into its calculation?Your credit score is a number that reflects on the likelihood at which you will pay back a loan. Scores range from 350 (high risk) to 950 (low risk). Credit scores do not take into consideration your ...(related: Credit)
Fun With Credit Cards
For those of us who know how to use them properly, credit cards can actually be quite fun and lucrative. To those who do not know how to use them properly, I would say that you should stop reading this column right about now, or at least I would advise you not to try any of this stuff at home. What I'm about to describe is not one of those illegal credit card schemes. Instead, I'm talking about taking full advantage of the benefits and offers that credit card companies and store...(related: Credit)
Choosing The Best Credit Card To Apply For
Always shop around to get the best deal when choosing which credit card to apply for. If you don't do your due diligence you could end up with a card that has too high of an interest rate, that has an unnecessarily high annual membership fee, etc. Here are some things to look for when checking out the different credit card offers you may receive in the mail.1. Credit Card Terms:When using a credit card you are in effect borrowing money from the credit card company. The terms and conditions of credit that you agree to when you apply for the credit card will affect your overall cost. Compare terms and fees before you apply.2. Annual Percentage Rate:The APR is the yearly rate that is charged for money borrowed on the card. It must be shown on the application and on b...(related: Credit)
Choosing A New Credit Card
1. Choosing A new credit cardThere are many reasons for choosing a new credit card.It may be your first card or you may wish to reduce the amount of interest you're paying each month or if you're lucky enough to pay off your balance each month you may wish to take advantage of one of the many reward schemes around.To help you choose we have compiled a set of questions and answers. One thing to consider is that you need more than one new card. For example if you have an outstanding balanceand use still make purchases you should consider switching to a balance transfer card for the outstanding balance and a seperate card for the ongoing purchases. This is provided you pay off the ongoing purchases of course.2....(related: Credit)
A Debt Mentality
While working through my own debt situation, and helping others resolve their life issues regarding debt and credit, it never ceases to amaze me how similar the life stories are and how profound is the effect of debt on the way a person thinks about life...(related: Credit)
Credit Cards - Why Prepay?
With prepaid credit cards, you get the practicality of plastic while choosing exactly how much debt to charge. By taking charge of your personal financing, you determine your own limits, to the penny, and change them any time you need t...(related: Credit)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved | Free Articles and Information | Credit