Free Anual Credit Report

I saw on the news that WI and MN can now get there free credit report and for a few dollars more you can get your credit score. You can watch a new segment on it at wkbt The site to order your credit report is Annual credit report

They said it is very important to review your credit report once a year so you do not have any suprises when it is time to try and get a loan.

Just finished mine – pretty nice I actually got to see the same thing the banks always knew.

just checked out mine. that identity theft thing is pretty scary

Does anyone know if it takes points away from your credit score when you do the free credit check?

No it doesn’t, you can check your credit as many times as you like without affecting your credit score.

Hi all.

Please feel free to fire away questions here to me on this. This is a great opportunity for people to see what is on their report and to have them manage it themselves.

There are myths and there are facts out there when it comes to credit reports and scores.

Here are some basic facts on how to keep your scores up!!!

Q: Will having multiple “pulls” on my credit report lower my score?
A: Possibly!!! If you are doing an occasional shopping for a mortgage or auto loan, to have 4 or 5 pulls on your credit report in a one month period, with no pulling during the previous month or two, it makes no effect. However, if the local auto dealership shops for you and has 10 creditors look at your report in one month, YES, it will lower your score. Why? Because you are appearing to be “in dire straights” to get a loan, and it “appears” you are being denied.

Q: Will pulling my own credit lower my score?
A: Absolutely NOT!!! You can pull your own credit every day if you wish. It will not affect your score.

Q: How long do items on my credit report affect my score?
A: Generally, 7 years, good and bad things are on your credit report. HOWEVER, there are ways to make the good supersede the bad!!!

Examples of what makes your credit bad and how it affects you:

a: Bankruptcy (chap 7 or chap 13) or any “Consumer Credit Counseling” services will drop your scores drastically and effect your chances of purchasing a home for up to 24 months. There are programs out there where exceptions apply for home mortgages; however other factors need to come into play to make it work.

NOTE: Chap 7, Chap 13 and Consumer Credit Counseling services are all treated equally to any creditor/lender and any credit report.

b: Judgments:
Any judgment filed against you will drop your credit score. Whether it is for $100 or for $100,000, it is treated equally to lenders/creditors and credit reports. Generally, any home mortgage loan is going to require all judgments to be paid in full prior to giving you the loan.

c: Tax Liens:
Tax liens (state and federal) will drop your credit score the same as a judgment. The same rules apply for tax liens as it does for judgments.

d: Late payments:
Late payments on a credit report are considered anything over 30 days late. They go in tiers, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, default. At the time of default, is when a credit card company will close an account and send it to collection, an auto loan will repossess, and home mortgage will go into foreclosure proceedings.

e: Collections:
Any collection, whether it is a bad check or default on the above repos or foreclosures will result in negative reporting.

f: Credit Card balances:
Here is the biggest kicker to all people. Credit card balances over 50% of the credit limit will reflect negatively on your score. It reflects that you cannot “manage” your spending. KEEP YOUR BALANCES BELOW 50%!!!!!!

g: Too much credit!!!
YEP!!! Having 5 credit cards with max limits of $10,000 and zero balances makes you a threat!!! Meaning that you can go spend $50,000 in one day and how are you going to pay it back?!?!?!?! One or 2 credit cards with $2,000 credit limits each is more than enough for ANYONE!!!

These are the basics for keeping your credit in good standing. It takes years to get your scores up to the “700s”, but can only take 2 months to bring them down to 500!!!!

Basic info, you need a 560 to purchase a house with zero money down. You won’t get that advertised rate, but it gets you into a home!!!

Last bit of info.
If you find yourself in dire straights and end up with bad credit. DO WHAT IT TAKES to re-establish yourself. If you end up filing bankruptcy, then go and open up a couple of credit cards and get your credit going back on the good again. If you do not re-establish yourself, all that “bad credit info” just sits there with nothing good on your credit report to make the bad seem not so bad!!!
Example of this is that I’ve seen people with less than 2 years from a bankruptcy have 700 scores and I’ve seen people 5 years from a bankruptcy with 520 scores. So, if you get some bad, do your work and put some good back on your credit report!!!

Gary,

What is the point scale? (min, max,etc).

I did not see my score. The only one that seemed to work easily for me was Trans Union. It showed my loans/depts basically. How did you guys get your score? Was it free?

Thanks

350 (which I’ve never seen) to 900 (which I’ve never seen)

If you are at 730 points, I can give you anything your heart desires, even a million dollar house with no income!!!

Generally speaking, it takes a 560 credit score to do 100% home mortgage financing.

If you are at 620 points are higher, you are sitting “good”. With that said, you can get the “advertised” pricing.

I had to pay an extra 5.95 through TransUnion to see me score. I would say it’s worth it though. Great information to have!

the scores they charge you for. $6.95 at equifax

ALL:

NOTE that a single score doesn’t mean a whole lot. You have 3 scores that come into play when reviewing your credit. There is Equifax (Beacon), Transunion (Empirica), and Experian (Fair Isaac Score). I (along with all mortgage companies) look at your middle score to see what programs you qualify for. The swing of these 3 scores can be as commonly large as 50 points. I’ve seen the swing as high as 100 points. So, getting one score doesn’t mean a whole lot.

The reason for the score swing is that not all creditors report to all 3 agencies. Some creditors only report to one and only one reporting agency.

Gary, good point about too many credit cards. At one time I had 4 cards and decided to drop 2 of them. I just cut them up when the new ones came in the mail. Mistake! Be sure to call and cancel these cards so they are off your report.

Holy crap! I sure am glad that you posted this, I just found out that someone has a credit card in my name!