FICO - Your Credit Score
Since we live in an computer-driven society, it's not surprising that your ability to repay your mortgage loan boils down to a single number.
Credit reporting agencies use your history of paying loans in order to create this score.
All three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) use a slightly different system to arrive at a score. The original FICO model was developed by Fair Isaac and Company.
Experian uses this model and calls its score FICO. Equifax's model, based on FICO, is called BEACON, while TransUnion, which also uses a slightly modified FICO, calls its score EMPIRICA. While these methods vary, all of the agencies use the following to determine your credit score:
- Your Credit History - How long have you had credit?
- Late Payments - Do you have a history of late payments?
- Balances on your Credit Cards - How many accounts? How much do you owe on your accounts?
- Requests for Credit - How many times have lenders pulled your credit for the purpose of giving you a loan?
These factors are weighted slightly differently depending on the formula being used. The result is a single number: your FICO score. FICO scores range from 300 to 800. Higher scores are better. Most people getting a mortgage these days score 620 or above.
Your score affects your interest rate
Did you know? FICO scores affect more than your ability to get a loan. They also affect your interest rate. Lenders give lower interest rates to individuals with higher scores.
Can I raise my credit score?
What can you do to raise your FICO score? Very little in the short term. So called "credit repair" companies advertise quick fixes, but the FICO score is calculated from your lifetime credit history, so you can't turn it around right away. You should appeal for the credit agency to remove any incorrect reporting on your credit report, which is the only way to quickly improve your credit score.
Getting your credit score
Before you can improve your credit score, you must obtain your score and make certain that the credit reports from each credit reporting agency are correct. Fair Isaac has created a web site (www.myFICO.com) that lets you do just that. It's inexpensive to quickly get your FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. Also available are information and tools that help you understand how to improve your FICO score.
You can get a free credit report once per year from the three major agencies at AnnualCreditReport.com. You won't get a free credit score from AnnualCreditReport.com, but getting one is fast and very inexpensive.
Armed with this info, you'll be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage.
Want to know more about your credit score? Call us: 610-565-3600.