Does your credit report have errors? - If your credit report has errors you could end up over-paying on your next mortgage. Any time you are about to apply for a mortgage you should first obtain a copy of your credit report and examine it carefully for errors. Correcting credit report errors can take some time so start the process as soon as you recognize the mistake.

Checking your credit report 1-2 times per year is a very wise decision. Everything seems to be so credit driven anymore that in order to make sure you qualify for good financing. With that said you need to make sure that you are checking your credit report for errors to insure that your scores are not suffering due to mistakes. It is possible for you to obtain a free copy of your credit report one time per year now. If you need instructions on how to do so please contact a mortgage consultant, also known as a mortgage loan officer for assistance.

You should always know what your credit looks like at TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. This is due to the fact that certain creditors may only report to one or two of the bureaus. When you get a copy of your credit report, make sure you get a tri-merge report that lists all three companies scores and information. From there you can dispute errors directly to the bureau that is reporting the incorrect information.

If you notice inaccurate information on your credit report, talk to your Broker or contact the three major credit bureas.

EXPERIAN
www.experian.com

TRANS UNION CORP
www.transunion.com

EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES
www.equifax.com

If you would like a free copy of your credit report you can obtain it at annualcreditreport.com . This site is sponsored by the three major bureaus and does not require you to buy any services to receive your report.

Speak with your loan officer before paying off or closing any old accounts. Sometimes paying on an old account can actually lower your credit score by making the "date of last activity" more recent. Closing old accounts can lower your amount of available credit and damage your credit scores. Your loan officer can help you identify which accounts can benefit from payments and which accounts should be closed.

Speak with your loan officer before paying off or closing any old accounts. Sometimes paying on an old account can actually lower your credit score by making the "date of last activity" more recent. Closing old accounts can lower your amount of available credit and damage your credit scores. Your loan officer can help you identify which accounts can benefit from payments and which accounts should be closed.

A common error seen on many credit reports is a single credit line being reported as derogatory by more than one company. The original creditor may sell a collection or charged off account to collection agency who may sell it again. If you have a similar situation and would advise on how to correct inaccuracies on your credit report please call us.

If you decide to pay off any old collections you can try to negotiate with the debt collector. Sometimes they will settle for a lower amount and possibly remove the derogatory account from your credit report all together. The best route is to attempt to have the account removed rather than updated as "paid". If your debt collector offers such a service, be sure to get the agreement in writing prior to paying on any account. Be sure to keep all receipts from paid collection accounts in case there is a problem later on. Thirty to sixty days after the account is paid you should check your credit report again to verify the proper action was taken.

How to read your credit report - One of the sections on your credit report will contain all the inquiries made within the last 90 days to a year. Youll want to carefully look at these inquiries and make sure they are accurate. Too many inquiries can lower your credit score.

There will be a section on your credit report that has columns for 30, 60, and 90 days. These numbers mean 30 days late, 60 days late or 90 days late. When you have a liability (debt) listed on your credit report and you have a number 3 in the 30 days late column, it means that you have paid that specific bill 30 days or more late 3 times. If you have a 0 under each of the 3 columns then that would mean that you have never been late on that specific account.

Another section is the active or open accounts. The will be accounts that are currently active and reporting to the credit bureaus. It is important that all your open accounts are being reported here. Any lack of credit reporting on your active accounts may be keeping your scores lower than they should.

The main thing you will be looking for is your scores. These are listed at the begining of the report and again at the end in the summary/disclosure section.

Most people have 3 scores. One from each of the three major credit bureaus. When determining your qualifying score for a mortgage, most lenders will look at the middle of the three scores. For example, your scores are 540, 600 and 580. 580 would be considered your middle score.

Credit reports can be difficult to understand. The best way to get your report interpreted is to contact a mortgage professional and have them examine it for you. Mortgage professionals deal with credit reports for a living and have a very clear concise method of interpreting the data.

Look at accounts with active balances. Make sure that all of these accounts are accurate and are yours. You may find accounts placed for collections that you were not aware of. Take care of these accounts to help improve your credit score.

Some companies that issue credit reports can provide a "key" to read the different numbers and sections.

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