Credit Check-up For Home Buyers

To make sure that you are on a stable foundation, it is best to do a financial check-up each year.  Believe it or not information, about your credit history including open accounts, number of accounts, and payment history all go into the equation of whether or not banks, home loan lenders, credit unions, credit card providers and the like will accept you as a financial risk.  This can have a significant impact on the amount and interest rate or loans offered.  It is best to make sure your credit files are correct at least four (4) months before you begin to look for a house or condominium.

To make sure that information is correct in your credit file it is a good idea to check with the three major credit reporting agencies.  The good news for residence of CO, GA, MA, MD, NJ, VT is that they can request a free copy of their reports every year, due to state legislation.  The bad news is all other state residences will pay a fee from $4.50 to $8.00 for each report. 

It is wise to get copies of all three as the credit databases are all independent so one may have certain information not included in others due to regional and affiliate credit provider network differences.

They are located at the following addresses: 

Trans Union:    TransUnion.com; 1-800-916-8800
Consumer Relations Div., P.O. Box 2000, Chester PA 19022

Equifax:          Equifax.com; 1-800-685-1111
P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374

Experion:        Experion.com; 1-888-397-3742
P.O. Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013-2104

Once received, review each credit report to ensure accuracy.  Close any accounts that you are not using.  This may improve your credit rating by reducing the available credit not in use.  If the report contains inaccurate information, dispute this directly with the  credit report provider by phone, mail or fax.  Credit bureaus now have a limited amount of time to verify and correct disputed information due to recent regulation.

To read more about how to figure out your credit report score checkout:
FairIsaac.com