Have you heard about www.annualcreditreport.com? This is the website you may go to where you may pull your credit report from each of the three main credit bureaus, Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. This is a simple process, and you may pull your credit report from each bureau for free once a year. This will not include your credit scores, but for a small charge for each bureau, you may order that too if you are getting ready to make a major purchase that will involve financing, and you need to see where you are at.
Why should you pull your credit report each year?
-To check for any errors in reporting the information on your accounts, such as incorrect high credit limits, or erroneously reported late payments
-To check for cross over information to your report for someone who has the same or similar name
-To check for identity theft
-To make sure old information is dropped off, such as closed accounts more than 7 years old or accounts that were discharged through bankruptcy are not still being reported past due
-To make sure accounts you have paid off are reported with zero balance
Why should you do this yourself instead of letting a lender do it for you?
When you exercise this annual right you have, it will not result in an Inquiry that is reported on your credit profile. Although many sources say a mortgage inquiry will not affect your credit scores, I’ve seen time and time again that this is wrong. If you have several inquiries, but no new mortgage is reported as a result of them, your credit scores may drop.
If you make this a regular process each year, you’ll head off what could be a stressful nightmare if you wait until you are in the middle of qualifying for financing to find out there is a problem you need to take care of. Pull your own credit, and the report contains all the necessary instructions and contact information should you find it is necessary to dispute information reported in your credit profile.
If you need to call the bureaus, prepare to be patient as it will take time to work through their systems. But, you can do it yourself, and you do not need to pay anyone to do it for you. Once you get through to the credit bureaus, most minor errors can be resolved easily. Some errors will need to be disputed with you providing the supporting documentation to prove your case in order to have changes made. These are usually handled by mail.
If you have not seen your credit in over a year, go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ and see what information is being reported about you.
See you at the closing table!
Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - http://www.quality4loans.com/
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