The first section contains your identifying information
This is just the basic information that identifies who you are. It can include a list of addresses where you have lived, your name and any other names you have gone by, your social security and driver's license numbers, spouse's name, date of birth and telephone numbers that have been linked to your name.
The second section contains your credit history
This section will list all of the credit accounts that you have. It will tell how long you have had the account, what kind of account it is, if it is a joint account, amount that the loan was for or the credit limit you have, total amount that you owe, amount of monthly payments, Status of the account, and if you have been making your payments on time. This section might also include notes that tell if you typically pay late or have a debt that was never able to be collected.
The third section contains your public records
This section includes any bankruptcies, tax liens, or judgments against you. If it is in the public records, it will show up in this section of your credit report.
The fourth section contains inquiries
Anytime someone requests your credit report, that information goes into this section. That means that every time you fill out an application for credit, that credit request will be noted on your credit report. Not all inquiries on your credit report were initiated by you. Soft inquiries are those requested from companies looking to contact you unsolicited and offer you a pre-approved loan or credit card.
Identifying information: Well, just that—information to identify you. Here's where you will find your name, social security number, address, date of birth, drivers license number, employer and even your spouses name. Study it close and make sure that it's accurate.
The next section is your credit history. Here's where you will find the meat of the report. Your mortgage, car, credit cards, student loans, charge offs, collections and on time or late payment history. Each account entry will include the name of the creditor along with the scrambled account number for security purposes. The entry will also include:
The type of account. Installment loans such as mortgages and auto loans or revolving accounts like credit cards and department store cards.
Date reported. This is the last date that this creditor reported activity.
Date you opened the account.
The credit limit or total amount of the loan along with highest balance.
How much you still owe.
Whether or not the payments are fixed or there's a minimum monthly amount.
Status of the account, open, closed or paid.
Payment history--on time or number of times past 30 days.
Whether the account is in your name alone or with another person.
Public records section is where you'll find bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens. These three bad boys are the worst of the worst.
Finally there's the inquiries section. Here you can see who's pulled your credit report. These are divided into two categories. Hard inquiries are those that were initiated by you filling out a credit application. Soft inquiries are a result of current creditors pulling your report to either send promotional offers or to simply monitor your account. The biggest rumor here is that a large number of inquiries can lower your credit score. More than likely you have nothing to worry about. The credit scoring system allows you to shop for loans within a certain time period. For example, two hard inquiries within the same two week period are only counted as one.
After looking at thousands of credit reports and credit scores over the past decade as a mortgage professional its second nature for me to scan a credit report and see it all. For the consumer that's looking for the first time, it can be very frustrating. I hope this article helps you understand your credit report better.
Both L. Sampson & John Rasor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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