Evaluate Your Credit Rating
N E W Y O R K, July 11 -- Even if you’ve spent hours scrutinizing every item on your credit report, you still may not know if you've got a good credit record or a bad one.
The first installment in this series explained how to retrieve your credit report from one of the three big credit-reporting agencies. You should check your credit report for inaccuracies that could seriously damage your chances of buying a home or car, renting an apartment or even getting a job.
But a credit check won’t get you any closer to understanding your credit score. This score may be unfamiliar to most, but it looms large for the lenders deciding whether to loan you money.
Credit History Compressed
Your credit score is a triple-digit number that tells a lender how likely you are to pay back a loan. Essentially, it compresses your entire credit report into a single number, ranging from 300 to 900. Generally, you need a 620 or better to get a loan or a mortgage from an established lender.
You may be wondering how you can get your hands on your score. It’s not so easy, but, thankfully, that may be changing. Fair, Isaac & Co., the masterminds behind the FICO credit score used in making more than 75 percent of new mortgages every year, is creating a Web-based service that will explain individual scores to consumers. By the end of the year, Trans Union will start providing a rating that approximates your credit score when you order a copy of your credit report. You
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