Credit Evaluation

In my past twelve years in both the consumer finance and the mortgage industry, I have dealt with what I will call, all types of consumers. The definition of "all types" is quite simple; those with excellent credit and those with far less than perfect credit. I'm sure that many would be surprised to discover that there is no "defined" person that falls into one or the other category.  Income levels, for instance, have surprisingly (to some) very little bearing on credit history - I have met just as many people making $20,000 annually with good credit as I have people making over $300,000 annually with derogatory credit.

The reality is that it is not gender, race, age, religious preferences, income level, or any other generalized trait that to determine credit worthiness. As a matter of fact it is forbidden to deny credit to an individual based on race or color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (if the applicant has the capacity to enter into a contract), and the applicant's receipt of income from any public assistance program.

That being said; it is a wise decision to evaluate your individual or family situation when deciding upon applying for or obtaining credit.  I suggest that if you do not know, or are uncertain, about your credit history then obtain a copy of your credit reports before applying for credit.

At present, there are three major Credit Reporting Agencies in the U.S., they are;

Each of these CRA's must provide you with all of the information contained in your credit report. It is my understanding that each of these CRA's will provide each consumer with one free copy of their credit report each year.

Although I have not verified as to whether or not they will issue them for free, at most they will charge you $8.00 to send you a copy of your report.  

The downside of ordering directly from the CRA's is the time it takes to get the copies of your reports. If you are in no hurry, then by all means call them. They will assist you in getting you the directions as to how to obtain the reports. If you need the information faster, with today's technology you can order the reports on-line. Of course, you will need a credit card to process the request. These services range from sending the reports to you via email to hard copy mailing them to you, particularly if you want copies of all three reports. The fees for this service usually ranges from $9 for a single report to $30 for all three reports. I have provided links to a few of these services from this web site.  

I have covered the very basics here. Hopefully you have gathered two things from this article:

  1. good or bad credit really knows no boundaries it depends on the individual and their circumstances
  2. information is king, if you do not like surprises then check your credit report frequently.

It is a good practice for everyone to order a copy of their credit report once a year just to be aware and to be certain that there is no inaccurate information contained on the reports.