Most lenders use credit report information to evaluate the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. Borrowers with good credit are presumed to be more creditworthy and may find it easier to obtain a loan, often at a lower interest rate.
You can do several things to help improve what’s on your credit report, including the following.
- Pay bills on time. Your credit report provides information to lenders regarding your payment history. For the most part, a lender may assume that you can be trusted to make timely monthly debt payments in the future if you have done so in the past. Consequently, if you have a history of late payments and/or unpaid debts, a lender may consider you to be a high credit risk and turn you down for a loan.
- Limit credit inquiries. Each time you apply for credit, the lender will request a copy of your credit report. The lender’s request then appears as a “hard inquiry” on your credit report. Too many of these inquiries in a short amount of time could be viewed negatively by a potential lender, since it may indicate that the borrower has a history of being turned down for loans or has access to too much credit.
- Build a credit history. You may have good credit, but not enough of it. As a result, you may need to build up more of your credit history before a lender deems you worthy to take on new debt.
- Correct errors on your report. Uncorrected errors on a credit report could make it difficult for a lender to accurately evaluate creditworthiness and could result in a loan denial. If you have errors on your credit report, it’s important to correct your report by disputing inaccurate or incomplete information,
Finally, if you are ever turned down for a loan, you can find out why. Under federal law, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report if you request it within 60 days of receiving notice of a company’s adverse action against you. Federal law also entitles you to a free annual credit report from all three credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax™, and Trans Union™). You can obtain this report by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
If you have questions or need assistance, contact the Experts at Henssler Financial:
- Experts Request Form
- Email: experts@henssler.com
- Phone: 770-429-9166