{"id":10458,"date":"2011-09-13T18:18:50","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T22:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.franchisegator.com\/articles\/?p=10458"},"modified":"2022-03-03T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T20:12:32","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-your-credit-score-10523","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchisegator.com\/articles\/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-credit-score-10523\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know About Your Credit Score"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a Credit Score:<\/strong> The most commonly known credit score is the FICO
\nscore developed by the Fair Isaacs Company. FICO scores range from 300 to 850,
\nthe higher the number the better the score. A credit score below 650 may make
\nit more difficult to obtain a loan. Business lenders look to a business
\nborrower’s personal credit as an important indicator of creditworthiness,
\nbasically how well do you manage your finances. The higher your score, the
\nbetter your chances of getting a loan on favorable terms. <\/p>\n

How Your Credit Score is Determined:<\/strong> The credit score is determined
\nby using the information contained in your , primarily your payment history, credit
\nutilization (ratio of outstanding debt to available credit), length of credit
\nhistory, type and mix of credit, and number of credit inquiries. The most
\nheavily weighted factors are payment history, credit utilization and length of
\ncredit history. <\/p>\n

What are Credit Reports:<\/strong> There are essentially three different credit
\nbureaus each issuing a report on your credit, Equifax, Experian and Trans
\nUnion. They gather and compile information about you from vendors, credit card
\ncompanies, lenders, landlords etc. Your credit report may contain the following
\ninformation: your name and address, credit card account balances, installment
\nloans, mortgage loans, bankruptcies, foreclosures, collection accounts, closed
\naccounts, charge offs, credit inquiries and payment history for your accounts
\nand loans. <\/p>\n

How to Improve Your Score and Keep it High.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Obtain and Review Copies of Your Credit Reports<\/strong> – You should obtain copies of your credit reports
    \nfrom all 3 credit reporting agencies (they may differ in the information
    \nprovided), examine the reports for any errors or discrepancies and if you find
    \nthem contact the agency and have them correct the errors. You are entitled to
    \nreceive a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit
    \nreporting companies every 12 months (<\/li>\n
  2. Pay your bills on time<\/strong> – As stated above; payment history is one of the most heavily
    \nweighted factors in determining your credit score. Late payments stay on your
    \ncredit report for up to seven years. Charge-Offs, liens and Bankruptcies will
    \nhave a material adverse effect on your credit score.<\/li>\n
  3.  Keep your credit utilization low<\/strong> – Carrying high balances in relation to your
    \nmaximum available credit will negatively affect your credit score. When you use
    \nyour credit cards maintaining balances of no more than 30% of available credit
    \nmaximums are helpful. As of rule of thumb use the following scale. Paying off
    \nbalances in full every month will give the best results. Making just the
    \nminimum interest payments will reflect poorly in your score.<\/li>\n
  4. Keep Your Credit Cards to a minimum<\/strong> – Credit scores will be adversely affected for
    \nindividuals with too many credit cards with either large amounts of credit
    \navailable or with high balances. Keep this in mind as you evaluate that next
    \n‘Free Flight’ offer.<\/li>\n
  5. Credit Mix & Length of Credit History<\/strong> – The longer your credit history the better
    \n(assuming you’ve been using your credit responsibly) which is logical since
    \nbankers like to see a track record. Also having different types of credit
    \naccounts is also a positive factor.<\/li>\n
  6. Minimize Applications for Credit<\/strong> – Credit agencies record every time you formally
    \napply for credit (when you give the bank authorization to pull your credit)
    \ncounting it as an ‘inquiry’ and too many inquiries can have a negative impact
    \non your score. By using BoeFly, borrowers and lenders can get comfortable by
    \nconnecting and the formal application process typically occurs only after both
    \nborrower and lenders have agreed to the loan terms.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Article written by BoeFly<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What is a Credit Score: The most commonly known credit score is the FICO score developed by the Fair Isaacs Company. FICO scores range from 300 to 850, the higher the number the better the score. A credit score below 650 may make it more difficult to obtain a loan. Business lenders look to a business … What You Need to Know About Your Credit Score<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat You Need to Know About Your Credit Score - Franchising Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Boefly discusses a few things you need to know about your credit score and how to keep it in tip top shape\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.franchisegator.com\/articles\/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-credit-score-10523\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What You Need to Know About Your Credit Score - 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