How To Check Your Credit Score?
In 2020, our financial lives revolve around our credit scores. Want to buy a car? Better have good credit! Want to lease a house? Good credit is a must. Applying for a new credit card? You’d best hope your credit score is high enough.
Every major financial decision, every major monetary transaction, every purchase is influenced by this fickle, mysterious number. But what exactly is a credit score? And how can you find out what your credit score is? Let’s look at what a credit score is, and how you can check yours!
What exactly is a credit score?
In short, a credit score is a complete history of a person’s financial history. If a person has ever been late on a car payment, it will show up on their credit score. If they’ve ever defaulted on a loan, their credit score will show it. If they have credit card debt, it will affect the magic number. Essentially every time you’ve ever borrowed money in any way, shape or form, how you handle that responsibility will affect your credit score.
How can you check your credit score?
There are a variety of available options when it comes to checking your credit score. There are three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can get one free report from each of these bureaus per year, and additional reports if you believe you may have been a victim of credit fraud or have been rejected on the basis of poor credit.
The most important caveat with this method of checking your credit score is that it does not actually provide you with a credit score. There a variety of methods to check this, such as using a proprietary tool provided by your credit card company, but the easiest and most reliable method is to use a service like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. These services utilize the newer VantageScore 3.0 scoring model, which provides heightened accuracy and precision. Best of all, these services are free!
If you want to learn more about how credit scoring works, and how you can improve your credit score, you can find helpful information on The Official Real Estate Agent Directory®.
Popular Real Estate Questions
Popular Real Estate Glossary Terms
Heterogeneous (as opposed to homogenous) means diverse in nature applied to a place or object composed of separate and distinct parts. In other words, heterogeneous describes something that ...
Investigation into the causes of death. A post mortem is normally performed by a public coroner. It might be performed to determine the cause of death of an apartment house tenant. ...
Right to enter and start construction or furnishing property that is in the process of being purchased. ...
Body o law relating directly to condominiums and cooperative developments. Most property law provides vertical ownership of property in the sense that property owners own mineral rights as ...
Architectural plan which may include blue prints of a property project. Designs must meet technological and zoning requirements. ...
A cooperating broker or agent defines a real estate broker who helps another broker in a private property transaction. Typically, the cooperating broker represents the seller and is ...
Legal right of the buyer of real estate for the acquisition price paid if the seller does not render the deed to the property. The buyer's lien is not only for the purchase price paid but ...
The portion of a structure providing the primary ground support. Foundations have a foundation wall forming a permanent below grade retaining wall. All modern foundations rely on concrete ...
The "frost line" is a critical concept in real estate and construction, especially in regions with cold climates. But what exactly is the frost line, and why does it matter? Let’s ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.