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
A tender has several meanings in everyday discourse. Most generally, tender means a formal offer designed for acceptance with the anticipation of soliciting a response in return. Bidding ...
An idiomatic expression indicating the desire of an individual to understand new surroundings and all of its nuances including its quality and character. The derivation of the expression ...
The endorser stipulates something such as that the transferee cannot use the funds for six months. ...
A rectangular area bordered on all sides by buildings. Often, a quadrangle is grassy with decorative landscaping. A quadrangle can be found in a central business district or on the site ...
Member of a partnership whose liability for partnership debts is limited to the amount invested in the partnership. A limited partner is prohibited from taking active part in the management ...
Possession and use of a property estate by virtue of a lease. There are four types of leasehold estates: estate for years, periodic tenancy, tenancy at will, and tenant at sufferance. ...
A triangular shaped end of a building where a double sloped roof meets at the top of the triangle. A gable begins at the eaves of a roof and terminates at the roof ridge. ...
An agreement, debt, or low which can be operationalized, fulfilled, completed, or performed. ...
Voluntary giving up of a right of a lien, usually on a temporary basis. The waiver may be explicitly stated or implied. An example is when a lender waives its right of lien against ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.