Blogs in Real Estate

The first step to improving your credit score is to get a copy of your credit report.  This is super important because there’s a good chance that there are inaccuracies on your report that are bringing down your score.  At least 50% of credit reports have inaccuracies and some experts estimate that as high as 80% of reports contain inaccuracies.

Fortunately for all of us, the government has recognized this problem and has done some things to benefit consumers.  I’m going to tell you how you can get your credit report without spending any money (in most cases).

For starters, there are three major credit-reporting agencies in the United States: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.  These agencies (sometimes called “bureaus”) all have a credit report and score for you on file.  You must look at your report from all three agencies in order to maximize the improvement in your credit score.  Here’s why…

Your “credit score” is actually the middle score of the three scores reported from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax.  If you only work on your credit report from Experian, it doesn’t matter how much the score improves because TransUnion and Equifax will still be reporting unimproved scores.  Remember: it’s the middle score that counts, so you need to work on your credit report from all three credit bureaus to give yourself the best chance for improvement.

Okay, here’s how to get your credit reports from the three bureaus:

Experian:  www.experian.com or (888) 397-3742
TransUnion:  www.transunion.com or (800) 888-4213
Equifax:  www.equifax.com or (800) 997-2493
If you contact the credit bureaus directly, they will charge you around 10 bucks each for your report.  They will also add a few bucks if you want to know your score (which you probably will).  But you may not have to pay anything at all to get your reports… and you can be looking at your credit reports in a matter of minutes.

A new federal law called the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (the Fact Act) entitles you to one free credit report from each credit reporting agency per year.  You can request your three reports, in accordance with this new law, by going to www.annualcreditreport.com which is the only authorized source for consumers to access their annual credit report online at no charge.  You can also request your reports by phone by calling 877-322-8228.

I prefer to request the reports online because you can get them in about 5 minutes.  But keep in mind that the new law only requires the reporting agencies to give you your credit report, not your credit score.  So, if you want your score from each bureau, you’ll have to pay about $5 for each score.  It may or may not be worth it to you, but I like to know what the actual score is that each agency is reporting.  Also, keep in mind that if you got a free credit report within the last 12 months under this new law, you’ll have to pay for your report.

Your first assignment is to go order your report from each of the three credit bureaus right away.  Remember to get all three reports.  Next I’ll show you some helpful information about how to understand your report and how to identify problems with your reports so that you can improve your credit score.