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Protect yourself - Check your Credit

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Mortgage and Lending with 1st Preference Mortgage 214107

Just a reminder for everyone.  We always hear to check your credit at least once a year.  We see commercials advertising free credit reports on tv all the time. 

Just in case you aren't aware, you can look at your credit report for free at www.annualcreditreport.com once a year.  Since you are only permitted to pull it once a year, a good tip is to pull it on your birthday!  You only have one per year, so it just makes sense.

The reporting scores that you get will vary from the scores that a Lender will receive on your report.  This is due to the fact that it's a consumer report and those scores tend to be slightly higher than the scoring used for mortgages. It's a common misconception and often difficult to explain to consumers, especially when the lender gives them a negative response. 

In today's marketplace, many credit providers are reducing the limits on consumers accounts.  This could impact your credit score big time if you have a slightly high balance and they lower it to your current balance!  When they lower your limit you might be over half the amount of high limit which in turn reduces your credit score.  We always recommend that customers never take their balance over half the limit so as to not have any points reduced on your score. The computer brains at the credit bureau thinks you are maxing out your card and therefore the score gets reduced. 

The next reason to check on that credit is identity theft.  With today's economy the way it is and many, many people are out of work, often this generates increased crime statistics.  Desperate people do desperate things.  So now its more important than ever to keep an eye on that credit report, especially if you've gone green and aren't getting paper statements any longer.

 

 

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