FICO Credit Scores: What Do They Mean?

Since we live in an automated society, it should come as no surprise that your ability to repay your mortgage loan boils down to just one number. Credit reporting agencies use your history of paying all types of loans to build this score.

Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, the three major credit agencies, each have a proprietary formula for building your credit score. The original FICO was developed by Fair Isaac and Company. Experian uses this model and calls its score FICO. Equifax's model, based on FICO, is called BEACON, while TransUnion, which also uses a slightly modified FICO, calls its score EMPIRICA. While each of the models considers a range of data available in your credit report, the differences aren't huge; all of the agencies use the following to calculate a credit score:

• Your Credit History - Have you had credit for many years, or for a short time?
• Payment History - Have you paid more than 30 days late?
• Balances on your Credit Cards - How many credit card accounts do you hold, and how much do you owe?
• Credit Inquiries - How many times have you had your credit checked for a loan?

These factors are assigned weights based on the formula being used. The result is a single number: your FICO score. FICO scores can be as low as 300 and as high as 800. Higher scores are better. Most home buyers in the current environment have a score above 620.

Not just for qualifying

FICO scores affect more than your ability to get a loan. They also affect your interest rate. Lenders give lower interest rates to individuals with higher scores.

Can I raise my credit score?

Is it possible to improve your credit score? Some companies promise quick fixes, but they can't do anything different than what you can do — for free. You must appeal for the credit agency to remove any incorrect data from your credit report; this is the only way to quickly improve your credit score.

Getting your FICO score

Before you can improve your score, you have to obtain your score and be sure that the credit reports from each agency are correct. Fair Isaac, the corporation that offered the first FICO credit score, offers FICO scores on myFICO.com. For a reasonable fee, you can quickly get your FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. They also provide helpful information and online tools that can help you analyze what actions might have the greatest impact on your FICO score.

You can get a federally-mandated free credit report once a year from all three agencies by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. While this report does not include a free credit score, the cost to "upgrade" your report to include a credit score is very reasonable.

Now that you have all the facts, you will be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to get the most favorable mortgage.

Want to know more about your credit score? Call us: 504-866-5626.