Your free online credit bureau report has a lot of information in it and it's helpful to focus
on just the most important items. When a creditor reviews your credit he'll usually concentrates
on five areas. And by knowing what these areas are, you can check your free online credit
bureau report for weaknesses or errors.
1) Your bill-paying history
A creditor looks at two things if you've had a problem paying your bills; how serious the
problem was and when it happened. So a late payment several years ago might be dismissed,
but a current delinquent account in your free online credit bureau report would be very negative.
2) Your amount of debt
Creditors want to know what the total debt you have is and if there are any accounts with high
balances. Like other credit factors your debt level is relative and the longer you've handled
a high debt load, the less negative it is.
3) Your credit history length
If you have a long history of good credit in your free online credit bureau report, a creditor
will expect it to continue. In addition to the length of your credit history, creditors check the
average age of the accounts. If you have too many new accounts this will lower the average
age and make you look more risky.
4) Your new accounts
In addition to lowering the average age of your accounts, too many new accounts make a
creditor think that you might be overextended. And if you apply for several accounts at once
and get turned down, this is seen as a sign of poor credit and a further negative on your credit
report.
5) Your account variety
The average person has a mixture of different kinds of credit and creditors like to see this.
For example, if you have a personal loan, an installment loan and a credit card in your free
online credit bureau report, this is more favorable than if you have just three credit card
accounts.
To get your free online credit bureau report, free credit score and free 30 days of credit
monitoring, please go to
free instant credit reports.
