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• Ordering your own credit scores from MyFICO will not hurt your scores AT ALL.

 

• Only when third parties pull your credit score can a drop in your score occur.

 

• FICO has 50 different versions of scores.  FICO mortgage lending score is the credit score banks use when reviewing the risk level of a borrower before approving mortgage financing.

 

• An excellent credit score is considered a 740 FICO score and above.

 

• Having the best credit scores can save hundreds and thousands of dollars over the life of a loan.

 

• The power of a higher score could be a lowered interest rate. Even a 1% lower interest rate on a $900,000 mortgage would equal a savings of $200,000 over the life of the thirty-year loan. 

 

• Reviewing credit early and using the right professional guidance can equal better interest rate loans and huge savings.

 

• As better credit card offers appear, consumers tend to close other cards thinking they are no longer necessary. This is a definite NO NO for keeping the best credit scores.
   

• There are different categories of late payments: 30, 60, 90 and in some cases 120. It can only reflect these groups on credit. This means if you are late over the grace period by one day it is considered a 30-day late payment.

 

• Any new late payment can reduce the score dramatically. It does not matter if it is a $1,000,000 mortgage payment or a $10 Macy's payment: If it is late, the score will reduce dramatically because of the newness of the delinquency.

  

• A 740 score with Vantage, Plus, or Credit Karma may be a totally different number when the banker pulls a FICO Score on the same person.

 

• Closing credit can reduce scores whether the consumer or the credit grantor closed the account.
   

• Opening credit hurts the credit because it reduces the average age of credit.

 

• Depending on the type of credit, the limit on each revolving account, the amount of the balance, and the score prior to the balances becoming high, a score can drop 10-150 points. 

 

• Negative credit can be removed prior to the 7 year or 10-year period it legally can be placed on the report for. There are laws that apply to credit creditors, courts, collection agencies and credit bureaus that must be followed for the information to remain on their report. If they do not uphold their legal responsibility, they are forced to remove this information from the report.

 

• You are entitled to a free copy of all three major credit bureau credit reports annually. 

 

• Just because you pay a collection does not mean it will automatically be removed. The only legal responsibility the collection agency has is to update the credit report that the collection is paid. In most cases a paid collection will not increase your scores.

 

• If your creditor agrees to waive a late fee it does not mean they will do anything about removing the late payment on the credit report. A late fee is an extra charge for being late and has nothing to do with the credit report. A late payment and a late fee are two totally different things.