As your professional Credit Diva, we know that repairing your credit starts with understanding your credit report. We recommend checking your credit routinely throughout the year because knowledge is power—but what does the report tell you when you get it?
Your credit report contains important information that might not make sense to you without some guidance. The information in the report works together to determine your credit score. That credit score can either help you qualify for loans and live the lifestyle you want in Dallas—or keep you from opportunities available only to consumers with better credit.
This is one reason why professional credit repair, Dallas, can help you get your credit report on track—but first, you need to understand how to read it!
What's in My Credit Report?
Your credit report is your financial history. It includes information about transactions, loans, missed payments, and other financial information, including:
- Your identifying information (name, Social Security number, current and prior addresses)
- Account balances
- Starting dates for loans or lines of credit
- Bankruptcies
- Tax liens
- Payment history (including late payments)
- Loan amounts and credit limits.
Whew! That's a lot of personal information, and as your Divas, we know it's critical not to skip anything when reading your credit report.
Review Each Section Carefully
It's terrible, but it's true: mistakes happen on credit reports. Even a small error can cause significant problems with your credit score! Professional credit repair, Dallas, will help you review your credit report for any errors. We place a high value on continuing credit education here at Credit Diva of Dallas!
Read through each section of your credit report and make sure you see accurate information. Removing errors from your report is one of the first steps to improving your credit score—but you have to read your report carefully to find inaccuracies.
Look for:
- Misspellings in your name
- Errors with your Social Security number or address
- Charges that aren't yours
- On-time payments noted as "late"
- Open accounts that should be closed.
When you recognize mistakes, work with your credit repair professional to dispute errors or false charges and get that credit back on track!
Pay Attention to Negative Information
Negative information—like bankruptcies or tax liens—can significantly lower your credit score. While those blemishes on your credit report may be accurate, it's essential to keep an eye on them.
A bankruptcy should disappear from your credit report after seven or ten years, depending on how you filed. If you continue to see it on your credit report after it's expired, work with your Divas to get that off your credit report!
Inquire About Inquiries
When you apply for a new credit card, a mortgage for a home in Dallas, or to lease an apartment, the decision-makers run a credit check on you. Each time someone runs your credit, it shows up as an "inquiry" on your credit report. This is something to keep an eye on!
There are two types of inquiries:
- When you authorize a potential creditor to check your during the application process, this is a hard inquiry. These inquiries can cause a small temporary dip in your credit score.
- When you check your own credit or a potential creditor checks it to send you a promotional offer, that's a soft inquiry. It does not affect your credit score.
When you see hard inquiries, make sure there aren't any that you haven't authorized! If you see a hard inquiry that isn't familiar, work with the experts in credit repair, Dallas, to investigate the inquiry.
Trust Your Divas to Boost Your Credit!
Bad credit can hold you back in life. When you understand the parts of your credit report that keep you from the opportunities you want in Dallas, it's time to improve those areas of your credit history!
Credit Diva of Dallas can review your credit report and help you make sense of it! It's time to sweep away the mysteries from your credit report. We'll also help you dispute inaccuracies, investigate suspicious inquiries, and improve the story your report tells creditors. Contact us for your consultation and take your financial power back!
