Luett Mortgage Group - Credit Center
How to obtain your free Credit Report
We recommend www.annualcreditreport.com
This central site allows you to request a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
While they won't usually provide you with a score unless you pay, you will be able to find out what these top three credit bureaus are reporting for you. It's very likely that they're all a little different. Creditors don't have to report to all three credit bureaus, so they typically report to the credit bureau to which they also subscribe.
What you can do on your end
1. Print a copy of your report if you can
2. Circle any errors you see on your report. This would include any current and past accounts (what’s open, what’s closed), invalid accounts (identity theft), late payment reporting history, collections and judgments. Nearly every consumer has an error on at least one credit report from one of the major credit bureaus so be thorough. Any accounts that may have been included in a bankruptcy, please make a note.
3. Now go back over your report again and prepare a list of all the credit items you determined to be innacurate. One tip might include listing these items in an order of most recent to least recent. Credit scores are impacted more by your most recent activity (last 2 years) rather than items that are in the past.
4. Prepare your next step. Disputing your credit report.
As a consumer you are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the big 3 credit bureaus. We recommend www.annualcreditreport.com
Make sure your credit report contains all three credit bureaus so that you see ALL the accounts that are being report by your creditors (not all creditors report to all three bureaus).
Your dispute letter will need to include the following:
- Your Name, Address, and Telephone number
- Your Social Security number or a clean copy of your actual credit report
- Company Name and Account number of the item you are disputing
- Brief explanation (20 words or less) why the information is innacurate
*IMPORTANT - Dont forget to also include a copy of your driver's license. If your license has a former address listed, then be sure to also send a recent bill with your name and current address on it. Otherwise, the credit bureau might send you a response letter asking you to verify your identity.
Lastly, if you have any supporting information like a paid satisfaction letter, or your bankruptcy paperwork, you'll want to include a copy of that with your letter.
You will find the mailing addresses of all 3 bureaus on your credit report.
Limiting your credit inquiries
A credit inquiry is reported any time you apply for new credit. When you go out there and apply for a number of credit items, it decreases your score because it essentially says you are trying to add more items to your credit profile that have to potential for you to default on.
This is an easy way to improve your score. For instance, if you know you will be applying for a new mortgage for your new home purchase 3 months from now, hold off on any other credit inquiries until the mortgage company pulls your credit report. This will insure that your credit score is at the highest rating when they pull it, because generally new inquiries only stay on your report for about 90 days.
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Mortgage Planning:
Andrew Luett
Chris Richter
Processing
Kym Pietrzak
Closing
Wanda Rodriguez
4619 N. Ravenswood Ave., Suite 203
Chicago, IL 60640 (map)
