Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Credit Facts
Credit Facts
35%
35%
Payment History
The first thing any lender wants to know is whether you've paid past credit accounts on time. This helps a lender figure out the amount of risk it will take on when extending credit. This is one of the most important factors in a FICO Score.
30%
30%
Amount Owned
Having credit accounts and owing money on them does not necessarily mean you are a high-risk borrower with a low FICO Score. However, if you are using a lot of your available credit, this may indicate that you are overextended-and banks can interpret this to mean that you are at a higher risk of defaulting.
15%
15%
Length Of History
In general, a longer credit history will increase your FICO Scores. However, even people who haven't been using credit long may have high FICO Scores, depending on how the rest of their credit report looks.
10%
10%
Credit Max
FICO Scores will consider your mix of credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and mortgage loans. Don't worry, it's not necessary to have one of each.
Ways to increase your credit score
Ways to increase your credit score
- Paying bills on time can help maintain a higher credit score
- Never let an account go into collections
- If you cannot make your payments on time, always make arrangements
- Instead of closing accounts keep them in good standing to help with your length of credit history
- Make sure to keep all balances low on credit cards and other revolving accounts to 30% or below
- Paying off debit can be more beneficial than a balance transfer
- Try and stay away from opening new accounts too rapidly, this can cause your credit score to decrease