credit report - Credit Repair - Pulling Your Credit Report Online

Pulling your credit report online can be the first step towards fixing less-than-perfect credit or for folks just checking to see if any erroneous information appears on their credit reports. The first step that will be required at the online credit report websites is to create a user profile and verify your identity. In order to verify your identity, you'll be required to answer some security questions. Some examples of the types of information they might ask for old addresses (they provide the street name, you'll be asked to supply the street address number and zip code), former employers (they'll furnish the dates you worked and you'll need to supply the employer's name). Another way they have to allow you to prove your identity is by entering account numbers for different accounts. They will pick the debts so try and have all of your bills/statements available just in case they ask for this type of information. IMPORTANT - You'll be required to create a login name and password for some of the credit agencies. It's very important that you save that login information. Many people fill it out and then lose it. You'll need to have this information each time you pull these free reports (which can be done once every year) so make certain that you keep it in a place you won't misplace it. You might want to consider paying for the option to obtain your credit score. You're getting a free credit report that does not affect you in a negative manner. It's worth thinking about if you can afford it. There are many places online that claim to give you a free credit report but most of these websites have hidden charges such as forcing you to join a monthly (paid) program or something similar. The best place to pull your free credit report is http://www.annualcreditreport.com. At this website you can pull the versions from all three credit reporting agencies for free. If you find information that is not correct, you might want to consider filing a dispute with the credit bureau reporting that incorrect information. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre03.shtm That is a direct link to a report from the FTC called "Building a Better Credit Report". It also has a sample letter you can use for the dispute process. Once you go over your credit report and find any inaccuracies, send your dispute letters out to the credit reporting agency that shows the inaccurate information. Here are the addresses to use for filing disputes for the three major credit reporting agencies: CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES EQUIFAX P.O. BOX 740241 ATLANTA, GA 30374 EXPERIAN P.O. BOX 2002 ALLEN, TX 75013 TRANSUNION P.O. BOX 1000 CHESTER, PA 19022 ================================================= John Mann, webmaster for www.PersonalFinancialResources.com has seen how bad credit can devastate a person's life. If you are interested in credit repair, you might be interested in reading his review of a great eBook called the "The Ultimate Debt Guide" by Scott Stephen. However, if you're more interested in finding a legitimate credit repair company to help you restore your damaged credit, read his review of a company called Lexington Law. These folks are true credit repair professionals who have helped thousands of people repair their damaged credit. ================================================= Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Mann credit report - Mortgage Loan Tips For First Time Borrowers One of the most confusing parts of buying a home is the mortgage loan portion. Financing is confusing and knowing what you need to apply for or what you would qualify for is difficult to know. Because of that too many homebuyers rely on their lender to recommend a mortgage to them and help them through the process. However, this is not always the best idea because the lender doesn't have your best interests at heart but rather the bank's best interest at heart. So, consider the following tips before you apply for a mortgage loan. They just might help you get the loan that is best for you! Tip #1 Credit Report Your credit report is what most lenders look at heavily to decide whether you are approved for a loan or not. If your credit score is high then you will likely be approved and have a low interest rate. If your score is low you may be denied or else be offered an extremely high interest rate. So, since your credit report plays such a huge role in whether or not you are approved you should know what is in your report before you ever apply. Many times there is information in your credit report that is incorrect and that will negatively impact whether you are approved or not. If there is negative information in your report you should have it corrected before you ever apply for a mortgage loan. Making sure your credit report has all correct information will make sure you get the best mortgage loan and interest rate offer possible. If you are applying with your spouse then check their report as well to make sure theirs is correct as well. Tip #2 Make Changes Now that you know whether there are mistakes on your credit report or not you can start making changes. You will have to report errors to the credit bureau that is reporting the errors to have them corrected. It may take some time so be patient and don't apply for a mortgage loan until the errors are corrected. Tip #3 Raise Your Credit Score You will also want to take the opportunity to review your credit score while you are looking at your report. Doing so will show you what you need to do in order to increase your score. If you see late payments, credit cards over the limit and you are using almost all of your credit then you know you have some room to increase your score. Start paying your bills on time, reduce your overall credit to debt ratio, and don't apply for more credit. Doing this will gradually improve your credit score and within a few months you will see a big difference. Once your score is up you should apply for your mortgage loan. This will increase your odds of being approved and more than likely get you a better interest rate as well.