Perhaps you are looking to or need to loan some money, maybe from a large, well-known bank, or some smaller financial institution. However, loaning money is not as easy as coming to the lender and asking for a loan – chances are, it will not come quickly, if ever the loan is approved (there is a chance that it may not). Lending institutions, just as a normal stranger, would hesitate to lend some money to somebody they don’t exactly know.
Logically, lending institutions would first want to know the person they are lending money to, because there is always the risk that they will not be paid back, or will receive incomplete payments. This is the reason why there are credit reports. These credit reports are simply records and listings of credit activities, including credit card accounts, past and present loans, unpaid balances, and even how quickly you pay your bills and debts.
Credit reports ultimately affect your credit rating, which the lenders look at when deciding whether or not to loan you money, including how much. These credit reports come from consumer reporting agencies, which are bodies tasked to collect and properly distribute to the proper recipients these reports regarding the consumer. Don’t worry, these credit reports cannot be distributed to just anyone, or else they would be in violation of federal law.
In order to have a greater chance at securing a loan, your credit report and rating must be in good standing. Take note, it is not the consumer reporting agency that declares whether you can get a loan or not – it is the lenders themselves. The consumer reporting agency merely provides the necessary information to give the lenders some background about the person asking for a loan.
A credit report usually contains identification, credit information, public records, and recent inquiries. Identification contains any relevant information including name, address, work history, etc. Credit information contains any credit card accounts, credit limit, bills paid and unpaid (if any), and the like. Public records are simply any state or county records while recent inquiries are those who have acquired your credit report within the past year.
In order to build a lender-friendly credit report, these factors must be addressed and should reflect your good standing. These parts of a credit report should complement each other and show that you are basically a person to be trusted with the money that they lend. Any suspicious data that they find could potentially be the key to the lenders not approving the loan.
For the identification part of a credit report, they will take a look at your work history, so if you have job instability, it will reflect on your credit report and would likely discourage them from loaning you money. It would be better if you stick to a job for quite some time before changing work. They will also take a look at the companies you’ve worked for, if these are in good standing as well.
With regard to credit information (which is perhaps the most important part of the report), you should make sure to pay any bills on time – electricity, water, telephone, cable, etc. Unpaid bills are a big discouragement to lenders, including any previous loans that you may have paid in full, but after the agreed-upon time. If they see that you are a responsible person when it comes to finances, you have a better chance of securing a loan, also with a higher amount.
Public records are usually used to see if you’ve been paying your taxes properly. This, like credit information, shows them your responsibility in financial dealings. They will also state if you have filed for bankruptcy and the like.
The deed of your home (to be used in home mortgages) is sometimes not enough for the lenders – they actually want to look at your credit report and deduce if you are able to pay the loan, and if you’re good in handling finances. If you have a good credit report and subsequently a good credit rating, a loan or home mortgage is not as difficult to obtain. It is important to keep in good standing financially, since consumer reporting agencies are observing you carefully.
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