How do I read my credit report?

Credit reports from each agency contain the same type of information. However, each report is organized differently.

Here is what to look for when you read your credit reports.

Personal Information
You need to make sure that someone else’s information is not in your credit report, and that all the information is correct and up to date. Here are some things to look out for:
• Other people’s names listed
• Incorrect Social Security numbers
• An incorrect birth date
• Out-of-date addresses or addresses that aren’t yours
Note! If you’ve lived at your current residence for less than two years, your prior residence will also be listed; make sure that is also correct.
• Out-of-date employer information

Credit Report Summary
The next section on your credit report will be a summary of credit history. You can quickly identify serious problem areas here:
• Accounts currently past due
• Negative account history
• Number of "hard inquiries" in the last 12 months

Your account summary will look something like this:

Type of Account	Number of Accounts	Balance
Mortgage
Installment
Revolving
Other
Total Accounts
Number of Open Accounts
Number of Closed Accounts
Accounts Currently Past Due
Negative Account History
Inquiries in Last 12 Months

Credit report screen shots from each agency?

Account Summary
This section will list the name of each credit account with a summary of its status. It will look something like this:

Account Name	Account Type	Account Number	Date Opened	Balance	Date Reported	Past Due	Account Status	Credit Limit
ABC Corp	Revolving (credit card)	123-456-7890	11/1998	1,236.00	7/2007	$0	Pays as Agreed	$5,000.00
XYZ Corp	Installment (car loan)	098-765-4321	6/2004	$4,987.00	7/2007	$0	Pays as Agreed	$0

Here are some things to look for:
•	Accounts listed that are not yours
•	Accounts you closed but are listed as “open”
•	Incorrect credit card balances or loan amounts owed
•	Any negative information that is not correct: • Late payments • Accounts charged off and sold to a collection agency • Foreclosures • Bankruptcies
•	Negative information that is correct but older than seven years (except for Chapter 7 bankruptcies)
•	Chapter 7 bankruptcies that are correct but older than 10 years

Inquiries
When you fill out a credit application, the potential lender contacts the credit reporting agencies and request to review your credit report. This is called an inquiry. Potential employers and utility and insurance companies also make inquiries by requesting to review your credit report. There are two kinds of inquiries.

Hard inquiries are the ones you need to review. Here is what to look for: • Inquiries older than two years • Hard inquiries you did not authorize

Hard Inquiries. When the following people request your credit report from the credit agencies, they are making a “hard inquiry”:
• Lender
• Employer
• Utility company
• Landlord
• Insurance company

Hard inquiries are listed on your credit report, even if you are denied credit, and stay on your credit report for two years. Hard inquiries are important. Too many inquiries in too short of a time may cause lenders to think you are in financial trouble and need more credit to get by.

Soft Inquiries. When a potential lender requests your credit to decide if it will send you a preapproved credit offer, it makes a “soft inquiry.” Soft inquiries are listed on your credit report, but only you can view them. Potential lenders, employers, landlords, utilities, or insurance companies do not view soft inquiries.

Occasionally, some negative items may not appear on your credit report, such as county aid liens or utility payment defaults. As your Habitat advisor works to qualify you for a loan, he or she may find these items during a public record search. Talk openly with your advisor about these items. Your advisor considers your whole financial picture, not just your credit report, and wants to finds ways to help you take action to correct financial mistakes.

Public Records
Public records are legal documents on file at your local government office. These documents are available to the public—anyone can look at them. Examples of public records are:
• Back taxes owed (tax liens)
• Accounts sent to collection agencies
• Court decisions that require someone to pay money owed (judgments)
• Foreclosures
• Bankruptcies

If you have public records listed on your credit report, here is what to look for:
•	An account that went to collections listed under more than one collection agency
•	Judgments or tax liens you paid but are listed as unpaid
•	Judgments or tax liens you paid but are older than seven years
•	Bankruptcies: • Chapter 7 bankruptcy (complete debt elimination) older than 10 years after the filing date • Chapter 13 bankruptcy (repayment plan) older than seven years after the filing date
•	Public records listed that are not yours