5 biggest factors that affect your credit

5 biggest factors that affect your credit
A credit score is a number used by lenders to assess the risk of lending money to a specific borrower.

Credit card companies, auto dealers, and mortgage bankers are three types of lenders who will check your credit score before deciding how much and at what interest rate they are willing to lend you. Before issuing insurance, a policy or renting out an apartment, insurance companies and landlords may check your credit score to see how financially responsible you are.

1. Payment History
When lenders lend money to someone, they have one major concern: "Will I get it back?"

The most important aspect of your credit score considers whether you can be relied on to repay funds that have been loaned to you. This component of your score takes into account the following factors:
  1. Have you paid all of your bills on time for each account listed on your credit report? Late payments harm your credit score.
  2. If you paid late, how late did you pay30 days, 60 days, or 90 days or more? The later you arrive, the lower your score.
  3. Have you had any of your accounts sent to collections? This is a warning sign to potential lenders that you may not be able to repay the loan.
2. Outstanding Amounts

So, you may have made all of your payments on time, but what if you're on the verge of a financial crisis

1. Fico scoring
FICO scoring takes into account your credit utilization ratio, which compares the amount of debt you have to your available credit limits. This second-most important component considers the following elements:

2. How much of your total credit limit have you used? 
Don't think you have to have a $0 balance on your accounts to get good grades here. Less is better, but owing a little bit is better than nothing at all because lenders want to see that if you borrow money, you are responsible and financially stable enough to repay it.

3. Length of Credit History:
Your credit score also considers how long you have been using credit. How long have you had responsibilities? What is the age of your oldest account, and what is the average age of all of your accounts?

Long credit history is advantageous (if it is not marred by late payments and other negative items), but a short history is acceptable as long as you have made your payments on time and do not owe excessive amounts.

This is why personal finance experts always advise leaving credit card accounts open, even if you no longer use them. Your score will be boosted simply by the account's age. If you close your oldest account, your overall score may suffer.

4. New Credit
Your FICO score takes into account the number of new accounts you have. It considers how many new accounts you have recently applied for and when the last time you opened a new account was. Lenders typically conduct a hard inquiry (also known as a hard pull) when you apply for a new line of credit, which is the process of checking your credit information during the underwriting procedure.

This is not the same as a soft inquiry, such as retrieving your credit information. Hard pulls can result in a minor and temporary drop in your credit score. Why? The score assumes that if you've recently opened several accounts and the percentage of these accounts is high in comparison to the total number, you may represent a greater risk.

5. Credit Types in Use
The FICO formula also considers whether you have a mix of different types of credit, such as credit cards, store accounts, instalment loans, and mortgages, when calculating your credit score. It also considers the total number of accounts you have. Because this is a minor component of your score, don't be concerned if you don't have accounts in all of these categories, and don't open new accounts just to broaden your credit mix.

The Watchtower Dubai is a well-established content development firm with professionals who conduct in-depth research to answer any insurance coverage questions you may have. You can also check with a local credit agency to ensure that your credit policies are on the right track. Please contact us if you have any questions about obtaining tail coverage or how it might benefit your business.
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