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Understanding and Managing Your Credit Report

Regularly checking your credit report is a crucial part of managing your personal finances. At O1ne Mortgage, we believe in empowering our clients with the knowledge they need to maintain a healthy credit profile. If you have any mortgage service needs, call us at 213-732-3074.

What to Review on Your Credit Report

Your credit report contains several sections, each important in its own way. Here’s what to look for in each section:

Personal Information

Check for your name, birth year, addresses, phone numbers, employers, and any variations. Unfamiliar names or addresses could indicate identity theft.

Credit Accounts and Collections

Review accounts for accuracy, including credit limits, loan balances, and payment amounts. Look for accounts you don’t recognize or errors in account details.

Inquiries

Inquiries show who has accessed your credit report. Hard inquiries can affect your credit score, while soft inquiries do not. Pay attention to new hard inquiries as they might indicate new credit applications.

Public Records

Bankruptcy is the only public record that appears on your credit report. Chapter 7 bankruptcies can stay for up to 10 years, while Chapter 13 can stay for up to 7 years.

Benefits of Checking Your Credit Report

Regularly checking your credit report helps you:

• Understand what creditors report to the bureaus
• Monitor important changes, such as the removal of negative marks
• Detect identity theft or fraud
• Improve your credit scores by knowing what impacts them

How to Get Your Free Credit Report with Experian

You can get your FICO® Score and credit report for free with an Experian account. This account offers real-time notifications of important changes and insights into your credit report.

How to Dispute Inaccurate Information

If you find errors in your credit report, you have the right to dispute them for free. You can do this by mail, phone, or online. For Experian, the online option is the quickest:

1. Go to the Experian Dispute Center.
2. Click “Start a new dispute” to pull up your credit report.
3. Select the information you want to dispute and choose a reason.
4. Review and submit the dispute, uploading any supporting documents.

Experian will investigate and resolve disputes within 30 to 45 days.

Use Free Monitoring to Spot Changes

Regularly reviewing your credit reports is important. You can also use a credit monitoring service, like Experian’s free credit monitoring, to keep an eye on your credit reports and receive alerts about important changes.

For any mortgage service needs, don’t hesitate to contact O1ne Mortgage at 213-732-3074. We’re here to help you navigate your financial journey with confidence.

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