Have you seen your credit report?
Before applying for any loan, you should always make sure you know your credit score and are aware of the status of your current credit report. You are entitled to one free credit report per year. You can also get details of your credit score for a nominal fee. So you bought a new car last year and got a loan for 5 years at 8.9% interest. It’s not that low right? You can repeat it, but at the time of purchase your credit score was pretty bad. But that was a year ago. You ran your credit report today and found that both your credit score and rating are now much higher. In fact now they are excellent. So after reviewing your credit report and getting such a great score, isn’t now the time to refinance? Why keep paying off a high interest rate loan when you can refinance and get a much lower interest rate loan? Before you apply for a loan for the first time or when you’re refinancing, you should review your credit report. You can usually get a cheaper loan with a better credit score and rating.
Check your credit report and look for any problems. If there are problems, try to fix them. Once you’ve taken the proper steps to improve your credit rating and score, verify that they’ve worked by reviewing your credit report again. It’s still possible to get credit even if you’ve been bankrupt, but timing is important. Once you have been discharged from bankruptcy, obtain a copy of your credit report to verify that your bankruptcy was properly discharged. Then you have to wait six months because you will not get a loan during this period. You should be careful not to apply for a loan during this period because you will likely be turned down and this fact could be noted on your credit report. You can also include a letter with your credit report to explain the circumstances of your bankruptcy, which may improve your chances of obtaining financing.
Finally, make sure your accounts are up to date and accurate. If you are denied credit, you should get a copy of your credit report. It may be the case that your credit report contains entries that are not accurate. It is possible to improve your credit score by removing these inaccuracies from your credit report. One of the problems with shopping for credit is that multiple inquiries about your credit score can lower your credit score. Getting quotes online can help because lenders will calculate rates and fees without looking at your credit report. You can then zero in on the lenders who provided the best estimates and only now will they see your credit report.
