Blog Post: CREDIT SCORE Cheat Sheet

Do You Know What Affects Your Credit Score?  

Past Delinquencies = 35%

Debt Ratio = 30%

Average Age of File = 15%

Mix of Credit = 10%

Inquiries = 10%

How Long Do Delinquencies Stay?                                                     

BK                                           10 years from filing date

Ch 7 & 11                             10 years from filing date

Ch 13                                     7 years from filing date

Tax Liens*                           7 years from date satisfied

Late Payments                  7 years

Charge-offs                        7.5 years from first late pay

Judgments                          7 years or Statute of Limitations

Inquiries                              2 years

Credit Card Suggestions:  

Share debt among many cards

Use every 6 months

Do not close credit cards

Pay off before closing date

Get added as an authorized user

Ask for credit limit increases every 6 months

Maintain balance below 10%

Make sure the limit is reported

Spouse:  

Keep credit separate from spouse

Transfer debt to one spouse

Business:

Utilize Business Credit

Business credit card should not report to the trade bureaus to show on your personal credit report – verify with credit card provider that this is the case or find other business credit card – this will help with debt ratio.

Average Age of Credit:

The Older the Better

Hold onto credit cards 

Mix of Credit:

A mixture is best

3-5 revolving credit cards

A mortgage account

Auto loan

Equity lines of credit or big credit card 

Inquiries:

Inquiries affect the score for 1 year and stay on report for 2

Inquiries can cost 0-50 points

Score is only reduced for first 10 inquiries

Auto and mortgage inquiries have a 30 day buffer period and within a 45 day period are treated as only 1 inquiry

Many inquiries don’t count:

• Personal
• Promotional and job related
• Insurance and account reviews
• Myfico.com  freecreditreport.com  creditnotify.com