How Much Do You Know About Your Credit Score?

How Much Do You Know About Your Credit Score?

By Barbara Pronin

RISMEDIA, Thursday, June 22, 2017— While your credit score affects everything from your ability to buy a car or a home to how much interest you will pay on the loan, many people don't know how these scores are calculated or what impacts them positively or negatively.

Moreover, says the Credit Federation of America (CFA), more than 25 percent of respondents in a recent survey did not know that a low credit score could increase the cost of a car loan by $5,000. More than half didn't realize that utility companies, cellphone companies, and even insurers sometimes check credit scores before issuing services—or that multiple inquiries in a short time, as when you are shopping for a loan, are treated as one inquiry in order to minimize the impact on your score.

The CFA provides more about credit scores that every consumer should know:

All your credit scores are not the same. Most people assume their credit score is a single three-digit number, but each of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) scores you differently, since they don't necessarily have the exact same data in their files.

Closing old accounts will not necessarily boost your scores. Closing old or inactive accounts may inadvertently lower your credit score because now your credit history appears shorter. If you want to simplify, close newer credit accounts first, or put the cards away so you don't use them, but your credit history stays intact.

Paying off a bad debt will not erase it from your score. Once a debt goes to collection, or you've established a history of late payments, you will deal with the consequences even if you pay off what you owe. It will show as paid, but it is not erased. Also, while your score will get a boost if you pay off an old debt, it may not be by as much as you think. The best way to increase your scores and keep them high is to make payments on time every month over the long haul.

Co-signing for a loan impacts your scores. When you co-sign for someone else's loan, you are responsible for the debt—and if the person your co-signed for does not pay, your credit score will be impacted.

IF GOP SCALES BACK MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION, CALIFORNIANS WOULD BE HIT HARDEST Source: Los Angeles Times

For decades, the home mortgage interest deduction has been one of the most sacred of cows in the U.S. tax code. Now, Republicans crafting legislation to overhaul the federal tax system and cut rates are considering placing new limits on the home mortgage interest deduction. And thousands of Californians could feel the pain.

Making sense of the story:

• Homeowners now are allowed to deduct interest paid on as much as $1 million of mortgage debt. Congressional Republicans and White House officials are looking at reducing the limit to $500,000, which would lead to billions of dollars more in federal revenue every year.
• Homeowners still would be able to deduct interest on the first $500,000 of a mortgage, but would lose the deduction for interest paid on any amount above that level.
• Most Americans would not be affected by such a change, either because they own their homes outright, their mortgages are less than $500,000, or they don’t have enough deductions to file an itemized tax return.
• But in states with high earners and pricey real estate, reducing the mortgage interest deduction would force hundreds of thousands of homeowners to pay more taxes.
• The California Association of REALTORS® estimates if Congress were to move forward with a cap on the mortgage interest deduction for loan amounts up to $500,000, a quarter of California’s home sales would be impacted, and those home buyers would end up paying more in taxes. And for those in Southern California, nearly one-third would be affected.