There are three
credit reporting agencies that gather information from creditors on your credit
“behaviors”, A.) Trans Union 2.) Equifax 3.) Experian. It’s well known that simply paying your
obligations in a timely manner (never 30 days or later) is the number one way
to keep your score in good shape. Items that lower your score are late
payments, high debt on credit card and lines near or at limits, new loans,
judgements, cancelling long established credit cards that had excellent prior
pay histories, tax liens, shortfall sales of property and the number one score
killer, bankruptcy. Credit “Inquiries”
minimally lower your credit score and only in a significant way if numerous
inquiries are initiated in a very short time period (auto dealers are notorious
for having numerous credit reports pulled when they shop your credit to several
lenders at the same time). In general, a
Credit Score over 700 is required by most aircraft lenders if you’re in the
market for an aircraft loan. Credit data stays on bureaus
for seven years in most cases and ten years for bankruptcy data. You may, by federal
law, obtain a free copy of your credit score from any of the three credit
reporting agencies, once a year and any time you have been denied credit and a
credit bureau was pulled. Website addresses for all three credit reporting
agencies: www.experian.com , www.transunion.com
, www.equifax.com
