What is a Credit Report?

Simply speaking your credit report is a history of your borrowing and repaying of loans. These loans may be fixed installment loans like a home or car loan with fixed payments or could be revolving credit like a credit card where the total amount borrowed is always changing and therefore the payments are always changing as well.

There are several items contained within your credit report.

1. Payment History
   Your payment history found in your credit report is typically updated each month by most lenders as payments are made. Late payments are recorded including the length of the delinquencies and whether the account has gone into default which typically means that borrower is very late on payment and the lender has sent the account to a collections department.


2. Account History & Longevity
   Your credit report will also contain the longevity of your accounts. The longer you have established a credit history the more credit worthy you may be, especially if your accounts are in good standing. Someone who has a credit history for 6 months may be looked at as more of a risk than someone with a longstanding credit history, assuming all other factors are equal.


3. Number and Status of Account
   Lenders may look at the number of accounts you have had over the years and whether any of those accounts were completed or closed in good standing. This is closely related to our next item found in your credit report.


4. Amount of Available Credit
   Even if you have all of your accounts in good standing and have not had any late payments, there are lenders that look at the amount of available credit you have. This is most often taken into account when applying for a larger loan like a home loan. If you owe $2,000 but have available credit lines totaling $50,000 it may be perceived as a risk to a new lender because there is a possibility of greatly increasing your debt at any time which would jeopardize your ability to pay back their loan.


5. Public Information
   Also found in your credit report is public information which may include your name, address (including previous residences), date of birth, employment information, and social security number. Though these factors aren’t used to calculate your credit score, they can be used to identify you.


6. Number of Credit Inquiries
   Every time someone requests your credit report it will be logged as an inquiry with the date and type of inquiry. In some cases these inquiries can lower your credit score slightly because it is a sign that you are looking for additional credit and are acquiring more debt.


7. Credit Score
   In your full credit report, you will also see a credit score also known as a FICO score. This is a calculation of your credit worthiness used by lenders to help determine whether they will give you a loan or what rate to offer you.

Click below for additional information:
• What is a FICO Score?
• What is in my credit report?
• Why is credit important?