What is a Credit Score?
Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking
  • Signs of responsibility and stability - Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the
    borrower's home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability. Having a respected
    profession can improve a credit rating.
  • Credit inquiries – An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file. There are several kinds
    of notations that may or may not have an adverse effect on the credit score. Soft pulls
    don't affect the credit score and are characteristic of the following examples:

A credit bureau may sell a person's contact information to an advertiser purchasing a list of
people with similar characteristics, like homeowners with excellent credit. A creditor can check a
person's credit periodically. Or, a credit counseling agency, with the client's permission, can
obtain a client's credit report with no adverse action. Each of the preceding examples are
commonly referred to as a "soft" credit pull.

However "hard" credit inquiries are made by lenders. Lenders, when granted a permissible
purpose by a borrower for the purposes of extending his credit, can check his credit history.
Hard inquiries from lenders directly affect the borrower's credit score. Keeping credit inquiries to
a minimum can help a person's credit rating. A lender may perceive many inquiries on a
person's report as a signal that the person is looking for loans and will possibly consider that
person a poor credit risk.

  • Credit cards that are not used - Although it is believed that having too many credit cards
    can have an adverse effect on a credit score, closing these lines of credit will not
    improve your score. The credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount
    of credit a person has and the amount being used, so closing one or more accounts will
    reduce your total available credit. And the lower the percentage of available credit, the
    more the credit score will drop. The credit formula also factors in the length of time credit
    accounts have been open, so closing an account with several years of history is another
    avoidable credit mistake.
Innovative Mortgage Group
Rt. 611 & Stadden Rd.
HC 1 Box 2364
Pocono Peddlers Village Unit 18-B
Tannersville, Pa  18372
Office# (570) 629-4694  - Fax# (570) 629-4697 -  info@innovativemtg.net
Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking - NMLS# 26884