Marco-Talk Blog

Daily Real Estate News  |  December 4, 2007

Credit Score Primer: What Buyers Need to Know to Get a Loan

In the wake of the credit crisis, lenders have become much pickier about whom they lend to. Here are some basic facts that will help potential borrowers understand what they face.

The measurement that most lenders use to assess applicants' credit risk is the FICO score developed by Fair Isaac Corp. The score ranges from 300 to 850.

There's not one FICO score. Buyers have three: one for each of the three credit bureaus, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.

Each credit score is based on information the credit bureau keeps on file. Since credit bureaus don't share their data with one another, the three FICO scores may differ, sometimes by as much as 100 points.

The components of a FICO score are:

• Payment history: 35 percent
• Amounts owed: 30 percent
• Length of credit history: 15 percent
• New credit: 10 percent
• Types of credit used: 10 percent