Credit check question

[musicfreak]

Hi,

I've lived in my place for close to 12 years and need to move out because I'm not happy. During this time I've racked up my credit card for certain reasons and now I'm worried if I'll pass a credit check. What exactly do they look for in a credit check? I gather they see how much you owe? I've never had to worry about it before so I'm not sure what they look for.

I owe on the low end of 5 figures. Will this affect me in a credit check? The reason I ask is I've always paid my rent/utilities and my credit card balances (plus extra if I can) on time every month. Does that help me at all? It shows I'm dependable even though I have a balance owing.

Thanks for any input.

Cheryl

P.S. I sent away for my credit information but because I didn't pay for it I wasn't given my actual credit score. What is an acceptable score?

[FallenPixels]

To some extent, having credit helps because it shows you have bills to pay on time (if you dont have any, they don't know how you pay etc since utilities don't count as credit and show on your rating unless you have default payments)

Different companies look for different things, I had no credit when I moved to Canada (obviously) and still passed a credit check for an apartment

[richelleM]

Many people are very worried about their financial situations right now. The recession has made it very hard for many thousands of people to stay employed. The people who are lucky enough to have jobs are still being burdened by the fact that their paychecks are being cut by a percent and their bonuses are being cancelled. These problems are only being compounded by the fact that many people are struggling to pay their bills and thousands more are in debts that they are having trouble getting out of. this is a case of bad credit. however you can still build your bad credit up the ladder by applying for bad credit credit cards.

[AmberLab]

I can't see 5 figures keeping you from passing a credit check. I've known people with 6 or 7 who pass credit checks.

Also, living in one spot for 12 years? That's a pretty damn good history of being a good tenant for a personality background check.

[ahatt]

It sounds like you always pay all your bills on time, so you should have a good to great credit score. I don't see $5,000 of debt being an issue when having a credit check done on you. It also depends on what your debt to income ratio is as well.

My best friend has a $200,000+ mortgage, $30,000 in student debt, and she just got approved for a $24,000 car loan. It really depends on a number of factors.

You can always request a credit report to see where you stand. You can get one for free by mail through Equifax or Transunion.

http://www.equifax.com/contact_us/en_ca (on the right hand side under "Resources", there is a phone number or a form you can download to request your free credit report)

http://www.transunion.ca/ca/personal...tactus_en.page

[Ricki911]

I dont see why not. I know some whop have over $100,000 in debt and still managed to pass. They look at multiple things basically most landlords want to know if you pay your bills and such. I know my 3rd year of college 4 of us (all 19 - 21 of age) tried to rent. My parents had to co sign since I didnt rent in the past or have any bills other than my cellphone. But showing you have 12 year under your belt or more I dont think you ll have a problem with it.

[musicfreak]

Thanks for all your responses. I guess for me right now the debt to income ratio worries me as I'm low income because I live on a disability pension. I hope in the future to get a credit score done then I will know. And it helps like you said that I pay my bills on time and have lived in one place for 12 years.

Love the kitty pictures!

[recessionisnotfun]

The credit bureau stores a lot of info about one. When we applied for our one of many morgages 4 years ago, our bank lady (now friend) showed us the credit screen she had to check first. It shows any cards you have now, AND what cards you used to have. Any missed monthly payments, they can go back quite far to check. How much your min payment is, if you paid the full amount etc. Everytime a inquiry is done, a ding goes against your rating which is HIGHLY unfair. You will NOT get a dent against your credit score if you check it yourself. They know your work history, all previous addresses etc. I was shocked to say the least what they can all find out, wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes lol. There was more things, unbelieveable things, however it is 2:30 am and am brain dead right now lol. There was 1 thing inparticular that was new, be dammed if I can remember it right now. I just shook my head in disgust when the bank manager told us. Oh, one thing is, if you buy groceries on your cc, she said that raises a (small one) that the cc company thinks there may be a possibility there is money troubles. Stupid I know, lots of ppl do it that way for the points. Also, was told that even though you pay the monthly amount required, that goes against your score as well, even though they allow it I know, messed up. I also watched that part on a tv show. Scary. They have everyone under their watchful eye. More than ppl realize. Don't shoot the messenger lol, just telling you what I saw and was explained at the bank managers computer lol.

[kanewtz]

When I had my credit checked for a mortgage approval I was quite shocked to see what was going on.

You'd be surprised how credit checks work.

This is what I was explained by our banking professional (or what I gathered from it).

Say someone has 4 credit cards with $10,000 limits on each. Essentially they have $40,000 worth of money they can borrow or use as "credit". If they have used up $36,000 worth of that credit, they would have a better credit score than someone who hasn't used any of it. (Assuming they made the minimum payments and didn't skip/default on any).

This is what caught me off gaurd. I owe nothing on any of my credit cards (I pay them off in full before the due date) and my credit score wasn't as high as I expected because I haven't used any of my available credit.

Credit checks also check to see how you make your payments on credit cards, loans ect. It is displayed as a simple 0 or 1. 0 means you missed a payment, 1 means you are on time.

I hope this helps you somewhat.

[MortgageQueen]

The Amount of credit you have out there can bring down your score. If you don't plan on needing or using any large "amounts available" on your card, it may be wise to ask your creditor to lower your limit.
I pull credit bureaus on people every day. A large majority have too much credit, whether they use it or not.
It's true they like to see activity on credit accounts, but they don't like to see consistant high balances.
Regardless of all that, if you have kept up your payments and have lived in the same place for 12 yrs, your probably perfectly fine. Good Luck with the new place!

[blackpup]

where I worked at 650 beacon score was acceptable and a resonable rate was given.