Credit Score Range- How do I stack up?

Your Credit Minute Show Notes:

• 00:01                                   Hey, guys. This is Nik Tsoukales with Key Credit Repair. I’m taking you through a quick credit minute talking about the different credit score ranges. So, I’m going to break it down in three different ways for you. Okay.
• 00:11                                   The first credit score that we have is something called the Vantage score. Vantage score 3.0 or 4.0. Okay. Then, we have your FICO score. Um, typically what you’re seeing online is FICO 8 and FICO 9, and then I’m going to give you an additional FICO score as a bonus round. This has a little house on it, and I’m going to explain in a second why this matters.
• 00:40                                   So, the first thing we’re going to talk about is the Vantage score. Okay. What is a Vantage score? Where do you get it? Okay. Vantage score is the credit score you’re going to find on creditkarma.com. It’s a free credit score that you can access. Okay. The Vantage score is owned by the three credit agencies. It’s owned by TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Okay. Um, it is an educational purposes only credit score. Most banks and lenders don’t use it, but for the purpose of credit repair, monitoring your credit, it’s a really good range.
• 01:11                                   So, I’m going to actually read off some notes here for you guys and give you the exact break down directly from FICO in terms of where we should be. Okay. So, to me directly from Vantage score. So, you have, okay, let’s see. We’re going to go from 300 to 600, that is considered a poor credit score in their eyes. Okay. Then, you’re going to have 601 to 660, which is considered a fair credit score. Okay. Then, we’re going to go 661 through 780, which they consider good, and then 780 plus, which they consider excellent.
• 02:04                                   Now, keep in mind, this is for educational purposes only. So, if you’re in these ranges, um, you’re doing pretty good. If you’re in this range, you’re really doing amazing. Okay. Uh, let’s move on to FICO score. Okay.
• 02:23                                   So, one of the most commonly found FICO scores online for educational purposes only is FICO score 8.0 or 9. Okay. And, their range is going to be fairly similar with a few exceptions. 300 to 579 is going to be what they consider as poor, and then we’re going to say 580 to, let’s see here, 669, and by the way I’m going to show you in a second why I could care less what they say. This is an important part of this. I could care less what these numbers are. 670 through 739 is considered good. 740 plus is considered excellent. Okay. And, by the way, this score caps out at 850.
• 03:22                                   Now, I could care less what Vantage score says is a good credit score or a bad credit score, and I could care less what FICO score or FICO 8 says is a good or bad credit score. So, we’re going to go ahead and we’re going to throw all of this out. We could care less. What we care about is what we can get with our credit scores, and most of my clients are trying to eventually buy a home, and if you’re buying a home, you’re not using either of those two credit scores. Those are just for educational purposes only.
• 03:48                                   What we care about is another [inaudible 00:03:53] FICO. We’re going to call this the house FICO score. Okay. So, when you go to get a mortgage, uh, the mortgage lenders going to pull something called a trimerge credit report. Okay. That data- When they pull that data in, they’re going to push it through, uh, the FICO algorithm and issue you a score, okay, but the way the scores presented to you is going to vary between the three bureaus. Okay. So, you could have the exact same data between all three bureaus, and there’s a variation natural algorithm that’s used that’s why no three credit scores are exactly the same. Interesting stuff here.
• 04:32                                   Experian, they’re using a version two. Okay. Equifax is using- using version five, and TransUnion is using version four. If you’ve ever heard of a Beacon score, guys … Some of your old school bankers will know this. They’ll say, “Hey, what’s your Beacon score?”. Okay. In the old days, your Equifax credit score was called a Beacon score. Now, these credit scores are all from FICO. Okay. These are the scores that matter. This is what the banks and lenders are using.
• 05:05                                   Now, let’s talk about the ranges. In terms of what is considered good or bad, I mean, it’s kind of arbitrary. What I care about is what I can access with my credit score. Okay. So, I’m going to give you a few numbers to focus on. 640, 680, and 740. Okay. Goal number one, goal number two, and goal number three. Okay. Now, obviously, these scores range from about 300 to 850, but again we could care less about that.
• 05:35                                   What I care about is this … 640 is a goal number one for the majority of my clients. Why? Because that’s going to allow them to access most, um, FHA back loans. So, essentially, you’re getting a house around 640. Now, there are some banks and lenders that will go lower than that. They’ll go to 600 or even 580, but there’s usually contingencies and more complicating factors that they want to get you that loan, but 640 you’re- you’re in. You’re approved. You’re getting something pending all the other things are- are working out in your favor. Okay.
• 06:04                                   680 is just about the national average. Okay. I care about that. I want to know that I’m at least average. I don’t want to be below average. Okay. Also, that’s technically the beginning of most conventional findings. Conventional findings means basically what they’re not looking for the Federal Housing Administration, conventional money. Uh, they’re not looking for the Federal Housing Administration to back your mortgage. Okay. So, usually the rates, the fees are going to be lower. Okay. You’re just going straight to the bank. They’re saying, “Hey, you’re- you’re average. You’re making a living. Let’s give you a regular loan”. Okay.
• 06:42                                   And, then 740. 740 is considered really that crème de la crème at the bank level. When they see a 740 plus at that FICO score, that Beacon 5.0, that FICO two or that version four, that’s a credit score that’s going to get you the lowest interest rates. That’s what you’re going to be able to really competitively shop from one bank to another. That’s when you’re getting the best interest rates on things like credit cards, the zero percent APR offers, zero percent on a Cadillac for 12 months offer, all that good stuff. That’s where you want to be.
• 07:15                                   So, regardless of what a website is telling you guys. Good, fair, bad, excellent, green light, red light, 10 stars or none, we can care less. What we care about is what is your credit score getting us? Is it getting us a house? If not, then who cares. Guys, this is Nik Tsoukales with Key Credit Repair and this is your credit minute. Have a great day.

 

Free Credit Report-How do I get one? 

Your Credit Minute Show Notes:

• 00:00                                   What’s up, YouTubers. Today, we’re gonna talk about a subject that we, uh, we talk about a lot here at Key Credit Repair, and it’s probably one of the most searched, uh, credit queries on Google, and it’s, uh, and excuse my bad handwriting, uh, free credit report. Okay. Where do I get my free credit report? How do I get one? What website do I go to, or you think you’re getting a free credit report, but actually you’re not, so let’s talk about free credit reports, guys.
• 00:28                                   So, I’m gonna give you guys where you can get your free credit report, how to get it, what the catches are, what the gimmicks are, because, trust me, there are a lot of them. Okay.
• 00:41                                   So, what’s the deal with these credit reports? Well, number one, the United States government has allowed you, the consumer, access to your credit reports through the three credit agencies, once per year, for free, unless you’ve recently been declined, which you can actually request them again. Okay?
• 00:56                                   Now, where do you access this? Well, technically speaking, there’s only one website. There’s only one, guys, where you can access all three credit agencies completely free of charge, but I’m gonna give you the catch. Okay? So, that website is going to be annualcreditreport.com. Okay. Annualcreditreport.com. Okay.
• 01:24                                   Now, when you get to this website, it’s gonna give you the ability to pull your Equifax, okay, your TransUnion, and your Experian credit data. Okay. You’re gonna get everything. Every nook and cranny of that data, you can get once per year for free. You can download it as a PDF. You’ll have access to it forever and ever. Okay. It’s a great thing, and it’s extremely detailed.
• 01:46                                   Once again, what’s the catch, though? The catch is no one said in any of these laws that your credit score is free. There’s no credit score. Okay. No score. Okay. Now, there is the option, through each of the bureaus when you’re, when you’re accessing that free data, to upgrade and pay somewhere between eight and ten bucks per credit score, okay, but if you’re just looking for the data, you wanna see what’s on there, it’s very much recommended. Okay.
• 02:14                                   Now, if you wanna go one step further, you wanna get some of your data or as much data as you can, plus credit scores, okay, or some sort of credit score, and you have another site that’s super popular these days, and one we tend to recommend a lot because we like how usable it is, and you have Credit Karma. Okay. Credit Karma’s gonna allow you to access your TransUnion credit data 100% free of charge, okay, your Equifax credit data, and you’re not getting your Experian data. That’s one of the catches. Okay. Also, you are getting credit scores in the form of something called a Vantage Score. Okay. So a Vantage score is a credit score that’s used for educational purposes only. It was created by the three credit agencies. It’s owned by the three credit agencies. Banks and lenders do not use it. 90% of credit decisions are made using what? FICO scores. So Credit Karma’s a good report. We like the monitoring. We like it, but realize you’re not getting everything. Okay. You pay for what you get, and you’re not paying anything here, so you don’t get everything. Okay.
• 03:28                                   The other website that we like is freecreditreport.com, but another catch. Here’s the other catch, guys. It’s freecreditreport.com or freecreditscore.com. You are only getting free Experian data. Okay. Equifax, you get nothing. TransUnion, zero, zip, zilch. Okay. And, usually, you’re gonna get some sort of a score. Um, I’ve seen them offer FICO or usually FICO 8 or 9, which banks and lenders, of course, they’re not using it yet. Most mortgage companies using FICO 4 or FICO 5, um, or they’re using their plus score. Okay.
• 04:27                                   So, if you want the free data, just the data, annualcreditreport.com. Okay. You can get an upgrade and you can pay for it to access scores, but there are no scores. Credit Karma’s gonna give you TransUnion, Equifax, and a Vantage score, which is really good for educational purposes only. Um, you get a free app, as well, and the credit monitoring alerts are really good. Okay. Um, another thing negative with Credit Karma, something I don’t like is the fact that I’m constantly being marketed. Okay. Keep in mind they’re not charging you anything. They need to make money. So, every time you log in, guess what? There’s a banner for Amex, there’s a banner for Visa, there’s a banner for this, that, and the other, and I don’t like the fact that my data is out there in that way, although it’s out there anyway somewhere, right? Um, and then we have freecreditreport.com, which is giving you Experian data, plus one credit score. Okay.
• 05:15                                   Now, that’s where you’re getting some free credit reporting. Now, what is the common theme here? If you want it all, you must pay. Okay.
• 05:29                                   One thing I tell every single one of my clients, “Stop being cheap. Pay for credit monitoring. You will pay for all types of warranties, all types of things. You will pay all types of counselors, advisors, and coaches, but you will not shell out 20 or 30 bucks per month, $360 per year, to monitor all three of your credit agencies, to check all three of your credit agencies, and to look at and monitor all three of your credit scores.” That’s financial insanity. Okay.
• 05:58                                   If you wanna look at exactly what the banks are, uh, and lenders are looking at at all times and you’re willing to shell out the cash, and credit is important to you, then my suggestion, and you guys will see this a lot, this is not for cheap people, is myfico.com. Get on there. I think their three-in-one membership right now is somewhere in the ballpark of 30 bucks. All three credit agencies, all three FICO scores in every variation of the FICO score. Remember, guys? FICO 4, FICO 5, banks and lenders, mortgage companies, that’s what they’re using. FICO 8, FICO 9, they’re not using it. We could care less if we’re getting that score for free. Um, you also have auto lending scores, credit card scores, insurance scores. You got everything on there.
• 06:46                                   So, guys, that is your explanation about free credit reports. All right? This is Nik Tsoukales with Key Credit Repair, and this was your credit news for the day.