How to Get Your Credit Score Online

On this page, I’ll explain how to get your credit score straight from the source. I’ll also offer some tips on improving your score, if it turns out to be low.

This is the only website I recommend using:
Check your FICO credit score & get mortgage relief at myFICO

If you already know how to interpret the numbers, and you just want to get your credit score right now, you can use the link provided above. If you’re not familiar with how it all works, you can continue reading below.

Good credit is the key to getting approved for a mortgage loan. So let’s talk about how to get your credit score quickly and easily. The first thing you need to understand is that your credit reports and scores are two separate things. This is something that confuses a lot of people, so let’s clear it up right now. Here’s the difference between these two things:

Your report is just a record of your financial activity over the years. In particular, they show how you’ve borrowed and repaid money over the years. Your FICO credit score, on the other hand, is a number between 300 and 850, and it’s based on the information found within your reports.

Does that make sense so far? Good. Let’s move on.

You can actually get your credit score from several different websites. I recommend using the MyFICO website, because it’s owned by the folks who created the FICO scoring model. Go straight to the source — that’s why I say. You will probably have to pay a small fee for your score. By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report per year. But this law does not apply to your score. Remember, they are two different things.

What to Do Next, After You Get Your Score

So, let’s assume that you get your credit score, and it turns out to be a 685. What does this number mean? How do you compare to other home buyers and mortgage shoppers? Is this a good or bad score? Here’s how to put the number into perspective:

Keeping in mind that the FICO range goes from 300 - 850, a score of 685 would put you on the upper end of the scale. So in this range, you would have a pretty good chance of getting approved for a loan. But you might not qualify for the best interest rates. To do that, you’d probably need a score of 760 or above — maybe even higher.

So the key here is to have the best score you possibly can. If yours happens to be in the low 600s or below, you’ll want to focus your energy on improving it. You can do that by reducing your credit card balances, paying all of your bills on time, and fixing any mistakes that appear in your credit reports.

It’s also important to remember that this is just one piece of the mortgage-approval process. Lenders will also review your income, your employment status, and the amount of debt you are carrying. Based on these factors, they will make a decision on (A) whether or not they can loan you money, and (B) what kind of interest rate they’re willing to give you.

This article explains how to get your credit score online, and what to do after you’ve obtained it. We have a lot more articles like this one coming soon, so be sure to bookmark this site in your favorites.