Crabjoe Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 I'm looking to buy my 1st home and I want to make sure that my credit is in order. So before I start get over my head, I'd like to get educated. Because of this, I have a few questions to ask. I've gone through alot of messages on this board but I couldn't find the answer so I do apoligize if they have been asked before.1. What is the difference between a soft pull and a hard pull?2. How long does it take for a soft and hard pull to come off of your credit report?3. Can a creditor see both soft and hard pulls of your report?4. What online company (ie myfico.com) is best for pulling credit report/score?5. How long does it take for a line item to drop off a report? a. If a account is still open, and you have a late payment, does it take 7 years for thelate payment to drop off?b. If an account is closed how long will it take?6. If you dispute a negative line item, and it comes back that it does belong to you, does the 7 years start over again?7. What the heck does DH and DW mean?Those are my 1st set of questions. I'll have more as time goes on but let me give you a little history about myself.Years ago (early 90's) my credit was terrible. I mean all I had were charge offs or collections. Then around '93 I got a couple of secured cards. In '95 I got an auto loan (I was told I had good credit at this time, which was no credit... I had made arrangements with the charge offs to get them removed by paying them). If '96 I got a few joint card accounts (Discover, MC and Visa). My cellular company in '97 started asking me to pay my bill after I had cancelled with them after my 1 year contract was up, they claimed I never cancelled. They sen me to collections of which I disputed. Then all the sudden I never heard from them again. Then last 7/02, I applied for a Citi Bank platinum card and got approved ($3xxx limit). Citi Bank has since up my limit to $5xxx, without a credit check. In 10/03 I got a Home Depot card ($1xxx limit) and this year 4/03, I got an American Express Blue ($2xxx limit). All these cards are in my name only except the Citibank because I put my girlfriend on as an AU.From what I've been reading on this message board, I'm thinking I'm in pretty good shape, but am very nervous about pulling my report because I understand everytime it's pulled my score is reduced. Can anyone take a guess where I might fall in a score? BTW, are any of the card I got since last year considered a Premium card? What's the difference between between they type of cards you get? I thought a unsecured card was as good as any unsecured card.Thanks [Edit by Crabjoe on Sunday, May 11, 2003 @ 10:36 PM] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sisflomi Posted May 12, 2003 Report Share Posted May 12, 2003 1. What is the difference between a soft pull and a hard pull?<A soft pull is not seen by anyone but you and does not hurt your credit score. A soft pull falls off reports after a year. A hard pull is when you apply for credit or a collection agency looking into an account. A hard pull does hurt your score. Hard pull stays on your report for 2 years, it is said after 6 months it does not hurt your score as much. After one year it is not supposed to figure into your score at all.>2. How long does it take for a soft and hard pull to come off of your credit report?<see above for answer>3. Can a creditor see both soft and hard pulls of your report?<Creditors only see hard pulls>4. What online company (ie myfico.com) is best for pulling credit report/score?<A true FICO score can be bought from myfico.com. They offer one for Equifax and for TransUnion. If the score does not say FICO, it is not a true score that a creditor will see. If you sign up for Equifax credit monitor service its free for 30 days, it will show you the true FICO score. You can cancel before 30 days are up if you don't want to pay for the service.>5. How long does it take for a line item to drop off a report? <Delinquencies (30 – 180 days): Can remain seven years from the date of the initial missed payment. Collection accounts: Remain seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the collection (the original delinquency date). When a collection account is paid in full, it will be marked "paid collection" on the credit report. Charged-off accounts: Remain seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that led to the charge off (the original delinquency date), even if payments are later made on the charged-off account. Closed accounts: Closed accounts are accounts that are no longer available for further use. Closed accounts may or may not have a zero balance. Closed accounts with delinquencies remain seven years from the date they are reported closed, whether closed by the creditor or by the consumer. Positive closed accounts remain 10 years. Lost credit card: If there are no del, credit cards that are reported lost will continue to be listed for two years from the date the card is reported lost. Delinquent payments that occurred before the card was lost are reported for seven years. Bankruptcy: Chapters 7, 11, and 12 remain for 10 years from the filing date. Chapter 13 remains seven years from the filing date. Accounts included in bankruptcy will remain seven years from the date they were reported as included in the bankruptcy. Child support judgments: Remain seven years from the date the judgment is filed. Civil and small claim judgments: Remain seven years from the date the judgment is filed. City, county, state, and federal tax liens: Unpaid tax liens remain 15 years from the filing date. Paid tax liens remain seven years from the paid date of the lien.>6. If you dispute a negative line item, and it comes back that it does belong to you, does the 7 years start over again?<No, it will be the same amount of time, it should only show date verifed as recent.> 7. What the heck does DH and DW mean? Dear Husband and Dear Wife.Again, your score is not reduced when you pull your own credit. Some companies do seem to put pulls in the Hard area, I have been able to dispute with the company get them removed to the Account Inq sections. You should go to each credit reporting agency directly and get your report from them. If you were denied credit are unemployed or on public assistance your report will be free. Some states are free also, you have to see if yours is included. You can get all three online. Sounds like your headed in the right direction with your credit. I am only 3 months into the repair stage, all the info I have supplied is what I have learned from reading past posts, FCRA, FDCA and other laws such as UCC and my states statues. You can do a 3 n 1 pull, but it won't help if you have disputes, as they don't give you all the infomation you will need for disputes. Here are the links for credit reporting agency:http://www.experian.comhttp://www.transunion.comhttp://equifax.comHere are some sites with free trails, again, they won't do you much good if you have disputes.http://www.privacyguard.comhttps://www.worthknowing.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabjoe Posted May 13, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 Sis,Thanks for all the info. Today, I went a head and order copy of my credit report from all three agencies, but I did not request a score. I don't want to be in shock if I have a low score (<650).Now that I've order the reports, I'm going to start the dispute process. But I'm not sure if I should because I understand it would lower my score and I'd like to buy my 1st home this year. What do you think?Also if I dispute something and it comes back as validated with an updated date, will that lower my score worse then if I the disputed item was deleted or left alone without a dispute?TIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisak72 Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 There's no way for anyone here to give an estimate of what your score is. Best to just pull it and work from there. If you have derogatories on your CR like collections, you are better off disputing them. They will only be in dispute for 30 days and I don't know how that alters the FICO score, but it may raise a FACO score (fake score from credit bureaus) while in dispute. If you have success in disputing the negatives off your report, that will only add to a higher FICO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrassFan Posted May 13, 2003 Report Share Posted May 13, 2003 <blockquote>Originally posted by CrabjoeNow that I've order the reports, I'm going to start the dispute process. But I'm not sure if I should because I understand it would lower my score and I'd like to buy my 1st home this year. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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