In the current market obtaining a loan for a boat or recreational vehicle purchase can be very challenging.
This has caused much frustration among many hopeful boat and RV owners especially in light of how easy it was to get financing just two years ago.
Knowing your credit history and understanding your credit score is vital for securing a loan today or for increasing your chances of obtaining funding in the future.
The following is quick step-by-step guide to help you understand your credit and improve your chances for obtaining financing.
Why Understanding Your Credit Matters: Each time you apply for a new loan or line of credit the it is reported as a negative on your FICO score.
Instead of applying when your chances for approval are poor you would be better off working on paying off your existing debts to improve your debt-to-income ratio and improve your FICO score.
If you think you are a marginal candidate for approval than you need to search for a lender that has a strong non-prime rate lending program.
Even in today's tight credit markets loans for non-Grade A customers are possible but you must make sure to do everything you can before applying to improve your FICO score and debt-to-income ratio in order to qualify and obtain the lowest possible interest rate.
Step 1: Getting Your Credit History / FICO Score The first step is to learn your credit history.
Fortunately these days obtaining credit history and your Fair Issac Corporation (FICO) score - the best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States is an easy process.
There are many online sources for credit reports.
Each of the sites will let you see your credit scores from the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
STEP 2: Understanding What It Means Although it is easy in the reports to check what your FICO score is comprehending what it means can often be confusing.
The major areas you want to focus on are how your FICO score compares to the national averages and and how to find negatives and errors in your personal credit history.
STEP 3: Checking Your Credit History It is imperative that your report reflect an accurate depiction of your credit profile.
Mistakes happen frequently and errors are posted to your credit report without your knowledge.
You can't allow this to go unchecked.
The first thing you need to do is check to see if there are any major negative marks on your individual credit histories as reported by Equifax, Experion, and TransUnion.
Each credit reporting agency uses it's own standards for record collection and it is very common for the agencies to report different account histories.
STEP 4: Correcting Errors Mistakes happen frequently and errors are posted to your credit report without your knowledge.
You can't allow this to go unchecked.
The agencies allow you to question the accuracy of each account they list on your record.
If you do find an error contact the reporting agency immediately and report the error.
Submit the evidence you have that contradicts their report.
Once you have filed an error it is up to the agency to confirm the accuracy of their report.
If they can't confirm their record by law they must remove the account in question from your history.
If there are errors getting them removed can dramatically improve your FICO score and increase your chances for successfully obtaining a loan.
For additional information on repairing your credit visit the Federal Trade Commission's website http://www.
ftc.
gov/bcp/index.
shtml STEP 5: Debt to Income Ratio Once you have a solid understanding of your personal credit score and how it compares to the national averages the next step to take before potentially applying for a loan is to evaluate your debt to income ratio.
Lenders will calculate the debt noted on your credit report plus the amount of your loan request.
They will then compare this to your adjusted gross income as reported on your tax returns to product your debt-to-income ratio.
Typically lenders require that your debt to income ratio to fall within the 30-40% range based on your gross income.
Each lender has different credit requirements but now that you have a solid understanding of where you stand you can determine if you are a good candidate for approval.
If after reviewing your credit history and debt-to-income ratio you don't think you are likely to be approved it is better to hold off applying for new financing.
This has caused much frustration among many hopeful boat and RV owners especially in light of how easy it was to get financing just two years ago.
Knowing your credit history and understanding your credit score is vital for securing a loan today or for increasing your chances of obtaining funding in the future.
The following is quick step-by-step guide to help you understand your credit and improve your chances for obtaining financing.
Why Understanding Your Credit Matters: Each time you apply for a new loan or line of credit the it is reported as a negative on your FICO score.
Instead of applying when your chances for approval are poor you would be better off working on paying off your existing debts to improve your debt-to-income ratio and improve your FICO score.
If you think you are a marginal candidate for approval than you need to search for a lender that has a strong non-prime rate lending program.
Even in today's tight credit markets loans for non-Grade A customers are possible but you must make sure to do everything you can before applying to improve your FICO score and debt-to-income ratio in order to qualify and obtain the lowest possible interest rate.
Step 1: Getting Your Credit History / FICO Score The first step is to learn your credit history.
Fortunately these days obtaining credit history and your Fair Issac Corporation (FICO) score - the best-known and most widely used credit score model in the United States is an easy process.
There are many online sources for credit reports.
Each of the sites will let you see your credit scores from the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
STEP 2: Understanding What It Means Although it is easy in the reports to check what your FICO score is comprehending what it means can often be confusing.
The major areas you want to focus on are how your FICO score compares to the national averages and and how to find negatives and errors in your personal credit history.
STEP 3: Checking Your Credit History It is imperative that your report reflect an accurate depiction of your credit profile.
Mistakes happen frequently and errors are posted to your credit report without your knowledge.
You can't allow this to go unchecked.
The first thing you need to do is check to see if there are any major negative marks on your individual credit histories as reported by Equifax, Experion, and TransUnion.
Each credit reporting agency uses it's own standards for record collection and it is very common for the agencies to report different account histories.
STEP 4: Correcting Errors Mistakes happen frequently and errors are posted to your credit report without your knowledge.
You can't allow this to go unchecked.
The agencies allow you to question the accuracy of each account they list on your record.
If you do find an error contact the reporting agency immediately and report the error.
Submit the evidence you have that contradicts their report.
Once you have filed an error it is up to the agency to confirm the accuracy of their report.
If they can't confirm their record by law they must remove the account in question from your history.
If there are errors getting them removed can dramatically improve your FICO score and increase your chances for successfully obtaining a loan.
For additional information on repairing your credit visit the Federal Trade Commission's website http://www.
ftc.
gov/bcp/index.
shtml STEP 5: Debt to Income Ratio Once you have a solid understanding of your personal credit score and how it compares to the national averages the next step to take before potentially applying for a loan is to evaluate your debt to income ratio.
Lenders will calculate the debt noted on your credit report plus the amount of your loan request.
They will then compare this to your adjusted gross income as reported on your tax returns to product your debt-to-income ratio.
Typically lenders require that your debt to income ratio to fall within the 30-40% range based on your gross income.
Each lender has different credit requirements but now that you have a solid understanding of where you stand you can determine if you are a good candidate for approval.
If after reviewing your credit history and debt-to-income ratio you don't think you are likely to be approved it is better to hold off applying for new financing.
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