Credit Reports - Say "Arghhhhhhhh" please!

Looking after your finances for many is like going to the dentist - we all know that it is a good idea - the thought of it however puts many of us off but once we've been we always come away thinking that wasn't too bad and should do it regularly. And so it should be with your credit score!

Knowing your credit score and credit history is absolutely vital if you are applying for a mortgage. Nearly all lenders will sneek a peek at your report so if it is a mess don't expect the mortgage application to be plain sailing. It certainly pays to keep it ship shape.

I am going to do a vodcast on the Credit Report in the coming weeks so I will just touch on 3 salient points at the moment.

1. Ensuring that you make credit payments on time and that you are on the electoral roll will see your score climb but if you miss payments on a regular basis or have payday loans then your score will take a beating.

2. Experien, Equifax and Noddle are the suppliers of the credit reports. Experien will give you a 30 day free trial and Noddle is completely free. Most lenders use either Equifax or Experien however.

3. Lenders will also undertake a profiling of your credit score. This is a bit hard to pin down but in essence they will look to see how you live your life so best not max out on that credit card - that's not clever in the eyes of the lender.

So if you are looking for a mortgage - open wide, say arghhhhh and let the dentist have a look!