home loans - Credit Files and Bad Credit FAQs - x inc finance

 1. What is a Credit File?

A credit file is a record that contains all your credit -active information during the past five years. Credit File contains of your Credit history including:

• Personal information
• Credit applications and enquires made during the past five years
• Current credit account
• Overdue accounts (defaults) including an indicator on whether the default amount has been paid
• Bankruptcy information
• Default judgments
• Public record information

more about credit files

 2. How can I get a copy of my Credit File?

It is a good idea to get a copy of your credit file before you apply for home/business loan. This process is easy and costs very little to access by just logging on to www.mycreditfile.com.au. Obtaining a copy of your credit information will allow you to manage your personal information and assess your credit- worthiness.
more about getting access to your credit file

 3. What if I have past Credit Issues or bad credit?

If you have past credit issues, you need to be honest and up-front with your mortgage broker.  It is best that your lender or mortgage broker finds out from you, not your credit reference report, if there are any problems with your credit history.  A mortgage broker will also know to show you lender products which take this situation into account.   Explain why the problem occurred and how you rectified it, if there has been a problem. You can also consider going to a non-conforming lender. These lenders consider applications with past credit issues. more about past credit or bad credit

 4. How do I maintain my Credit - Worthiness?

It is not hard to maintain a clean credit file. You can easily do this by following some of the basic processes as mentioned below.

• Paying bills on time. An overdue account is usually a debt that has been owed for a minimum of 60 days.
• Ensure you call your credit providers and alert them if there are any problems meeting your financial commitment.
• Review your credit file to ensure there are no errors are recorded and also to discover any overdue account that has been forgotten about.
• Monitor your credit file for any frauds incurred using your identity.
• A "no" to a credit application, or a supply of goods and services where payment is deferred, does not necessarily mean your credit file is flawed.
• The details on overdue accounts remain on file for five years from the date of listing, as part of your credit history. more about maintaining a good credit file and managing a bad credit rating