5 Sneaky Things You Didn't Know that Could Ruin Your Credit

There are many Tampa Bay area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here to learn about our “Your Home Sold Guaranteed in 29 Days” program or for a free property valuation so you know what your home can sell for in today’s market. You may also call me at (813) 359-8990 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Andrew Duncan, Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor and Expert, talks to Arnie and David Diaz from Waterstone Mortgage about the 5 Sneaky Things you didn't know could ruin your credit based on an article that came out on Trulia on The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA.


1. Hard Inquiry
Arnie discusses that when shopping for rates, getting your credit pulled is necessary because the rate is dependent on your credit. Trulia suggests to do it within 14 days that way it will be considered as one pull so as not to affect your credit too much.

David adds that it really depends because the credit bureaus work independently and some have that 14 day window, some have longer, etc. He also said that shopping for rates for one type of loan is fine. But what pulls your credit down is if you're shopping for different types of loans like a home loan, a car loan and credit cards all at the same time.

2. Skipping out on little things
Based on the article, it says that old small delinquencies such as old medical bills or library fines could affect your credit rating. David says that this is not true because contrary to logic, paying a small collection on your account in a very short time would actually bring down your score. He said they would NOT recommend to pay that off in a very short term. The reason it will pull the score down is because the date on that delinquency would probably show as a few years ago. Paying it off will bring up the date to today. It would be best to consult with your local lending professional to get expert advice.


3. Incorrect Info On Your Credit Reports
There are a lot of instances that there is something attached to your credit report that is incorrect or maybe the amount of credit from a credit provider was shown as incorrect. A lot of people do have incorrect info on their credit report and is relatively easy to fix. You just need to contact the bureaus and the lender which could take up to 45 days to get fixed. Might as well check your score early to make sure you have time to get any errors fixed.

4. Utilizing your credit too much and not paying attention to the debt to income ratio 
Ideally speaking, you should not go over 1/4 or 1/3 of the credit limit on your credit card. If you're using the maximum limit now, try to get it down to 75%, then to 50%. Ideally you shouldn't be no more than 25-30% of your limit.

5. Not using your credit!
Some people think that having some credit is better than having no credit which is not true. The way the American system works is you need to show that you are able to pay somebody on time on a monthly interval basis. You can keep it simple by maybe using a credit card where you use for gas or groceries every couple of months. Keep it small, keep it simple. Make sure to make the payments on time and that would be the best way to generate a credit score.

To get more Tampa Bay Real Estate news and advice from Tampa Bay's #1 Realtor, tune in to The Duncan Duo Real Estate Show on 970 WFLA - Tampa Bay every Sundays at 10 am.