Me and my bf are looking at apartments (aren’t moving anytime soon cus money) and a lot of places mention credit scores and checks to ensure they’re good. I don’t know how to get one. I have a debit card, no loans or anything, I do pay taxes. I am confused.
How do you get a credit score?
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You can look at your credit score through services like Credit Karma. You get credit by taking on debt and paying it off on time.
All 3 major credit bureaus can provide you with a credit report and scores for free.
Credit card is the main way I know but I’m sure there’s more
Credit cards. Also you can get a loan and pay it back to help raise your score
If you’ve never gotten a loan, never had a credit card, and never otherwise used any service that involves credit, you may not even have a credit file with any or all of the credit bureaus.
I was in that situation most of my adult life until the past two years. I hate the credit score system and usurious nonsense of credit in the US so I avoided it. Finally needed to get a small loan for a one off emergency, so my mom, who has excellent credit, did the loan through the local bank and got me a card with my name on it.
After my name was put on a credit card and I started making payments on the loan, the credit bureaus eventually picked up on it and I actually had a credit file with them. Now I can check with FreeCreditReport or whatever the site is, or just go directly to the bureau sites.
So, if you try to get a credit report and it doesn’t work or they say you don’t have a file, you’ll prob want to get a simple secured credit card through a local credit union with like a $300 limit. That’s always been the advice I got and a couple of close friends did that to build credit. I haven’t gone that route so ymmv and take what I say with a grain of salt. Most finance stuff makes my head hurt.
You can build credit by using a credit card instead of your debit card. Then pay it off in full every time a bill lands.
So you’re just changing which card you use at the till, this will bring your score up favourably.
I bought myself a credit score by taking a secured loan (unsure of exact terminology) out from myself. Set up the bank to auto pay myself from myself and they reported each transaction. This was in 2008 when nobody was giving out credit cards to folks with no credit. All in all it cost me about $70 to purchase good credit.
Heres an easy way to build credit. Get a credit card whatever you can get even if its 300 dollar limit. You use it like a debit card instead of your actual debit card never spending more than you have in the bank. Over time that builds credit. Things like taking out loans cam temp lower the score bc theyre checking it, try ti never max out the card that drops it. Make all payments on time or it drops it. If you use the card method though itll go up pretty quick. Just he very mindful and remember it takes quite a while to build it up and once you have good credit its really helpful. I have excellent credit now but it took a lot of years. Theres probably guides online too on fast eays to build it. As far as checking it credit karma i think allows you to check it. Just make sure its one of the no impact ones similar to that bc as i said checking it in the wrong way cam affect the score. Not a cresit expert by any means but thats some basics. Also theres two credit scores fico and advantage i think its called. Lenders check different ones depending on what you are borrowing for. As far as the difference between those two you will need to look up and read details bc i honestly dont remember. Hope this helps
I was like that too in my younger days. When they check and you don’t have one, it just makes sense cause of where you are in life. You’ll still be able to rent the apartment. But if you really want to get a credit score cause maybe down the line you might want to get a mortgage for a house or whatever, then start with a credit card. Pay the card on time, and your credit score will be good.
Former landlord here: just apply to the ones you can afford and hope for the best.
A pro tip: learn what classes are protected nationally and locally before shopping. Your marital status is a protected class, for example. So if you hear, “You both need to be qualified for the lease in case one of you breaks up and the other can’t afford the rent.” That landlord has opened themselves up to a lawsuit based on discrimination of your marital status. Ask for anything fishy like that in writing. Don’t let on that you know your rights. Go somewhere else. That’s a slumlord.
Also, go drive around and write down numbers for signs in yards advertising apartments. Those will almost certainly be your cheapest options, especially if they aren’t listed online. Happy hunting!