Re: How Much Is A Credit Score (FICO) Worth?

"abby" <abbybrown@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> I just took advantage of a Massachusetts law that allows a free 
> credit re****t once a year.  Our re****t is clean and accurate but 
> they do not include the credit score, FICO.  The FICO is $7.95 
> from Equifax.  My only concern is that we haven't had a loan since 
> 1995 which I paid off in a few months.  We are planning on buying 
> a winter home when my wife retires in four years.  With a clean 
> history is the FICO useful now?  Ever?

Don't bother buying your credit score. When it comes time to make a 
loan, just about any lender you can name will tell you what your score 
is when they check it. They will all probably say something like "I'm 
not supposed to show you this, but..." and then show you your credit 
re****t (along with the score) and start asking you questions about any 
minor discrepancy on it in order to scare you into thinking your score 
is very low. :-)

Without a loan since 1995, you are what the car industry (and possibly 
others) calls a "ghost". You have no FICO because there isn't enough 
data to determine it. What this means is that you will have to present 
documentation proving that you will be able to pay off the loan, no 
signature loans for you. :-)

So, when you ask how much a (good) FICO is worth, the cost you should be 
referring to is the cost of maintaining some debt so that there will be 
data for the FICO system to work with. If you want an easy time of it 
when you are ready to buy that house in four years, you should borrow 
some money now (a credit card maybe?), and make minimum payments, but 
always on time, for the next four years, then pay the loan off before 
buying the house. So a good FICO will cost you five to ten thousand 
dollars over the course of then next four years, and all it will get you 
is less hassle when it comes time to buy that house.

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