By Kim Fernández

When you apply for a loan, do you know what information is in your credit report and the method of scoring used by the lender? What is the difference between a credit score and a credit report? Knowing these answers could potentially save you significant amounts over the life of a loan.

First, let’s look at credit scoring. Not all institutions use the same scoring system, however the most common scoring system is FICO (developed by Fair Isaac Corporation). The FICO score is based on your credit report and ranges from a low score of 300 to the highest at 850. Institutions also set varying minimum scores.

Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA), mortgage lenders are required to tell you the credit scores they used in the process of providing th

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