- Discussion board

I am a homeowner and am employed with an individual income of $22000.
I can get a auto loan, but I still have to pay high fees for a credit card and have a very low balance. The gentleman that I purchased the car from said that I was only three points away from getting an average interest rate on my auto loan through the bank. I currently go through a finance company. How long does it take to rebuild credit. I have a credit card through a secured company and have had for 15 months and have made all my payments on time and continue to do so. Please help me.

As you probably are aware, negative information stays on your credit report for 7 years. Once you have made a commitment to rebuilding your credit, it is essential that you maintain a flawless payment history. Also, issuers like to see different types of credit such as loans etc, so the fact that you have an auto loan is a plus. You may want to switch over to an unsecured card with your current issuer, and gradually ask for increases in your credit limit. Lastly, make sure that you monitor your credit report to see when negative information will be removed and to make sure
everything is accurate. Good Luck.

I would like to know how the points system is determined and how do you know what kind of points you have based on your credit report

FICO scores fall between 300 and 900 points. The higher the score the better. Typically a score above 650 is generally considered respectable. However, different lenders and credit agencies customize the mathematical models used in the FICO scoring system so that you really have many scores. Creditors are not currently required by law to tell you what your score is but this appears to be changing.

I guess the short answer to your question is, no you can not determine your score from your credit report. I recommend you follow this link and read the following LA Times article.
>http://www.latimes.com/business/columns/perfin/20000910/t000085117.html