Managing Credit Vocab Review

An inquiry into your credit history, typically in advance of applying for a loan. Can negatively affect your credit for 12 months and remain on your credit history for two years.

• Hard Inquiry

• Soft Inquiry

• Credit History

• Payment History

An inquiry into your credit history as part of a background check. This does not affect your credit score.

• Hard Inquiry

• Soft Inquiry

• Credit History

• Payment History

The taking back of property after a borrower has defaulted on payments

• Repossession

• Collateral

• Bankruptcy

• Tax Lien

A legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments by forcing the sale of the property

• Repossession

• Foreclosure

• Bankruptcy

• Credit

A consumer-reporting company that collects and sells information about how individual people manage their credit (e.g. Equifax)

• APR

• Credit Report

• Credit Bureau

• Foreclosure

A legal claim by a government entity to take an individual's property or income when their taxes are not paid in full

• Tax Lien

• Default

• Foreclosure

• Bankruptcy

Long-term failure to repay a loan according to the terms agreed to, which has a substantial negative impact on the borrower's credit score

• Interest Rate

• Foreclosure

• Bankruptcy

• Default

A legal proceeding carried out to allow individuals or businesses freedom from their debts, while simultaneously providing creditors an opportunity for repayment

• Foreclosure

• Bankruptcy

• Credit Report

• Default

A measurement of your outstanding debt divided by your total available credit; a general rule of thumb is to keep this under 30%

• Annual Percentage Rate

• Interest Rate

• Credit Utilization Rate

• Net Worth

A three-digit number (ranging from 300-850) based on an individual's credit history detailed in a credit report

• Credit Score

• Credit History

• Credit Report

• Credit Utilization Rate