The content is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change.

Most of the American population has fair credit, which means that they are not exemplary with their financial management but not the complete borrowers in that sense. This is especially the case with most of the young people as they have not yet learned the tricks of financial management. If one has to deal with fair credit it is best to have a frank discussion with the lenders and make some sensible changes in order to get a better rating.

Fair credit scores are in the range of 640† to 680†, and this is not a technically defined range but an estimate. If the score drops to anywhere below 640† lenders would be wary of offering any loans while those with scores above 680† would be offered the best deals. This is because they are not too far away from the good credit scores.

Those with a fair credit score generally have a couple of delinquent accounts and would have had a history of failing to pay the revolving balances in full on their cards and may have a poor debt-to-income ratio. Most of the time the fall in credit rating could be due to an error in the credit history of the individual. Hence it is worthwhile to keep tabs on the credit reports regularly and correct error immediately especially after paying off huge debts.

When individuals have a fair credit score, they will have to work extra hard to move up to good credit rating, and they will have to negotiate with lenders in order to get good deals on their loans. Financial institutions take into account the good negotiation skills by the customers as a positive indicator. Paying a higher down payment in exchange for better interest rates is a smart move. Some planning and foresight are all that is required to save considerable sums of money.

Prospective landlords also look into the credit scores of individuals before renting an apartment and in case the individual has a fair credit score the best thing to do would be to get a co-signer, who has a good credit rating. Then the income proof of the co-signer will have to be furnished along with a large deposit. Sometime it may be essential to pay a few months' rent in advance. This will help in building confidence and repair the tarnished image, to some extent. This will also give the prospective landlord a good impression that you would be a responsible tenant in the future.

Disclaimer: This editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer(s). Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the credit card issuer(s), and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer(s). Reasonable efforts are made to present accurate information, however all information is presented without warranty. Consult a card's issuing bank for the terms & conditions.
All rates and fees, and other terms and conditions of the products mentioned in this article/post are actual as of the last update date but are subject to change. See the current products' Terms & Conditions on the issuing banks' websites.