 TITLE: What Is a Lien? CONTENT: What Can Negatively Impact Your Credit\n--------------------------------------\nThough liens themselves are not included in your reports, if the lien was involuntarily, it's likely due to nonpayment. In that case, if the creditor that filed the lien reports payment information to the credit bureaus, a record of nonpayment could be listed in your reports and negatively impact your scores.\nHere are some of the main score factors that you should monitor when working to maintain a good score:\n*   **Maintain a good payment history.** Making on-time payments is the most important thing you can do to maintain or improve your credit score. Even one late or missed payment can cause your score to drop, so make sure to pay all your bills on time to avoid any negative impact.\n*   **Keep your credit card balances low.** Credit utilization is another important aspect of your credit. Credit scores can suffer when your credit balance approaches or exceeds 30% of your credit limit; maxing out your credit cards could put a big dent in your scores. Those with the best credit scores tend to keep their credit utilization in the low single digits.\n*   **Keep a good credit mix.** Lenders might want to know how you've handled various types of debt (credit cards as well as installment loans, for instance). Which means a diversified credit report that includes different types of credit can help your scores.\nIf you haven't checked your credit recently, get a free copy of your reports and scores from Experian to see what's in your credit file and how it's impacting your scores. END