4 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score
One of the things that will be considered when you apply for a home mortgage is your credit score. This credit score, often referred to as a FICO score, is also used for a variety of other purposes. And many things, from your history of paying to bills to the kind of debt you have can affect your credit score. So, it is a good idea to concentrate on these 4 ways to improve your credit score before you apply for a home mortgage:
- Make sure your bills and other payments are up to date. You also want to make sure that at least the minimum payment is made each month. This will show a responsible credit history, and it will show that you are likely to make your home mortgage payment each month.
- Try and pay down balances on “bad debt.” There is good debt and there is bad debt. A home mortgage is considered “good”debt. An auto loan that you can afford is “good” debt. Credit cards are not good debt. And department store credit cards are bad debt. Pay day loans are worse debt. You want to try and pay down your balances on the bad debt so that it doesn’t negatively impact your credit score.
- Don’t apply for more credit. Your credit score takes into account how often you apply for credit. If you are planning to apply for a home mortgage, avoid looking for more sources of credit. This includes “pre-screened” offers. Even though they say they are pre-screened, it is worth noting that your credit score is not impacted until you send the form back.
- Fix credit report mistakes. Check your credit report and then fix mistakes that you might find. You want to make sure that your report is accurate, and that everything is in order. You don’t want a nasty surprise when you go to apply for your home mortgage.
Note that it can take 30-60 days for something to show up on your credit report, for for credit report mistakes to be fixed. This means that if you want to apply for a home mortgage, you should be thinking ahead, keeping your credit score in good shape months before you start looking for that home loan.
Tags: improve credit score, apply home mortgage, home mortgage, home mortgage blog,
credit report mistakes, ways improve credit score, credit score
September 21st, 2007 at 12:21 pm
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