Improving Your FICO Score for Home buyers

Choosing a lender isn't the first step in becoming a homeowner. In reality, the home buying process begins and ends with your finances. To make your goal of homeownership realized, you must consider your FICO score along with the type of loan for which you'll qualify in Dublin.

A FICO score is a review of your years of credit history based on an instrument developed by Fair Isaac and Company. Most people usually have a score of 650, but scores are tiered from 300 to 850. Job loss has been common in the last few years, but FICO scores aren't necessarily adjusted "on a curve." A low score is a low score and that often means you can't get a decent interest rate. Some of the pieces in calculating your FICO score include:

• Credit to Debt Ratio — How much do you owe versus your available credit?
• Credit Inquiries — How many times has your credit history been accessed by someone other than you?
• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of loans and credit cards?
• Payment History — How often do you make late payments?

In reviewing your credit history, you'll see that you actually have three reports. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — three of the major credit reporting agencies — use a slightly different systems to calculate your credit rating. FICO is used by Experian. Equifax's model is called BEACON and TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. You have a credit score with each of the bureaus.

When you apply for a mortgage or any other loan, lenders want to make sure that extending a loan to you isn't a problem. Your credit score gives lenders an insight into what type of borrower you'll be based solely on your credit history. Because of the shift in the economy, most home buyers should have scores in the range of 700 or higher to get an acceptable interest rate. You'll still qualify for a mortgage loan with a lower score, but the interest accumulated over time could be more than double that of someone having a better FICO score.

Getting your credit in order is the best way to ease into purchasing a home. Call us at 9259999531 and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.

How do you boost your credit score? Building your FICO score takes time. It can be difficult to make a significant change in your number with small changes, but your score can improve in a year or two by keeping tabs your credit report and by wisely using credit. The most important thing is to know your FICO score. Here are some ways you can improve your credit score:

• Keep your cards active. Whether you have older cards, or are just getting started with credit, be sure to use your cards so that your accounts maintain an active status. But, be sure to pay them off in no more than two or three payments.
• Keep up with payments. Delinquent payments drastically lower your credit score. It's one of the reasons people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest dip in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to rebuild your credit with payment history, but it's the surest way to show that you're responsible enough to make payments to a lender.
• Correct your credit report. If you find incorrect items on your credit report, write to the bureau requesting that the item be removed. If you have a common name or the same name as a family member, you'll want to give extra care to make sure the activity reported is correct.
• Even out your debt. At first, this doesn't seem like a good idea. But, you want to avoid of having one card that is maxed out and have your remaining cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at a smaller balance than to have the bulk of your debt transferred to one card.
• Store cards and gas station cards. For those who have non-existent credit or low credit, retail credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to begin your credit history, increase your spending limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your FICO score. You should always avoid charging a large balance for too long because these types of cards usually have a higher interest rate.

Knowing the methods you can use to raise your FICO score, you can move toward becoming a homeowner. Know that when it's time to apply for a loan to purchase a home, you'll want to keep your applications within a two-week window to avoid damaging your credit score. With the help of Provident Realty Group, the loan process is sure to go more smoothly so you, too, can achieve home ownership.

Learn more about FICO scores at myFICO.com, Fair Isaac's informational site and you can review all of your credit reports for free each year at annualcreditreport.com. And, for a small payment, you can get your FICO score from each bureau on their websites: equifax.com, experian.com and transunion.com.