Scoring Your Credit - How's Your FICO?

The home buying process doesn't start with getting pre-approved for a loan or with choosing a real estate agent. The quality of your wallet starts the home buying process. Saving your money for a down payment is a good idea, but if you lack a strong credit score to reinforce it, you could find yourself renting for another couple of years in Dublin until your score improves.

A FICO score is a collection 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 range from 300 to 850. With the change in the economy, however, some borrowers have seen their score drop by hundreds of points because of unemployment, closed credit card accounts, or credit card accounts closed by the lender due to inactivity. Some of the factors in reviewing your FICO score are:

• Credit to Debt Ratio — How much do you owe versus your available credit?
• Credit Inquiries — Do you have too many open accounts?
• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of loans and credit cards?
• Payment History — How many months do you make late payments?

When you pull your credit report, you'll find 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. Because of this, you have three scores, one for each scoring model.

Lenders want to be positive that giving you a loan is a safe move. Your FICO score gives lenders an insight into what type of borrower you'd be based solely on your credit history. You'll need a score of at least 700 to get a decent interest rate. If your score is less than that, you can still qualify for a loan, but the interest accumulated over the life of the loan could be more than double the amount of an individual having a stronger FICO score.

Getting your credit in order is the first step in owning a home. Call us at 9259999531 and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.

You want an improved score, but how do you get there? Improving your FICO score takes time. It can be rare to make a large-scale change in your number with quick fixes, but your score can improve in a year by monitoring your credit report and by using your credit wisely. The best way to do this is to know your FICO score. Here are some ways you can improve your credit score:

• 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.
• Spread your debt around. At first, this doesn't sound like a good idea. But, you steer clear of having one card that is at the maximum and have your remaining cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at a lower balance than to have the most of your debt sitting on a single card.
• Chain store cards and service station cards. For those who have no credit or low credit, retail credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to establish your credit history, increase your credit limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your FICO score. You should always beware of charging a high balance for too long because these types of cards normally have a higher interest rate.
• Use your credit. Whether you're just getting started with credit, or if you've got older cards, be sure to use your cards to make sure your accounts maintain an active status. But, pay them off in no more than two or three payments.
• Pay on time. Late payments kill your credit history. It's where people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest hit in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to rebuild your credit this way, but it's the surest way to prove that you're responsible enough to make payments to a bank.

Now that you know more about credit reporting, you'll be able to successfully take the first step in owning a home, and that is improving your FICO score. Keep in mind that when it's time to apply for a loan to purchase a home, you'll want to keep your credit inquiries within a two-week window to avoid adverse effects on your credit score. With the help of Provident Realty Group, the loan application process is sure to go more smoothly so you, too, can become a homeowner.

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.