Home buyer's Guide to Better Credit

The home buying process doesn't start with getting pre-approved by a lender or with choosing a real estate agent. In reality, the home buying process begins and ends with your finances. Without an above average FICO score, buying a house is harder and, you could end up renting longer than you expected in Fort lauderdale, Florida until you build up your score.

A FICO score is a review of your years of credit history based on a model developed by Fair Isaac and Company. Most people traditionally have a score of 600, but scores are tiered from 300 to 850. With the change in the economy, however, some borrowers have seen their score drop by hundreds of points after unemployment, delinquent credit card accounts, or credit card accounts closed by the lender due to inactivity. Some of the pieces in calculating your FICO score include:

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

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 a view of 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 satisfactory interest rate. You can qualify for a loan with a lower score, but the interest accumulated in the long run could be more than double the amount of an individual having a better credit score.

Staying on top of your FICO score is the first step in owning a home. Call us at 9548184743 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 rare to make a significant stride change in your credit score with small changes, but your score can improve in a few years by monitoring your credit report and by wisely using credit. The most important thing is to know your FICO score. You'll improve your credit score by using these pointers:

• Keep your cards active. Whether you have older cards, or are just getting started with credit, use your cards to make sure your accounts stay active. But, be sure to pay them off in one or two payments.
• Keep up with payments. Your FICO score plummets with each account that goes to collections. It's where people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest dip in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to restore your credit this way, but it's the most reliable way to show that you're able to make payments to a bank.
• Correct your credit report. If you discover mistakes on your credit report, contact the bureau asking 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 seem like a good idea. But, you steer clear of having one card that is at the maximum and have the rest of your cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at a lower balance than to have all of your debt transferred to a single card.
• Store cards and gas cards. For those who have non-existent credit or less-than-stellar credit, chain store credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to begin your credit history, increase your spending limits and keep up your payments, which will raise your credit. You must always beware of charging a large balance for more than a couple of months because these types of cards normally have a surprisingly high interest rate.

Knowing the ways you can raise your FICO score, you're one step closer to becoming a homeowner. Remember that when it's time to apply for a loan to purchase a house, you'll want to keep your lender applications within a two-week window to avoid damaging your credit score. With the help of Charles Rutenberg Realty, Fort Lauderdale, The Scott Todd / Mike Imperiale Team, the loan application process is sure to go more smoothly so you, too, can achieve home ownership.

Get more information by visiting myFICO.com, Fair Isaac's informational site and review your credit history for free 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.