Get to the 800+ Credit Score Club With These Tips!

Unless you have lots of cash stacked up under your mattress or in your bank account, you will need a good credit to get a loan. Any loan, but especially a mortgage loan.

Credit helps lenders to immediately see the borrower's responsibility for paying their debt on time.

In the USA 90% of lenders use the FICO score, which is between 300 and 850.
For a conventional loan, the minimum credit score that lenders would consider comfortable to accept is 720.

According to www.myfico.com a credit score of 620 versus 720 on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage of  $300,000 could cost approximately $110,000 more over the life of loan. Now I don't know how it is for you, but this is a lot of money!

So when you decide you want to make a large purchase like buying a home, it would be smart to consider repairing your credit score. Especially if there are couple things you can do yourself, for free!

Follow these tips to better your credit score and get a better interest rate:

• Keep a track of your payments and your credit score.

Being late on a payment will hurt your credit for about 3 years, or less if it's up to 30 days one time late payment. That's why I recommend using one of the apps that remind you of your due date on each credit card.

Also, it would be a good idea to constantly keep a track of your credit score. Once a year www.annualcreditreport.com lets you view your credit report for free.

• Use your credit cards lightly.

Maxing out your cards can hurt your credit score even if you are paying them in full each month. What's typically reported to the credit bureaus and calculated into your scores, are the balances reported on your last statement. Experts recommend using up to 40% of your total credit limit.


If you have been a good customer to your lenders, you could do two things:

• Get a bigger credit limit!

Different banks have different poli
cies, but generally if you have been with a bank for some time, and haven't gotten your credit limit increased, chances are you could double your credit limit!

• Request a "goodwill adjustment" from your bank

Your bank might agree to simply erase that one late payment from your credit history (usually you would have to make a request in writing).  Be persistent. If they refuse to remove the late payments at first, remind them that you have been a good customer that would deeply appreciate their help. Most creditors receive calls within a call center, if the representative refuses to make a courtesy adjustment on your account, call back and try again with someone else. Persistence and politeness pays off in this scenario. 

Hope these tips help you improve your credit score and get the best deal on the interest rate on the purchase of your new home!
For any questions you have, or for more information, please contact me, I'm always happy to help!!!