Scoring Your Credit

Choosing a lender isn't the first step in becoming a homeowner. The quality of your wallet starts the home buying process. Saving your money for a down payment is great, but if you don't have an acceptable credit score to reinforce it, you could find yourself renting longer than you expected in , Florida until your FICO score is acceptable.

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 650, but scores range from 300 to 850. With the change in the economy, however, some borrowers have seen their score drop dramatically because of underemployment, closed credit card accounts, or credit card accounts terminated because the card didn't carry a high balance. Some of the pieces in reviewing your FICO score are:

• Payment History — How often 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?
• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of loans and credit cards?

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 determine your credit rating. FICO is used by Experian. Equifax's model is called BEACON and TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. As a result, you have three scores, one for each bureau.

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 FICO score gives lenders an insight into what type of borrower you are solely because of your credit history. You'll need a score of at least 740 to get a acceptable interest rate. If your score is less than that, you can still qualify for a loan, but the interest accumulated over time could be more than double the amount of an individual with a better FICO score.

Getting your credit in order is the best way to ease into purchasing a home. Call us at (772) 934-9400 and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.

There are strategies to improve your score. Building your FICO score takes time. It can be hard to make a significant stride change in your credit score with quick fixes, but your score can improve in a year or two by monitoring your credit report and by using credit extended to you to raise your score, instead of ruin it. The most important thing is to know your FICO score. You'll improve your credit score by using these helpful hints:

• Department store cards and service station cards. For those who have non-existent credit or less-than-stellar credit, department store credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to get credit, increase your spending limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your credit. You must always beware of keeping a large balance for too long because these types of cards more than likely have a surprising interest rate.
• Don't let your cards get dusty. Whether you're just getting started with credit, or if you've got older cards, 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.
• Stay on top of payments. Payment history is a huge factor in 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 this way, but it's the most reliable way to show that you're able to make payments to a bank.
• Ensure that your credit history is correct. If you discover incorrect items on your credit report, contact 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 sound like a good idea. But, you want to avoid of having one card that is maxed out and have the rest of your cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at about less than 40% of their credit limit than to have the bulk of your debt sitting on one card.

Now that you're better informed 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 you're ready to apply for a loan to purchase a home, you'll want to keep your lender applications within a two-week window to avoid adverse effects on your credit score. With the help of Welcome Home Realty International, the loan application process can be a stress-free experience 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.