Scoring Your Credit

The home buying process doesn't start with getting pre-approved by a lender or with choosing a real estate agent. The content of your wallet begins the home buying process. Putting back your money for a down payment is great, but if you lack an acceptable credit score to back it up, you could find yourself renting longer than you expected in Lomita, California until you improve your score.

The Fair Isaac Company calculates your FICO score on the summary of your total credit history. Most people traditionally have a score of 600, but scores are tiered from 300 to 850. Even though more people these days are experiencing job loss and delinquent credit cards, FICO scores aren't necessarily adjusted "on a curve." A low score is a low score and that often means you can't get credit extended to you via a mortgage loan. Some of the pieces in deciding your FICO score include:

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

Lenders want to be positive that allowing you a loan isn't a risk for them. Your credit score gives lenders an insight into what type of borrower you are solely because of your credit history. Because of the shift in the economy, most home buyers should have scores in the range of 740 or higher to get an acceptable interest rate. If your score is lower, you can still qualify for a loan, but the interest accumulated in the long run could be more than double the amount of an individual having a superior credit score.

Getting your credit in order is the best way to ease into buying a home. Contact us 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 difficult to make a significant stride change in your FICO score with quick fixes, 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 helpful hints:

• 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.
• Spread your debt around. At first, this doesn't sound like a good idea. But, you want to avoid of having one card that is at the limit 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 majority of your debt taking up the balance one card.
• Apply for gas cards or department store credit. For those who have non-existent credit or low credit, store credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to improve credit, increase your spending limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your credit. You should always beware of keeping a large balance for too long because these types of cards more than likely have a surprisingly high interest rate.
• Use your credit. Whether you have older cards, or are just getting started with credit, be sure to use your cards so that your accounts stay active. 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 experienced job loss see the biggest dip in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to build up your credit with payment history, but it's the surest way to prove that you're responsible enough to make payments to a lender.

Knowing the ways you can raise your FICO score, you can move toward becoming a homeowner. Remember 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 damaging your credit score. With the help of Kivett Realty, the loan process can be a stress-free experience so you, too, can become a homeowner.

To learn more, visit 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.