Thursday, January 8, 2009

If You Want A Better Mortgage Rate Read Credit Scoring Basics

By Rob Kosberg

Mortgage pricing is now paying more attention to credit scoring. Since credit scores are now more important , it is vital that you locate and review your credit score. If you learn how the credit scoring system operates, you can make it work for you. The web site my FICO.com is a great place to start.

Published by credit scoring powerhouse Equifax, myFICO.com give you information right from the source. There are tens of pages of tips and tricks from which everybody can learn.

Check out the following basics:

Use It Or Lose It: If you don't use credit, the credit agencies can't assign you a credit score. Spend $10 monthly on your credit cards and then pay it in full to "get on the grid" and get yourself a score.

Your Trend Is Your Friend: Payments that are "on time" are favored by the credit bureaus. If your pattern is on time payments, the bureaus know you will probably continue paying regularly and on time. This is the biggest part, 35%, of your credit score. If you have late payments, catch up.

30 Is An Important Number: Credit card balances should remain below 30% of their limits. This says to a credit bureau that you are responsible with credit. Think carefully if you plan to consolidate multiple credit cards into one. Be aware of the single card's limits. Overloading the card could hurt your score.

Learn From History: Your "credit history" is 10% of your score. So, to hold that history, don't close credit cards that you don 't use.

The web site mentioned can provide more suggestions to help you. Take a proactive approach because this year it is expected that there will be added credit score adjustments to mortgage rates You need to find out what the issues may be with your current credit score and take the appropriate steps to fix your score.

Credit scoring is not always intuitive so if you're not getting the personal information you need from general Web sites, ask your loan officer for an in-depth analysis. The mortgage rate you save may be your own. - 16459

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