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Thinking Of Buying A Home - Find Out Your Credit History

By
Real Estate Agent with Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty

Lenders see your credit history as a reliable predictor of repaying your mortgage on time as agreed. You should protect your credit just as you would protect your good name. A damaged credit history can keep you from homeownership.

When you apply for a mortgage a lender will order a credit report from one of three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. A credit report will give a history of your credit. It will show past loans, outstanding credit balances, how you make your payments, types of credit accounts, delinquent accounts, foreclosures, bankruptcy, judgments, liens, and collection accounts.

Lenders also look at your FICO credit score. FICO stands for the Fair and Isaac Company who developed the scoring system. The score is computer generated based upon information about your payment history. You get points based on how much you owe, the length of credit history, new credit, and your credit mix. FICO scores range from 400 to 900 points. The higher the score, the better your credit. You can go to www.myfico.com to learn about your score and ways you can improve it.

To obtain a copy of your credit report or to report problems with the accuracy of your credit report, go to www.equifax.com, www.experian.com, or www.transunion.com.

If your credit gets in the way of qualifying for a mortgage, your lender can help you devise a strategy to mend your credit and obtain a mortgage at a later time.

This post is intended to be informational only. Please be advised that real estate practices vary from state to state and market to market. The information contained herein does not constitute legal advice.

Hudson Home Loans Mortgage Company

Rand Mortgage
 mortgage.info@randmortgage.com
Ph: 1-866-721-7263
Fax: 1-845-639-0597

Comments (1)

Tara Colquitt
Tara Colquitt, The Credit Woman, LLC - Philadelphia, PA
Credit Counselor

Anthony the person can also go to www.annualcreditreport.com to access all three at once. Since the process may take months people need a plan in place. I always say to people, "You must change your mind set first before your credit can improve.

Thanks for the post that is the most important piece of the puzzle in today's credit controlled world.

Jun 29, 2008 12:41 AM