We all know what a major role one's credit history, commonly referred to as FICO scores, plays in real estate, so here are some basics, courtesy of a local lender, to enhance your FICO knowledge. Good borrower credit scores help make it possible for buyers to qualify at better rates. For those with lesser FICO scores, however, there are still loans available but different parameters may apply.

 This is how FICO scores are weighted and structured:

 35% by payment history

 30% by balanced owed

 15% by length of credit history

 10% by new credit

 10% by type of credit in use

 And the overall calculated ranges:

 720-850  Excellent, A-paper credit, the "good guy" rates available

680-719  Good, not much of a compromise on rates

620-679    OK or Fair, clearly in range for FHA consideration

580-619  Low, bottom of the range for FHA consideration, "alternate credit" comes heavily into play

500-579  Poor, truly nothing can be done without credit rehabilitation