Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you qualify for a mortgage loan.
Here are some tips to help improve your credit score: 
Check your credit report for errors. Mistakes happen and you could be paying for someone else's poor financial management. You are able to get a free credit report each year at www.annualcreditreport.com. Checking your own credit report does not affect your scores.
Dispute old negatives. You can continue protesting the charge with the lender/company or you can try disputing the account with the credit bureaus. The older and smaller a collection account, the more likely the collection agency won't bother to verify it when the credit bureau investigates your dispute.
Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. However, transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score.
Don't charge your credit cards to the maximum limit. Maxing out will reduce the gap between your debt and your available credit, which could hurt your scores. You typically can increase your scores by limiting your charges to 30% or less of a card's limit.
Don't close accounts. Even if you don't use the credit card, it is better to leave the account open. Leaving the account active increases the gap between debt and available credit which can help your scores. Even if you cut up the card, don't close the account. And closing an account doesn't remove it from your report. It may still be considered for scoring purposes.
Check your limits. Your scores might be artificially lowered if your lender is showing a lower limit on your credit score than you've actually got. Most credit-card issuers will quickly update this information if you ask.
Dust off an old card. The older your credit history, the better. But if you stop using your oldest cards, the issuers may stop updating those accounts at the credit bureaus. The accounts will still appear, but they won't be given as much weight in the credit-scoring formula as your active accounts.
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We are excited to assist you in all of your real estate transactions. Please contact us for a FREE (no obligation) consultation if you plan to buy and/or sell a home. Whether you are buying or selling a home, we will always work in your best interest while helping to make your real estate transactions as stress free as possible.
George Maynes
Prudential Fox & Roach, REALTORS®
530 Walnut Street - Suite 260, Philadelphia, PA 19106
George.Maynes@prufoxroach.com
Cell: 215-317-3007
Office: 215-627-6005
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