The VERY first thing you need to do (unless you have ALL cash) is to see how much of a loan you can qualify for.  To realize your goal of owning a home, you must consider your FICO score along with the type of mortgage loan for which you'll qualify for.  The Fair Isaac Company calculates your FICO score on the summary of your total credit history. The score ranges from 300 to 850. With the change in the economy, however, some borrowers have seen their score drop dramatically as a result of job loss, closed credit card accounts, or credit card accounts closed by the lender due to inactivity. 

 

We're used to working with all tiers of FICO scores. Call us at (562) 400-6767 or fill out the form below and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.There are strategies to increase your score. Improving your FICO score takes time. It can be rare to make a large-scale change in your FICO score with small changes, but your score can improve quickly by monitoring your credit report and by using your credit wisely. The best way to do this is to know your FICO score. Here are some methods to improve your credit score:

 

• Stay on top of payments. Payment history is a big factor in your credit score. It's where people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest dip in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to rebuild your credit this way, but it's the surest way to prove that you're responsible enough to make payments to a lender.

• Correct your credit report. If you find incorrect items on your credit report, write to 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.

• Even out your debt. At first, this doesn't seem like a good idea. But, you don't want to have one card that is maxed out and have the rest of your cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at about 20% of their credit limit than to have the most of your debt sitting on one card.

• Apply for service station cards or chain store credit. For those who have non-existent credit or low credit, retail credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to establish your credit history, increase your credit limits and keep up your payments, which will raise your FICO score. You must always avoid maintaining a large balance for too long because these types of cards normally have a surprisingly high interest rate.

• Keep your cards in rotation. Whether you're just getting started with credit, or if you've got older cards, use your cards so that your accounts maintain an active status.
   

To learn more, visit www.myFICO.com, Fair Isaac's informational site and once per year, for free, you can review all three of your credit reports at www.annualcreditreport.com. And, for a small payment, you can get your FICO score from each bureau on their websites: www.equifax.com, www.experian.com and www.transunion.com.

 

 

We work with all tiers of credit and can help you settle into

home ownership with the Right Mortgage.