First-Time Buyer's Guide to Better Credit

You might think that the home buying process starts with getting pre-approved by a lender or with choosing a real estate agent. In reality, the home buying process begins and ends with your finances. Without an acceptable FICO score, purchasing a house is more difficult and, you could find yourself renting for another couple of years in Santa Rosa, California until your FICO score is acceptable.

A FICO score is a review of your years of credit history based on a model developed by Fair Isaac and Company. Most people traditionally have a score of 600, but scores are tiered from 300 to 850. In recent years, however, some people have seen their score lowered because of job loss, delinquent credit card accounts, or credit card accounts closed by the lender due to inactivity. Some of the factors in deciding your FICO score are:

• Payment History — How many late payments have you made?
• Credit to Debt Ratio — How much do you owe versus how much credit you have available?
• Credit Inquiries — How many times has your credit history been accessed by someone other than you?
• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of credit cards and loans?

In reviewing your credit history, you'll find that you actually have three reports. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — three of the major credit reporting agencies — use a slightly different systems to calculate your credit rating. FICO is used by Experian. Equifax's model is called BEACON and TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. As a result, you have three scores, one for each scoring model.

Lenders want to be positive that allowing you a loan is a safe move. Your credit score gives lenders an insight into what type of borrower you are solely because of your credit history. Because of the shift in the economy, most home buyers should have scores in the range of 740 or higher to get a satisfactory interest rate. If your score is less than that, you can still qualify for a loan, but the interest accumulated over time could be more than double the amount of someone with a superior FICO score.

Improving your credit is the best way to ease into buying a home. Contact us and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.

There are ways to improve your score. Building your FICO score takes time. It can be difficult to make a significant stride change in your credit score with quick fixes, but your score can improve in a year or two by monitoring your credit report and by using credit extended to you to raise your score, instead of ruin it. The most important thing is to know your FICO score. Here are some ways you can improve your credit score:

• Keep up with payments. Delinquent payments instantly lower your credit score. It's one of the reasons people who have recently been unemployed see the biggest dip in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to build up your credit with payment history, but it's the most reliable way to show that you're responsible enough to make payments to a bank.
• Correct your credit report. If you find incorrect items on your credit report, contact 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 steer clear of having one card that is at the limit and have the rest of your cards at a zero balance. It's better to have each of your cards at a smaller balance than to have all of your debt sitting on one card.
• Chain store cards and gas station cards. For those who have non-existent credit or below average credit, retail credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to obtain credit, increase your spending limits and stay on top of your payments, which will raise your FICO score. You should always avoid keeping a high balance for too long because these types of cards traditionally have a larger interest rate.
• Don't let your cards get dusty. Whether you have older cards, or are just getting started with credit, use your cards to make sure your accounts stay active. But, be sure to pay them off in no more than two or three payments.

Knowing the methods you can use to raise your FICO score, you can move toward becoming a homeowner. Keep in mind that when it's time to apply for a loan to purchase a home, you'll want to keep your lender applications within a two-week window to avoid damaging your credit score. With the help of Roxanne Mercer Real Estate, the loan application process can be a stress-free experience so you, too, can become a homeowner.

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