Ways to Increase Your FICO Score for Home Buying

You might think that the home buying process starts with getting pre-approved by a lender or with choosing a real estate agent. The quality of your wallet begins the home buying process. Saving your money for a down payment is a good idea, but if you lack an acceptable credit score to back it up, you could end up renting for another couple of years in Miami, Florida until your FICO score is acceptable.

A FICO score is a collection of your years of credit history based on a model developed by Fair Isaac and Company. The score ranges from 300 to 850, with the majority of people traditionally having a score of 650. With the change in the economy, however, some people have seen their score drop by hundreds of points because of job loss, delinquent credit card accounts, or credit card accounts that were closed because they don't carry a balance. Some of the pieces in deciding your FICO score include:

• Types of Credit — Do you have a healthy mix of loans and credit cards?
• Payment History — Do you pay your bills on time each month?
• Credit to Debt Ratio — How much do you owe versus your available credit?
• Credit Inquiries — Do you have too many open accounts?

In reviewing your credit history, you'll see that you actually have three reports. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — three of the major credit reporting agencies — use a slightly different models to calculate your credit rating. FICO is used by Experian. Equifax's model is called BEACON and TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. You have a credit score with all three of the bureaus.

Lenders want to be positive that giving you a loan is a safe move. Your credit score gives lenders a view of what type of borrower you'd be based solely on your credit history. You'll need a score of at least 740 to get a decent interest rate. If your score is less than that, you can still qualify for a loan, but the interest accrued in the long run could be more than double the amount of someone having a better credit score.

We're used to working with all levels of credit history. Call us at (786) 388-0110 and we can help you get on the right track to the home of your dreams.

You want a better score, but how do you get there? Improving your FICO score takes time. It can be difficult to make a large-scale change in your number with quick fixes, but your score can improve in a few years by monitoring your credit report and by using your credit wisely. The best way to do this is to know your FICO score. You'll improve your credit score by using these tips:

• Keep up with payments. How often you're late with payments greatly affects your credit score. It's where people who have recently experienced job loss see the biggest hit in their credit score. Yes, it takes longer to build up your credit with payment history, but it's the surest way to show that you're able to make payments to a lender.
• Correct your credit report. If you find mistakes on your credit report, write to the bureau asking 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 sound like a good idea. But, you steer clear of having 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 a lower balance than to have the most of your debt taking up the balance one card.
• Store cards and gas station cards. For those who have non-existent credit or low credit, retail credit cards and gas credit cards are ways to improve credit, increase your credit limits and have a solid payment history, which will raise your credit. You must always avoid charging a large balance for more than a couple of billing cycles because these types of cards usually have a higher 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 to make sure your accounts stay active. But, be sure to pay them off in one or two payments.

Now that you know more about credit reporting, you'll be able to successfully take the first step in owning a home, and that is improving your FICO score. Remember 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 Delphi Investment Realty, the loan application process is sure to go more smoothly so you, too, can achieve home ownership.

Learn more about FICO scores at myFICO.com, Fair Isaac's informational site and once per year, for free, you can review all three of your credit reports 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.