By periodically checking your credit report, you can keep tabs on the factors that influence your credit score. Make sure you know where to get a copy of your reports and how to interpret them. You are entitled to one free credit report per year from all three credit reporting agencies – Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. For free reports, use the AnnualCreditReport.com site. It will not give you the FICO score, but you will be able to view your credit report. Your credit report will show your creditors and the status of each account, public records like judgements, the requests that have been made to view your credit history, and personal data like your name, address, and social security number. Any negative information, like a missed mortgage payment, will stay on your credit for about four years. If you find a mistake on your credit report, you should file a dispute in writing with the agency that provided the report. If you have old charges that need to be paid off and they have been on your credit for many years, do not pay them if you are trying to get a mortgage. When you pay them it shows activity on the account and will actually lower your credit score. If the mortgage company requires them to be paid in order to give you the loan, usually you can pay them at closing. If you suspect that someone is requesting credit under your name you should file a 90-day fraud alert on your credit file.

No comments yet. Tell me what you think! Click HERE to comment.

Credit Scores range between 200 and 800.  Scores above 620 are considered desirable for obtaining a mortgage.  These factors will affect your score.

1.  Your payment history.  Whether you paid credit card obligations on time.

2.  How much you owe.  Owing a great deal of money on numerous accounts can indicate that you are overextended.

3.  The length of your credit history.  In general, the longer the better.

4.  How much new credit you have.  New credit, either installment payments or new credit cards, are condidered more risky, even if you pay promptly.

5.  The types of credit you use.  Generally, it’s desirable to have more than one type of credit – installment loans, credit cards, and a mortgage, for example.

For more on evaluating and underststanding your credit score, go to http://www.myfico.com.

Reprinted from REALTOR Magaxine Online by permission of the National Association of REALTORS.

0 comments. This is an old post. The comments are currently closed. Click here to send me a comment via email.

I came across some really helpful information about improving credit scores and want to share it.  We all know someone who is credit challenged.  Some people spend hundreds of dollars to repair their credit.  Below is a website that can save you money and get you on the path to home ownership for only $8.95 a month.  This is the best resource I have seen for getting bad credit on the right track.  You can sign up for “Score Watch” listed under Products on the website and receive helpful information on how to raise your credit score based on your current credit.  This is a great source of information for new home buyers who don’t have established credit and people with credit scars.

www.myfico.com

0 comments. This is an old post. The comments are currently closed. Click here to send me a comment via email.

Coldwell Banker Mortgage Update October 2008 Volume 3/Issue 43

We’ve all seen the headlines credit squeeze, credit freeze, credit-system seizures. Mortgage companies are folding left and right and banks seem to be collapsing daily. We are all painfully aware on how severe the global financial breakdown has been, with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks.

But what about mortgages and real estate? Can you still get a home loan with less than a 20 or 30 percent down payment? Or with a credit score below 720?

Absolutely. It would be a big stretch to label housing the sunny side of the market at the moment, but there’s a lot more light here than in most other financial sectors. Consider these facts:

There is no shortage of money for home mortgages, no freezing of credit to purchase or refinance a house. Why? Because the mortgage market effectively has been federalized — at least for the time being. Most of our mortgages are being funded through the (FHA) insurance program, plus Fannie and Freddie. FHA is owned by the federal government, and Fannie and Freddie are operating under federal conservatorship giving all three virtually unlimited funds because their borrowings are fully guaranteed by the Treasury. When we sell loans to these entities we are going to market with pools of loans in the BILLIONS of dollars. Think of it like buying in bulk at a discount club. Our cost per loan is significantly reduced because we work with such large quantities.

Loan terms and credit underwriting standards have been toughened up, but you can still put down 3 percent (3.5 percent after Jan. 1) on an FHA-insured mortgage and 5 percent on most of our conventional loan programs with private mortgage insurance.

FHA’s credit standards are generous and forgiving; the agency exists to help people with less-than-spotless credit histories. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have raised their credit-score requirements over the past year, but buyers and refinances with scores in the upper 600s can still qualify for loans having reasonable rates and fees.

Home prices have been pushed back by foreclosures and short sales have rolled back to 2003 levels or lower in many former boom markets. As a result, buyers are coming off the sidelines, making offers and writing contracts. The pending home-sales index jumped by 7.4 percent last month according to the National Association of Realtors.

So the way I see it…The prices of houses have dropped making it affordable for more buyers.

Coldwell Banker Mortgage Company has a huge supply of money and are currently closing loans in 2-3 weeks. Call your Realtor today and you can be in your new home before Thanksgiving!