In addition to your down payment, your credit score will have the biggest impact on your interest rate, loan size and monthly payment. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to determine your credit score. You can sign up to view your credit score here.
In order to make sure your credit score is home buying worthy, here are few tips to make sure your credit score works for you when you are buying a home.
Don’t take a big vacation or take out a personal loan: Your credit score is heavily affected by your level of indebtedness and credit ratio. It’s important to keep big expenditures to a minimum when in the process of buying a home.
Don’t buy a car: In addition to the information above, there is another consideration with car buying. When dealers help you find a loan, they ask a wide range of loan companies. This causes many “hard” inquiries to be reported on your credit score. While it does help you find the right loan, these types of inquiries can damage your score.
Do pay your bills on time, every month: Another key component of your credit score is your ability to pay your debts. It’s very, very, very important to pay your bills on time while looking for a loan!
Do make sure that you have a credit history: While a bad credit history can hurt your chances to get a good loan, having no credit history is worse. Open up at least one credit line and make sure that it is being reported to the 3 credit bureaus.