The importance of your credit score cannot be overemphasized these day.  It affects not only the interest rate you’ll get when you apply for a home loan or refinance, but also your rates on car loans and credit cards.  Surprisingly these days, even employers will monitor your credit rating.

This article explains much about what goes into your credit score (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/credit-score-080000874.html) but there are many ways to beat the averages and raise your credit score.  Beyond paying your bills on time, you’ll want to pay your bills strategically to raise your score as quickly as possible.  Many people become embarrassed by what’s on their credit reports.  No need to be.  Sometimes mistakes are made but they can be rectified, not easily but with diligent work you can repair your history.  Feel free to give me a call if you’d like some advice.  In the meantime, find out where you stand.  Get your free credit report as a first step.  Be sure you’re getting all 3 reports from the 3 reporting agencies.  Once a year you can get the report but make sure they don’t try to charge you for the service as it should be for free.

Everyday I meet with people getting ready to jump into the housing market and the first thing I tell them is they need to know their credit score.  This way we have a sense of how a lender is going to view them.  Just last weekend, I had a woman tell me she was afraid to look at her credit report for fear of what is on it.

Fear?!!! Who would have thought a number could cause fear?  But that is what happens all too often.  It’s like you think you have a tumor but don’t go to the doctor to get a diagnosis because you’re afraid he’s going to tell you that you’re dying.  Worst part is that sometimes it’s just a boil he can lance off.  The situation is not helped because the credit reporting bureaus have held onto the secret of what affect credit scores like they were state secrets.  Oliver Stone should write a movie about it.

Well, FICO (Fair Isaacs Corporation) has recently released the secret and it’s like the Shroud of Turin was found all over again.  If you want to know how maxing out your credit cards for the holidays affect your numbers then go to the article posted below.  Want to know what that low credit score does to a mortgage payment get at it. 

The best part of this release is that you can now make informed decisions on how to repair past mistakes.  So lance that boil and get to work.  Homeownership may not be as far away as you think.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108239/fICO-reveals-how-common-credit-mistakes-affect-scores?mod=bb-creditreports