What is Your Mortgage Credit Score? Find Out For Free and Avoid Getting Ripped Off
Lenders check a number of details when you apply for a home, including your current salary, employment status, debt-to-income ratio, and most importantly, your credit report and your mortgage credit score.
Before you begin applying, check your score, not just your report.
Your score will be weighted more heavily when buying a home than for most other large purchases you'll make.
Just because you are qualified for a brand new car doesn't mean you'll qualify for a home loan.
What is Your Mortgage Credit Score? Your mortgage credit score is generally an average of each of your scores from the three credit bureaus, and it needs to be pretty high to get an easy approval-720 or better.
A high score will get you the best rates and the lowest payments, as well as a smoother buying process.
Walk in with a score of 719 or lower, and the interest you'll have to pay will increase with every step down.
What Affects Your Mortgage Credit Score? The history on your credit report will tell your lender how trustworthy you are, and how responsible you're likely to be with paying back your loan.
If you have any record of late payments, you'll lose points on your score.
Maxing out your available balances on a frequent basis (even without going over) is a warning sign that you aren't careful with your finances.
Of course, if you have been send to collections, defaulted on other loans, have a judgment against you, or any other big black marks on your report, the lower your score will be and the harder it will be for you to get a mortgage.
If you've already been in serious financial trouble, the lender will not want to risk investing in you.
Perhaps you do have a positive history; you make your payments on time and keep a close eye on your balances.
The longer your history, the better your score.
If you're just beginning to build credit, your score may be lower than you think it should be simply because your history is short.
Time is an important factor in raising your credit score.
It is possible to be approved for a mortgage with a not-so-great score, but you probably won't be happy with the terms of the loan.
Check your mortgage credit score at least 3-6 months in advance of applying.
If you are not where you want to be, this will give you time to turn things around.
Before you begin applying, check your score, not just your report.
Your score will be weighted more heavily when buying a home than for most other large purchases you'll make.
Just because you are qualified for a brand new car doesn't mean you'll qualify for a home loan.
What is Your Mortgage Credit Score? Your mortgage credit score is generally an average of each of your scores from the three credit bureaus, and it needs to be pretty high to get an easy approval-720 or better.
A high score will get you the best rates and the lowest payments, as well as a smoother buying process.
Walk in with a score of 719 or lower, and the interest you'll have to pay will increase with every step down.
What Affects Your Mortgage Credit Score? The history on your credit report will tell your lender how trustworthy you are, and how responsible you're likely to be with paying back your loan.
If you have any record of late payments, you'll lose points on your score.
Maxing out your available balances on a frequent basis (even without going over) is a warning sign that you aren't careful with your finances.
Of course, if you have been send to collections, defaulted on other loans, have a judgment against you, or any other big black marks on your report, the lower your score will be and the harder it will be for you to get a mortgage.
If you've already been in serious financial trouble, the lender will not want to risk investing in you.
Perhaps you do have a positive history; you make your payments on time and keep a close eye on your balances.
The longer your history, the better your score.
If you're just beginning to build credit, your score may be lower than you think it should be simply because your history is short.
Time is an important factor in raising your credit score.
It is possible to be approved for a mortgage with a not-so-great score, but you probably won't be happy with the terms of the loan.
Check your mortgage credit score at least 3-6 months in advance of applying.
If you are not where you want to be, this will give you time to turn things around.