How to Improve Your Credit Score to Buy Real Estate
The last thing you need is unexpected problems with your credit score affecting your ability to secure a real estate deal. It’s recommended that you check your credit report at least once a month if you are planning to buy a home in the foreseeable future, and the following useful tips can help you improve your credit score in as little as a month.
Regular Credit Updates
You can prevent fraud and errors on your score by making a point of monitoring your credit score regularly, to see what has changed or what needs to be addressed. And getting a regular overview of your credit score also allows you to address any errors sooner rather than later; it can be a lot more time consuming and tedious to fix an error on your score if you don’t notice it for months, or even years.
Keep It Current
The number of accounts that are late by 30, 60 or 90 days can have a big impact on your credit score and your ability to qualify for a mortgage. One of the most effective steps to take if you are planning to buy a home is to work at getting all your accounts and bills current, and then keep them that way. You may have to use money from your savings account or transfer a credit card balance to another card, but it’s worth the effort as you can see a real increase in your score if everything on your credit report is current.
Lower Your Minimum Balances
A big factor in determining your credit score and therefore your eligibility for buying a home is the balance on your cards compared to the amount you owe. You can enjoy seeing an increase in your credit score if you focus on paying down any high balances on credit cards and other loans; even paying just a few hundred towards it can make a difference in a relatively short time. You may be able to transfer the balance from one or more cards to other cards; your credit score can potentially go up by 20 points simply by transferring balances around strategically.
Erroneous Accounts
One of the most important steps you can take when applying or a mortgage is to check your credit report for erroneous accounts and get them removed as soon as possible. This includes an account that has been paid, or an old collection account. If you are checking your credit report regularly, it’s easier to spot and address these errors; the longer an error remains on your report, the longer it can take to remove it, with supporting paperwork going back years in many cases. If you need something fixed quickly, perhaps to secure a real estate deal, contact a credit repair company.
Limit Those Credit Pulls
Although your report shouldn’t be adversely affected if you have a few credit pulls in a month, it can really damage your score if you have six or more pulls in a month. Try to work with one company offering different cards if you need a credit card, as applying for multiple cards will result in these multiple credit pulls.