How To Improve Your FICO Score

The U.S. housing market recovery is underway. New home sales are at a multi-year high, housing starts are at pre-recession levels, and home builders plan for a strong 2013.

Since late-2011, falling mortgage rates have boosted buyer purchasing power. Now, today, in many U.S. markets, the number of active home buyers outnumbers the number of active home sellers. It’s among the reasons why home supplies remain scarce and why home prices are rising.

Roughly 20 percent of today’s home buyers purchase homes with cash. For everyone else, the ability to gain mortgage approval depends on income, assets, and, most importantly, credit scores. Your credit score is a predictor of your future payment performance and lenders pay close attention.

If you plan to buy a home in Geneva or anywhere else in the next 12 months, spend some time with this The Today Show interview. It’s five minutes of practical credit scoring advice, including separation of credit score myth from credit score fact.

Among the credit scoring tips shared :

  • How to get your credit checked without harming your credit score
  • The value of using automatic payments with credit cards
  • How to use “old” credit cards to boost your credit score

You’ll also learn about utility companies and why you should never be late with payment.

As compared to August 2011, last month’s average, mortgage-financing home buyer’s FICO score improved 9 points to 750. The average “denied” mortgage applicant’s FICO score was 704. Clearly, standards are high. However, credit scoring is a system and, with time, you can improve your rating.

Watch the interview and find ways to make your credit score better. With better credit comes better mortgage rates.

Leslie Ebersole, Real Estate Broker
962 S Randall Rd St. CharlesIL60174 USA 
 • 630-945-7935

Related posts:

  1. Simple Tips To Keep Your FICO High
  2. Insider Secrets to an Optimal Credit Score
  3. More St. Charles Home Buyers Will Qualify for Mortgages
About Leslie Ebersole

I am a Realtor with Baird&Warner Real Estate in St. Charles, IL. I am deeply committed to helping sellers and buyers navigate and succeed in this challenging real estate market. I list and sell homes in the western suburbs of Chicago, including St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elburn, South Elgin and Wayne.

Speak Your Mind

*

This site is written and managed by Leslie Ebersole and the opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. The data presented is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed. Please consult an attorney, tax professional or CPA before making any financial decision involving the sale or purchase of a home. All content on this blog is protected by US Copyright. Content includes text and images, videos. “Fair Use” allows for small portions of text to be used and quoted as long as there is a prominent link back directly to the post URL. Re-publishing content without express written permission of the author is prohibited.“Scraping” content from this site by copying and pasting or with an RSS feed without permission is prohibited.