What to Know About Credit
When Buying Real Estate
When planning a purchase of a San Diego home, it’s important to be aware of the necessity of a good credit score. As a Real Estate Broker in the San Diego area, I have helped fulfill homebuyers’ dreams. Here are five things every San Diego buyer should know about credit, mortgage loans, and the relationship between them.
- Your credit score is based on your financial behavior. What does that mean? When you pay your bills on time, not incurring a huge amount of debt and use credit responsibly, all this will help to keep your credit score higher.
- The FICO score (your credit score) is used by lenders to determine a San Diego buyer’s credit worthiness. The score will range from 300 to 850. The higher score is better and will help you get approved for a loan, as well as, a more favorable interest rate.
- There are three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They each produce a credit score and the funny thing is that they are close, but they rarely match. Your credit score is one of the top-three factors in your San Diego home purchase, next is your current debt and then your income. Mortgage lenders look at all when considering your ability to pay back a loan.
- Prior to beginning your San Diego home search, go to AnnualCreditReport.com for a free credit report once per year. This is not your credit score, just a report. This website is government regulated by the FTC.
- If your score is low, with some diligence, you can improve it. Reduce your credit card balances, pay all of your bills on time, and now that you have them, fix any errors on your credit reports.
Happy home searching!
