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Would You Swap Your 1st Born Child For A Better FICO Score?

By: Dave Clocker

FICO. Why is it so important? Is it possible to trade your 1st born for it? We'll get to that later.

Have you found it is becoming increasingly common that your credit scores are the qualifying step that most companies use when trying to determine whether to grant you something that you would like to get? Do you feel as though you've been violated? You should be if your FICO is low....or maybe it just feels like it.

You can picture it in your mind, and you get a warm fuzzy feeling over it – it is the idea of buying your own home. You've found the right house and then guess what? Whamm!! A taste of reality hits. Boy, does it taste bitter and sour. When you apply for a mortgage loan, the lender will pull a credit report and look at whether you've made your payments on time on a consistent basis. Many consumers are not aware that many companies who are about to lend you credit to purchase something are very focused on your credit scores.

What do you mean by FICO? No, it does not stand for Feeling It Coming Out. It stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, which is the company that is used by the national credit bureaus to compute the credit scores. Whenever your credit report is pulled, your report is run through a computer program with a built-in scorecard. At this time, points are awarded or deducted based on certain items.

The questions you may come across are the following:
How long have you had your Visa/Mastercard/Discover/AmericanExpress cards?
How timely are your payments?Do you make the required payments each month? If not, what is your problem?! j/k
Are your credit balances near the maximum allowed credit given to you?
Have you recently taken out new lines of credit?

The most common elements that have a tendency to drag your score are listed below:
Delinquencies How many times have you been late?
Short Credit history - Did you just start having credit?
Too many recent credit inquiries - Not good if you have too many
Balances near the maximum limit - Don't do this because it will lower your score
Too many revolving accounts - You can go crazy one day and max everything out
Tax liens and bankruptcies - Enough said. these will really ding your credit

Not surprisingly, it has been proven that when consumers have high credit scores, they tend to be less of a risk since the high score reflects their payment history. So, keep this in mind! The scores range from 300 to 850 and a score above 700 is usually considered "very good." Credit scores are an important factor in approving mortgage loans. When you have scores that are below average, most lenders will scrutinize your credit application and it will result in you paying higher interest rates on the loan.

So, if you are feeling down, there is hope. We wouldn’t lead you down this dark and confusing path and abandon you, now would I? There are ways to fix your credit. There are two options. The first option is you can improve your credit yourself. Take it one step at a time—minimizing your debts, paying off some of it, discussing with your creditors to payoff any collections at a discount, staying away from opening any new credit lines, etc.

The services of a credit repair company can also come in handy for an occasion such as this. My advice is that if you choose this route, make sure you research the credit repair company well to confirm that they will produce results for you. It is sad to say, but as in any business, there are credit repair companies out there that promise you the world, but they don’t actually deliver the results. Since the company will be working on your credit record, you want to thoroughly review the repair company before jumping in.

You can reap many benefits of getting your scores in shape, with the main one being the money that you save by getting better deals because you are seen as a trustworthy consumer. Having higher credit scores does save you money. Oh, I almost forgot, the third option for improving your credit score is.... ummmm..... trading in your first born. I would not recommend this though....

Article Source: http://www.thecaymanhost.com/articles

There is an even better side to real estate than you may be aware of. Dave Clocker is a real estate investor who will teach you the Secrets That 99% Of The Population Will Never Know About How To Almost Magically Build Streams of Income Thru Real Estate. He has taken these creative strategies and combined them into fun and juicy videos, exclusive reports, and interviews with experts. Check more out at www.RealEstateWayToWealth.com

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