How's your FICO Score?

Since we live in an computer-driven world, it should come as no surprise that your ability to repay your mortgage comes down to just one number. Credit reporting agencies use your payment history to compile your FICO score.

Each of the three credit reporting agencies has its own formula for building your credit score. Fair Isaac and Cooriginally developed this score. . While Experian still calls its score "FICO", TransUnion calls its score "Beacon" and Equifax uses "Empirica." While the formulas vary from one agency to another, all of the agencies use the following to determine a score:

• Your Credit History - How many years have you had credit?
• Payment History - Do you have any payments later than 30 days?
• Your Credit Card Balances - How many accounts? How much do you owe?
• Credit Inquiries - How many times have lenders pulled your credit report for the purpose of lending you money?

These factors are assigned weights based on the formula being used. The result is a single number: your credit score. Credit scores can be as low as 300 and as high as 800. Higher is better. Most home buyers have a score above 620.

FICO makes a big difference in your interest rate

FICO scores are used for more than just determining whether or not you qualify for a mortgage. Lenders give lower interest rates to individuals with higher scores.

Can I raise my credit score?

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot you can do to immediately improve your credit score. Some companies promise quick fixes, but they can't do anything different than what you can do — for free. You should appeal for the credit agency to remove any incorrect data on your credit report, which is the only way to quickly improve your credit score.

How do I find out my credit score?

To raise your FICO score, you've got to get the credit reports that are used to build it. Of course, you need the score as well. Fair Isaac has created a web site (www.myFICO.com) that lets you do just that. It's inexpensive to quickly get your FICO from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. They also provide information and online tools that can help you understand how to improve your FICO score.

You can get a federally-mandated free credit report once a year from all three agencies by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. These reports do not include a free score, but it's very inexpensive to get one at the same time.

Armed with this information, you will be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage.

Want to know more about credit scores? Call us: 3103737406.