Easy steps to improve your credit score
If you plan on shopping for a Boston condo for sale in the next year or two, you may be wondering what you can do now to be as ready as possible.Unless you’re buying the home outright, you’ll need to take out a home loan. What kind of interest rate your bank or lending institution gives you on that loan is directly dependent on your credit score. Of course, there are other things that affect interest rates, such as the federal interest rate (which is expected to go up in 2019), but the factor you control is how trustworthy you are to the bank. And even though you always return library books on time and have never trashed a hotel room, your credit score is how the bank will judge your trustworthiness.
Most people could use a little boost to their credit score, and there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that if you’re ready to buy a home now, there’s not much you can do to improve that score (other than keeping up with your payments so that it doesn’t get any worse). Credit is something that builds slowly, over time, and is based more on your behavior with the credit you get than how many credit cards you have. The good news is, if you have a little time, there are some strategies you can employ that might gain you a few points on your credit score before you go home shopping.
Step 1:
Check your score. You are legally entitled to one free report per year from the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. That means you can monitor your credit every four months, or at the very least, check it out before your lending institution does. It may be more information than you ever wanted to know, but information here is your best ally!
Step 2
Pay down your balances. Yes, it sounds all two easy. The magic number is keeping your balance at 30% of your credit limit or below. If you can pay them down to there, great. If not, see step three.
Step 3
Don’t fall behind! What your lender is primarily looking for in your credit report is a lack of risk. Even if your balances are above that 30% mark, if you make small payments every month, you look a whole lot better than if you make sporadic large payments.
Conclusion
Your credit report may offer you some more tips on improving your score, or you can talk to your lending institution. If you’re satisfied with your credit and ready to start home shopping, contact our Boston Condo Buyers’ Team today. If you need a local mortgage lender recommendation with excellent rates and customer service, contact us! A great local mortgage lender can help you get pre-approved from start to finish.
