Understanding Your Credit
Even if you have had trouble in the past with your credit or with a previous home loan you may be eligible to purchase a new home. There are programs available that may fit your unique situation, don’t let the past stop you from the future.
Understanding your credit is a crucial step in purchasing a home. When your credit report is generated it pulls information from the 3 main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian & Trans Union). Each bureau will rate your credit history and produce a number known as your FICO score. This score is obtained by analyzing your history using the key contributors specified in the chart below.
Payment History
One of the first things that any creditor will look for is whether you have made your payments on time.
Amounts Owed
Lenders will look to your monthly payments to determine your debt ratios. They have to show that you have not maxed out credit nor incapable of paying new debt.
Length of Credit History
The longer a person has a credit line open and shows a history of payments on-time will assist in your improving your scores.
New Credit
Opening too many new lines of credit around the same time can indicate that you are having financial difficulties and can impact your scores.
Types of Credit
A variety of credit indicates the borrower can handle all sorts of credit types. Examples of of different types would be a credit card which is a revolving credit or credit that has no preconceived end of time for repayment. Another type is installment payments which is a loan where a set monthly payment and time of payoff it predetermined.
