Scoring your Credit - How's your FICO?

Looking for mortgage advice? We'll be glad to discuss our many mortgage solutions! Give us a call today at 503-690-3088. Ready to get started? Apply Online Now.

Since we live in an computer-driven society, it's not surprising that your ability to repay your mortgage loan comes down to just one number. All the years you've been paying your various bills: your mortgage, vehicle payments, and credit card bills are analyzed, diced, spindled and mutilated into a single indicator of whether you're likely to meet your future obligations.

Each of the three credit agencies has its own formula for building your credit score. The original FICO score was developed by Fair Isaac and Company. While Experian still calls its score "FICO", TransUnion calls its score "Beacon" and Equifax uses "Empirica." While these methods vary, the differences aren't huge; all of the agencies use the following factors in building a score:

• Your Credit History - How many years have you had credit?
• Payment History - Do you pay your bills on time?
• Balances on your Credit Cards - How many accounts? How much do you owe?
• Inquiries on Your Credit - How many times have you had your credit checked for a loan?

These factors are weighted differently depending on which formula the agency uses. Each formula produces a single number which may vary a a little from one agency to another. Credit scores range from 300 to 850. Higher scores are better. Typical home buyers will probably find their FICO scores between 620 and 850.

Not just for qualifying

Did you know? Credit 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.

Raising your credit score

What can you do about your FICO score? Very little in the short term. So called "credit repair" companies advertise quick fixes, but the score is built on your lifelong credit history, so you can't turn it around right away. You should remove any incorrect data on your credit report, which is the only "quick fix" for credit problems.

Know your FICO score

Before you can improve your credit score, you must obtain your score and ensure that the credit reports from each agency are correct. 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 agencies, along with your credit report. Also available are helpful information and tools that help you improve your FICO score.

You can get a free credit report every year from the three major credit reporting 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 info, you'll be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage.