Improving Your Credit Rating In 5 Easy Steps

You should make sure you are on a solid credit score footing in orderto obtain a mortgage. You can do this by understanding and practicingthese five healthy home-buyer’s tips.

Stayconsistent with your spending behavior. A surprisingly good credit score can tempt you as a prospective home buyer to open credit card account or take out a loan for a new car. Such actions can damage and lower a credit score during a critical time, making it harder toobtain the loan you want.

Apply for the best mortgage loan you can find and remember that other factors besides credit score, like the size of your down payment, come into play when applying for a loan.

Review your credit report at least once a year. Inaccuracies aren’t uncommon, and it takes time to set the record straight. Each of the three major credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—provide one free credit report per year. Go to freecreditreport.com . You will be charged about$15 to see the actual score, but you’ll see the cost is worth it.

When you have determined your intent to buy, know that there is a difference between “prequalification” and “pre-approved.” Prequalification means very little in terms of a consumer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Go ahead and get pre-approved, a process in which the lender checks you'r employment history, income and bank funds and reviews your credit report.

After closing on your new home, remember to continue to practice the above habits in case you decide to refinance or move again. It’s a good idea to always keep your credit score in mind as you anticipate the prospect of home buying, or with the expenses of being a new home owner

BenHirsh is an active real estate agent in Atlanta Georgia and an experton Atlanta Real Estate. You can find out more by visiting his website at www.benhirsh.com.

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Rates on 30 and 15 Year Mortgages Fall

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to a nationwide average of 6.72%, down from 6.8% last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Rates on the popular choice for refinancing,15-year fixed-rate mortgages, were down to 6.34% from 6.41% last week. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages dropped to 5.78% from 5.8% last week. And rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 6.35% from 6.36% last week.

These rates do not include add-on fees known as points. The 5-year and 15-year mortgages carried a nationwide average fee of 0.4 point. The 30-year mortgage had a nationwide average fee of 0.3 point and the one-year mortgage carried a fee of 0.7 point.

Nice to see those rates fall especially when living costs such as gas prices are soaring.

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