In the past I have talked about what not to do before you buy a home when going for a mortgage Mortgage 101 yet the importance of knowing where you are with your credit is crucial whether you are buying a home, thinking about buying a home, and/or simply late on paying your bills and wondering if it will affect you; and if you are not wondering, well, you can choose to be clueless or read on.
What's it worth to you to have a good credit score?
I had a conversation with Eric Stuerken of Better Qualified this week and it was such an eye opener I am sharing it here. BQ repairs credit, and you will get a free credit consultation and report. Eric knows his stuff and if you don't believe me, well he's the guy mortgage professionals send their clients to.
The world we live in is credit driven, it can hurt you buying a home, a car or really anything ( maybe even your dating prospects ;) ). Credit scores do not reflect how you are living now or will in the future, it's a reflection on your past history. Divorce, unemployment, even a judgment you may not be aware of or simply being careless that's what's going to get you. NOT having a credit history hurts you, too; if you don't use credit as you always pay with cash will make it difficult to get a loan, too, as the banks will have no indication of whether they will get paid back. Achieving a great credit score goes hand in hand with good financial habits.
Go to:
Better Qualified for a free report and/or credit restoration.
another legit safe site for a free credit report is:
Annual Credit Report is the only service authorized by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for this purpose.
If you plan on buying a home in the near future:
Do not buy a car, change jobs, buy furniture, do not make large deposits into your checking account (monetary gifts) read Dan Green's How to Give and Receive a Downpayment Gift on a Home, and do not change banks (they want to see stability).
Eric made me aware even if you were late a few times on a bill years ago,( or perhaps your spouse or maybe an ex spouse ) canaffect your score, and what about *Zombie Debt?? Your credit history sticks to you like a gooey gum on the bottom of your shoe. Yes, it can be removed, yet with effort.
Your credit score is the most important number in your life. The higher the score the less risk the person represents.
* A type of bad debt that is so old a person may have forgotten he or she owed it in the first place. The debt has likely been given up on by the company to which it was owed. Zombie debt can haunt a debtor if a debt collector buys the debt for a low price from the company in attempt to recover the owed.
