Scoring your Credit - How's your FICO?

Since we live in an computer-driven society, it should come as no surprise that your ability to repay your mortgage comes down to just one number. All the years you've been paying your various bills: your mortgage, car payments, and credit card bills are analyzed, spindled and mutilated into a single indicator of whether you're likely to meet your future obligations.

The three agencies use slightly different formulas to build a credit score. Fair Isaac and Cooriginally developed this score. . Experian uses this model and calls its score FICO. Equifax's model, based on FICO, is called BEACON, while TransUnion, which also uses a slightly modified FICO, calls its score EMPIRICA. While the formulas vary, the differences aren't huge; all of the agencies use the following factors to build your credit score:

• Your Credit History - How long have you had credit?
• History of Payments - Do you have a history of late payments?
• Balances on your Credit Cards - How many credit card accounts do you hold, and how much do you owe?
• Inquiries on Your Credit - How many times have lenders pulled your credit report for the purpose of giving you a loan?

These factors are assigned weights based on the formula being used. The results are added up and distilled into a single number. Credit scores can be as low as 300 and as high as 800. Higher is better. Most home buyers probably find their credit scores falling between 620 and 800.

Your credit score greatly affects your monthly payment

FICO 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 to raise your FICO score? Very little in the short term. Because the FICO score is entirely based on your lifelong credit history, it's difficult to make a significant improvement in the number with quick fixes. You should, of course, remove any incorrect reporting from your credit report; this is the only "quick fix" for credit troubles.

How do I find out my credit score?

To improve your FICO score, you've got to have the credit reports that the agencies use to build it, and of course, you need the score itself. Fair Isaac, the company that invented the first FICO credit score, sells FICO scores on myFICO.com. It's inexpensive to quickly get your FICO from all three agencies, along with your credit report. Also available are helpful information and online tools that help you analyze what actions might have the greatest impact on your FICO score.

You can get a federally-mandated free credit report once a year from all three credit reporting agencies when you visit AnnualCreditReport.com. You won't get a free credit score from AnnualCreditReport.com, but getting one is fast and very inexpensive.

Now that you have all the facts, you will be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage.

Curious about your credit score? Call us at 504-866-5626.