Poor credit could keep you renting forever. If you’re looking to buy a house in Boston, you want to look at your credit score and raise it as much as possible. Even if you don’t have poor credit, a higher credit score will give you a more favorable mortgage.
There are several ways to raise your credit score. Here are five of the best tips you can use to raise your credit score before buying a house.
Pay Your Bills On Time
If you’re behind on any bill, get it caught up. Then, keep your bills caught up. While this may not raise your credit score much, it will keep you from dropping your score due to a late payment. Make sure you don’t make any payments more than 30 days late on any of your bills.
Negotiate All Collection Accounts
Many collection companies will remove the debt from your credit score if you pay the balance. They will likely offer you a discounted amount to pay it in full, as well. This is a great way to raise your credit score as you can eliminate negative debts from your credit report.
Open a New Credit Account
A new credit card or other type o credit account will help to build your credit score. You must make sure you pay on time and you need to make sure you use the credit account. Without use or on-time payments, you won’t be doing yourself any favors.
Pay Credit Card Balances Down
Did you know that if you hold a balance of more than 25% of your credit limit it actually hurts your credit score? This means, all those maxed out credit cards are killing your score, even if you pay the minimum payment on time.
Pay down your balances to less than 25% of your credit limit and you will improve your credit score.
Halt All Inquiries
Until you’ve improved your credit score and purchased a house, don’t allow anybody else to check your credit. This means you won’t be able to finance anything new. Every new inquiry may ding your score and you want to make sure you’re not causing more problems by having your credit pulled.
Use these five tips to increase your credit score before buying a house in Boston. A higher score could lead to a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms.
