Maintaining good credit is an important part of owning
your dream home. The better your credit is, the easier
it is to obtain mortgage financing for your home, and
with better credit comes better interest rates. We offer
several programs for people with perfect credit, good
credit, and bad credit. We also offer an online tool
to help you estimate you current credit situation, and
to see what is available to you based on that. The credit
guide at the bottom of the page will help you see where
you stand.
While to some it may seem silly that those who are
better able to pay, are charged less, while those
people with poor credit and therefore are less likely
to be able to pay the debt off, are charged a higher
rate and have higher, harder to make payments. This
system is designed to reward people for having good
credit, and to encourage them to maintain their good
credit. Also, the higher rate charged to people with
poor credit is compensation to the lender for taking
on a more risky mortgage.
Your credit rating is a tool that is used by lenders
to determine the risk they undertake by lending you
money. If your credit is good, you are a low risk,
and the lender will be more flexible. Many factors
influence your credit rating. Paying your bills on
time is one of the biggest factors. If a lender sees
that you don't have a good record of making payments
on time, they are not going to feel comfortable working
with you. Sometimes, it is possible to explain several
late payments away if they are all in the same time
period. This can happen if someone is laid off, or
if they are very sick or injured. Most lenders understand
that some things are beyond your control, and if you
have a spotless record, except for the 3 months you
were laid off, they are likely to forgive that problem
and still work with you.
Another important factor in your credit rating is
the amount of debt you have. Even if you make all
of your payments on time, every time, if you have
several maxed, or near maxed credit cards and other
forms of debt, you present more of a risk. It would
be very easy for you to start defaulting on your debts
if you lose your job.
To protect your credit rating, always pay your bills
when they are due. Make sure that your level of debt
is not too high. Keep your credit account balances
as low as you can. The last important key to good
credit is checking your report regularly. As we are
all human, mistakes can be made therefore, you should
review your report often so that you catch errors
before you try to buy a new house.
