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How to Improve Your Credit Score

by Brandon Cornett

Here at Home Buying Institute, we try to offer advice and tutorials on every aspect of the home buying process. Credit scores are a big part of that process, so the topic deserves plenty of coverage on our website.

We have a collection of credit improvement articles onsite, and this information will certainly prove useful as you strive to improve your credit score. But the key to good research is to consider many different sources, so to help you in that regard we've assembled this collection of credit articles from around the web.

We have carefully screened the articles that follow to ensure they offer solid advice on how to improve credit scores. So be sure to bookmark this page as a "one stop shop" for advice on improving your credit score.

How Your Credit Score is Calculated
Before you can start improving your credit score, you have to understand how your score is calculated. About.com does a good job explaining the many ingredients that make up a credit score. An excerpt: "The three major credit reporting agencies don't necessarily use the same scoring software, so don't be surprised if you discover that the credit scores they generate for you are different."

Improve Your Credit Score
This article at CNNMoney.com discussed five things you can do to improve your credit score. An excerpt: "Generally speaking, a credit score measures the likelihood you'll repay what you owe, and it is based on information in your credit report. The rewards of raising your score speak directly to your wallet: You'll qualify for more loans and be offered better interest rates."

Tips for Boosting Your Credit Score
Bankrate.com offers this excellent, multi-part tutorial on improving your credit score. Be sure to use the "next page" buttons below the article. An excerpt: "Start by pulling your credit report and your credit score to see where you are. To get an estimate of your credit score, check out our Credit Score Estimator. If your score is above a 720, you're golden. Improving your score from a 720 to a 740 won't get you better terms."

Improving Your FICO Score
myFICO is the consumer division of Fair Isaac, the company that invented the FICO credit score in the first place. Who better get advice from than the company that created credit scores? An excerpt: "It's important to note that raising your score is a bit like losing weight: It takes time and there is no quick fix. In fact, quick-fix efforts can backfire."

How to Improve Your Credit Scores
This article from About.com does an excellent job at explaining the big picture behind credit scores. It's also full of links to additional information. An excerpt: "Before lending you money, creditors want to determine how much of a risk you are -- in other words, how likely you are to repay the money they loan you. Credit scores help them do that..."

Boost Your Credit Score in 5 Steps
MSN Money has created a 5-step plan to help you boost your credit score. An excerpt: "New glimpses into the once-secret process of credit scoring have made it easier than ever to improve your credit."

5 Steps to a Higher Credit Score
This is one of our own articles, where we offer another version of the 5-step checklist for credit improvement. An excerpt: "When your credit score is low, your risk factor is high. In this scenario, you'll likely have trouble obtaining a loan. But when the opposite is true, you'll have a good chance of qualifying for a mortgage loan."