Tips on Buying a House - Revisited for 2008
Lately, I've been updating many of the articles on the main website to reflect economic changes of the last year, changes in the housing market, etc. When updating the many house buying tips spread throughout the website, I find myself repeating a couple of points over and over. They have to do with buying a house in the new economy, and they are important points for first-time home buyers to understand.
So I thought I would update the blog with these points as well. In fact, I'm going to start a series of blog posts with house buying tips for the modern economy. Without further ado, let's dive into the first topic...
House Buying Tip #1 - Maintain a Good Credit Score
Good credit has always been important when buying a home and applying for a mortgage loan. But it's more important than ever as a result of the mortgage crisis we have experienced. Lenders today will require you to have a better score than in the past, and they will only offer you the best rates on your loan if you have a score of about 750 or higher.
This comes as a result of the tougher restrictions put upon mortgage lenders by the federal government. Here's what it means to you, as a future home buyer. If you want to (A) get qualified for a loan when buying a house and (B) get a good rate on that loan, you need to have a very good credit score. Otherwise, you'll have trouble qualifying for the loan. And if you do qualify for a loan with a bad score, you'll likely end up with an incredibly high interest rate on top of it. This means a bigger mortgage payment each month.
So in this house buying tip I'll offer some ways to improve your credit score (if necessary) and to maintain it into the future.
For starters, you need to find out what your score is in the first place. You can find some tools on the Credit Information section of our website to help with that, as well as the home buying tools page. If you obtain your score and find out that it's low, you need to focus on improving it before buying a house and applying for a mortgage.
Let me say that again ... it's important to boost your credit score before seeking a loan. You'll have an easier time getting qualified, and you'll get a better rate on the loan. This is one of the most important house buying tips you can take away from this article, which is why I keep repeating myself on this subject.
Elsewhere on this website, you can find plenty of tips for boosting your credit and related topics, so I wont go into it much here. I will say, however, that one of the quickest ways to improve your credit score before buying a house is to pay down your credit card balances and pay all future bills on time. These two things in concert can help you boost your score faster than just about anything else. You should also work on reducing your overall debt as well.
Like I said, this is the first house buying tip in a series that will focus on the modern economy, tougher lending standards and the like. If you found this tip helpful and want to stay in touch, bookmark this web address or subscribe to this blog's RSS feed.
So I thought I would update the blog with these points as well. In fact, I'm going to start a series of blog posts with house buying tips for the modern economy. Without further ado, let's dive into the first topic...
House Buying Tip #1 - Maintain a Good Credit Score
Good credit has always been important when buying a home and applying for a mortgage loan. But it's more important than ever as a result of the mortgage crisis we have experienced. Lenders today will require you to have a better score than in the past, and they will only offer you the best rates on your loan if you have a score of about 750 or higher.
This comes as a result of the tougher restrictions put upon mortgage lenders by the federal government. Here's what it means to you, as a future home buyer. If you want to (A) get qualified for a loan when buying a house and (B) get a good rate on that loan, you need to have a very good credit score. Otherwise, you'll have trouble qualifying for the loan. And if you do qualify for a loan with a bad score, you'll likely end up with an incredibly high interest rate on top of it. This means a bigger mortgage payment each month.
So in this house buying tip I'll offer some ways to improve your credit score (if necessary) and to maintain it into the future.
For starters, you need to find out what your score is in the first place. You can find some tools on the Credit Information section of our website to help with that, as well as the home buying tools page. If you obtain your score and find out that it's low, you need to focus on improving it before buying a house and applying for a mortgage.
Let me say that again ... it's important to boost your credit score before seeking a loan. You'll have an easier time getting qualified, and you'll get a better rate on the loan. This is one of the most important house buying tips you can take away from this article, which is why I keep repeating myself on this subject.
Elsewhere on this website, you can find plenty of tips for boosting your credit and related topics, so I wont go into it much here. I will say, however, that one of the quickest ways to improve your credit score before buying a house is to pay down your credit card balances and pay all future bills on time. These two things in concert can help you boost your score faster than just about anything else. You should also work on reducing your overall debt as well.
Like I said, this is the first house buying tip in a series that will focus on the modern economy, tougher lending standards and the like. If you found this tip helpful and want to stay in touch, bookmark this web address or subscribe to this blog's RSS feed.
More Tips in the House Buying Series
Labels: Home buying tips
posted by Brandon at
10:47 AM
