How Long Will It Take to Build Up a Good Credit Score?

Reader Question: "I arrived in the U.S. last march and got my first credit card in June. I have a bank account in the U.S. and I am working full time. I pay all my bills on time. My wife has a decent credit score of about 670. I guess my main question is how long will it take for me to build up a good credit score to the point I can look at buying a house under a first-time buyer deal?"

First of all, welcome to the states!

Secondly, I have a question for you. Have you obtained your Social Security Number yet? You'll need an SSN in order to have a credit score in the U.S. The entire data system is based on the name and Social Security Number of each consumer.

If you already have your SSN, and you've been paying your bills on time and all, then you're well on your way to establishing a credit history ... and probably a good score as well.

If you don't yet have your SSN, then that's your next step. The good news is, it's fairly simple to obtain one. You can download the necessary forms from the Social Security Administration's website. They offer instructions for the rest of the process.

Here's a related Q&A session you might want to peruse.

How to Build a Credit History
This article is from our other Q&A blog, the one that deals mainly with credit questions. It reinforces some of what we've talked about here, but it goes into more detail on the the process of building a credit score.

You'll also find a wealth of information in the credit section of our main website, along with advice on other parts of the home buying process. Hope that helps. Good luck.