Tips on Boosting Your Credit Score
If you've decided that you are ready to pursue homeownership but your credit is not quite ready, here are a few tips to get your credit moving in the right direction. Some of the following tips can boost your credit score quickly while others may take time to show improvement but stay focused on your goal of an overall better credit score.
Check for any errors - check your credit reports for any information that you feel is incorrect. You can contact the credit reporting agency regarding inaccurate or incorrect information on your credit report. As soon as you realize an error you should begin the process to dispute the error with the credit reporting agency.
Check credit card balances - lower your total credit card utilization ratio (sum of credit card balances divided by the sum of credit card limits) as necessary. Try not to add new large purchases on your credit cards and actively pay down balances as soon as possible.
Pay off outstanding collections - settling outstanding collections on your credit report should be of high precedence due to the negative impact of collections. When collections are settled, try to have them removed from your credit report. Also, if you have a history of late payments try to get them removed as well.
Employing these tips can be beneficial to giving your credit score a boost prior to obtaining a mortgage.