One of the most important tools used in real estate investing is your credit score. When it comes to investing in real estate, you want to secure the highest return on investment possible. A credit score has the ability to make or break an investment deal. It can also have a significant impact on your bottom line. Use these four easy tips to make sure that your credit is ready to perform when you need it to.
When you apply for a mortgage loan, your lender is going to pull a tri-merge credit report. This is a combined reporting from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax; Experian; and TransUnion. This report includes a history of your credit experience including your number of open accounts, outstanding balances, credit limits, and payment history. It will also include a credit score for each of the three companies. The credit score is basically the credit bureaus’ way of grading you on how well you use your credit. Scores range from 300 to 850, the higher the number, the better your score.
If your credit score is too low, you will experience difficulty obtaining financing for investment properties. For instance, many lenders will not loan money to individuals with credit scores lower than 520. And for investment properties, it may be difficult to obtain financing with a credit score lower than 700. Not to mention, individual with higher credit scores, usually pay lower loan costs and lower interest rates, costing them less money, and providing a greater return on their investments.
So how do you find out where your credit score is, and get it to where it needs to be?
1. Look at what your lender sees. Pull a copy of your credit report to see what is on it and ensure that all the information is correct. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) gives you the right to receive one free copy of your credit report each year, from each of the three major credit bureaus. To receive your free copy, you can visit www.annualcreditreport.com. This will allow you to review the information that each of the credit bureaus has recorded for you, and dispute any errors or irregularities.
You can also receive a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied credit for any reason. The company denying you credit will typically send you a letter stating their reasons for the denial, and citing which credit bureau they received their information from. You can then contact that credit bureau, verify the credit denial, and they will provide you with a free copy of your credit report.
For an additional fee, you can receive your credit score from each of the three major credit bureaus as well. This will allow you to know where your score currently sits, and help you devise a plan to get it to where it needs to be.
2. Never make a late payment. Lenders and other creditors like to know that the person to whom they are loaning money or extending credit, is going to be responsible for repaying their loan on time. This area is so important to lenders that your payment history has the greatest impact on your credit score. In fact, this category accounts for about 35 percent of your overall credit score. Making even one late payment can drastically reduce your credit score. Multiple late payments will have an even greater negative effect, and show lenders that you have a history of not paying your bills on time. Late payments also stay on your credit report for seven years. On the flip side, making all your payments on time, will improve your credit score and demonstrate credit worthiness to lenders.
3. Reduce your balances. The next greatest impact to your credit score is the relationship between how you owe, compared to your credit limit. This makes up about 30 percent of your score. Carrying high balances on revolving credit lines, such as credit cards, can dramatically reduce your credit score.
It has become increasingly common for people to use credit cards to purchase disposable items, like gas and groceries, and to pay cell phone bills, etc. At the same time, these people carry high credit card balances, and only pay the minimum monthly payment, so their cards are maxed out almost all the time. By doing this, it becomes nearly impossible to pay down the balance of the account, and can cost thousands of dollars more in finance charges.
Credit bureaus, creditors and lenders like to see that you can use your credit responsibly. Reducing your balances, to less than 50 or even 30 percent of your credit limit, and keeping your balances low, will help to increase your credit score.
4. Stay on top of your credit and protect yourself. Your credit scores are always changing, which can be good news! It means that you can improve your credit score just by changing the way your handle your credit. But even if you handle your credit well, and have a good credit score, you should still monitor your credit report regularly to check for inaccuracies and prevent against identity theft.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation with more than 10 million victims each year. Becoming a victim of identity theft can have a severe negative impact on your credit score. It is important to take preventative measures to protect yourself, and report any suspicious activities immediately. If you think you may be the victim of identity theft you should immediately contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus, and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or by phone at 877-FTC HELP.
For more information about improving your credit score, visit www.myfico.com. To request copies or your credit reports, or to dispute any inaccuracies, contact the three major credit bureaus listed below.
