1st Home Mortgage

In the video above, one important element Vera Gibbons stresses is your credit score.

Ms Gibbons is quite clear when she says that these days, to stand a reasonable chance of getting your mortgage approved, you need a credit rating that starts anywhere between the mid-600's and the mid-700's.

So what you need to do first is check your credit score.

If your score is in the high 700s, fabulous. Your next step is -> How much mortgage can I get approved for? (Please click the link to find out)

If your score is below 650, carry on with the steps that follow

By the way, every year, you are entitled to one free credit score check each from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You can get your free credit score report from here -> www.annualcreditreport.com

However, the Fair Isaac Corp. ( FICO), the major producer of credit scores, take the information from the three credit reports above, apply their secret ninja formula, and calculate one credit score between 300 and 850, for you.

This FICO score is what mortgage lenders look at when deciding whether or not to approve mortgage applications. You might want to have a look too -> Fico Scores/Reports

Please understand this: Improving your credit score does not happen at lightening speed. It happens over time. A few months. Because what you're doing is showing lenders that you can and you do handle your financial affairs dependably.

If you do as many of these strategies as you can, you will find that your score will rise over time.

1. Pay your bills and pay them on time.
This is the absolute best way to improve your score. The sooner you start, the quicker your score will improve. For example, when you start paying just the minimum amount on all your accounts, by the date payments are due, your credit score will start improving.

2. Reduce the amount you have outstanding on all credit accounts.
And keep them all as low as possible. Because, the closer you get to the credit limit on any account, the lower your score gets. Aim to bring down your balances on everything - hire purchase, credit cards, store cards, etc And aim to do so consistently.

3. Check that your credit report is correct.
If you find any incorrect information, get in touch with the agency that produced the report. They will investigate. It's important to do this because incorrect information could lower your credit score.

4. If at all possible, don't get new credit cards or make hire purchases.
As you aim for a better credit score, you don't want to be seen to be taking on more and more credit. This will hurt your score.

5. However, don't close any accounts.
Because your score increases when you actually have a lot of credit available, but you use little of it.

6. You can't remove an item from your credit report simply by closing an account. Closed accounts will remain on your report. It's best to just bring the balance down as much as you can.

Important
Please try and cultivate the mindset that not working on your credit score is not an option. Because building up your credit score won't always be a smooth journey.

There will be times when you'll get thoroughly fed up of watching what you spend and drawing that proverbial belt even tighter.

But just keep your eye on the prize at the end - you do this, you get your first time home mortgage, which gets you your very own home. You'll soon see your credit score bounce up and all of this will have been so worthwhile.