Credit Score - Things you should know when getting a mortgage

MIRA: So my number one advice would be the first thing to do when you decide to buy a home is to look over your credit report. Because that it is going to determine what your mortgage rates are going to be and your capacity in terms of what you can buy. So in order to know what you qualify for, what mortgage rates you're going to get, it all relies on your credit report. And so it's important to know what's in there, what your score is. And if it's not up to par, to bring it there before you even start looking at homes. TINA: Credit score is one of the most important items because we want to make sure that you have a good payment history and you're able to make your future mortgage payments on a timely basis. TINA: If a homeowner has some credit issues before you go into the home buying transaction process what you can do is we can go ahead and run a credit report for you upfront and then your mortgage banker can work with you on certain items, maybe a collection showing up on your credit report, maybe a lien or a judgment that you can contact the merchant directly to clear those items away before you go into the home buying process. RHONDA: If you have credit cards, definitely pay down those balances so that the debt ratio is less. If you have loans that are outstanding, especially student loans, which have such an impact on getting a mortgage, and you're not paying on those, start paying on those. A little is better than nothing.