Below are several suggestions for maintaining a good credit score which allows you to purchase any financed item at the best rates of interest. We at First Class Realty consistently help families get financed for a new home regardless of bumps and bruises to their credit. By following these basic suggestions, you should see an increase in your scores over time.

 Your credit score is what determines your ability to buy and the rate you get for your New Home mortgage. The higher the score, the better deal we can make! Below are 10 ways to raise your score without hiring an expensive Credit repair company. Follow this advice NOW and call me to start your search. It is a Buyers Market which means homes with built in equity, seller paid costs, low mortgage rates and free upgrades are the norm. This means you get your Dream Home and more at a price you can brag about for years. So read, learn and practice the steps below and call me today.

Here are the ten ways to raise your score:

1. Pay all of your bills on time. This is especially true for your rent, car notes and credit cards. A consistant record of on-time payments will assure a lender of not only your ability to pay but of your excellent financila responsibility to creditors.
2. Close accounts that you don't need. I don't mean to close accounts where you still have outstanding balances just so you can't charge anymore. This may even hurt your score. What I mean is that as soon as you can pay off an account and you can do without it, contact the creditor and have them close the account.
3. Don't open any new accounts that you don't need. This may actually lower your score by having too many open accounts which is one of the items used to determine scores.
4. Don't co-sign for anyone. I meet lots of people that have let someone use their credit to obtain a loan, usually to buy a car. I don't recommend it. If you must help a son or daughter buy a car or get a credit card make sure that YOU receive the payments from them and YOU send the payments to the creditor so that YOU know for sure that the bill is being paid each month on time.
5. Keep some credit cards and use them wisely. Someone without credit cards could have a lower score than someone with them. You need to keep one or two cards and use them responsibly. Pay off the balance each month if you can.
6. Don't open too many accounts too quickly. By doing this it appears that you may be setting yourself up for failure to a lender. New accounts also will lower your score until they become seasoned with a good pay history.
7. Check your credit report for mistakes. There could be items on your report that are not yours especially if you have a common name or you are a Jr.
8. Don't shop for a car or anything else where they will be shopping your loan. Many car dealers will send your application to numerous lenders. Each credit inquiry will drop your score by a few points. A few points may or may not make a difference depending on your current score. Ordering your own report from a repository will not affect your score.
9. Keep credit card balances low. If you balance is at or near your limit this will lower your score.
10. Don't consolidate credit cards. Moving consumer debt around will not help in the long run. Simply pay down on the ones with the highest rate first.

I hope this has helped. There are three different credit repositories, Equifax (800-685-1111), Transunion (800-888-4213) and Experian (866-200-6020). It is a good idea to get a copy from all three. Even though Equifax is the most used in the southeast and they are based in Atlanta, most lenders will look at all three and use the middle score of the three to determine whether or not you can qualify for the loan program requested.