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If you’re buying a golf course home for sale in Orlando or any of the surrounding communities, you know that you need to get your credit score as high as possible before you apply for a loan.

But where do you even start?

How to Boost Your Credit to Buy a Home

When you apply for a mortgage loan to buy a house in Orlando or elsewhere, your lender will look at your credit score. Here’s what they see:

You can get a free copy of your credit report, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission, here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Once you get your credit report, you can check to see what your creditors have reported about you – and you can dispute errors to raise your score.

If your credit score is below 680, you’ll most likely have to take a few steps to improve it so you can avoid paying extra fees or higher interest rates. You may also have to come up with a larger down payment (unless you’re using a federal or state program, such as a VA loan or first-time homebuyer program) if your credit is less-than-perfect.

Your credit history makes a huge impact on your credit score. Here’s the breakdown:

35% = payment history (on-time, late, and seriously late payments)
30% = amounts owed in proportion to the amount of credit you have
15% = length of credit history, with a longer history being more favorable
10% = credit mix you’re using, which should reflect several types of credit (car loans, personal loans, credit cards and other revolving obligations)
10% = new credit or new applications for credit

Stop applying for new credit at least a year before you apply for a home loan. Part of your credit score involves how much new credit you’re trying to get. If you’re applying for all kinds of new credit, it may appear that you’re short on cash and can indicate that you’ll have a tough time making mortgage payments.

5 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score

#1: Open a new credit account.

If you open up a new line of credit and it increases your total outstanding credit line, your utilization scores (the part of your score that relies on how much you owe in relation to the amount of credit people are willing to give you) will improve. Bonus points if it’s a type of credit you don’t already have, which will improve your scores in the “credit mix” department.

#2: Dispute all the errors on your credit report.

If you don’t have any errors, that’s great – skip ahead to tip #3.

#3: Pay down your debts as much as you can.

You’re looking to improve your debt-to-income ratio, so the less debt you have, the better.

#4: Get – and keep – your bills current.

Paying on time has a huge impact on your credit scores. Even if it means making small payments throughout the month ($10 here, $25 there), make sure everything is paid on or before its due date.

#5: Become an authorized user on someone else’s account.

The key is picking someone responsible with good credit – his or her full history from that account will show up on your credit report immediately. If it’s older and more established, even better. Just make sure the person has a good history with that account, because bad credit history shows up just like good history does.

Are You Looking for a Golf Course Home for Sale in Orlando?

We can help you find your dream home on a golf course in the Orlando area. Call us at 407-529-4621 or get in touch with us online to talk about what you need – we’ll make it happen!

While you’re here, check out our:

How to Boost Your Credit Score to Buy a Home