A new article from U.S. News & World Report highlights five credit card mistakes that could prevent homeowners from getting a mortgage – and provides helpful information on how to avoid those mistakes.
One of the critical factors bankers and mortgage brokers look at when deciding the terms of your home loan is your credit score. Most lenders use the FICO score to assess your creditworthiness, 35 percent of which is determined by your history with paying your bills on time.
If you habitually pay your credit card bill late (or any other bill for that matter) your credit score might be in shoddy shape. You’ll need to seriously tighten up your on-time payment record if you want to qualify for a mortgage.
Another big misstep that would-be homeowners make when they start getting serious about mortgage applications is simultaneously signing up for a bunch of new credit cards. Many folks reason that they’ll need the credit for moving expenses, but this is a bad move for your FICO score.
