In order to qualify for a mortgage and secure a good (low) interest rate on a mortgage loan, you’ll need a good credit score. A higher credit score means that you are a better risk for a bank to loan money to for a home purchase. There are several things that you can do over time to raise your credit score, and make you an attractive buyer. Perseverance comes into play here, and being responsible and steadfast in your home buying journey will eventually pay off.

  1. Review your credit score and understand what it is now. Check for errors. If you discover that there is an error, you may be able to dispute it to have it removed.
  2. If you have an entry on your credit report that is from a collections account, but has been paid off, contact them and try to convince them to remove it from your account altogether.
  3. Pay down balances on your credit cards. Forego unnecessary expenditures and instead use that money to pay those credit cards.
  4. Once your credit cards are paid off, request a credit limit increase. If granted, this signals to the credit bureau that you have proven to be a good credit risk. (But don’t be tempted to overspend because of this new limit).
  5. Be sure to make on-time payments to all of your bills: rent, utilities and credit cards. Long-term responsibility is demonstrated by not missing payments.