Del Mar - Encinitas - La Jolla - coastal San Diego real estate
Del Mar - Encinitas - La Jolla - coastal San Diego real estate |
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Information for San Diego real estate, La Jolla real estate, real estate Encinitas, & real estate Del Mar |
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Buying a San Diego Home & Your FICO Score
Credit - How's
your FICO?
In today's increasingly automated society, it should
come as no surprise that when you apply for a mortgage, your ability to pay
can be reduced to a single number. All the years you've been paying your
mortgage, car payments, and credit card bills can be analyzed, sliced,
diced, spindled and mutilated into a single indicator of whether you're
likely to meet your future obligations.
All three of the major credit
reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and
TransUnion) use a slightly different
system to arrive at a score. The best known is called the FICO score, based
on a model developed by Fair Isaac and Company (hence the name) and used by
Experian. Equifax's model is called BEACON,
while TransUnion uses EMPIRICA. While each of
the models considers a range of data available in your credit report, the
primary factors are:
Each of these, and other items, are assigned a value
and a weight. The results are added up and distilled into a single number.
FICO scores range from 300 to 800, with higher being better. Typical home
buyers likely find their scores falling between 600 and 800.
FICO scores are used for more than just determining
whether or not you qualify for a mortgage. Higher scores indicate you are a
better credit risk, and thus may qualify for a better mortgage rate.
What can you do about your
FICO score?
Unfortunately, not much. Since the score is based
on a lifetime of credit history, it is difficult to make a significant
change in the number with quick fixes. The most important thing is to know
your FICO score and to ensure that your credit history is correct.
Conveniently, Fair Isaac has created a web site
www.myFICO.com)
that let's you do just that. For a reasonable fee, you can quickly get your
FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report.
Also available is some helpful information and tools that help you analyze
what actions might have the greatest impact on your FICO score. Each of the
credit services offers similar services on their web sites:
www.equifax.com,
www.experian.com, and
www.transunion.com.
Armed with this information, you will be a more informed consumer and better positioned to obtain the most favorable mortgage available to you. Click here to view our new FREE Preferred Property Locater
San
Diego real estate questions? e-mail Bob:
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