Valley Voice January 2017 | Page 19

A R I Z O N A

R E A L E S T A T E

THINKING OF BUYING SOON ? MAKE SURE YOUR CREDIT IS IN ORDER There ’ s no more important time to work on your credit score than when you ’ re about to apply for a mortgage . Improving your credit can save you a ton of money — we ’ re talking about thousands of dollars over the life of the loan . Here are the actions you can take that will have a notable impact on your score . Pay down your credit card balances Credit utilization is one of the biggest factors in determining your credit score . Your credit utilization should at least be less than 30 percent of your limit , and it ’ s even better if you can get it below 15 percent . This rule applies to both individual cards and your overall credit limit . It may even be worthwhile to use some of the cash funds you were planning to use for a down payment to pay off credit card balances . Do no harm While you certainly want to improve your score if possible , at the very least you ’ ll want to keep it steady . Avoid opening new lines of credit if you ’ re applying for a mortgage in the very near future . This will cause a hard inquiry to show up on your credit report . Take care of negative items It ’ s good practice to check your credit report for negative items a few times a year — you can get one free report from each of the three major bureaus ( Experian , Equifax , and TransUnion ) per year . If you find any negative items ( collections , late payments , etc .), write a letter to the original creditor . Explain the circumstances that led to the negative item , and request that it be removed from your report . It can be surprisingly effective , and removing a negative item will improve your credit score in a hurry . You can find some good templates for a request letter online . Consult a loan advisor A loan advisor or loan officer can give you the best steps in improving your credit . Many loan companies also have specific departments dedicated to credit repair , so it ' s always best to start there . Your real estate professional can provide you with several referrals , should you not already have one .

JESSICA NOBLE ASSOCIATE BROKER 480-518-0448 JESSICA . AZRE @ GMAIL . COM WWW . JESSICASELLSAZ . COM