How to quickly build or improve your credit to buy a home

by David J. Moore

As an experience real estate professional who has helped hundreds of home buyers and seller since 2005, one of the biggest things I hear from home buyers is that they believe they do not have the necessary credit to buy a home. The good news is that in most cases you only need a 620 credit score or higher to buy a home. And if your credit score is not there yet, here a quick and easy way to get your credit score up in just a few months.

Here are some steps to help you build your credit:

1. **Check Your Credit Report**: Get free reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com or from our preferred lending partners.

2. **Establish Credit** and Pay off any Past Due Debts:

For Establishing credit you can do one of the following:
- **Secured Credit Card**: Requires a deposit as your limit. Use it responsibly.
- **Credit Builder Loan**: Offered by some banks, helps build credit as you repay.

For Past Due Debts:

-**Contact the credit and either pay off the debt completely or enter into an affordable payment arrangement to pay off the debt. You will only have to pay on this for a few months before you can qualify for a loan

3. **Timely Payments**: Pay all bills on time, including your new credit card.

4. **Limit Inquiries and Opening of Accounts**: Avoid applying for multiple credit accounts at once. You really only need one credit account to build your credit. There is no need to get more than one credit card or credit account at this time

5. **Credit Utilization**: Keep usage below 30% of your credit limit. An Example is if you have a $1,000 credit line, do NOT charge more than $300 on it.

6. **Make the Minimum payments on the credit card / line for 3 months, and then reach back out to our preferred lender to see how much it has improved.

This is time tested and proven strategy to boost your credit quickly and effectively. If you have questions or need help, please reach out, my team and I are happy to help. Call or Text 410-777-5848 to connect with David Today!