About Your Credit Score

	In the market for a new mortgage? We'll be glad to answer your questions about your mortgage needs! Give us a call today at 770.476.5549. Ready to get started? Apply Here.

Before lenders make the decision to lend you money, they must know if you're willing and able to repay that loan. To assess whether you can pay back the loan, they look at your income and debt ratio. To calculate your willingness to repay the loan, they look at your credit score.

The most commonly used credit scores are FICO scores, which Fair Isaac & Company, a financial analytics agency, developed. Your FICO score ranges from 350 (high risk) to 850 (low risk). For details on FICO, read more here.

Your credit score comes from your repayment history. They don't consider income, savings, amount of down payment, or demographic factors like gender, ethnicity, national origin or marital status. Fair Isaac invented FICO specifically to exclude demographic factors like these. Credit scoring was invented as a way to take into account only that which was relevant to a borrower's willingness to repay a loan.

Past delinquencies, derogatory payment behavior, debt level, length of credit history, types of credit and the number of inquiries are all calculated into credit scoring. Your score is based on the good and the bad of your credit report. Late payments count against you, but a consistent record of paying on time will improve it.

Your credit report should contain at least one account which has been open for six months or more, and at least one account that has been updated in the past six months for you to get a credit score. This payment history ensures that there is sufficient information in your report to assign an accurate score. If you don't meet the minimum criteria for getting a credit score, you may need to work on your credit history prior to applying for a mortgage.

At Waterside Mortgage, we answer questions about Credit reports every day. Give us a call at 770.476.5549.