Whether you are trying to get a business or real estate loan, looking to buy equipment for your business, or trying to lease a computer or auto, your credit score or “FICO” is very important. Having a high score will allow you to get loans of all kinds much faster. It will help you to get a lower rate of interest on the loans you want and it will allow you to receive faster service from the lenders you contact. It’s important to keep your credit score high and there are steps you can take to insure that your credit score is as high as possible.
If you are a business owner, you may be using credit card lines of credit to finance your business or real estate deals. If you are doing this or plan to it’s even more important that you pay attention to your credit score.
One way you can keep your credit score high is to pay off all credit card debt on time or, if possible, ahead of time. By never being late with your monthly payment you can raise your credit score by 15 to 20 points. Also make sure all loan payments for personal, mortgage, car, home equity loans are made on time and for the full amount due. Just by being late on one or more loans can cost you as much as 100 points from your credit score.
If you use credit cards, make sure that you don’t have more than four open accounts. Having more than four credit card accounts can reduce your credit score by 10 or more points. The reason for this is that credit card issuers are afraid that people with a large number of cards are more likely to run up more debt than they are able to pay back.
If you are seeking a loan, make sure you do not allow a credit report to be run on you until a competent Loan Officer at the lender assures you that chances are good that you will be approved for the loan and you are certain that you will be going ahead with the loan application from that lender. Having multiple credit reports run on your account can cause your credit score to go down.
If you are planning several large purchases, like a home, car and furniture, stagger your purchases. Getting a larger number of loans in a short time period can negatively affect your credit score by 10 points or more.
Also, look into making deals with private lenders. Such deals may not be recorded in public records and therefore won’t affect you credit score.
So what’s a good credit score? You should aim for a credit score of 750. Once there you should do what you can to keep it there. Remember, it’s always important to pay your creditors on time every month. Don’t borrow more than you need to and make sure you pay your creditors back according to the agreement you have with them.
To sum up, your credit score is important and you need to take action to make sure that you will be able to borrow money when you need it. If you currently have a low credit score don’t be discouraged. Take action. Start doing the things that will cause your credit score to improve. Be consistent and before you know it you will have better credit.
