Credit Score Facts

As a Florida Home Buyer, you should know that few things are as vital to your lender as your credit report. A good Credit score does not guarantee home loan approval, but it plays a large role in determining which home loan programs a mortgage broker can offer you.

Financing a home is complex. Not only does it involve understanding your credit situation and carefully analyzing the full cost of competing loan products, but it also requires working with Realtors®, loan processors, underwriters, title agents, appraisers, and home inspectors.

Because you may only buy a home two or three times in a lifetime, it pays to work with a qualified Florida Mortgage Broker who handles financing homes full-time. Call Capital Lending Corp. at 1-866-924-4111 for expert advice on your next Florida Home Loan

Because of the importance of the credit bureaus and your credit scores to getting your Florida mortgage approved, you should understand exactly how credit reporting works, know how to request copies of your credit reports, and understanding what your credit scores mean. Especially for First Home Time Buyers, knowing how credit bureaus work is a part of becoming informed about financing a home.

Credit Reporting Agencies and Getting a Florida Home Loan

Credit is defined as both your willingness and your ability to pay back money you borrow. Ability means that you have the resources to pay back what you borrow. Willingness means that, left to your own devices, you are inclined to pay back those who make loans to you. Good credit requires demonstrating both of these elements.

How do credit-reporting agencies get your history? Business that extend you credit, report your pattern of payment to the agencies. These same businesses subscribe to the bureaus so that they can look at your credit history before they extend you credit or offer you financing.

Your Florida Home Loan and Your FICO® Score

Three major credit bureaus compile credit information on FL borrowers: Trans Union, Experian, and Equifax. All three of these bureaus use a scoring algorithm developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. As a result, Lenders and mortgage professionals refer to credit scores as FICO® scores. FICO® scores run from 350 to 850, and a score of 640 is about average for home loan applicants in Florida.

The three bureaus will each have different information about you. So, even though they all use the same FICO® scoring principles, each of the three credit bureaus is likely to return different scores to a lender evaluating your Florida home loan application based upon a unique scoring algorithm.

Which score will your lender use? The middle credit score, not the average of the three, is what Florida lenders typically use to evaluate your mortgage application.

Free Help for Florida Mortgage Applicants

As a shopper for a Florida Mortgage, you should be interested in what a prospective lender will find in your credit report. Fortunately, you can order free copies of your credit reports once a year without cost by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. The free reports will not include your scores.

If you have Questions about your credit scores or wish to discuss your Florida home loan options with a mortgage professional, please call Capital Lending Corp. at 1-866-924-4111 and let us help you get started on your next Florida home loan.