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Good Credit -- Essential for the Prospective Home Buyer


Credit is a funny thing. It can be a useful tool in the hands of an informed individual, or a weight of burden to the unsuspecting. One thing is for certain, you must have a decent credit score to attain a quality mortgage loan.

We speak to hundreds of individuals each month that are in the market to buy property. Unfortunately, many of them have less than desirable credit scores, and because of this, are not able to get prequalified for a loan.

There are numerous reasons for bad credit scores: bankruptcies, late payments, large credit balances, and a host of others. There are many legitimate reasons a person may have bad credit, but frankly, most of the people we talk to have simply made poor financial decisions.

In most cases, bad credit can be easily avoided:

1. On revolving credit card balances, make sure you pay your minimum balance each month. You will even receive a slight credit boost if you pay over your minimum amount, so do it if you can.

2. Avoid "maxing" out credit card accounts. Credit cards are good to have to build your credit, but make sure you keep your spending under control. Preferably, you should be able to pay off any CC balances completely in the same month you spent the money.

3. If you need to make any big purchases, avoid the temptation to place the entire purchase on your credit card. Instead, put money aside each month until you have enough for the purchase. Remember, just because you have a big spending limit on your cards, doesn't make it your money! You have to pay every penny back plus interest!

4. Try to think of a credit card as a tool for building credit as opposed to a tool for buying the things you want. You spend a small amount each month, and pay it off immediately. This will spike your credit score, and keep you out of CC debt.

5. Make sure to pull your credit rating at least twice a year. This will give you a good feel for what your score is, and most credit score reporting services will give you a detailed explanation for why your score is where it is. If you find any errors, make sure you report and resolve them immediately. It can be long and gruesome work to get a negative mark removed from your credit record, but it can be well worth it when it comes time to buy a house.

I hope some of these tips will be helpful for you as you try to be a good steward of your finances.

You may also want to check out these free resources:

www.FamilyCredit.org
www.DebtFreeChristian.org

Justin Smith is the President of the Christian Real Estate Network - http://www.HisMove.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Credit - Google News

The best of credit ratings, the worst of credit ratings - Lakeland Times


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7 Things You Didn't Know Affect Your Credit Score - San Francisco Chronicle


WISC Madison

7 Things You Didn't Know Affect Your Credit Score
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We all know to pay our bills on time and carry as little debt as possible, and most of the time, that is all that matters in your credit score. Yet, there are other, smaller factors that many people aren't aware of that can cause your score to suffer.
First Premier's $400-a-year credit cardCNN
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TEXT-Fitch publishes second edition of US Retail Credit Insights - Reuters


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Reuters
Feb 9 - Fitch Ratings has published the second edition of its 'US Retail Credit Insights' newsletter. The newsletter provides brief company-specific and sector comments, links and summaries to rating actions and detailed industry reports, ...

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Credit Suisse Bonus-Bond Deferral Spares Investment-Bank Profit - BusinessWeek


Bloomberg

Credit Suisse Bonus-Bond Deferral Spares Investment-Bank Profit
BusinessWeek
9 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG's investment bank salvaged a full-year profit in 2011 by pushing 500 million Swiss francs ($549 million) of employee bonus costs into 2012. Without the deferral, the division's 79 million franc pretax profit ...
Credit Suisse Posts First Loss in Three Years on Investment BankBloomberg
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Europe Bank Risk Premium Vanishing on ECB Cash: Credit Markets - San Francisco Chronicle


The Guardian

Europe Bank Risk Premium Vanishing on ECB Cash: Credit Markets
San Francisco Chronicle
Credit-default swaps on 13 European banks including BNP Paribas SA and UniCredit SpA converged with those tied to the six largest US peers such as Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., with the gap at 17 basis points as of yesterday, down from 33 on ...
ECB Meeting: Looking Intensively at Credit Tightening RiskAction Forex
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IRS Offers Tool on Repayment of Home Buyer Tax Credit - New York Times (blog)


Washington and Lee University News Office

IRS Offers Tool on Repayment of Home Buyer Tax Credit
New York Times (blog)
By ANN CARRNS If you are among those who must repay the home buyer tax credit, the Internal Revenue Service now has an online tool to help you determine how to handle repayment of the credit on your federal income tax return.
An Earned Income Tax Credit Q&ASeattle Post Intelligencer (blog)
IRS Extends Deadline to Claim Vet CreditWall Street Journal (blog)
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Credit-Default Swaps in U.S. Reverse Rise as Greece Strikes Austerity Deal - Bloomberg


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Republicans Target Tax Credits for Undocumented Immigrants - Fox News


Kansas City Star

Republicans Target Tax Credits for Undocumented Immigrants
Fox News
Republicans are looking to deny illegal immigrants the child tax credit, and refund checks as one way to help pay for extending the Social Security tax cut another 10 months. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Print Email Share Comments Recommend Tweet Some ...
Republicans: No tax break for illegal immigrantsThe Associated Press
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