Mortgage Loans

When your credit report is being reviewed in connection with a mortgage application, the lender will most likely have these questions on his or her mind: Is their credit score acceptable? Is their credit history good? How much income do they have? How much of a down payment will they be providing?

A huge down payment may dilute the negative effects of a spotty payment history or low credit score. However, be prepared for high fees and mortgage interest. In fact, the minimum score needed to purchase a home has increased in the past 12-18 months.

There is no way to distance yourself from having a low credit score. A good credit history is necessary to purchase a home, even if you do have a large down payment handy. According to CNN.com, a prospective homeowner's credit score goal should be an average of 758 in order to obtain the lowest interest rates.

Find Out How to Raise Your Credit Score and Improve Your Chances of Purchasing a Home

It is easy to get a copy of your credit report and review its contents. Many times there are entries which are inaccurate and can be disputed.

A dispute letter to the relevant credit bureaus would be a good start. Alternatively, to resolve the negative entry, you will need to contact the creditor directly.

Often, an expertly worded dispute letter will resolve the inconsistency. Although, it has been shown that investigation methods are often sloppy and error prone.

The reason for this is, when investigating any dispute, credit bureaus must necessarily spend additional resources and time to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, some credit bureaus feel it is more cost effective to take their time or ignore the matter altogether. It is their desire that you give up on your request to remove negative entries from your credit report.

How Long Will it Take to Raise My Credit Score

A frequent concern is how long it will take to improve a low credit score. Although every situation is unique, you should expect anywhere between 6-12 months before your report is clean.

This may seem like a long time; however, it is certainly a shorter amount of time than waiting 7-10 years for the negative entries to be deleted. Also, if you want to purchase a home, it is wise to wait the 6-12 months to improve your credit report.