Credit Scores - Know them when purchasing a vacation home in Ocean City MD.

Know your credit scores. Buying a second home for summer vacations, retirement, or investment may stretch your budget. Know what you can qualify for with a second mortgage and check your credit scores to understand your financial position. Homes in Ocean City MD are available in all price ranges from single-family, townhomes, and condominiums. I will help you connect the dots and clarify your real estate goals so that when you make a purchase, you are spot on for the lifestyle of your dreams. Contact me for information and for a FREE Homes by Email portal. You can search beach properties from the comfort of your home. Susan Antigone - ShoreFun4U with Long & Foster Real Estate

Boost Your Credit Score Timely Payments And Low Balances Key To Good Scores When it comes to qualifying for a low-interest home loan, credit card or auto loan, your credit score is vitally important. Potential lenders use the score and your credit history to determine the type of mortgage and interest rate they’ll offer you. The higher your score, the lower the rate you pay. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of credit score products in today’s market, but they’re all calculated using the information collected about you by one or all of the credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. Your credit reports contain a great deal of information about you: Your name, address, Social Security Number, date of birth and employers. How much you owe and limits on your credit cards and loans. Whether you pay your bills on time. Any overdue debts, bankruptcies, foreclosures, suits, wage attachments, liens and judgments. Credit scoring companies use your credit report information to come up with your score — a number that tells lenders how risky it would be to give you a car loan, a credit card, a mortgage or some other type of loan. Unfortunately, credit reports often contain outdated information and mistakes, so it's a good idea to review yours at least once a year and certainly before you apply for any credit. You can order a free annual credit report from each of the three credit bureaus every 12 months by going to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ or calling (877) 322-8228. If you find errors or inaccuracies, act quickly; it can take as long as 30 days for corrected information to appear on your reports. Use Only Part Of The Credit You’re Offered One of the biggest factors in your credit score is called “credit utilization.” That’s corporate shorthand for “How much of the credit we offered this customer did he use?” Keep your utilization to 30 percent or less. For example, if you’re offered a $10,000 credit line, use no more than $3,000. Rule of thumb: It's better to have several cards with low balances than a few cards with high balances. Having even one card that’s maxed out will hurt your score. Even better, pay off your balances every month so your utilization is closer to zero. Pay On Time The second most important factor in your credit score is late payments. Paying all your bills on time (and that means the payment got to the lender by the due date) pushes up your score. Paying 30 days or more late lowers your score. If for some reason your credit score isn't up to par, it doesn't have to haunt you forever. When you get a credit score from a lender or by purchasing it, you’ll also get a list of risk factors. Focus on improving your performance on those risk factors to raise your score. Because the score keeps changing to reflect your evolving credit history, you can raise your credit score over time, and then maintain it, by following these three tips: 1. Pay more than the minimum amount you owe. Typically, you’ll see your credit score rise when you bring down your balances. 2. Keep your oldest credit card open to lengthen your credit history and avoid new credit cards you don't need. 3. Maintain unused credit cards. Closing them can make your utilization ratio appear higher.