Understanding Your Credit

Making Sense of Your Credit Score

Your credit score is created from information on your credit report. Credit scores generally range from 300 to 850, with a higher score indicating you have better credit.

Credit Scores

Category	Excellent	Good	Average	Fair	Poor
Score	720 or above	681 to 719	621 to 680	600 to 620	599 or less

Your credit score is not static—it changes throughout your life based on how you manage your loans and credit card debt. To get your free annual credit report where you can review your credit history visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

What affects your credit score

• Payment history
• Amounts owed/outstanding balances
• Length of your credit history
• New credit
• Types of credit

Improving Your Credit

The better you manage your debt, the better your credit—and the more confidence a lender will have in your ability and willingness to repay your home loan.

Benefits of Good Credit

• Good credit can help you get approved for a home loan
• Often, borrowers with good credit scores get better rates
• Good credit, low-risk borrowers may get flexible loan terms

Do you want to improve your credit score? Or do you already have good credit and want to find ways to maintain a good credit score?

Here are some general guidelines

• Pay your bills on time

  Do you make your payments on time? Do you typically pay in 30, 60 or 90 days past due? If you have missed payments, get current and stay current.

• Reduce your credit card debt

  Paying down your credit cards and making larger payments above the minimum shows your ability and willingness to repay debt.

• Maintain a good credit history

  Keep your accounts open and maintain a good long term credit history by paying your bills on time.

• Mix up your credit

  There are 3 main types of credit: mortgages, auto financings and credit cards. Having a variety of loans could help your score.

• Check your credit report

  Order a copy of your credit report and clear up any errors or unresolved negative issues by contacting the credit lender.

  You can get your credit reports for free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com—and you're never penalized for checking out your own credit report or score.