Your Credit Score: What it means

Before deciding on what terms they will offer you a mortgage loan, lenders need to find out two things about you: whether you can repay the loan, and your willingness to pay back the loan. To assess your ability to pay back the loan, they assess your debt-to-income ratio. To calculate your willingness to pay back the loan, they consult your credit score.

Fair Isaac and Company formulated the original FICO score to help lenders assess creditworthines. We've written a lot more on FICO here.

Credit scores only assess the info contained in your credit reports. They don't consider income or personal characteristics. These scores were invented specifically for this reason. "Profiling" was as bad a word when FICO scores were invented as it is now. Credit scoring was developed to assess a borrower's willingness to repay the loan without considering any other demographic factors.

Your current debt level, past late payments, length of your credit history, and other factors are considered. Your score reflects both the good and the bad in your credit report. Late payments will lower your credit score, but consistently making future payments on time will improve your score.

Your report must have at least one account which has been open for six months or more, and at least one account that has been updated in the past six months for you to get a credit score. This payment history ensures that there is sufficient information in your credit to calculate a score. Should you not meet the minimum criteria for getting a credit score, you may need to work on a credit history prior to applying for a mortgage.

Alternative Mortgage Group can answer questions about credit reports and many others. Call us: 561-395-4264.