With interest rates at all-time lows, many people across the United States are seizing the opportunity to refinance their home mortgages. But in addition to the overall changes in the mortgage market, did you know there are specific steps you can take to improve the terms of your mortgage?

One very helpful (but very misunderstood!) step is improving your credit score. While there are steps you can take on your own, improving your credit score is an area where it’s very beneficial Tadacip to team up with a Certified Mortgage Planner. A Certified Mortgage Planner can help you understand your credit score, and work personally with you to take the necessary steps to improve it.

Areas where a Certified Mortgage Planner can help you improve your credit score:

1. Your Payment History: Your payment history has one of the biggest impacts on your credit score. Though this is an area that you really need to manage on a personal level, a mortgage planning expert can help you discover if any disputed bills are negatively affecting your credit score, and advise you on steps to improve your score, including:

* Helping you manage any past due bills – when it comes to bills that are past due, the most recent is always the worst. If it comes between a bill from two months ago that is 30 days late, and a bill two years ago that was 90 days late, the more recent is far more damaging on your score.

2. Your Credit Lines: This is another area that is very misunderstood amongst customers. There are a number of prevalent myths that simply aren’t true, and taking action on these myths can result in you hurting your overall credit score, rather than helping it. Just a few myths are:

* Close all credit accounts that you aren’t using: This simply isn’t true. Your credit score is calculated by looking at the overall credit available to you, and then subtracting how much debt you have. So, if you have $20,000 in available credit, but are only using $1,000, then you’re only using 5% of your overall credit, which reflects positively on your result.

* You should not have high limits on your credit lines: Again, the result is calculated by the overall credit available against what you are using, so high credit lines have a positive impact on your score (if you’re not using them).

3. Your Credit History: Lenders like to see as much history as possible, and the longer you’ve had your accounts open, the happier they are. In terms of what type of credit history your creditors would like to see:

* 3-5 credit cards is the optimal amount

* Having credit accounts opened (as we discussed in point #2) helps increase your score

* A good mix of loans is seen as a positive thing from the perspective Brand Levitra of the creditors. For instance, a good mix of auto loans, credit cards and mortgages is seen as more positive than only a mortgage

The above is just a taste of the many aspects of your credit report that a Certified Mortgage Planning Expert can help you address. The results speak for themselves: better mortgage terms, the ability to pay off your debt quicker, and an improved financial future for your family!

Author Bio: This article was written by FirsTrust Mortgage. FirsTrust Mortgage is a residential mortgage lender with offices in Kansas, Missouri, and Minnesota.

FTM’s loan officers are Certified Mortgage Planners, trained and skilled to help clients achieve financial freedom, build wealth and experience their life’s dreams by implementing intelligent mortgage, cash flow and home equity strategies.

Category: Finance/Mortgage
Keywords: credit score, refinance, home mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage planner